Demand for good dragon cards has sent the price of Invasion of Tarkir, a mythic red MTG card printed in March of the Machine in Spring 2023, up by 200%. Its price on market tracking website MTG Goldfish has risen from $4 on March 21 to $12 today, with the lift beginning right after the first spoilers emerged for the upcoming dragon-heavy set Tarkir Dragonstorm.
Some of the interest is no doubt coming from Commander players, excited by all the new dragon-themed precons. However, we think a lot of the price rise comes from players hoping to build a dragon typal deck in MTG’s standard format. Invasion of Tarkir can be an extremely efficient removal spell, as well as offering long game value, provided your deck has enough dragons to support it.
And with the Tarkir Dragonstorm release date bearing down on us, dragon typal is set to receive a lot of support. If a dragon deck does emerge as a player in standard, Invasion of Tarkir will only be a part of it until fall this year, when March of the Machine rotates out of standard alongside a whole tranche of other MTG sets.
Invasion of Tarkir is a red siege battle that costs one generic and one red mana, and enters with five defense counters. When it enters it deals two damage to any other target, plus two more for each dragon card you reveal from your hand.
As with other siege battles, one of your opponents will ‘defend’ the battle, and you remove counters from it to defeat it by dealing damage to it, just like attacking a Planeswalker.
Defeat the Invasion of Tarkir and it transforms into a Defiant Thundermaw, a 4/4 red dragon with flying and trample. It has a triggered ability that means, whenever one of your dragons attacks, it deals two damage to any target.
The Invasion is a mana efficient sorcery speed burn spell provided you have a good density of dragons in your deck. You only need two dragons in hand to deal six damage with it, removing a Sheoldred, Atraxa, or chunky blocker. That’s eminently achievable for a standard dragon deck, and means the expensive dragons stuck in your hand early in the game are actually doing something useful.
As the Invasion can target anything, it can deal direct damage to your opponent, making it a viable way to finish off a race. We can see a potential combo strategy here – if you can get four dragons into your grip, each copy of Invasion of Tarkir deals 10 damage for two mana. Cast two copies – or cast one copy, then bounce it to your hand with a Failed Fording – and you’ve got lethal.
Trying to maximise the number of dragons in your deck will normally mean foregoing other spells. But MTG Tarkir Dragonstorm features a new mechanic, Omens, which appears on some dragon cards. Each Omen provides an alternate way to cast the card as an instant or sorcery spell, which is then shuffled into your deck after it’s resolved.
If you’re really committed to trying to kill the opponent with an Invasion of Tarkir, an good Omen dragon has already been revealed to support it. Marang River Regent has the Omen ‘Coil and Catch’, which costs three generic and one blue mana, and allows you to draw three cards and then discard one at instant speed. You’ll be able to sculpt your hand without reducing the number of dragons in your deck.
The Marang River Regent also returns up to two nonland permanents to their owner’s hands when it enters the battlefield. Generally you’ll use this to bounce your opponent’s blockers, but Invasion of Tarkir is a valid target, effectively drawing you a burn spell late in the game.
The reverse side of Invasion of Tarkir also synergises well with the ‘dragons matter’ theme in Tarkir Dragonstorm. When you defeat the Battle by removing all five of its defesce counters, it’s exiled, and you can then cast it transformed as the Defiant Thundermaw. It’s a dragon that buffs dragons – it’s great for the deck.
And unlike a Morph card, the Thundermaw enters the battlefield when it transforms, rather than changing state while remaining on the battlefield. This will trigger the abilities on several cards revealed for the new set, like Sarkhan, Dragon Ascendant, or the new Dragonstorm enchantment cycle, which care about dragons entering.
The MTG release schedule is really, really interesting this year – we have to wonder what the MTG Final Fantasy set will add to dragon typal decks. Weird stuff, no doubt. After Amonkhet drove the prices of zombie cards through the roof, now it’s time for dragons to lift off. In fact, the biggest dragon of them all has already seen quite the price spike…
Source: Wargamer
