WotC Check out Magic: the Gathering's Tiamat

We've known for a while that WotC is releasing D&D-themed Magic: the Gathering cards, as a set called Adventures in the Forgotten Realms. Artist Chis Rahn has shared his Tiamat.

"Been looking forward to sharing this one for what seems like forever! Tiamat, for Mtg's D&D: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms set. This was one of those assignments that I felt incredibly lucky to get. I hope you enjoy it half as much as I enjoyed painting it!"

The MtG set comes out on July 23rd, 2021. The collector's sets have a beholder on the front. ICv2 has more information on the various set configurations. Bell of Lost Souls has some card images.

 

[Myrdin Potter]

Go to Facebook and the MTG Art Market group. The original of the Tiamat painting is being auctioned off and is at $43K right now. The other one is also for sale but the offers are private.

 

[Charlaquin]

I doubt that you are playing something as expensive as Tiamat and then also playing 5 more dragon cards. They go into the hand, not into play. At best you will probably only get one of them down that turn. Most likely you will be waiting until the next turn.

She costs 7 and you have to hard cast her to get the tutor effect off. If you have enough mana to play her and another dragon on the same turn, you’re at the stage in the game where you should be playing something that will win you the game immediately, not just dropping fatties.

 

[Myrdin Potter]

 

[Henadic Theologian]

A 7/7 body isn’t worth anything if it just immediately eats a removal spell. For a creature to be worth playing competitively, it needs to either make an immediate impact, protect itself, or be aggressively under-costed for its size. Now, her tutor effect is undoubtedly splashy, but how good it really is will depend on what options you have to search for.

Given that Power Word Kill targets a non-angel, non-demon, non-devil, non-dragon, I expect we will see a lot more of those creature types at lower cost and rarity than usual, to keep it from being too flexible in limited. So, I expect Tiamat to have some good targets for sure. Whether or not that’ll be enough to make an impact in standard or historic though, I have no idea because I don’t know what those metagames are like. She’s definitely much too slow for modern or legacy because you have to actually cast her to get the tutor effect.

Let’s be real though, she was made for Commander. And there, she will be very good.

She will be fun for Brawl too. Fires of Invention, Cultivate, Purphoros Bronze Blooded, then Tiamat, Ironcraig Feat for the 7 red Mana and have Purphoros cheat out the Dragons that Tiamat grabs, including Terror of the Peaks and Terror of Mount Velus so everyone has double strike, then slaughter you foe.

 

[Maxperson]

She costs 7 and you have to hard cast her to get the tutor effect off. If you have enough mana to play her and another dragon on the same turn, you’re at the stage in the game where you should be playing something that will win you the game immediately, not just dropping fatties.

She's a limited card. I doubt she will see play in another format(other than informal play for fun anyway). In limited there may not be another win card to play available to you.

 

[Undrave]

what do you do with it?

You hang it on your wall.

 

[Charlaquin]

She's a limited card. I doubt she will see play in another format(other than informal play for fun anyway). In limited there may not be another win card to play available to you.

Can any mythic rare really be said to be a limited card? I mean, sure, she’ll win you the game, but so will just about any mythic bomb. Limited is defined by commons. She’s 100% an EDH card.

 

[Parmandur]

She costs 7 and you have to hard cast her to get the tutor effect off. If you have enough mana to play her and another dragon on the same turn, you’re at the stage in the game where you should be playing something that will win you the game immediately, not just dropping fatties.

She's situational, but those situations can be engineered...

 

[Vael]

Tiamat is definitely aimed for EDH/Commander, I don't think she's particularly playable in Limited or other Constructed formats. You can't even cheat her into play and get that tutor effect. But she'll be great in Commander. The 2017 Commander set included a 5-Colour Dragon Deck, she's perfect as an alternate commander or slotted into that deck.

Speaking of which, while they didn't show off any cards or other info, there are going to be 4 (!) Precon Commander Decks coming out with the set. Right now, all we have is the names to speculate on:

• Aura of Courage
• Dungeons of Death
• Draconic Rage
• Planar Portal

I doubt the Draconic Rage deck will be 5 colours, and can bet Tiamat won't be in the deck. I'm leaning Gruul (Red and Green), as most dragons are Red, and Green can give you the ramp to get there. Dungeons of Death screams Black, but I'm not sure what other colors might be there. Planar Portal is probably primarily Blue, but again, not sure what other colors, maybe White? Aura of Courage feels like a White enchantment deck, again, many options for other colors into the mix.

 

[Weiley31]

I do love the Borderless version of the Tiamat card. But the non-borderless one looks like the bad endgame scenario that can happen in Tyranny of Dragons and that poor smuck being gobbled by her Black Dragon Head illustrates what happens the first couple of rounds after the summon. So that gets points as well with the card art.

Honestly I have a love/hate(not?) relationship with Magic the Gathering, but this could be the first time I actually wanted to collect the cards outside of Throne of Eldrain and Strixhaven.