My Top 10 Cards for Tarkir: Dragonstorm
We first learned of Tarkir: Dragonstorm (TDM) back in 2023, and it’s been one of the sets that I was most looking forward to ever since. With prerelease upon us, we no longer have to wait to experience this return to one of Magic’s most beloved planes. The only question that remains is whether or not this set lives up to the promise of offering the best of both the Khans and Dragons versions of Tarkir. In this article, I delve into that very question and highlight my top 10 cards from this set for the Commander format.
Dracogenesis
Red mages get their own version of Rooftop Storm that allows them to cast Dragons for free! Owing to the typically higher mana cost of Dragons than that of Zombies, this card also comes with an increased mana cost in comparison to its predessor. I don’t think that will stop this from becoming a popular inclusion in Dragon decks helmed by commanders such as The Ur-Dragon or Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm.
Afterlife from the Loam
Wait a second. This card doesn’t even have dredge! That doesn’t change the fact that it shouldn’t be particularly hard for you to cast this spell for three black mana and reanimate four creatures. If you’re playing a deck that uses self-mill in order to keep your graveyard stocked, Afterlife from the Loam feels like the perfect way to swing a game in your favor. To no one’s surprise, delve continues to be broken.
Deceptive Frostkite
This is another two-mana Clone creature, but you’re restricted to copying creatures that you control with power 4 or greater. This means that you’ll probably have to be selective about where you play this card. I’m sure that Dragon decks will be happy to use it to get another copy of cards such as Terror of the Peaks or Roaming Throne, and there will be plenty of other places for Deceptive Frostkite to shine.
Ironwill Forger
We’ve seen a concerted effort to improve the efficiency of white aggro strategies in Commander over the past few years. This card looks like one of the more creative examples in this vein, allowing you to give one of your creatures myriad as long as you control your commander. I have to say that I’m a huge fan of this design as a way to help scale combat damage to the higher life totals in Commander.
Mardu Siegebreaker
This card reminds me a lot of Ironwill Forger, except that it comes with a more demanding color identity and a different means to copy a creature each combat. The inclusion of deathtouch and haste is nice, but Mardu Siegebreaker still needs to potentially put itself in harms way in order to do its thing. I guess that we’re lucky that Dockside Extortionist was banned, because I don’t know that I need to see three of them every turn!
Naga Fleshcrafter
I feel like Clones have only gotten better because of how much power creep we’ve seen with creatures in recent years. While it isn’t anything to write home about when you cast it, the renew ability of Naga Fleshcrafter has a ton of potential to completely change the game if you have the right creature on the battlefield. I’m very intrigued by this card and I expect to see it do some fun and powerful things.
Steward of the Harvest
At first glance, Steward of the Harvest looks like a pretty innocuous way to give your creatures the ability to tap for mana by exiling lands from your graveyard. Then you remember powerful lands such as Gaea’s Cradle, fetchlands, or even Strip Mine and you realize that you can do a lot more than what the designers probably considered when this card was created. It even works with token creatures!
Nature’s Rhythm
Green’s ability to tutor creatures directly onto the battlefield is one of the strongest things that the color is able to do, especially when it includes a way to do it at a reduced mana cost. Harmonize is a very interesting ability that allows you to tap a creature that you control to reduce the mana cost by an amount equal to its power, which means that it shouldn’t be too difficult to tutor a big creature for just four green mana!
Mistrise Village
While it’s part of a cycle of five lands that conditionally enter untapped if you control basic lands for colors that are part of its clan wedge, this is definitely the only one that feels particularly powerful in the context of Commander. There’s even talk about its potential in cEDH. While we’ll probably have to wait and see how good Mistrise Village actually is, I think that it has a ton of potential in the right decks.
Voice of Victory
This creature is a Grand Abolisher that is easier to cast, at the cost of not preventing your opponents from activating abilities of artifacts, creatures, and enchantments. While I don’t think that downside won’t occasionally be relevant, I do think that this card immediately becomes a staple for higher power or cEDH decks including the color white. Commanders such as Tymna the Weaver and Winota, Joiner of Forces will love the tokens too.
In my opinion, Tarkir: Dragonstorm lives up to expectations and there are plenty of interesting new cards that I’m looking forward to seeing at Commander tables. I hope that you also find plenty of things to enjoy about this set. It looks like we’re heading into some strange territory for Magic with three Universes Beyond sets this year and the upcoming space opera set Edge of Eternities. I just hope the cards will be fun!
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