Dragons of Tarkir

Dragons of Tarkir
Set Information
Set symbol
Themes and mechanics	Dragons, Two-Color Dragon Broods
Keywords/​ability words	Bolster, Rebound, Exploit, Dash, Formidable, Megamorph
Set size	264 cards 101 Commons, 80 Uncommons, 53 Rares, 15 Mythic Rares, 15 Basic Lands
Expansion code	DTK
Development codename	Louie

Dragons of Tarkir is the 67th Magic expansion, and the third and last in the Khans of Tarkir block. It was released March 27, 2015. Dragons of Tarkir is a large expansion.

Set details

“

Your Dragon, Their Doom

”

Dragons of Tarkir is designed to be drafted with Fate Reforged but not with Khans of Tarkir . Also, Dragons of Tarkir will not rotate out of Standard with Khans of Tarkir and Fate Reforged, but instead will rotate out with Magic Origins due to Standard's regulation changes. To differentiate the drafting experience from Khans of Tarkir / Fate Reforged, Dragons of Tarkir was designed around 5 sets of allied color pairs.

Dragons of Tarkir contains 264 cards (15 basic lands - 5 less than Khans of Tarkir - , 101 commons, 80 uncommons, 53 rares, 15 mythic rares) and includes randomly inserted premium versions of all cards. Like the one from Scourge before, the expansion symbol of Dragons of Tarkir represents a dragon's head. This set is supposed to be the ultimate "dragon set". There are more than twice as many dragons in it than in any other set and they appear in all colors. It also contains many cards that reference Dragons and care about Dragons.

Each of the five clans known from the previous sets is now integrated with one of the Dragon broods. Only the icons of the broods, first seen in Fate Reforged, appear as watermarks in the text boxes of the cards. The clan symbols have disappeared. The icons have no effect on gameplay. There are several "crossover cards" that present alternate versions of characters and situations from the previous timeline.

Storyline

After Sarkhan Vol has done his duty in the past, the story now returns to the present of Tarkir. But it seems that changing the past has produced some unexpected results. Mighty Dragons now rule the skies and the five clans that comprise most of Tarkir's populace. Known characters have an altered fate; Zurgo is just a puny orc and Narset has not died at all, but became a planeswalker instead.

The clans

Clan name	Parallel	Colors	Dragon Aspect	Mechanic	Symbol	Dragonlord
Dromoka	The Abzan Houses		Endurance	Bolster	Scale of the dragon	Dragonlord Dromoka
Ojutai	The Jeskai Way		Cunning	Rebound	Eye of the dragon	Dragonlord Ojutai
Silumgar	The Sultai Brood		Ruthlessness	Exploit	Fang of the dragon	Dragonlord Silumgar
Kolaghan	The Mardu Horde		Speed	Dash	Wing of the dragon	Dragonlord Kolaghan
Atarka	The Temur Frontier		Savagery	Formidable	Claw of the dragon	Dragonlord Atarka

Marketing

Tarkir Dragonfury

Tarkir Dragonfury spindown life counters

Dragons of Tarkir is sold in 16-card boosters (the 16th card being a marketing card), five intro packs, an event deck and a fat pack. The boosters feature art from Dragonlord Atarka, Dragonlord Kolaghan, Icefall Regent, Sarkhan, Unbroken and Narset Transcendent.

Prerelease

The Dragons of Tarkir prerelease took place on March 21-22, 2015. As a special gimmick, each participating store received a Tarkir Dragonfury playing board with character pieces that stand upright on them. The board is a Tarkir landscape, and the pieces can knocked down by a throw with a special spindown life counter, themed to the breath weapon of one of the five Tarkir dragonlords. Each piece has a point value on it, and the player gets points equal to the total number he or she knocks down. If the die ends up in the central circle, the score is doubled. Every player gets two rolls (resetting the board between each roll). Depending on the highest score, up to four alternate art promotional cards can be won: a land, a common, an uncommon and a rare.

