Tarkir: Dragonstorm Preview
What to Expect From Magic: The Gathering’s Newest Expansion
Learn All About The Latest MTG Release, Tarkir: Dragonstorm
Author: Ben Guilfoyle
Dragonstorm brings us back to Tarkir. The plane is known for its three-color clans and dragons.
Let’s see what this set has in store for Commander. We will look at the main set and Commander precons. Fan favorite characters and mechanics are all here. There is sure to be something for everyone.
Tarkir: Dragonstorm Mechanics
The mechanics on display are a mixed bag. Some are great for limited play, while others are focused on constructed. We’ll dig into each briefly here.
Endure – Abzan
Endure is a play on the “Fabricate” mechanic seen in Kaladesh. It appears on creatures as Endure X.
To endure, you put X +1/+1 counters on the creature or make an X/X white spirit token.
Token and counter support are plenty in white, black, and green. This mechanic might be simple, but it fits perfectly. Anafenza, Unyielding Lineage endures 2 whenever a nontoken creature dies.
Flurry – Jeskai
Flurry rewards you for casting your second spell in a turn. This pairs well with cantrips and rituals. It only triggers on your second spell. Consider running more instants to trigger Flurry on your opponent’s turn. This will maximize the output of Flurry. Devoted Duelist is a familiar example of Flurry.
Renew – Sultai
Renew is an activated ability. It requires exiling the Renew creature from your graveyard as part of the cost. This gives extra utility if a creature dies or is milled. There is not much to say here. The specific renew ability is what will make these cards worth playing. Agent of Kotis is a simple example of renew.
Mobilize – Mardu
Mobilize is the inverse of Endure. It is written as Mobilize X.
Whenever a creature with mobilize attacks, create X 1/1 red warriors that are tapped and attacking. The tokens are then sacrificed at the end step.
The downside here plays well with Mardu’s strengths. Blood Artist effects are your best friend! Avenger of the Fallen is a potent use of mobilize.
Harmonize – Temur
Harmonize is a re-work of Flashback. You may cast a spell with Harmonize from the graveyard by paying its harmonize cost. You may also tap a creature to help pay the cost. It will pay for mana equal to its toughness. Mammoth Bellow is an elegant example. It makes a 5/5. Then, you can tap the 5/5 to pay for {5} of the Harmonize mana. Tapping a creature to pay a harmonize cost gets around summoning sickness! This could help you squeeze the most out of a turn and pull ahead.
Behold
Behold allows you to pay for an ability with information! It is written as Behold “Something”. In this set, you can expect a lot of cards with Behold a Dragon.
This means you reveal a dragon from your hand as you cast the spell. We have seen Behold before, just not by the same name. Dragon’s Fire or Titan’s Presence could become “Behold a dragon” and “Behold a colorless creature” respectively. I will enjoy saying “BEHOLD!” every time I cast one of these spells.
Omen – A New Subtype
Omen is a subtype of instants and sorceries. These cards are reminiscent of Adventures. You can cast either the regular card or the Omen part. When an Omen is cast, you shuffle it back into your deck as it resolves. This makes it less of a two-in-one than Adventures. You need to think about which half of the card you want.
I have always enjoyed building around Companions in Commander. Umori, the Collector has always eluded me. Omens are a great way to make a creature Umori deck work! Umori looks at the main type line of a card. This means Disruptive Stormbrood // Petty Revenge is a creature and does not break the Companion condition! Umori has this same interaction with Adventures.
Bloomvine Regent//Claim Territory is another Omen I can’t wait to see! This makes a great Cultivate impression! While the dragon is not game-ending, the flexibility is awesome! How many times have you drawn a late-game ramp spell? It’s a dead card! This omen keeps you in the game no matter what!
Scavenger Regent//Exude Toxin is a board wipe and a threat. For XUU Exude Toxin gives -X/-X to each non-Dragon. This is amazing in Dragons, but it’s perfectly serviceable in any black deck, especially against token decks!
New Commanders
Kotis is a breath of fresh air in Sultai. There are plenty of BUG card advantage commanders. But, Kotis gives us an aggressive win condition to tie everything together.
Worst case scenario, Kotis deals 2 damage. You can cast the top two cards of your deck for free as long as they cost 2 mana or less.
The power here is in your deck building. Play extra two drops! Kotis should be casting a free spell every turn. More two drops can guarantee this!
