Tarkir: Dragonstorm released on 4/8 to online platforms, so I’ll be breaking down each card to help you get accquainted! Much like it’s predecessor, TDM is a “wedge” set, that encourages you to play one of the supported color combinations; Abzan, Jeskai, Mardu, Sultai, or Temur. While 1-2 color decks are supported, the most powerful cards are often three colors, so you will be incentivized to support them.
5.0: Disgustingly powerful and basically unbeatable. Either answer it the turn it comes down or just pack up your cards. (Gruff Triplets, Virtue of Persistence, The Eternal Wanderer)
4.5: Incredible bomb that still gives your opponent a slim chance. (Virtue of Loyalty, Imodane's Recruiter, Realm-Scorcher Hellkite)
4.0: Great rare or the absolute best uncommons and removal. (Faunsbane Troll, Gumdrop Poisoner, Talion’s Messenger)
3.5: Great role filler or removal that you never cut. (Candy Grapple, Hearth Elemental, Torch the Tower)
3.0: Good playable that I’m basically never cutting. (Shrouded Shepherd, Spellscorn Coven, Sharae of Numbing Depths)
2.5: Decent playable and the bar I hope nearly every card in my deck to reach. (Evolving Wilds, Archon's Glory, Flick a Coin)
2.0: Mediocre filler that normally is your 20-23rd card(s). (Mintstrosity, Ice Out, Grabby Giant)
1.5: Replaceable, overall bad filler. Could also be decent sideboard cards. (Titanic Growth, Scarecrow Guide, Territorial Witchstalker)
1.0: Bad filler. Gets cut most of the time. (Dark Tutelage, Kindled Heroism, Impact Tremors)
0.5: Very unhappy to main deck this, but maybe it has fringe sideboard applications. Cards that “could” be situationally decent, but bad in most situations. (Smothering Tithe, Rhystic Study, Mana Flare)
0.0: Unplayable in every possible situation. They rarely print cards this bad these days. (Hew the Entwood, One with Nothing)
All-Out Assault
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
This is a great top-end finisher for Mardu. If you have a few creatures out when you drop this it makes for a very powerful swing. It obviously has a low floor, as you need creatures in play to be impactful.
Armament Dragon
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
This can be a nice top end card to fix your board state. At worst, it’s a 6/7 flyer for 6, which is decent enough.
Auroral Procession
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
This is fine on its own, but has some super nice synergies with other cards like Kishla Skimmer.
Awaken the Honored Dead
Rating: 3.0 // 5.0
3 mana destroy a permanent is good enough on it’s own. The other chapters are just bonus.
Barrensteppe Siege
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
The Abzan half can be great if the game is stalled out, but the Mardu half can be devastating with mobilize creatures.
Betor, Kin to All
Rating: 3.5 // 5.0
5 for a 5/7 flyer is a brutal set of stats. It’s pretty easy to draw a card the turn it comes down, you only need 3 toughness, so it at least replaces itself if it dies the following turn.
Bone-Cairn Butcher
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
Obviously this is designed for mobilize creatures, but there’s quite a few other tokens as well. The monument cycle produces tokens, the endure mechanic does, and many other miscelaneous cards do as well.
Call the Spirit Dragons
Rating: 1.0 // 5.0
This is a difficult spell to cast for no immediate effect. There are quite a few cheaper dragons, that could be nice to have in play when you drop this, and it’s not out of the question to win the game with multicolored dragons.
Cori Mountain Stalwart
Please insert at least one card name. Click edit to add cards
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
I really like this guy for direct damage to close out games. If the board gets stalled, you can rely on pairing this with something like Fleeting Effigy to grind out the last life points.
Death Begets Life
Rating: 3.5 // 5.0
This is expensive, but it’s played during the end game, when players have very few, if any cards left in hand. Clearing the board and refilling your hand is incredibly powerful, even if you have a bit of a board advantage at the time. You do need to be careful you don’t deck yourself on big boards, however.
Defibrillating Current
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
This is a lot weaker than you’d guess, and 9 out of 10 times i’d prefer to have Molten Exhale.
