While Magic: The Gathering has recently dazzled fans with high-profile crossovers like Final Fantasy and Spider-Man, the spotlight is now shifting to the eagerly awaited return to the plane of Tarkir with the set Tarkir: Dragonstorm. We're excited to give you an exclusive sneak peek at five cards that are poised to dominate the draft tables next month. You can already preorder the expansion on Amazon.
Browse through the gallery below to see all five cards, and continue reading for insights from Wizards of the Coast on their design and the overarching theme of the set.
Magic: The Gathering - 5 New Cards from Tarkir: Dragonstorm
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These five cards form a "cycle," sharing common design elements across each of Magic's colors. Each card is a cheap, common-rarity creature with abilities linked to one of Tarkir's three-color clans, and another feature that converts mana into a color from that clan.
“Three-color limited environments need quite a bit of mana fixing, at all rarities,” explains Wizards of the Coast Senior Game Designer Adam Prosak. “We wanted lots of decks to be able to access mana fixing, so we created quite a few designs dedicated to helping solve mana issues. In particular, these creatures allow you to play to the board while developing your mana at the same time - many other designs (such as tapped lands) only make mana and you tend to fall behind in order to fix your mana.”
Preorder MTG Tarkir: Dragonstorm Cards
### Magic: The Gathering Tarkir: Dragonstorm - Play Booster Box
0$164.70 at Amazon
### Magic: The Gathering Tarkir: Dragonstorm - Collector Booster Box
0$299.88 at Amazon
### Magic: The Gathering Tarkir: Dragonstorm - Collector Booster
0$24.99 at Amazon
### Magic: The Gathering Tarkir: Dragonstorm - Commander Deck Bundle - Includes All 5 Decks
0$224.95 at Amazon
### Magic: The Gathering Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander Deck - Abzan Armor
0$44.99 at Amazon
### Magic: The Gathering Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander Deck - Jeskai Striker
0$44.99 at Amazon
### Magic: The Gathering Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander Deck - Sultai Arisen
0$44.99 at Amazon
### Magic: The Gathering Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander Deck - Mardu Surge
0$44.99 at Amazon
### Magic: The Gathering Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander Deck - Temur Roar
0$44.99 at AmazonSenior Worldbuilding Designer Lauren Bond highlights that while the mechanical aspect was prioritized in this cycle, common cards often serve as a canvas to illustrate the world of the set. “The passionate action-oriented monks of the Jeskai, the Whispers using Temur magic, Nagas in the Sultai as protectors (and avengers) of the jungle, Mardu military prowess including supporting roles (and that dragons can come in many shapes and sizes!), and Abzan clerics regrowing the lost kin trees.”
Some recent Magic sets have faced criticism for relying too heavily on tropes or thematic gimmicks, even when revisiting previous planes. This makes *Tarkir: Dragonstorm* stand out with its straightforward return to Tarkir. Senior Worldbuilding Art Director Forrest Schehl notes that feedback is crucial to Wizards of the Coast, yet “the top-level pitch for Tarkir was established well before the release of *Murders at Karlov Manor*” and subsequent sets, and did not alter afterward.“We wanted to combine Dragons and Clans in a way that hadn’t been seen on Tarkir in the same set, and the Dragonstorms that were a defining feature of the plane were going to play a big role in shaping how we approached this ‘return-to’. The pressure to get it right was something Lauren and I felt from day one; we always wanted to build the next chapter of this beloved plane with authenticity and substance.”
Tarkir: Dragonstorm is now available for preorder, with the set scheduled to release in both paper and digital formats on April 11, and in-store prerelease events starting on April 4. Dive deeper into the design process with our full interview with Wizards of the Coast's Adam Prosak, Lauren Bond, and Forrest Schehl.
