A big thank you to Wizards of the Coast for this free preview content for Tarkir: Dragonstorm!

Throughout Magic's long history, dragons have always played a major role as one of the game's major creature types. From day one, dragons shaped the way we experienced what the game could offer. Shivan Dragon was a dominant force that proved iconic and fearsome right from the start, known for being the biggest and nastiest creature.

To this day, Shivan Dragon remains a staple of the game, appearing in nearly every core set since. Despite being hopelessly outclassed as the years would go on, few things are more indelible and exciting than seeing a new player's eyes go wide as they open their first packs and see the big dragon staring back at them. Even now, this remains possible thanks to its inclusion in Foundations last year.

This tradition has carried on throughout the decades, with many great dragons dominating the competitive and casual landscapes alike. The Elder Dragons from Legends came to define the game's most popular format of Commander as we know it today. Rathi Dragon, Covetous Dragon, and Two-Headed Dragon proved extremely popular in their original time periods. Even the first foil card most Magic players would ever see was the famous Urza's Saga prerelease promo of Lightning Dragon.

With almost every Standard season over the last decade or so, a dragon is sure to break out and see serious play. Cards such as Stormbreath Dragon, Glorybringer, and Goldspan Dragon are all cards that will make veteran Standard players shudder in fear or cheer with delight, as they were all mighty forces in their respective eras. Cards like Niv-Mizzet Reborn and Scion of Draco would define older formats, while more recent ones such as Shivan Devastator and Bonehoard Dragon prove favorites among the more casual side of current Standard play.

Arguably the biggest period for dragons, though, was when Dragons of Tarkir landed in 2015. Khans of Tarkir and Fate Reforged both led up to it quite handily, with Sarkhan traveling through time itself to save the spirit dragon Ugin and bring the dragons back to Tarkir. So, we came to Dragons of Tarkir where the dragons not only survived the alternate timeline, but thrived. We saw more dragons than ever and a much richer theme than previous dragon-themed sets like Scourge.

Anyone who played Standard at the time remembers just how powerful many of these dragon cards were. Icefall Regent and Thunderbreak Regent both proved powerful four-mana creatures. Virtually all of the dragonlords themselves saw play in some form or fashion at high levels of play throughout their tenure in the format. Many still see play now in a variety of formats like Pioneer! And who could forget the powerful dragon-themed spells, with cards like Draconic Roar, Silumgar's Scorn, and Foul-Tongue Invocation fueling all manner of dragon-themed decks of the era?

Now, after a decade away from this beloved plane, Magic makes its glorious return to Tarkir once more with Tarkir: Dragonstorm. If you thought Dragons of Tarkir was the pinnacle of dragons in Magic, then you'll love this set. It's packed to the brim with an unprecedented number of dragons and dragon-themed artwork - up to and including the very basic lands themselves!

Today, I'm here to show you one such dragon that you might find peeking out of your booster packs. Like many of its predecessors that have come before it, it's almost certainly one that's destined to see some play. Say hello to Magmatic Hellkite!

Magmatic Hellkite is one hell of a card! Four mana for a 4/5 flier is always an awesome value and represents a stone cold bomb when it comes to Limited. What's more though, it allows you to hit an opponent's nonbasic land and gives them a simple basic land instead. Better still, it stops them from using it for a turn, potentially stopping them dead in their tracks.

In Standard, this represents a great way to slow down powerful decks like Domain Overlords a little bit. Not only can you take your opponent off Domain with ease, but you can also make it harder for them to slam a huge, powerful spell and buy you the time you need to slam the door on the game. Against some decks, you can make this ability a flat-out Stone Rain, as the likes of Esper Pixie and Jeskai Oculus run few - if any - basic lands. At that point, you're not just slowing them down for a turn, but you're doing so permanently.

The biggest strike against the card currently is that there aren't many decks that want to be playing it. After all, the premier Red deck in the format at this point in time is a variation of either Mono-Red or Gruul Aggro utilizing the package of Heartfire Hero, Emberheart Challenger, and Manifold Mouse. The deck is known for explosive plays and the only high mana cards the deck tends to play are the likes of Screaming Nemesis in the main deck and perhaps Sunspine Lynx out of the sideboard.

If anything, it's likely that this is the type of card that sees play later on. As rotation happens and new cards enter the format, new decks inevitably pop up and can shake things up tremendously. This is where Magmatic Hellkite is most likely to shine!

It's possible that the card can even have some applications in older formats as well. Four mana is a lot, but taking certain decks off their big lands can create huge swings in the right spot. Many decks - particularly in a format like Pioneer - have a tendency to get somewhat greedy with their mana bases thanks to a lack of efficient land destruction or mana denial effects that formats like Modern and Legacy have.

The main competition this card has there, however, is Krenko's Buzzcrusher. The Buzzcrusher does a fairly similar thing to what Magmatic Hellkite does. The difference is that thanks to some wording shenanigans, Krenko's Buzzcrusher can hit Lotus Field, whereas the Hellkite cannot - something that's incredibly relevant in the format. Despite this, the Hellkite is larger and still has the added benefit of slowing opponents down.

Many of these applications also apply to Commander. This is another space where players tend to get awfully greedy with mana bases and you can punish them heavily. Better still, it provides you with a huge threat that can be difficult to deal with if left unchecked. Sure, there are bigger and flashier things you can do in big multiplayer games, but I've absolutely found that sometimes you just want one little targeted piece of land destruction to take out a critical piece to a deck.

If you like Magmatic Hellkite but want to spice it up a little with how you play it, the card also happens to come in two additional alternate treatments!

The first is the Dragon Showcase frame that first debuted in March of the Machine. This epic frame really brings out the draconic vibes for the dragon mega-fans looking to bling out their decks. Magmatic Hellkite wears this frame extremely well, as it boasts art that you might expect to see adorning the cover of an old-school high fantasy novel. Perfect for a dragon-heavy deck!

The second treatment is the brand new Borderless Reversible Dragon art! This shows the fearsome dragon with gorgeous artwork by Alison Johnstun on the front. On the back is an alternate art version of the card, depicting a cuter and more adorable representation of that same artwork. This allows players the option to play whichever version they prefer for whatever kind of deck they're looking to put the card into, thereby allowing for more customization than ever before.

Tarkir: Dragonstorm releases everywhere on April 11th with prereleases starting the weekend before on April 4th. Check with your local game store for all the details on what they'll have in store for you and preorder all the awesome cards you want. If you can't find what you need, don't worry! You can always check out the Tarkir: Dragonstorm page right here to find all the cool new cards you need, including Magmatic Hellkite!

Big thanks to Wizards of the Coast for providing this free preview card that CoolStuffInc - and myself - got to show off here today! As a longtime dragon fan myself dating all the way back to the likes of Palladia-Mors and Arcades Sabboth, it's been an honor getting to unveil an all new one to you all!

Paige Smith

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