First Look at 5 New Cards From Tarkir: Dragonstorm, Magic: The Gathering's Next Set

While Magic: The Gathering’s recent crossovers with franchises like Final Fantasy and Spider-Man have garnered significant attention, the next set, Tarkir: Dragonstorm, is rapidly approaching. This expansion revisits the plane of Tarkir, and we have an exclusive preview of five cards expected to be highly impactful in upcoming drafts. (Tarkir: Dragonstorm is available for preorder on Amazon.)

View the five cards in the gallery below, followed by 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 tied 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, Wizards of the Coast Senior Game Designer. "We aimed for diverse deck access to mana fixing, resulting in numerous designs addressing mana issues. These creatures, in particular, enable board presence while simultaneously developing mana—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

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$24.99 at Amazon### Magic: The Gathering Tarkir: Dragonstorm - Commander Deck Bundle - Includes All 5 Decks

$224.95 at Amazon### Magic: The Gathering Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander Deck - Abzan Armor

$44.99 at Amazon### Magic: The Gathering Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander Deck - Jeskai Striker

$44.99 at Amazon### Magic: The Gathering Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander Deck - Sultai Arisen

$44.99 at Amazon### Magic: The Gathering Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander Deck - Mardu Surge

$44.99 at Amazon### Magic: The Gathering Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander Deck - Temur Roar

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While the mechanical design of this cycle preceded its thematic elements, common cards often serve as showcases for a set's world—in this case, highlighting the clans' evolution since their previous appearances. Lauren Bond, Senior Worldbuilding Designer, explains: "The action-oriented Jeskai monks, Temur's Whisper magic, Sultai Nagas protecting the jungle, Mardu's military prowess (including support roles), and Abzan clerics restoring the kin trees."

Recent criticism of Magic sets regarding reliance on tropes has prompted a more straightforward approach in Dragonstorm. Forrest Schehl, Senior Worldbuilding Art Director, emphasizes that this feedback is valuable but notes that Tarkir: Dragonstorm’s core concept predates and remains unaffected by subsequent sets.

"Our goal was to uniquely combine Dragons and Clans within a single Tarkir set, with the Dragonstorms as a defining plane feature shaping our return. Lauren and I felt immense pressure from the outset to authentically and meaningfully build upon this beloved plane."

Tarkir: Dragonstorm is available for preorder, with a paper 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.