It comes as no surprise that some of the most iconic and recognizable art from Tarkir: Dragonstorm are the dragon creatures themselves. This has got to be one of the most dragon filled Magic sets of all time. While I will always have a spot in my heart for the original Elder Dragon Legend cycle, headlined by Nicol Bolas, I have come to love the artists' work on cards such as Sonic Shrieker and Kheru Goldkeeper.

Even the mono-colored common dragons (Riling Dawnbringer, Dirgur Island Dragon, Feral Deathgorger, Stormshriek Feral, and Sagu Wildling) scream "big intimidating dragon" to me, vividly bringing this flavorful set to life.

While it's great to see the dragons steal the show, the reality is there are some other pieces of art in Tarkir: Dragonstorm that are no less impressive despite not appearing on a dragon card. In fact, with the effective art direction for the set, many non-dragon cards still contain amazing dragons in their artwork!

I believe such art deserves its chance in the spotlight. Therefore, I'm going to take the opportunity to highlight my favorite piece of art for each color from Tarkir: Dragonstorm that features a dragon while not actually being a dragon creature card itself.

White: Rally the Monastery

This card doubles as one of my favorite spells to cast in Limited as well as one of my favorite pieces of art. David Astruga brings this Story Spotlight to life through use of magnificent color pallet cover the full spectrum of the rainbow. The dragon is fiercely attacking the other characters in the image, but those creatures are not backing down, despite being far smaller in stature! Every last detail on in this piece is incredible, ranging from the details on the dragon's wings and scales down to the individual feathers on the angel creature's wings.

This piece goes to show that you don't have to be a dragon card to shine in this set--even a cameo dragon appearance on an instant can still stand out!

Honorable Mentions: Osseous Exhale, United Battlefront

Blue: Riverwalk Technique

What do you get when you cross The Matrix with Tarkir: Dragonstorm? The answer is the artwork for Riverwalk Technique, by Julia Metzger! Take a look at the acrobatics the figure is demonstrating in this art, skillfully dodging a nasty swipe from a Blue dragon. It reminds me of the scene where Neo first tries to dodge bullets one by one on the top of a building.

Not only does Metzger capture the motion of this card, they also spent ample time giving the piece color and depth, even capturing ornate details on the floor and wall in the background of the piece. My favorite part, though, has to be the horns the figure is wearing on their head. Is it just me, or is that giving up serious Angus Mackenzie vibes?

Honorable Mentions: Dragonologist (I love the dragon drawings hanging on the wall), Dragonstorm Forecaster

Black: Dragon's Prey

Often times, dragons are depicted as giant, menacing, flying creatures with a bad attitude and a focus on destruction. Johann Bodin's Dragon's Prey captures the destruction part perfectly, but goes in a different direction when it comes to capturing the dragon itself. Instead of having the massive winged creature as the focus of the piece, Bodin instead depicts the pour individual that the dragon is hunting, running for their life.

Of course, the reason I chose this art is because of the object looming over the figure's head as they run out of town. You see a huge dragon's claw, poised to stomp on the poor human figure any moment! I love this usage of subtle imagery - there's no need to incorporate the entire dragon in the piece, as it would likely detract from the rest of the art's content. Instead, the claw is perfectly placed overhead, clearly communicating what's about to happen while still giving the central figure a chance for one last bit of fame and glory before they're snuffed from existence.

Honorable Mentions: Caustic Exhale (this was a close second for me) and Worthy Cost

Red: Channeled Dragonfire

I had a difficult time choosing between two of Red's prototypical burn spells, Channeled Dragonfire or Molten Exhale. Ultimately, I went with Jorge Jacinto's piece because of the imagery captured in the swirling flames that the wizard in the foreground is presumably conjuring.

I see two dragon figures in this artwork. Obviously, there's the smaller one on the righthand side of the frame, clearly in agony as it gets a taste of its own medicine. But even more impressive is the larger, imposing dragon-shaped figure taking up the majority of the frame, made out of dragonfire! When I look closely, I see a swirl of flames that is taking the shape of a dragon, wings and all, breathing fire on the smaller, corporeal dragon. It's this provocative image that tipped the balance when I chose my favorite piece to highlight this week.

