Dragons of Tarkir Spoiler Limited Review for March 10
We're back with more Limited reviews for Dragons of Tarkir, and I'm still excited! Check out the grading scale for reference, and then let's jump into the cards.
Grading Scale
A: This card will often be the best card in one's deck. I'd consider splashing it where possible. (Duneblast, Citadel Siege)
B: This card is rarely cut from a deck that can cast it. In draft, it signals that a color or archetype is open. (Icefeather Aven, Abzan Beastmaster)
C: Cards like this make up the majority of limited decks. You're neither excited nor embarrassed to have them in your deck. (Sagu Archer, Soul Summons)
D: I'm not putting this in my main deck unless I have a specific reason or I'm low on playables. (Firehoof Cavalry, Abzan Advantage)
F: This card will have little or no impact on the game if I draw it or is strictly sideboard-material. If I cast this card, please stage an intervention for me. (Lens of Clarity, Crucible of the Spirit Dragon)
Commons and Uncommons
C
Battlewise Valor pulled its weight in Theros Block; our Khans version doesn't have Heroic synergies or the scry bonus, but it does work well with Prowess and gives you a free second copy of itself. The first iteration of this spell will be worse than Feat of Resistance on average since the protection clause is extremely useful, and I don't think the second iteration (from Rebound) will be the greatest thing either. Your opponent knows the copy is coming, and it doesn't do anything if you're stuck on defense. All that said, this will be just as good or better than Feat of Resistance in aggressive red-white or black-white decks since it can deal a lot of damage for a very cheap rate.
C-
Whisperer of the Wilds is a good card, but restricting what you can use the mana so heavily really limits its usefulness. On the other hand, Qarsi Deceiver has two more toughness than the Shaman and can actually block things and live. A two-mana 0/4 isn't abysmal, but without at least five morphs I'd be unhappy to have this in my deck.
D
Keep in mind that tutors are card selection, not card advantage, so you should only be running this card if your average dragon card quality is higher than the card that would replace Sarkhan's Triumph in your deck. Also, with N Dragons in your deck, you have a 1/(N+1) chance of having no targets left in your deck when you draw this which makes it good for nothing but triggering Prowess. I'd recommend having three or four good Dragons in your draft pile before you consider drafting this card. If you manage to make a deck that wants this card, the instant speed is very nice for playing this at the end of your opponent's turn to surprise them with a dragon the following turn.
C-
Alesha's Vanguard is not a great card in Khans of Tarkir/Fate Reforged. This creature misses out on the Warrior subtype for an exciting line of text that reduces Dash costs. Dash, like Delve, is not a mechanic I want to build around since repeatedly getting creatures returned to hand can make it too expensive to deploy threats quickly like an aggressive deck wants to do. However, if I'm short on playables and already have some other Dash cards in my pile, I'd be fine playing this.
C
This is the fourth dragon revealed in its cycle along with Shieldhide Dragon, Acid-Spewer Dragon, and Stormwing Dragon. Herdchaser Dragon is the worst of the cycle thus far because the evasion granted by flying makes adding trample only a marginal upgrade. It still has morph, and it still has synergy with all the Dragon-enablers in the block if you can get it face up, so it's still not a bad card despite not being the star of the cycle.
Rares and Mythics
B
Completing the cycle of the rare 2/1's with Megamorph, Ire Shaman has the cheapest unmorph cost and smallest effect when turned face up. While this will occasionally be as good as drawing a card, it's the aggressive 3/2 body that will be its major feature. Arguably better than War-Name Aspirant, Ire Shaman has the potential to do a ton of damage whether you cast it face up or face down.
C
The other toughness-matters cards of this block (like Grim Contest and Kin-Tree Invocation) were begging for a big follow-up, and it looks like that's been delivered. Unfortunately the best enablers for this strategy (Archer's Parapet and Rotting Mastdon) rotate out with Khans of Tarkir, so hopefully more good Wall-like creatures (Qarsi Deceiver) are printed in Dragons of Tarkir. Keep in mind that this only counts combat damage and won't effect a card like Hunt the Weak.
B-
While a better Garruk's Companion, it's harder to cast in this environment and you have to get tricky with +1/+1 counters for it to do better than trade with a morph. If I'm in green, I'll be glad to have this creature, but will want to pick up a lot of Megamorphs and good Bolster effects to generate even more value.
C+
It looks like Crucible of the Spirit Dragon has some strong competition. Unlike its Fate Reforged counterpart, I expect this to be a very good card in a deck with a couple of Dragons or more. It's an amalgamation of Cavern of Souls and Haunted Fengraf, being able to fix your Dragon mana as well as draw a card late game.
Conclusion
We're just about a third of the way through the set in terms of card count, and the reviews have been going really well thus far. I can't wait for the big dump of commons and uncommons they always spoil at once on the last day. While they may not excite the constructed folks, commons are the bread and butter of the limited player. Please join me again tomorrow for the next installment of these reviews, and reach out to me in the comments below or on Twitter @JakeStilesMTG with your thoughts.
