Tarkir: Dragonstorm Dominates With Prereleases Selling Out Nationwide

Last updated on April 8, 2025

Dracogenesis – illus. Kai Carpenter

The Magic community has been hungering for a comeback recently, especially after a largely lukewarm community reception to Aetherdrift. For many players, Aetherdrift just did not work on several levels. Redditor u/Cezkarma said “I way prefer the traditional Magic sets to the “hat” sets or Universes Beyond sets.” Many agree.

Aetherdrift Limited had atrocious color balance and some of the most miserable rares in recent history (obligatory Sab-Sunen, Luxa Embodied reference) For Standard, Aetherdrift did verge little other than introduce new Verges, Stock Up, and yet another unnecessary rock for This Town Ain't Big Enough to abuse.

So suffice to say people (myself included!) were not happy with Aetherdrift, and were holding on hope for something that really felt like Magic for the next set.

Get ready for a comeback story ten years in the making, as Tarkir: Dragonstorm looks like a certified winner!

TDM Greatly Surpasses Prerelease Expectations

source: @KamiCombatDoll on x

Anecdotal evidence strongly suggests higher than average attendance for Tarkir: Dragonstorm Prereleases! Social media has been full of excited players and reports of packed rooms. The return to preseeded kits seems especially popular, and may be something WotC wants to do a bit more often.

Amidst growing hype for Final Fantasy x MTG, it's impressive that a set that's all about MTG IP is showing out!

Tarkir: Dragonstorm Leaps to #1 Product on TCGPlayer

source: iCv2

Tarkir: Dragonstorm Play Booster Boxes are currently #1 (and #3/#5) on TCGPlayer's top 25 products of the month list! This is unusual for MTG, as Pokémon sets almost always claim the top spot there! Dragonstorm Play Boosters being the #1 choice suggests great interest in the set's Limited format. While it's hard to say exactly how it will play out across formats this early, Prerelease indicates that TDM addresses several of the issues with prior tricolor sets.

Furthermore, the Temur Roar and Sultai Arisen precons are retailing at double the price of the others: Demand is high!

Fearful Standard Players Are Cautiously Optimistic

Manifold Mouse – illus. Randy Vargas

There is one catch to the Tarkir: Dragonstorm hype: Standard. While we'd all love to see sweet three color decks emerge from the set, no bans in Standard has us nervous. The Big Three in Standard just feel so powerful right now, and messing around with Tapped lands and Verges could be a recipe for death versus Monstrous Rage. It would be a profound disappointment if Sunpearl Kirin became the most played card in Tarkir: Dragonstorm Standard, so here's to hoping we avoided another Aetherdrift!

Players Crave OG Magic, Tarkir Delivers

Dragonmaster Outcast – illus. Raymond Swanland

One of the most commonly stated reasons for the set's success is its return to Magic fundamentals. Tarkir is one of the game's most beloved planes, and the set itself takes its source material more seriously than previous sets. Instead of wacky references to blue turtle shells, top hats, and gun-less cowboys, the set brings the world of Tarkir to life by focusing on the clans first and foremost.

Some MTG Boomers have also used Tarkir: Dragonstorm as the ultimate “back in my day” set, especially those who are unhappy with Universes Beyond being a thing! While Universes Beyond is definitely here to stay (and will be hitting Standard soon enough), Tarkir helps us harken back to the things that drew people into the game in the first place: High fantasy, top tier tactics, and gathering with players in your community.