Sets (TDM) Tarkir: Dragonstorm Previews!
- Thread starter TrainmasterGT
- Start date
Oh, this is interesting. Squee, Goblin Nabob and Master of Death say hello.
The land entering tapped is a bummer for my needs. I don’t think there’s a way to combo or chain plays with it that isn’t 4+ cards. I think this will ultimately be a little too situational at 3 mana and not make the cut for me
I honest to god thought these were two different cards [and you were going to talk about the other later in the post] until I got to this rant, LOL
Sometimes the art is so good, you have to add a whole new archetype to the cube.
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"red 3" as a spot for creatures is up there with "white 3" in terms of competition, but between being a discard outlet and the last ability, there's probably a power level that wants this. Note that you don't get to play whatever it is for free, so it's closer to Laelia, the Blade Reforged than Narset, Enlightened Master, but since it's a 3/3 haster for 3 that already gave you a free Faithless Looting you probably aren't too torn up about it. Not for me, a little weak, but only a little.
That art makes me want to build a whole new cube.
Annie Stegg has only produced the art for one other card, but I hope will be continuing to produce work for future sets.
Oh, right, there's also this thing from the Sultai commander deck:
I look forwards to dredging Loam into this thing, drawing two cards, pitching Loam, then putting eight power onto the field, with good odds of doing it again the next turn.
Three cards. Floral Evoker + Tireless Provisioner + Ovalchase Daredevil chains every land in your graveyard onto the battlefield.
If you want infinite landfall with it, you'd just have to reanimate any land that sacs itself on ETB, which is perfectly reasonable if your cube runs the Brokers Hideout cycle as fetchland equivalents.
That said, I feel like it's an eminently reasonable card even if you can't combo off with it. It's still a 2/3 Vinelasher Kudzu for
that has a built-in way of getting extra lands onto the battlefield.
I look forwards to dredging Loam into this thing, drawing two cards, pitching Loam, then putting eight power onto the field, with good odds of doing it again the next turn.
Three cards. Floral Evoker + Tireless Provisioner + Ovalchase Daredevil chains every land in your graveyard onto the battlefield.
If you want infinite landfall with it, you'd just have to reanimate any land that sacs itself on ETB, which is perfectly reasonable if your cube runs the Brokers Hideout cycle as fetchland equivalents.
That said, I feel like it's an eminently reasonable card even if you can't combo off with it. It's still a 2/3 Vinelasher Kudzu for
that has a built-in way of getting extra lands onto the battlefield.
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I don't actually think this is a weak card. It feels like an aggressively slanted Seasoned Pyromancer. It's a little worse in certain regards (it can't just draw two cards when you play it without an empty hand, and it doesn't do anything with tokens), but it's also a bigger, hasty attacker that doesn't require you to filter cards, and can actually be a draw engine later on. It's probably not better than something like Laelia, the Blade Reforged, but I think it's a stylish card that does poweful things and isn't obnoxious to play with.
"red 3" as a spot for creatures is up there with "white 3" in terms of competition, but between being a discard outlet and the last ability, there's probably a power level that wants this. Note that you don't get to play whatever it is for free, so it's closer to Laelia, the Blade Reforged than Narset, Enlightened Master, but since it's a 3/3 haster for 3 that already gave you a free Faithless Looting you probably aren't too torn up about it. Not for me, a little weak, but only a little.
So many of these Dragon cards and Clan cards have been disappointments, but damn is this card sweet.
It's like they basically took Siege Rhino and gave it an Archangel of Wrath/Blightning/Kolaghan's Command sort of flare. 2WRB seems a bit steep for aggressive Mardu decks, but I could definitely see this card as a good piece for a Mardu Midrange deck or even some sort of multicolor control pile. I don't necessarily want to be encouraging decks to play more than three colors, but I think if an Esper Dragons player picks up a Savai Triome or Raugrin Triome, they could totally cast this with ease.
Another cool one for more reactive Dragon builds:
I was thinking about how cool the card Roast was literally yesterday, and they spoiled this card! I think Twinmaw Stormbrood is super cool as a dual removal spell/finisher combo. This is another card that seems splashable in an Esper Dragons style control deck!
My big question is: will we get any cool "Behold a Dragon" cards other than Caustic Exhale? I feel like this deck needs at least a Quench variant that can be a Counterspell if you behold: sort of like Silumgar's Scorn but easier to cast and counter something with without a Dragon. I want the "Dragonness" of the control finishers to matter more than they currently do.
It's like they basically took Siege Rhino and gave it an Archangel of Wrath/Blightning/Kolaghan's Command sort of flare. 2WRB seems a bit steep for aggressive Mardu decks, but I could definitely see this card as a good piece for a Mardu Midrange deck or even some sort of multicolor control pile. I don't necessarily want to be encouraging decks to play more than three colors, but I think if an Esper Dragons player picks up a Savai Triome or Raugrin Triome, they could totally cast this with ease.
