[Community Discussion]: The official Dragons of Tarkir spoiler/speculation discussion
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on March 1, 2015, 1:18 p.m. by Epochalyptik
In an effort to cut down on the number of spoiler threads, this Community Discussion will serve as the site's official Dragons of Tarkir spoiler and speculation thread!
Feel free to discuss any spoiled cards or speculate on unrevealed cards! Post images or links as they become available!
Set Info:
Set Name: Dragons of Tarkir
Set Abbreviation: DTK
Release Date: March 27, 2015
Prerelease Events: March 21-22, 2015
Release Events: March 27-29, 2015
Spoiler Links:
Other links will be added as they become available.
Other notes:
According to MTGS, "An evolution of Manifest will be further explored as a parallel to Morph. Dash and Bolster will return from Fate Reforged. In addition, three new mechanics will be featured."
Silumgar: etb steal creature. Sidisi: etb sac stolen creature, tutor. Profit. It's probably too mana intensive for a single turn in standard, but if Silumgar survives a turn, it could work.
March 2, 2015 12:48 p.m.
JakeHarlow says... #3
Wow, new Sidisi is nuts! Sultai hard decks just got even stronger! Elder dragons are a surprise, too.
Since this is a large set, I'm sure that we will see at least two Planeswalkers. I guess we might get another Sarkhan and clearly Narset (really hoping for that 
!). And I'll join that dogpile on mega morph...seems uninspired and just stupid. Humph.
March 2, 2015 12:48 p.m.
Whaaaat. More allied colour stuff, not enemy coloured stuff. BORING. Where's my golgari dragon? Lame wizards, lame.
March 2, 2015 12:55 p.m.
Would be a neat color scheme for Narset, but if anything, it would probably be 
to align with the Oujitai Brood and the allied color theme that they're pushing.
March 2, 2015 12:56 p.m.
MurderHood says... #6
@Spootyone And if you draw another sidisi you can cast her then sack the other sidisi for the exploit to tutor a card!
March 2, 2015 1:03 p.m.
MurderHood - That wouldn't work as the other Sidisi would already be in the GY by the time you put the Exploit trigger on the stack.
ChiefBell - Maro said in his article that he wanted DTK to be an enemy set, but Erik Lauer said that making DTK ally instead would show the contrasts between KTK and DTK better.
March 2, 2015 1:10 p.m.
MurderHood: As much as that would be great, I believe you'd have to sac one of them to the legend rule first as it is a state-based effect.
March 2, 2015 1:11 p.m.
JakeHarlow says... #9
I agree with ChiefBell...any enemy-colored stuff?...weird that we have enemy pain lands and what appears to be an allied set incoming.
March 2, 2015 1:12 p.m.
MurderHood the legendary rule cannot be circumvented. The rules will always kill a copy. I'm pretty sure there is no way to get around the rule to get a free exploit.
March 2, 2015 1:14 p.m.
JakeHarlow - I'm just going to copy-paste these two paragraphs from Maro's article for you to read why Dragons of Tarkir is Ally colored and not Enemy colored.
"I then got a visit from Erik Lauer. Erik is the head developer and holds the parallel position of mine but in development. Erik explained that he felt enemy color pairs was a mistake. Here's why: the correct way to draft a wedge set is to start by drafting enemy colors. That way, you leave yourself open to two different wedge factions. For example, if you draft blue-red, you leave yourself open to later taking white and going Jeskai or taking green and going Temur. Drafting enemy two-color pairs was just going to be too similar. Erik suggested I change it to ally-color.
At first, I was a bit taken aback. I really liked thematically that the dragon set was enemy-colored, but as I thought over what Erik was saying I realized he was right. Our central goal was to make a unique draft structure work and to do that we needed the two to be very different. Also, as I looked into it, I learned we hadn't ever made a cycle of allied-colored legendary Dragons either. There was actually quite a lot of unexplored mechanical space."
March 2, 2015 1:18 p.m.
But they're probably then going to just totally neglect enemy coloured dragons..... Like completely.
I don't understand either of those arguments - the last set had ally colour dragons so this set WONT be unique and there IS a cycle of allied colour dragons.
March 2, 2015 1:26 p.m.
MurderHood says... #14
It's really dumb in my opinion too @ChiefBell. Who thinks Dragonlord Silumgar link will be at least a 2x of in U/B control? I mean taking their biggest threat and making it yours seems pretty good to me.
March 2, 2015 1:30 p.m.
LittleBlueHero says... #15
Narset was exiled from the Otujai. I highly doubt her color pairing will have anything to do with her loyalty to any of the Dragonlords. However, if it does, I think it would be much more likely she is with Silumgar now. Switching places with Taigam, since we know he is second in rank to Otujai.
