MaRo Answers Burning Question About Upcoming Tarkir Set

Last updated on February 6, 2025

Untitled Tarkir Dragonstorm art | Illustration by Wayne Wu

Tarkir Dragonstorm is still about two months away (releasing on April 11), but with Aetherdrift spoiler season under wraps, fans are moving on to questions about the next big Standard set. One of those questions, which players have wanted to know since the set was announced back in October 2024, is whether the set will focus on the 2-color broods of Dragons of Tarkir, or the 3-color wedges of Khans of Tarkir. There's no definitive answer yet, but Mark Rosewater's chimed in with just enough to speculate on.

What Was MaRo's Answer?

Duress | Illustration by Jason Rainville

In a recent Blogatog interaction, Tumblr user fehtc asked: “…is it possible to reveal if the clans are a big part of [Tarkir] again? Or will we see a different approach this time?”

Head Designer Mark Rosewater answered: “When we first announced Tarkir’s return, I said it was ‘the best of both worlds.' That means wedge clans and Dragons both play a large role.”

So there you have some decisive proof that the upcoming return to Tarkir will feature elements of the whole block, not just one set within the block. But of course, that raises further questions that MaRo's not likely to answer quite yet….

Why Does This Matter?

Frontier Siege | Illustration by James Ryman

Tarkir is an absolutely beloved plane, but when a player says “I love Khans of Tarkir!” they're almost always talking about the set, not the full block. The original Khans (KTK) released in September 2014 and is lauded as one of the best sets of all time, but the 2015 follow-ups, Fate Reforged (FRF) and Dragons of Tarkir (DTK), were less than stellar.

The “problem” with DTK (aside from megamorph, which need not be mentioned ever again), was the way it handled Tarkir's storyline. Thanks to some time travelling shenanigans in Fate Reforged, Dragons of Tarkir re-envisioned the world of Tarkir as one where dragons never died, and ultimately went on to rule the plane through history. A plane governed by dragons is cool, and the Dragonlords are all awesome for sure, but many players disliked the way this essentially erased the original timeline and the importance of the 3-color clans from KTK.

For those who don't know, KTK was heavily focused around five major clans:

• Sultai
• Jeskai
• Mardu
• Temur
• Abzan

Fate Reforged had elements of these 3-color wedges, mostly represented through hybrid mana in the costs of certain legends. But DTK took more of a “guilds” approach and simplified things down to five 2-color pairs, named after the Dragonlords:

• Silumgar
• Dromoka
• Atarka
• Ojutai
• Kolaghan

Players were less than excited for the shift towards 2-color factions in DTK, and the set ended up feeling much more generic because of the change. So that obviously leads to the question many players have been wondering: Will Tarkir Dragonstorm maintain the “current plot structure” of DTK and be a normal 2-color set, or will it return to form and revolve around the 3-color clans of KTK?

If the original announcement for the set is to be taken at face value, it sounds like the 3-color clans are a high priority for the set, so fans just might get what they're looking for.

What Might Tarkir Dragonstorm Look Like?

Untitled Tarkir Dragonstorm Art | Illustration by Antonio José Manzanedo

There are two conclusions one might draw from MaRo's response and the initial announcement.

On one hand, it's possible that Tarkir Dragonstorm is a 2-color and 3-color set at the same time. Instead of focusing on all 10 2-color pairs like most sets, it could have 10 color combinations in the form of all five wedges and all five ally-colored pairs, ignoring a heavy focus on the enemy-color pairs. The trouble there would be finding a way to make something like Atarka () feel distinct from Temur (same colors plus ). It also seems hard for the 3-color combos not to cannibalize the 2-color pairs in Limited.

The second thread would be that Tarkir Dragonstorm is focused on 3-color wedge design, and there just happen to be tons of dragons in the set. There's definitely room for a “clans vs. dragons” approach, and an emphasis on wedges and 3-color cards is more in line with player expectations.

Players should hear a little bit more about this return visit during Pro Tour Chicago later this month, but for now, it's all up to speculation. One thing's very clear though: There had better be some sort of Siege Rhino reference in this set….