Tarkir: Dragonstorm will release 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)
Breaching Dragonstorm
Rating: 1.5 // 5.0
I’m not a huge fan of this dragonstorm due to its unreliability. Paying 5 mana and flipping a 2 drop is pretty rough.
Channeled Dragonfire
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
This seems fine, but sorcery speed hurts this card quite a bit. The ability to hit your opponent in the face for 4 is pretty nice though.
Cori-Steel Cutter
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
The equip effects aren’t anything crazy, but spitting out prowess tokens is pretty powerful if you can do so reliably.
Devoted Duelist
Rating: 1.5 // 5.0
This is a very replaceable 2 drop.
Dracogenesis
Rating: 0.0 // 5.0
This isn’t a limited card
Equilibrium Adept
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
For the most part, this is 4 for a 2/4 draw a card, which is solid enough to play in most red decks.
Fire-Rim Form
Rating: 1.5 // 5.0
This is a decent trick for red decks, but there are better options in different colors.
Fleeting Effigy
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
This is a fantastic tool for reliably enabling flurry. It can squeeze in 2-4 points in the early game, and help enable flurry triggers in the mid-game. It’s a very aggressive card, and does little else.
Iridescent Tiger
Rating: 1.5 // 5.0
Unlike Burning-Tree Emissary, double spelling on turn 5 isn’t quite as impactful as it is in the early game.
Jeskai Devotee
Rating: 1.5 // 5.0
This is a fine mana fixer if you need one.
Magmatic Hellkite
Rating: 3.5 // 5.0
This is a gigantic flyer for 4 mana that can often set your opponent back a turn on mana.
Meticulous Artisan
Rating: 1.5 // 5.0
This creature is a bit small for a 4 drop, and is very replaceable.
Molten Exhale
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
This is a solid removal piece, even if you have to cast it sorcery speed.
Narset’s Rebuke
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
This is a cool removal spell that can lead to some gigantic swings when paired with prowess/flurry. Outside Jeskai, it’s playable, but not anything special.
Overwhelming Surge
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
There’s a decent amount of noncreature artifacts (like monuments: Mardu Monument, so it won’t be too uncommon to see this 2-for-1 your opponent.
Rescue Leopard
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
This is a decent threat that will help sculpt your hand. It’s not great at blocking other 2 or 3 drops, but it can trade up with a lot of 4-5 drops.
Reverberating Summons
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
This is really only for low cost Jeskai decks. It can hit your opponent once or twice, then draw you a couple cards to refill your hand.
Runescale Stormbrood // Chilling Screech
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
If you get to play both halves of this card, you come out way ahead. The counterspell won’t always line up though, especially on the draw.
Sarkhan, Dragon Ascendant
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
Sarkhan’s pretty weak without dragons (big surprise). But if you can follow up with a dragon or two (cast early from the treasure), it can make for a very fast game.
Seize Opportunity
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
This is a nice tool for aggressive red decks, either acting as a nice combat trick, or an instant speed Divination.
Shock Brigade
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
This guy will be hard to block for the first few turns, and really helps contribute to go-wide strategies.
Shocking Sharpshooter
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
This is a fine card to include in most red decks, but really shines when paired with mobilize cards.
Stadium Headliner
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
This is a great aggressive threat to drop on turn 1. Once you reach the mid game, it can turn into a kill spell.
Stormscale Scion
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
This will be difficult to get multiple copies of, but if you do, the power level goes way up. It pairs nicely with Iridescent Tiger or Breaching Dragonstorm.
Stormshriek Feral // Flush Out
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
Neither half of this card are amazing on their own, but the sum of the two parts makes for a solid card.
Summit Intimidator
Rating: 1.5 // 5.0
This can be a fine top end card for aggressive red decks, but is still very replaceable.
Sunset Strikemaster
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
This does a few things well in particular circumstances. It can attack for 3, help mana ramp you, and take out dragons – all pretty solid options when the situation lines up.
Tersa Lightshatter
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
By the time this starts letting you cast cards from your graveyard, it will likely be outsized on the battlefield. The rummage ETB effect is still very powerful, though.
Twin Bolt
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
There’s a good amount of 1 toughness creatures running about, so this will sometimes 2-for-1 your opponent. This can be very underwhelming against bigger decks, so this is really a matchup dependent card.
Underfoot Underdogs
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
This is a good utility creature for go-wide decks, but should be largely avoided outside of them.
Unsparing Boltcaster
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
This is an awesome creature when paired with mobilize creatures. Your opponent will often block the 1/1 tokens, only to lose their creature post combat.
War Effort
Rating: 2.0 // 5.0
This is almost exclusively a Mardu mobilize card. Even then, it’s not for every deck, and I would be very deliberate about what deck I put this in.
Wild Ride
Rating: 1.5 // 5.0
This can be a decent Jeskai trick, especially with double strikers that can come out of nowhere. Other than that, it’s unplayable.
Zurgo’s Vanguard
Rating: 2.5 // 5.0
It’s fairly common for this to be a 4/3 or more for 3 mana (at least while attacking). It’s likely not a great Temur creature, so keep that in mind.
Top 3 Red Commons:
Red has some solid go-wide creatures, and some cheap removal to pair well with it. It contributes the most to Mardu and Jeskai wedges, and very little to Temur. It has some great aggressive tools to enable flurry, and some good aggressive spells as well. I’ll be tackling Green next, stay tuned!
Lose and Learn, Learn and Win!
