Of all the archetypes in Magic: The Gathering, Stax may be the most contentious. Most decks tend to concern themselves mainly with winning the game, but Stax instead aims to prevent your opponent from playing at all. Whether its resource denial or cards that turn off certain game actions, Stax decks can often be miserable to play against. In Tarkir: Dragonstorm, MTG players who like this style of play will find a firm friend in Clarion Conqueror.
This new card isn’t just an aggressively-costed Dragon. It’s also an easy way to shut down a ton of different things, in multiple Magic formats. This isn’t the only great Stax piece we’ve seen in Tarkir: Dragonstorm, either. Throw in Voice of Victory, and there might actually be enough support for a dedicated Stax deck in Standard. This idea, I’m sure you’ll agree, is as exciting as it is terrifying.
Clarion Conqueror MTG
- Mana Value: 2W
- Rarity: Rare
- Type: Creature – Dragon
- Stats: 3/3
- Card Text: Flying.
Activated abilities of artifacts, creatures and planeswalkers can’t be activated.
Clarion Conqueror was revealed by Japanese YouTuber MTG DM. An official English translation hasn’t yet been provided, but the effect here is simple enough that the one above is likely accurate. The name of the card was also confirmed in the Tarkir: Dragonstorm debut video.
As a card, Clarion Conqueror is very nice indeed. A 3/3 Flier for three is on-rate, especially with a relevant creature type like Dragon. Stax creatures like this often suffer in terms of base stats. Seeing one built relatively aggressively is a breath of fresh air, then.
The ability is the real juice here, however, and it’s fantastic. We’ve seen cards that specifically shut down artifacts, creatures, and planeswalkers before, but never all in one. The fact that this also affects mana abilities is a massive deal, too. Typically effects like this still let your opponents use their Llanowar Elves and Sol Rings. Clarion Conqueror, however, says no to all of that.
Just artifacts and creatures would’ve probably been enough for this card, but making planeswalkers near-useless is another huge upside. A lot of modern planeswalkers, like the new Ugin and Elspeth from this very set, do have passive abilities that will continue to function while Conqueror is out. Those without such abilities, however, are literally blank pieces of cardboard in the face of this devious Dragon.
In current Standard, Clarion Conqueror is unlikely to make much impact. It’s a decent sideboard piece against decks running Zur, Eternal Schemer. Other than that, however, there just aren’t many activated abilities in the format right now. It doesn’t even do much against Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, the format’s most popular planeswalker, since its passive ability lets it maintain relevance as a creature.
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 Standard as it is now isn’t a great fit for Clarion Conqueror, the tides of the MTG meta are always shifting. Its particular brand of hate may come into relevance yet. If it does, it’s likely that Voice of Victory, another top-shelf Stax piece from Tarkir: Dragonstorm, will be in the mix somewhere too.
For just two mana, this card does a hell of a lot. 1/3 stats and Mobilize 2 means it swings for three across three bodies. This is pretty impressive even in Aggro decks. On top of that, it also shuts down all interaction from your opponent on your turn. Never again will you need to worry about running into a counterspell or an instant-speed board wipe.
This is a powerful piece for aggressive white decks, and it also pairs very nicely with Clarion Conqueror above. With these two, alongside the likes of Grand Abolisher and Doorkeeper Thrull, a full-on Hate Bears deck in Standard may be possible. We even have Raise the Past in the format to bring back lockdown pieces en masse. Conqueror sadly costs too much to be eligible in that case. That said, it would absolutely be part of the deck regardless.
With cheap, quality removal like Ride’s End and Static Snare, as well as protection like Duty Beyond Death, such a deck is more than possible in the current format. It could even run Dalkovan Encampment from Tarkir: Dragonstorm’s new rare land cycle as a finisher. It would be ironic if a three-color set brought a Mono-White deck to prominence, but with so many tools at its disposal, I think there’s a real chance here.
Stacking Up The Stax
Whether Standard play works out or not, both Clarion Conqueror and Voice of Victory will find guaranteed homes in the MTG Commander format. Both will see testing in high-level cEDH decks for sure, but I think Conqueror will take the edge at the casual tables.
While countermagic and interaction are less common when you’re playing in the lower brackets, mana dorks and rocks are everywhere. Dropping Conqueror can deprive your opponents of several turns worth of mana at once, which is enough to put you pretty far ahead. That’s not even factoring in how well it deals with engine cards like Skullclamp and The One Ring, and specific Commanders like Krenko and Lathril. Overall, I expect it to be a new white staple in the format.
Over in cEDH, Voice of Victory should find its time to shine. The entire format is built around executing game-winning combos as fast as possible, kept in check only by an abundance of cheap countermagic and interaction. Voice flat-out prevents this interaction during your turn, letting you combo off in peace when the time comes. It also has three toughness, which is crucial for dodging key removal like Twinshot Sniper. Throw in the fact that the tokens it produces can help fuel top-tier white Commanders like Tymna the Weaver, and you have a very powerful overall package for cEDH.
Funnily enough, Clarion Conqueror can lock the game down with Mycosynth Lattice. Since everything will be an artifact, nothing can activate, including lands. If you have the superior board state when resolving into this, you’ll win the game by chipping damage over a lot of turns.
While Stax pieces like this aren’t generally popular with other players in a Commander pod, they fill a vital role in terms of keeping shenanigans in check. In this regard, Clarion Conqueror and Voice of Victory look set to join the esteemed ranks occupied by Drannith Magistrate, Collector Ouphe, and even Esper Sentinel; not bad company, by anyone’s standards.
