Officially, the spoiler season for Tarkir: Dragonstorm isn’t due to start until next Tuesday, the 18th of March. Despite this date for Dragonstorm’s debut, Wizards has slowly been releasing a few spoilers early. Embedded within story chapters for the set, we’re just now seeing our second early spoiler ahead of the set’s release.
Unfortunately, while earlier spoilers do sound rather exciting, what we’ve seen from Tarkir: Dragonstorm so far isn’t that special. Rally the Monastery could have some legs in Standard, but outside of that this card just looks like draft chaff. Sadly, even seeing Standard play seems like an optimistic goal for the latest Tarkir: Dragonstorm spoiler, Stormplain Detainment.
Stormplain Detainment
After looking at Stormplain Detainment for just a moment, it may seem incredibly familiar. Three mana for an enchantment with an exile effect that only lasts for as long as it’s on the board? That’s something we’ve definitely seen before. To date, in fact, we’ve seen the exact wording of this card appear on 17 different enchantments.
While the nuances often change between every set, the main template of this effect is Banishing Light. First printed in 2014’s Journey into Nyx, this card has, coincidentally, also seen 17 reprints throughout the years. Most recently, Banishing Light was reprinted in MTG Foundations, so it’ll be in Standard until at least 2029.
Now, MTG players can essentially run eight copies of this card in Standard. Stromplain Detainment is a functional reprint of Banishing Light, only with a different name. Initially, this might seem interesting, or zany at best. In reality, however, Banishing Light doesn’t see any play in Standard right now. With this in mind, Stormplain Detainment is unlikely to see any play too.
Thankfully, while Stormplain Detainment may not work in Standard, it’s worth keeping an eye on in Limited. Unless enchantment removal is surprisingly plentiful, Stormplain Detainment should keep a threat off the board until the game ends. For three mana, this effect isn’t bad in a limited environment at all.
Obviously, while there is some limited potential for Stormplain Detainment, we’ve only scratched the surface of Tarkir: Dragonstorm. Only once the set’s spoiler season has finished, will we be able to properly assess this card’s potential in Draft.
Milk Toast Magic
While Stormplain Detainment is literally nothing new, it’s still fairly disappointing. Looking at the other Banishing Light lookalikes, the vast majority at least do something interesting. Lassowed by the Law, for instance, bumps up the card’s mana cost to add in the set mechanic. Static Net from The Brothers’ War, did the exact same thing, also creating a Powerstone Token.
While Leyline Binding arguably pushed things too far, these slight tweaks help keep otherwise boring reprints more interesting. There’s little reason to think that the same couldn’t have been done with Stormplain Detainment. While we don’t know much about Tarkir: Dragonstorm’s mechanics, we still know enough to make a more interesting design.
Should Wizards have utilized the new Behold mechanic, Stormplain Detainment could be a genuinely interesting MTG card. Theoretically, by Beholding a Dragon, the cost of this enchantment could be cut to just two mana. While this doesn’t match Leyline Binding in terms of cost, it’s nonetheless a lot more interesting than a functional reprint.
Obviously, Wizards of the Coast decided not to go down this route, and there could be a few reasons for that. For starters, any extra shenanigans might have been too much for a common card. Alternatively, this card could push a theoretical Dragon Typal Standard deck over the edge in terms of power.
Ultimately, without official word from Wizards of the Coast, there’s no telling why Stormplain Detainment is what it is. All we know is that we’ve been left with a functional reprint that’s bound to basically see no play at all. At least commander players might be happy, maybe, that they can run yet another of these effects.