Tarkir's Change

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

Today's article is short 'n sweet with load of Magic: the Gathering eye candy.  Specifically, a very lovely bunch of 'merged' images created by Andrew Weisel who runs the Tumblr blog 'Sarpadian Empires Vol. VIII', which, if you have not yet dropped by, we encourage you to.

Anywhoos, the theme here really is the Whovian timey-wimey thingy on the Plane of Tarkir which was initiated by Sarkhan resulting in a number of changes which had cascaded through time.  In game play, there is a truck load of cards bearing this out.  Enough of us yattering, here's the kewl before 'n' after from Andrew -

Former Khans: Four rare legendary creatures and one mythic planeswalker that detail the fates of the Khans from Khans of Tarkir in the new timeline. — Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit, Narset Transcendent, Sidisi, Undead Vizier, Zurgo Bellstriker, Surrak, the Hunt Caller 

Dragonlords: five mythic legendary allied-colored elder dragons that are the aged-up versions of their Fate Reforged counterpart. — Dragonlord Ojutai, Dragonlord Silumgar, Dragonlord Kolaghan, Dragonlord Atarka, and Dragonlord Dromoka 

Zurgo really got the cr@ppy end of the stick here we think.  We are rather happy to have all the previous set's Fate Reforged dragons but are unable to collect the five new dragonlords from Dragons of Tarkir until the singles pricing becomes a titch more reasonable (if ever)  :(
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DTK Dragon Ramp

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

In yesterday's article we mentioned Chris VanMeter's R/G Aggro (we think 'ramp') decklist which took top spot in last weekend's StarCityGame's Standard Open tournament in Syracuse - we wanted to take a closer look at this build as three of the top eight winning decklists were of a similar cut.

Ramp has always been a Texas two-step - ramp (wind up) and drop the bomb, or fatty which in this case is the seven mana Dragonlord Ararka.  The end game with VanMeter's build is to get one of several different killers to land late game - Dragonlord Atarka, or Crater's Claws.  One could even consider Polukranos, World Easter, Hornet Queen, or Ugin, Spirit Dragon if we were going to ramp into something scary, but VanMeter has provided a focus here, most decidedly dragonic in nature.  There is synergy to be had with Draconic Roar and similar to the much too brief life of Sliver Hive, there is a non-basic land 'Haven of the Spirit Dragon' to assist.

Ramping the ramp is accomplished via the usual suspects - Elvish Mystic, Sylvan Caryatid, and Courser of Kruphix, Xenagos, the Reveler, with Explosive Vegetation taking up any slack.  One may also consider Rattleclaw Mystic in the mix.

There are about 44 Dragons in standard at the moment with the least expensive at four mana (and there are only two of them).  Dragons are mana-intensive and we did not think they would make the cut in standard but Chris has made it work rather well.  To ensure you are still alive 'n' kicking turn four or five when you start dropping the beats, Chris chose Roast, Draconic Roar and Crater's Claws, all rather solid cards sure to keep the battlefield clear or burn your opponent.

Suggested reading includes Gavin Verhy's Reconstructed article on today's mothersite post, VanMeter's article 'Pushing G/R Aggro' on SCG, as well as Gerry Thompson's article on SCG 'Where are my Dragons?'.
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DTK U/W Heroic

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

As promised in earlier posts, we need to have a look at some new and amended decklists for standard constructed.  To kick things off, we want to look at a slightly modified list for Blue / White (U/W) Heroic, which not that long ago had put up some decent results.

With the new set, Dragons of Tarkir, there are a number of interesting cards which may yet make the cut.  New DTK cards such as the following -
• Artful Maneuver (1W +2/+2 instant with rebound)
• Glaring Aegis (W +1/+3 pump with eotb tap down aura)
• Center Soul (1W protection instant with rebound)
• Gleam of Authority (1W aura with conditional pump / activated bolster)
• Graceblade Artisan (2W 2/3 creature bumps +2/+2 for each attached aura)
• Pacifism (1W aura, threat lockdown)

It is of some interest that Joe Losset took a Jeskai (white / blue / red) Heroic build to 1st place at the SCG Open in Richmond just this last weekend.  New cards in the decklist is 3x Center Soul and splashing red for 4x Temur Battle Rage (1R double strike instant with conditional trample on Ferocious).  You can check out the list over here on SCG.

