How to tame Magic: The Gathering Arena’s dragons in Tarkir: Dragonstorm

In the beginning, there were dragons—at least when it comes to Magic: The Gathering. The eye-wateringly expensive Black Lotus might get all the press these days, but Shivan Dragon was the desirable big-ticket item in Magic: The Gathering’s early days. The reason is obvious: Dragons are fast, powerful, and cool. When you get to play one and attack, you feel like you're in control, and rightly so. Their flying ability makes them near impossible to stop.

As its name suggests, Tarkir: Dragonstorm, the latest set for Magic: The Gathering Arena, is going to fill the skies with the thunderous wingbeats of new dragon cards. We’re here to show you what makes them so powerful, highlight some effective synergies, and help identify the ones to try in your next deck so you can burn your opponents into a miserable pile of ashes and regrets.
 

Here be dragons

What makes Tarkir: Dragonstorm so draconic? A return to the dragons' natural habitat, for one. Locked in an endless battle of attrition between dragons and the Mongolian-inspired steppe-dwelling clans, the plane of Tarkir was first introduced a decade ago in Khans of Tarkir. That set is fondly remembered as one of the best sets in Magic: The Gathering history for its rich lore, deep gameplay, and its distinctive set of scheming Dragonlords plotting humanity’s eradication.

After centuries of war between dragons and humans, a ritual intended to destroy the Dragonlords backfired. Now thunderous supernatural Dragonstorms spawn relentless numbers of dragons onto the plane of Tarkir—and even into other dimensions. It’s a long story, rivalling the dramatic twists and time-traveling mischief of the best comic arcs.
 

The draconic hall of flame

Today we’re on the side of the dragons, not the angels. Let’s see what some of Tarkir: Dragonstorm's standouts can do!

Magmatic Hellkite is what Magic: The Gathering players call an effective tempo play. At 4 Mana it’s also “cheap” for a dragon, meaning it doesn't require many resources to play it. Magmatic Hellkite usually destroys an opponent’s land and denies its use next term, meaning they have less Mana available to play their own cards. It’s like unleashing a giant whose first move is to kick you in the shin to leave you hobbling. When you go first, playing Magmatic Hellkite on turn four is often a cruel (but fun) play that leaves opponents struggling to catch up.

Ureni, the Song Unending is a major threat in a deck set up around him. He deals a huge blast of damage when played, and White and Black cards simply can’t touch him. As a colossal 10/10, he only needs to attack once or twice to end most games—but at 8 Mana, he’s the opposite of cheap. Fortunately, as a Temur dragon he fits into decks that have access to Green cards, a color that’s well provisioned to get him into play quickly given there are all sorts of methods to get Green Lands into play fast. A deck crammed with the likes of Llanowar Elves, Encroaching Dragonstorm, and Spelunking can get him into play for turn five.

Shiko, Paragon of the Way hails from the Jeskai clan’s monasteries and she has a fantastic recursive ability. When played, you can reuse one of your cheaper cards without paying for it. This can return a small creature to play, kill an enemy creature, or draw more cards—the choice comes down to how you’ve built your deck!

One of my favorites from before Tarkir: Dragonstorm is better than ever now. Twinflame Tyrant has a simple but devastating effect: If any of your cards deal damage, double it. It gets better. Play a second one, or copy it—we’ll cover that later—and you get the giddy thrills of doubling your already doubled damage. This gets out of hand fast. Your smallest creatures become mighty, and the feeble “burn” spells that deal direct damage suddenly make your opponent’s 20 HP seem very vulnerable.
 

Good Omens

Dragons in Magic: The Gathering are famously slow to develop. You won't have to wait centuries for them to mature to their full goliath size, but their Mana cost does mean they’re often played mid or late-game. They’re a special, ferocious occasion—but until then, they typically just take up space in your hand.

A new mechanic in Tarkir: Dragonstorm helps prevent your dragons from never taking off. Omens are dragon cards that are two-cards-in-one, and all the better for their newfound versatility. You can play them as an Omen, then shuffle them back into your deck to be used again when drawn. These cards are important tools to stay alive and let your dragons dominate the later game.

Among the most impactful is Scavenger Regent. This black dragon’s Omen is a board-wipe effect that can destroy all non-dragons in play, and is especially important for dismantling opposing decks designed to amass large numbers of small creatures. In dragon form, it’s a beefy 4/4 that’s hard to kill. Traditionally, the test of a good Magic: The Gathering card is whether it’s effective both when you’re winning and losing. This card aces both scenarios.

Bloomvine Regent is a green dragon—a relative rarity, as green is usually the color of flammable forests and plantlife. As a dragon, Bloomvine Regent helps you gain life and win your match more comfortably. As an Omen, he’ll search up land cards from your deck so you’re set up to play your next high-Mana creature like the aforementioned Ureni, the Song Unending.

Purging Stormbrood offers an entirely different kind of defense. Another 4/4 black dragon, this one can be cast as a spell to make one of your creatures already in play become more powerful and also hexproof, thwarting your opponent’s attempts to kill it that turn. As an uncommon, cards like this and Twinmaw Stormbrood (a white dragon who can swat away most non-dragons with ease) are powerful picks well-suited to newer players still building their collections.
 

Getting your dragons to take off on schedule

Still, the high Mana cost of many dragons is a significant barrier to winning games with your favorite fire-breathing reptiles. On the regular schedule, they might swoop in too late to make a difference. Fortunately, there’s ways to accelerate their invariably dramatic entrance.

Sarkhan, Dragon Ascendant is one of the most important characters in the plane of Tarkir and a staple of any good dragon deck. A time-traveller from another timeline, Sarkhan is responsible for Tarkir’s current dragon problem—and also a dragon in disguise. He’s a 2 Mana human who, when played in any respectable dragon deck, can create a Treasure token that you can cash in to play your next card one turn sooner than expected. Better yet, play a dragon and Sarkhan becomes one as well, ready to attack from the air while becoming progressively stronger.

Next is Sarkhan, Soul Aflame, a version of Sarkhan from the earlier set March of the Machine. Don't let its age fool you, though. Far from obsolete, this even-more-dangerous version of Sarkhan makes all dragon cards cost one less Mana to cast—and when you do cast a dragon, Sarkhan, Soul Aflame becomes an exact copy of the one you played. Double dragons, which can pose a major problem for your opponent if you just played a Twinflame Tyrant!

Mox Jasper offers one of the most powerful effects in the game: free Mana. It’s one reason why Black Lotus can sell for the cost of a new car (or sometimes even a house)! However, you can only use Mox Jasper to create said Mana if you have a dragon in-play. Without one, it’s useless. While powerful, most decks should resist the temptation in favor of cards that help you stay alive or draw more cards to stock back up on your next draconic assault.

Since the release of Tarkir: Dragonstorm, I’ve been having a lot of fun with a Jeskai Dragons deck for the Standard format, which revolves around landing a Sarkhan and aiming to play a 5 Mana dragon like the aforementioned Shiko or Twinflame Tyrant on turn four. When it works, it does serious damage incredibly fast.

Magic: The Gathering players are never short of options to concoct their own strategies, though. With hundreds of cards in this new set—and many more new dragons to fill opponents with dread—we’ve barely scratched the surface of what you can do with Tarkir: Dragonstorm.

Find out for yourself! Magic: The Gathering Arena and the new Tarkir: Dragonstorm set are available now on the Epic Games Store.