Sets (TDM & TDC) Tarkir: Dragonstorm Testing/Includes Thread!

[TrainmasterGT]

This is a testing/includes thread. Post pictures using /ci or a text list using /c with what cards you plan to include and what cards you plan to test.​

Including:



Including if Accessible:


Testing:


This was a surprisingly light set. I was expecting there to be lots of cool Dragons and Three-Color cards here for a variety of Cubes, but most of what we got here seems pretty dialed in for retail limited or Commander. There are plenty of solid "cards for Cube" in here, but they seem to be mostly the generic stuff that could have gone into any set like Savannah Lions with a Twist or "please don't break an eternal format" Cantrip. While I was happy to see these cards here, since I want to increase the as-fan of Tarkir-themed things in my Cube, it's a bit disappointing that the "main event" of the set, A.K.A. the three-color cards and the Dragons, were on the lackluster side. For example, what on earth is going on with the Spirit Dragon cycle? Only two of them really tie in with what their clans are trying to do in this set, and one of them has such an insane drawback that it's probably just unplayable unless you cast basically no spells after resolving it. I think all of these cards are much worse designs than the Dragonlords, which is sad because I think everyone would have loved these cards if they were as well designed. The Mardu seem to be the main exception here: they have several cool cards, including the best-designed Khan and the most interesting uncommon Dragon. I think their Spirit dragon is also the coolest, if a bit underpowered. Despite this, none of the Mardu designs stick out to me as having the "star power" to become iconic like Siege Rhino or Mantis Rider from the original Khans block did in the long run. By contrast, I think the Abzan have the most well-rounded three-color card in the set, Skirmish Rhino, who is likely to make it into many Cubes by virtue of being similar to an iconic card while having more potential synergies. However, I think the rest of their three-color cards are really rough. They didn't really need the help beyond the new Rhino, but it's a shame to see.

Overall, I think this set is fine, but I don't think it has the "X factor" other recent sets like Duskmourn or Dominaria United had. I think the actual structure of the set, including the new mechanics and updated clans, is very strong, but they filled the "house" with gaudy furnishings that clash with what the ideal version of this set would have been. Hopefully, some of the cards in my (entirely too long) testing list have some staying power, but I am a bit sad there weren't more slam-dunks.

What are your plans for this set?
–GT

 

[Brad]

Posts 70 images
...
This was a surprisingly light set.

 

[TrainmasterGT]

@Brad turns out, when you’re expecting a ton of slam-dunk 3-color cards and dragons, but then you only get two dragons which are sort of ok enough to be comfortable calling long-term material and two three color cards that are both themselves callbacks to older cards, the set feels light!

 

[Brad]

I was very tempted to post the entire set and say it was "surprisingly light."

I run minimal unique token types, so Endure and many other cards will be excluded for that reason. I'm not convinced I want to run m/any 3c cards. Everything listed is a "maybe."

Spoiler

 

[ravnic]

I also always wonder how some of you guys find the slots and time to test dozens of new cards with every set. These days, I am excited already when a set adds five cards to my cube. That being said, tarkir does. These five go in.



NINE years since Noose Constrictor, nine long years. I was waiting for seven or eight years of those nine to get another good discard outlet in green and I think this one fits the bill. I would prefer this to have slightly lower p/t and be able to discard any card, not just creatures, but madness supporters have to take what they can get.




Not getting any white prowess support on the other hand, was a huge disappointement. Last year I established prowess as my primary boros theme and I did so with a lack of white payoffs, knowing that Tarkir would come and safe me. Well, at least I got these two cards.They require you to double spell, but that's easy. And we got prowess tokens. Yay.




Not sure if these two -drops will stick, but they might as well.

Than I've got some cards I'm not adding now but keeping an eye on:

 

[Nanonox]

I am mostly focused on my lower powered cube right now so I'll be posting more in depth about that one. Really like the cards in the set, even though the 3 color cards are a miss for me as I don't want to commit to narrow cards (in terms of deck inclusion).

Include



Like ravnic, I would have wanted a few more flurry/prowess payoffs, but I am very happy with these 3. The Monk tokens are great and continue to reward you for casting many spells.

