Tarkir Dragonstorm Breaks Izzet Prowess

Last updated on April 14, 2025

Monastery Swiftspear – illus. Steve Argyle

Tarkir: Dragonstorm has only been officially out for three days, yet it's already making its presence felt in multiple formats! One of the chief Dragonstorm cards responsible for this is Cori-Steel Cutter, which is poised to be the set's breakout card. UR Prowess lists posted 5-0s in Standard left and right this past week. What makes this innocuous equipment so good, and is there any hope of surviving it? Let's find out!

How Busted is Cori-Steel Cutter?

Cori-Steel Cutter is a deceptive card that (for most) reads weaker than it actually plays. It turns out that casting two spells in a turn isn't especially difficult. That means that what you're looking at here is effectively a two mana red planeswalker that becomes immensely dangerous with other prowess cards. Take this sequence for example:

Turn 3: Cori-Steel Cutter + Sleight of Hand (trigger, create a Monk, attack for 2)

Turn 4: Stock Up + Opt (trigger, create a Monk, attack for 5 with two Monks)

Turn 5: Stock Up + Sleight of Hand (trigger, create a Monk, attack for 8 with three Monks)

The Cori-Mountain itself used its flurry ability three times here, creating a ton of value! Card advantage is just one facet of the card's strength though, as the auto-attach ability let's it pump out damage immediately too. Support cards like Monastery Swiftspear and Slick-Shot Showoff, can let you output huge amounts of damage from out of nowhere!

Prowess is the Pinnacle of Power

Monastery Mentor – illus. Magali Villanueve

In Standard, you'll be pairing this with Opt, Sleight of Hand, Burst Lightning, and other one mana spells. It turns utility into aggression thanks to Prowess. One interesting thing about Cori-Steel Cutter though is that it scales with format power level. You can pair it with Treasure Cruise in Pioneer, Lava Dart and Mishra's Bauble in Modern[/card], or even actual Moxen in Vintage!

A final thing to note about Cori-Steel Cutter is that, while it is an aggressive card, it really wants you to have at least some form of card advantage. Being able to consistently cantrip or Stock Up is key to making the card busted. Without a hand full of cards, you won't be able to double spell often enough for it to excel. This is why GR Mice hasn't adopted it (yet?), while UR decks would probably play 12 of them if they could!

Standard 5-0s for Days

Cori-Steel Cutter is an immediate ace in Standard, as you can see above. UR Prowess had already been a promising variant of red aggro prior to Tarkir: Dragonstorm, and Cutter pushed it over the top. Every single list in from these events played 4x Cori-Steel Cutter.

source: MTGDecks

How Does the Deck Work?

source: Stanley2099

Every single prowess list starts with 4x Monastery Swiftspear, 4x Stormchaser's Talent, and Cori-Steel Cutter. 4x Slickshot Show-Off is also very common, though some lists cut it.

Cantrips/Draw

4x Opt and 4x Sleight of Hand are extremely common, as they are the only true cantrips in Standard. If you wanted more than 8x, your options are basically just Crash Through and Timely Interference. I haven't seen these cards in any of these lists though.

Burn

Burst Lightning seems to be preferred over Torch the Tower, as going face is highly relevant with so much prowess. Shock, Slick Sequence, and Lightning Strike are also options. Boltwave used to be a 4x in many UR Prowess builds, but seems to be disappearing from lists for additional cheap removal (which is essential in the mirror!).

Other Utility

Monstrous Rage is an auto 4x that must be grateful to have dodged the banhammer! It's especially busted in red mirrors, where you can effectively Counterspell shock effects with it. You'll also occasionally see miser's copies of situationally good cards like Shore Up, Spell Pierce, and Bounce Off in flex slots.

In Conclusion

In Standard, your best counter measures are probably Authority of the Consuls and Temporary Lockdown. Another excellent option is High Noon to shut down Cori-Steel Cutter and sneak some damage in.

Cori-Steel Cutter was the piece that this powerhouse archetype needed to break through in Standard. It seems poised to shake things up, even though it is technically a variant of one of the format's most popular archetypes. In general though, I'd strongly consider playing it in Standard, the card is nutty good, and it's got the tournament stats to prove it!