Hello, and welcome back to another set, and another prerelease season. I'm really excited for this upcoming set and I think there is a lot of depth and strategy in these cards that we've been missing recently. I will be rating every card in the set on a scale from 1 - 10 and will be splitting up these articles into 3 sections, commons, uncommons, and rares and mythics. For those of you who haven't read my earlier reviews, this is how the scale works.
1- Don't play this card ever, it's that bad. Example - Pyxis of Pandemonium or Fascination.
2- You shouldn't play this card ever, but there could be an extremely niche time to do so. Examples - Dark Deal, Feed the Clan, or Firehoof Cavalry.
3- You can play this if your deck is really bad or if it does something really strange. Examples - Taigam's Scheming, or Siegecraft.
4- Not an exciting card but okay OR a card that is good for one fringe strategy but pretty bad otherwise. Examples - Trumpet Blast, or Rotting Mastodon
5- A little worse than average, your standard curve-fillers and role-players that make your deck most of the time. Examples - Unyielding Krumar, or War Behemoth.
6- A little better than average, these cards will usually make your deck and do what they do well. Examples - Mardu Hordechief, or Force Away.
7- Extremely efficient cards that should almost always make your deck, the better aggressive cards usually get this rating. Cards in this category are first-pickable in weak packs. Examples - Ainok Bond-Kin, Debilitating Injury, or Savage Punch.
8- Premium cheap removal and bombs that will not only make your deck but you will want to play those colors just so you can play with the card. Examples - Abzan Charm, or Mantis Rider.
9- Extra bomby bombs or bomb removal that you will windmill slam immediately. These cards should almost always win you the game. Examples - Crater's Claws, or High Sentinels of Arashin.
10- Magical unicorns, or the cards that do everything for you. These are hard to remove permanents that will immediately start taking over the game. Examples - Citadel Siege or Wingmate Roc.
Without further ado, here is my review.
White Commons:
Artful Maneuver - 6 - This is probably a little better in the Ojutai deck, where the rebound will have some added versatility. If you are able to kill a creature in combat and then the next turn get an attack in that you couldn't otherwise this is great value. Obviously this is less effective on defense.
Aven Tactician - 5 - I don't think this will often make the cut. On an empty board a 3/4 flier for five is nice, but I don't think that will be the case very often, and the dragons will start outclassing this pretty soon.
Center Soul - 4 - I think Artful Maneuver will just be better than this the majority of the time. The rebound might not even get you a good attack on the next turn, so you're really needing the prowess and semi-prowess creatures.
Champion of Arashin - 3 - This is obviously a creature that wants to be bolstered, as when you cast him he trades with everything, but if some counters are on him, a big lifelink creature is very valuable. Unfortunately I think bolster is just good with any creature, so playing a creature that is bad without it isn't necessary or good.
Dragon's Eye Sentry - 4 - If you are defensive or planning on winning with evasive creatures this is a great roadblock from a lot of the 2/1's out there. And even if you don't maindeck it, it's a very reasonable sideboard card to bring in against extremely aggressive ground-based decks.
Dromoka Dunecaster - 5 - The body on this creature is, I think, deceptively bad. I actually like my conditional tappers to cost more and have a more relevant body. That way, it's only when the opponent's creature is really big that you need to spend mana to tap them down. As it is the 0/2 can't do anything and if you are spending mana every turn to tap a creature down you aren't developing your board. I think this will be one of the most overrated cards in the set for limited.
Dromoka Warrior - 6 - It's hard to tell how good a 3/1 is, but from what I have seen so far I don't think it's bad, I just don't think that this is a format where they are awesome. There are some cards, especially in red, that punish X/1's though so you might want to side this out sometimes.
Enduring Victory - 6 - With all these dragons running around, you probably want a least one card that can just kill them dead, and the bolster can be significant. I would be very reluctant to run more than one though, especially with a doozy of a reprint also at white common.
Fate Forgotten - SB - Originally I was thinking that this would be like Naturalize in KTK that was theoretically in your sideboard but you never actually brought it in. After looking at the set a bit more though I think you will bring this in more than that, because of having a blue and white common enchantment that you will want to remove.