Aligned Heart replaces Monastery Mentor that was a serious power outlier. The fact it interacts with Proliferate is pretty clutch in this cube, giving it even more build around potential.

Cori-Steel Cutter is likely another pushed card for the environment, but it encourages what I want the cube to be about.



These are some awesome GY oriented cards. Welcome the Dead provides base level card filtering while filling the GY, but also has the potential to create a huge board if you have the right tools.

Glacierwood Siege is one of those tools. In the average draft it's a Crucible effect, but in some decks it's one heck of an enabler. I share ravnic's views on the Evoker: not perfect, but good enough.



These cards just play well, especially the Reclamation that offers specialized interaction but has the buyout option of cantripping for 2 mana. Dragonstorm is a Chart a Course variant, but plays very nicely with my bounce theme, giving it the edge.



A few more payoffs for the counters deck. Host replaces Reyhan, Last of the Abzan who's wording is painful due to the commander text. Costing 4 mana isn't ideal, but the amazing art makes up for it.

Yathan Tombguard is interesting because it isn't capped per turn and you can get a card off a 2 drop with a counter on it. It also has menace, which is nice because the evasion means it is likely to hit if you can put a counter on it.

Maybe

Spoiler: Maybe

I am a huge fan of my bounce theme, but the 4 White cards I have right now fell like they are enough.



Nexus of Fate is a little intense for this cube and this enchantment could be a nice alternative (probably alongside Tamiyo Meets the Story Circle). Love the fact it is an enabler as well as a payoff.



Interested in a spell recursion effect, not sure between this, Archaeomancer and Shipwreck Dowser.



This is a spicy Clone variant that plays from the GY for a Mirrorweave effect. Seems like it would create great stories and moments with a very reasonable floor.



If I played Wildfire, I would totally be on this. It's also awesome with Languish and Storm's Wrath. As is, it's still sweet, but less essential.



A versatile effect that can be proactive or reactive.



A self-mill card that once again goes nicely with the bounce theme. Black is ok a bouncing creatures, but enchantments less so. Has me considering a Changeling theme for Black though which I'll probably post about.



Alongside Insidious Roots, these seem like solid inclusions as it's pretty easy to trigger. There are a ton of sweet GY cards, so it's more of a question of space than rate/playability.



Very cool draw spell in Red. The Harmonize ability looks fantastic on an X spell. Once again though, space is tight and would probably need a couple Harmonize spells at least to include this.

---

For my Explosive Synergy Cube

Include



This seems like a lot of fun for aggressive Black decks. Smash for 5 Ball Lightning(ish) style and then chill in the GY for the later game. There, it can clear blockers for an alpha strike or it can help you sacrifice your board post attacks or Propaganda the opponent's creatures.
Tough to evaluate and I could see cutting this, but excited to try.



3/3 haste for 3 is perfectly fine, but then it also loots and gives card advantage. Less oppressive than Laelia, but still potent if you can build around it.



Solid interaction that can cantrip. Single target GY hate is my favorite kind because I don't want to punish someone trying to do the cool GY thing with an Endurance or something. That is too potent and just takes the opponent out of the game.

There are some cool maybes for this cube too, that I'll probably post in my own thread, I'm already rambling here!

 

[safra]

Initial pickups:


And I'll be Sharzad-ifying several of the Omen dragons to be Adventures like the rest of my set's already doing, pushing them up into a higher power level while I'm at it. I might make the -X/-X one an adventure that costs XB or something similar, I might tweak a mana cost down by a generic mana or two here and there, or maybe make the 5 mana common dragons a little chunkier once they're in play, etc. And I've gotten soooooooo many dope pieces of art to re-use on my custom designs also. I'm really stoked for Colossal Grave-Reaver as another fatty cheat target with built-in redundancy; getting to Sneak Attack or Flash or Reanimate or Natural Order it in would feel so awesome, and I'm glad I got another Astral Dragon-style compelling Big Fat Dragon That Ends The Game. I'll be posting a lot more in my cube thread this weekend about what these cards and the published wotc Tarkir Dragonstorm story mean I'm doing for my narrative, but the gist so far is that I'll be positioning Sharzad both after Sarkhan's fateful decision to restart the Dragonstorms and before the Dragonlords are overthrown in the prologue to TDM; cards from the new set offer a chance for Sharzad's 'storytelling interpellated through gameplay' to tell deeper and more engaging stories about the overthrow of the dragonlords.

and fuckin' Mox Jasper! What a home run! I love this set.

