Since we last visited Tarkir, fierce dragonstorms have been sweeping across the realm, threatening to spread into other planes of the Magic: The Gathering multiverse. As we return, we discover that the danger posed by dragons is intensifying daily, and that creates a wealth of opportunities for dragon drafting!
As with many Magic sets, Tarkir: Dragonstorm introduces ten multicolored draft archetypes. However, unlike most sets, only half of these are traditional two-color pairs; the remaining archetypes consist of three-color combinations. Since the two- and three-color groups can overlap, it’s wise to familiarize yourself with these archetypes ahead of any draft events.
Sacrifice (White/Black)
The white/black archetype focuses on utilizing creatures as valuable resources, allowing you to sacrifice them to cast spells or activate effects. Often, sacrificing a creature serves as an additional casting cost for spells, so you’ll need a steady number of creatures ready for sacrifice.
Duty Beyond Death showcases the power of sacrifice: for just two mana and one creature, it lets you grant a +1/+1 counter to each of your creatures and makes them all indestructible for a turn. Sacrificing a creature that is already doomed can save your others and bolster their strength.
While no other archetypes focus on sacrifice quite like this one, you’ll want to search for cards that create tokens or have the mobilize mechanic, putting you in competition with the white/red and Mardu (red/white/black) archetypes during drafts. Hence, it’s advisable to prioritize token-generating cards to limit your opponents’ resources while keeping the option to shift into those colors open.
Additionally, if you need a splash color, this archetype transitions smoothly into red and green. Red can provide extra token generation through mobilize, while green enhances the creatures you keep on the battlefield.
Two Spells (Blue/Red)
Red and blue are typically linked to “spellslinger” strategies, aiming to cast numerous spells rather than establishing a substantial board presence. In Tarkir: Dragonstorm, the focus is on playing two spells each turn to maximize their effects.
This archetype encourages casting more than two spells without penalizing you but includes many cards that benefit from or reward the casting of a second spell. For instance, Highspire Bell-Ringer reduces the cost of your second spell, while Cori-Steel Cutter gives you a creature token only when you cast that second spell.
When drafting for this archetype, keep an eye out for instants (including Omens) and cards with flash. The “second spell each turn” concept applies not just to your own turn, so you can gain extra value from spells cast during your opponent’s turn.
The Jeskai (blue/red/white) archetype has similar gameplay, meaning you might compete with players drafting that deck. However, the overlap also means that there’s ample white support for this archetype, as well as green, which can aid in replaying spells you’ve already cast.
Counters (Black/Green)
Life arises from decay, and the combination of black and green is perfect for growing your creatures to massive sizes using +1/+1 and other counters. This archetype is all about distributing counters among your creatures to create formidable threats, but be cautious to protect your strongest creatures from removal spells.
Host of the Hereafter excels at safeguarding your counters by transferring them to other creatures when the original ones die. Coupled with black’s sacrifice effects, this can enable you to pile counters onto a single unblocked creature for a crushing attack.
A fantastic target for counter placement is Warden of the Grove. The more counters it possesses, the more +1/+1 counters your other creatures will acquire when they enter the battlefield. Loading it up with counters early on can turn even your weakest creatures into major threats.
This archetype syncs with the Abzan (white/black/green) theme, focused on both towering with +1/+1 counters and spreading wide with Spirit tokens, as well as the Sultai (black/green/blue) archetype, which leverages the graveyard as a resource, frequently turning cards into counters. While Abzan is more flexible, Sultai is generally considered more enjoyable to play.
Go Wide Tokens (White/Red)
Both red and white are adept at creating large armies of smaller creatures, making that a natural synergy. The mobilize mechanic provides access to numerous temporary 1/1 Warrior tokens, while endure generates 1/1 Spirit tokens, giving you adaptability on the battlefield.
This color combination is also effective with combat tricks that allow you to boost creatures after blockers are declared, providing opportunities to defeat valuable enemy creatures or inflict extra damage. Frontline Rush exemplifies this: for one white and one red mana, you can create two 1/1 Goblins or enhance one creature’s power based on how many creatures you control.
Remember that mobilize tokens are temporary, so make the most of them while they last. Using one to pay for Duty Beyond Death can double the size of your remaining token creatures and increase the strength of your permanent ones, while utilizing black’s sacrifice mechanic can further enhance their effectiveness.
This archetype significantly benefits from black’s sacrifice features, but exploring green can also grant you access to additional counter boosts for your creatures. Although it shares two colors with Jeskai, the number of cards in that identity contributing to token effects is limited, meaning you may not be competing for the same cards in red and blue.
Leaves The Graveyard (Green/Blue)
Green and blue create an intriguing duo. In Tarkir: Dragonstorm, this combination revolves around removing cards from your graveyard. The method of removal isn’t a concern, so you have plenty of options to explore.
Kishla Skimmer is the archetype’s standout uncommon. As long as you control it, you’ll draw a card the first time a card leaves your graveyard on your turn. This occurs whether you exile it through endure effects or refresh it with cards like Ainok Wayfarer.
Keep an eye out for harmonize and renew, since these keywords allow you to remove cards from your graveyard to either recast spells or gain other benefits. Harmonize often comes with a hefty cost, yet you can tap a creature to help pay for it. If you heavily invest in harmonize, ensure you include some larger creatures to manage the cost!
Black is a great splash color, adding sacrifice mechanics that help fill your graveyard with cards that you can renew later. White similarly provides useful sacrifice effects alongside graveyard removal and reanimation options.