Sword of Animist, Commanders Plate, and Trailblazers Boots are great cards to cast for free while playing into Kotis’ goal. On top of that, buffing him lets you cast bigger and better spells for free!
Taigam has some funny wording to make him work. But in short, when you cast your second spell, you get to copy it and suspend the original with four time counters. Taigam wants you to cast multiple spells per turn to build up a train of suspended spells. It reminds me of Gandalf of the Secret Fire. However, Taigam comes down on turn two and can get suspended right away! Casting big spells with Taigam is exciting, but even small spells add up. Casting two cantrips in one turn still provides some nice value.
This will also impose some interesting deck-building restrictions. Counterspell is a lot worse in this deck because of suspend. Consider modal spells, Mystic Confluence has awesome flexibility even when suspended. Rapid Hybridization and Sink into Stupor also make great options!
Zurgo has a classic Mardu go-wide plan. If you would like to swing, Mobilize 2, and put in some token synergy, be my guest! Magic has a handful of tokens that just so happen to be warriors! God-Eternal Oketra, Ajani, Nacatal Pariah, and Starnheim Unleashed can produce warrior tokens that play into Zurgo! Put in some token doublers like the new Elspeth, Storm Slayer and you’re onto a solid deck!
But, I think there is a cool warrior token/Splinter Twin deck you can build with Zugo too!
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, Splinter Twin, and Orthion, Hero of Lavabrink make token copies of a creature that dies in the end step. If we copy warriors, we can use Zurgo to sidestep the sacrifice clause!
Professional Face Breaker, Devilish Valet, and Seasoned Dungeoneer are all amazing Warriors we can leverage! Whether it’s go-wide, aristocrats, or enter the battlefield synergy, Zurgo is a great platform for your Mardu deck!
New Cards for the 99
We have seen this effect before. This rendition might be the best version. Whenever a creature you control or creature spell is targeted by an opponent you draw a card.
This means your creatures are constantly replacing themselves. Surrak keeps the creatures coming. It makes removal awkward for the opponent. I look forward to trying it out! I love these effects, but they often fall short. I think this rendition might finally break the mold.
Voice of Victory is a play on Grand Abolisher. Crucially, it misses out on the “activated abilities” aspect of Abolisher. Voice of Victory balances this with its casting cost. 1W is much easier to splash than WW.
Keep an eye on this one, especially at CEDH tables. You’ll be seeing a lot of this one.
This is the kind of card I love. It’s annoying. Qarsi Revenant has a combination of keywords that make combat a headache.
The Renew ability gives those annoying keywords to something else too. This is not just for vampire decks. Put this in your midrange deck and get swinging.
This is the weirdest board wipe I’ve ever seen. Two mana 5/5 with trample and decayed is a wild set of words.
The Renew ability is even stranger. It puts decayed counters on X creatures. This means the opponent cannot block, and those creatures will die after attacking. The Rakshasa has a whole mini-game built into it! I am excited to see how this plays out.
This is a machine that turns creatures into 2/2 Zombies. If you have creatures with powerful enter/leave the battlefield triggers, this is for you!
I’m particularly fond of Academy and Arena Rector with this. It’s a great way to instantly get key pieces to die at a discount.
On the other end, you could be generous. Play this in a Blim, Comedic Genius deck. Donate it to your opponent and watch them be unable to play creatures.
Cori-Steel Cutter combines powerful keywords with token generation. Trample and haste are a mean pairing. As an equipment, Cori-Steel Cutter is worth it, but the tokens put it over the top.
The monk tokens are incredibly relevant thanks to prowess. Instants let you create up to four tokens per turn cycle if you leverage the Flurry trigger properly. I like that attaching Cutter to the token is a may trigger. This gives some flex if you are running bigger and better creatures.
I love seeing Storm on high-mana value cards. They are high-impact and relevant throughout the game. Six mana for a 4/4 isn’t exciting. But with just a storm count of one, this is six mana for 10/10 of the stats!
In maths terms: Total Power = X^2 + 5X + 4 where X is your storm count.
Classic storm cards such as Grape Shot and Tendrils of Agony do not work in Commander. They are great at killing one player. But, if you can’t win in one turn, it’s a dead card. Stormscale Scion gives you something that sticks around to close out games.
Dragons for the Dragon Lord
Next, we are looking at cards for dragon decks! If you run The Ur-Dragon or Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm, this section is for you!