 

[Mown]

Kind of a disappointment of a set. Finally a plane that doesn't feel totally phoned in, cool mechanics, and home to sick looking dragons like Dragonlord Ojutai and Dragonlord Kolaghan, and this is what I get? We have standard legal delve, white prowess, double spelling, black creatures with flash, creatures that can be cast as spells. Set aside the 3 color theme and this should've been a slam dunk. At least there is one card I expect to be a very welcome inclusion.


Ideally I would've wanted a green or blue equipment, which are the colors currently without a Stoneforge Mystic target, but I'll take it regardless. I wanted more "double spell" cards from this set, and there's a couple more than technically qualify, but I really wish Equilibrium Adept was tuned to be a bit cheaper, or Taigam, Master Opportunist wasn't such a complexity mess. I fear it's a bit overtuned, but at least it's emphasizing the things that are important to my cube.


Not confident in all of these. Rally is cool enough as a white prowess payoff, but I could imagine it being supplanted if they printed more prowess cards in white. The two blue permanents are fun build arounds, I feel like I'd need to see them in play to be confident in how viable and fun they are. Recalmation is just another permutation of green interaction that manages to edge out the existing ones, although I prefer them to hit fliers. Procession is something to cast if you're in simic, I've kind of wanted a regrowth, but idk if it'll make the cut, I might just use the original.

 

[Chris Taylor]

Lucky Paper testing surveys are up:
Main set
Commander Set if you like

Share your thoughts, the less solipsistic our knowledge of this set is the better, and the better record we leave for anyone looking back on tarkir!

 

[shamizy]

Light on inclusions this time around, but that's fine with me as I'm just diving back into cube after mostly taking the last 6 months off. A lot to go through in the back-log and try out as I attempt to make cube more a regular thing for my playgroup over the year. This is my first pass through the set but I'll likely have another card or two that I end up adding after reading of other inclusions and testing results in the next few months:



Descendant of Storms is replacing Student of Warfare after many years. With the proliferation of so many mechanics and unique tokens I think I just need to figure out what's worth keeping around at this point and where I'd like to use up my "complexity points" for drafters. Level Up is pretty clunky in 2025 so Student will be heading back into my cube binder for the long haul. I like the base 2/1 for W body, I like being able to grow either vertically or go-wide depending on the match-up and potential blocks, and finally it has relevant typing with Human for Champion of the Parish and Thalia's Lieutenant along with a helpful subtype in Soldier for a niche interaction with Siege Veteran as wrath insurance.



I'm a fan of Grand Abolisher effects after utilizing them in EDH for so long and Voice of Victory is the most playable one we've had for cube in a long time. Being able to do a Kari Zev, Skyship Raider impression with every attack and being able to just send in with a 1/3 body makes it very appealing. Dodging instant speed removal is sweet, synergies with token cards like Staff of the Storyteller and Securitron Squadron opens up varied lines of play, and finally it's super fun with Warleader's Call. I'm also looking forward to running this in a disgusting Mardu tokens deck led by Caesar, Legion's Emperor sometime in the future. Glad I bumped up to 450 as my decision-making at white 2/3 drops has been tight in recent years but I'll be able to slot this in nicely and see how things turn out. My only wish is that they had just kept these as white Warrior tokens so I didn't need another unique one in the box.



