A Quick Look at Tarkir: Dragonstorm

A Few Things to Consider Heading Into Pre-Release Weekend

The next few days are the pre-release weekend for Tarkir: Dragonstorm and boy am I excited! 

The last few years have had some gimmicky sets and a return to the feel of a traditional MTG set is refreshing, even if brief. That’s not to say that the sets have been poor. Some of them I actually like quite a bit(looking at you, Bloomburrow). The problem has been a lack of world building that feels like it has purpose. Outlaws of Thunder Junction had some cool mechanics and the gameplay was fine, but the theme of “classic characters are cowboys now” was a bit off-putting to me. Murders at Karlov Manor was okay, but when you plop the player in a Ravnica set where guilds aren’t a focus then what’s the point of it being set in Ravnica? Sets that take place in Ravnica are typically revered for how excellent they build characters, the world they take place in, and how much you are meant to feel a connection with your chosen guild. Murders did so little of exploring this that I’m sure some of you have no idea it took place in that world. Aetherdrift exists. Tarkir: Dragonstorm is a different animal, altogether. 

The History

"Crux of Fate" by Michael Komarck

For those of you who weren’t playing 10 years ago, Tarkir is a plane that was introduced when Magic was still using a block structure(a series of 3 sets all tied to the same plane with a continuous storyline). This gave the world time to expand and the sets to have a similar feel while carving out their own identity. The Khans of Tarkir block was a time-travel block. Khans of Tarkir took place in the present, Fate reforged took place in the past, and Dragons of Tarkir took place in the present with a new timeline. While related, these sets had differences all over the place. Khans focused on the clans introduced in the set which all represented a set of 3 colors. A giant portion of the set was 2-3 color cards and players would often play 3-5 colors in their limited decks. Fate Reforged featured more mono-colored cards and used hybrid mana for abilities to show the relationship between these mono-colored cards and their 3-color descendents in the previous set. Dragons of Tarkir showed the outcome of Fate Reforged by showing us the new 1-2 color doppelgangers of the 3-color cards we were introduced to 2 sets prior. It doesn’t sound like much, but trust me. It was a masterpiece. Players would identify with the clans and say things like “I’m a Temur player” or “I’m a Jes-guy” which transcends just playing the cards. Finding identity in the world through the cards you play is such a Ravnica thing and they absolutely nailed it the first time around.

This set looks, on paper, like a combination of Khans of Tarkir and Dragons of Tarkir. The mana requirements are a little friendlier to the new player than Khans of Tarkir was, but splashier than Dragons of Tarkir’s. There seems to be a good mix of focus between the dragon theme and clan theme and it looks awesome. This weekend you will probably see players at pre-releases that have not been around in a bit and I think that speaks to not only how fun the set looks, but also at the legacy of the Tarkir sets. When players get together for a pre-release they aren’t always just trying to get a crack at new cards. They are wanting an experience. I believe this set will deliver one.

Today, I will be going over some basics for Tarkir: Dragonstorm ahead of this weekend’s pre-release. We will look over cards featuring new mechanics, cards I think are interesting, and cards to look out for in your pre-release packs. Hope you enjoy!

Limited

I will be keeping my limited notes specific to commons and uncommons. Rares and mythics are a little more obvious to evaluate and hard to miss on power level to the point that you aren’t really making choices between them. Limited events aren’t always dictated by the bombs you open, but can be heavily determined by what cards you valued that others didn’t. 

Monuments

At a glance, the monuments might be the most important cycle and type of card overall in Tarkir limited. The Monument Cycle doesn't seem flashy at first, but anyone who has experience playing the original Khans block will probably remember how good banners were in limited. Khans limited was a fairly slow format and while the banners ramped you as opposed to the fixing the monuments provide, it comes as a lower cost and exchanges for a threat at all times whereas the banners didn't always translate to gas. Considering they replace themselves just by entering, they should see plenty of play and will be crucial in not just fixing your mana in whatever clan you're in, but enabling 4-5 color decks. Four color decks will benefit the most from this as they will allow you to play a single basic of your splash color, effectively counting as a land in your deck. The best use will be in decks that feature monuments that can grab 2 of your primary colors and can snag the splashed color if you haven't drawn it. An example would be if you are in Jeskai colors and run a Temur Monument. In this scenario you can fetch a forest for your splash color, but also have access to fetching a mountain or island in your primary colors so you do not fail-to-find if you naturally draw the splashed land. Also, this increases the probability that you can activate the monument later and get full value out of playing the splashed monument, whereas playing an Abzan Monument for green and white in a Jeskai-plus-green deck doesn't lend itself to having the black mana for it's activation. In sealed there is a world where decks power are predicated on how many monuments they open as it would allow them to reliably play all the best spells opened in their pre-release pack, regardless of color.