Azban Endure (White/Black/Green)
Azban emphasizes the counters theme from the black/green archetype while enhancing the field with 1/1 Spirit tokens facilitated by the endure mechanic. Combining these effects can create a battlefield presence that is both overwhelming and difficult to manage, producing threats that can’t easily be bypassed.
Creatures with endure, such as Anafenza, Unyielding Lineage, can grow whenever a triggering event occurs or generate Spirit tokens, allowing for flexible battlefield evolution. Incorporate counter distributors like Armament Dragon to strengthen your forces, as well as “counters matter” effects like Trade Route Envoy for card advantages, and you’ll establish a commanding presence.
This archetype principally competes against the red/white “Go Wide” and the black/green “Counters” archetypes, which share similar goals and many overlapping cards. This may influence your decision to focus on either creature tokens or counters instead of trying to do both.
While splashing a fourth color in limited formats generally isn’t advisable, red is an appealing option with its mobilize and other token mechanics. Thus, if you’re struggling to find green cards in your draft pods, red could serve as a solid pivot that allows you to maximize the value of your drafted cards.
Jeskai Flurry (Blue/Red/White)
The Jeskai Flurry archetype builds upon the red/blue “Two Spells” theme, adding a third color and various methods to gain additional benefits from casting more than the initial two spells. While red/blue doesn’t see much gained from bringing in a third spell, Jeskai Flurry thrives on as many spells as you can manage.
Creatures with prowess, like Jeskai Brushmaster, temporarily grow stronger with each noncreature spell you cast; targeting them with buffs provides double benefits. If you need to increase your spell count, Narset’s Rebuke returns some of its mana, and with cost reducers, it can result in a net gain. Furthermore, Narset, Jeskai Waymaster can refill your hand each turn.
This archetype will want a considerable amount of the same spells as the “Two Spells” deck but will also vie for some red/white combat tricks. Affordable spells that generate extra creatures are crucial, but if your opponents are securing those, removal spells will become even more critical.
If you manage to acquire Narset, Jeskai Waymaster early, look out for Harmonize spells, which you can cast from your graveyard. This can help offset her ability that forces you to discard your hand each turn, allowing you to save those discarded cards for future plays.
Sultai Renew (Black/Green/Blue)
The Sultai Renew archetype is centered around leveraging your graveyard as a resource to empower your creatures. The renew ability found on many of these creatures allows you to exile cards from your graveyard, granting +1/+1 and ability counters to another creature.
These counters often reflect the abilities of the exiled creature. For example, Qarsi Revenant carries flying, lifelink, and deathtouch, transferring all three of those abilities to a single creature. Other cards enhance synergy, like Kheru Goldkeeper, which nets you a Treasure token every time you use, renew, or otherwise remove a card from your graveyard.
This archetype picks from cards found in both the black/green “Counters” and green/blue “Leaves The Graveyard” archetypes, competing against players in both categories. Generally, you should focus on renew and counters mechanics, but if the draft turns toward “leaves the graveyard,” you can pivot away from counters and consider harmonize cards instead.
If competition for black cards becomes too intense, consider shifting into red. Many effects from the Sultai Renew archetype work seamlessly with the Temur Harmonize cards, allowing for a smooth transition that provides more diverse options.
Mardu Mobilize (Red/White/Black)
Mardu Mobilize centers on the new mobilize mechanic, which creates tapped, attacking 1/1 Warrior tokens whenever a creature with mobilize attacks. Unfortunately, this doesn’t continually build your forces, as you’ll need to sacrifice these creatures by the end of your turn.
It doesn’t matter if these creatures fall in battle; they’ll usually be sacrificed, but Zurgo, Thunder’s Decree allows them to remain on the battlefield after the turn ends, helping you to accumulate more Warriors. Other cards, like Bone-Cairn Butcher, can convert your Warrior tokens into notable threats, forcing opponents to choose between losing their own creatures or taking damage.
This archetype will frequently compete with players drafting red/white “Go Wide Tokens,” as well as those focused on the white/black “Sacrifice” theme. Be mindful of how many of your token-generating cards create Warriors that you need to sacrifice compared to other permanent tokens. The higher your Warrior-to-others ratio, the more sacrifice effects you’ll want to derive extra value from them.
Since the Azban Endure archetype shares a similar focus on tokens, be alert for cards you can take to prevent those players from benefiting from them. If you find red is in short supply (which often occurs in drafts), consider pivoting to that archetype to take advantage of the token-generating cards you’ve already nabbed.
Temur Harmonize (Green/Blue/Red)
Temur Harmonize is a paradise for Timmy players: it embraces colossal creatures, using them to pay for big effects without having to sacrifice them! The harmonize mechanic enables you to cast spells from your graveyard while tapping one creature to lower that spell’s mana cost by the tapped creature’s power. The larger your creatures, the cheaper your spells become!
Mammoth Bellow highlights this ability perfectly: for five mana, you’ll get a 5/5 Elephant. Then you can pay an additional three mana and tap that Elephant for yet another Elephant! Several cards feature the harmonize ability, but Songcrafter Mage grants this ability to any instant or sorcery, letting you double-up on critical effects and catch your opponents off guard.
The red/blue “Two Spells” and blue/green “Leaves The Graveyard” archetypes will vie for harmonize cards, but you can also combine strategies from both! Just remember to emphasize larger creatures than what is typical for “Two Spells”, as you’ll often find that second spell in your graveyard, allowing you to successfully draft from both archetypes.
If your draft leans heavily towards “Leaves The Graveyard,” it might be wise to consider adding renew cards to your selection. This may nudge you toward red as an additional color, but there are plenty of options within green and blue to maintain cohesive mana production.
