Like a lot of players who were around for the original Tarkir block, I have fond memories of Tarkir. The story of a plane's history being reshaped, and exploring the consequences thereof was a subject of fascination that continues to this day, and having that struggle change the way that the sets were actually drafted was a stroke of creative genius that is emblematic of why Magic the Gathering is the game that it is today.
Original Tarkir gave us the Menace of Siege Rhino, put Fetchlands back on the map, set Gurmag Angler loose in Pauper, and shook the Modern format to its core. Would it be hyperbolic to say that Tarkir "changed everything?" Yes, undoubtedly, but also, it's not untrue. Khans/Dragons block was our last 3 set block in Magic the Gathering, and was the first set to have those little holofoil stamps on the bottoms of their rares. 2014 was a huge turning point in MTG history, and for better or worse Tarkir was the fulcrum for that change, and now 10 years later we're going back.
In this Episode of Cardboard Corner we're covering previews for Tarkir Dragonstorm, and both the hype and the hope are through the roof for this one. The whole set has yet to be spoiled, but these are our "from the hip" thoughts on some of the hot new tech this set has on offer. Let the Dragonstorms rage, and away we go!
Sarkhan, Dragon Ascendant
Last time on "Sarkhan goes home," our guy teamed up with Ugin's ghost to reset the timeline, which led to dragons becoming the dominant species of Tarkir. This time, he gets to live out his fanboy dreams and fly with those dragons, all while infodumping about how cool those dragons are to everyone who will listen. We love our dragonpilled autistics, no matter how many crimes they commit.
Jokes aside, this Sarkhan is alright. Early pseudo-ramp gets you dropping 4 cost dragons on turn three, while allowing you to apply consistent pressure with a growing, evasive threat. There are over 40 dragons in standard currently, and we're about to get even more, so if you ever wanted to live the dream of dragon typal at your FNM, now's your chance.
Mox Jasper
Speaking of living the dream, oh hey, its a mox just for dragons. WotC has been really excited about weaving in echos of the Power 9 into their cards in recent years, and here's the latest yield of that trend. This card has BIG SHINY energy if ever we saw it, and is in truth very niche, but is an autoinclude for anyone who has a critical mass of dragons. Do you run one of the 100+ legendary dragons as your commander? Hey, do I have a piece of cardboard for you!
Ugin, Eye of the Storms
More text does not always equal more good, but the text here is actually kinda sick. Ugin does A LOT and does it very fast. He comes in and blows up a guy and then gives you mana so that you can do it again and again and again, because he IS the emblem that you'd usually stall to squeeze out of your other planeswalkers. Seven mana is a big ask for most decks, but its all generic mana and if you're playing what the old timers call "mono brown," you'll have plenty of access to mana rocks to accelerate your clock, and get Ugin out on turn 5 or 6. If that wasn't enough you've got life gain, card draw, and an ultimate that lets you pour all of the colorless nonlands in your deck onto the battlefield, which is probably good if you decided to put good cards in your deck today. "Oops, all drazi" has a nice ring to it, don't you think?
Voice of Victory
White hatebears haven't gotten a new toy in *checks watch* 20 minutes. This card probably hangs out with Phyrexian Jailer and Doorkeeper Thrull when it's not practicing for the the Grand Abolisher lookalike contest, which sounds like a dig, but I actually meant it as a compliment Carl.
Encroaching Dragonstorm
This is part of the new cycle of enchantments that remind me a little of the Amonkhet Trials, where they have awesome enters effects, and then ways to bounce them back to your hand for replayability. Instead of cartouches, we've got dragons as the return trigge, and this particular dragonstorm helps you ramp like a son of a gun.
[sidebar: we should have more cartouches AND runes in mtg. We probably will in 5-10 years if the shrine deck ascendancy is anything to go by, but it would have been rad to see that tech explored before Kaldheim and Amonkhet are unobtainium.]
Skimming Strike // Dirgur Island Dragon
Speaking of exploring old design space, spells that get tucked back into your deck are fascinating. I think it makes for a great decision point while also combatting self-decking. Its not the two-for-one that Adventures were, even if it's using their templating, but the flavor can't be beat so we're gonna give it a pass for confusing the heck out of everyone. I like this card even though I've been told its limited playable at best, and maybe I'll dust off my pauper boots to give it a shot (unless something else catches my eye.)
