Tarkir: Dragonstorm releases on April 11th. Preview season is well underway, and we also got the concluding chapter of the set’s story earlier this week.

The story focuses on the efforts of the newly reformed clans of Tarkir to put an end to the formation of destructive dragonstorms on the plane. These are highly destructive storms that spawn dragons that are so powerful that merely the flapping of their wings causes destruction. In this article, I’ll break down the events of Tarkir: Dragonstorm and we’ll see whether or not they are brought under control.

HOW WE GOT HERE

Because of the recently formed Omenpaths – portals between worlds that anyone can use – the dragons that are spawned by these destructive tempests are not only restricted only to the plane of Tarkir. In the last several stories, we saw the strange appearance of incredibly powerful dragons.

In Bloomburrow, Ral and Finneas encountered Dragonhawk, a powerful dragon who was born from a storm and wreaked havoc on the plane. In Duskmourn, Kaito encountered what he thought was only an illusion of a dragon, but then almost got killed by its dragonfire. And in Aetherdrift, a massive dragonstorm disrupted the race when it was on Amonkhet, sending many racers to their death. 

Left: Dragonhawk is a Bloomburrow Dragon Born from a Dragonstorm.

Right: Kaito encountering a dragonstorm in Duskmourn

In other words,  these dragons are a threat to the wider Multiverse. This has resulted in various planeswalkers and other heroes in the multiverse also arriving on Tarkir and seeking to eliminate the cause of the dragonstorms.

THE RISE OF THE SPIRIT DRAGONS AND THE ORIGINS OF THE DRAGONSTORMS

At the conclusion of Dragons of Tarkir, the once-vanquished Elder Dragons returned to power on the plane as a result of the time traveling shenanigans of the dragon-loving planeswalker Sarkhan Vol. They ruled the plane with iron claws, forcing the clans to follow their every whim. However, their time as the most powerful beings on the plane of Tarkir would be relatively short-lived.

This is because the leaders of the five clans (for an introduction to each of these clans, check out my article from a few weeks ago.) banded together with a plan to overthrow the elder dragons. They did this through The Stormnexus Ritual. This summoned the plane’s first Dragonstorm, from which a Spirit Dragon was created for each of the five clans.

The Five Spirit Dragons

Ultimately, these new powerful allies allowed the Clans of Tarkir to reclaim their power on the plane and force the dragonlords into the storm, bringing an end to the oppressive rule of these powerful dragons. However, there was an unintended consequence of the Stormnexus Ritual – and that was that the plane of Tarkir was now subject to regular dragonstorms, and the dragons created by this later storms were not under the control of the clans of Tarkir.

These dragonstorms and the dragons they spawned have made wide swaths of Tarkir dangerous at best and uninhabitable at worst.

THE ARRIVAL OF ELSPETH

Just as Narset, the Khan of the Jeskai, is enjoying a theatrical retelling of the downfall of the dragonlords at one of her clan’s monasteries, she receives word that a winged woman in armor has come to see her. Narset knows immediately who it must be from her days as a planeswalker. When she realizes Elspeth has come to visit her, she knows the news can’t be good.

When we last saw Elspeth in the Aetherdrift story, she was slaying a dragon that had killed many competitors during the Ghirapur Grand Prix. And indeed, her message to Narset is that dragonstorms and Tarkir dragons are appearing on other planes. 

As Elspeth tries to get to the bottom of why this is happening, the two of them begin a discussion of the dragonstorms, their origins, and how to stop them. However, they don’t get very far before they hear an alarm.

The attack at the monastery

The monastery quickly mobilizes, and Elspeth and Narset make their way to the source of the alarm, where Jeskai monks are also rushing. They find a massive ice dragon with a hard enough hide that none of the Jeskai monks are strong enough to hurt it. 

Elspeth deals the dragon a decisive blow, creating an opening for Narset and the other monks to finish the job. Once the danger has passed, Elspeth asks Narset if she can count on her support in stopping the dragonstorms. However, Narset is quite hesitant to make such a promise and says she will have an answer in the morning.

In the night, Taigam (the second in command of the Jeskai) comes to visit Elspeth, and tells her that the Jeskai cannot join themselves with her. He thinks that the Jeskai have their hands full with the fate of their own plane, and they are not interested in getting involved in issues in the wider multiverse. 

Ultimately, Narset agrees that the Jeskai are not able to help Elspeth. But she offers her old friend her services. They head to the Jeskai stables where they pick up a young dragon that will join them on their journey. Their first stop is the Crucible, where the Stormnexus Ritual and the battle against the dragonlords took place.

