The 15 Best New Cards from the Tarkir Dragonstorm Commander Precons

Tarkir: Dragonstorm has five Commander decks: Abzan Armor, Jeskai Striker, Sultai Arisen, Mardu Surge, and Temur Roar. Within these five decks are a total of 50 new Commander-legal cards. 50 is a lot, so I’m going to trim down the fat and showcase the best offerings from this expansion. Here are the 15 best new cards from the Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander decks – because just 10 was too difficult.

THE BEST NEW CARDS FROM THE TARKIR PRECONS

IRONWILL FORGER

Ironwill Forger has Lieutenant, one of my favorite older Commander mechanics. The trigger? Well it’s basically Duke Ulder if you have your Commander in play, which is pretty dang sweet. You can’t target Legendary creatures (so sadly no duplication of Ao, the Dawn Sky triggers) but its still oodles of value with the right build and the right Commander. If you have an Isshin deck you’re eating very, very well this set.

HAMMERHEAD TYRANT

Hammerhead Tyrant is somewhat terrifying. I mean, Dragons are pretty terrifying, right? But somehow putting that hammerhead on there makes it that much more scary. And it’s for good reason: this is a Tidespout Tyrant for the modern age. It won’t bounce lands, but at the point in the game you’re bouncing things with this, you’re much more keen to bounce away blockers and value engines anyways.

TRANSCENDENT DRAGON

Six mana dragons blue Dragons are so popular that we’ll run that category back with the next shout out: Transcendent Dragon. You can Flash this one in and counter a spell. That spell is exiled and you can then cast it for free. That’s pretty on-rate for six mana, but it’s never been on a Flying creature in such a well-supported creature type before. 

VORACIOUS BIBLIOPHILE

Dropping the mana cost slightly, we have what Hinata players everywhere are calling a “sick pickup”. Voracious Bibliophile is some seriously good card draw, especially if you run spells like the TBD Intervention cycle, Curse of the Swine, March of Swirling Mist or Sublime Epiphany. Its kind of a good thing this creature isn’t legendary in a way. Very good card.

Jaws of Defeat gives big-butts decks their own version of Warstorm Surge/Terror of the Peaks. It’s not the most interesting card in the world, but it is a card that I think has a right to exist, and a card that fills a good niche within those niche builds, which is have a win condition that isn’t just combat focused. In the Abzan builds in particular, this also helps set them apart from Azorious or Bant varieties. 

WILL OF THE ABZAN

Will sure does get around Tarkir, doesn’t he? While he’s visited all of the clans – and some might say, had a tryst with Jeska – it’s Will of the Abzan that I’m most impressed by in this cycle. A four mana tempo swing of this magnitude is right up my street. The tacked on life loss is icing on the cake. 

INFANTRY SHIELD

I love this equipment. When you’re going tall with Voltron, you generally have to go at people one at a time. This step by step attack plan can give people a lot of space to assemble ways to stop you. With a good Infantry Shield at your side, you can go tall at one person while simultaneously going wide at someone else. 

PARAPET THRASHER

Parapet Thrasher is the kind of Dragon to get excited about. It’s making me think about Sylvia Brightspear, for instance, and how you’d really be able to get the most out of double-strike with a small board. Are the modes worth getting excited about?

Well, destroy an artifact is always good, so that’s a winner. Dealing 4 damage to each other opponent? A sizeable amount of damage, so also a winner. Impulse draw? Yeah this thing is just strong no matter which way you slice it. Cards like Parapet Thrasher and Balor tend to take over games.

REDOUBLED STORMSINGER

I can’t see this card fading into obscurity like some precon cards that require you to jump through hoops. The hoops on this card a clearly demarcated, and well supported. What’s more, a 3/3 first striker for three on a very well supported creature type means you’re not losing much by playing such a setup piece.

In real terms, this Orc Wizard is going to power up all sorts of token decks, and is best friends with the likes of Jaxis the Troublemaker and Rionya.

THUNDERMANE DRAGON

In a set all about Dragons, named Dragonstorm, is it any surprise that some of the best cards are Dragons? Thundermane Dragon is thundering out of the eye of the storm, bringing with it all manner of creatures power 4 or greater from the top of your library. As if that wasn’t enough, it also gives them haste until end of turn, meaning you’re not only peering into the future, but speeding up to 88 mph to get there. 

BROODCALLER SCOURGE

Broodcaller Scourge is, in many ways, a win-more kind of card. If you have seven mana to cast it (and either give it haste, or have it survive a rotation), a board of Dragons to connect with, and a hand full of cards to put into play? Well, you’re already well on your way to winning the game.

Does that make this card any weaker? Not at all. It’s obnoxiously strong. Just know that when you’re playing it, it’s competing with win conditions like Terror of the Peaks and Dragon Tempest. Because that’s the deckslot this is taking from. It’s not card advantage. It’s barely even mana advantage. It requires perfect conditions. On those fair-weather days, though? Absolute house. 

STEWARD OF THE HARVEST

Steward of the Harvest is a bonkers Magic card. Pure, unadulterated shenanigans. 

By exiling lands with this, you can do various fun stuff:

• Fetchlands turn all of your creatures into fetches. With Field of the Dead in play, and a haste enabler, you can get all your fetchable lands into play.
• Strip Mine turns all of your creatures into land destruction.
• Get rid of something like Gaea’s Cradle or Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx to make a lot of mana.
• Using Mutavault and Griffin Canyon to make an arbitrarily large Griffin.
• Bloodghast with a Soul Warden effect draws all of your fetchable lands out

Suffice to say, you’ll need some advanced mathematics when all of your Scute Swarms can be fetchlands. I’m getting a headache just thinking about it.

COLOSSAL GRAVE-REAVER

This thing is eight mana. Eight. That’s so much mana. And yet… 

Colossal Grave-Reaver makes me want to build a Sultai deck. Between that and Shadowkin, I’m chomping to play one. I just want to mill myself and reanimate stuff. I want to do it for free. I want to play Altar of Dementia and Living Death. I want to Entomb this egregiously powerful Golgari Dragon and reanimate it, and feel like I am both high on sugar and feel slightly sick at the absurd levels of value I’m getting.

I’m not sure my friends will let me. Am I getting a basic land tapped or gaining 7 life?

URENI OF THE UNWRITTEN

Ureni of the Unwritten is strong for seven mana. That initial investment usually gets you Ureni plus the best Dragon in your top eight cards, but then from there, you get to keep doing it every turn. Chances are, you’re doing the EtB and attacking in the same turn, as Temur has plenty of haste enablers.

Another thing that’s Unwritten is the rule about removing a Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm, if you see one. Well folks, Miirym and this card are just stupid together. Go, have it, and remember that your Miirym deck is very likely Bracket 4, even without running more than three Game Changers. 

FELOTHAR, THE STEADFAST

I saved potentially the most controversial card for last: Felothar, the Steadfast. Felothar is a very powerful Commander for the toughness-matters/walls/big-butts archetype. Not only does he let your Defenders attack as though they didn’t have Defender… not only does he give you the damage according to toughness ability… he also gives you a source of hand refill with his final ability.

And that’s what’s controversial about him. Some people will love this, and be happy it can slot into their ideal version of a deck. But me? I’m a little less impressed because it does it all on one single card. Setup, payoff, and card draw. It’s like eating only belly pork at the buffet.

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The Tarkir: Dragonstorm precons have some phenomenal cards in, and narrowing down to just the headliners was a tough task. Which cards will you be picking up? Let us know on Bluesky.