Last updated on April 5, 2025
Maelstrom of the Spirit Dragon | Illustration by Carlos Palma Cruchaga
2024 and early 2025 gave us some interesting lands as Magic players. Murders at Karlov Manor had surveil lands, Outlaws of Thunder Junction had dual-color deserts that ping (and commit a crime!) when they enter…. Then we got Bloomburrow’s creature-centric villages, and Duskmourn and Aetherdrift teamed up for a cycle of verge lands.
And now, our return to Tarkir means that we’re covering some of the same ground, er, lands that we’ve seen before. Some lands that were introduced in Khans of Tarkir return, the Special Guests for this set include some fetch lands, and we’ve got a new cycle of wedge-aligned lands to consider for our favorite decks.
Which lands should you keep an eye out for in your Play boosters and Collector boosters? Which TDC precons are the best in terms of land value? Let’s get into it!
Tarkir: Dragonstorm Basic Lands
Cori Mountain Monastery | Illustration by Arthur Yuan
Aside from the usual basic lands we’re accustomed to in every new set, Tarkir: Dragonstorm brings us two groups of full art basic lands.
Dragon’s Eye Lands
It’s the
Eye of the dragon
As it’s taking flight….
-Alternate universe lyrics to Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger”
These dragon’s eye lands are so, so gorgeous. An extreme closeup on a dragon’s eye, with a pupil to match the land’s mana symbol and scales that match the color that they generate…. I gasped when I first saw them. Just don’t ask me the logic of how these images represent lands.
Dragon’s Eye basics should be highly valued, especially since they’re exclusive to Tarkir: Dragonstorm Collector boosters. A special Dragon’s Eye Wastes promo card is also available at Local Game Stores as part of Tarkir: Dragonstorm events.
Dragon’s Presence Lands
These Dragon’s Presence lands tie so nicely into the themes and mechanics of the set. That shadow is really ominous (I like the idea of tapping one of these to pay for an omen spell), and it gives me echoes of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
Rare Enemy Color Lands
Most of the lands in Tarkir: Dragonstorm are reprints, but this cycle provides our main exceptions. Each land produces one color of mana, and it comes in untapped when you control a land that produces an enemy color (ex: Dalkovan Encampment produces white and wants you to control a Swamp or a Mountain). These lands also have abilities that you can sink mana into for different advantages.
The best among these lands is Mistrise Village, which has an activated ability that you can use to make the next spell you cast uncounterable. I can see it in Temur () decks that look to cast battlecruisers, but I can also see Izzet decks () using this land to protect a game-winning spell. Regardless, control players are going to groan the moment you play this land.
Kishla Village is probably my pick for the next best land from this cycle. Its surveil ability helps you to filter the top of your deck and fill up your graveyard, whether you’re using it to get value from lands, creatures, or all card types.
Cori Mountain Monastery exiles cards you can play before the end of your next turn. Its rules text allows you to play lands too, but you’re paying 4 mana into it, plus losing this land’s mana production until you untap it, so you can count it as a 5-mana ability.
Dalkovan Encampment’s ability widens your board with Warrior tokens, but it gets more interesting when you combine it with extra combats, or with effects that help you keep tokens around like The Master, Multiplied and Zurgo, Thunder's Decree.
Great Arashin City is my personal least favorite of these lands, but that may be the biases that come from my personal playstyle. I’m not a fan of exiling things from my graveyard unless it lets me get things back, but I can’t deny that there’s effects that play nicely with this. There’s cards that pay you off when cards leave your graveyard, not to mention the way that Ketramose, the New Dawn cares about cards going into exile from your graveyard.
Enemy Fetch Lands
Tarkir: Dragonstorm’s Special Guest slot is filled with enemy-colored fetch lands. (Insert the mandatory Mean Girls reference here, Gretchen.) Once again, it’s like this was designed to call back to Tarkir block. Khans reprinted the allied fetch lands like Wooded Foothills, and now we’re getting two printings of each enemy fetch land.
Gain Lands
Limited afficionados are very familiar with these dual lands, but I’d have been very disappointed if they weren’t included in this set. Khans of Tarkir and Fate Reforged were the first sets to feature this cycle of gain lands, so it’s just too natural to include them in Tarkir: Dragonstorm.
Wedge-Aligned Tri-Lands
These lands should be familiar to any fans of Tarkir block and budget mana bases. They were another group of cards that were pretty much auto-includes for this set since they were introduced in Khans.
Notable Commander Precon Lands
We get quite the assortment of reprints from the five Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander precons.