The Dragonstorm cycle gives a minor effect when they enter. Then, you can return them to your hand when a dragon enters.
Here you get some card advantage through reusing the enchantments. The green Dragonstorm searches for land. This is a great way to fix colors and ramp! All of them are worth considering, especially in slower decks.
Dragonstorm
Dragon decks need some time to set up. Dragonologist lets you dig for what you need. The second ability gives some much-needed protection. Many dragons have attack triggers. Dragonologist guarantees you will get to that crucial attack step.
Dragonologist
Sarkhan is a great aggressive beater! If you Behold a dragon you get a treasure. This lets you ramp and fix your mana. Fixing is crucial for five-color decks! Sarkhan gets bigger whenever a dragon enters. Leverage him early and watch him snowball into a huge threat!
I like Sarkhan with Utvara Hellkite! Sarkhan gets +1/+1 when Utvara enters. Attack with Sarkhan and Utvara. You create two dragon tokens. Sarkhan is now a 4/4!
Sarkhan, Dragon Ascendant
Mox Jasper is a funny card. Moxen are powerful, right? But, I think it’s a trap in the classic WUBRG deck. If your opening hand has Mox Jasper it will not produce any many for several turns. At that point, why not just play an extra land? I think this Mox would be much better if it said “Add one mana of any color spend this Mana only on Dragon spells“.
This card will find a home in more aggressive dragon decks that play low mana value creatures. Sarkhan, Dragon Ascendant we discussed earlier turns into a dragon. That’s a place where the Mox could shine. But, the classic five-color battleship really should not play it.
Mox Jasper and Embermouth Sentinel
For this reason, I think the big five-color dragon decks might prefer Embermouth Sentinel! For two mana, you fetch a basic land to the top of your deck. That land enters the battlefield instead if you control a dragon.
The goal of a dragon deck is to hit people and apply pressure. Taking a turn-off to search for land can kill momentum. The Sentinel gives you an early play and guarantees your fixing. The later in the game, it thins your deck and adds to the board’s presence.
Maybe I’m crazy, but I think the Mox will be a dead card more often than you imagine. But, go ahead and prove me wrong!
Notable Reprints
Most reprints can be found in the Commander precons. If you want to buy the whole deck, or singles, be sure to check out Three For One Trading to get your orders in!
Sultai Arisen – Reuse, Recycle, Rework
The Sultai deck features a graveyard theme. The Commander asks you to cast creatures from the graveyard by exiling other cards. The deck somewhat pulls you in multiple directions. This could be a very good thing as some of these cards can be sold to make the deck more focused or give you a head start.
There is a graveyard lands subtheme here. Life from the Loam and Conduit of Worlds gives you access to lands from the graveyard. These two cards hover in the €5 – €10 range. Following up on the land’s theme Ob Nixilis, the Fallen, and Hedron Crab also float around this price point. If you are not interested in the lands subtheme these cards are a nice rebait on the deck! Alternatively, go deeper into the land’s theme with these powerful pieces!
Command Beacon is a welcome reprint too. This is not in all the decks. If you do not own one now is a good chance!
Dauthi Voidwalker makes an appearance too. Shut down the opponent’s graveyard, and steal their best cards! This is usually €10, but it comes included in this deck!
Abzan Armor – Tough As Scales
Abzan armor takes the classic Doran, the Siege Tower deck into the modern day! Felothar the Steadfast lets your defenders attack, makes your creatures deal damage with their toughness, and card draw built in! We see a handful of notable “toughness matters” reprints. Towering Titan, Weathered Sentinels, and Tree of Redemption are welcome inclusions! This deck has less universal appeal than others. You are buying this deck because you love the toughness theme! Ironically, Doran himself is not included.
Dragonlord Dromoka is a great inclusion in this deck. The Dragonlord is not specifically a toughness-matters card, but it has some great utility. It’s also a nice €10 refund if you decide to sell it.
Whether you are a Doran old-guard, or a new to the toughness matters archetype, this deck is a great starting point!
Jeskai Strikers – New Spell Slingers Welcome!
The Jeskai Strikers deck does not have a lot of big-ticket items, but it is a great entry point to try out the spell slinger archetype! Young Pyromancer, Goblin Electromancer, and Storm-Kiln Artists are staples you’ll be happy to have.
The spells are a mix of cantrips for early turns and splashy spells for as the game goes on. Ponder can set up the early game. Mana Geyser lets you splash out for a big turn.
