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By: romellos, A. Atasoy
Mar 25 2015 12:00pm
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   Hello everyone. Welcome to the third and last part of my Dragons of Tarkir financial reviews. Today, I'm going to evaluate all the rest Green,  Multicolored and Land cards. I have a strong hunch that, this week's article will be more interesting than the last one. At least, I don't expect any deja vu moments at the bulk cards today.

Before I continue with my DTK evaluations, I would like to briefly go through about the general power level of these new Dragon cards. There are total 26 Dragons cards at Dragons of Tarkir set. Give or take, all of the five Elder Dragon cards are technically playable at the Standard format. And among the rest, there is only Thunderbreak Regent that is strong enough to join this dragon club.

Thundermaw Hellkite  Stormbreath Dragon  Thunderbreak Regent   

Personally, I was expecting one or two new Dragon cards that would exceed the power limits of Thundermaw Hellkite and Stormbreath Dragon for the Modern format. Unfortunately, I don't see any bold Dragons here that will challenge and outclass them. What a missed opportunity.

Let's start to our review of the rest cards...

Assault Formation   Doran, the Siege Tower

Assault Formation is basically the enchantment version of Doran, the Siege Tower with two extra activated abilities with boosting and Rolling Stones options. The CMC of Assault Formation is also very aggressive and pushed enough to make it playable in Standard and Modern formats. Although, I'm not sure about Modern, where Doran, the Siege Tower is very relevant on its own. My initial price expectation for Assault Formation will be around 0.25 to 0.50 tix. I would like to also note that, its price path is clearly open to 1.00 to 1.50 tix ranges, if Assault Formation manages to find a place in a competitive Standard deck.

Collected Company  Fact or Fiction  Congregation at Dawn

Here it is, my TOP FAVORITE card at Dragons of Tarkir set. I know, there are lots of more shinny and interesting cards in this set. Yet, I believe, a very few of them are strong enough as Collected Company to shake the Modern format. After the banning of Birthing Pod, creature based tool decks are faded away. Chord of Calling is still efficient, but not much effective without a main engine. In the end, Chord of Calling was mostly a secondary support card. In that regard, Collected Company seems very promising to be shaping a deck around it. Because, basically this is a Fact or Fiction for creature oriented decks. We can use Collected Company to dig for combo pieces or just get two more creatures within an aggressive deck build. Its application possibilities are endless. And if you are worried about its consistency, just add some Congregation at Dawn to your decks. Chord of Calling and Congregation at Dawn will be more than enough to cover all the angles. Maybe, this will be the second coming of the creature based tool decks. The only thing we are missing now is Green Sun's Zenith. Am I asking for too much?

Collected Company will be also very relevant in the Standard format, where G/W or G/R based aggressive decks can fully utilize its potential. And the Instant factor gives us the edge point to play Collected Company at the end of our opponent's turn or during their attack phase. In that regard, Collected Company will clearly complicate the attack and block mathematic. Or, even four untapped lands will be a good bluffing strategy to manipulate our opponent's playing tempo.

Currently, it seems Collected Company is underestimated a bit, that's why, my initial price estimation will be around 2.50 to 3.50 tix. After that, all will be depend on its impact to the Modern format. If we started to see Collected Company in competitive decks immediately, its price will jump to 5.00-7.00 tix ranges. If not, we might also see Collected Company withdraw to 1.50 to 2.00 tix ranges during this summer.

Avatar of the Resolute  Garruk's Companion  Oran-Rief Survivalist

Avatar of the Resolute has an aggressive CMC and 3/2 body with trample and reach. In limited formats, its +1/+1 counter synergy can matter a lot. But in Standard, there is no such dedicated +1/+1 counter theme to support Avatar of the Resolute efficiently. We can still see Avatar of the Resolute in some aggressive G/x deck builds. Yet, its double Green CMC requirement can be a problematic, time to time. It will be better just to consider Avatar of the Resolute as a Garruk's Companion and that is what it will be most of the times. Unless, we get some good +1/+1 counter support at Battle for Zendikar. Maybe Avatar of the Resolute will find an ally there. Who knows.

My conservative price expectation for Avatar of the Resolute will be between 0.25 to 0.40 tix.

