Duel Decks- Knights vs Dragons: The Dragons Review (Part 2 of 2)

In our last review, I piloted the Knights to what felt to be a fairly well-matched tilt against the Dragons, but of course I felt I could only render full judgment when I had the chance to play things from the other side of the field. This worked out well as White Weenie is one of Jimi’s preferred archetypes (the other being Boros), and the Knights deck is right up her alley. We put the baby to rest, brewed up a kettle of tea and got down to the business of killing one another with cardboard. Here are the notes from this final engagement.

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Duel Decks- Knights vs Dragons: The Knights Review (Part 2 of 2)

Enough talk- now that we’ve picked both decks apart and gone through their inner workings, its time to shuffle them up and deal a hand (or three). I’ve decided to pilot the Knights for this first foray into the conflict, while the Dragon deck will be steered by none other than Sam. Sam’s had plenty of experience with massive beaters, and a transition from Green to this Red deck is a pleasant one given the sheer volume of burn. We squared off for the customary three matches, and here are our notes.

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Duel Decks- Knights vs Dragons: The Dragons Review (Part 1 of 2)

“They surround us, Great One. Their net grows tighter each day.”

Welcome back to our ongoing in-depth review of Duel Decks: Knights vs Dragons. In our last feature, we took a look at the Knights deck and determined that it was build as a hybrid tribal/White-weenie aggro-rush that looks to dominate the early game and deny the Dragons a chance to leave their dens. If there’s one thing those so-called heroes weren’t counting on, though, it’s the fact that the Dragons have not amassed their power without accumulating a few thralls and slaves friends and allies along the way. If the Knights were expecting to ride freely to the mouth of the cave and challenge the rightful inhabitant to combat, they are sadly mistaken.

They may indeed make it to the mouth of the cave… but only after being harried by Goblins, attacked by Humans and Elementals, engulfed in flame and assaulted by the very ground itself. By the time the first Dragon unfurls its leathery wings, the Knights should be so battered and singed that they’ll put up little resistance against the inevitable. And if facing up to nine Dragons (not counting the Fire-Belly Changeling) isn’t the inevitability of death, what is?

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Duel Decks- Knights vs Dragons: The Knights Review (Part 1 of 2)

“Dragons, my liege. Hordes of them! Hurry, the sky blackens!”

And so begins our tale, the story of the latest tribally-themed Duel Decks to hit the shelves of our local gaming store. Within the small, unassuming box a mighty contest rages, pitting the  tribe of the Knights against their immortal enemies- the Dragons. The Duel Decks series began with a similarly classic match-up of Goblins squaring off against Elves. Eighteen months later, we had our second non-Planeswalker themed release containing Angels and Demons. With 2010’s Duel Decks: Phyrexia vs The Coalition, though, the mould of the two mono-colour decks was broken, and the good news is that Duel Decks: Knights vs Dragons continues in much the same vein. Sure, you’ll find that the Dragons don’t deviate much from their expected mono-Red archetype, but as it turns out Green has as much to offer the Knights as White, and contained herein you find the best of both.

At its core, Knights offers little surprise and is about what you’d expect from the Knights: fast (and predominantly White) creatures, with a small minority of noncreature support cards. There can be little mistaking that this deck is built for the early game and starts on something of a clock. Fail to wrap up the Dragons deck before they can fully hatch, and the Knights’ prospect of victory drops precipitously.

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