There are excellent alternative commanders too. Veyra, Voice of Duality and Lier, Disciple of the Drowned are awesome reprints if you decide to drop white, or red.
Temur Roar – Dragon Beatdown
This deck is all about dragons. It’s a great entry point into the archetype.
Hellkite Courser is a fantastic reprint. When it enters you put your commander into play then return it to the command zone at the next end step. The main commander Eshki is only three mana. If you plan to keep her at the helm, consider selling the Courser to find some more appropriate upgrades. Ureni the Unwritten on the other hand is an amazing alternative commander that plays well with Courser.
Temur Ascendancy and Elemental Bond are also in this deck. At around €5 each, they are fantastic pickups for any RUG deck.
Mardu Surge – For the Horde!
Zurgo Stormrender wants to make tokens and swing! Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor mimics Zurgo’s ability and is a great €10 reprint. Grand Crescendo also comes in at €10 to protect your army of tokens. To help with the token theme, Divine Visitation and Skullclamp can secure bigger bodies and card advantage.
This deck is classic Mardu tokens. There are so many ways to make this deck your own!
Craterhoof Behemoth
One awesome reprint in the main set is Craterhoof. Everyone needs one of these! Whether you’re cheating it into play with Tooth and Nail or using good old-fashioned ramp spells, Hoof is an EDH icon! This card is regularly €30+!
Grab it while you can.
Treatment & Availability
We see the return of various card treatments in Dragonstorm. Let’s give a quick run-down of what they are and where you can find them!
Serialized Mox Jasper
Exclusive art by Dan Frazier appears on 500 serialized copies of Mox Jasper. A handful of lucky folks will find this one in Collector Boosters. Frazier has depicted every Mox in the game at one point or another. It should be no surprise he is back again for this one!
Ghostfire Frame
Ten cards get a unique frame in Ugin’s likeness. You can find these cards in traditional and halo foil in Collector Boosters. It’s a striking color. I look forward to seeing them in person!
Specal Guest & Dragonscale Foil Fetchlands
The Special Guest series is back! This time around, the Ikoria Ultimatum and Enemy Fetch Lands are in brand-new art. You can find special guest cards in Play and Collector boosters.
In Collector Boosters, you also have a chance to find Dragonscale Foil Fetch Lands. This is a new style of foil. It looks interesting, but I’ll need to see them in person before I make my final judgment.
Full Art Basic Lands
Basic lands come in two flavors. One cycle depicts the shadow of a dragon flying above a landscape. These can be found in Play Boosters and Collector Boosters. The second features a close-up dragon’s eye. They are exclusive to collector boosters. There is also a Dragon Eye Wastes available as an in-store promo!
Borderless Reversible Dragons
This is the weirdest special treatment we have seen in a while! Ugin and five other dragons have a cute side and a regular side. They can be found in both Play and Collector Boosters. Remember to bring sleeves to your pre-release in case you pull one of these!
Borderless Clan Cards
50 cards feature a clan logo in the background, with a clan member in the front. These are my favorite styles of the bunch. I love the edge-to-edge black, combined with the splash of color from the clan logo! You can find these in Play and Collector Boosters.
Showcase Draconic Frames
35 dragons are available in the Draconic Frame. It varies based on color and reads incredibly well. Neriv, Heart of the Storm is a stand-out for me. These are also available in Play and Collector Boosters.
Borderless
We see the return of borderless cards. In Play and Collector Boosters you’ll find an edge-to-edge art for Sagas, and the Siege cycle as well as Elspeth, Storm Slayer.
The borderless cards continue in the Commander decks. Each deck features two legendary creatures in borderless as your commander. Also, each new-to-Magic rare in these decks features borderless extended art. There’s a total of 50 creatures across all Commander decks, with a borderless treatment!
Conclusion
Tarkir is shaping up to be a high-impact set! New mechanics, card types, and a focus on three colors make this set a goldmine for Commander playables. Let us know what your favorite cards are!
Whether it’s singles, precons, or old-school cards, be sure to check out the store for the latest deals.
About the Author
Ben Guilfoyle started playing Magic in 2015. They love to research the design of Magic. Why was this card banned? Could this silver border card actually see play? Cards that push the limits of design is what excites them. You can usually find them playing cube. This ties into their second passion: numbers. With a background in physics and statistics, they love to get in the weeds when building decks. Crunching numbers is their specialty.
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