Looks like these pesky Khans and dragons are at it once more within the upcoming Magic: The Gathering set, Tarkir: Dragonstorm. Releasing on April 11 and available for pre-order now, Dragonstorm brings gamers again to the aircraft of Tarkir with a number of highly effective new creatures, acquainted faces, and contemporary mechanics to shake up deck-building. Wizards has kicked off the grand reveal of the set’s contents, and as somebody whose prized Magic possession is a Scion of the Ur-Dragon Commander deck, I can already inform my pals are going to hate what I add to it.
What to Expect From Tarkir: Dragonstorm
For these unfamiliar, Tarkir is dwelling to 5 clans locked in fixed wrestle in opposition to historic dragons. Each clan—Abzan Houses (White, Black, Green), Jeskai Way (Blue, Red, White), Mardu Horde (Red, White, Black), Sultai Brood (Black, Green, Blue), and Temur Frontier (Green, Blue, Red)—is led by a Khan and outlined by a novel playstyle. Wizards has begun unveiling the brand new mechanics these clans will wield, however extra importantly, they’ve teased a few of the highly effective dragons which can be positive to make an influence.
To make every clan really feel distinct, Wizards has designed exclusive mechanics that gained’t seem exterior their three-color identities. Jeskai’s Flurry rewards taking part in a second spell in a flip, irrespective of whose flip it’s. Sultai’s Renew lets gamers exile a selected card from their graveyard to grant numerous counters to surviving creatures. Mardu’s Mobilize creates short-term creatures that disappear on the finish of the flip, reinforcing their aggressive swarm techniques. Temur’s Harmonize, harking back to Flashback, permits playing cards to be replayed from the graveyard for a decreased value by tapping creatures. Lastly, Abzan’s Endure triggers each time a non-token creature dies, putting +1/+1 counters and different advantages, as seen with Anafenza, Undying Lineage, who spawns a 2/2 flying Spirit token or grants further counters.
Of course, that is Tarkir: Dragonstorm, so the dragons are getting new toys too. Enter Omen and Behold, two contemporary mechanics that increase their arsenal. Omen features equally to Adventure playing cards, letting you solid the cardboard as a creature or as an instantaneous or sorcery. The twist? If you solid it as a spell, it shuffles again into your deck, providing one other probability to attract it later. If you play it as a creature, that possibility is gone. Behold, then again, triggers while you reveal a dragon out of your hand or already management one on the battlefield. An instance is Sarkhan, Dragon Ascendant, who generates a Treasure token upon being performed and Behold triggering. Since these mechanics aren’t tied to a selected clan, they’ll seem throughout a number of colours, making them significantly attention-grabbing in deck-building.
But let’s be actual—the principle occasion right here is the dragons. One standout to date is Betor, Kin to All (2WBG), a powerhouse that triggers completely different results on the finish of your flip based mostly on the whole toughness of creatures you management. These vary from drawing a card to untapping all of your creatures and even forcing opponents to lose half their life. With a base toughness of seven, Betor makes it simple to hit at the very least the additional card draw set off, and with heavyweights like Utvara Hellkite or Ancient Gold Dragon in play, the life loss impact turns into a terrifying actuality.
Ugin can be again, as soon as once more as a colorless planeswalker. Ugin, Eye of the Storms (7) is poised to be a staple in colorless decks, particularly Eldrazi builds, because of his passive skill that exiles goal permanents everytime you solid a colorless spell. His -11 skill is downright absurd: search your library for any variety of colorless non-land playing cards, exile them, then solid them totally free till finish of flip. With seven beginning loyalty and a +2 skill, he can attain that threshold shortly if correctly defended.
Aside from the Final Fantasy crossover set, Tarkir: Dragonstorm is my most anticipated Magic launch this yr. With slightly below a month till launch, a lot of the set stays below wraps, however my Scion deck is already due for a critical improve. I’m holding out hope for the return of legendary dragons like Atarka and Ojutai, or maybe an thrilling new five-color dragon. Either method, Tarkir: Dragonstorm is shaping as much as be a blast when it lands on April 11.
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