The new MTG Tarkir: Dragonstorm set from Magic: The Gathering focuses on the five clans of Tarkir, allowing players to build their decks with one of these five clans in mind in a way that informs strategy and offers interesting mechanics.
A Familiar Setting
Tarkir: Dragonstorm revives the plane of Tarkir, an old setting first introduced to Magic: The Gathering in 2014 with the Khans of Tarkir. Where we last left off on Tarkir with the Dragonlords having achieved dominance over the five clans, the situation has changed drastically for both Tarkir and the Multiverse.
Where We Are Now
This new set picks up with the resurgence of the five clans of Tarkir, having defeated the Dragonlords after a ritual that bonded the khans with spirit dragons reflecting the values of each individual clan, they face new dangers as increasingly powerful dragonstorms filled with wild dragons unlike any Tarkir has seen before seem to be reshaping the landscape of Tarkir, and also the Multiverse at large.
Commanders
The Tarkir: Dragonstorm cards come with some fun and interesting new Commanders to build around.
- Shiko and Narset, Unified
- Elsha, Threefold Master
- Zurgo Stormrender
- Neriv, Crackling Vanguard
- Kotis, Sibsig Champion
- Teval, the Balanced Scale
- Eshki, Temur’s Roar
- Felothar, the Steadfast
- Betor, Ancestor’s Voice
The Clans and Their Commanders
There are five Commander precons for MTG Tarkir: Dragonstorm, each built around one of the five clans of Tarkir and featuring dynamic playstyles.
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Jeskai Striker
This precon utilizes the Flurry and Prowess mechanics depending on the commander you choose, either Shiko and Narset, who reward quick thinking by allowing you to copy second spells to target more enemies, or Elsha, who overwhelms opponents with the use of Prowess and Monk allies.
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Mardu Surge
The Mardu precon makes interesting use of the Mobilize mechanic that allows you to play off of the theme of sacrifice if you’re playing with Zurgo Stormrender, or if you’re more interested in Neriv, you can utilize differently-named tokens to create a dynamic playstyle centered on summoning tokens that utilizes Neriv’s ability to exile cards, and then play them.
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Sultai Arisen
Embrace the benefits of necromancy with powers that extend beyond the grave with the two Sultai Commanders: Kotis and Teval. Kotis treats the graveyard as a temporary holding place, with the ability to cast creatures from the graveyard to build up her own counters each time she does. Teval uses the graveyard as a source of land cards and can create Zombie Druid tokens each time a card leaves the grave, so to speak.
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Temur Roar
While Temur appears to only have one Commander in the set, Eshki proves that she’s not one to be underestimated. This precon focuses on the power of allies, especially powerful ones. Each creature card you cast adds to Eski’s power, and when you cast one with a power of 4 or greater, you start to see some interesting effects. This deck has the potential to quickly overwhelm your opponents.
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Abzan Arbor
The Abzan Commanders heard that the best defense is a good offense and decided they could, in fact, have both. Felothar the Steadfast turns toughness into combat strength and turns the Defender mechanic on its head by allowing Defenders to attack. Betor turns lifegain into a power resource, allowing you to add +1/+1 counters to a creature for each life point gained in a turn and resurrecting creatures from the graveyard.
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Strategy
Strategy for MTG Tarkir: Dragonstorm is going to depend heavily on which clan you decide to build your deck around, as each clan aligns with a specific new mechanic. Building decks around these new mechanics will determine what kind of strategy you want to use.
New Mechanics Introduced
Tarkir: Dragonstorm cards introduce some new mechanics to the game that make for interesting gameplay with the set. Each clan has a new mechanic that defines them.
- Abzan: Endure
- Temur: Harmonize
- Mardu: Mobilize
- Sultai: Renew
- Jeskai: Flurry
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In addition to these new mechanics, we also see the introduction of the Omen Card, which is similar in function to the Adventure card but which gets shuffled back into the player’s library after casting the Omen.
What To Look For
MTG Tarkir: Dragonstorm cards include a variety of different treatments that you can collect for the Standard release. In addition to the unique Dragonscale Foils that you can find in the Collector Boosters, you’ll also be able to collect cards that feature the Ghostfire Showcase Frame, Halo Foils, Borderless cards, Clan Borderless cards, Extended Art, and Draconic Showcase cards. In addition, there’s the Headliner card, which is a serialized Retro Frame Mox Jasper with artwork by Dan Frazier. These cards, like the Dragonscale Foils, will only appear in the Collector Boosters. Finally, there are a few variations for Basic Lands that will be included in the Tarkir: Dragonstorm set, with a few variations only showing up in the Collector Boosters.
Collectors are Raving About These Cards
Collectors are already going wild for this set, with some of the most desired cards being Ugin, Eye of the Storms (Showcase, Halo Foil), and Elspeth, Storm Slayer (Showcase, Halo Foil). Other cards collectors seem interested in include the Dracogenesis and Craterhoof Behemoth cards in their Showcase and Halo Foil incarnations.
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Something For Everyone
This set has something for everyone with new mechanics, gorgeous artwork, and fascinating lore behind it. For all those original fans of Khans of Tarkir, this is a satisfying revisit to a familiar setting that manages to bring new and interesting components to keep things fresh.