Players choose a clan. Each player receiveds a Seeded Prerelease pack that had everything he or she needed to build his or her sealed deck.

Promotional cards

• Tarkir Dragonfury: Evolving Wilds, Dragon Fodder, Dragonlord's Servant and Foe-Razer Regent
• Launch promo: Deathbringer Regent
• Game Day Participation Prize: Scaleguard Sentinels
• Game Day Top 8 Prize: Thunderbreak Regent
• Buy-a-Box: Ojutai's Command
  
• Prerelease, one of forty according to the chosen clan: Template:Col-begin

Template:Col-break Dromoka

• Dragonlord Dromoka
• Dromoka's Command
• Arashin Sovereign
• Sunscorch Regent
• Hidden Dragonslayer
• Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit
• Avatar of the Resolute
• Arashin Foremost

Template:Col-break Ojutai

• Dragonlord Ojutai
• Ojutai's Command
• Pristine Skywise
• Icefall Regent
• Stratus Dancer
• Living Lore
• Blessed Reincarnation
• Myth Realized

Template:Col-break Silumgar

• Dragonlord Silumgar
• Silumgar's Command
• Necromaster Dragon
• Deathbringer Regent
• Silumgar Assassin
• Sidisi, Undead Vizier
• Profaner of the Dead
• Damnable Pact

Template:Col-break Kolaghan

• Dragonlord Kolaghan
• Kolaghan's Command
• Boltwing Marauder
• Thunderbreak Regent
• Ire Shaman
• Zurgo Bellstriker
• Pitiless Horde
• Blood-Chin Fanatic

Template:Col-break Atarka

• Dragonlord Atarka
• Atarka's Command
• Harbinger of the Hunt
• Foe-Razer Regent
• Den Protector
• Surrak, the Hunt Caller
• Crater Elemental
• Volcanic Vision

Tokens, emblems and overlay cards

Morph / Megamorph overlay card.

The sixteenth card in the boosters can be a token, emblem or overlay card, with an advertisement on the back side. The overlay card can be used on face-down Megamorph cards to remind players of their power and toughness and that it can be turned face-up for its Megamorph cost.

1. 1/1 Warrior for Secure the Wastes
2. 2/2 Djinn with Flying for Ojutai's Summons and Skywise Teachings
3. 2/2 Zombie for Necromaster Dragon and Rakshasa Gravecaller
4. */* Zombie Horror for Corpseweft
5. 4/4 Dragon with Flying for Descent of the Dragons, Dragon Whisperer and Sarkhan Unbroken
6. 1/1 Goblin for Dragon Fodder
7. (Mega)morph overlay card
8. Emblem for Narset Transcendent

Themes and mechanics

Obviously, Dragons mattered in this set.

Bolster and Dash returned from Fate Reforged, as the mechanics for the green-white Dromoka and black-red Kolaghan clans, respectively.

Rebound was repeated from the Rise of the Eldrazi set, and became the mechanic of the white-blue Ojutai clan.

In addition three new mechanics were featured:

• Exploit — When a creature with exploit enters the battlefield, you may sacrifice a creature you control. Each creature with exploit has another ability that gives you a benefit when it "exploits a creature." Exploit is the signature ability of the blue-black Silumgar clan.
• Formidable — Creatures with this ability word care in some way about controlling creatures with total power 8 or greater. Formidable is the signature mechanic of the red-green Atarka clan.
• Megamorph — This is basically morph with an extra bonus. Turning creatures them face-up by paying their megamorph cost puts a +1/+1 counter on the creature.

Card types

The set sees the return of the elder type, which is used for the Dragonlords.

Cycles

Dragons of Tarkir has eleven cycles.