Honorable mentions: Molten Exhale, Dracogenesis

Green: Encroaching Dragonstorm

Nothing screams "Green" to me more than a canopy of trees in front of a greenish-blue sky. This card is meant for the Green mages out there; of that, there can be no debate. What I love most about Marco Gorlei's art on Encroaching Dragonstorm is the creative combination of Green elements with the dragon theme of Tarkir: Dragonstorm. To be fair, the card has "Dragon" in its name, so it stands to reason there'd be a clear depiction of a dragon somewhere in the art.

Gorlei delivers on this expectation, giving us a beautiful, flying dragon above the trees of the artwork. The relative size of the dragon is done perfectly - it's large enough so that the eye notices it, but not too large to outshine the natural elements in the piece. You can see both the forest and the dragon for the trees.

Honorable mentions: Piercing Exhale, Sarkhan's Resolve

Multicolored: Dragonback Assault and Glacial Dragonhunt

Since Tarkir: Dragonstorm was designed to be a set of five clans, each three colors, there are a disproportionate number of multicolored cards in this set. Therefore, I allowed myself two winners in this category: Dragonback Assault by Ryan Pancoast and Glacial Dragonhunt by Igor Grechanyi.

If someone asked me to picture a scene of a flight of dragons attacking an army of ground warriors, Dragonback Assault is pretty much where my mind goes! There are no less than seven dragons pictured in this art, all in attack formation and ready to spout fire at the poor humans in the ground. The backdrop is left a little abstract, but gives me the sense there are some snowy evergreen trees along the ground and a tall mountain behind them. I love how the card's three colors are each brought to life in this piece: green is the forest in the background, blue is the color of the cold snow on the ground, and red is the highlighted flames the attacking dragons are breathing at the army. It's truly an incredible piece!

Igor Grechanyi's art for Glacial Dragonhunt reminds me of Pancoast's in many ways. Instead of a flight of dragons, we have just one breathing fire at the troops. Once again, you see the inclusion of snow, contrasting with the flame to bring the card's Izzet nature to life. Since there's only one dragon, however, this army may stand a chance! The figures in the foreground are poised and ready to strike with their weapons, hoping to fend off the lone dragon and cross the guarded bridge. I absolutely love this one as well.

Honorable Mentions: Death Begets Life, Call the Spirit Dragons, Frostcliff Siege, Inevitable Defeat, New Way Forward

Colorless: The Full Art Basics

Believe it or not, many of the artifacts in this set don't explicitly depict dragons in their art. There is one colorless card type, however that does a phenomenal job with this: the two cycles of basic lands!

Both sets of basics from Dragonstorm: Tarkir absolutely scream "dragon set" as you examine their art. The top five basics, pictured above, are each a dragon's eye for each respective color. These are quite creepy and menacing, when you think about it--given their rarity and popularity, it's no wonder these basics are some of the most expensive we've seen in a premier set in quite some time.

Personally, I actually like the bottom row better. Each of these basics share the more traditional look and feel for Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest lands we're used to...with one key difference! In each one, you see the shadow of a dragon, presumably flying overhead. It's the subtlety of these pieces, in conjunction with the traditional look, that I appreciate most.

Honorable mention: Dragonstorm Globe

Wrapping It Up

Tarkir: Dragonstorm is about dragons. I get that. The iconic, powerful creatures are likely to receive plenty of time in the spotlight as a result. Games of Limited are often decided by the strategic summoning of one of these majestic, impactful creatures. Dragon collectors will eagerly crack open boosters of this set to fill out their dragon collections.

Because of this disproportionate focus, I wanted to spend a little time this week highlighting some of the more subtle dragon pieces in this set. Everyone knows about Ureni, the Song Unending and Teval, Arbiter of Virtue. I want to also make sure players take a moment to appreciate pieces like Encroaching Dragonstorm and Channeled Dragonfire. They may not be dragon creatures, but they are just as much integrated into the dragon theme of this set. This approach was perfectly executed by the art team, and I hope to see much more seamless integration of cards like this in sets going forward!