Tersa Lightshatter is one that I kinda glazed over during initial spoilers, but after reading it and looking over it some more I think it does enough that I can find a slot for it. I was never a big fan of Laelia as it read too much like an EDH card (and also has dogshit art), but this fits the bill to me. Hasty 3/3 gives it play in aggro, the big rummage lets you refuel with some gas and pitch lands (while also being a useful ability to synergize with any discard stuff I want to include in the future), and finally Wizard is now a relevant type with the inclusion of Flame of Anor. Hitting seven for Threshold gives you a nice clean number to get to alongside Kiora, the Rising Tide and I like those little benchmarks that appear more often in a cube. Finally it's an aggressive non-human to curve right into for a Winota, Joiner of Forces deck. I might also go back to giving Rielle, the Everwise a run if this rummage/loot theme becomes fleshed out with another 1-2 cards like this in the future.



Surrak, Elusive Hunter gives green decks some ward-lite protection against spot removal and the ability to rebuild if you just run into removal.dec which is nice. A 4/3 trample is a sizable body to accelerate into off a T1 dork, it's able to be hit by Collected Company and recurred by Sun Titan, and finally it has that relevant human typing that I love (hell all three of these inclusions feature the same). I like a nice simple design and you don't really have to complicated things with stompier G/x decks. Having this grow off creatures that provide +1/+1 counters ala Luminarch Aspirant or Bristly Bill, Spine Sower can quickly turn it into a big-time threat that will require an answer before pressuring the board in a big way.



These are going straight into my Utility Land Draft pile. It's about time for me to go back and curate it a bit, cut down on cards that haven't been as popular, but these seem like perfect inclusions for my environment that usually leans towards player going with two color decks and sometimes a light splash. Entering untapped is so big for playability.

 

[ellogeyen]

Probable inclusions for the Stickered Cube
(each creature gets a Unfinity sticker with ticket value = toughness)



I don't play adventures in the cube, because their inherent card advantage makes the creature-side too good with stickers. Omens mitigate that problem by shuffling the cards back, foregoing any card advantage they would generate! It's also a nice way to add some high-end flyers to the mix, something I wanted more of.



I was playing around with 3-color payoff for nice fat toughnesses. Although I hoped for more, these twobrids are actually prefect for what I want, since they're still fair to play two-colored.



I like to incentivize power and toughness stickers by having a lot of power and toughness enablers. These are perfect for that role, both filling slots of wanted generic effects and communicating the power theme well.

 

[Seeker]

Lucky Paper testing surveys are up:
Main set
Commander Set if you like

Share your thoughts, the less solipsistic our knowledge of this set is the better, and the better record we leave for anyone looking back on tarkir!

FYI these links both go to the TDC one, first url should go to https://luckypaper.co/survey/tdm/ (just change the last character)

this set's kind of sad, because I like every single mechanic and yet I've got almost zero interest in any of the actual cards as printed. and that's not fair, there's more here than I've been excited about (at a first glance) for several sets, but still not much:

the one card I'm for sure excited about

plus any or all of

in order from most to least likely to stay long-term (over Seasoned Pyromancer, Yet Another Blue Two Drop, and Yet Another Cheap Burn Spell)

 

[Chris Taylor]

Ah fuck that link to the commander survey was like, the whole text of the discord message and so the first link got duplicated because that message included both links

 

[EzPzJapanezy]

This set checked a lot of boxes for me mechanically and I really have found the art lovely. I am usually not a big fan of alt-frames but the Draconic Frame in particular looks great to me.

17 for sure 'Includes' for me, I think this finally gets my 900 list to a point where I am satisfied with it (famous last words). At this point I want to play-test it with my co-workers for a while without thinking about changes.

[White]



2/1 Human that supports tokens.



1/3 Human that supports tokens and does things when hanging out with Blood Artist

[Blue]



A pretty cantrip that plays well with Prowess.



Great Dragonstorm include.

[Black]

*sad dragon noises*

I am very happy with my Black section so no slots were usurped.

[Red]



I've been waiting for another burn spell adjacent to Firebolt for a long while now and am very pleased with this.



Love it. Always happy to have a playable Goblin that produces tokens, and at 1-cmc this guy is awesome. Also a huge fan of creatures with Activated Abilities that increase in potency in relation to their power.



Just supports a lot of strategies I want to shine all in one nice 2-cmc package. Tokens, Spellslinging, Equipment / Artifacts, Haste-enabling. Packs a ton of support-punch for 1-slot.



