Locations
Tarkir was one of my absolute favorite Magic blocks. You know, back when Magic blocks were a thing. I absolutely love multicolored-based sets, as they usually have a ton more depth than normal sets - since a lot of the cards can overlap in different archetypes and the power level is often quite a bit higher since the cards have a much higher barrier in terms of their mana requirements.
The Limited format was also fantastic and deep, including the morph mechanic and a ton of cool gold cards. I even Top 8'd a Khans of Tarkir Limited Grand Prix.
I was reluctant to care about this set at first. I think that was solely due to being so exhausted from constant, nonstop preview seasons and just not having the bandwidth to process 80 new cards every other week. But, I gotta be honest, the set is looking very cool. Sultai is my favorite color combination, I love cool dragons, and this set is tickling all the right spots. In fact, I might explore creating a Khans-based Dragon Cube after this set releases...
Either way, I want to discuss some of my favorite previews so far as of my writing this on 3/19.
Let's begin!
Ugin, Eye of the Storms
Boy, this is a good planeswalker. I mean...ooof. It exiles a permanent when it enters?! Come on, man. Karn Liberated has to -3 himself to do that! Then you get to keep doing that every time you cast a colorless spell?!
Ugin then gets to +2 to gain 3 life and draw a card? This card seems like a Christmas miracle for Tron decks. The -11 ultimate is also incredible, and you basically just get to search your entire deck for a bunch of Eldrazi or artifacts.
Admittedly, the 0 ability is a bit confusing, since you already have 7 mana as of casting this guy, so adding mana at that point seems a bit redundant.
Ureni, the Song Unending
While I love Sultai, Temur is pretty cool too. So is Mardu. Abzan too.
Ureni, the Song Unending seems like an upgraded Dragonlord Atarka. You're paying one more mana for Ureni, including one more color, but you're getting a 10/10 instead of a 7/7. Instead of trample, you're getting protection from White and Black, which I think is a vast improvement; they already both have flying, after all. And instead of just dealing five damage, you get to deal damage equal to the number of lands you control. While this could be as low as something like three if you're getting Ureni into play with a card like Natural Order, I think this is much more likely to be in the six to seven range, especially if we're ramping this into play.
Maelstrom of the Spirit Dragon
This is an upgraded Haven of the Spirit Dragon, and what an upgrade it is. I would say eight times out of ten, searching your library for a Dragon is going to be better than simply getting one back from the graveyard. While the Maelstrom can't search for an Ugin the same way the Haven could, that's a pretty small concession for a land that's literally a tutor.
Rakshasa's Bargain
I shockingly love this card more than I should for a simple card drawing spell, but it seems really satisfying. Like I said, I love Sultai, and this one hits all the notes. It draws cards, it's an instant, it fills the graveyard, and it provides some great filtering. It's also really well costed: you can play it for six colorless mana, three Sultai mana, or anywhere in between. 3 mana to draw two cards out of the top four of your library is an extremely competitive rate.
Qarsi Revenant
I love Vampire Nighthawk Variants, especially when the variants are better than the OG Nighthawk. Qarsi Revenant is definitely that. Not only is it also a Vampire, so it doesn't lose any of the original Vampire perks, it also has an additional power along with being able to bestow its keywords onto another creature after death! Double Nighthawks!
Marang River Regent
I'm a huge fan of the adventure mechanic. Giving cards two uses at different points along the curve is something I talk about frequently, especially with cards that have mechanics like flashback or kicker. The omen ability is very similar, and while it doesn't guarantee you a second spell the way adventure did, it gives the same versatility. Thankfully, I think both halves of the Lemon Meringue River Regent are good.
Elspeth, Storm Slayer
The second planeswalker in the set, Elspeth, also feels extremely good. I mean, this is basically a Parallel Lives on a planeswalker, and her +1 ability makes two tokens because of it. She also has an effective removal spell as her -3, hitting any creature that costs three or more, and an effective pump as her 0 ability. Interesting that both planeswalkers in the set have 0 abilities.
Really excited to see what else comes out of this set, so expect me to go over some more gems soon.
Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll catch ya next time!
Frank Lepore
