While Magic: The Gathering’s massive crossovers with issues like Final Fantasy and Spider-Man could be stealing the highlight these days, the subsequent set within the line-up is already storming towards us. Tarkir: Dragonstorm returns to Magic’s own airplane of Tarkir, and we’ve acquired an unique first look at a 5 playing cards that I count on we’ll be seeing a lot of at the draft desk subsequent month. (The growth is available to preorder now on Amazon).
Flip via the gallery beneath to see all 5 playing cards, and skim on for a phrase from Wizards of the Coast about their design and the set as a entire.
These 5 playing cards are what’s known as a “cycle,” with all of them sharing some frequent design ground unfold throughout every of Magic’s colours. In this case, all 5 are low cost, common-rarity creatures with an potential tied to at least one of Tarkir’s three-color clans, and one other that lets you flip mana into a shade from that clan.
“Three-color limited environments need quite a bit of mana fixing, at all rarities” explains Wizards of the Coast Senior Game Designer Adam Prosak. “We wanted lots of decks to be able to access mana fixing, so we created quite a few designs dedicated to helping solve mana issues. In particular, these creatures allow you to play to the board while developing your mana at the same time – many other designs (such as tapped lands) only make mana and you tend to fall behind in order to fix your mana.”
Preorder MTG Tarkir: Dragonstorm Cards
Senior Worldbuilding Designer Lauren Bond says that whereas that mechanical aspect got here first with this explicit cycle, the crew typically depends on frequent playing cards as a place to showcase the world of a set – on this case, how these clans are completely different from the final time gamers noticed them. “The passionate action-oriented monks of the Jeskai, the Whispers using Temur magic, Nagas in the Sultai as protectors (and avengers) of the jungle, Mardu military prowess including supporting roles (and that dragons can come in many shapes and sizes!), and Abzan clerics regrowing the lost kin trees.”
One criticism of some latest Magic units has been an overreliance on tropes or thematic gimmicks, even whereas revisiting earlier planes, which makes Dragonstorm standout in its comparatively simple return to Tarkir. Senior Worldbuilding Art Director Forrest Schehl says that suggestions like that’s important to WOTC, however that “top-level pitch for Tarkir was established well before the release of Murders at Karlov Manor” and the units that adopted, and didn’t change after them.
“We wanted to combine Dragons and Clans in a way that hadn’t been seen on Tarkir in the same set and the Dragonstorms that were a defining feature of the plane were going to play a big role in shaping how we approached this ‘return-to’. The pressure to get it right was something Lauren and I felt from day one, we always wanted to build the next chapter of this beloved plane with authenticity and substance.”
Tarkir: Dragonstorm is up for preorder now, with the set scheduled for release in each paper and digitally on April 11 and in-store prerelease occasions kicking off on April 4. Read on for the complete interview with Wizards of the Coast’s Adam Prosak, Lauren Bond, and Forrest Schehl:
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IGN: This card cycle appears laser focused at being much-needed glue for Limited – what have been the objectives these playing cards needed to attain?
Adam Prosak, Senior Game Designer: Three-color restricted environments need fairly a bit of mana fixing, at all rarities. We needed tons of decks to have the ability to entry mana fixing, so we created fairly a few designs devoted to serving to clear up mana points. In explicit, these creatures can help you play to the board whereas developing your mana at the identical time – many different designs (reminiscent of tapped lands) solely make mana and also you are likely to fall behind with a purpose to repair your mana.
They additionally strike me as “lore glue,” if you’ll, with every offering some insight into their clans. Was that an specific half of their function within the set?
Lauren Bond, Senior Worldbuilding Designer: While the mechanics of these playing cards got here first, as worldbuilders we regularly look to frequent playing cards (particularly cycles) as a place to showcase key parts of setting as gamers will see them continuously in drafts. This cycle being anchored within the “returning color” of every clan was an alternative to show how that shade manifests within the new model of the clan. The passionate action-oriented monks of the Jeskai, the Whispers utilizing Temur magic, Nagas within the Sultai as protectors (and avengers) of the jungle, Mardu navy prowess together with supporting roles (and that dragons can are available in many sizes and shapes!), and Abzan clerics regrowing the misplaced kin bushes.
Three-color units aren’t made fairly often, are you able to discuss some of the challenges of doing them and how you tried to deal with these in Dragonstorm?
AP: By their nature, three-color playing cards go into fewer decks than their monocolor (or two shade) counterparts. They are sometimes thrilling, as long as they aren’t overdone.
Building a sealed/draft atmosphere is the largest problem – most constructed codecs simply permit for 3 colours, so it’s not too difficult for 3 shade playing cards to seek out a home. On the opposite hand, we have now to offer enough mana fixing to permit gamers to play their three shade playing cards, with out making it so plentiful that there each deck can play all 5 colours simply.
This would be the first time since 2023's Lost Caverns of Ixalan that a Standard set has returned to an present airplane with out some type of thematic twist like Aetherdrift or Murders at Karlov Manor, and the remaining of 2025’s line-up means it is going to be the final time a set does so for roughly one other yr after that at least. With that in thoughts, is there an added stress right here to do justice to what followers predict of each Tarkir and a “classic” Magic setting on the whole?
Forrest Schehl, Senior Worldbuilding Art Director: Fan suggestions is tremendous important to us and is one thing we consider during early growth of each new set we make. That being stated, the top-level pitch for Tarkir was established nicely earlier than the release of Murders at Karlov Manor and remained the identical all through growth. We needed to mix Dragons and Clans in a manner that hadn’t been seen on Tarkir in the identical set and the Dragonstorms that have been a defining function of the airplane have been going to play a massive function in shaping how we approached this “return-to”. The stress to get it proper was one thing Lauren and I felt from day one, we at all times needed to build the subsequent chapter of this beloved airplane with authenticity and substance.
Lastly, whereas it’s one which was beforehand revealed, I’ve to ask about Stormscale Scion – a card that’s mocking the Storm Scale itself! People have had a lot of enjoyable speaking about this card and the surprising return of Storm to Standard, was that a laborious choice to make? Is there a bit of an attractive problem to returning to “risky” mechanics like that, Affinity, or Phyrexian Mana in recent times?
AP: I discover that making new playing cards for present mechanics is usually simpler than making new mechanics. With present mechanics, we’re in a position to study some classes about what labored nicely and what pitfalls to keep away from. With the Stormscale Scion, we discovered that the cardboard is enjoyable and highly effective even with a few copies, so we leaned into that somewhat than some of the opposite storm playing cards that win you the game, however provided that you’ve solid tons of spells.
Tom Marks is IGN's Executive Reviews Editor. He loves card video games, puzzles, platformers, puzzle-platformers, and plenty more.