MTG Video Showcases Limited Reprints and Teases Sagas in Tarkir: Dragonstorm

Last updated on March 13, 2025

Shiko and Narset, Unified | Illustration by Chris Rallis

As revealed by the official Building Worlds – Tarkir: Dragonstorm YouTube video, Tarkir's “wedge lands” – tri-color lands that come into play tapped, like Nomad Outpost  – are set to come back to Magic, and possibly to Standard, as soon as Tarkir: Dragonstorm releases in early April.

The official video from Wizards of the Coast (WotC) shares a lot of card art, along with the cards' names, letting us have a peek of what reprints and what new MTG cards to expect.

Source: Official Building Worlds – Tarkir: Dragonstorm YouTube video

Something Old: Tri-lands, Gainlands, and Powerful Tricks

Tarkir's Tri-lands

Source: Official Building Worlds – Tarkir: Dragonstorm YouTube video

The original Tarkir block is so influential in Magic's history that it has become part of the extremely selected club of MTG sets that, along with the Ravnica block and the Alara block, has named some of the MTG color combinations. Ravnica named the dual-color combinations (Ravnica's 10 guilds), Alara named the allied-color trios, usually nicknamed “shards” (Bant, Esper, Grixis, Jund, and Naya), and it's thanks to Tarkir that the enemy colored trios (Abzan, Jeskai, Sultai, Mardu, and Temur) have the names of Tarkir's clans.

Yesterday's YT video revealed a reprint for Nomad Outpost, illustrated by Alayna Danner, so it's a very safe bet we'll see the whole cycle. We don't know yet if these wedgelands will be Standard-legal or Commander-only. But given that these tri-lands are strictly worse than the New Capenna triomes that were Standard-playable not too long ago, it seems likely that these are likely to be in the main set rather than in the Commander precons (or likely in both).

They could also be part of the seeded packs for the Sealed events during Tarkir: Dragonstorm pre-release, which would make a ton of sense if TDM's Limited is designed to support tri-color decks.

Gainlands

Source: Official Building Worlds – Tarkir: Dragonstorm YouTube video

“Gainlands” is MTG lingo for dual lands like Bloodfell Caves and Rugged Highlands. They enter tapped and on ETB they gain you 1 life, hence their nickname.

WotC seems bent on making gainlands a staple of Standard Draft and Sealed: Tarkir: Dragonstorm would be the third paper Magic set in a row, after Foundations and Aetherdrift, where gainlands can be part of your Limited pool.

Snakeskin Veil

Source: Official Building Worlds – Tarkir: Dragonstorm YouTube video

Snakeskin Veil was a solid combat trick to draft in Foundations, and quite powerful in Outlaws of Thunder Junction. If TDM ends up being a set where tri-color decks are solid in Limited, and given how good green is at letting you fix your mana, we'll probably see this green instant a lot. 

Something New: Commanders and Planeswalkers

A Commander (Mini) Mystery Solved?

Source: Official Building Worlds – Tarkir: Dragonstorm YouTube video

Back when Elsha, Threefold Master got leaked, something felt off. WotC has said that all five of the Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander Precons…

… would be lead by their respective clan leader and Dragon Spirit. But, with Elsha clearly looking like an alternate commander, the Jeskai Striker precon would have three commanders – Narset, the Jeskai dragon, and Elsha – which would be uncharacteristic of most precons.

Back then, savvy redditors noted a possible alternative: That Shiko and Narset shared the same card, pretty much like Thalia and The Gitrog Monster or Borborygmos and Fblthp back in March of the Machine.

That theory now seems to have been right on the money, and now we know for sure that Narset and Shiko share the same card – it would be extremely weird if this doesn't end up being the Jeskai Striker‘s face commander.

What remains to be seen is if Shiko and Narset, Unified will be Standard-playable, too.

In his personal blog, Magic's Head Designer Mark Rosewater has confirmed that “The set also has the Spirit Dragons and clan leaders.” They could be on different cards, though (as in, Standard having a standalone Narset card, plus a standalone Shiko card, while Shiko and Narset, Unified remains Commander-only). After all, Rosewater just confirms the characters will be part of the main set.

Elspeth, TDM's Second Planeswalker

Source: Official Building Worlds – Tarkir: Dragonstorm YouTube video

The art and name for Elspeth, Storm Slayer leave little doubt about who TDM's second planeswalker is going to be! Ugin was confirmed to be the first as one of the very first previews for the set. Notably, this is the second set in a row featuring more than one planeswalker after a string of sets featuring only one each.

Some Speculation: Sagas, and An Orcish Bowmaster Reprint?

Vertical Art for Sagas?

Source: Official Building Worlds – Tarkir: Dragonstorm YouTube video

The vertical art for Awaken the Honored Dead and Revival of the Ancestors strongly suggest the set will either contain sagas, or perhaps some class enchantments like they recently released in Bloomburrow. The names definitely fit the motif of sagas, and the card type would be a great way to demonstrate what's happened during the time gap between now and the last visit to Tarkir. Plus, 3-color sagas just sound cool, with the only other ones coming from Warhammer 40,000 (and technically Roar of the Fifth People).

An In-Universe Orcish Bowmaster Reprint?

Orcish Bowmasters | Illustration by Maxim Kostin

“Wild prediction,” says u/JonHerzogArtist, basing their hunch on the official video's assertion that the Mardu are expert archers and horse-riders. “Orcish Bowmasters get a Universes Within reprint on the Special Guests list.”

As other redditors agree, this would be THE set for such a reprint!

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