Tarkir brought more than just dragons. It brought options.

Out of the chaos of Tarkir: Dragonstorm, seven new legends stood out to me - not just for power, but for how damn fun they are to build around. These are my personal top picks from the set: commanders that offer explosive turns, surprising synergies, and the kind of board states that make the table lean in... or scoop early.

Each one opens up a different style of play - graveyard loops, ETB copy storms, massive token armies, or library theft with a draconic smile.

Let me walk you through the seven that earned a slot on my radar - and maybe yours next.

Kotis, the Fangkeeper

Indestructible, criminally under-costed, and oh right - it casts your opponents' deck for free.

Kotis rewards combat damage by exiling the top X of their library and letting you cast any number of those cards for free. It's like a brutal lovechild of Mindleech Mass and Thief of Sanity.

Cards that feast with Kotis:

• Rogue's Passage - Your unblockable passport to value town.
• Villainous Wealth - The OG Sultai steal from your opponents' library and cast 'em.
• Rancor - Simple, low-costed, and makes sure you push damage through with Trample.
• Indomitable Might - puts Rancor and Trample effects to shame as it lets you dome 'em even if Kotis is blocked.
• Sword of Feast and Famine - Damage, discard, untap. Loop into more Kotis value.
• Propaganda - Keep the heat off you while Kotis does surgical work.

Betor, Kin to All

Dragon Lord meets reanimator engine.

Betor brings back 10-toughness dragons at the end step and punishes anyone with over 40 life by reviving every creature you control that costs >=7. This isn't your grandpa's Abzan--this is Reanimator's Old Necrograndaddy.

Cards that ascend with Betor:

• Buried Alive - Tutor your fatties, prep the comeback.
• Karmic Guide - The premiere ETB reanimator.
• Towering Titan - Literally doubles the toughness count for Betor.
• Cemetery Desecrator - Drops in big, kills things on entry and exit.
• Scourge of Nel Toth - Cheaty value with self-sacrificing fodder.
• Llanowar Loamspeaker - Fixes mana, animates lands. Surprisingly strong enabler.
• Greater Good - Sack a reanimated beater to draw four? Yes, please.

Neriv, Heart of the Storm

Fork your burn, copy your chaos.

Neriv lets creatures that ETB'd this turn turn your damage spells into double trouble. You don't need Storm--you need a board.

Cards that storm with Neriv:

• Young Pyromancer - Makes ETB fodder for your firepower.
• Impact Tremors - Pings that scale with your token output.
• Jeska's Will - Multiply that mana, multiply that damage.
• Goldspan Dragon - Fuels your spells and swings in style.
• Terror of the Peaks - Turns ETBs into direct damage--twice, with Neriv.
• Rising of the Day - Let those fresh recruits into the fray ASAP!

Zurgo, Thunder's Decree

Mobilize, but make it menacing.

Zurgo gives your Warrior tokens "this can't be sacrificed." Now all your Mobilize creatures stay mobilized.

Cards to decree your dominance:

• Myrel, Shield of Argive - Spits out bodies, silences opponents.
• Anointed Procession - Token doubling never felt so unfair.
• Dolmen Gate - Swing wide, never lose a body.
• Windcrag Siege - Flexible enchantment that adds so much value to your gameplan.
• Felisa, Fang of Silverquill - Turns dies triggers into Inkling explosions.
• Purphoros, God of the Forge - If you're making lots of Warriors, make their life totals vanish too.

Teval, Arbiter of Virtue

Your graveyard is now a bulk discount store.

Teval gives flying, lifelink, and a cost reduction to spells cast from the graveyard. But the twist? You pay in life. This is necromantic capitalism, and you're rich in resources.

Cards for perfect for Sultai greed:

• Muldrotha, the Gravetide - This is your spirit animal.
• Teval's Judgment - Lets you on the value train, choo choo!
• Grisly Salvage - Digs and fills the graveyard.
• Kheru Goldkeeper - Makes you rich (a.k.a get a Treasure every time you cast from your graveyard).
• Profane Transfusion - Comes outta nowhere and can swing the game in your favor.
• Platinum Angel - Who says you can't go below zero?

Ureni of the Unwritten

Look at the top X, cheat in a Dragon. On attack? Do it again.

Ureni triggers on enter or attack, making it an ETB machine and a combat enabler. It's a dragon slot machine!

Cards that soar with Ureni:

• Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm - Dragon cloning? Don't mind if we do.
• Old Gnawbone - Turns a single swing into your mana base.
• Dragonborn Champion - Draw every time a big boy connects.
• Scroll Rack - Stack your top deck with Dragons and cheat.
• Worldly Tutor - Topdeck a bomb, cheat it in with Ureni.
• Rishkar's Expertise - Draw a dragon's worth of cards, then cast a dragon for free.

Final Thoughts

These Tarkir: Dragonstorm legends are more than just flavorful - they're mechanically compelling, dangerously synergistic, and surprisingly competitive. Each one rewards different archetypes: reanimator, storm, graveyard recursion, ETB, combat damage, or token shenanigans. This isn't just a return to Tarkir. It's a rise. And the sky's full of teeth.