Commander Staples From Tarkir: Dragonstorm
Dragon’s Run
Welcome back for another History, Restapled, a Commander-focused column that attempts to validate a newer card’s status as a staple by looking at how cards that are similar, synergistic, or competing have fared in the past financially.
Temur Battlecrier - $0.50
Good lord, I saw this card totally dominate at a prerelease, and I suspect it will do even better in Commander, where beefy creatures are the norm.
For three mana, every one of your spells is reduced by a colorless mana during your turn since Temur Battlecrier counts itself, and any other creature with power four or greater represents pure upside. It’s like an easier-to-remove Medallion that can swing in for damage, which is a formula for a card that’s worth at least a few bucks.
Looking at the top Temur commanders at EDHREC reveals a critical mass of
Like most of the cards on this list, its color identity limits its functionality somewhat, but that’s to be expected in a wedge-focused set like Dragonstorm. Keep an eye on this one, and don’t be surprised if it becomes a major player.
STATUS: Temur staple
| Temur Battlecrier | ||
| Temur Battlecrier (Borderless) |
Songcrafter Mage - $1
The Temur value train continues with a
Commander is a format where splashy spells reign, so even in a deck with only a modest number of instants or sorceries, you’ll likely always be able to grab a juicy
I’m not as sold on this one just yet, but the potential is there, and $1 is a fair price to grab one and begin experimenting.
STATUS: Potential Temur spellslinger staple
| Songcrafter Mage | ||
| Songcrafter Mage (Borderless) |
Frostcliff Siege - $1
The new Siege cycle recaptures the flexibility of the original Sieges from
Mode one draws cards and mode two offers trample and haste, two of the best keywords in the format. Three mana is a steal for either one, let alone the choice between both.
If
STATUS: Izzet creature staple
| Frostcliff Siege | ||
| Frostcliff Siege (Borderless) |
Magmatic Hellkite - $1.50
Similar cards exist, like
Nonbasic land hate isn’t as frowned upon in Commander as mass land destruction - not by a long shot - but I wouldn’t blame anyone if they wanted to eschew it entirely. For those of you with mettle, Magmatic Hellkite is the strongest such card in existence and may start climbing in price if it finds its way into other competitive formats. Stun counters are the sorts of things that players need to see to believe, so get a copy of this card before they start believing what they see.
STATUS: Red staple for nonbasic land removal
| Magmatic Hellkite | ||
| Magmatic Hellkite (Showcase) | ||
| Magmatic Hellkite (Borderless) |
Kishla Village and Cori Mountain Monastery - $0.50 each
All five of the new Dragonstorm check lands are powerful, as any land that produces colored mana and enters untapped would be. Other than
With both, you can leave mana untapped during other people’s turns without fear it will go to waste, and you can activate their abilities just before your turn to set yourself up with little opportunity cost. Worst case, these are colored lands that enter tapped early in the game and provide utility later on (and can be run in monocolor decks, if need be). Best case, they come down late and escalate your tempo.
Grab these two while they’re worth pennies - the discrepancy between these and the blue one can’t last long.
STATUS: New two-color and three-color staples
| Kishla Village | ||
| Kishla Village (Borderless) | ||
| Cori Mountain Monastery | ||
| Cori Mountain Monastery (Borderless) |
Praise Tarkir
Now that
Further Reading
Hidden Gems for Teval, the Balanced Scale
Steve Heisler
Steve Heisler is a writer and pop culture journalist covering comedy, games, television, film and the tech industry. His work has been published in Rolling Stone, GQ, Variety, The AV Club, Fast Company and the Chicago Sun-Times. He began collecting Magic cards during Fourth Edition and plays Commander and Modern primarily. He also enjoys tennis, the Dark Souls family of video games and supporting live comedy. He lives in Chicago with his cat, Rosie.