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

While Magic: The Gathering’s large crossovers with things similar Final Fantasy and Spider-Man mightiness beryllium stealing the spotlight lately, the adjacent acceptable successful the line-up is already storming toward us. Tarkir: Dragonstorm returns to Magic’s ain level of Tarkir, and we’ve got an exclusive archetypal look astatine a 5 cards that I expect we’ll beryllium seeing a batch of astatine the draught array adjacent month. (The enlargement is disposable to preorder present connected Amazon).

Flip done the assemblage beneath to spot each 5 cards, and work connected for a connection from Wizards of the Coast astir their plan and the acceptable arsenic a whole.

These 5 cards are what’s referred to arsenic a “cycle,” with each of them sharing immoderate communal plan crushed dispersed crossed each of Magic’s colors. In this case, each 5 are cheap, common-rarity creatures with an quality tied to 1 of Tarkir’s three-color clans, and different that allows you to crook mana into a colour from that clan.

“Three-color constricted environments request rather a spot of mana fixing, astatine each rarities” explains Wizards of the Coast Senior Game Designer Adam Prosak. “We wanted tons of decks to beryllium capable to entree mana fixing, truthful we created rather a fewer designs dedicated to helping lick mana issues. In particular, these creatures let you to play to the committee portion processing your mana astatine the aforesaid clip - galore different designs (such arsenic tapped lands) lone marque mana and you thin to autumn down successful bid to hole your mana.”

Preorder MTG Tarkir: Dragonstorm Cards

Senior Worldbuilding Designer Lauren Bond says that portion that mechanical broadside came archetypal with this peculiar cycle, the squad often relies connected communal cards arsenic a spot to showcase the satellite of a acceptable - successful this case, however these clans are antithetic from the past clip players saw them. “The passionate action-oriented monks of the Jeskai, the Whispers utilizing Temur magic, Nagas successful the Sultai arsenic protectors (and avengers) of the jungle, Mardu subject prowess including supporting roles (and that dragons tin travel successful galore shapes and sizes!), and Abzan clerics regrowing the mislaid kin trees.”

One disapproval of immoderate caller Magic sets has been an overreliance connected tropes oregon thematic gimmicks, adjacent portion revisiting erstwhile planes, which makes Dragonstorm standout successful its comparatively straightforward instrumentality to Tarkir. Senior Worldbuilding Art Director Forrest Schehl says that feedback similar that is important to WOTC, but that “top-level transportation for Tarkir was established good earlier the merchandise of Murders astatine Karlov Manor” and the sets that followed, and didn’t alteration aft them.

“We wanted to harvester Dragons and Clans successful a mode that hadn’t been seen connected Tarkir successful the aforesaid acceptable and the Dragonstorms that were a defining diagnostic of the level were going to play a large relation successful shaping however we approached this ‘return-to’. The unit to get it close was thing Lauren and I felt from time one, we ever wanted to physique the adjacent section of this beloved level with authenticity and substance.”

Tarkir: Dragonstorm is up for preorder now, with the acceptable scheduled for merchandise successful some insubstantial and digitally connected April 11 and in-store prerelease events kicking disconnected connected April 4. Read connected for the afloat interrogation with Wizards of the Coast’s Adam Prosak, Lauren Bond, and Forrest Schehl:

IGN: This paper rhythm seems laser targeted astatine being much-needed glue for Limited - what were the goals these cards needed to achieve?

Adam Prosak, Senior Game Designer: Three-color constricted environments request rather a spot of mana fixing, astatine each rarities. We wanted tons of decks to beryllium capable to entree mana fixing, truthful we created rather a fewer designs dedicated to helping lick mana issues. In particular, these creatures let you to play to the committee portion processing your mana astatine the aforesaid clip - galore different designs (such arsenic tapped lands) lone marque mana and you thin to autumn down successful bid to hole your mana.

They besides onslaught maine arsenic “lore glue,” if you will, with each providing immoderate penetration into their clans. Was that an explicit portion of their relation successful the set?

Lauren Bond, Senior Worldbuilding Designer: While the mechanics of these cards came first, arsenic worldbuilders we often look to communal cards (especially cycles) arsenic a spot to showcase cardinal elements of mounting arsenic players volition spot them often successful drafts. This rhythm being anchored successful the “returning color” of each clan was an accidental to amusement however that colour manifests successful the caller mentation of the clan. The passionate action-oriented monks of the Jeskai, the Whispers utilizing Temur magic, Nagas successful the Sultai arsenic protectors (and avengers) of the jungle, Mardu subject prowess including supporting roles (and that dragons tin travel successful galore shapes and sizes!), and Abzan clerics regrowing the mislaid kin trees.

Three-color sets aren’t made precise often, tin you speech astir immoderate of the challenges of doing them and however you tried to code those successful Dragonstorm?

AP: By their nature, three-color cards spell into less decks than their monocolor (or 2 color) counterparts. They are often exciting, arsenic agelong arsenic they aren’t overdone.

Building a sealed/draft situation is the biggest situation – astir constructed formats easy let for 3 colors, truthful it’s not excessively challenging for 3 colour cards to find a home. On the different hand, we person to supply capable mana fixing to let players to play their 3 colour cards, without making it truthful plentiful that determination each platform tin play each 5 colors easily.

This volition beryllium the archetypal clip since 2023's Lost Caverns of Ixalan that a Standard acceptable has returned to an existing level without immoderate benignant of thematic twist similar Aetherdrift oregon Murders astatine Karlov Manor, and the remainder of 2025’s line-up means it volition beryllium the past clip a acceptable does truthful for astir different twelvemonth aft that astatine least. With that successful mind, is determination an added unit present to bash justness to what fans are expecting of some Tarkir and a “classic” Magic mounting successful general?

Forrest Schehl, Senior Worldbuilding Art Director: Fan feedback is ace important to america and is thing we instrumentality into information during aboriginal improvement of each caller acceptable we make. That being said, the top-level transportation for Tarkir was established good earlier the merchandise of Murders astatine Karlov Manor and remained the aforesaid passim development. We wanted to harvester Dragons and Clans successful a mode that hadn’t been seen connected Tarkir successful the aforesaid acceptable and the Dragonstorms that were a defining diagnostic of the level were going to play a large relation successful shaping however we approached this “return-to”. The unit to get it close was thing Lauren and I felt from time one, we ever wanted to physique the adjacent section of this beloved level with authenticity and substance.

Lastly, portion it’s 1 that was antecedently revealed, I person to inquire astir Stormscale Scion - a paper that is mocking the Storm Scale itself! People person had a batch of amusive talking astir this paper and the unexpected instrumentality of Storm to Standard, was that a hard determination to make? Is determination a spot of an enticing situation to returning to “risky” mechanics similar that, Affinity, oregon Phyrexian Mana successful caller years?

AP: I find that making caller cards for existing mechanics is often easier than making caller mechanics. With existing mechanics, we are capable to larn immoderate lessons astir what worked good and what pitfalls to avoid. With the Stormscale Scion, we recovered that the paper is amusive and almighty adjacent with a fewer copies, truthful we leaned into that alternatively than immoderate of the different tempest cards that triumph you the game, but lone if you’ve formed tons of spells.

Tom Marks is IGN's Executive Reviews Editor. He loves paper games, puzzles, platformers, puzzle-platformers, and tons more.