Mechanics from Tarkir: Dragonstorm explained!

Hello, everyone!

Today we'll talk about the mechanics from the new set, Tarkir: Dragonstorm! There are quite a few of them, but even though they're all new, some are quite similar to existing mechanics, which is a certain relief!

Also, here's a reminder that the Set's mechanics are linked to the lore of Tarkir: there are five clans, each based on a combination of three of the five colors of mana, and each has its distinct mechanic. In addition, there are generic mechanics, that is, that are not tied to a specific clan and appear throughout all colors.

The article will have two sections: first the generic mechanics, and then the clan mechanics.

Without further ado, let's get to it!

These are mechanics that aren't tied to a specific clan, and show up through all colors in the set.

Behold

Behold is a keyword ability that indicates a cost to pay for a spell or effect. To pay for Behold, you simply reveal from your hand or choose your card in play that has the indicated creature type - in Tarkir: Dragonstorm , this type will always be Dragon.

In the case of Sarkhan, Dragon Ascendant, its effect goes on the stack and your opponent can respond, for example, by killing your only dragon in play - which would force you to have a dragon in hand to pay the cost.

However, sometimes Behold is an additional cost, that is, you pay while putting a spell or ability on the stack - it doesn't need for the revealed/chosen card to remain on its current zone afterwards. In this case, if your opponent kills your dragon in response, your spell/effect will keep its Behold status.

Omen

Cards with Omen are very similar to cards with Adventure, and this is certainly no coincidence - the two abilities are very similar.

In the case of Adventure, after casting the Adventure side, the card is exiled, and you can then cast the Creature side from exile.

In the case of Omen, after casting the Omen side, you simply shuffle the card into the deck as part of the resolution - that is, if it is countered, the card goes to the graveyard, as normal.

Also, very on-theme for the set, Omen can only be found on cards whose Creature side is a Dragon type. Flavor Success!

Hybrid-Colorless Mana

Hybrid mana costs are back! Even though it's an existing mechanic, there are a few things to keep in mind, especially considering the multicolored context of the set:

First, the mana value of these cards considers the , and not the colored mana. In other words, Monastery Messenger has a Mana Value of six, no matter how much you actually paid in mana to cast it - a great synergy with cards that look at mana value, like Up The Beanstalk, for example.

And second, in the case of the hybrids in this sets, the cards have all the colors in its cost - again, it doesn't matter how you paid in mana to cast it. Back to Monastery Messenger, even if you used 6 colorless mana to cast it, it's still a white, red and blue card - your opponent can use, for example, a Red Elemental Blast to counter it.

In Tarkir, we have five clans, each corresponding to a combination of three mana colors. Although the theme is multicolor, each clan has a main color, namely:

Abzan - - main color

Jeskai - - main color

Sultai - - main color

Mardu - - main color

Temur - - main color

Abzan - Endure

Endure is the Abzan's mechanic. Similar to Fabricate - like we see in Angel of Invention -, when an Endure X ability resolves, you choose whether to put X +1/+1 counters on the creature, or whether to create X 1/1 white spirit tokens.

The choice is made at resolution - so if your opponent kills your creature before Endure resolves, you can simply choose to make the spirit tokens.

Jeskai - Flurry

Flurry is the Jeskai's mechanic. It is an ability that triggers when you cast your second spell in the same turn - both yours or an opponent's!

It is important to remember that Flurry only counts the second spell, and not every two spells in the same turn. In practice, it means you will only trigger Flurry once each turn.

Sultai - Renew

Renew is the Sultai's mechanic. It only works when the card with Renew is in the graveyard - you can then, at Sorcery speed, pay the cost, exile the card and thus activate the ability. It is somewhat reminiscent of the Golgari's Scavenge ability - as in the card Slitherhead.

Note that Renew is an ability, not a spell, so cards that counter spells will not work. Furthermore, exiling the card is part of the cost, so your opponent cannot in response to an activation of Renew try to exile the card to fizzle it - it will already have been exiled by the ability itself.

Mardu - Mobilize

Mobilize is the Mardu's mechanic. When a creature with Mobilize X is declared as an attacker, the ability triggers, and upon resolution it will create X red 1/1 Warrior tokens that are also tapped and attacking.

In the case of multiple attacking options - players, planeswalkers, battles - the controller of the ability will define where each token will go - they can even use tokens created by the same Mobilize trigger to attack different options!

Also remember that the tokens were not declared as attackers, so cards that use this will not be affected - for example, Witchstalker Frenzy will not have its cost reduced by the Mobilize tokens. Also, it is worth remembering that once the creature with Mobilize is declared as an attacker and the ability triggers, it no longer matters if it is removed - the Mobilize will still happen.

Temur - Harmonize

Harmonize is the Temur's mechanic. It's almost the same as the Flashback mechanic - very popular and loved by players, seen in cards like Faithless Looting.

What sets Harmonize apart is that, when casting the spell for its Harmonize cost, you may tap a creature, and with that reduce the generic mana cost equal to the power of the tapped creature.

For cards with - like the one we put above, Nature's Rhythm -, remember that you determine the value of first, and then reduce it according to the power of the creature that you'll tap. So it's possible to, for example, determine that you will Harmonize Nature's Rhythm with = 4, then tap a creature with 4 power, and then you will only need to pay the remaining . Don't forget: Harmonize will not reduce colored costs!

And that's it for the main mechanics of the set!

Tarkir: Dragonstorm is looming on the horizon, and it brings many new designs - stay tuned so you don't get lost in the storm during your pre-release event!

And remember, if you have any questions, Call a judge!

Hugs and see you next time!