A 4-cmc 4/5 w/ flying kills people. Oh shoot it blows up lands too. Oh cool its a Dragon and I support that tribe. Oh cool it's Draconic Alt-Frame looks great.



- Storm win-con
- Dragon Tribal
- Better with Dragonstorm than Elemental Eruption
- Strong synergy with Seething Song
- Seems fun to play around Wildfire / Crater Hellion or potentially even Destructive Force. Can enable Velomachus Lorehold to smack in a Wildfire shell.



Dragonstorm's new life stabilization apparatus.



Artifact-slinging could be fun.



I include a healthy multicolor section and the Blade is great looking.



Roast and a Lifegain-Dragon stapled together is worth a slot to me.



Simic Storm Support



Redundancy with a twist.



A great cheat target that only gets better in land focused ramp shells.



A threatening body with a constrained yet flexible recursion ability. Pseudo-reanimation in Jeskai is pretty sweet.

 

[MilesOfficial]

For my 720-card Legacy-ish power level Cube:



Twenty cards! This is about normal for me these days, and I think about half of these have some staying power.

I'll have more notes on these specific choices in the days ahead, but more broadly, I'm with a lot of you that I was hoping for more from this set! Tarkir has been my favorite plane since our first visit, and it's pained me to see its representation drop from my list over the years as my Cube has shifted with the overall MtG power-level, albeit slightly more slowly.

I loved the mechanics, particularly endure as a great crossover mechanic for both token and counters strategies.

I loved the art, with Eshki Dragonclaw as an absolute favorite, but not on a card I like as much as Lara Croft, Tomb Raider, which I don't think is all that high of a bar.

I was excited to add more clan cards, and I'm especially happy that we did get strong visually-identifiable cards that were Cube worthy across all four of the cool ones.

I was eager to increase my dragon density, but the five dragons I'm trying out are the most likely of the bunch to not survive until their second draft of the 20 here.

I was hopeful for better wedge cards. I'm really not terribly happy with much of my selection of 3-color cards but my desire to keep a full cycle of them going for organizational purposes is enough to keep it and my players are very eager as well. Even with generally good fixing, my power level is a bit too high for most of the 3-color cards in this set to feel like an improvement of 2-color cards with the same MV -- and even some mono-color cards! Another justification for lowering my overall power level a bit, as many of the designs were incredibly cool, like Kotis, Sibsig Champion, Lotuslight Dancers, and Teval, the Balanced Scale.

Still, if this weren't a Tarkir set with the expectations that came from the long wait for my favorite plane, I'd be beyond happy. Now, I'm just a little underwhelmed, but still, cool cards.

 

[StrionicAdventurer]

This set absolutely rules, and I think I'm especially drawn to it because it's a straight up zero-irony magical-fantasy collection of cards, and a real return to form for Magic worldbuilding. We're here to explore the land of Tarkir, interact with its peoples and cultures, and learn new magic spells to add to our libraries. Remember? That's what the game is actually about.

Where's Loot? What's Kellan up to!? Who gives a FUCK.

Anyway, I'm adding a lot of cards to Mutlivalent for this one. Maybe too many! So this is going to be a long post!

<> Mage's Attendant
This Ox seems insane to me. Pure fuel for all aristocrats and token strategies. MV3 for all the "little reanimator" spells and effects. High toughness and vigilance makes it a great carrier for enchantments and equipment. My dream play: T3 Packbeasts, T4, attack and cast a kicked Warhost's Frenzy. I mean, holy shit.

<> Timely Reinforcements
This is just the kind of card I like in my instant/sorceries section. A great menu of effects that support multiple decks in different ways, plus a fun in-game puzzle to try and get the mana discount. This switch also puts more agency in the hands of the caster rather than their opponent.

<> Countervailing Winds
Countervailing Winds has been in the cube for a while, kind of coasting on its cycling ability and loose synergy with the Sultai graveyard value decks. I don't find it to be a thrilling card, and I'm happy to make this switch to a more flexible card that still has a build-around feature but will work fine in any blue deck.

<> Tragic Slip
Tragic Slip is an old favorite of mine, but Worthy Cost is so similar and the art/flavor is SO cool that I'm going ahead and switching.