THINGS HEAT UP AT THE CRUCIBLE OF THE SPIRIT DRAGON

When they arrive there, Elspeth is very surprised to see the presence of Hedrons. As far as she knows, these are used to bind the Eldrazi, and they are something that the planeswalker Nahiri creates. But Elspeth knows for a fact that Nahiri has never been to Tarkir.

Narset explains that Ugin made them. He’s a dragon planeswalker who has spent plenty of time on Tarkir during the events of the original Tarkir Block, mostly in an attempt to foil the machinations of his brother – Nicol Bolas. However, the two have long been trapped in a plane known as the Meditation Realm.

Just as they are inspecting these hedrons, they hear a mysterious voice tell them to go to the “temple in the storm”  to discover the truth. Just then, a swirling dragonstorm appears above them.  

As they search for the temple and attempt to find the origin of the mysterious voice, the two discover the former planeswalker Sarkhan among the hedrons. He is the planeswalker who helped the dragonlords rise to power on the plane many years earlier.

While they know the disembodied voice wasn’t his, it is immediately clear that Sarkhan has something to do with the dragonstorm. Sarkhan often suffers from madness, but even with that in mind, both Elspeth and Narset immediately realize the man is not himself.

When he’s questioned about what he’s doing on the plane he replies, “From Tarkir came the dragons. And from Tarkir, more will emerge. All of the Multiverse will become a realm of dragons.” When Elspeth replies by telling him that will never happen as long as she’s alive, Sarkhan attacks her.

Elspeth easily defeats the weakened Sarkhan with a single punch to the ribs and he only survives because Narset stays Elspeth’s hand. However, the voice that was speaking to them is gone, and they can no longer search for the temple in the storm thanks to Sarkhan’s distraction.

They ultimately leave the broken man behind, with Elspeth telling him if he ever attacks her again, she’ll kill him.

SARKHAN RETURNS TO HIS FORMER GLORY

Sarkhan is distraught. Since losing his spark, his ability to transform into a dragon is severely limited. He deeply misses the ability to feel strong and powerful, and his defeat at the hand of Elspeth cemented the fact that he is nothing but a weak, powerless man.

Just as he’s mourning the loss of his power, a figure emerges from the shadows to comfort him. It’s Taigam – Narset’s second-in-command – who tells Sarkhan that he can give him exactly what he wants. He tells Sarkhan that there is a ritual that will allow him to return to his dragon form and maintain it – but he needs to slay a dragon and devour its heart.

Sarkhan feels hope for the first time in a long time, and sets out on a mission to regain his abilities. He successfully eats a dragon and devours its heart and transforms into a massive dragon.

Meanwhile, Ajani – who as a result of his guilt for actions he took while he was Compleated has been residing with the Abzan on the plane – senses some powerful magic that sends the clan’s mounts into a frenzy. They all seem to be attempting to head in the same direction.

Then, Ajani spots what all the dragons are so excited about. He recognizes Sarkhan’s dragon form, but can see and sense that he is much more powerful than he has ever been.

ELSPETH AND NARSET HEAD TO ABZAN TERRITORY AND MEET AN OLD FRIEND

Elspeth and Narset are captured by the Abzan

Following their fight with Sarkhan at the Crucible, Narset and Elspeth have headed to Abzan territory, where they allow themselves to be captured by Abzan scouts. They are brought in front of Felothar, the Khan of the Abzan, and they use their opportunity to attempt to convince her to help them in their mission to end the dragonstorms.

However, Felothar swiftly pushes their demands aside, saying she doesn’t care about what’s happening on other planes. Squabbling among the Abzan breaks out, as it becomes clear that Felothar doesn’t intend to punish these interlopers in Abzan territory.

Elspeth is frustrated by this waste of time, and is about to leave the scene, just as Ajani enters the reception hall and informs everyone that Sarkhan Vol is attempting to gain control of all of the plane’s dragons.

Ajani’s arrival and the news he brings convinces Felothar that the Abzan need to take action as a result of Ajani’s intervention. She begins to mobilize her forces to fight the dragon army and sends Ajani and Elspeth to the quartermaster to be outfitted by the Abzan quartermaster.

Ajani escorts them there, and Ajani and Elspeth attempt to recruit him to join in their efforts. However, he declines because he feels too guilty being around people he tried to kill while he was under Phyrexian control.

INTO THE EYE OF THE DRAGONSTORM

Narset and Elspeth head out in search of a dragonstorm, since the only lead they have is the disembodied voice at the Crucible telling them to “find the temple in the storm.” It doesn’t take them long to find an active dragonstorm. They ride into the eye of the storm, and discover the temple the mysterious voice spoke of.

