Dragons of Tarkir art review

The final set in the final three-set block is packed full of dragons. There are 26 dragon creature cards, plus a slew of other cards that reference dragons, then still more cards with dragons in the art. This set is well named.

As always chossing just five arts to share as part of this review is difficult. The art for Dragons of Tarkir has a number of tasks to pull off. It must show a world similar to the world of Khans of Tarkir, but one that is changed due to the existence of dragons. In Khans of Tarkir we saw dragon bones on many cards. In Dragons of Tarkir we see the dragons.

Wizards of the Coast have pulled this task off very well in Dragons of Tarkir. We see the land of Tarkir changed but still with recognisable features and characters.

Narest Transcendent by Magali Villeneuve

One of the characters we recognise is Narset. In the old timeline, she was Khan of the Jeskai. In the new timeline she is an outcast after discovering the truth of Tarkir’s past. More that that, she has become a planeswalker, and this time around she has a planeswalker card to represent her rather than a legendary creature card.

Dragonlord Silumgar by Steven Belledin

The five dragons from Fate Reforged survived in the new timeline to become the elder dragons that rule Tarkir. Dragonlord Silumgar is one. Around his neck can be seen the zombified remains of the boy-Khan he overthrew a thousand years ago. Silumgar likes his trinkets!

Ojutai Monument by Daniel Ljunggren

Each of the elder dragons gets an artifact that taps for one of the two colours of mana that dragon represents. This monument is dedicated to the blue/white dragon Ojutai. Daniel Ljunggren seems to be the go-to artist for artifact cycles these days. He did the clan banners in Khans of Tarkir, and the guild keyrunes in the Return to Ravnica block. This cycle has similarly appealing art while managing to remain visually connected as a cycle.

Profound Journey by Tomasz Jedruszek

While dragons are the centrepiece of this set, there is some small room for achievements by non-dragon characters, which I think is what we are seeing in this piece by Polish artist Tomasz Jedruszek, showing an Ojutai warrior on a quest.

Atarka’s Command by Chris Rahn

The wild Temur clan have been reduced to butlers for the giant dragon Atarka and her brood. If they don’t bring enough food, they become food themselves. They are quick to respond to Atarka’s orders.

Shape the Sands by Ryan Yee

When I saw this on the artist’s website I didn’t realise it was Magic art. I thought it was for a computer game, looking suitably heroic. But no, it’s from a fairly anonymous card in Dragons of Tarkir. Excellent art though!

What are some of your favourite card arts from this set?

View the complete card image gallery for Dragons of Tarkir.