Dragonback Assault
Rating: 3.5 // 5.0
This card is extremely difficult to overcome if you don’t already have a huge advantage. All of your opponents top decks are live, and you will soon face a swarm of dragons.
Dragonclaw Strike
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
This can lead to massive swings. There’s a lot of cards it pair well with, but trample or flying can end games on the spot.
Effortless Master
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
It takes a bit too much effort to make this thing large, and even then it’s still not all that intimidating. It’s fine if you need a 4 drop creature.
Eshki Dragonclaw
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
If you get to trigger this guy once, it becomes a problem, but it’s easier said than done.
Fangkeeper’s Familiar
Rating: 3.0 // 5.0
If you manage to counter a creature with this guy, it’s pretty huge. Gain 3 surveil 3 is also pretty awesome if nothing else.
Felothar, Dawn of the Abzan
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
This often doesn’t do too much, but it can do work in certain circumstances. I believe you can stack the trigger with mobilize, so you can sacrifice the mobilize token to grow your team.
Flamehold Grappler
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
This will most likely copy a 2 mana spell, but if you happen to top deck this with a more expensive spell, it can be incredibly valuable.
Frontline Rush
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
This is a versatile card, you can use the tokens as surprise blockers, or help win combat with the pump option. This is at its best when used as a finisher, pumping an ublocked creature.
Frostcliff Siege
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
Both options of this are good, depending on your deck. I do think the Temur option is very powerful, especially if you have bigger creatures, or lots of small ones.
Glacial Dragonhunt
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
I misread this card at first, and the discard is completely optional, which makes this a lot better than I initially had estimated. This works well with other harmonize and renew cards.
Glacierwood Siege
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
This is one of the weakest sieges, with Temur being the only decent option. It can be a win condition in specific decks with plenty of harmonize spells to mill your opponent out.
Gurmag Nightwatch
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
You do have the option of putting all three of the top cards in your graveyard, which feels nice when confronted with 3 lands in a row.
Hardened Tactician
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
This is designed to work with mobilize creatures. It does have a cheap activation cost, which is nice, but overall feels very awkward.
Hollowmurk Siege
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
This is another underwhelming siege, but not unplayable. Sultai is typically the better option, but keep in mind you do need to have this trigger at least a couple of times to justify playing it.
Host of the Hereafter
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
This guy can be a complete nuiscance in the late game, when you start getting counters on multiple creatures.
Inevitable Defeat
Rating: 3.0 // 5.0
This is pretty hard to beat, and gets through ward/counters as well. The 3 damage is exactly what Mardu is looking for to help end games quickly.
Jeskai Brushmaster
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
This guy is a bit slow, but can be a pain to play around.
Jeskai Revelation
Rating: 4.0 // 5.0
This is pretty backbreaking in most any scenario. It’s incredibly versatile, and makes a huge impact on any game it’s played.
Jeskai Shrinekeeper
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
Not too much to say about this dragon, It’s fast and draws you cards.
Karakyk Guardian
Rating: 3.0 // 5.0
This guy is gigantic and difficult to deal with until it’s eaten a creature or dealt 6 to your face.
Kheru Goldkeeper
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
The best part about this guy is the renew ability. Two +1/+1 counters and a flying counter is a pretty significant combo in the late game.
Kin-Tree Severance
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
This almost always trades up on mana (assuming you paid 3), so it’s a very solid piece of removal.
Kishla Skimmer
Rating: 3.0 // 5.0
Not only is this a solid creature on its own, but the ability is extremely easy to trigger in this set. Aside from harmonize and renew, Ainok Wayfarer is a cheap, efficient creature that will net you a card as well as fill your graveyard.
Kotis, the Fangkeeper
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
You need to pump up this guys power to make him a threat. But if you can do that, it can become problematic for the opponent.
Lie in Wait
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
This is a nice 2-for-1 removal spell, but it doesn’t always line up perfectly that you can kill the creature you want and return the creature you want.
Lotuslight Dancers
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
There is no may, in the ETB ability, so make sure your deck has plenty of renew/harmonize to take advantage of.
