Spoiler season officially began today for MTG’s Tarkir: Dragonstorm set. Previews kicked off a little early yesterday with the first big reveal of the Dragon version of Rooftop Storm with Dracogenesis (sadly not titled Dragon Storm, which may have drawn confusion with the previously printed Dragonstorm)
See the spoiler of Dracogenesis below:
At eight mana, you expect to win the game, and Dracogenesis can do that. You can play your Dragon Commander and all the Dragons in your hand for free. That’s quite a deal when most dragons already cost around 8 mana.
Here are the 7 Best Key Mythic Tarkir: Dragonstorm cards revealed today in the initial round of spoiler season:
#1 Craterhoof Behemoth
It’s been 13 years since Craterhoof Behemoth came into Standard with Avacyn Restored, and now it’s back. The card was a staple of the format at that time, appearing in decks like Selesnya Ramp and Reanimator. While the format has power crept significantly since then, Craterhoof still remains as one of the most powerful finishers in green and a fine card to reanimate.
#2 Elspeth, Storm Slayer
Elspeth is back and better than ever with Elspeth, Storm Slayer! This one comes with a pretty powerful passive, doubling the amount of tokens you create. It’s Anointed Procession, but on a planeswalker with other abilities. Those abilities are pretty relevant, giving you a way to make tokens, pump tokens, give them flying to win, and act as removal.
All combined, this is an extremely well rounded planeswalker, which we expect to see play in Commander token builds and Standard.
#3 Taigam, Master Opportunist
Taigam is going to be a core card of Izzet, Jeskai, or Azorius prowess decks. You’ll generally be using him on the offensive to finish off your opponent with a Lightning Helix like effect you originally cast on turn 3 after casting a Shock of some sort
#4 Ureni, the Song Unending
Why is it always Simic getting the busted big creatures? At least you have to be Temur and play red in this case. This is in ramp colors, and nothing is better than ramping into a card that can both be your win conditions and removal and board wipe.
When Ureni enters, you’ll be dealing 8 to 10 damage to an opponent. Meaning you can win the game after casting two of these without ever having to attack. Opponents will often have to rely on board wipes to remove it too, since it can’t be targeted by white or black spot removal thanks to protection.
The gravy on top of all of this is not only can it deal damage to creatures, it can also deal damage to planeswalkers. This is going to be a premier top-end card to ramp into.
#5 Ugin, Eye of the Storms
Next up is Ugin’s return with Ugin, Eye of the Storms. This one sets you up for a perpetual advantage, but only works in niche colorless strategies. While I don’t expect it to see much Standard play, it’s a welcome addition to Eldrazi and colorless Commander decks as well as a card to playtest in Tron and Eldrazi Modern builds.
Keep in mind, Ugin’s ability here also exiles lands, so you’ll eventually be able to KO the opponent through mana denial if they don’t draw an answer in time, although, you will likely have an ultimate finish around the time you would choke them from mana resources.
#6 All-Out Assault
At face value, All-Out Assault is ok. It pumps all your creatures a little, and forces opponents to trade or potentially take lethal. Based on mana cost, it’s pretty fair as far as additional combat steps go. It does leave behind a static deathtouch ability which is very strong with token strategies, making blocking a losing proposition.
Where All-Out Assault really shines is when paired with flicker abilities. Cards like Flicker of Fate give you the option to re-use the extra combat step for only two mana. Still, there aren’t many cards that flicker enchantments or any permanent in the game. Most cards like Ephemerate only flicker creatures.
#7 Betor, Kin to All
Sticking around to end of turn is likely too weak for Betor, Kin to All to see Standard play, but it has a unique ability for Commander. If you can manage a build around strategy, and have some creature protection spells, which are on color in Abzan, you can drain every opponent for half their life total. The problem of course is, that’s going to upset the table quite a bit while not leaving anyone dead. Nonetheless, Abzan has been craving unique and new Commanders, and this is a welcome addition to the list.
Those are all the notable Mythic rares that were spoiled today. Watch the full debut spoiler livestream from MTG below:
Stay tuned to MTG Insider for more coverage of Tarkir: Dragonstorm spoilers!
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