As players look forward to the release of Tarkir: Dragonstorm, it’s exciting to think about all the flashy rares and mythic rares the set has to offer. After all, a set full of Dragons and three-color bombs is sure to offer a lot in that department.
However, from a Limited standpoint, perhaps the most notable thing about the entire set is that the removal is some of the best we’ve ever seen. Each color has a high density of interaction even at common, and the common and uncommon removal spells are extremely efficient. This has the potential to drastically alter how draft games play out.
Efficiency
The first aspect of Tarkir: Dragonstorm removal that separates it from many recent sets is how cheap the spells are across the board. Every color has access to solid interaction for just one or two mana at common or uncommon.
Right off the bat, there’s a whole cycle of mono-color “behold a Dragon” cards. Outside of the blue one, the other four are all removal spells that get better if you can behold a Dragon. But here’s the kicker: they are all great even if you have no Dragons in your deck and only get better in the event you do.
Caustic Exhale as a two-mana way to give -3/-3 is well worth it. At one mana, you get a strictly better Stab, which was an all-star in Foundations draft. Similarly, in red, Molten Exhale is strong as a sorcery-speed way to deal four damage to a creature. Tacking on instant speed is just gravy. Osseous Exhale is well above the bar, and Piercing Exhale, while not super exciting, gives green a solid “Bite” effect at common.
Moving on from this pushed cycle, red, white, black, and even blue get access to cheap plays that can reliably keep aggressive decks in check. In red, Channeled Dragonfire is a premier answer to small creatures. A Shock at sorcery speed is fine by itself but tacking on Harmonize puts it over the top.
Getting a two-for-one out of your one-mana removal spell feels like a free roll, especially in a deck with some burly creatures to help you recast it. This separates Channeled Dragonfire from Burst Lightning, which once again, was a top tier removal spell just a couple sets ago.
Black has Dragon’s Prey, which in many cases, is going to function as Murder, except easier to cast. Murder has appeared in Duskmourn and Murders at Karlov Manor. Dragon’s Prey obviously is a bit inefficient when targeting Dragons, but the upside of costing only one black mana is huge. Dragon’s Prey is now easily splashable.
In white, Static Snare answers any artifact or creature at instant speed and can cost as little as one mana. Obviously, Static Snare shines in aggressive shells that can attack with lots of creatures. With Mobilize being such a big mechanic in the set, though, reducing Static Snare’s cost is as easy as pie.
Just like Ride’s End, the best white common in Aetherdrift by a big margin, Static Snare answers even the biggest of threats for cheap. The difference is that you can use Static Snare offensively on the cheap to push damage.
Even blue gets in on the action with cards like Fresh Start. Blue historically lacks good removal spells that aren’t bounce spells or simple tempo plays. Fresh Start forcing an opposing creature to lose all abilities is a big deal.
Volume
Another area where Tarkir: Dragonstorm removal gets an edge is through the sheer volume of different answers available. Every set will have a handful of removal spells, especially in white, black, and red, to help you not fall too far behind or lose to bombs. This set takes that element to the extreme.
This is, in part, because of the Omen mechanic. The Omen mechanic allowed Wizards to staple reasonably costed removal onto six-mana cards, and they didn’t hesitate to deliver.
Twinmaw Stormbrood is the pinnacle of Omen cards at uncommon. As a Dragon, Twinmaw Stormbrood is decent at helping you stabilize. As a spell, Charring Bite is a perfect disruptive element in the early game to help you get to your big plays.
What’s interesting, though, is that Charring Bite is good enough on its own, and you’d be happy to play it in a Temur deck that could never cast the Dragon half of the card. In a similar vein, Disruptive Stormbrood comes with Petty Revenge attached. Petty Revenge is not as good as Charring Bite, but you’d still typically play the card even without access to Disruptive Stormbrood.
We also haven’t even factored in all the multi-color removal like Defibrillating Current and Glacial Dragonhunt, which more than pull their weight. Factoring everything together, and Tarkir: Dragonstorm has the best cheap removal around.
Versatility
Another thing to note about the removal in Tarkir: Dragonstorm is that, while many spells are efficient, you won’t have a shortage of ways to deal with bigger creatures, either. Part of the reason Aetherdrift ended up being a slower format is that playing bigger threats and vehicles lined up well versus cards like Lightning Strike, which in turn took a hit since they couldn’t answer bigger creatures.
From Salt Road Skirmish to Stormplain Detainment, there’s no shortage of ways to answer large monsters. Even cards like Narset’s Rebuke, which might look mediocre at first glance, makes up for the five-mana cost by letting you double spell and easily trigger flurry.
On top of this, Tarkir: Dragonstorm showcases a multitude of narrow cards that feature multiple modes that are strong in vastly different scenarios. For nearly every example, one of the modes is a form of removal. Wail of War in black gives you a double Raise Dead for three mana, which isn’t bad, but you also have the creature-shrinking ability added when applicable.
Rally the Monastery can answer big creatures for only two mana. In the event you lack a good target, however, casting either of the other modes is fine. Then, there are cards like Overwhelming Surge that allow you to essentially maindeck artifact removal because it comes attached to removal. Tarkir: Dragonstorm goes all out with a vast pool of elite kill spells, and this could prove to be very beneficial.
Potential Benefits
For a set that’s dedicated to three-mana cards and sweet Dragons, one of the ways the draft environment could go awry is if players didn’t have enough time to utilize all their goodies. An assertive deck with Mobilize has the potential to run away with the game before your three-color pile could get off the ground. Hopefully, the slew of removal available in Tarkir: Dragonstorm will quell these fears.
Given how efficient a lot of the removal is in the set, players may be incentivized to go bigger (a familiar sight coming off Aetherdrift). Plus, many removal spells, like Charring Bite and Dragon’s Prey, as good as they are, line up worse against Dragons specifically.
Encouraging players to utilize the cool Dragons that the set has to offer is a good thing, and the Dragonstorm cycle (Teeming Dragonstorm and friends) take this a step further. Khans of Tarkir was a very slow set where players got to maximize their three-color bombs. Tarkir: Dragonstorm may not be able to completely recreate that environment in a world driven by power creep, but at least adding lots of removal in the early turns may help push the set in that direction.
We’re excited to see these removal spells in action and how this nostalgic format evolves.