Glaring Aegis - 3 - For all I know this is the Temur Battle Rage of the set, and you can just draft this prowess, Sage's Reverie, Glaring Aegis concoction and win. I don't endorse that kind of strategy early on though.
Herald of Dromoka - 5 - A grizzly bear with upside is always nice, although I'm not sure how good granting vigilance to all your smaller creatures is, but it can occasionally be useful. It's important to note, that even though these are common, redundant copies aren't particularly helpful.
Lightwalker - 6 - I like this in bolster decks way better than the Champion of Arashin. 2/1's for two are relevant early, and if you put even one counter on this early it's a really legitimate and scary threat.
Misthoof Kirin - 6 - While I like the flexibility of the cost, I think the decision to megamorph will have more to do with planning out your curve and less about the significance of the counter, as this creature will trade with any flier either way.
Pacifism - 8 - Here's that important reprint that I was talking about earlier. Pacifism is a level of common removal we haven't seen in several years and it is completely reasonable to take this over much more complicated and exciting uncommons and rares.
Resupply - 2 - I think only some really sketchy or strange decks will want this kind of effect for that much mana, but it's not unplayable.
Sandcrafter Mage - 7 - By itself, this is a 3/3 for three, which is quite good. There are also some bolster synergies which can make it better. Overall, this card is super solid.
Sandstorm Charger - 5 - This will be the kind of filler that War Behemoth and company were. Although if you morph it, it is more of a Glacial Stalker, which was very serviceable.
Student of Ojutai - 5 - This isn't the kind of pseudo-prowess card that I like. I think this will be more in defensive decks where the spell trigger is secondary than in the more prowess based aggressive Ojutai decks.
Territorial Roc - 4 - This card has been printed before, and is more useful at trading or blocking opponents' fliers than in providing any kind of clock itself. As such it's a very common sideboard card or filler card.
Blue Commons:
Ancient Carp - 3 - While this card isn't actively bad, the stats are just so mediocre and this set is so good that I don't think you'll ever need to play this card.
Anticipate - 6 - It's been a long time coming to see the fixed Impulse. This will be fantastic in the prowess Ojutai decks that just want some cheap instant spells that do something. But really any blue deck will appreciate the card selection this provides.
Contradict - 3 - Going from fixed Impulse to fixed Dismiss, this is strange. It's hard to imagine the kind of deck that can afford to run this, but it's also hard to imagine casting this being bad. Unfortunately it's very unlikely that this format is just that slow.
Dirgur Nemesis - 5 - This is actually kind of a sweet megamorph. As Woolly Loxodon taught us, the largest common morph has a huge gotcha moment, and I think with this card being more defensive and niche, people will expect it even less unlike it's green counterpart. This is obviously more for the slower blue decks than the more aggressive Ojutai decks.
Elusive Spellfist - 6 - This seems like a pillar of an aggressive Ojutai prowess deck. Ironically I think the high toughness is kind of a downside since it makes it harder to bolster onto it.
Glint - 3 - I think this will be sideboarded in against removal heavy decks most often, but it's not unreasonable to maindeck this in a prowess deck or a deck full of powerful evasive creatures.
Gurmag Drowner - 6 - I love the exploit deck a lot already. This effect isn't really worth it to sacrifice your defensive four drop to achieve, but there are several cheap creatures both in Dragons and Fate Reforged that don't mind getting sacrificed. Even just your defensive two-drop is fine for this effect. It's important to note also that the other cards go to your graveyard, which can help you power out a delve card earlier.
Monastery Loremaster - 5 - This effect is pretty expensive, but having a 4/3 that regrew a spell is definitely worth it. This isn't Warden of the Eye though.
Mystic Meditation - 6 - I like the subtle hint that you want to cast this for more spells for your prowess deck, it would obviously be a lot better if it was an instant. This also can fuel delve, not that there are going to be that many of them.
Negate - SB - I can't really imagine every maindecking this card, so I have just put it where it belongs. You can bring this in against an Ojutai deck full of powerful spells, especially with rebound, or you can bring it in against control decks full of removal. I think both of those circumstances will occur reasonably often though so I like picking one up at one point.
Ojutai Interceptor - 7 - 3/1 fliers for four are always extremely reasonable and don't get cut hardly ever. This is even better than that, since if you dedicate your third and fourth turn you get a 4/2 flier, which is way better than average for common.