To me, Command Beacon is a highlight. Dragon commanders can be expensive, and you can trade this land in to bypass commander tax once by putting your commander in your hand.
Crypt of Agadeem’s inclusion in the Sultai Arisen precon is its first appearance in 10 years, and it’s good for taking advantage of a graveyard that you’ve filled with creatures.
Notable for their inclusion but not their monetary value are the 3-color landscapes from Modern Horizons 3. They’re really useful budget inclusions, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we see these in 3-color precons going forward.
Cephalid Coliseum also returns after a reprint in MH3 as a pain land that gives you an ability that’ll help you to fill your graveyard.
Haven of the Spirit Dragon now has another Ugin planeswalker to recur to your hand thanks to the main set.
Temple of the Dragon Queen is another dragon-focused land, returning from Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, and darn if that rules text doesn’t look super close to a behold ability.
Many of the remaining lands are quite expected, like Command Tower, Exotic Orchard, and whatnot. We’ve got scry lands, check lands, two different types of filter lands, fetchable tap lands, fetchable cycling lands…. The pain lands are a decent inclusion, if only because some of them are expensive compared to the others. Among dual lands, Shattered Sanctum is the most valuable reprint since it went a few years without any appearances between Innistrad: Double Feature and Innistrad Remastered.
One-Off Utility Lands
Tarkir block gave us Spirit Dragon lands (Crucible of the Spirit Dragon, Haven of the Spirit Dragon, and Tomb of the Spirit Dragon), so it’s natural that our return to Tarkir gives us…
Maelstrom of the Spirit Dragon, available in a regular printing and a showcase draconic frame. The Maelstrom gives you color fixing for your dragon decks, and you can pay 4 mana and sacrifice it to tutor a dragon to your hand. You’ll only want this in your dragon decks, but it becomes more necessary the more colors you have.
Aside from that, Evolving Wilds is just part of the furniture at this point.
Where to Get Tarkir: Dragonstorm Lands
You’ll find Tarkir: Dragonstorm lands in all kinds of products related to the set.
Dragon’s Eye lands and all dragonscale foil prints are exclusive to Collector boosters.
Gain lands, Dragon’s Presence basics, and the Special Guest fetch lands are available in Play boosters and Collector boosters. You can buy Play boosters individually, in Tarkir: Dragonstorm Prerelease kits, in TDM Bundles, and Play booster boxes. You can buy TDM Collector boosters individually or in Collector booster boxes. Note that Special Guests in Play boosters are non-foil, while Special Guests in Collector boosters are foil.
Aside from the lands found in a Bundle’s boosters, TKM Bundles also come with 15 foil basic lands and 15 non-foil basics. Lately, bundles have included a mix of normal basics and full art lands, so I expect five foils and five non-foils to be Dragon’s Presence basics.
TDC lands are available in their respective precons. Command Beacon and Crypt of Agadeem are both in the Sultai Arisen precon, while Shattered Sanctum appears in Mardu Surge.
- FIGHT DRAGONS WITH DRAGONS—Return to Tarkir for an epic battle between dragons and clans; discover which clan fits your playstyle with distinct three-color gameplay, and add draconic power to your collection
- BEST BOOSTERS FOR PLAYING WITH FRIENDS—Play Boosters are the best way to discover what Magic: The Gathering has to offer; they're perfect for building decks, playing Limited games with friends, and are tons of fun to open
- A DRAGON’S HOARD OF TARKIR TREASURES—Each Play Booster contains 1–4 cards of rarity Rare or higher, including the possibility of a Special Guest Mythic Rare from Magic’s history featuring new Borderless art
- SHINING FOIL IN EVERY PACK—Every booster also includes at least 1 shining Traditional Foil card of any rarity; in 20% of packs you’ll add an additional shiny card to your hoard with a Traditional Foil Land
- MAY CONTAIN ART CARDS—Found only in Play Boosters, some packs contain an Art card showcasing a piece of art from the Tarkir: Dragonstorm set and may even feature a foil signature from the artist
Wrap Up
Evolving Wilds | Illustration by Leon Tukker
Tarkir: Dragonstorm’s full-art basics are cool, and this cycle of enemy-aligned lands is really interesting. Will Mistfire Village hold its prerelease price? Will it see major dips or gains? That’s going to be a really interesting card to follow. Oh, and we have fetch lands as Special Guests, but I’m not expecting to run across any myself (I’m trying to manifest good pack luck by not setting my hopes too high).
Which lands are you looking forward to playing in Tarkir: Dragonstorm Limited? What about Standard, Commander, and other formats? Let me know in the comments below or over on the Draftsim Discord.
Until next time, stay safe, and watch the skies!
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