Tarkir: Dragonstorm - First Command Post
I played my first game of Magic the Gathering at PAX AUS last year, a mere 21 years after it launched in 1993. Now a billion-dollar franchise, Magic has dominated sections of the tabletop scene since its invention, for many players becoming a ‘lifestyle’ game, an addiction for others and an on-again-off-again flame for even more still. It’s left many another card game in its wake, some floating alongside while others sank to the murky depths.
Tarkir: Dragonstorm is my first dive into the Magic system proper, a whirlwind of lore and unique mechanics buoyed by a fan-created format that has risen to dominate the social and competitive play scene in Commander. Armed with a pre-con Mardu Surge Commander Deck and a generous assortment of Booster Packs, I decided to find out what awaits EmTeeGee latecomers and whether its many derivatives prepped me in any way to sufficiently understand and appreciate why, after 22 years, Magic the Gathering is arguably still the most popular collectible card game in the world.
Poring over the included guide and the Commander deck itself, what struck me aside from the incredible artwork is the onslaught of Keywords, generally the largest barrier to entry for any sufficiently established card game. Arkham Horror LCG, Marvel Champions, Netrunner – even shared mechanics are often indistinguishable to the layman due to the use of theme specific language, or perhaps more understandably, a need to avoid language which could be deemed legal infringement and result in a C&D right quick. Working backwards from titles like Lorcana and Star Wars Unlimited, some card features and Keywords are easier to interpret than others, the included player aids illuminating some of the terminology while others remained decidedly mysterious.
I had a few important things understood from the get-go due to my preview piece and the PAX Aus 2024 MtG booth; firstly, that Tarkir uses a ‘wedge’ system, the long and short of which means that instead of relying on two different Mana colours to pay for cards, it uses three. As a result, the deck comes with 37 Land cards, around 20 of which are Basic and the others a mix of standard and Dual Lands which frequently provide further options or some restriction around how they can be played. Secondly, a general understanding of the very basic gameflow shown in a 30-card learning deck. So far so good, but I remained ignorant of many of the card functions, iconography and the resolution order of some interactions that took place, particularly in the Combat phase.
Fortunately, I wasn’t mired in a tapped Swamp of Ignorance for very long, thanks to Jason, a heroic member of LXG, my local game club in Brisbane which boasts amongst its patronage legendary designer Martin Wallace, alongside many other people who regularly beat me at games. With my freshly unwrapped Mardu Commander Deck, we set out to play a few matches so I could understand the fundamental differences between regular Magic play and the Commander format. With great care and patience, Jason was able to teach me so well I clinched the win in our second game by homing in on the strategies and synergies the Mardu deck had been begging me to see in our first game, in which I was severely overwhelmed by Jason’s ever-expanding army of Cats that only grew in power each round.
As with many learning games failing fast is the key, especially since a competent player will put you out of your misery within a handful rounds regardless. When simultaneously on-boarding rules while also trying to understand the desired playstyle of a deck, having a pre-con on hand is a very useful tool to make headway in Magic for newer players without having to spend enormous sums building a collection, demonstrating through play how the deck itself should function. This was something that was became clear within the first three rounds of Game One – that whatever the hell I happened to be doing, it wasn’t what the Mardu Surge deck wanted and it punished me accordingly. Wrapping my head around various functions and keywords, notably those cards that created tokens, I could finally see that the Mardu deck thrives on finding ways to flood the battlefield with as many almost-worthless peons as possible, as if Zapp Brannigan himself were sending wave after wave of his own Creatures to their glorious deaths. The stellar combination of my Hero of Bladehold, Twilight Drover and Thalisse Reverant Medium cards meant I was generating a ridiculous number of Token creatures who were simultaneously boosted by the Hero of Bladehold when attacking, and even in defeat secured me an advantage thanks to Zurgo Stormrender, my chosen Commander who could draw a card for each Attacking creature that left the battlefield. In a very short timeframe I had around 10 creatures Attacking at once which overwhelmed Jason, whose Artifact deck was taking a little longer to get to the good stuff.
Moreso than regular Magic, the Commander format appeals to me for a few reasons. Firstly, tossing together 100 singletons (a deck made up of only a single copy of each unique named card) seems a rewarding way to make use of a smaller card pool, mitigating the need to spend huge sums on multiple copies of “must have” cards. It furthermore feels like a space that supports player expression, gimmick decks and wild swings, given there’s a good chance many cards won’t see the light of day in a single game. Of course, with the Magic card pool as deep as it is, there’s plenty of similarly functioning yet uniquely named cards one can include to really get closer to a standard-ish deck build if so desired. Much like Homer Simpson watching Barney the Purple Dinosaur, “I can see why this is so popular”. With five Commander Decks released for Tarkir: Dragonstorm, it’s easy enough to pick the most appealing, find a friend who can run you through the game a few times or even make use of a FLGS – Magic is still the lifeblood of many game stores and it’s a space they tend to be looking to expand, especially stores that have dedicated Social play events.
I can glimpse the drop-off just at the edge of my vision though; having waded gently into the first few inches of Magic waters, already there’s enough nuance in play to get a sense of just how far one could dive in if they so wished. I might stay in the shallows for now and poke around with this Mardu Surge deck some more, but a horde of Booster packs beckons me towards Drafting and Deck construction. As a starting point, Tarkir: Dragonstorm through the lens of a lone Commander Deck isn’t the most elegant, requiring some external assistance to get underway but it certainly does manage to highlight why for many players, Magic is not just a game, it’s the game.
Magic the Gathering Tarkir: Dragonstom products used in this review were kindly provided by PR.
