Last updated on May 2, 2025
Marang River Regent | Illustration by John Tedrick
The MTG discourse is slowly drifting towards talk of Buster Swords and Chocobos, but Tarkir: Dragonstorm‘s determined to stay in the spotlight. After waves of price spikes directly related to TDM’s Commander decks, it’s safe to say the return to Tarkir has made a significant impact on the secondary market. And it’s not done yet.
First it was all the walls and toughness-matters cards people wanted to upgrade the Abzan Armor precon. Then came Cori-Steel Cutter out of left field with the steel chair on Standard. And now, not to be outdone by some dinky walls and fancy equipment, it’s time for a new subset of cards to remind you why the set’s called Tarkir: DRAGONstorm.
Draconic Market Movement
Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm | Illustration by Kekai Kotaki
Ok, let’s not exaggerate the latest price hikes too much: None of the latest dragon-related cards have seen as much of a boost as Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm or Tiamat did mid-TDM spoiler season. But a small subset of dragon cards are certainly primed to take flight right now.
Marang River Regent
There was a time when Sift was a card you really wanted in your Limited decks. And then came Rain of Revelation at instant speed and the power crept sorcery went from Sift to… well, you can fill in the joke. But we’re now somehow at the point with power creep where entire cards like Rain of Revelation are just half of a split card like Marang River Regent. The newer omen dragon basically obsoleted and entire bloodline of draw spells.
The blue bounce dragon came in hot with a pre-sale price around $10, quickly crashed down to below a dollar, and is now airborne once more, climbing towards $4 over the last week.
After a few weeks of new Standard, the River Regent is poking its head into various decks across the format, most notably as a split draw spell/finisher in UB and Jeskai Control decks, as well as in Omniscience decks, where it can create infinite loops with a second copy of itself. It’s also just a stone cold bomb in Tarkir: Dragonstorm Limited, so maybe that got people’s attention after the initial weeks.
Zurgo and Ojutai
Hmm… guess this tagteam wasn’t meant to last, was it? RIP Dragonlord Ojutai.
Zurgo and Ojutai had a short-lived stint in Standard about two years ago, where it saw some play as a Jeskai Control finisher, but it dropped off and stagnated pretty quickly. TDM gave people a reason to remember the card existed, causing it and fellow March of the Machine dragon staple Invasion of Tarkir to jump back up in price. Zurgo and Ojutai’s plateauing around $4 and unlikely to climb much higher; it’s due to rotate from Standard in about four months, and it’s hard to compete with Shiko, Paragon of the Way at the same cost (though Shiko’s been on a massive downswing lately).
Terror of Mount Velus
Terror of Mount Velus is Commander fodder through-and-through. This Timmy dragon has poked its head into a few Standard formats now, but it’s always been a clear dragon EDH plant. The Forgotten Realms version peaked recently (presumably the peak of Mount Velus), though the other two versions haven’t budged much.
Dragonspeaker Shaman
Every time Wizards releases a set with dragons a Dragonspeaker Shaman gets its wings. It’s a classic dragon staple that’s risen a few bucks thanks to TDM, and despite numerous reprints in supplementary products over the years, the cheapest version is still skirting $5.
Speaking of reprints, promo versions of the card were just given away to people who participated in the TDM Commander Party. Those of you who didn’t party hard in Bracket 3 missed out, but dragon lovers can still pick up a copy for a reasonable price. Just get it before Wizards announces another dragon set.
Carnelian Orb of Dragonkind
This one’s kind of an oddball. It’s specifically the Foundations version of Carnelian Orb of Dragonkind that’s on the fritz right now, wavering between $1-5 on any given day over the last month or so. You’d be excused for not even knowing this version exists since it was only available in some Foundations supplementary products, but there’s clearly demand for it. And it’s easy to see why: Dragon’s are hungry for mana, and haste doesn’t hurt either.
None of the other Dragonkind Orbs have wavered much, and the Baldur’s Gate version of Carnelian Orb is still sub $1, so it must be the actual art or exclusivity of this version driving it up. Dragon's Hoard also saw some action recently, but not enough to push it over the $3 line.
Get ‘Em Before They’re Dra-Gone
Tarkir: Dragonstorm is the gift that keeps on giving, and it’s clear that there are still sleeper hits waiting amongst the card pool. It seems like there’s been a new discovery each week since the set released, and the exploratory phase of the set is reaching well beyond its initial release date. Cards like Cori-Steel Cutter, Herd Heirloom, and Marang River Regent have all caught on with Standard and Commander players alike, making TDM one of the biggest hits in recent memory.
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