Tarkir: Dragonstorm Spoiler Review – Part 2

Hey all. We have reached the end of spoiler season for Tarkir: Dragonstorm, and wow does this set look awesome. Tons of powerful spells, sweet three-color cards, and plenty of fun limited players.

While I take some time to digest the set, brew some new decks, and think about the most impactful cards from the set, I’m going to do another spoiler review, where I talk about various cards that stand out to me, either because I think they will end up being impactful, or because I just think they look sweet.

So with that said, let us dive in to some more Tarkir: Dragonstorm.

Sage of the Skies

Sage of the Skies is an okay three drop, but if you do a little bit of work it is a super powerful three drop.

The trick is how to make it work, and I the most obvious ways are to plot something on turn two, like Aloe Alchemist, Cunning Coyote, Highway Robbery, etc. and then cast that plotted spell on turn three followed by the sage to get your copy.

The other option is to use cheap one drops, and view Sage of the Skies as more of a four drop, where on turn four your drop a cheap creature or cheap spell, and then get your copy.

I wouldn’t really consider playing zero mana cards like Mox Jasper just to trigger this, but I think even on later turns when you cast a two drop into Sage of the Skies you are still going to be pretty satisfied with the value.

Two 2/3 lifelink creatures can help stabilize against aggro decks, and two flying threats can help pressure slower decks out as well, so maybe Sage of the Skies will find a home in Standard, but we’ll have to wait and see what kind of white midrange/aggro decks develop.

Spectral Denial

Spectral Denial is fine without any extras. We have seen cards like Syncopate see play just a few years ago, and Condescend was a staple in Blue Tron back in the golden days of Modern. So Spectral Denial could be a fine choice for a control deck that wants a counterspell that is good in the early game and late game.

Then you add on the rest of the card and realize that we could be dealing with more of a Stubborn Denial, as long as you have the creatures to back it up.

I think the best use for this card is when you play a three mana creature with power four or greater on turn four, and have Spectral Denial up to Force Spike an opponent’s removal spell. Later on in the game you could pass with one mana up and easily counter a spell unless your opponent pays two or three, turning this into an even better Spell Pierce.

My only doubt around this card, is that I’m not sure it has a home to go into. While I will be trying to build Temur decks, I don’t know if they will be competitive enough to keep up with current standard, but if they are I think that Spectral Denial will be doing work out of the sideboard.

Avenger of the Fallen

Avenger of the Fallenhas the same stats as Preacher of the Schism, so we are already off to a good start. Four toughness is so big in this current standard, not dying to Nowhere to Run, Torch the Tower Cut Down or Lightning Strike is big game, and deathtouch makes it a great attacker and blocker, always trading at least one-for-one.

Unlike Preacher of the Schism, which is just generically good, Avenger of the Fallenasks you to do a little bit of work, but if you do the work you will be satisfied with the result.

I could see this have a home in a Golgari Graveyard deck or Sultai Self-Mill deck that is all about filling up the yard with creatures, and then swinging and making 7,8, maybe even 10 or 12 tokens tapped and attacking.

Maybe that is too cute, and you don’t need this card to close out those games, but I am for sure going to be trying to put this in a deck or two, it is just too sweet.

Desperate Measures

Skullclamp? Is that you? I mean it is a one-shot Skullclamp, mimicking the plus 1 minus 1 and drawing two cards, but Desperate Measures has a lot of other interesting uses.

While its most common use case will be more akin to Village Rites, using one mana to sacrifice a cheap creature to draw two cards, it can also play as an interesting combat trick. You attack with your 2/2 into their 3/3, you cast it to make your creature a 3/1, the creatures trade and you draw two cards.

You could also use it on an opponent’s creature to win combat that way, or to snipe obnoxious one drops like Heartfire Hero before they have a chance to grow.

I think the only problem with this card is that your opponent can blow you out with removal, by killing your creature before Desperate Measures resolves, which is not the case with Village Rites types cards.

I think the only question is where does this fit in to current Standard, and I’m not sure but I just love the flexibility of this card that I’ll be trying to find a home for it somewhere.

Rot-Curse Rakshasa

Rot-Curse Rakshasa is a great aggro threat, beating for 5 damage early on and then renewing from the graveyard to help you force through damage later on.

A two mana 5/5 Trample is pretty crazy, and even if it can’t block and only gets to attack once, it will be getting in for a big swing helping to bring down the opponent’s life total. Then in the mid game you get to put decayed counters on your opponent’s biggest two or three creatures, making them unable to block and swinging past them for lethal.

Even if you don’t get lethal out of the deal, those creatures can’t block the rest of the game and if they attack they have to be sacrificed, so unless you are in a tight damage race, your opponent is going to be scrambling to reassemble their board state.

This won’t be good in every matchup, but in the matchups it is good in it will be back breaking, and even in other matchups you still get to chunk in for 5. You are also putting a huge amount of power into play early, making it easy to get down cards that care about that like Ghalta, Primal Hunter, or you could keep it in play and just use it to fight your opponent’s creatures with cards like Bushwhack.

