Everything Revealed on the Tarkir: Dragonstorm Weekly MTG Stream

On Tuesday, March 18th, WeeklyMTG officially kicked off the preview season for Tarkir: Dragonstorm! Featuring a plethora of Dragons in a world where once they were extinct, Tarkir features Dragons that are largely aligned with its five enemy-wedge clans.

Is this a draconic utopia? Is there finally some degree of coexistence between the clans and their new Dragon neighbors, especially as the Dragonlord broods are now kaput? Read on, and you can be the judge!

Tarkir: The Story So Far

To start, we have some background about the storyline of Dragonstorm. The tyrannical reign of the Dragonlords of Tarkir proved nearly fatal for the humanoids of the plane known as Tarkir.

In the thick of things, Narset and the other Khans of Tarkir miraculously uncovered an ancient spell which would defeat the Dragonlords and their broods. In doing so, they released five new kinds of dragons, previously unknown to anyone on the plane.

These Spirit Dragons also heralded a new kind of dragonstorm, anomalies that had plagued the plane as the spawning grounds of dragons on Tarkir.

The Spirit Dragons also seem more benign than the Dragonlords or their progeny, and they are also more aligned in philosophy than them as well.

You can find out more about this story by reading the Tarkir: Dragonstorm story on DailyMTG, Magic's official news hub!

Cards From Tarkir: Dragonstorm

And now, for the main reason many of you are here: the previews themselves. There are five clans and five broods worth of previews, so brace yourself for a ton of really awesome reveals!

Mechanics of the New Set

Each clan of Tarkir has a new set mechanic to go along with it. First, let's discuss Mobilize, the mechanic of the Mardu.

Mobilize is an ability that is found only on creatures in the set. To Mobilize, you need only attack with that creature. It will make a number of 1/1 red Warrior creature tokens that enter tapped and attacking.

However, they are sacrificed at the next end step, so those tokens are temporary forces on the battlefield.

For the second mechanic, let's look at the Temur and their Harmonize mechanic.

Harmonize is a flashback-esque mechanic that sees its best usage in a deck with high-power creatures, such as Dragons (hint, hint).

To Harmonize with a spell, you tap a creature and reduce the cost of casting the spell by the creature's power. And, as with most Flashback mechanic reworks, you must exile any spell cast with Harmonize as it resolves.

Next up is a look at the Abzan mechanic, Endure.

Endure is an action keyword, much like Scry or Surveil. When something happens to cause something to endure (N), you either put N +1/+1 counters on it or you create an N/N white Spirit creature token.

Based on the wording of the above Anafenza, Unyielding Lineage, creatures may not be the only card type to use Endure. However, at the time of writing we simply don't know what the future may hold!

Next, let's look at the Jeskai ability, Flurry.

Flurry is a pseudo-keyword (like Morbid or Landfall) that is shorthand for something happening when you cast your second spell in a given turn.

In the case of the above card, Equilibrium Adept, the creature gains double strike until end of turn when you flurry.

Finally, we come to the Sultai mechanic, Renew.

Renew is another pseudo-keyword. Renew effects put all of the keyworded abilities from a card in your graveyard onto targeted creature.

Whether this is for a price, or whether Renew has the potential to be a triggered ability as well, also awaits clarification. So far, Qarsi Revenant is the only card with Renew that we've seen.

Beyond the clan mechanics in Tarkir Dragonstorm, there are two other new mechanics to be had: Omen, and Behold.

Omens are similar to Adventures. The similarities between Omens and Adventures are that both nest in another spell. Unlike Adventures, Omens shuffle the card back into its owner's library.

They're largely a way for high-costed spells to retain viability by allowing smaller Omen spells to be nested within them.

Behold, found on a few cards in Tarkir: Dragonstorm, cares about revealing a card with a certain characteristic from your hand or having one on the battlefield.

So far, Sarkhan, Dragon Ascendant, is the only one we have seen, and, understandably, he cares about beholding Dragons.

Legends of MTGTDM

Here are some of the major legendary creature and planeswalker cards from Tarkir: Dragonstorm!

(Notably, Wizards of the Coast has opted to remove the Naga creature type, instead changing formerly-Naga creatures across the board to be Snake creatures instead. This change explains why Sidisi is a Snake instead of a Naga.)

Other New Cards From MTGTDM

Alongside the legendary permanents and mechanical innovations of the new set, Tarkir has also granted us a whole rest of the set to ponder on! How astounding!

However, we only got a day's worth of previews to go over. It's probably for the better since we can take in the awesome new cards in smaller bites. So, with that said, here are the other cool previews from the set at large!

There will be a cycle of five Saga enchantment cards that tell the story of how the clans found their respective Spirit Dragons. Food for thought!

Furthermore, there will also be a cycle of "Dragonstorm" enchantments. This is likely exactly what Magic Head Designer Mark Rosewater meant in his teaser for the set!

Now, in many circumstances we'd suggest that this is it for the previews. However, there's one more ace in our sleeves that we think you'll appreciate a ton. Well, more like ten, but... Know what? Let's just show you!

Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander Deck Faces

There are five Commander decks lined up to release with Tarkir: Dragonstorm; one represents each clan of the plane. Each preconstructed deck has a Khan and a Spirit Dragon as faces for the decks in equal measure. And here they are!

Special Guests Abound!

Finally, Tarkir Dragonstorm will feature fifteen Special Guest cards that are exactly what the doctor ordered... before promptly being devoured by a dragon. The fate of a nameless medical practitioner aside, here are those Special Guests!

Let's Stop "Dragon" On

With that, we conclude our preview recap for Tarkir: Dragonstorm. We hope you enjoyed these awesome reveals from Tuesday's WeeklyMTG stream!

And now, let's hear from you, dear readers. Are you excited for this next upcoming set? Are there any things on your Dragonstorm wish list that you feel were missed out on?

Alternatively, how do you feel about  the face commanders of the five precons? Sound off below!