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Dragons of Tarkir Spoilers – 3/5/15

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Risen Executioner

Creature - Zombie Warrior
Risen Executioner can't block

Other zombie creatures you control get +1/+1

You may cast Risen Executioner from your graveyard if you pay an additional 1 for each other creature in your graveyard.

Solid. Although this beater can't block, it has a lot of things going for it. It's a zombie, which helps it trigger cards like Gravecrawler. You WANT to play this with Gravecrawler, because that helps keep your yard empty and makes Risen Executioner easier to resummon. This lets you dredge aggressively and also Delve. I don't know if this is the card a modern Dredge deck wants but historically, cards that can be played out of the graveyard get a second look. This also buffs other zombies which is another point in its favor. Casuals will likely love this card and it may be playable in Standard. All in all, I'd say this has a lot going for it. I imagine this presells around $8 which is likely too high unless this is as playable as was Gravecrawler, which I personally doubt, but if you don't, remember Gravecrawler hit $10 as a non-mythic and buy accordingly.

Atarka's Command

Oh, I see. We're getting a cycle of Commands and they're all busted. Sorry about your Siege Rhino. This isn't quite as straightforward and spalashable as Skullcrack but it makes up for it by being very dynamic and spicy. Used as an Explorer's Bolt early and a Boltcrack late, this card has a lot of utility and for its low mana cost, I see this being a real player in magic. The good thing about commands is that they're dynamic enough to never be relegated to sideboards giving their price extra upside. eBay wants like $7 apiece on these. I'm not sure I want to pay it.

Shikiri Raptor

Creature - Lizard Beast
Deathtouch

Whenever another permanent you control is turned face up, you may return Shikiri Raptor from the graveyard face up or face down.

Megamorph 4G (You may cast this card face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its megamorph cost and put a +1/+1 counter on it.)

Speaking of alternate timelines, this is a card that can have two different fates based entirely on the actions of others. Raptor is a good card, but it's not an amazing card unless you're built to morph, unmorph and manifest a ton. So this needs a deck where you do that a lot to REALLY be great. However, the ability to constantly put this back into play is a great one, and the choice to get him as a 3/3 for free or a 4/4 for 5 mana late when you have the mana (and potentially are using him to trigger another raptor) is a great choice to be in the position to make. I like this low cost and aggressive stats and I like how much he reminds me of Vengevine in that you can construct the deck to really benefit from his abilities.

This is also a $50 playset on eBay. It may (it likely will) come down, but it may even go up depending on what pro players say about this card. Personally, I would wait to see if it tanks a bit, because I don't like this at $12.50 unless I'm sure it's going to be Vengevine good, and I don't know if it's not too narrow to be that card under all circumstances, whether the dragons or khans won.

Zurgo Bellstriker

Flavorwise, it's cool to see an alternate timeline where a mighty khan is the dragon's bellboy. He's a 2/2 for 1 with a minor drawback and a minor good ability. All in all, I'd say I'm not super excited about this, but all the other red 1 drops have 1 power so this could be good for a really aggro red deck. Historically, 1 mana 2/2 creatures get at least a second look, and being a non-mythic sets the price a bit. This is currently a $12 playset on eBay, which is reasonable. If this card does nothing you will lose about $10 of those $12, but if you're looking for these to play with, it's a low-risk gamble. However, that reflects a lack of confidence in its upside and my inclination was already to call this card "meh".

Dragonlord Dromoka

Awwww snap. I love this card! I doubt he is standard playable, but he's got so much going for him outside of Standard. This could either be an EDH general or slot into a deck like Mayael or Gaddock Teeg. This is honestly the best possible card for a Mayael deck and if they had printed this with 4 power instead of 5, I would have spent the week inconsolable and weeping. This does everything you want a card to do in a deck like that.

However, being perfect for one of many decks in a one-of format isn't going to lend much upside to an in-print card. This seems really narrow in its potential utility if it's too much mana for Standard and its price likely goes down before it goes up. People want $15 each on these. If you don't think this is the new Baneslayer Angel, think twice. Surrak Dragonclaw was a $15 preorder, too.

Here's what the EDH subreddit is saying.

Ojutai Exemplars

With all the UW control stuff getting printed, I was starting to think that the reset timeline would make Jeskai creatures less aggro.

NOPE.

This is a very, very solid card. Aggro control was mostly a thing of the past, and I thought maybe Temur would resurrect it. A lot of my youth was spent using Plaxmanta to save Kird Ape from destruction, or using Echoing Truth to bounce my Troll Ascetic and two of theirs. These same shenanigans have extra boost (Yes, I know Plaxmanta is a creature, I meant these kinds of shenanigans) with the abilities on Exemplars which can remove blockers, give them their own brand of Prowess or save them from destruction. Any spell can do this, meaning Stoke the Flames can be an Otherworldly Journey of sorts, Hero's Downfall can be a Swift Justice and Ojutai's Command can have even more modes.

I don't see any Buy it Now auctions for this card, but I imagine this is likely a $50 playset at least. This needs a deck built around it, but at 4 mana and nigh unkillability when you have spells in hand like Jeskai Charm, this could be a serious aggro-control finisher and completely resurrect my favorite deck archetype. This card is the real deal.

 

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Jason Alt

Jason Alt is a value trader and writer. He is Quiet Speculation's self-appointed web content archivist and co-captain of the interdepartmental dodgeball team. He enjoys craft microbrews and doing things ironically. You may have seen him at magic events; he wears black t-shirts and has a beard and a backpack so he's pretty easy to spot. You can hear him as co-host on the Brainstorm Brewery podcast or catch his articles on Gatheringmagic.com. He is also the Community Manager at BrainstormBrewery.com and writes the odd article there, too. Follow him on Twitter @JasonEAlt unless you don't like having your mind blown.

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One thought on “Dragons of Tarkir Spoilers – 3/5/15

  1. The thing I don’t like about zurgo is he is legendary. Its basically a second drawback since any red aggro deck would want to play four of these.

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