Overall, this card needs to find a home, but I think that some sort of black based aggro deck could return just based on the power of this Demon. Oh, it is also a Demon so you could curve it into Unholy Annex and start draining away.

Scavenger Regent

Scavenger Regent gives me hope that we can make a dragon deck work in Standard. Normally, dragons are a bit expensive and thus a bit clunky. In a format swarmed with aggro decks, you need your clunky decks to have a good mix of interaction and ability to close the game before your opponent can rebuild after a sweeper or top deck lethal burn/haste threats, and Scavenger Regent gives both.

On curve as a four mana 4/4 with ward- discard a card, it blocks well, it attacks well thanks to flying, and it will get a two-for-one if your opponent uses a removal spell. When you are on the back foot it can be a powerful sweeper, as X at 2 or 3 is usually going to be big enough clean up most boards.

So I really like the options this card has, and I think that both sides are just good enough on rate that it could be enough for dragon decks to stay alive against aggro decks and keep the pressure on against slower decks.

Of course you don’t have to limit it just to a dragon deck, you could put it in any slower black based deck you are building, just be careful with how many small creatures you have if you are trying to make use of the Exude Toxin side of the card.

Cori-Steel Cutter

Cori-Steel Cutter is giving Clarion Spirit vibes, and I’m here for it.

While Clarion Spirit was powerful because it made flying tokens and could attack and block itself, it being a creature meant it was much easier to kill. Cori-Steel Cutter is much more difficult to kill, and while the tokens it makes do not have flying, they have prowess and they can have +1/+1, trample, and haste the turn they enter if you choose to attach the equipment to it.

I think that current red aggro decks in Standard do not want this card, since they are so focused on their creature synergies and blowing out blocking with Monstrous Rage, but maybe it could be a sideboard card for more grindy matchups.

If this does find a home I imagine it in some sort of Izzet spells deck, where you have a ton of cheap spells that draw cards, and you just keep pumping out a token each turn to keep the pressure on the opponent. It is worth noting that this can make a token each turn, so if you have two instant spells you can trigger this on your opponent’s turn as well.

This card reads really good, so I would be surprised if it did not find a home somewhere in Standard.

Star of the Arena

Mobilize 1

1R, Sacrifice this creature: this creatures deals damage to target creature equal to the number of creatures you control.

Star of the Arena has a few things going for it. One, it is a one drop that attacks for two across two bodies and can start any synergies you have planned for mobilize tokens. Two, later on when it can’t attack it can be turned into a removal spell, usually after you attack with it to get that token into play. And three, it is another one drop goblin.

I think that we are starting to reach a critical mass of decent goblins that we have to keep trying each set to see if there is a goblin typal deck in Standard. Once the deck reaches a critical mass of cards, it should be able to compete with other red decks since it has access to the same tools as well.

I also plan on building a Mardu Mobilize deck, and this little guy is going to be the perfect start to my curve, so I’m looking forward to trying him out!

Bloomvine Regent

Bloomvine Regent is another great dragon that could make a dedicated dragon deck viable, or just see play in a normal ramp deck.

Claim Territory is Nissa's Pilgrimage or a Cultivate that can only get basic forests. It has been a while since Cultivate was legal in Standard but it is just such a good ramp spell. Not only does it ramp you, but it puts another land drop in your hand, guaranteeing that you will get to five mana the next turn.

While Overlord of the Hauntwoods will likely still be the go to ramp spell/creature hybrid for as long as Up the Beanstalk is allowed to terrorize Standard, I like that Claim Territory gives you ramp and that extra land, and if you don’t need the ramp you can get a 4/5 flyer that gains you three life, helping you stay alive against aggro decks.

Giving several of the dragons these omen spells has been a huge boon to their playability, as flexibility and good effects are what you need in a format that has so much going on.

Already I am looking to build dragon decks and ramp decks that include Bloomvine Regent, so I would not sleep on this card.

Felothar, Dawn of the Abzan

Felothar, Dawn of the Abzan works well with the Abzan mechanic of the set, Endure, which can creature spirit tokens that you don’t mind sacrificing to pump up your whole team, but she also works well with Mobilize, as that mechanic also generates a lot of tokens that you don’t mind sacrificing and also don’t mind buffing up.

I think that if there is an Abzan aggro deck, it will be about going wide and making the most of Felothar’s ability to pump up the jam. I think you take the best of the mobilize cards in these colors, make sure to stack your triggers correctly so you get the mobilize tokens first and then get to sacrifice one of them to her ability, and then watch your opponent’s life total drop.

My only concern is that a three color aggro deck is going to have a much harder time being consistent than the current one and two color aggro decks we have in Standard, and that you are going to lose games to not having the right colors at the right times, but I believe that with some careful tuning we could be competitive in this format.

Flamehold Grappler

Flamehold Grappler has the potential for some crazy turns, and it really isn’t that hard to set up.