Here is are particular build for the record which is tailored to the local metagame and our own playstyle and will be evolving over the next several weeks.  We do not suggest in any way that this may be a decent build but it did go 3 win 2 loss at the Friday Night Magic event at our local store, OMG! Games here in Barrie, Ontario.  

CREATURES
4x Favored Hoplite
4x Battlewise Hoplite
4x Hero of Iroas
4x Heliod's Pilgrim
3x Graceblade Artisan

AURAS
4x Aqueous Form
4x Ordeal of Thassa
4x Ordeal of Heliod
3x Stratus Walk

OTHER SPELLS
4x Gods Willing

LAND
9x Plains
5x Island
4x Flooded Strand
4x Mana Confluence

SIDEBOARD
4x Pacifism
3x Valorous Stance
3x Erase
3x Stubborn Denial
2x Banishing Light

The big change really is have a full book-set of Pacifism in the SB and with Hero of Iroas out, this now costs only one white to lock down a dangerous dragon.  Graceblade Artisan may not be ideal synergy for the Ordeals as we like these to pop on the turn it is played but we will admit that Graceblade was a serious beat stick during some of our games.

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DTK Fat Pack

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Happy Friday MTG peeps,

The day is finally here!  Dragons of Tarkir official launch - tonight at a games store near you, this new Magic: the Gathering set will now be official to play and whatever format your FNM may be tonight, we're certain that there will be a ton of fun.  We'll be going to our fav store, OMG! Games, here in Barrie, Ontario to play, and although we've only incorporated about a dozen new Dragons of Tarkir cards into our existing standard decks, we have a feeling that these will be feeling like completely new decks.

Anywhoos, as is our custom here at MTG Realm, we've popped down to the card shop at midnight to join a small crowd to pick up a Fat Pack as well as some new cards.  By the time we kick outta work and head into FNM, the store is typically packed, and like sea gulls, customers have cleared out most of the top cuts until the store restocks the next week.  Here's our Dragons of Tarkir unboxing video, which praise be the gods, contained the Planeswalker Narset, a card we've be salivating about for some time.

FAT PACK Contents :

• 9 x 15-card booster packs
• Card storage box
• Player’s guide / visual encyclo
• 80-card basic land pack
• 1 learn-to-play insert
• 1 spindown life counter
• 2 deck boxes

Fat Pack Pulls
• Narset Transcendent
• Harbinger of the Hunt (foil)
* Ojutai Exemplars
• Ojutai Command
• Clone Legion
• Foul Renewal
• Profound Journey
• Volcanic Vision
• Avatar of the Resolute

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DTK PreRelease

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

We hope that all of you were able to make it out to a Dragons of Tarkir PreRelease event over the weekend.  If not (sorry to hear), perhaps you will get a chance to get your paws on these new Magic: the Gathering cards during the official release which takes place this Friday (27th March) during your local gaming store's regular Friday Night Magic Event.  This date also marks when you may officially use these cards in a sactioned event.

Anywhoos, as today's post title suggests, we want to yatter a bit about this weekend's Dragons of Tarkir PreRelease event.  OMG! Games, here in Barrie, Ontario ran a series of events starting at Friday midnight all the way to Sunday with an average about 35 to 40 participants.  We took in the Sunday morning event and went with the Dromoka (Green / White) PreRelease Pack which landed us in 8th spot.  Let's get to a short video first, before we get into it -

Dromoka (Green / White) Seeded PreRelease Pack
Sunscorch Regent, Echoes of the Kin Tree, Inspiring Call, Scale BlessingDromoka's Gift,  Lightwalker, Sandcrafter Mage, Ainok Arillerist, Enduring Victory, Aven Tactician, Harald of Dromoka, Servant of the Scale, Glaring Aegis, Champion of Arashin, Aerial Bowmasters, Shape the Sands.