Tri-lands

The Trilands are reprints of the same cycle in Khans of Tarkir. There isn’t much to say about their strength, but if the format isn’t too fast they will be an important part of mana fixing for this set. They fix mana for the clan you’re in, but, similar to the monuments, they are entirely serviceable played for 2 colors and can be used to splash a 4th. There seems to be a little more common and uncommon fixing in this set as opposed to Khans and while that may make the lands a hair less premium, it doesn’t lessen their importance. The real question is if the standard format is moving so fast that these won’t also see standard play. All variations of trilands I’ve ever seen have been format staples during their lifespan, but the format being 3 years instead of 2 expands the options for multi-colored lands so widely and creates so many options for aggressive strategies that drawing a land that enters tapped can be a hindrance. Even though the trilands made it into the Limited portion of this article, the story for this land cycle will be constructed implications or lack of. 

Multicolor-Colorless Hybrids

This cycle of cards is really interesting to me as they dont squarely force you to be in a specific 3-color clan, but place a value on cost vs ease of casting. When we get around to drafting in about a week, the way to value some of these played off-color will be based on 3 things:

1. Is the format slow enough to play a card that doesn’t impact the board?

2. If yes to 1, would I play the card if I assume it cost one more? Two?

3. If the card has immediate board impact, is it on rate if taxed by 1-2 mana or am I spending too much to interact in the way it wants?

In this frame, all of the uncommons check these boxes. The commons are a little more contentious. Reigning Victor is probably the best of the commons with Temur Tawnyback close behind if we assume they will cost 4 or 5 mana. The others are playable if played on-color, barely role fillers if slightly off-color, and unplayable paying the 2 highest tax amounts. 

The Good Stuff

I’m in the camp that the best 4 color strategy at a glance will be some combination of Mardu splash Green or Abzan splash red. That’s not to discount blue as a color in this format, but the combination of token-creators plus +1/+1 counter distribution is a strategy I’m fond of. Also, these clans have 2 of the best uncommons that do something similar. Skirmish Rhino(the original design of Siege Rhino, btw) is a bulky uncommon that can power through in the early game and has an enters-trigger that is more impactful in multiples. Sonic Shrieker is it’s dragon cousin that does something similar, but a hair better as it can remove a creature from the game, as well as a player. If you play 2 Skirmish Rhinos into a Shrieker you have probably come close to winning the game. A lot of the creatures in this set are either 2-3 mana and on the smaller side or big but expensive. That’s not to say 5 mana for a Shrieker is cheap, but if you are trying to play a sped up game in a format with big dumb things and enters tapped lands, having effects that don’t care about blockers late in the game is a plus. 

Another part of limited that will be important is balancing aggressive creatures with fliers late. There are so many good fliers in this format and not just dragons. Aegis Sculptor comes at a rate consistent with uncommon, beefy birds, but has the opportunity to grow in a Sultai deck. Another play pattern you might see is aggressive strategies using Wild Ride. While it doesn’t seem like much being a sorcery, it might become common for players to use Wild Ride early to get in quick damage and build a board around tokens and mobilize creatures. After the opponent stabilizes, you then play a flier, Harmonize the Wild Ride onto the flier, and get in for a late, evasive, killing blow.

Lastly, don’t discount the importance and effectiveness of tokens in a format with so many good removal spells. It may not be obvious because of all the bomb rares, callbacks to old favorites, and interesting creature designs, but this set is loaded with premium removal. It’s well-balanced across colors as well. In Midnight Hunt we ran into a problem with black just being the best color due to the removal being very centralized to it as a color. In this set, we have black cards that destroy, a white card that exiles, a twin bolt, a big red removal spell that makes mana, a cheap black spell that shrinks a guy by 3 toughness, multiple hybrid-colorless removal spells. It’s literally everywhere. That isn’t to say tokens immune to removal altogether. Especially when a -1/-1 to all creatures exists in the format. The sheer amount of pointed removal just makes tokens strategies more effective as they can really make the more expensive removal look pretty dopey. 

Constructed - The Obvious

Firstly, we will have a brief dive into a few that have fairly obvious power and will be chase cards for different reasons. They mostly will have immediate homes and in some cases their existence changes how some decks are constructed.

Ugin, Eye of the Storms

This is a slam dunk for those interested in high power top-end cards. Ugin will certainly see play in Modern and while I’m unsure if it will find a home in Standard immediately it could definitely break out if the format slows down a tad. The great thing about Ugin is that if you removed any ability from this card it would still be an insane card. Specific to Modern is it’s home in Eldrazi Ramp. It checks a lot of boxes that the deck will be interested in including being able to tuck under Ugin’s Labyrinth, being removal stapled on a threat, and a built in “I win” button for an ultimate.

