Dragons of Tarkir Spoilers and Set Information

Herko Kerghans January 19, 2024 Collecting, MTG Cards, MTG Products, Set Overview

Sarkhan Unbroken | Illustration by Aleksi Briclot

Dragons of Tarkir is the bookend of the Khans of Tarkir block, during which Sarkhan Vol manages to travel through time and save not only all of Tarkir's dragons from extinction but also revive one of Magic's most powerful planeswalkers, the Dominarian elder dragon Ugin.

Khans of Tarkir is also the block that formalized the 3-color wedges like Abzan, Mardu and Jeskai… but, perhaps a bit puzzlingly, wedges were used only for the first two sets in that block, and are nearly absent in Dragons of Tarkir: The only 3-color card is Sarkhan Unbroken.

Let's find out what else this dragonesque set has to offer, its storyline, mechanics, and its most notable cards!

Dragons of Tarkir Basic Information

Orator of Ojutai | Illustration by Zack Stella

Dragons of Tarkir was released in March 2015 as the third set from the Khans of Tarkir block, which also includes the Khans of Tarkir (Sept. 2014) and Fate Reforged (Jan. 2015) expansions. Khans of Tarkir would be the last of the 3-set blocks.

Dragons of Tarkir: Set Details

Set Symbol
Set Code	DTK
Hashtag
Number of Cards	264
Rarities	101 Commons, 80 Uncommons, 53 Rares, 15 Mythic Rares, plus 3 versions of each basic land
Mechanics	Bolster, Rebound, Exploit, Dash, Formidable, Megamorph

Dragons of Tarkir: Important Dates

Event	Date
Set Release	March 2015
Available on Draftsim's Draft Simulator	Yes

About the Set

The Khans of Tarkir block introduced a concept that players had been asking about for years: color wedges.

There are five colors in Magic, and the usual order is (often known as the “color wheel“). Colors that are beside each other are said to be “allies”, while non-adjacent colors are said to be “enemies”. For example, has to its left and to its right, so red and blue are black's “allies”, while white and green are black's “enemies”.

The 2-color pairs had been formalized during the Ravnica block back in 2005, introducing the 10 Guilds (five for the allied pairs, five for the enemy pairs) that became the de-facto denomination of each color pair even for planes and settings that have nothing to do with Ravnica. That's why we say that Arcee, Sharpshooter is a Boros card, even if Arcee is from the Transformers‘ Universe Beyond product and has never set foot in Ravnica.

A couple of years after Ravnica, Shards of Alara officialized the term “shard” for cards with three colors that form an unbroken chain in the color wheel. For example, is the Naya shard in Alara, and that's why MTG players say that Ultra Magnus, Tactician can work as a Naya commander.

But Shards of Alara only had five of these 3-color combinations, namely those featuring a color and its two “allies”.

Surely at some point the other five combinations, focusing on a color and its two “enemies”, would be introduced?

As it turned out, “some point” was nearly a decade later in Khans of Tarkir.

The Story of Khans of Tarkir

A thousand years ago, humans and dragons warred with each other on the Tarkir plane, until humans won and eradicated the dragons… but that didn't stop the warring.

Now, the war-torn Tarkir plane is divided among five clans vying for supremacy. Each clan, rooted in a three-color “wedge” (a color paired with its two “enemies”, like red paired with blue and white), venerates a specific aspect of the dragon, symbolized by an anatomical feature.

The Abzan Houses () value endurance, represented by dragon scales. The Jeskai Way () values the dragon's cunning nature, symbolized by the eye. The Sultai Brood () embraces ruthlessness, associating it with the dragon's fang. The Mardu Horde () values speed and their symbol is the dragon's wings. And the Temur Frontier () embraces savagery, symbolized by the claw.

The Story of Fate Reforged

Sarkhan Vol, a Tarkir planeswalker that revers the extinct dragons, discovers that the reason why dragons were wiped out a thousand years ago has to do with the battle between Nicol Bolas and Ugin, the Spirit Dragon.