Might be interesting to see a u/b or u/g version of Narset... she is wering some really fancy armor :)
March 2, 2015 1:32 p.m.
CastleSiege says... #16
Really hope we don't get another Sarkhan. I'm hoping for Narset and Bolas as the set's planeswalkers.
March 2, 2015 1:38 p.m.
Hjaltrohir says... #17
Just saw the spoilers here is my 2 cents:
Dragonlord's Reaper: Rubbish except in Limited and possibly EDH
Stratus Dancer: I love this card, definitely could see constructed play, possibly even Modern.
Sidisi, UNdead Vizier: I am not a big fan of Exploit so far, but this seems pretty good, definite EDH playable, possibly Standard.
Profound Journey: Too expensive, maybe EDH?
Dragon Tempest: Definitely could see Standard play if Dragons becomes a thing, good in Tribal EDH.
Dragonlord Silumgar: I actually really like this, definitely EDH and potential UB Control finisher in standard. Modern? UNlikely but possible.
I also love that Rebound is back, hopefully Distortion Strike will make an appearance. Formidibale could be ok with the right card.
March 2, 2015 1:38 p.m.
shepherdofire says... #18
THANK YOU GotCubes! And since taigam is now ojutais underling I think narset is a planeswalker! Can we please just humor this possibility! We haven't had a 
walker since venser!
March 2, 2015 1:40 p.m.
ChiefBell - They did that to mirror the legendary dragons from FRF, and that aesthetic is nice. Also, aside from FRF, there HASN'T been a cycle of 2-color allied color dragons. So the fact we have two cycles of ally color dragons shouldn't be a problem, but a feature. I understand why you'd rather have enemy color set, I would too, but there's a reason why it's ally color and it is a pretty damn good reason.
March 2, 2015 1:42 p.m.
We haven't seen any 
within Planeswalker colors this Block so far...
As such, I'm assuming 
Sarkhan, and Narset.
I hope I'm wrong... I'd rather not have another Sarkhan at this point.
March 2, 2015 1:52 p.m.
alexthegreat38 says... #21
Random thought: What if the Sarkhan in the set is a creature? As in, the version of Sarkhan in the Dragons of Tarkir present, rather than the version from the Khans of Tarkir present that is on the Dragons version of Tarkir because of time travel? It's possible the time travel made Sarkhan into a non-planeswalker, just like it made Zurgo a bellstriker and Ankle Shanker Vial Smasher, etc.
March 2, 2015 1:57 p.m.
Hjaltrohir says... #22
alexthegreat38 that is actually a very probable idea. THey wouldn't really want to put 2 planeswalkers with the same name in a block so Sarkhan as a creature is totally possible.
March 2, 2015 2:01 p.m.
alexthegreat38 Woah man, cool it on the mindf*cks please.
March 2, 2015 2:06 p.m.
awesomeguy37 - Just because they've never done it before, doesn't mean they can't do it (e.g. double-face cards). I could see another Sarkhan planeswalker in Dragons of Tarkir, especially since we're in a Standard right now with 2 Ajani's (Ajani Steadfast and Ajani, Mentor of Heroes). I could also see a creature Sarkhan b/c he "mysteriously" loses his Spark. But that's the only reason I would expect a Sarkhan creature.
March 2, 2015 2:06 p.m.
shinobigarth says... #25
shepherdofire theres a good chance Jace will be moving to shortly, either in Origins or whatever his next appearance is.
March 2, 2015 2:07 p.m.
JohnnyBaggins says... #26
Here's my mketchup on the spoilerfries:
Sidisi - Bomb! I can see so many things done with this, it's absurd.
Profound Journey - Yeah whatever. I just hope I don't open that often in Limited.
Dragon Tempest - My kind of stuff. This card makes stormbreath a 8-damage-DING on average. Does turning Sarkhan into a dragon count as ETB? If so, I'd rather get doing and start hoarding Dragon Tempest and Sarkhans. Will definitely try this in my RG Standard. Four Stormbreath are arguments enough.
Silumgar - Can't see him working in UB Control. If you have eight mana and the necessary counters at hand, this thing can be extremely devastating. It is, however, a pretty conditional card and I see the old Silumgar keeping his place. A nice card though, see it working in Limited.
Dancer-Thing: I'm uncertain. It'll find some play, we'll see.
Packaging: I didn't expect another Sarkhan and I'm seriously surprised. I did expect another walker, but not Sarkhan. From the looks, he's RG, which makes me pee my pants from excitement.
The three Dragonlords: Nice artworks. Let's see what it does.
Narset: This looks pretty UW to me.
March 2, 2015 2:08 p.m.
