Magic: The Gathering‘s next set Tarkir: Dragonstorm is just around the corner. On April 11th, Planeswalkers around the world will return to Tarkir, the war-torn planes home to the five clans Abzan, Jeskai, Sultai, Mardu, and Temur. Wizards of the Coast began unveiling cards this week, and we have an exclusive look at three new cards coming the the set. These three specific black cards put a focus on sacrificing creatures to gain an upper hand against the opposition.
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The three cards are Desperate Measures, Unrooted Ancestor, and Venerated Stormsinger. The first is an instant spell meant to get rid of a creature you control to draw two more cards. The other two are Cleric creatures that give the caster some potential leverage against their opponents by purposely sacrificing one of their own creatures they control. Below are detailed shots of each of the new cards coming to Magic: The Gathering‘s Tarkir: Dragonstorm set, as well as each card’s respective text:
Desperate Measures (Instant)
- Cost: 1 swamp
- Target creature gets +1/-1 until end of turn. When it dies under your control this turn, draw two cards.
Unrooted Ancestor (Creature – Spirit Cleric)
- Cost: 1 swamp, 2 other land
- Flash
- Tap 1 land, Sacrifice another creature: This creature gains indestructible until end of turn. Tap it. (Damage and effects that say “destroy” don’t destroy it.)
Venerated Stormsinger (Creature – Orc Cleric)
- Cost: 1 swamp, 3 other land
- Mobilize 1 (Whenever this creature attacks, create a tapped and attacking 1/1/red Warrior creature token. Sacrifice it at the beginning of the next end step.)
- Whenever this creature or another creature you control dies, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.
The planes of Tarkir have been part of Magic: The Gathering for quite a while now, since the 2014 Khans of Tarkir set. As such, there is a sort of throughline here that may be expected from players around the world. Senior Worldbuilding Art Director Forrest Schehl discussed revisiting Tarkir lore, the inspiration behind this set’s designs, and if there was a focus on capturing nostalgia in Tarkir: Dragonstorm.
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“When you’re revisiting characters like Narset and Sarkhan – two characters I have a ton of personal reverence for and are fan favorites – you feel a tremendous amount of honor to be able to contribute to their next chapter, but also the responsibility to be true to their core,” says Schehl about revisiting Tarkir for the upcoming set. “For me, since card art is a very static medium, it’s all about telling a visual story with clothing details. So, before you begin any sort of development you have to sit down and ask yourself what has happened to this character since we saw them last? How does their environment affect how they look and how they dress?”
“If you start with these sorts of questions, then you can ground your designs in something tangible and build from there,” continues Schehl. “Of course, this isn’t something we do in isolation; there’s a whole franchise team we work with for characters like these who are and will continue to be important to Magic’s stories and worlds.”
“For the clans it was a mixture,” begins Schehl about the inspiration behind the new designs. “First, we ask ourselves questions to help ground our decisions in the internal logic of the plane. What is going on in this set? What has happened to the world? How would these groups react and how does that influence how they look? But that’s really just the first step. We poured over all three sets in the original block and their world guides, identified iconic elements and shaped language that we could integrate into our new designs and then blended that with historical inspirations from each of the five unique cultures from whom we draw inspiration, and teasing out those elements that could be heightened and made more fantastical.”
“When it came to our new dragons though, that was a much more wide-open process,” Schehl continues. “We pulled inspiration from a wide range of animals and themes to create exciting dragons we’d never seen before. My one golden rule for the concept artists was ‘Dragons have two wings and four legs.’ Everything else was on the table.”
“Nostalgia wasn’t the word I had in mind when developing this set. For me, it was more so about continuing the story of Tarkir and when you have these characters that made such a big impact on the plane, I think, as a fan and as a creative, you want to show how they are reacting to these monumental new changes to their world,” says Schehl when asked about capturing nostalgia for older sets like Khans of Tarkir. “Let’s take the card Smile at Death as an example: We are showing how the Mardu remember and revere Alesha and there is lore that provides context as they are taking back their old identities. That creates space for a callback that feels earned, and I think a sprinkling of earned nostalgia can make for a richer, more tangible world.”
Although it may not be known to the casual Magic: The Gathering player, the popular card game has an ongoing story, and the game is the medium players can immerse themselves into that story. There are also plenty of pieces on the game’s official site detailing the lore of the places and people of its universe, including the planes of Tarkir. Senior Game Designer Adam Prosak discussed how that lore impacts card design.
“Our worldbuilding process starts well before our card design process – this gives the card design teams a good jumping-off point for coming up with new mechanics and cards. We set aside a good amount of card slots in the set to capture important characters and moments. For example, the sagas are primarily story-driven ideas that the design team was able to capture on cards that are also fun game pieces.”
Magic: The Gathering‘s Tarkir: Dragonstorm set launches on April 11th.
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Image courtesy of Max