Rares pulled from the packs :
• Sunscorch Regent (promo) 
• Harbinger of the Hunt  
• Radiant Purge  
• Deathbringer Regent  
• Blessed Reincarnation  
• Warden of the First Tree

Final Build :
1x Warden of the First Tree
1x Servant of the Scale
1x Echoes of the Kin Tree
1x Radiant Purge
1x Lightwalker
1x Pressure Point
2x Pacifism
1x Epic Confrontation
1x Ainok Guide
1x Sandcaster Mage
1x Sandsteppe Outcast
1x Map of the Wastes
1x Inspiring Call
1x Champion of Arashin
1x Battlefront Krushok
1x Dromoka's Gift
1x Pinion Feast
2x Aven Tactician
1x Enduring Victory
1x Sunscorch Regent

Round 1 - DRAW

Mike - Dromoka

Round 2 - DRAW

Alex - Silumgar

Round 3 - WIN (in 2)

Mathieu - Ajoutai

Round 4 - LOSS (in 3)

James - Dromoka

We originally thought that the format would be really slow 'n' grindy with the win going to the first player who happened to land a Dragon.  Not really the case.  With a healthy number of removal options, game play was fun / exciting / engaging and it seemed that each of the Dragon Clans were fairly balanced against each other with no very clear overpowered suit.
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DTK Intro Packs

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

The Dragons of Tarkir prerelease event is this weekend, and although the official launch is still another week off, this does not mean you are unable to score some sealed Magic: the Gathering product from the upcoming set.  Specifically, you can pick up Dragons of Tarkir Intro Packs which are available at your local gaming store for open dueling during prerelease events.

Intro Packs are designed with new players in mind, but even more seasoned gamers do pick these up as they are simply fun to battle against eachother given that each set's Intro Packs are generally very well balanced.  In this set, we have five dragon broods and five Intro Packs. For an MSRP of about $15, you get a ready-to-play standard-format preconstructed decklist with the following :

• 60 card deck, including
• 1 foil premium rare card, 
• 2 sealed 15-card booster packs, 
• a strategy insert, and
• a learn-to-play guide.

Each of the decklists contains one alternate art foil rare along with one other rare (rare cards in bold below) and can easily be improved upon to suit your individual playstyle.  Here's the lists -
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Enlightened Mastery (White / Blue)

Creatures (17) : 1 Dragon's Eye Sentry, 3 Elusive Spellfist, 1 Orator of Ojutai, 2 Updraft Elemental, 2 Zephyr Scribe, 2 Student of Ojutai, 1 Ancient Carp, 2 Strongarm Monk, 2 Cunning Breezedancer, 1 Pristine Skywise

Spells (18) : 1 Myth Realized, 2 Anticipate, 2 Artful Maneuver, 2 Silkwrap, 1 Ojutai Monument, 2 Ojutai's Breath, 1 Mystic Meditation, 1 Sight Beyond Sight, 1 Skywise Teachings, 1 Taigam's Strike, 1 Great Teacher's Decree, 1 Void Squall, 2 Ojutai's Summons

Lands (25) : 1 Evolving Wilds, 13 Island, 11 Plains
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Cruel Plots (Blue / Black)

Creatures (26) : 2 Shambling Goblin, 2 Sidisi's Faithful, 1 Hand of Silumgar, 2 Qarsi Sadist, 2 Palace Familiar, 2 Dutiful Attendant, 1 Minister of Pain, 1 Ukud Cobra, 1 Vulturous Aven, 1 Wandering Tombshell, 1 Gurmag Drowner, 1 Profaner of the Dead, 2 Youthful Scholar, 2 Rakshasa Gravecaller, 2 Silumgar Butcher, 1 Necromaster Dragon, 2 Ruthless Deathfang

Spells (9) : 1 Coat with Venom, 1 Ultimate Price, 1 Negate, 1 Silumgar's Scorn, 1 Silumgar Monument, 1 Gravepurge, 1 Mind Rot, 1 Reduce in Stature, 1 Death Wind

Lands (25) : 1 Evolving Wilds, 13 Swamp, 11 Island
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Relentless Rush (Black / Red)

Creatures (20) : 2 Lightning Berserker, 2 Kolaghan Aspirant, 3 Kolaghan Skirmisher, 2 Kolaghan Forerunners, 2 Screamreach Brawler, 2 Ambuscade Shaman, 2 Warbringer, 2 Sprinting Warbrute, 1 Boltwing Marauder, 2 Swift Warkite