I agree that it does seem like she is a planeswalker, but on the other hand it kind of messes up the cycle of Khans cards in DoT. Sidisi has her card and we assume that we will get a rare of each Khan as they are now. The image on the booster could just be her as a blue card like Narset the exile.
The other option is that the blue "Khan" is Taigam and narset is a plainswaker. I do agree that making her U/W does not make sense though.
March 2, 2015 2:13 p.m.
Oh, man. I'm having wet dreams with Sidisi on my old Heartless Summoning deck already.
March 2, 2015 2:24 p.m.
JohnnyBaggins says... #29
I think we might see four new Khans, who have been influenced by the Dragonlord, like Sidisi, and narset who broke with "her" Dragonlord, who is not (negatively?) influenced.
By the way, I find the commons pretty interesting.
I reall like the Double-Ferocious, Formidable. The Summons thing is nice in limited, Sandcrafter is super boring (sorry... but I find bolster to be quite uncool), the Butcher... uff. Will have to test that how useful might be. Warbrute sucks (why would I draft this card? Seriously?), the Aerie Bowmasters are beyond boring, we have about 1728364 Green Reach Creatures already in the current block... and as said, the Elks rule.
March 2, 2015 2:27 p.m.
Dragon tribal's going to be a thing, guys. Dragon Tempest ftw :3
And sidisi is retarded in so many ways. Gonna cat-hoard those guys for sure.
March 2, 2015 2:34 p.m.
shepherdofire says... #31
do you really think so shinobigarth? I mean Gideon is going to be in origins
March 2, 2015 2:42 p.m.
AllAroundGeek says... #32
So, I just had a thought, from what we've seen, the old khans are probably going to have there clans ability. So that means Zurgo is gonna have dash, but then what would his ability be on when you dash him out. Well, he summons Dragons with his bell, so what if "Whenever Zurgo Bell-Striker does damage to a player, put a dragon from your hand onto the battlefield", It would make dragon tribal an even more viable thing. I don't know if this has been said before, but I just thought of it and I really hope it's true
March 2, 2015 3:03 p.m.
That's not a bad idea AllAroundGeek, but that's quite a leap from one former khan as a card. I'd wait until we see the others as cards before jumping to conclusions.
That said, I could see Zurgo Bellstriker being akin to Dragonspeaker Shaman and reducing the casting cost of dragons by 
or 
.
March 2, 2015 3:05 p.m.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #34
YAWN...
Megamorph is lame. Rebound is flashy but has to be pushed to be playable. Exploit has potential to make an impact on constructed because of the flexibility it provides. Did Temur/RG get anything new mechanic wise? No... Just another win more clause with different parameters.
New Sidisi: Feels about as powerful as Liliana Vess. Sure to be overrated by a majority of the player base. The body is fine, 
casting cost is restrictive, will not create card advantage without help, Exploit sacrifices tempo/board state for future gains which is an awkward move on turn 5, and there are no ideal "I win the game" tutor targets as Standard is a cumulative format and not a silver bullet format. My guess is exploit will play better in a or strategy than and Sultai.
New Silumgar: I prefer the FRF version. Without a target to control he is mediocre and cards that rely on cards the opponent plays tend to under preform. The biggest thing he has going for him is that he blocks and kills Stormbreath Dragon.
Profound Journey: Not pushed for Constructed.
Stratus Dancer: Too narrow and inefficient to matter. The fact that it's a 2/1 flyer for 2 AND can block non-flyers is the biggest draw.
Dragon Tempest: Give me a playable red dragon at 3cmc and 4cmc before we start talking about this.
March 2, 2015 3:07 p.m.
I'm the kind of person who doesn't say something is true until I have solid proof. As much as I agree with Narset becoming a walker, I prefer not to talk about Walker!Narset until it is revealed. That being said, I have some speculations on what a Planeswalking Narset card would be like.
With a focus on allied colors, I see her being a walker with a CMC around five mana. One of her abilities (Maybe her + ability) can give a creature first strike and hexproof, referencing her creature card from KTK. Her - ability could will likely have some interaction with instants and sorceries, such as tutoring for a spell or giving one rebound. I don't know what her ultimate would be like, though. Rebound on everything? Sounds too crazy. All creatures have prowess? Better, but still too strong. I know there has been some speculation all ready, but I would like to hear what others think.
March 2, 2015 3:15 p.m.
I think Rebound may (If they did it right) be okay without being 'pushed'.
A reprint of something like Distortion Strike would make for a great combination with Prowess. +2/+1 and can't be blocked for , and then the same thing for free next turn.
There aren't a lot of or Rebound cards to reprint (Emerge Unscathed?), but those colors have potential to make it work.
March 2, 2015 3:40 p.m.