Mammoth Bellow
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
The beauty of this card is that the first copy costs 5, and the second time costs 3, if you tap the original elephant.
Mardu Siegebreaker
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
I think this card is a little worse than you may guess at first glance, but it’s still a solid Mardu threat.
Marshal of the Lost
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
This is a bit weak on defence, but can be disgusting with mobilize creatures.
Monastery Messenger
Rating: 1.5 // 5.0
In a world of very strong 3 drops, this isn’t one of them.
Narset, Jeskai Waymaster
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
Narset can absolutely take over games via card advantage. especially when you’re able to cast multiple spells and have 0 cards to discard.
Neriv, Heart of the Storm
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
This is a pretty big beast for 4 mana. The passive ability can often be irrelevant, but works well with haste creatures.
New Way Forward
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
This card is really situational for how expensive it is, but as long as your not too far behind, it can flip the game around, as well as randomly kill an opponent.
Perennation
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
This is a pretty expensive reanimate, but there are certain creatures that can be extremely problematic with a hexproof/indestructible counter on them.
Rakshasa’s Bargain
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
This is one of the strongest draw spells in the format, going four cards deep is likely to net you 2 spells.
Rediscover the Way
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
This is a solid set up saga, which at the very least, will net you a couple cards if you don’t get a huge swing on the third chapter.
Reigning Victor
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
This guy is fine Mardu filler, nothing too powerful going on here.
Reputable Merchant
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
This is a very average creature, but is very nice when paired with the various counter synergies within the set.
Revival of the Ancestors
Rating: 3.5 // 5.0
This card does so much work. It builds up your battlefield in a big way, then the third chapter makes for a huge lifelinked attack.
Riverwheel Sweep
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
This card is solid in the aggressive Jeskai decks. Three stun counters puts a creature out of commission for a very long time.
Roar of Endless Song
Rating: 3.5 // 5.0
Another very impactful saga, that grows your battlefield and enables a giant attack on the third chapter. This can be pretty sick with Dragonclaw Strike making a 20/20 elephant.
Severance Priest
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
This looks a bit better than it actually is. You really don’t want to exile anything with mana value > 3, because the token will be significant when this guy dies.
Shiko, Paragon of the Way
Rating: 3.5 // 5.0
It’s pretty easy for this to get a free card by turn 5. A 4/5 flyer is a really nice stat line for vigilance as well, making it a big problem in combat.
Skirmish Rhino
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
This little guy isn’t quite ready to impress his papa Siege Rhino. It’s a cool card, but nothing crazy.
Songcrafter Mage
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
This guy can do some fun stuff, especially with twobrid spells, like Armament Dragon.
Temur Battlecrier
Rating: 3.0 // 5.0
This guy can help you unload your hand pretty quickly, and create some disgusting looking turns very early on in the game.
Temur Tawnyback
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
Of the twobrid creature cycle, this one’s my favorite. It’s big enough to be meaningful, and helps sculpt your hand.
Teval, Arbiter of Virtue
Rating: 3.5 // 5.0
If this creature isn’t immediately killed it takes over the game in short order, so long as your have some life points to play with.
Thunder of Unity
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
This is one of the weaker sagas, but can help win games that may have been out of reach. You want to play it later in the game, with mobilize creatures already in play to make the most of the drain effects.
Ureni, the Song Unending
Rating: 4.0 // 5.0
This very well could be the best card in the set. It’s incredibly impactful when it enters, difficult to answer, and absolutely gigantic.
Windcrag Siege
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
The majority of the time you will be casting the Jeskai portion of the card, which has some awesome synergies with cards like Shocking Sharpshooter, or Bone-Cairn Butcher
Yathan Roadwatcher
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
This is a cute 2-for-1 creature, though both creatures will likely be on the small side of things.
Temur Tawnyback
Rating: 3.0 // 5.0
This guy can be a big problem if not addressed, allowing you to amass a huge army of tokens relatively quickly.
There we have it! I’m going to put out artifacts/lands the following day, stay tuned!
Lose and Learn, Learn and Win!