In the temple, they discover an Omenpath that leads to the previously isolated “Meditation Realm.” There, they discover Jace, who has Loot in his arms. We last saw Jace in the Aetherdrift story, where he stole Loot – a being capable of finding Omenpaths –  and headed to Tarkir alongside his paramour, Vraska. 

Jace’s appearance stuns Elspeth and Narset, who thought he was dead. After Jace explains how he was able to survive Compleation, he tells them that he was able to come to the Meditation Realm only because of Loot. However, he also shares with them that Loot’s powers are ineffective in the Realm, and that they are all trapped there.

Narset and Elspeth both become suspicious of Jace, realizing that Loot seems to be suffering under Jace’s mind control. However, before the three can really sort out their differences, they bear witness to an incredible sight – as Ugin materializes before them.

He tells them that they need to leave and that their presence there risks freeing his brother, Nicol Bolas. While everyone is distracted, Jace steals Ugin’s spirit gem. While Ugin, Narset, and Elspeth are worried that Jace wants to give the gem to Bolas and free him from his prison, he reveals that he has no interest in doing that.

Instead, he wants to use the gem and his presence in the Meditation Realm – which he describes as a “substrate to all of reality, touching countless worlds”- in order to alter the multiverse himself. He explains that he wants to undo all the suffering that his paramour, Vraska, went through during the Phyrexian invasion.

Just then, Vraska arrives in the Spirit Realm, and begs Jace not to follow through with his plan. But even with his love before him, Jace is unconvinced. He channels his magic into the spirit gem, but it proves to be too much, even for him. Both he and the gem shatter into pieces, and the Meditation Realm begins to unravel.

Elspeth, Vraska, Narset, and Loot are forced to run for their lives as the Meditation Realm collapses around them. They barely manage to find the Omenpath they used to enter the Meditation Realm. They exit the temple, where they are met by a darkened sky. There are so many dragons in the air, that they are blocking out the sun.

SARKHAN VS. THE ABZAN

Outside the Temple, Sarkhan and his massive dragon army await. He was heading to the temple himself, since he knew that Elspeth and Narset were looking for it. Elspeth tells Vraska to take Loot and escape, and she uses her camouflage magic to do so.

Despite what seems to be an insurmountable advantage for Sarkhan, Elspeth reminds Sarkhan that she promised to kill him if he attacked her again. She flies straight for Sarkhan, who flies upwards with the archangel in pursuit.

Meanwhile, Narset is left to confront the dragons. The best she’s able to do is constantly dodge them, and she knows she can’t keep it up forever. Just as she is about to meet her end at the jaws of a massive black dragon, she sees a bright flash in the sky. Ajani and the Abzan have arrived on the scene, and Ajani has slain the dragon that was about to devour Narset.

The Abzan take up the job of fighting the dragons, freeing up Ajani and Narset to join Elspeth in her fight against Sarkhan. Ajani reveals that he and Sarkhan and very old friends, serving as his mentor after his spark had awoken, and saving his life on numerous occasions. He believes that the kind man is still there, underneath his madness and his obsession with dragons.

Just as they arrive to assist her, Elspeth ends up in Sarkhan’s maw and is using all of her strength to keep him from clamping down on her.

Ajani calls out to Sarkhan, appealing to his compassionate side. This only serves to briefly distract his old mentor, and he resumes his attempts to kill Elspeth not long after. Just as things are looking dire for Sarkhan’s opponents, Ugin appears from the blind eternities. Sarkhan uses a massive torrent of dragonfire in an attempt to defeat his old foe, but Ugin uses his ghostfire to engulf Sarkhan, who is defeated.

Ugin reveals that the cause of the dragonstorms was his own absence from the plane, and now that he has returned, he will bring them under control. However, he also informs them that Nicol Bolas has broken free as a result of Jace’s actions.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

I think it’s a safe bet to assume that Nicol Bolas will play a major role in the next story arc. He’s been Magic’s big bad for a very long time, and there’s no way he isn’t licking his chops to gain control of the entire multiverse again after spending so long in the Meditation Realm.

And what of Loot and Vraska? Jace appears to be dead, and now she has the “key to everything.” It may be possible for her to take a villainous turn too, blaming Elspeth and the others for Jace’s death.

END STEP

So, that’s the story of Tarkir: Dragonstorm. It was nice to return to a more traditional Magic story, as opposed to a detective story or a death race. What did you think of the story? Let me know over on X.