Shimmer Dragon, a new creature for Magic‘s newest set, Throne of Eldraine (ELD), has a powerful ability to draw cards using artifacts. With Standard rotation nearing, this dragon is a wise addition to any artifact-based deck.
Shimmer Dragon has the classic signs of a control deck finisher, though it does require the player to own a number of artifacts. Four is the magic number here and grants Shimmer Dragon hexproof, protecting it from being targeted by anything your opponent controls. As a 5/6 flier, hexproof means that your opponent will have few ways to deal with your biggest threat.
All that’s great, but Shimmer Dragon’s true strength lies in its final ability. Tapping two artifacts to draw a card borders on broken. With no shortage of low-cost artifacts in Standard (Guild Globe, Fountain of Renewal, Scrabbling Claws), there should be plenty of ways to activate this ability once or even multiple times in a single turn. It’ll need the right deck, but Shimmer Dragon can absolutely value out your opponent.
Artifact-heavy decks are currently on the fringe of Standard, but Shimmer Dragon and a few other cards hint at the return of a synergistic artifact deck. The Food mechanic and Treasure tokens (perhaps from Smothering Tithe) have the potential to give Shimmer Dragon a great home, coupled with Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge as an alternate finisher.