• Dragonlords: five mythic legendary allied-colored elder dragons that are the aged-up versions of their Fate Reforged counterpart. — Dragonlord Ojutai, Dragonlord Silumgar, Dragonlord Kolaghan, Dragonlord Atarka, and Dragonlord Dromoka
• Rare Gold Dragons: Five rare allied-colored dragons that appear as the face of the intro packs. — Arashin Sovereign, Pristine Skywise, Necromaster Dragon, Boltwing Marauder, and Harbinger of the Hunt
• Regents: Five rare mono-colored dragons with double colored mana in their mana cost. — Sunscorch Regent, Icefall Regent, Deathbringer Regent, Thunderbreak Regent, Foe-Razer Regent
• Commands: Five rare allied-colored modal spells in increasing converted mana cost with four options, allowing you to choose two. — Ojutai's Command, Silumgar's Command, Kolaghan's Command, Atarka's Command, Dromoka's Command. This cycle is similar to the mono-colored Command cycle from Lorwyn.
• Former Khans: Four rare legendary creatures and one mythic planeswalker that detail the fates of the Khans from Khans of Tarkir in the new timeline. —Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit, Narset Transcendent, Sidisi, Undead Vizier, Zurgo Bellstriker, Surrak, the Hunt Caller
• Rare Megamorphers: Five rare creatures that cost M, have Megamorph, an in-color ability when turned face up, and an additional in-color ability. — Hidden Dragonslayer, Stratus Dancer, Silumgar Assassin, Ire Shaman, and Den Protector.
• Uncommon Gold Dragons: Five uncommon 4/4 ally-colored dragons that cost MN, have flying, and an additional in-color ability. — Enduring Scalelord, Cunning Breezedancer, Ruthless Deathfang, Swift Warkite, and Savage Ventmaw.
• Uncommon Mono-Colored Dragons: Five uncommon 3/3 mono-colored dragons that cost M, have flying, another keyword ability and megamorph MM, with a triggered ability to put a +1/+1 counter on all your other dragons when turned face-up, and an additional in-color ability. — Shieldhide Dragon, Belltoll Dragon, Acid-spewer Dragon, Stormwing Dragon, and Herdchaser Dragon
• Color-hate Spells: Five uncommon spells that possess a color-appropriate form of removal for enemy-colored creatures. — Surge of Righteousness, Encase in Ice, Self-Inflicted Wound, Rending Volley, Display of Dominance
• Dragons Matter Cards: Five uncommon monocolored cards that have an effect and an additional effect if you control or reveal a dragon card as the spell is cast. — Orator of Ojutai, Foul-Tongue Invocation, Silumgar's Scorn, Draconic Roar, Scaleguard Sentinels.
• Dragonlord Monuments: Five uncommon artifacts that cost , tap for mana of that clan, and can turn into 4/4 flying Dragons for MN. — Atarka Monument, Dromoka Monument, Kolaghan Monument, Ojutai Monument and Silumgar Monument

Mirrored pairs

• Removal in Megamorph: a pair of rare creatures with Megamorph that destroys a creature depending on its power when unmorphed. — Hidden Dragonslayer, Silumgar Assassin.

Reprinted cards

The following cards have been reprinted from previous sets:

• Battle Mastery, first printed in Lorwyn and last seen in Magic 2015.
• Death Wind, first printed in Avacyn Restored.
• Dragon Fodder, first printed in Shards of Alara and last seen in Duel Decks: Knights vs. Dragons.
• Duress, first printed in Urza's Saga and last seen in Magic 2014.
• Evolving Wilds, first printed in Rise of the Eldrazi and last seen in Commander 2014.
• Explosive Vegetation, first printed in Onslaught and last seen in Duel Decks: Elspeth vs. Kiora.
• Gravepurge, first printed in Dark Ascension.
• Kindled Fury, first printed in Morningtide and last seen in Magic 2015.
• Mind Rot, first printed in Portal and last seen in Magic 2015.
• Naturalize, first printed in Onslaught and last seen in Khans of Tarkir.
• Negate, first printed in Morningtide and last seen in Magic 2015.
• Pacifism, first printed in Mirage and last seen in Magic 2014.
• Spidersilk Net, first printed in Zendikar.
• Summit Prowler, first printed in Khans of Tarkir.
• Tormenting Voice, first printed in Khans of Tarkir.
• Ultimate Price, first printed in Return to Ravnica.

