Sets (TDM) Tarkir: Dragonstorm Previews!

[Onderzeeboot]

Okay correct me if I'm wrong Vel but are you implying most of these are better?

I think Vel was implying that Train is underselling the new Elsha by saying it's Invasion Block Retail Draft power level, so he challenged them to show the cards that are actually better, and Miles responded with a bunch of cards that are arguably better. I disagree with some of their picks however. Phyrexian Delver, for example, definitely doesn't strike me as better. Fact is, Elsha's base 1/1 P/T isn't that impressive, even with trample and prowess. You need a flurry of spells to make her even halfway decent, in a three-color deck, and after that you've (maybe) got a bunch of monks, but not the spells you just cast to fuel them. I think she's pretty mediocre, magical Christmasland scenarios notwithstanding.

 

[Velrun]

Onde is correct

But I might misunderstand what it means when someone says a Retail Draft card. Is a Retail Draft card just a card that was printed in a set (block)? Why add ‘Retail Draft’ to the sentence that could just have been ‘Invasion block’?

 

[alvoi]

Onde is correct

But I might misunderstand what it means when someone says a Retail Draft card. Is a Retail Draft card just a card that was printed in a set (block)? Why add ‘Retail Draft’ to the sentence that could just have been ‘Invasion block’?

Usually I would think "Invasion Block" as invasion block constructed while "Retail Draft" as the limited environment, that is mainly made of commons and uncommons. The cards you find are the same but the decks are different. But since you asked the cards... they're the same, yeah

 

[StrionicAdventurer]

A genuinely perfect card for my Peasant cube. Anyone playing tokens, prowess/spellslinger, heroic, or the color white will want this. Tastes great with Valorous Stance. Will probably replace Timeless Reinforcements.

 

[RedShirtDown]

I'm going to give it a shot in my Combat Cube. I used to run Goblin Wizardry but felt that it was a hair to underpowered. The modality on this version gives it a lot more playability in a 180 environment.

 

[Velrun]

Usually I would think "Invasion Block" as invasion block constructed while "Retail Draft" as the limited environment, that is mainly made of commons and uncommons. The cards you find are the same but the decks are different. But since you asked the cards... they're the same, yeah

That’s the thing. All the listed cards.. I would not consider them draft cards.

I mean.. if they are.. then I am 100 % wrong That’s for sure. I just wouldn’t call them draft cards. I would call them Invasion block cards probably.

 

[alvoi]

That’s the thing. All the listed cards.. I would not consider them draft cards.

I mean.. if they are.. then I am 100 % wrong That’s for sure. I just wouldn’t call them draft cards. I would call them Invasion block cards probably.

well, Fire/Ice, FTK and Fires are all uncommons, if you add a couple of other busted cards like Fact or Fiction or Goblin Ringleader you get your set of 5 cards of IPA draft uncommons that are better than Elsha

 

[Chris Taylor]

It is kinda funny we picked invasion block which is chock to bursting with 2 color x for ones
Like is this card worse than Dismantling Blow? Jilt? Consuming Strength? Exclude? Probe? Recoil?

 

[Humpty_Dumpty]

It is kinda funny that if you look on a preview thread you see cards from a quarter of a century ago.

It also strikes me as a bit odd that we have two releases this year set in fantasy worlds based on East Asian myths and cultures, as we have the Avatar: the Last Airbender coming out in November.

 

[Velrun]

It is kinda funny that if you look on a preview thread you see cards from a quarter of a century ago.

That’s because Safra wrote this so now we have the mission to up the thread as many times as we can without ever adding a cool new dragon

every time i click on this thread i expect to see a cool new dragon. cmon guys you can shitpost anywhere. you're not even talking about tarkir any more.

 

[TrainmasterGT]

It is kinda funny we picked invasion block which is chock to bursting with 2 color x for ones
Like is this card worse than Dismantling Blow? Jilt? Consuming Strength? Exclude? Probe? Recoil?

Invasion block was kinda weak as to avoid being full of power level mistakes like the two blocks which preceeded it (Combo Nightmare and Rebels/Free Spells: The Gathering, respectively), but there are a lot of cool cards in there!

Even just looking at creatures I think there's a lot of cards which are better on average than Elsha:

Not to mention the more combo-oriented stuff like Nightscape Familliar. And this isn't even a comprehensive list! (Savage Gorilla doesn't get enough love imo).

This whole experience has been super interesting, because all of these Invasion block cards are both much better and much cooler than the new shiny EDH card. That really begs the question: who is Elsha for?

 

[StrionicAdventurer]

If we want a direct throughline from Invasion to Tarkir, let's talk about these absolutely AWESOME 3-color legendary dragons.

 

[Seeker]

Dromar should have returned every creature of that color except itself, change my mind

 

[Rusje]

Dromar should have returned every creature of that color except itself, change my mind

Make the strongest dragon stronger, no thanks. Buff treva and the story strongest darigaaz

 

[TrainmasterGT]

Make the strongest dragon stronger, no thanks. Buff treva and the story strongest darigaaz

The strongest of the Dragons is actually Rith, The Awakener. It saw a fair bit of play in Fires and No Fires decks back in the day!

 

[alvoi]

I love the fact that this thread became an Invasion block appreciation thread, so I will put here one of my favourite cards ever:



It doesn't make card advantage, it is not an instant-speed trick, but how much I love to put lands on top of my opponents' decks...

 

[Mown]

Elsha is for the guy who wants to play a couple pump spells and make like 5-10 prowess weenies on turn 4 by attacking the guy without blockers in a multiplayer game, it's a pseudo-Monastery Mentor in the command zone. If you think a 5 mana 3/3 that cantrips is much cooler than it then at that point why even care, Rhet-Tomb Mystic and Stridehangar Automaton are fan favorites from the last release, so it's not like they're all universally garbage, some of them like Metamorphosis Fanatic and Ursine Monstrosity are exceptionally powerful, and it seems pretty evident to me why someone would want to play this card in the format it was actually designed for.

 

[Rusje]

The strongest of the Dragons is actually Rith, The Awakener. It saw a fair bit of play in Fires and No Fires decks back in the day!

That could be due to the fact of other ramp cards in standard (and that blue black control does not need a big beater). In draft I do not know which is stronger, they are both by far the strongest dragons.
In draft:
Trevas ability is weak, you get 4 ish life?
Darigaaz sucks, the opponent has only a few cards in hand.
Crosis is weak, but works with all the return cards in the block. You could discard the returned cards.
Rith is strong, it snowballs.
Dromar is stronger. It prevents the crackback, even against rith (If playing against rith, you could let rith through, and on your turn attack and return rith and all tokens, the opposite does not hold since you can return rith).

 

[Rusje]

I love the fact that this thread became an Invasion block appreciation thread, so I will put here one of my favourite cards ever:



It doesn't make card advantage, it is not an instant-speed trick, but how much I love to put lands on top of my opponents' decks...

Especially true against tap lands/lair or gated creatures. In block format it is really strong