Ojutai's Breath - 6 - This is a pretty good way for the Ojutai deck to force through some damage as it will trigger prowess on two turns and the first creature is still tapped for the next turn, letting you lock down two creatures the second turn.
Ojutai's Summons - 7 - This will probably be the top of the curve for a prowess deck, creating some more pressure while getting those prowess triggers. This is also reasonable in a Silumgar deck just to get multiple fliers and potential exploit villains.
Palace Familiar - 6 - Remember when I was talking about those creatures that want to get sacrificed for exploit? Well here's a good one. This should be able to get a point or two of damage in, and then get sacrificed for good value and draw you a card. And that's fantastic. There are some other cards like this though, so he is replaceable.
Reduce in Stature - 7 - This is an interesting kind of blue Pacifism they don't do very often in this way. A great way to handle the large flying creatures that will be running rampant while not being as good against utility creatures or bolster. Blue common removal is rarely this good.
Sidisi's Faithful - 5 - While this is one of the few exploit abilities I don't particularly like, this card has some other things going for it. It's a 0/4 for one, which is great defensively. It's a card that you can happily exploit to other things as the game goes on and the body becomes less relevant. And unlike most one-drops it is still relevant late in the game where you can sacrifice it to itself to bounce a creature or trigger one of your creatures that wants to die. And in a set with pacifism bounce can get quite a bit better.
Taigam's Strike - 6 - This is a strong way to end games. It is important that you really only want this card when you are aggressive, since this is basically a burn card.
Updraft Elemental - 6 - Flying Horned Turtles would normally be pretty good. Unfortunately in this set a lot of the fliers are 4/4's or bigger, so this blocks less things than normal.
Zephyr Scribe - 7 - Looters are usually strong unless the activation cost is high, which this is not. This also has some other upsides. The untapping is pretty potent in the right deck, and the extra point of power means that in a pinch this can trade with a morph. Altogether a very nice card.
Black Commons:
Butcher's Glee - 6 - This is actually a pretty sweet combat trick. It does everything you want a combat trick to do; it counters removal spells, it kills the opposing creature while your creature survives, it lets you deal lots of extra damage, and it even gains you life in case you are racing. The only problem I think is that it's a little expensive for a combat trick and combat tricks have some inherent weaknesses.
Coat with Venom - 3 - Compared with this combat trick that I don't like at all. This is really only useful extremely early in the game when you are presenting trades and then make your creature slightly bigger so your creature survives and their creature doesn't. The deathtouch doesn't do anything in this scenario however. The deathtouch is just a way for you to 2-for-1 yourself in a pinch to deal with a scary creature. This is all very reminiscent of Ruthless Instincts from Fate Reforged, which I didn't like either and didn't see very much play.
Defeat - 6 - Why is this a sorcery? I would like this card okay if it was a way for you to be on the draw and kill their 3-drop at end-of-turn and then make your own play. As it is this card is playable but very unexciting. I also think just killing small creatures is worse in Dragons than Khans.
Duress - SB - Read what I said about Negate but even more so. Only bring in against players who have a lot of powerful non-creature spells that cost a reasonable amount of mana. Whiffing with this kind of card is just the worst.
Dutiful Attendant - 5 - More creatures wanting to die. This is really only good in a Silumgar deck, but in that deck I think it's quite potent.
Flatten - 7 - What one mana difference makes. This is just way more reasonable than Throttle and in this set, -4/-4 lets you kill a lot of the scary creatures that cost more than this spell.
Foul-Tongue Shriek - 3 - Our first obviously Kolaghan card! It's a little hard to tell how wide that deck is going to be able to go, but this really requires a lot of creatures to be good, and therefore just seems to be a bad Trumpet Blast.
Gravepurge - 5 - I have a pretty severe love of this card and its previous incarnations stemming from the time I cast Footbottom Feast putting 2 Mulldrifters and an Aethersnipe on top of my library. I do think that in the Silumgar exploit deck these kinds of chains are possible, especially with way less delve cards to eat up the graveyard. Only that deck will be hugely interested though.
Hand of Silumgar - 6 - This card is in an interesting place. The one minor problem Typhoid Rats had was that you could ignore it on attack if you needed to. This card kind of demands a trade of resources but unfortunately there are those red cards that can just kill this card for free so it might not be as sweet sometimes.
