While Magic: The Gathering’s recent crossovers with franchises like Final Fantasy and Spider-Man have garnered significant attention, the upcoming set, Tarkir: Dragonstorm, is poised to make a major impact. This set returns to the beloved plane of Tarkir, and we have an exclusive preview of five cards expected to be highly sought-after in next month's drafts. (Tarkir: Dragonstorm is available for preorder on Amazon now.)
View the gallery below to see all five cards, and continue reading for insights from Wizards of the Coast on their design and the set's overall vision.
Magic: The Gathering - Five New Cards from Tarkir: Dragonstorm
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These five cards form a "cycle," sharing common design elements across Magic's color spectrum. Each is a low-cost, common-rarity creature with an ability linked to one of Tarkir's three-color clans, and another allowing mana conversion into that clan's colors.
"Three-color limited environments require substantial mana fixing across all rarities," explains Adam Prosak, Senior Game Designer at Wizards of the Coast. "We aimed for diverse deck access to mana fixing, leading to designs addressing mana issues. These creatures, in particular, enable simultaneous board presence and mana development, unlike designs like tapped lands which only produce mana, potentially hindering early-game development."
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 Amazon
While the mechanical design of this cycle took precedence, common cards often showcase a set's world. Lauren Bond, Senior Worldbuilding Designer, highlights how this set distinguishes these clans from their previous iterations: "The action-oriented Jeskai monks, Temur's Whisper magic, Sultai Nagas as jungle protectors, Mardu's military prowess (including supporting roles), and Abzan clerics restoring lost kin trees."
Recent *Magic* sets have faced criticism for overreliance on tropes. *Dragonstorm*, however, offers a straightforward return to Tarkir. Forrest Schehl, Senior Worldbuilding Art Director, emphasizes that this feedback is valuable, but *Tarkir's* core concept predates these criticisms. "Our vision for Tarkir was established well before *Murders at Karlov Manor* and subsequent sets. We aimed to combine Dragons and Clans uniquely, with Dragonstorms as a central element. Lauren and I felt the pressure to create an authentic and substantial next chapter for this beloved plane from the outset."Tarkir: Dragonstorm is available for preorder now, with a physical and digital release scheduled for April 11th, and in-store prerelease events beginning April 4th. A full interview with Adam Prosak, Lauren Bond, and Forrest Schehl follows.
