We’re now in that tentative lull between preview season and Prerelease, with players set to get their hands on Tarkir: Dragonstorm this weekend. As is tradition, the next week will be one for the brewers: the players who love breaking down a new set and finding homes for even its most obscure cards. To that end, we’ve put together our list of the best Commander cards from Tarkir: Dragonstorm.
This is a pretty stacked set for Commander all told. We don’t see three-color sets every day, which means this is a rare chance for Abzan, Temur et al to upgrade their arsenals. There are also some great mono-colored options, and even a whole new land cycle which should see widespread play. As was the case with our best Commanders list for the set, we won’t be drawing from the Commander precons here. A lot of those new cards are great for the format, but it’s much more interesting to look at cards not specifically designed for it.
5 | Rare Utility Lands
Starting things off with a bit of a sneaky one, it’s clear that the new rare utility lands in Tarkir: Dragonstorm are some of the best cards in the set for Commander. We spotlighted these cards when they were first previewed, and it was clear then that they were powerful. In most cases, these actually compare favorably to the similar cycle from Modern Horizons 3. It’s not often you can say that about Standard-legal cards.
Some of these lands are certainly better than others. Mistrise Village and Dalkovan Encampment are the clear frontrunners as far as I’m concerned, though I can see arguments for the rest. The beauty of the cycle, however, lies in just how little opportunity cost is associated with running them.
As long as you’re in two of the three colors the land is associated with, it should be better than a basic most of the time. If you’re in all three, it’s a no-brainer. Even in mono-colored decks where there’s no chance of them entering untapped, there’s an argument to be made for their inclusion. Using all of your mana in Commander is just that important.
For that reason, I expect all five cards in this cycle to see heavy play in a range of decks. As utility lands go, they’re some of the best Magic: The Gathering has ever seen.
4 | Mardu Siegebreaker
- Mana Value: 1RWB
- Rarity: Rare
- Type: Creature – Human Warrior
- Stats: 4/4
- Card Text: Deathtouch, Haste.
When this creature enters, exile up to one other target creature you control until this creature leaves the battlefield.
Whenever this creature attacks, for each opponent, create a tapped token that’s a copy of the exiled card attacking that opponent. At the beginning of your end step, sacrifice those tokens.
Mardu Siegebreaker was one of the last cards revealed for Tarkir: Dragonstorm, and it’s also one of the best cards in the set for Commander. It exiles one of your other creatures on entry, then essentially gives it Myriad. When Siegebreaker itself swings, it brings in a copy for each opponent you have, which will typically be three.
The potential for value here is off the charts. Firstly, you’ll get both the enters and dies effects of whatever you exile three times over. This is a huge deal, particularly in Aristocrats decks or those running Impact Tremors etc. This isn’t even considering the extra combat damage you’ll get to apply with two extra disposable attackers a turn. The fact that Siegebreaker itself has Haste means you don’t have to miss a step here, either, keeping the pressure up while also building value.
On top of that, the fact that it exiles and returns your creature when it leaves play makes it ideal for blink shenanigans. Hit a Restoration Angel with that enters ability and you can stack up triggers for days. This card’s potential, both as a value piece and a terrifying aggressive threat, is absurd. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it in 60-card formats, and I’m positive it’ll be a new Mardu Commander staple soon.
3 | Scavenger Regent/Exude Toxin
- Scavenger Regent
- Mana Value: 3B
- Rarity: Rare
- Type: Creature – Dragon
- Stats: 4/4
- Card Text: Flying.
Ward – Discard a card.- Exude Toxin
- Mana Value: XBB
- Type: Sorcery – Omen
- Card Text: Each non-Dragon creature gets -X/-X until end of turn. (Then shuffle this card into its owner’s library.)
Omen isn’t a great new mechanic for multiple reasons. That said, there are a couple of gems that make use of it. Perhaps the best of these is Scavenger Regent, a well-costed board wipe attached to a well-costed creature. Flexibility is king in Commander, and this card offers it in spades.
At a base level, a 4/4 Dragon with Flying and a tricky Ward cost is great for four mana. Dragon decks often struggle with coming out of the gate too slow, and this is a nice mid-game option to address that problem. If you’re a Dragon Typal deck, particularly one running the new Mox Jasper, this may be worth a slot in the 99 for that reason alone.
Of course, Exude Toxin is the real star of the show here. Every Commander deck needs board wipes, and this is a pretty efficient one all told. It scales with the game nicely and gets around Indestructible, which grows more common with each new set. It also doesn’t affect Dragons, which makes it a huge win in Dragon Typal decks.
Even outside of Dragon lists, a board wipe that shuffles itself back into your deck is interesting for Commander. If you have a tutor engine online, you can use this to totally lock down the game. It’s also great insurance against Mill decks. If you see Omen in Commander at all, it’ll likely be in the form of this card.
2 | Lotuslight Dancers
- Mana Value: 2BGU
- Rarity: Rare
- Type: Creature – Zombie Bard
- Stats: 3/6
- Card Text: Lifelink.
When this creature enters, search your library for a black card, a green card, and a blue card. Put those cards into your graveyard, then shuffle.
Just missing out on the top spot on our list of the best Commander cards in Tarkir: Dragonstorm, we have Lotuslight Dancers. Tutor effects are immensely powerful in the format, to the point where they’re a major point of distinction between decks in the new Bracket system. Lotuslight Dancers essentially recreates one of the best tutors in the format, Buried Alive, but this time on a body.
With how easy it is to make use of cards in graveyards these days, Buried Alive is essentially a triple tutor for three mana. That’s an absurd rate, and Dancers gives you the same deal for just a little more mana. It costs five in three colors rather than three in one, but in exchange you get a chunky Lifelink body and a ton more options for what you can put in your ‘yard.
Buried Alive was restricted to just creatures, you see, but Dancers can hit cards of any type. It is restricted by color, mind you, asking you to choose a green, blue, and black card specifically. For the decks that want an effect like this, ie Combo decks, this restriction shouldn’t be an issue. The original reveal for the card went through a number of nasty combos it enables, and there are undoubtedly many more waiting to be discovered.
The fact that this is a multi-tutor you can blink and reanimate is a huge deal, too. If your deck dabbles in the graveyard at all, you’ll want to consider this card.
1 | Voice Of Victory
- Mana Value: 1W
- Rarity: Rare
- Type: Creature – Human Bard
- Stats: 1/3
- Card Text: Mobilize 2 (Whenever this creature attacks, create two tapped and attacking 1/1 red Warrior creature tokens. Sacrifice them at the beginning of the next end step.)
Your opponents can’t cast spells during your turn.
While most of this list has been dedicated to cards I think will shine in regular, mid-power games of Commander, this last one is a shoo-in for cEDH-level play. There’s already been extensive discussion about Voice of Victory in cEDH circles, and for good reason. The card is a resilient way to both shut down interaction and apply pressure, all for just two mana.
Grand Abolisher is a card you see regularly in cEDH, due to its ability to protect combos during your turn. Voice of Victory replicates the most important part of Abolisher’s effect, on a much more resilient body. The difference between two and three toughness is bigger than you think, especially in a format with margins as tight as cEDH.
Additionally, Voice creates attacking tokens each turn that synergize nicely with some of the top cEDH Commanders. Tymna the Weaver can turn those tokens into two extra draws, for example, which is a huge edge over Abolisher. It’s pretty much guaranteed that Voice becomes a new cEDH staple, then. On top of that, it should do plenty of work in lower-power games too. Put it all together, and Voice is clearly the best of the new Tarkir: Dragonstorm cards for Commander as a whole.