Kolaghan Skirmisher - 6 - Dash bear here is just super solid and any kind of aggressive Kolaghan deck will be glad to have him. I think some of the very defensive Silumgar decks would rather something else though.
Marsh Hulk - 5 - Even though the megamorph cost is prohibitive, you can still cast him as a Gray Ogre, and if you draw him later you can cast him as a six-mana 4/6 which is okay.
Mind Rot - 6 - I'm just going to come out and say that I think Mind Rot will be very good in this set. There are a lot of powerful late game plays and good answers, and getting rid of either of them at the early and mid-stages of the game will be quite good.
Qarsi Sadist - 4 - Like the other cheap exploit creature
Sidisi's Faithful, the ability isn't really worth killing a real creature with unless it just kills the opponent. But also like Sidisi's Faithful, it has a good defensive body that is still relevant later in the game and can kill some of the creatures that want to die that are in this format. I do think it's a little worse on all those counts than the Faithful though as it costs more mana, and is less versatile.
Reckless Imp - 6 - This is just bread and butter for the aggressive Kolaghan decks. I figure that a lot of games will go Grizzly Bear into Wind Drake in these black-red aggro decks and will follow that up with some Dashed creatures or good removal.
Shambling Goblin - 5 - I have no idea why they didn't just reprint Festering Goblin as it is literally the same card and basically the same flavor. I guess Festering didn't seem Zombie enough? I'm not sure. Either way we have a good "kill-me" creature here that you should be able to leverage some value with. This is one of the cards that makes me like X/1's a little less in this format.
Sibsig Icebreakers - 4 - I would have liked this a little better in KTK with the delve theme. As it is, the body will become irrelevant and discarding something doesn't have huge value. Maybe you just cast this last in Kolaghan decks?
Silumgar Butcher - 7 - Now here's an exploit creature I can get behind! -3/-3 is enough to kill a significant creature and if you are doing it right you are getting value in the creature you are exploiting, or at least killing a creature that doesn't matter anymore.
Vulturous Aven - 7 - Wow and this one is maybe even better! This card is probably more of an 8 in dedicated Silumgar decks, where you are sacrificing a creature with a die trigger so this is just more of a 2/3 flier for four with a Sign in Blood attached which is bonkers nuts.
Wandering Tombshell - 5 - You could definitely do worse. This is fat enough that if you need four-drops in your defensive Silumgar deck this is totally defensible.
Red Commons:
Atarka Efreet - 6 - There is a decent amount of small damage effects in red and I like this one quite a bit, especially with the morph. Unmorphing for just 3 mana to get a 6/2 and deal a damage is very respectable and is a great way to punish some of the x/1's running around.
Dragon Fodder - 4 - I think this is missing some synergies that would have existed in Khans of Tarkir and made it better. This isn't in Jeskai anymore, so the spell doesn't matter; this isn't in the token producing Mardu so the tokens matter less as well. I think this will be fine normally and only good in a weird red/black exploit deck.
Hardened Berserker - 6 - This is a pretty cool card, especially if you have some nice five-drops, which the Atarka deck should have. Playing this on three, and then attacking and playing a five-drop is a nice sequence. It will probably trade off after that first attack though.
Impact Tremors - 4 - This is a very different 4 than with Dragon Fodder. I think this will only see play in the hyper-aggressive Raid themed Kolaghan decks, but in that deck it can be very good. Obviously the idea is to be raiding every turn, dealing damage every time.
Kindled Fury - 5 - This card has been reprinted several times and is usually pretty average. The nice thing is that since it just costs one you can easily cast something else in the same turn or disguise it better on defense.
Kolaghan Aspirant - 6 - This is a deceptively good ability tacked on to a common and lets it deal with some things that are normally problematic. Firstly, this wins in combat against any other X/1's, and secondly it allows it to trade with x/3's. Altogether it is a very solid card.
Kolaghan Stormsinger - 5 - Without raid, I can't really see the point of a 1/1 haste creature like this, so I think mostly this will be morphed and then unmorphed to give another creature haste later in the game, especially since it will stay a 2/2. With that in mind, I think this is actually a bit better in Atarka decks than Kolaghan decks, since dash grants haste and a lot of the giant formidable creatures want to attack right away.