Spells (15) : 1 Duress, 1 Foul-Tongue Shriek, 1 Vial of Dragonfire, 2 Impact Tremors, 2 Tormenting Voice, 2 Twin Bolt, 1 Defeat, 1 Kolaghan Monument, 1 Foul-Tongue Invocation, 2 Flatten, 1 Foul Renewal

Lands (25) : 1 Evolving Wilds, 13 Mountain, 11 Swamp
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Furious Forces (Red / Green)

Creatures (21) : 2 Atarka Beastbreaker, 2 Glade Watcher, 1 Dragonlord's Servant, 2 Colossodon Yearling, 2 Hardened Berserker, 1 Dragonloft Idol, 2 Sabertooth Outrider, 1 Summit Prowler, 2 Lurking Arynx, 2 Stampeding Elk Herd, 1 Harbinger of the Hunt, 1 Scion of Ugin, 2 Savage Ventmaw

Spells (14) : 1 Epic Confrontation, 1 Tread Upon, 1 Draconic Roar, 1 Dragon Fodder, 1 Magmatic Chasm, 1 Roast, 1 Atarka Monument, 1 Seismic Rupture, 2 Tail Slash, 1 Press the Advantage, 2 Sarkhan's Rage, 1 Berserkers' Onslaught

Lands (25) : 1 Evolving Wilds, 12 Forest, 12 Mountain
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Massed Ranks (Green / White)

Creatures (23) : 1 Dromoka Dunecaster, 2 Servant of the Scale, 2 Dromoka Warrior, 3 Lightwalker, 1 Territorial Roc, 1 Scaleguard Sentinels, 2 Sandcrafter Mage, 2 Salt Road Quartermasters, 2 Champion of Arashin, 2 Aven Tactician, 2 Sandsteppe Scavenger, 2 Enduring Scalelord, 1 Arashin Sovereign

Spells (12) : 2 Pacifism, 1 Dromoka Monument, 2 Inspiring Call, 1 Sheltered Aerie, 2 Scale Blessing, 1 Enduring Victory, 2 Dromoka's Gift, 1 Secure the Wastes


Lands (25) : 1 Evolving Wilds, 13 Plains, 11 Forest
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DTK Event Decklist

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Happy Wednesay MTG peeps,

We now have the Event Decklist for Dragons of Tarkir, which should be hitting the shelf of a local gaming store near you on 27th March, when the full set officially goes on sale.

If you are new to the game, an Event Deck is a standard-format pre-constructed product which is an upgrade over the Intro Pack.  The Event Deck is more competitive with and in the case of this Dragons of Tarkir Event Deck, contains ten rares along with a decent measure of other powerful spells which promises to put up a good fight at your local Friday Night Magic event.

In this Temur-flavoured (Green, Red, splashing Blue) Dragons of Tarki Event deck, one can employ a number of large beffy creatures and red burn spells to relentlessly attack your opponent, touching on blue mana to play some powerful three-color cards as well as a few tricky blue spells to keep opponents off balance.

The Landslide Charge Event Deck is available when Dragons of Tarkir releases on March 27 and ready to be played right out of the box.  For a MRSP of about $25, you get the following to rock your game table :

• Ready-to-play 60-card deck
• 15-card Sideboard
• Spindown life counter
• Strategy insert
• Deck Box

Dragons of Tarkir Landslide Charge Event Decklist

Creatures (23) : 4 Elvish Mystic, 2 Golden Hind, 4 Heir of the Wilds, 2 Mogis's Warhound, 1 Yasova Dragonclaw (Rare), 1 Boon Satyr (Rare), 4 Fanatic of Xenagos, 1 Savage Knuckleblade (Rare), 1 Polis Crusher (Rare), 1 Mistcutter Hydra (Rare), 1 Surrak, the Hunt Caller (Rare), 1 Thunderbreak Regent (Rare)

Sorcery (4) : 1 Arc Lightning, 1 Crater's Claws (Rare), 2 Roast

Instant (7) : 2 Wild Slash, 1 Stubborn Denial, 2 Lightning Strike, 2 Temur Charm

Enchantment (1) : 1 Outpost Siege (Rare)

Land (25) : 4 Evolving Wilds, 4 Frontier Bivouac, 1 Temple of Abandon (Rare), 10 Forest, 5 Mountain, 1 Island

Sideboard (15) : 1 Stubborn Denial, 2 Arc Lightning, 2 Rending Volley,  2 Disdainful Stroke, 2 Encase in Ice,  2 Abzan Beastmaster, 2 Reclamation Sage,  2 Act of Treason


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DTK Tokens

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

We must admit that over the weekend, we wanted ever so badly to go through all the new Dragons of Tarkir cards with the full reveal on the mothersite on Friday, but sadly did not have a chance.  We were not even able to get out to OMG! Games here in Barrie on Friday for FNM - deplorable we know, but that how it rolled this weekend.