Deathmist Raptor  Vengevine  Mastery of the Unseen

In the past, Vengevine clearly taught us about the importance of recursion factor and the card advantage that comes from it. In that regard, Deathmist Raptor is very similar to Vengevine in the power level. Unfortunately, Deathmist Raptor is more restricted to see play only in Morph and/ or Manifest themed decks. 

Luckily, there is a G/W devotion deck in Standard with Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, Whisperwood Elemental and Mastery of the Unseen that is heavily utilizing the Manifest mechanic. And Deathmist Raptor will be a perfect addition to that deck to slow the pace of aggressive decks. Currently, the G/W devotion deck has some issues with the fast and aggressive strategies during early turns. They are mostly depending on Fleecemane Lion after the sideboarding. In that case, Deathmist Raptor will be a good upgrade at the curve and its Deathtouch bonus is can be also very relevant against G/R devotion or Abzan Midrange decks.

I think Deathmist Raptor will be positioned around 5.50 to 6.50 tix during next six months. And after Theros rotates out, I expect Deathmist Raptor to lose most of its value and regress to 2.50 to 3.50 tix ranges.

Obscuring Æther  Sunbringer’s Touch

Obscuring Æther seems as an interesting and fun card for heavily Morph & Manifest drafted decks in limited formats. I don't expect to see it in Standard constructed and that seals its price limits as bulk to 0.05 tix.

Sunbringer's Touch wants to be an Overrun for bolster themed draft decks. Otherwise, it is not playable in Standard. A bulk card with 0.03 tix value.

Surrak, the Hunt Caller

I still have mixed thoughts about Surrak, the Hunt Caller. Basically, he is a huge beater that will grant a Haste advantage to our board. Yet, there is an existing fact named Polukranos, World Eater in Standard at the very same CMC curve. Currently, I can only imagine Surrak, the Hunt Caller within very aggressive G/R Midrange decks, together with Stormbreath Dragon, Thunderbreak Regent, Flamewake Phoenix, Boon Satyr or Yasova Dragonclaw. Maybe his fate will change with the next rotation.

My conservative price estimation for Surrak, the Hunt Caller will be around 0.25 to 0.40 tix.

Explosive Vegetation  Shaman of Forgotten Ways 

I think the reprint of Explosive Vegetation is a very important development for the next Standard season. Theros will rotate out and G/x devotion decks will be gone too. At the very same time, new Eldrazi cards will emerge and we will find ourselves at thinking about how to cast or cheat them. In that regard, Explosive Vegetation will be a cement in a new generation G/R colored ramp up decks, together with Shaman of Forgotten Ways. We can either cast Dragonlord Atarka & Eldrazi cards or cheat them onto the battlefield with See the Unwritten. I definitely see a top contender here.

Display of Dominance  Autumn's Veil

Display of Dominance is the best one in this uncommon hoser cycle. Basically, Display of Dominance's first modal option will help Green based decks to stop certain Planeswalkers; Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver, Kiora, the Crashing Wave, Garruk, Apex Predator. Or, disrupt the combo potentials of Jeskai Ascendancy and Whip of Erebos.  

The second option is just an Autumn's Veil, yet it can be also very useful to protect our creatures and Planeswalkers against the Black removal spells. 

Sarkhan Unbroken 

Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker is an aggressive beater like Stormbreath Dragon. On the other hand, Sarkhan Unbroken is more specialized at 4/4 Dragon summoning and aiming to dominate the game with quantities and card advantage. Both of these Sarkhan cards are more efficient at different deck approaches. And that makes our job a bit harder as Sarkhan Unbroken is not that easy to utilize as Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker. Currently there are various of dominating Abzan, Jeskai or Sultai decks around. Yet, Temur decks are still a tier two contenders. I'm not questioning the power level of Sarkhan Unbroken here as it is obviously there. Unfortunately, the Blue side at the Temur (RUG) color combinations wasn't consistent enough to support the whole integrity. And those decks had some contradictions at balancing the control and aggressive tendencies. 

Personally, I really like Sarkhan Unbroken. But, due to my current concerns at RUG color combination, I will approach to this card with a caution. My initial price estimation for Sarkhan Unbroken that he will start with a +15.00 tix range. And he will quickly test the 10.00-11.00 tix ranges within next two months. At some point (MMA 2015 or Magic Origins), we might even see Sarkhan Unbroken fall to 8.00-9.00 tix as bottom and then he will start to recover from there.