Elspeth, Storm Slayer

Another card that may not have an immediate home in Standard, but will be a chase card for EDH. Over the years we’ve seen token doublers carry quite a price tag on the secondary market. Anointed Procession, Doubling Season, and Mondrak all have seen their prices pushed by EDH, but this is the first token doubler we have seen that produces tokens repetitively. I know I’m harping a lot on price, but we’ve seen dips followed by large spikes on all of the previous cards mentioned. Outside of that, I believe the power of the card is relatively understood. There’s no additional context really needed from a format to break down the power of the card.

Dracogenesis & Stormscale Dragon

These cards have already had an impact on secondary markets and they haven’t even been made available yet with Tiamat moving out of Ur-Dragon’s shadow as the premiere dragon commander. Dracogenesis not specifying that the card has to be played from the hand turns it into an immediate win with Tiamat. The obvious tutor targets for Tiamat include Terror of the Peaks, Miirym, Lathliss, Scourge of Valkas, and Stormscale Dragon to pile on damage in one shot. This particular sequence comes out to over 400 damage dealt in triggers that one turn alone. 

Constructed - Personal Favorites

Taigam, Master Opportunist

I think this card is awesome. There are so many ways to build around it in older formats and it honestly takes very minimal effort. I would be very surprised if it sees no Modern play. There are a ton of dream scenarios where it survives on turn 2 and you get to do something super fun with it, but the decks that will probably break it will probably be decks that run Solitude or Leyline Binding. A common pattern will be to play this on turn 2, evoke Solitude, it goes on suspend, and you get a 3/2 creature in play permanently that removes an opponent’s creature with another copy on the way in a few turns. The evoke would rarely feel bad as you are still getting 2 cards for the cards spent in the exchange and it can’t be broken up by removal like using Ephemerate can. Another deck to watch out for it in is UB and Esper Oculus. They run enough cheap spells with value that it is almost guaranteed to replace itself. Even putting an Unearth on layaway has it’s merits. I wouldn’t say it's necessarily the strongest card in the set, but it is a fun one that comes at a low cost and rewards you for simply playing spells.

Clarion Conqueror

Folks who know me could’ve seen this one coming. White hatebear-style creatures are favorites of mine and this one is above rate on power and toughness compared to predecessors that have similar effects. It’s not entirely clear what home it might find, though. Traditional Legacy Death and Taxes decks play a lot of cards with activated abilities and this card’s ability is symmetrical so it would best fit in a deck that wouldn’t have to build around it to play it. It will most likely be a hate piece in Pioneer where it has utility against Rakdos Midrange, Jund Sacrifice, Green Devotion, and Greasefang while also being able to be played in tribal decks that aren’t as interesting in activating abilities such as Spirits, Humans, and Angels. I know it doesn’t fit the creature type theme of these decks, but if the decks this is effective against is a large part of the metagame then it can be worth consideration. 

Dragonfire Blade

I don’t have a ton to say about Dragonfire Blade. I just think it’s a neat design and there might be some homes for it in different places. Omnath in Modern is the obvious creature pairing. I’m not sure if it is strong enough to really see play in that format, but most of the format’s removal is mono-colored so I have a feeling it is probably better than the small-to-no amount of play it will see. Unfortunately, it probably won’t find a home in many decks outside of equipment-based commander decks, but I feel like it is better than it seems at a glance. At the very least, I just like throwing swords on creatures and getting into the redzone. 

Voice of Victory

Probably the card with the most longevity across formats. Commander decks can play this as an easier to cast Grand Abolisher and any aggressive white deck in other formats will probably have some use for this type of effect. While it may not be as flash as other white EDH cards from this set, it definitely has a purpose and would slot in nicely with a deck already interested in the new Elspeth.

Narset, Jeskai Waymaster

This card is kind of hard to evaluate and could be busted or a complete dud: sounds like my type of card. I don’t know what it is about the Jeskai cards in this set, but you will see a theme. They mostly work well with Solitude by either offsetting card advantage lost by evoke or creating some sort of bonus by taking advantage of the evoke costing mana. Another good pairing in Modern seems to be with fast mana. If you can use Mox Amber and Mox Opal to power out Narset in one turn, you can not only accelerate, but replace the resources you spent on Narset. At the very worst, Narset will replace itself if top-decking. The downside is how the ability doesn’t necessarily work well with countermagic. I’m excited to give this gal a try.

Flamehold Grappler

Once again, another Jeskai card that works well with Solitude. Another cool interaction is how well it works with Ephemerate as well on both the turn it enters or later in the game. I’m half-tempted to make a deck with this and Taigam and just maximize these interactions. At the very least I’ll goof with it on MTGO. Just something to think about.

Pre-release Details

It is coming up quick and there’s a lot to be excited about: getting the cards in your hands for the first time, seeing everybody, and trading what we opened to help build whatever we’re upgrading with the new stuff.  I’ll be up there Saturday if you want to swing by and tell me how bad my evaluations were. Here’s the event schedule for Gamer’s XP for this weekend. Hope to see y’all there!

Friday 

1v1 - 7pm

Saturday 

1v1 - 12pm

2HG - 5pm