Anywhoos, we won't leave you hanging without a dose of Magic: the Gathering today, so we want to return to an earlier post on the mothersite - Dragons of Tarkir tokens, back last Tuesday, and now that we have all the cards, we'll post 'em all, along with the spell that generates said token as is our custom here on MTG Realm -
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1/1 white Warrior creature token, illustrated by Aaron Miller, generated by Secure the Wastes

 2/2 blue Djinn Monk creature token, illustrated by Izzy, as generated by Ojutai's Summons and Skywise Teachings

X/X black Zombie Horror creature token, illustrated by Nils Hamm, generated by Corpseweft

2/2 black Zombie creature token, illustrated by Vincent Procee, generated by Rakshasa Gravecaller and Necromaster Dragon

4/4 red Dragon creature token with flying, illustrated by Gabor Szikszai, generated by Descent of Dragons, Dragon Whisperer, and Sarkhan Unbroken.

 

1/1 red Goblin creature token (particularly cute 'n' cuddly), illustrated by Mike Bierek, generated by Dragon Fodder.

 

 And lastly, that Narset Transcendent emblem, both cards illustrated by Magali Villeneuve

That's it for now, we really don't need to go through the morph / manifest overlay reminders with you.

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Times of Tarkir

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Happy Saturday MTG peeps,

We've spent a good chunk of today going through all the new Magic: the Gathering cards that Dragons of Tarkir has delivered.  One item of no small amusement is how clever Wizards has been with the support of a stable of talented artists in illustrating the changes from the original to the altered timeline quite often hidden as subtle hints or 'Easter Eggs' within the card art.

One rather nice tool to quickly look up Magic: the Gathering cards as we compare timelines is MTG Quick Search, a Google Chrome extension, and we never have to step off the tab we're on to bring up a card image, even when we fudge-up the proper card name.

Anywhoos, continuing on with the incredible comparitive card arts in the funky Tarki timelines, we've got to bring you attention to some great work that Redditor 'raicicle' (in this post) with some help from the community had done to catch all the small nuisances of the time shift on Tarkir.  Please check out that cool timey-wimey post and Imgur ablum and here's a few for you now . . .

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DTK FULL Spoiler

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Happy Friday MTG peeps,

Very exciting news today - Magic: the Gathering fans worldwide have just lost their collective cool and are presently going nuts at Wizards of the Coast posted ALL the remaining Dragons of Tarkir cards on the card image gallery.  There is quite a lot ahead of us as we all go through the newly revealed cards and speculate how each of the game formats may change when this new set becomes legal on 27th March.

It is of course quite impossible to go through all the new cards in this post, so you will have to settle on these select few for now.  Swing on back to the MTG Realm blog next week for our daily posts for card evaluations and reviews.

• Gleam of Authority - interesting aura benefiting from your bolster tech.  This just might make the cut in standard heroic.

• Secure the Wastes - damn fine instant that will puke Warrior tokens.  By-the-way - warrior 'tribal' is looking good in the new standard.

• Blessed Reincarnation - this rebounding instant is going places, great removal with a drawback that might be palatable.

• Illusory Gains - this looks good but we would have been much more happier with a 'you may move' clause.

• Profaner of the Dead - conditional evacuation of your opponent's board might make this good in your sideboard.

• Corpseweft - we approve and think this may be good value in some builds.

• Foul Renewal - conditional spot removal and recursion - this ain't bad at all.

• Berserkers’ Onslaught - not that bad, we're not excited though.

• Volcanic Vision - we like this in a Commander build we have but it doesn't make the cut in standard.

• Obscuring Æther - weird, wonderful and interesting - we love it.
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