There are two new Magic: The Gathering Planeswalker cards in Tarkir Dragonstorm and both of them look incredible. As Wizards of the Coast has already teased, we’ve got a new Ugin and a new Elspeth card to enjoy.
Let’s start with Tarkir Dragonstorm‘s Ugin. Traditionally this dragon has had some of the strongest MTG planeswalker cards in the game, and Ugin, Eye of the Storms certainly does not disappoint. I think basically every single colorless Commander deck is going to want this guy. Though fairly expensive, at seven mana, he offers repeated removal, card draw, ramp, and of course a game-winning ultimate.
So first up, Ugin has removal as a static ability. He can exile any colored permanent when you cast him. He’s not just a glorified meteor golem though; that ability is repeated whenever you cast a colorless spell. The mana cost doesn’t matter either; it could be a Sol Ring or an Eldrazi titan.
The rest of this planeswalker card seems built around finding you colorless cards and helping you cast them, to keep that removal onslaught coming. You can +2 Ugin to draw a card and gain three life, while his zero loyalty ability gives you three colorless mana to spend.
Ugin has an obvious place in Commander decks built around colorless spells, but it may see play in other formats as well. With the power to have nine loyalty on the turn it’s played, Ugin’s going to be hard to deal with in a 1v1, especially since you probably just exiled your foe’s best creature. If they let you untap and you have other colorless cards in your deck, the situation is about to get rough.
Oh, and we haven’t even mentioned the ultimate ability yet. After two upticks, Ugin, Eye of the Storms can search your deck for any number of colorless spells and then immediately cast them for free. That should probably be enough to win you the game, barring any very unusual shenanigans.
If you thought Ugin was pushed, just wait till you see Elspeth, Storm Slayer. Fans have pointed out that this card has very similar art to the previous Elspeth, but don’t worry: you should just switch to playing this one from now on. I’m only sort of joking – the five mana cost a drawback, but she’s still very, very good.
First up, we have one of the best static abilities ever seen on a planeswalker (in fact, both these planeswalkers have brilliant static effects). Before you even get to her loyalty abilities, she’s a token doubler akin to Anointed Procession.
Those abilities have great synergy with token decks too. Her +1 ability makes two 1/1 soldiers, while her zero-cost ability buffs your entire board with counters and gives them flying for the turn, enabling a massive free attack if you have a good board state. And if there’s an annoying big blocker with flying or reach in the way, her -3 power will cut it down to size.
It’s a shame Elspeth, Storm Slayer competes with Sunfall for the five-drop slot. Even so, I feel like this card would be absolutely bonkers in the Boros Tokens MTG Arena deck of last year.
Neither of these planeswalkers are generalists. They won’t fit in every random midrange deck. But in the archetypes they’re built for, they are absolutely top tier. Which really I think is the hallmark of a great planeswalker design!
For more Magic: The Gathering news check out our MTG release schedule guide, or keep up with the best MTG commanders and top Commander precon decks.
Source: Wargamer
