In just one week, the Tarkir: Dragonstorm debut stream will go live on Twitch, showcasing a wide range of spoilers from the new set. As is typical, to help build up some hype around all the cool designs the set has to offer, MTG head designer Mark Rosewater just released his teasers for Tarkir: Dragonstorm.
This collection of hints presents a lot of information about various cards and mechanics, even without presenting any official spoilers. So, our goal is to highlight some of the most intriguing teasers of the bunch, while trying to predict some of the new card designs. To start, why don’t we look at one teaser in particular that reveals the return of one of MTG’s most broken mechanics.
Delve is Back…
Delve is an absolutely absurd mechanic that resulted in a slew of bans back in Khans of Tarkir. Both Treasure Cruise and Dig Through Time proved to be too powerful even for Modern and Legacy. The problem is that the design team clearly underestimated how easy it would be to get six or seven cards into your graveyard to cast these card advantage spells on a full discount.
Given how problematic Delve was, it’s a bit intriguing to see the keyword return in any capacity. The good news, at least, is that the only mention of Delve in the set thus far comes on a card’s rules text that states “Spells you cast have delve.”
Chances are, this ability comes on a legendary creature or enchantment with a rather hefty casting cost. If the original spell doesn’t have Delve, you still need to invest a lot of mana to get a benefit.
Nonetheless, a big creature or enchantment that grants your spells delve could easily be an elite build-around in Commander. Any self-mill deck can get huge discounts on its spells if the new Tarkir: Dragonstorm card goes unanswered. There isn’t a ton of other information to go off of, however, so for now, we’ll just have to wait and see how things play out.
From Zombies to Dragons
Of the remaining teasers, the one that players seem to be talking about the most is the one that references a new enchantment for Dragon decks that’s based on a popular Zombie-themed enchantment. There are only a handful of enchantments that heavily reward players for sticking to a Zombie theme, so it’s not as difficult to narrow this clue down.
As expected, many players believe that the new enchantment will be a Rooftop Storm variant for Dragons. Rooftop Storm is a really cool Commander card, so this would be interesting. The only concern here is that Dragons tend to be much more devastating individually than Zombies. The sheer number of Dragons that are enormous yet over costed bombs make an Omniscience for Dragons quite a scary card.
Beyond Rooftop Storm, Necroduality is another enchantment that seems perfectly reasonable to replicate for Dragons. Unfortunately, given how many Dragons are legendary, you may not get quite as much bang for your buck creating extra tokens of your best cards.
The final enchantment that seems well-suited to be reimagined for Dragon decks is Endless Ranks of the Dead. This style of effect rewards you for going wide and can get out of control quickly. A new version that makes 2/2 fliers based on the number of Dragons you control would be neat.
Of note, there are a few other options here to go off of, such as Open the Graves or Call to the Grave. These options seem less popular and less likely to warrant a spinoff as a result, though.
Warrior Tokens Can’t be Sacrificed
One other piece of rules text that’s pretty interesting reads “During your end step, Warrior tokens you control have ‘This token can’t be sacrificed.’” This does read a bit weirdly. However, the Mardu Commander Precon for Tarkir: Dragonstorm specifically mentions creating tokens and sacrificing them for value.
As such, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for a new mechanic to generate Warrior tokens that sacrifice at your end step. We know that the decayed keyword is coming back, and decayed counters will even be making an appearance. So, having a way to keep tokens around does sound rather thematic.
Throwbacks
Unsurprisingly, there are some hints that suggest Tarkir: Dragonstorm will be calling back to some old designs from Khans of Tarkir block. For example, we know one new card has the ability to tutor up one of two specific cards. Well, that’s exactly what Renowned Weaponsmith did in Fate Reforged. Hopefully, we get some better tutor targets than Heart-Piercer Bow or Vial of Dragonfire, but we’ll just have to see.
Another new card features the rules text “Whenever you cast a Turtle spell, untap this creature.” Showcasing Turtles in a Dragon set may seem strange, but not once you realize Meandering Towershell was present in Khans of Tarkir. These throwbacks are definitely welcome inclusions.
The Best of the Rest
These previous teasers feel like the coolest of the bunch, but there are a few more we wanted to mention. First, we’d be remiss if we didn’t talk about a new alternate win condition with the text “If you put +1/+1 counters on five Dragons this way, you win the game.” Controlling five Dragons at a time is difficult, but not impossible in a Commander setting.
Perhaps this effect comes on an enchantment that puts +1/+1 counters on your Dragon army during your upkeep. That way, you still get a bonus even if you don’t outright win the game on the spot. At the same time, your opponents have a chance to respond and either remove the enchantment or some of your Dragons to keep you off your win condition.
The return of time counters alongside lifelink and decayed counters is sweet, too. There’s supposedly even a card that rewards you for putting three or more different kinds of counters on your creatures. Fans of Perrie, the Pulverizer should be thrilled.
From Ape Snake creatures to Zombie Snake Warlocks, Tarkir: Dragonstorm truly has it all. Make sure to tune into the Tarkir: Dragonstorm debut stream on March 18 for more reveals from MTG’s next premier set.
