It's been awhile since we've been back to Tarkir. While we were there (briefly) in March of the Machine in 2023, in terms of standalone sets, we have to go back to 2014-2015 when the Khans of Tarkir came out.
We knew it was coming too.
On the Rabiah scale, it scored a 4, meaning that they would likely do it again when the timing was right. And right now, the timing couldn't be better. There are a bunch of non-traditional sets coming up, and the last two were a horror set and a racing inspired one. Much like Bloomburrow did last year, a more back to fantasy set was needed and Tarkir: Dragonstorm seems to be that. It's great that new things are being tried and the game is encompassing a lot of different themes that appeal to a lot of people. But a fantasy return is always welcome. Especially dragons, which haven't been seen too, too much recently.
Last time around with the Tarkir block, both the factions and dragons were loved, but a focus was on different sets in the block, with Khans of Tarkir going with wedge factions, and Dragons of Tarkir on two-color pairs with a focus on dragons. With no block system this time around, both styles need to be put into one set.
The tagline said it best: "Fight dragons with dragons".
The set also comes out at a time when Magic is getting sensitive about their planes based off of different cultures, With Tarkir being based heavily on Central and Eastern Asian cultures. Indian, Arabic, and Maori changes have all been altered in the past few years, with entire planes and characters being renamed and cards being outright banned too. Wizards has had a good track record in correcting things and changing things, even writing in some of the changes in their storyline. In Dragonstorm, influence from real-world cultures is still there, but there is a bigger focus on dragons and other fantasy this time around too. So that's positive.
Tarkir: Dragonstorm is going to be an interesting set, especially in regards with how the classic Magic-line deals with Universes Beyond sets. After this, we aren't going to get a return set for about a year.
After this is Final Fantasy, Edge of Eternities, Spider-Man, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Of those, only Edge of Eternities isn't a Universes Beyond set. And even then, it is a new outer space-like plane.
But then comes the return to Lorwyn and Arcavios sets. And those are the ones we know of. If the Rabiah scale is anything to go off of, Dominaria, Innistrad, Ravnica, Bloomburrow, Zendikar, and Theros are probably in the cards soon, as they are all either 1, 2 or 3. Arcavios was a three and Lorwyn, ok, that one was a six, but we hadn't been to that plane since 2007, 2008 or so and, plus, it proved to be way more popular years after it was released since, at the time, it had the worst sales record.
It also doesn't hurt that Tarkir is a popular plane. Dominaria and Ravnica are good ol' rounder planes, while Innistrad, Bloomburrow, Zendikar, and Theros all have good track records in both popularity and sales. Tarkir can be counted among them.
Overall, before playing of course, Tarkir: Dragonstorm is set to be a welcome return and will tide players over for a bit as Magic goes on a Universes Beyond binge for a bit.