Just like Sage of the Skies discussed above, the most obvious lines with this card are to plot something and then copy it for free the turn you play Flamehold Grappler, or to just wait until turn four and then cast a one drop afterwards, like Torch the Towerto take out two creatures, or Sleight of Hand to draw to cards.

But what if we wait until we have five mana, cast Flamehold Grappler, cast This Town Ain't Big Enough using the first copy to bounce the Flamehold Grappler and an opposing permanent and using the free copy to bounce two more of our opponent’s things? Now we are cooking.

i think this will be best against aggro decks, where you use it to copy a removal spell, and then it holds down the fort as a 3/3 first strike, but there is a lot of potential with this card that just continues to grow as the game goes on and you have access to more and more mana.

This card does need a Jeskai deck to exist to see play, and while there is currently some builds of Jeskai Oculus out there, I’m not sure if this card slots into that deck or not, we’ll have to wait and see, but I think that this card could lead to a new version of Jeskai being built and I am excited to try it.

Lotuslight Dancers

Okay I don’t know how to break this card, but I’m sure that people more big brain than me are going to figure it out.

Lotuslight Dancers is fine on rate, as for your very expensive five mana you get a 3/6 with lifelink, which is going to block really well against aggro decks and help you regain some of that life you had lost getting to your five mana spell. But the real reason to play this card is that you get to search your library for three different cards and put them into your graveyard.

There are a few things that pop into my mind with this. The first is we have two graveyard mechanics in this set, renew and harmonize, so you could just fetch some cards that have value from the graveyard to essential draw three cards with this ability.

The second thought that pops into my head is fetching cards like Bloodghast and Afterburner Expert creatures that can come back from the graveyard so you are again getting a lot of value from this ability.

The third thought is there has to be something even more broken to do with this card that I’m just not thinking of. Of course you can fetch big creatures to reanimate, but there are probably better ways to do that then using a five drop.

So I’m not sure if this card will see any play, but this type of effect is one that can lead to some super broken combo, so I would keep an eye on it for sure.

Mardu Siegebreaker

Mardu Siegebreaker is going to break your opponent’s face as well. A 4/4 haste, deathtouch for four mana is a nice top end to an aggressive deck, but it does two things that I think make it powerful.

First, it lets you re-use enters effects of a creature you control, such as Fear of Missing Out, each time you attack with it, giving you repeated value. So while you don’t get to block with the creature that you exiled to its ability, you do get its enters effect over and over against. You also don’t have to exile anything if you don’t want to/don’t have anything to exile.

Second, this is nice against decks playing sweepers, as it tucks a creature safely into exile until it leaves place, so after a sweeper you get that creature back and get to keep the pressure on.

I’m not sure if this card will find a home, since the Mardu deck I am envisioning is based around mobilize and this doesn’t work well with mobilize creatures since the tokens it creatures are tapped and attacking and thus miss the “when this creature attacks” trigger for mobilize. But, maybe there is some sort of sweet Mardu midrange deck that has a lot of enters triggers that this card is fun in.

Songcrafter Mage

Snapcaster Mage returns in a slightly bigger, much more difficult to cast, but just as powerful form in Songcrafter Mage.

While Snapcaster Mage is easy to cast and can go into a variety of decks, Songcrafter Mage requires you to be in Temur and thus can really only go into a Temur (or four/five color) deck. But that’s okay, Temur can be a lot of fun!

The power that this card has over Snapcaster Mage is its ability to cast more expesnive spells for much cheaper. If you play this and target a four mana spell in your graveyard like Mystical Teachings, you can tap the Songcrafter Mage to help pay for the spell thanks to harmonize, and then cast it for just one mana.

I think that is the best use of this card, is to target four mana spells that only have one colored pip in their cost, so you can tap the Songcrafter Mage itself to reduce the cost of that spell to just one mana.

Again, this card needs there to be a Temur deck to see play, and the Temur decks I have brewed so far haven’t really wanted an effect like this, but I think it could be fun to build some sort of Mystical Teachings deck with this card included, so we’ll see if that brew comes together.

Oh and in Pioneer this card is insane with Collected Company, so have fun with that.

Windcrag Siege

Windcrag Siege has some potential on both modes, but I think the Mardu mode is where we are going to be starting most of the time with this card.

The Mardu mode lets you double up on your mobilize triggers, and any other attack triggers you might have such as Preacher of the Schism or Inti, Seneschal of the Sun, which is going to add up to a lot of extra value.

The Jeskai mode can give you some extra attackers if you are looking for a way to close out a game or already played a copy on the Mardu mode and just need an attacker to start getting some triggers going.

I’m not sure if this can make it in standard, as I’m always wary of playing three mana enchantments that don’t impact the board, but the potential value from doubling all of those attack triggers has me watering at the mouth thinking of ways to abuse it.

Wrapping Up

Phew. This set is so full of sweet cards that I could have talked about half of them, but I decided to just pick out a few of my favorites.

I’ll be back next week with my all of my new brews from the set, and I can’t wait to start jamming games when the set comes out on April 8th on Magic Arena and April 11th in paper.

Until next time, best of luck in all of your matches!