Fate Reforged tells Sarkhan's time-traveling journey a thousand years back, where the planeswalker finds a Tarkir where clans, united against relentless dragon attacks, venerate legendary dragons:

The Abzan Houses, led by Daghatar the Adamant, revere Dromoka, the Eternal.
The Jeskai Way, under Shu Yun the, Silent Tempest, venerates Ojutai, Soul of Winter.
The Sultai Brood worships Silumgar, the Drifting Death.
The Mardu Horde, led by Alesha, Who Smiles at Death worships Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury.
The Temur Frontier, led by Yasova Dragonclaw, revers Atarka, World Render.

The Story of Dragons of Tarkir

During his time travel a thousand years earlier, Sarkhan Vol successfully saves Ugin from death (although Ugin is forced into hibernation) and Sarkhan returns to present-day Tarkir. But he finds himself in an alternate timeline, and present-day Tarkir has changed. A lot.

Instead of being extinct, dragons now rule the plane. And five god-dragons, worshiped by humans, now lead each of the clans.

Mechanically, each clan now focuses on allied pairs, abandoning the enemy colors of the original 3-color wedges.

The Dromoka Brood (), formerly the Abzan Houses, is led by Dragonlord Dromoka.
The Ojutai Brood (), the evolution of the Jeskai Way, follows Dragonlord Ojutai. Narset, their leader in the original timeline who died helping Sarkhan travel in time to save Ugin, is alive in this alternate timeline and has become a planeswalker.
The Atarka Brood (), the transformation of the Temur Frontier in this timeline, follows Dragonlord Atarka
The Silumgar Brood (), the successor to the Sultai Brood, is led by Dragonlord Silumgar.
The Kolaghan Brood (), formerly the Mardu Horde, is led by Dragonlord Kolaghan. Zurgo, their past leader and Sarkhan's sworn enemy in the original timeline, is now reduced to a ceremonial bellringer and has no memory of Sarkhan ever existing in this alternate timeline.

Sorin Markov, a vampire planeswalker and Sarkhan's ally, arrives on this altered Tarkir and awakens Ugin to enlist his aid against the Eldrazi. Ugin, Sorin, and Sarkhan embark on a quest to find Nahiri, the Lithomancer, who aided Ugin in sealing the Eldrazi. Meanwhile, Sarkhan discovers that he alone remembers the original Tarkir, and consultation with Ugin and Narset reveals that in this continuity, Sarkhan Vol never existed.

Despite being planeswalkers, both Sarkhan and Narset choose to remain on Tarkir where they will later face the Phyrexian invasion.

Dragons of Tarkir Mechanics

Dragons of Tarkir features four new mechanics, plus the return of two mechanics from Fate Reforged.

Rebound

Rebound lets you exile a spell as it resolves, and cast it again for free at the beginning of your next upkeep. Originally from Rise of the Eldrazi, it’s found in white and blue in Dragons as the new mechanic of the Jeskai.

Megamorph

Megamorph adds an extra layer to the morph mechanic from Khans of Tarkir: Megamorph puts an extra +1/+1 counter when you turn the creature face up.

Megamorph is an ability present in all colors, and there are 30 creatures with it in the set.

Formidable

Present on green or red creatures, formidable is an ability word that provides creatures with several different triggered or activated abilities if creatures you control have total power 8 or greater.

Exploit

Exploit is found on black or blue creatures as an enter-the-battlefield trigger that lets you sacrifice a creature to get positive effects that range from a very powerful tutor effect (Sidisi, Undead Vizier) to mass bounce effects (Profaner of the Dead), or even a flash-speed counterspell-on-a-stick (Silumgar Sorcerer).

Dash & Bolster

Dash and Bolster are two returning mechanics from Fate Reforged.

Bolster X puts X +1/+1 counters on the lowest-toughness creature you control. Given Selesnya‘s love for these type of counters, it's no surprise that Bolster X is found on white or green cards.

Creatures with dash have an alternate casting cost – if you cast them for their dash cost, they gain haste, and they return from the battlefield to your hand at the beginning of your next end step.

