For competitive Magic: The Gathering, Tarkir: Dragonstorm has proven itself a barn-burner already. Between Cori-Steel Cutter in Standard, Lasyd Prowler in Modern, and Rakshasa’s Bargain in Legacy, there’s plenty of love to go around. As you’d expect from a 2025 Magic set, things don’t end there. There are a ton of Commander-playable cards too, many of which are finding their way into thousands of lists already. If you’re wondering what the most popular cards from Tarkir: Dragonstorm are in Commander, then you’ve come to the right place.
There’s a good amount of diversity in the top contenders this time around. Dragon support cards command a strong position, naturally, but beyond that, there’s a nice range of cards seeing a lot of play. This bodes well for the longevity of Dragonstorm as a set, both mechanically and financially.
5 | Dracogenesis
- Mana Value: 6RR
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Type: Enchantment
- Card Text: You may cast Dragon spells without paying their mana costs.
Kicking off our list, and surprising absolutely no one, is Dracogenesis. Ever since Mark Rosewater teased this card, it was clear it was going to be a staple in Dragon decks in Commander. It hits all the right casual Commander notes: it’s big, it’s flashy, and it leads to great in-game stories.
As a result, the card is seeing play in 8,279 decks according to EDHRec. As you’d expect, these are mostly Dragon decks, led by The Ur-Dragon, Tiamat, Miirym, etc. The card is seeing scattered play in the likes of Kaalia, too, however, so it’s not completely archetype-locked.
While Dracogenesis is a bit slow and clunky for competitive Commander play, it looks set to be a casual favorite until the end of time. The kind of player that loves Dragons is also usually the kind of player that loves mass mana cheat. It may not be a particularly reliable card, but Dracogenesis is one of the most popular Commander cards in Tarkir: Dragonstorm, all the same.
4 | Maelstrom Of The Spirit Dragon
- Rarity: Rare
- Type: Land
- Card Text: Tap: Add C.
Tap: Add one mana of any color. Spend this mana only to cast a Dragon spell or an Omen spell.
4, Tap, Sacrifice this land: Search your library for a Dragon card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.
Keeping the dragonfire burning, the next most popular card in the set is Maelstrom of the Spirit Dragon. This is part of 8,627 decks right now, pretty much all of them Dragon-themed again. While the card shares a lot of the same territory with Dracogenesis, it’s a very different beast in terms of functionality.
Instead of ending the game in one big swing, Maelstrom simply smooths out your mana in a Dragon deck. Having an untapped five-color land is a huge advantage for a typal deck, as Sliver Hive and Cavern of Souls will attest. The fact that this also lets you cast Omen spells is a nice bonus, since the Omen Dragons are great, flexible additions to most Dragon decks.
If you’re playing a Dragon deck, there’s really no reason not to run this. So far, so obvious. What’s really interesting about Maelstrom is that final tutor effect. It’s great in Dragon decks, of course, but it also has applications elsewhere.
Worldgorger Dragon, for example, is one of the best combo enablers in cEDH. Being able to tutor it up via a land slot is a nice edge to have, and may earn the card a spot in competitive non-Dragon decks. Alternatively, you could grab a silver bullet like Clarion Conqueror. There’s more potential here than meets the eye, in other words.
3 | Elspeth, Storm Slayer
- Mana Value: 3WW
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Type: Legendary Planeswalker – Elspeth
- Starting Loyalty: 5
- Card Text: If one or more tokens would be created under your control, twice that many of those tokens are created instead.
- +1: Create a 1/1 white Soldier creature token.
- 0: Put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control. Those creatures gain flying until your next turn.
- −3: Destroy target creature an opponent controls with mana value 3 or greater.
Much like Dracogenesis, there was little doubt that Elspeth, Storm Slayer would be making the list of the most popular Commander cards in Tarkir: Dragonstorm. Even discounting all three of her Loyalty abilities, she’s still an absolute slam-dunk for the format. Getting to double all of your token generation is a huge deal, as we’ve seen time and time again.
Cards like Doubling Season, Anointed Procession, and Mondrak, Glory Dominus all see a ton of play in Commander. They also all have eye-watering price tags to match. For the most part, Elspeth does what these cards do and more. She makes tokens herself, which is a nice internal synergy, and she provides a potential finisher at no Loyalty cost. She even offers pretty good creature removal, just in case you need it.
With all of these advantages, it’s no surprise that Elspeth is seeing play in 11,190 decks right now. Most of the great token Commanders, like Caesar, Legion’s Emperor and Baylen, the Haymaker, are giving the card a shot. I’d say it’s likely to stick around, too. Elspeth may be more vulnerable than her token-doubling cousins, but more redundancy is always welcome in Commander.
2 | 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.
Speaking of tokens, Voice of Victory is seeing an awful lot of Commander play already. There are two sides to this card. On one, it’s a very efficient token generator for aggressive decks, applying a ton of pressure early and synergizing with a lot of different cards. On the other hand, it’s a hate bear similar to Grand Abolisher, giving you breathing room on your turn to execute combos uninterrupted.
You can see both sides reflected in the card’s current play stats. Voice of Victory is seeing use with Aggro Commanders like Isshin and Najeela, but also with cEDH all-stars like Tymna. The three toughness on the card is relevant in both cases, making it a best-in-slot option for a wide range of strategies. All in all, it’s being run in 14,473 decks currently, which is a big step up from Elspeth.
A lot of players had this card pegged as a Commander banger from day one, and it isn’t disappointing so far. While the popularity of other cards on this list may ebb and flow over time, I can see Voice of Victory maintaining its staple status for a long time yet.
1 | Mistrise Village
- Rarity: Rare
- Type: Land
- Card Text: This land enters tapped unless you control a Mountain or a Forest.
Tap: Add U.
U, Tap: The next spell you cast this turn can’t be countered.
Sitting at the very top of the pile, Mistrise Village is the most-played new Tarkir: Dragonstorm card in Commander so far. Lands are often the dark horses of lists like this, since the low opportunity cost to include them lets them shine in a wide range of decks. Mistrise Village is the perfect example, giving you protection for your key plays on what is pretty much always an untapped blue source.
As with Voice of Victory, a lot of this card’s play is in the cEDH sphere. Commanders like Kinnan and Thrasios/Rograkh are loving it so far. Since cEDH is such a combo-heavy format, the ability to cast an important spell without fear of it being countered is huge. Sure, Mistrise is mana-intensive, but it’s trivial to generate huge amounts of mana in cEDH between rituals and fast mana rocks.
It’s not just at competitive tables that Mistrise Village is performing. The card is also seeing use in a number of casual Dragon decks, too. While countermagic is less prevalent at lower-power tables, it’s also something casual players hate with a disproportionate passion. Having an easy out like this is hugely appealing for that reason.
All in all, Mistrise Village is seeing play in 15,053 decks at the time of writing. Going forward, I expect that number to rise even further. If you’re playing blue and there’s a chance this can enter untapped, there’s very little reason not to run it.
