After an action-packed preview season, Tarkir: Dragonstorm is pretty much fully spoiled now. It’s looking like a step up in power level overall, with a lot of extremely potent cards for multiple Magic: The Gathering formats. That said, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows over on Tarkir. One of the new Tarkir: Dragonstorm mechanics, Omen, is looking a little lackluster, especially in light of what’s come before.
Not only does this mechanic re-tread old ground in a potentially confusing way, but it does so while just being worse. The result is a mechanic that feels out of place in an otherwise powerful and innovative set. While there are certainly edge cases in which Omen could shine, I don’t see them panning out for the most part. Instead, I think the mechanic is an unfortunate misstep that will drag down Dragonstorm as a whole.
The Problem With The Tarkir: Dragonstorm Omen Mechanic
In case you haven’t seen it yet, Omen is a new instant/sorcery subtype found attached to Dragon creatures in the set. Like classic split cards, you’ll have the option to cast either the Dragon creature or the Omen spell from your hand. If you cast the Omen spell, the card is shuffled into your deck after use.
The biggest issue with Omen, in my eyes, is one of power level, and that largely stems from the shuffle clause. While Omen cards are templated very similarly to Adventure cards, you don’t get to cast both halves here. Instead, you have to hope you draw the card again if you want to cast it as a creature.
“Shuffling something into the library is only a tiny step up from exiling it away. […] I dont see any other upside and these are so circumstantial it feels much worse than the card advantage of adventures. I feel going to the yard would be preferable to going into the deck most of the time.”
Existing_Fish_6162, via r/MagicTCG
Existing_Fish_6162 makes a great point here. Given how common graveyard recursion is, especially for creatures (which Omens are considered in the ‘yard), just having them go to the graveyard as normal would’ve probably been preferable to the shuffle effect here. Shuffling is one of the best ways to make a card inaccessible, in fact. The post-2015 Commander tuck rules are evidence of that.
Shuffling the Omen in after cast would make sense if it was a downside for aggressively-costed split cards. For the most part, however, Omen cards are costed just as clunkily as Adventures were. While some are okay, like Charring Bite from Twinmaw Stormbrood, most are incredibly underwhelming. Even the rare Omens, like Coil and Catch from Marang River Regent, would largely be completely unplayable as spells in their own right. Factor in the overcosted Dragon halves, and neither side is particularly attractive.
Overly Familiar
The other major issue I have with the Tarkir: Dragonstorm Omen mechanic is one of templating. As the image above shows, these cards are laid out almost exactly the same way as Adventure cards. The text box is divided in two, with the creature half on the right and the spell on the left. Adventure cards do have a ‘pages of a book’ design to them, but at a glance you’d be hard-pressed to tell them apart.
“It does feel weird they essentially reused Adventure templating to do Omens, as it feels like without that reminder text there every time a lot of players are going to mentally miss that.”
hackingdreams, via r/MagicTCG
Having two mechanically different types of cards use the exact same distinct templating creates a user experience problem. Magic: The Gathering players tend to mentally ‘shortcut’ their plays by referring to the visuals of their cards rather than fully reading them each time. Up until now, they could easily identify and plan around Adventures simply by taking note of the split text box.
Now that Omens are in the mix, this is no longer a foolproof strategy. The potential now exists for players to get Adventures and Omens mixed up, resulting in sub-optimal plays. This can even happen in the current Standard environment since Wilds of Eldraine doesn’t rotate for another two years. Disrupting established player behaviors like this is always a risky move. In this case, where the trade-off is just a clunky split card mechanic, the juice doesn’t seem worth the squeeze.
While we’re on the topic of player experience, it’s worth noting that Omens add the potential for a ton of extra shuffling to a game of MTG. Wizards have made it clear multiple times that this is something they try to avoid. Most famously, it was cited as a reason not to reprint the Fetchlands in Standard. Excess shuffling slows down games and makes things less interesting for players and spectators alike. If Omen is a success, then we can expect to see slower games overall.
Good Omens?
All of that said, no cloud is without a silver lining. While I’m not personally a fan of the Tarkir: Dragonstorm Omen mechanic, there are plenty of Magic: The Gathering players out there excited to try it out. For all of its faults, it does open up some potentially interesting design space.
“These omen cards allow for some interesting interactions, though. You can’t grab a Tormenting Voice off of a Malevolent Rumble, but you could grab this dragon and then cast “Tormenting Voice”, etc. These play better than they look, but they would have to find a home.”
VargasFinio, discussing Stormshriek Feral
The fact that there are now new cards in this ‘genre’ is worth mentioning. Plenty of cards draw and recur creatures, and those all get better with new split creature/spells in the pool. The fact that the Omens are all Dragons is also relevant for Behold.
On the subject of unusual interactions, there are some players who view the shuffle effect on Omens as an upside. In the right deck, this is certainly a possibility.
“An ‘Oops All Omens’ control deck that topdecks removal every turn seems like it could be a thing.”
Ok-Brush5346, discussing Twinmaw Stormbrood
Shuffling your removal and card draw back into the deck after use is, in many ways, a Control deck’s dream. With the right density of removal pieces, a deck like this could theoretically outlast any opponent.
For better or worse, such a deck is a long shot in Standard currently. Even if it did exist, it would likely be miserable to play against. That said, with Omen cards like Scavenger Regent in the mix, there’s a chance such a list takes shape at some point.
“A very useful and versatile spell tacked on to a very easy to cast and hard to kill creature. Yeah, I think we’re gonna see a lot of this guy. Maybe not right away, but it’s got a very high ceiling.”
Psymon_Armour, discussing Scavenger Regent
Omen, and the discussion around it, is a great example of the different things MTG cards mean to different people. While I look at Omen and see a clunky Limited mechanic, other players see the potential for shenanigans. Long may the discourse divide continue, I say.