Lose Calm - 5 - To the best of my knowledge they haven't ever done this particular riff on a Threaten effect. I like siding this card in against decks that are a little slower than you with some good targets like the dragons. Some of the speedier Kolaghan decks might just want to maindeck one though.
Magmatic Chasm - 3 - I don't usually like this effect normally, and with all the big fliers in this set I like it less than normal. I could see siding it in against an Atarka deck that doesn't have many fliers or something.
Sabertooth Outrider - 5 - This is one of the least impressive formidable creatures, in my opinion. A 4/2 for four just trades with a two-drop, but when you get the first strike this card gets a lot better, so it's fine.
Sarkhan's Rage - 7 - This is quite the upgrade from Arrow Storm. Ironically it's easier to cast in a set where that matters way less, deals 5 damage consistently, and is an instant. The 2 damage is going to be largely irrelevant and won't always occur. This might be the best red common.
Screamreach Brawler - 5 - 2/3's for three are okay but not exciting, and the dash won't be used a ton here. This is a very average card.
Sprinting Warbrute - 6 - You want to attack with these kinds of creatures anyway. This is a nice curve-topper in Kolaghan decks, especially if you have some of the raid synergies.
Summit Prowler - 6 - A very amusing reprint. Some things always stay the same, and some solid creatures get way easier to cast in sets that don't have a multi-color theme.
Tail Slash - 7 - Soul's Fire was always very solid, and I can't imagine this being any different. It's important to note that this is not a fight card, the damage only goes one way, so you can kill their 4/4 with your 4/3 without having to 2 for 1 yourself. Obviously this is better in the slower Atarka decks full of huge creatures than the aggressive Kolaghan decks. It's also important to note that even though the damage doesn't go both ways so a pump spell doesn't blow you out, this still loses to a bounce spell or removal spell in response.
Tormenting Voice - 3 - Cover your ears Ugin! Without prowess in red, this card loses a lot of its utility. Maybe you play it in an Atarka deck where you didn't get enough two-drops or something or in a theoretical blue-red spell deck.
Twin Bolt - 7 - This card at common along with Atarka Efreet really punish playing a bunch of X/1's, so much so that it is possible that you might want to side out some of your sweet 2/1's against red decks that have a lot of this effect.
Vandalize - 2 - Sorry I can't talk through all this barf in my mouth.
Volcanic Rush - 4 - Oh Trumpet Blast how you have changed. With the trample, it is not unreasonable to get there with this card in Kolaghan and Atarka decks as a finisher. I could also see this card just not being necessary in those decks.
Green Commons:
Aerie Bowmasters - 7 - Green is off to a great start! Green is normally happy to pay four mana for a 3/4 reach, since that handles most fliers. Since this is the dragon set though, you have the option of morphing this and then blocking and killing their dragon with your surprise 4/5 reach later in the game. This card is great no matter which route you choose.
Ainok Artillerist - 5 - I think this card is just a little too cute in the bolster deck. Unlike its white counterpart who gains flying, this creature gets better defensively by bolstering it, but it still just trades with anything. I might like this better in a formidable deck just for its high power.
Atarka Beastbreaker - 6 - This is a really solid bear. Obviously this is way better in the Atarka decks where you can start threatening the activation and force through the damage or deter attacks.
Colossodon Yearling - 6 - Two strictly better Horned Turtles, for shame. This is just very solid filler that will fill your curve nicely and do its job.
Conifer Strider - 5 - I never got to play with Deadly Insect back in the day but it looks like we have something similar here. This can't be targeted by the opponent so the 1 toughness is less of an issue. This is actually kind of a cool card that plays very well with formidable and bolster, especially the repeatable bolster effects. It's not going to really do very much in combat though other than trade early on.
Dragon-Scarred Bear - 5 - So the scar makes it lose a point of power but regenerate sometimes? This is also a decent filler card that can make attacking annoying for your opponent later in the game.
Epic Confrontation - 7 - This is one of the better fight cards they have made. The vast majority of the time this will do what a ferocious Savage Punch would do, just all the time.