<> Escape Velocity
Another case of very similar mechanical effects that I'm switching for art/flavor reasons. Wild Ride's larger power buff is also much more exciting to me, even if it's only temporary. I mean, I'd LOVE to hit a Khenra Spellspear or Tenth District Legionnaire with this.

<> Invasion of Zendikar
This is a total score for my newly-minted WUBRG deck. My main wish for that deck was a really strong 5c creature at uncommon, and the Reliquary Dragon token serves that purpose quite well, while the relic itself provides fixing and ramp for the rest of the deck. Basically an ideal card for the archetype. The loss of Invasion of Zendikar is probably the death-knell for Battles in my cube.

<> Jewel Thief
Jewel Thief is a cool stats monster whose treasure token is always nice in a multicolor-heavy environment, but it's such an obviously good card that it just doesn't feel very unique. Meanwhile Sage of the Fang supports the light +1/+1 counters deck I'm working into the environment, plays nicely with the self-mill graveyard stuff, and has very cool art.

<> Savai Crystal
This is going to be a full-cycle switch. The monuments don't ramp, but they cost 1 mana less. They don't cycle, but they have cool token-generating effects. The crystals have been in this cube for over 10,000 years, so I'm honestly just looking for a change. We'll see about these.

<> Vraska, Swarm's Eminence
I have been flirting with a Golgari counters deck in this cube forever, and I have switched Vraska out for Corpsejack Menace every time I theorycraft the archetype. Host of the Hereafter is just too beautiful to ignore. What an exciting card to see in a pack! Incidentally, a lot of new +1/+1 counter cards have recently arrived in the cube for other archetypes, so the time is ripe. This switch has three sub-switches: Hagra Constrictor is in for Undercity Scrounger, Skyclave Shadowcat is in for Stir the Sands, and Untamed Kavu is in for Silhana Ledgewalker. We'll see if this is fun to play. I hope so!

OK, now it's time for the big show. I'm going all-in on the Omen dragons available at Peasant rarities. I love them, and I want them, and I think by running all of them it'll make it easier to handle them alongside Adventures. I really wish the alternate-frame versions of these cards included reminder text for the Omen subtype, because I think that would be a useful visual cue. In any case, this is a big spend on my complexity budget and another nail in the coffin for Battles (currently the most complex things in the cube by a wide margin).

<> Warchanter Skald
Grizzly Bears are always solid in draft, so this card has a good floor. Otherwise, this is the least exciting of the Omen dragons for me. Warchanter Skald is out because I think you have to work a little too hard for his payoff.

<> Sea Hag
I think this is a pretty clear power downgrade, but I like the way Dirgur Island Dragon plays with Icewrought Sentry and Prowess attackers like Seeker of the Way. Plus, cutting one of my Adventure cards brings the Omens closer to parity.

<> Goremand
Bonus card for the new Golgari counters deck, plus some synergy with Heroic. I'll miss Goremand a lot though, so this is the switch I'm most likely to undo.

<> Invasion of Mercadia
Easy switch. Battle stonks in shambles. Sell now!

<> Deadwood Treefolk
I like this guy with Domain, and I like that he's a bit more aggressive than the Treefolk. Plus, fewer counters to track. This switch has a subswitch: Slavering Branchsnapper is in for Nurturing Bristleback. This is basically for the sake of my green mana curve.

<> Skyfisher Spider
I like Skyfisher Spider, but not as much as this dragon.

<> Start // Finish
This is the weirdest card in the cycle, in my opinion. Seems very strong, though.

<>Mercurial Geists
I had to have this guy. He's perfect! Mercurial Geists have been in the cube a long time even though I never found them very exciting. They're here for the spellslinger archetype, and I have no other attachment to them.

<> Rip Apart
Rip Apart has been on borrowed time for a while, and this very Boros dragon is taking its place.

<> Wavesifter
I have no interesting thoughts about this switch, but I want to point out that "Dynamic Soar" is word salad, and makes zero attempt to describe the effect of the spell. It ought to be called "Big Yell" or something. "Groan of Engorgement" maybe.