To answer slodice's question - I do not find Explosive Vegetation to be too much ramp. I do find borderland ranger to be too little creature and too little ramp.
[1v1] "Starter"A library for the
Dragons 2014 deck (
Enter the Dracomancer)
60 Cards.
36 nonlands (13 creatures, 23 spells).
24 Lands (9
8
3
; 4 other).
Land 4x
Terramorphic Expanse cost 2x
Tukatongue Thallid cost 3x
Dragon Fodder cost 1x
Consume Strength 4x
Cultivate 2x
Jund Charm 4x
Maelstrom Pulse cost 1x
Bloodbraid Elf 1x
Spellbreaker Behemoth 2x
Crucible of Fire 2x
Explosive Vegetation cost 1x
Gorger Wurm cost 1x
Broodmate Dragon 2x
Dragon Broodmother 1x
Flameblast Dragon 1x
Igneous Pouncer 1x
Predator Dragon 2x
Dragon Roost cost 1x
Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund 1x
Form of the Dragon cost 1x
Hellkite Overlord:xm: cost 1x
Banefire 1x
Savage TwisterMy major inclusion is dragon roost. With 2x dragon broodmothers, 1x broodmate plus the other dragons it is worth it. Dragon roost + broodmother is an absolute house, the difference between a 1/1 token and a 4/4 token is huge. I also do not have much difficulty in casting it while ramping to a really big spell. Dragon roost is not limited to hellkite hatchling builds anymore.
My major exclusion is the borderland rangers. They were ok when we were unlocking, but 4x cultivate and 2x explosive vegetation is enough. They do not provide acceleration and do not offer a meaningful upgrade over dragon fodder. With all the other important spells at the 3 mana spot, I found they were often sitting as one of the last cards in my hand.
Instead, I like running the bloodbraid elf, spellbreaker behemoth and gorger wurm for their blocking ability and added utility. They are easy to cast right after a ramp spell - if I do not draw explosive vegetation, a nice five drop to stabilize the board will help. Otherwise dragon roost is a good 4th turn play.
I did not focus on green mana as heavily as slodice, but a green mana focus has served me well. Being able to cultivate is very important. It is very easy to just fetch red mana using cultivate / explosive / terramorphic, but the deck's manabase is fairly forgiving for a three color deck.
Tukatongue thallid vs dragon fodder may be a matter of preference. The cost difference is seldom significant because the deck has no other turn 1 or 2 plays. But you can crack an expanse on turn 1 and 2 and still cast a thallid, but not dragon fodder. Ultimately I went with a 3/2 split to add some defense against board wipes - my own and my opponents.