Commands

Dragons of Tarkir has a cycle of five rare instants, one for each allied color pair, all named “X's Command” with X being one of the five god-dragons.

Each command is a modal spell, letting you choose two from among four options:

Dragons of Tarkir Card Gallery

White

Blue

Black

Red

Green

Multicolor

Colorless

Lands

Notable Cards

Collected Company

One of the best instants that green has to offer, Collected Company sees quite a bit of play in Pioneer.

It's great for finding and playing your combo pieces, or in a pinch to throw a couple of flash chump-blockers in front of some big attacker coming your way.

Impact Tremors

So, you've gone aggro and punched your face's foe enough to make them bleed. But not enough to win yet. And they’re dropping the big blockers; your weenies won't be able to get through anymore.

What now?

Turn every following weenie and token you play into an ETB ping, that's what, and Impact Tremors is all here for it. One of the best red enchantments in MTG, Impact Tremors is Pioneer-playable and a Commander staple.

Kolaghan's Command

Everybody loves it when a plan comes together.

Until it doesn't, and then you need something to get you out of unexpected tough spots. Kolaghan's Command provides that something, letting you adapt and overcome a lot of different scenarios and making it the best of the command bunch.

Rending Volley

While Kolaghan's Command‘s flexibility lets you adapt to a lot of different situations, Rending Volley does the exact opposite: It gives you the best possible out when you know exactly what's coming your way.

This is definitely a sideboard card – not the type of spell you'll often see in an EDH deck, but a must-have in Pioneer.

Inspiring Call

If you're playing +1/+1 counters, you're probably already playing Inspiring Call: card draw and protection, all rolled into a very affordable instant!

Dragon Tempest

What's scarier than a big flying lizard?

A big flying fire-spewing lizard with haste. That's what Dragon Tempest turns your dragons into.

Sidisi, Undead Vizier

Tarkir may be renowned for its dragons, but that's not the only thing the plane has to offer. Sidisi, Undead Vizier is one very good zombie commander and brings to bear a Demonic Tutor when it enters the battlefield.

Available Products

Dragons of Tarkir is sold in 16-card boosters – while it's not too old of a set, it's from a time when boosters were “just” boosters, rather than having Draft and Set and Play Boosters and so on.

There are also six preconstructed decks. Five of them are “intro packs” (which, as the name suggests, are aimed at new players to introduce them to the game) and the sixth is an “event deck” tailored for experienced player.

Massed Ranks is a intro pack,
Enlightened Mastery is a intro pack,
Cruel Plots is a intro pack,
Relentless Rush is a intro pack,
Furious Forces is a intro pack,
Landslide Charge is the event deck, packed with big green creatures, red burn, and a handful of blue tricks up its sleeve.

Dragons of Tarkir boosters are easy to find on eBay or TCGplayer, but most of the set's cards are fairly cheap so my recommendation would be to buy or trade for any DTK cards you want to take for a spin, either from online stores or with other players.

Wrap Up

Kolaghan's Command | Illustration by Daarken

The Khans of Tarkir block had a lasting influence on MTG, from formally naming the wedges to introducing impactful mechanics like delve… but most of that influence seems to have been frontloaded in the first two sets, where the wedges were present.

Dragons of Tarkir feels a bit odd in that sense: It has only 20 multicolor cards (whereas Khans of Tarkir has close to 60) and, perhaps more puzzling, there's exactly one 3-color card in DTK, Sarkhan Unbroken.

But DTK still gives several solid cards, some of the best Commands, and plenty of dragons. Legendary dragons, even.

I hope you've enjoyed this dragon-eye view of the Tarkir plane, and if you have comments or suggestions on which sets, new or old, you'd like us to tackle next, do stop by for a chat at the Draftsim Discord.

And until the next article!

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Herko Kerghans

Herko has been battling online since EVE was a thing, fell in love with digital CCGs nearly a decade ago, and got his first taste of MTG during Arena's Open Beta. He loves Limited formats, crunching data, and (usually silly) puns and wordplay.

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