These are just my price expectations for the Summer period. Lots of things will change with the coming of Zendikar. First of all, Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver, Elspeth, Sun's Champion, Kiora, the Crashing Wave, Garruk, Apex Predator and Nissa, Worldwaker will be gone. And their departure will definitely shake the foundation of their respective decks. Some of the current existing decks will be extinct and at the same time, some new decks may emerge. These changing times bring new opportunities for the ones who survive. And Sarkhan Unbroken seems to me as a survivor.

Dragonlord Atarka  Atarka, World Render

Dragonlord Atarka is clearly the best and the most playable Dragonlord at this Elder cycle. Dragonlord Atarka will immediately impact to the board with her Bogardan Hellkite-esque trigger and she will kill at least one creature or a Planeswalker during the process. And after that, our opponent has to deal with a 8/8 Dragon with trample. It is not an easy task to achieve. Just look at her, she is fed enough during the last millennium and become even bigger than her past self.

I believe, we are going to see Dragonlord Atarka as four copies in various of G/R devotion or G/R ramp up decks in the Standard format. And this demand to Dragonlord Atarka will reflect as an increase at her price. My optimistic price expectation will be around 5.50 to 6.50 tix. On the other hand, if Dragonlord Atarka immediately impacts at the Standard meta, she will exceed this initial price range and directly jump to the 10.00-12.00 tix ranges.

Dragonlord Ojutai  Thieving Magpie  Ojutai, Soul of Winter 

My first impression about Dragonlord Ojutai was, this is an improved Thieving Magpie. Don't get me wrong, I like Thieving Magpie. I have played a lot with it in Mono Blue draw-go style control decks, back then. And this comparison is also briefly explains where Dragonlord Ojutai will fit and how much play he will see.

Overall, Dragonlord Ojutai is a decent card with a potential to see play in U/W control or in Jeskai decks as one or two copies. He is good, but not much exciting as some of the other Dragonlords. My price expectation for Dragonlord Ojutai will be between 2.00 to 2.50 tix ranges.

Dromoka’s Command

Dromoka's Command is clearly one of the pushed command cards in this cycle. Basically, this card is here to hose the multiple of Standard deck strategies. It can help us against, Burn based approaches to Jeskai Ascendancy combo decks. Or it can just kill, Courser of Kruphix and a second creature with the fight modal option.  

Dromoka's Command is a tailored card mainly for the Standard format with some Modern application as a sideboard option. It is effective, yet not that amazing as most of the people are hyped about it. I expect to see Dromoka's Command with an average 2.50 to 3.00 tix price.

Kolaghan’s Command  Blightning 

I think, Kolaghan's Command is a confused card about what it wants to be and where it aims to see play. Give or take, I can easily find a deck for all the rest four Command cards in Standard format. Yet, Kolaghan's Command doesn't give me much hope. It is like faded memories of the past. Kolaghan's Command is clearly not a Blightning at damage & discarding task or Rakdos Charm for a wide selection for major threats. 

Let's ask about, which deck could play with it in Standard? Rakdos, Jund or Mardu? Kolaghan's Command is not cheap enough as Wild Slash, Lightning Strike, nor effective as Stoke the Flames and Crackling Doom at the playability.

On the other hand, Kolaghan's Command might success within Modern Jund decks as few copies. It might basically act there as an Electrolyze to gain two to one value. Unlike the Standard, all of these modal options are very relevant in the Modern format, nearly against every existing deck type.

In the end, this is a command card at sleeper position. And, I will approach to Kolaghan's Command conservatively with a price estimation between 0.75 to 1.25 tix ranges.

Haven of the Spirit Dragon

Finally, here is a playable Dragon tribal land. In that regard, Haven of the Spirit Dragon is not just a casual card, but a land that will also see competitive play in Standard or in Modern formats. The unrestricted recursion option of Haven of the Spirit Dragon, gives us the possibility to replay any past, present and future Dragon and Ugin cards. Simple and amazing.

My price estimation for Haven of the Spirit Dragon will be between 0.25 to 0.40 tix in the short term. And I expect to see this land around 0.15 to 0.25 tix, during this Summer.

 

WRAP UP:

I will return with a new financial article to wrap up the whole Tarkir block with direct buying suggestions for the next Standard season. This article will be more like the one I wrote last Summer.

See you next time in the "Days of Standard" series...