Another cool one for more reactive Dragon builds:
I was thinking about how cool the card Roast was literally yesterday, and they spoiled this card! I think Twinmaw Stormbrood is super cool as a dual removal spell/finisher combo. This is another card that seems splashable in an Esper Dragons style control deck!
My big question is: will we get any cool "Behold a Dragon" cards other than Caustic Exhale? I feel like this deck needs at least a Quench variant that can be a Counterspell if you behold: sort of like Silumgar's Scorn but easier to cast and counter something with without a Dragon. I want the "Dragonness" of the control finishers to matter more than they currently do.
Breaching Dragonstorm
A lot of cards I really like so far, but as redundancy for cheaty strategies (includes big enchantments!) this card seems kind of nasty? I'm at 900 cards now so this seems awesome support.
Edit: wait it supports big instants and sorceries too. And is just a good storm card in general. Wow super excited to try this!
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I’m a bit disappointed with how this cycle ended up shaking out. I feel like the Blue one is far and away the most interesting as a build-around, while the rest are a bit more middling.
I wonder what a deck would need for Encroaching Dragonstorm to be the play… I think it’s an interesting riff on Explosive Vegetation, which was historically used for the purposes of casting Dragonlord Atarka in Standard!
I played four testing games with that card and it's good but not crazy. It needs a lot of conditions to be met (land in gy, creature to discard, open mana) for it to be more than a three-drop Vinelasher Kudzu. Only one game it felt like a power outlier, when I had it t3 after Rampant Growth, could immediately discard a Rootwalla to return a Prismatic Vista and turn the Evoker into a 5/6.
It will be at the top end of my power band surely, but I'll add it. It's a fun design too.
this is a cool design I guess but mostly I'm just here for someone activating it after combat and wrathing themselves in hilarious ways (not a may! it's Wild Beastmaster all over again except totally different!)
Super excited for these as well. Dragonstorm has always been a major pillar of my list and it has been hard not to lament how many modern Dragon-themed designs don't play well with it. (As much as I think Breaching Dragonstorm is sweet, would 9-cmc as the upper limit for free-cast *REALLY* have been going too far WoTC????)
These 3 Omen cards, however, are great includes with it. I like to play Dragonstorm as a shittier but cooler Tooth and Nail. Unfortunately with the low amount of Dragons available to fit the strategies / power-level I aim for, drawing one of your decks few Dragons early can be a pretty lame feeling. Being able to shuffle it away to be fetched later while gaining value at the same time is an incredibly attractive mechanic to mitigate this feelbad scenario imo.
All of the above 3 Dragon's Omens are useful. Being able to ramp, filter, or remove creatures are all mechanics I would run in a hyper-ramp-fatty deck. Their ETBs are also pretty sweet. They all have the potential to help a ramp deck stabilize. With Marang through disruption (pretty brutal disruption I might add) and with the other 2 through lifegain, which is a mechanic I am actually pretty excited to see Dragons now support.
I don't usually follow spoilers enough to know how many more game pieces are still not spoiled, but if there are more coming I hope additional powerful Omen Dragons get spoiled
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There's also:
I actually like this card too, but my Golgari section is pretty solidified for me at this time.
I'm not sure that the gold Omen cards should actually take up gold slots in a cube. Like, actually playing with them will make it clear, but my gut feeling is that I'd happily run Charring Bite and Petty Revenge in decks that can't cast their dragon halves as removal spells that'll pop up again later.
A ball lightning that can Falter your opponent’s team from the GY? Or help you sacrifice your board? Maybe a type of Propaganda from the GY since opponent won’t attack unless to alpha strike?
Cool card indeed!
Cool card indeed!
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Super excited for these as well. Dragonstorm has always been a major pillar of my list and it has been hard not to lament how many modern Dragon-themed designs don't play well with it. (As much as I think Breaching Dragonstorm is sweet, would 9-cmc as the upper limit for free-cast *REALLY* have been going too far WoTC????)
These 3 Omen cards, however, are great includes with it. I like to play Dragonstorm as a shittier but cooler Tooth and Nail. Unfortunately with the low amount of Dragons available to fit the strategies / power-level I aim for, drawing one of your decks few Dragons early can be a pretty lame feeling. Being able to shuffle it away to be fetched later while gaining value at the same time is an incredibly attractive mechanic to mitigate this feelbad scenario imo.
All of the above 3 Dragon's Omens are useful. Being able to ramp, filter, or remove creatures are all mechanics I would run in a hyper-ramp-fatty deck. Their ETBs are also pretty sweet. They all have the potential to help a ramp deck stabilize. With Marang through disruption (pretty brutal disruption I might add) and with the other 2 through lifegain, which is a mechanic I am actually pretty excited to see Dragons now support.
I don't usually follow spoilers enough to know how many more game pieces are still not spoiled, but if there are more coming I hope additional powerful Omen Dragons get spoiled
I really like what you have got going. Do you have a blog for your cube?
Any chance you can elaborate on the dragon designs that are not good for Dragonstorm? I have read it many times before but never really delved into understanding why.
From the spoiled cards you could maybe also consider these?