Naturalize, Summit Prowler, Tormenting Voice are first non-basic land cards that are reprinted within the same block in Magic history.

Functional reprints

• Ancient Carp is a functional reprint of Armored Cancrix save for creature types.
• Dromoka Warrior is a functional reprint of Blade of the Sixth Pride and Oreskos Swiftclaw save for creature types.
• Magmatic Chasm is a functional reprint of Seismic Stomp.
• Territorial Roc is a functional reprint of Concordia Pegasus save for creature types.
• Twin Bolt is a functional reprint of the Fire half of Fire // Ice

Strictly better

• Aerie Bowmasters is strictly better than Cloudcrown Oak.
• Avatar of the Resolute is strictly better than Garruk's Companion.
• Aven Sunstriker is strictly better than Skyhunter Skirmisher.
• Fate Forgotten is strictly better than Altar's Light.
• Flatten is strictly better than Fatal Fumes, Lash of the Whip and Throttle.
• Glaring Aegis is strictly better than Holy Strength.
• Gudul Lurker is strictly better than Fugitive Wizard, Grayscaled Gharial, Hazy Homunculus, Metathran Soldier, Sneaky Homunculus and Triton Shorestalker.
• Hardened Berserker is strictly better than Goblin Roughrider.
• Herald of Dromoka is strictly better than Thraben Valiant.
• Kolaghan Stormsinger is strictly better than Raging Goblin
• Lightning Berserker is strictly better than Bellows Lizard and Glitterfang.
• Salt Road Quartermasters is strictly better than Centaur Courser and Nessian Courser.
• Scaleguard Sentinels is strictly better than Elvish Warrior.
• Secure the Wastes is strictly better than Captain's Call and Take Up Arms.
• Stampeding Elk Herd is strictly better than Hollowhenge Beast, Silverback Ape, and Jungle Wurm.
• Stratus Dancer is strictly better than Gossamer Phantasm, Vaporkin and Welkin Tern.
• Ukud Cobra is strictly better than Rotted Hulk.
• Vandalize is strictly better than Fissure Vent and Rain of Rust.

Strictly worse

• Anticipate is strictly worse than Impulse.
• Center Soul is strictly worse than Emerge Unscathed.
• Contradict is strictly worse than Dismiss.
• Gate Smasher is strictly worse than Loxodon Warhammer.
• Kolaghan Aspirant is strictly worse than Ashmouth Hound.
• Seismic Rupture is strictly worse than Rolling Temblor and Rough (Rough/Tumble).
• Silkwrap is strictly worse than Journey to Nowhere.
• Stormrider Rig is strictly worse than Sai of the Shinobi.
• Tail Slash is strictly worse than Fall of the Hammer.
• Tread Upon is strictly worse than Sylvan Might and Predator's Strike.
• Twin Bolt is strictly worse than Fire (Fire/Ice).
• Vial of Dragonfire is strictly worse than Aeolipile.

Preconstructed decks

Intro packs

Dragons of Tarkir has five bicolored intro packs:

Intro pack name	Colors Included					Foil rare
Massed Ranks	W				G	Arashin Sovereign
Enlightened Mastery	W	U				Pristine Skywise
Cruel Plots		U	B			Necromaster Dragon
Relentless Rush			B	R		Boltwing Marauder
Furious Forces				R	G	Harbinger of the Hunt

Event deck

Dragons of Tarkir has one event deck.

Event deck name	Colors Included
Landslide Charge		U		R	G

External links

• Dragons of Tarkir official productpage