Tarkir is one of MTG’s most beloved planes, and a return felt inevitable. Tarkir: Dragonstorm delivered on a lot of fronts. Beyond just the emphasis on Dragons, the three-color vibes were a huge selling point that made the set quite unique.
Interestingly, despite the wedge theme and each clan getting its own Commander Precon, Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander featured zero three-color cards outside of the legends. As always, some MTG players weren’t best pleased about this. One player even took to Mark Rosewater’s Blogatog to mention their disappointment with the lack of three-color cards, which sparked a lot of discussion.
There are clearly benefits to the approach the design team is taking in emphasizing mono-color filler cards. Still, some players would argue this is a missed opportunity. It’s intriguing to see such mixed emotions within the community. Let’s dive in and hear what all the fuss is about.
Versatility
“Jozogozo: Some feedback: I wish there were more new multicolored cards in the commander decks for Tarkir. I know the mono colored cards are more flexible, but Tarkir is one of the few places where wedge cards have a chance to be made and it’s a bit disappointing there weren’t any outside of the two commanders for each deck”
Mark Rosewater: Our data actually is saying the opposite, that players want cards that have more versatility to go into multiple decks. I’m curious how others feel.”
Via: Blogatog
Regardless of whether or not you agree with it, Mark Rosewater’s response here makes a lot of sense. By definition, mono-colored and two-color MTG cards can fit in more Commander decks than three-color cards. As Rosewater states, this makes these cards more versatile, which in turn makes them more interesting to more players.
This, however, obviously doesn’t mean that precons are just a wild jumble of disconnected cards. Each Tarkir: Dragonstorm precon, for example, has its distinct theme; however, most of the deck’s mono-color cards also have a flexible enough effect to go in a lot of other Commander decks. Will of the Mardu, for instance, thematically fits as a Mobilize payoff, but it’s just a strong card for nearly any token strategy out there.
Following on from this statement, Rosewater took the opportunity to gather some community feedback. As always, upon asking “how others feel” about the discussion, many MTG players were quick to chime in with their own opinions. Unsurprisingly, while the Blogatog post didn’t receive an immense amount of comments, players nonetheless showcased a range of opinions.
Tumblr user Singerofw, for instance, commented that it can be upsetting seeing a really sweet effect on a card only to realize that you can’t run it in the majority of decks due to color restrictions. Even if these cards are mechanically interesting, they’re rarely so good that you’d rework an existing two-color deck just to include one.
With this in mind, it’s no wonder that mono or two-color cards are the go-to within Commander precons. More often than not, these cards will fit into significantly more already existing decks without massively compromising the card’s utility.
Creativity
“I lean towards liking more colors on the basis that restrictions breed creativity”
simicmimic
“Playing ‘Elemental Bond’ on every green deck I have is kind of boring, but playing ‘Temur Ascendancy’ is much more niche and feels truly unique and fun.”
drecald
On the flip side, there’s an argument to be made that featuring narrow effects is a good thing. Many players in the comments, including simicmimic, voiced this opinion. These players noted that designs with less flexibility would encourage more creative deckbuilding.
Personally, I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment. It’s cool to abuse potent effects that not everyone has access to. Narrow but powerful designs reward players for thinking outside the box. In some cases, they can even give you a strong reason to play a specific color combination and Commander, even if that particular legend isn’t the strongest for a given theme.
For example, both Felothar, the Steadfast and Arcades, the Strategist propel you into the Defender EDH theme, but in different color combinations. If the Abzan Tarkir: Dragonstorm Precon featured a really strong Defender specifically in Abzan, players would receive an additional reward for choosing to run Felothar at the helm.
A Compromise
“They realistically shouldn’t replace ALL the monocolor/colorless staples, but id like to see at least some new multicolor nonlegends in a precon, especially in a set like this where the 3-color clans are the big selling point”
spirawr
“I agree with everyone saying that 1 multicolor nonlegend would have been awesome to see! I personally love 3 color decks”
the-june-cooperative
Despite being a controversial topic, the idea of showcasing a small number of new three-color cards in the Tarkir: Dragonstorm Precons seemed to be very well supported. Tumblr user spirawr recognized the importance of having a majority of new Commander cards be mono-color, but also felt like having some multi-color nonlegends in a set dedicated to three-color clans would have been nice.
This statement garnered a lot of support and personally encapsulates my thoughts on the matter quite well. The majority of sets printed nowadays don’t feature much in the way of three-color cards, even in the main set. Tarkir: Dragonstorm did, but some of the three-color cards in the main set aren’t super appealing in Commander.
Taking this opportunity to print one multi-color nonlegend for each clan would’ve been perfect. Given the support for three-color Commander cards in the comments of the Blogatog post, I’m curious if any new Commander Precons printed over the next couple of years will boast more three-color nonlegends. We’ll just have to wait and see about that.