Rayenous - I could see both of those getting reprinted, but they might push Heroic over the top. We'll just have to wait and see though.
March 2, 2015 3:41 p.m.
JakeHarlow says... #39
@ Shill, I see what you're saying about the new cycle of former Khans appearing as creatures. I think that we're still going to see a Narset Planeswalker. If you have been keeping up with the lore posts by WotC, Taigam is the new under-Khan person for Jeskai. So I think we'll see a rare mono-blue legendary creature for him, filling the Jeskai slot of the cycle. Narset is special and will have a different destiny in the set. I do think it is possible that we could see a creature Sarkhan, but I honestly expect him to show up as a Planeswalker again. Wouldn't be the first time there were multiple walkers with the same subtype in standard. Hell, look at Ajani's history. However, I do think it will be the first time there were two Planeswalker cards with the same subtype within the same block. Interesting to say the least.
But yeah, to parrot Rasta_Viking29's sentiments, I'm not impressed by the cards thus far spoiled, though I think the new Sidisi is a good bit stronger than he believes. I agree also that Temur's new formidable ability is completely meh. Anyway, looking forward to more spoilers.
March 2, 2015 3:55 p.m.
NixTheThird says... #40
See, I was really hoping no one would really like the new Sidisi, so I would be able to pick one up on the cheap for EDH. However you all getting excited makes me think I'll be out of luck...
Also, I had to double take when someone mentioned that Silumgar has Tasigur has wrapped around him like jewelry. That's some damn good, brutal flavor that I can get behind.
So that means we get a new Artifact or Equipment, right? "Tasigur, the Golden Hood Ornament". Maybe it'll have the ability "tap: Shove rotten bananas down Tasigur, the Golden Hood Ornament's throat till he chokes on them. Gain 2 life."
March 2, 2015 3:58 p.m.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #41
Rayenous I can see what you mean with those 2 cards but at the same time their effects are only as playable as the cards the around them are. Both have an effect that I would expect if I cast only one copy at the required mana cost. The potential for the 2nd free effect and other cards supporting the desire for the effect make it playable in a niche. In a vacuum Distortion Strike is not really playable.
March 2, 2015 4:11 p.m.
Not sure if you guys noticed, but silumgar's necklace is tasigur...
March 2, 2015 4:12 p.m.
I really hope if Sarkhan comes back as a PW, he doesn't come back as 
. Seriously overdone these past years. We've already had Xenagos, the Reveler last year and Domri Rade the year before. Some other color combinations would like some love too please.
March 2, 2015 4:18 p.m.
Spencerbot15 says... #45
I would bet money that Cast Through Time will be in the set. I mean, they have to reprint some rebound cards and the name makes it seem fitting.
March 2, 2015 4:30 p.m.
Can we have a decent B/G walker for abzan aggro, it's losing some of its pizazz, and that would be fun.
March 2, 2015 4:47 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #47
Looking at all the spoiled cards, I'm thinking a couple things.
WHAT THE HELL IS MEGAMORPH??? And I mean, it just gets ONE +1/+1 counter? With a name like that????????
Ditto with Formidable. Come on WoTC. Give us something a bit more original...
Exploit could eventually be a bit interesting, and really fun in sac decks (Sidisi, Undead Vizier looks like fun in Commander).
REBOUND IS BACK!!!! YES!!!! I love that ability!!!!!!!
Dragon Tempest is broken as f***. This thing is absolutely nuts in dragon decks... and it only costs TWO MANA?????? Wow.
Dragonlord Silumgar is wow. Gaining control of something is already nice, add a flying/deathtouch body to it... Too bad it lost hexproof...
March 2, 2015 5:02 p.m.
Rasta_Viking29 The new sidisi puts the card into your hand rather than on top of your library, and that is much better. I don't know if she's gonna be playable, but a demonic tutor on a 4/6 deathtouch creature is hardly something to scoff at.
March 2, 2015 5:03 p.m.
If they make a good card draw card with rebound i'll eat my hat and cry in happiness at the same time. And by good, I mean something like 4 cmc sorcery, draw two cards. Rebound. Not 7 cmc, sorcery, draw a card. Rebound. Which is what we are going to get, but it's nice to dream.
March 2, 2015 5:08 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #50
For the first time in a long while I'm looking forward to a set!
:)
JWiley129 says... #1
Spootyone - You aren't the only one who has thoughts of Sidisi in Standard. I could see her slotting in very nicely to either Abzan or Sidisi, Brood Tyrant Whip decks as a value whip target. I don't know what I would take out of the deck to put her in, but the ability to grab whatever you need at the low-low cost of sac-ing a creature is pretty good.
March 2, 2015 12:45 p.m.