Dusyut Earthcarver
RIP Fabricate, welcome back Endures. I know its different but having a go tall mechanic instead of a go wide is interesting and altogether healthier for the game as a whole (you ever feel like there are TOO MANY tokens?) Another great limited card, but stone unplayable anywhere else. I just liked the art and wanted to point at the mechanic.
Elspeth, Storm Slayer
Speaking of too many tokens...
You wouldn't give a planeswalker the ability to double tokens and also the ability to make tokens... would you? I mean, sure, they're 1/1 losers with loserbreath, but not all of them will be. Phyrexian Rebirth, Idol of Oblivion, or Phyrexian Triniform are all great options to really get the most out of this Elspeth, but don't forget to make space for your other doublers, since you can double your doubling triggers with redoublancy (redundancy.)
Sidisi, Regent of the Mire
Its a Birthing Pod from your graveyard. Despite dying to bolt and having summoning sickness, this seems good? Birthing Pod is banned for a reason (although it could probably be unbanned,) and at two mana it outpaces the OG by a turn. Just don't let her near Intruder Alarm, otherwise things'll get real goofy, real fast.
Skirmish Rhino
Another rememberberry is this little guy, Siege Rhino's younger cousin. Its hard to tell whether or not the smaller version of the previous format pest will be outclassed before it arrives, but if it is, my hope is that the rhinos will find time to reconnect and get back to the things that matter... like trying weird flavors of potato chips, or playing Smash Bros with Super Sudden Death turned on.
Winternight Stories
I think its really cool when you can trace the influence TCGs have on one another. Although Magic has had similar mechanics to harmonize in the past (athough not named,) this style of card reminds me of the Song mechanic from Lorcana, where a character can tap to play a song if it has equal or greater cost than the song you're aiming to play. This card turns that into a cost reduction mechanic and ties it to flashback, making for an interesting filtering spell that can make use of your incidental creatures to maintain tempo and refuel your hand and graveyard for next-turn shenannigans.
Teval, Arbiter of VIrtue
New cycle of spirit dragons here, replacing the dragonlords of old. All of them have mythic level abilities, and the developers have used that independence to bring back older relevant mechanics that are in dialogue with the ones being featured in Dragonstorm. Teval was the most interesting to me because it has an elegant balance of payoff, cost, and offset with its abilities and keywords. This dragon allows you to go into life debt if there are a ton of actions you're want/need to take, but also it gives you the ability to recoup that cost so you never have to delve too deep. I can see this being a lifeswap commander, with cards like Magus of the Mirror, Axis of Mortality, or Soul Conduit, stealing your opponent's life totals after you've drained your own.
Dracogenesis and Stormscale Scion
I guess this means we're not getting actual Dragonstorm in the set called Dragonstorm, but "sigh," I guess this is fine. Also, the irony these are dipped in is actually killing me.
(These cards are very good if you like dragons (especially if you like dragons) and are especially nonsense when played in this order, especially with a bunch of other free dragons cast between them.
Temur Battlecrier
Some people say to me "Ben, this card is bad," and to them I say phooey. This is a critical mass engine, that tells you to play big stuff, by letting you play big stuff for less., and then making big stuff cost even less the more big stuff you have. Maybe its the Timmy in me, but I think this has a real chance in standard, especially with so much copying and acceleration in this format. I could be wrong, but come release day, I'll happily be wrong with a playset of the nerd.
Tempest Hawk
Lastly, we're going to look at what happens when a rat and a hawk love eachother very much. Tempest Hawk is a combo of the relentless mechanics (from Relentless Rats) and Squadron Hawk, and the brewer in me is intrigued. Tempest Hawk is not as good as many of our usual suspects like Persistent Petitioners or Slime Against Humanity, but you won't need thirty of these to have a functional strategy. In Pauper, cards like Airborn Aid and Warden of Evos Isle will make sure that you're refueling and filling your board, and then combo off with Inner Calm, Outer Strength or Spiraling Embers.
+++
So that's some stuff I'm excited for, how about you? Are you thrilled to be going back to Tarkir, to see how all of our clans and dragonlords have been since our last visit, or are you jazzed about all of the flashy new bombs dragons showing up all over the plane. If you're as jazzed as we are, we hope to see you at one of our PRERELEASE EVENTS, happening between April 4th through April 10th.
Thank you so much for reading, and let the Dragonstorms rage!
Ben Doane has been a member of the Pandemonium Team since 2019, and has been playing wargames, rpgs, and tcgs since 2004 and earlier. When not blogging, Ben runs the wargames and mailing departments, and also puts together the store's newsletters. Her current favorite game is Tsuro of the Seas.