Formats like Legacy and Modern have taught us the combination of efficient burn spells, countermagic, and powerful threats is a winning combination. We’ve even seen that style of deck make its way into Standard in recent years thanks to the likes of Mantis Rider. However, more recently there have been a couple of Standard takes featuring Rattlechains and Dimensional Infiltrator. The problem is those decks can be a little lacking in raw power, but perhaps this build is an effective solution:

U/R Dragons ? Shadows over Innistrad Standard | Sbt_, 5-0 Standard League

• Creatures (22)
• 2 Eldrazi Skyspawner
• 2 Silumgar Sorcerer
• 2 Stratus Dancer
• 4 Dimensional Infiltrator
• 4 Icefall Regent
• 4 Rattlechains
• 4 Thunderbreak Regent

• Spells (12)
• 1 Void Shatter
• 2 Brutal Expulsion
• 4 Draconic Roar
• 4 Silumgar's Scorn
• 1 Roast

• Lands (26)
• 6 Mountain
• 9 Island
• 1 Highland Lake
• 2 Haven of the Spirit Dragon
• 4 Shivan Reef
• 4 Wandering Fumarole

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Roast
• 1 Void Shatter
• 1 Chandra, Flamecaller
• 4 Fevered Visions
• 2 Negate
• 2 Rending Volley
• 3 Seismic Rupture

Buy This Deck

The strength of this deck is it combines the game-plan of cheap, instant-speed interaction with the power of Thunderbreak Regent and “Dragons matter” cards. Draconic Roar, in particular, is exactly the kind of effect a tempo-oriented deck is looking for, since it allows you to get ahead on damage and on the board at the same time. In addition, you gain access to Silumgar's Scorn, which is reasonable early on, but still maintains its power later on in the game, unlike something like Spell Shrivel.

The game-plan is to spend the early turns leaving mana up so you have the option to kill creatures, counter spells, or flash in Rattlechains and Dimensional Infiltrator. Once you find openings and get some creatures into play, you can take over the game with powerful haymakers like Thunderbreak Regent. The combination of Icefall Regent and Draconic Roar make this deck particularly good at racing, while Thunderbreak Regent grants you reach against the decks packed with removal.

I like this deck because it maintains the ability of other U/R decks to play at instant speed, but the Dragons represent an enormous upgrade as far as the raw power of the deck goes. Silumgar's Scorn and Draconic Roar are a big deal, and the cost of playing them, if you can even call it that, is playing awesome Dragons that make the deck better at racing. On top of that, flying is just an incredible mechanic right now, when most Collected Company decks are trying to win on the ground. The ability to ignore what they’re doing and fly over for huge chunks of damage should not be underestimated.

So is it time for Dragons to make one more comeback before Eldritch Moon comes around? I’d certainly like to think so.