Glade Watcher - 5 - This card is cute, and can help the slower Atarka decks start getting into the middle parts of the game where they shine. And when you get there this can start beating down with everything else.
Guardian Shield-Bearer - 7 - I think this is actually a deceptively powerful and important card in this format. In the first several turns, creatures are of a similar size and trade off a lot, and this megamorph ability lets you basically get a free combat trick. Just be patient and use it wisely.
Naturalize - SB - Again classic sideboard card is a sideboard card. It is important to note that there is not only Pacifism in this set, but a new blue pacifism, so there are a few more targets than in KTK that can make this card worth it.
Pinion Feast - 4 - Because this set is what it is, I wouldn't mark a plummet type card as being a sideboard card. Sometimes your deck is just really weak to fliers and you need this. The bolster 2 is also quite significant and makes you not feel too bad about shooting down a weaker flier.
Revealing Wind - 1 - It's a trap! This is like the most trappiest trap card ever. Adding an effect that isn't worth a card to another effect that's also not worth a card just makes you get behind on board.
Sandsteppe Scavenger - 5 - While a 4/4 for five isn't bad, it isn't really what you are looking for. Which means that the Scavenger is really meant for the bolster to be put on some of these creatures that want counters.
Segmented Krotiq - 6 - I had to double-check that this is, in fact, exactly the same as Dirgur Nemesis, just without defender. Obviously this makes it both better and more likely that they will start suspecting that your megamorph is something huge when you pass with 7 mana up. This is also just very reasonable to play when drawn a little later.
Servant of the Scale - 6 - This might actually be a seven, there is some really powerful possibilities with this card. Firstly since it starts with a counter it can just chump and grow one of your more relevant creatures, which isn't bad for a one-drop. But most importantly this can just be the best bolster target ever, creating a big creature that makes something else even bigger when it dies.
Shape the Sands - SB - This card is a funny one. I can really only see this coming out of the sideboard against decks with a lot of small and medium sized fliers, like a lot of Ojutai decks. Since the cost is so low it seems like this will be good in that particular scenario, but not really in any other ones.
Sheltered Aerie - 3 - I got really excited about this card for a minute, thinking it was a strictly better Overgrowth. And then I realized that it grants the ability to the land, it isn't extra mana that occurs when you tap the land. Which means that this is just a tweak on Fertile Ground for one mana more which isn't very exciting. This is part of a handful of cards that allow you to actually play a 3-color green deck in DTK though, so if you have some sweet splash cards or a Sarkhan or something this might be worth it.
Stampeding Elk Herd - 7 - 5/5's for five are just not something we get at common all the time, especially not with upside. And although the effect is a little marginal, if you end up in a giant stall in an Atarka deck you can easily break through with this guy and your other creatures.
Tread Upon - 5 - If you are a more aggressive green deck this card could be fine, but I don't really see Atarka or Dromoka decks being super aggressive most of the time.
Artifact Commons:
Ancestral Statue - 2 - Really the only way I can see this being worth it at all is if you have a nuts Silumgar deck and you want to rebuy on your exploit creatures, but your deck would have to be really good.
Custodon of the Trove - 5 - Coming into play tapped is a real downside for this card, but it is still a very undercosted roadblock for the decks that are interested in that sort of thing.
Keeper of the Lens - 3 - Ironically enough, I like this card more as a card you sideboard in against a bunch of 2/1's rather than against a morph heavy deck. The information just isn't worth a card.
Spidersilk Net - 5 - This is the kind of card that you know it when you need it. When you have a sweet deck with good creatures and just a weird weakness to fliers you could do worse than including this card. Otherwise you can side it in when they just have a bunch of fliers.
Vial of Dragonfire - 5 - The rate on this card isn't great, but the fact that any color can play it and it's in two installments helps. And of course, if you have one or two of these you should move Renowned Weaponsmith up in your pick order.
Lands Common:
Evolving Wilds - 5 - Evolving Wilds is usually a card that everyone will play if they get it, but the one or two person with a splash will prioritize.
And that's all the commons in Dragons of Tarkir! There are a lot of really interesting play decisions with these cards and more 7's than we usually get at common which is great news. Join me next time when I go through all the uncommons and point out some of the interesting draft strategies that they point to. As always if you disagree with a pick or have a question leave a comment below.