Tarkir: Dragonstorm is finally here, and I wanted to share what's been working for me so far—hopefully it helps you get the most out of your own drafts. At the time of writing, I've run about 10 drafts (both on MTGO and Arena), and I've already managed to hit a 7-win finish in five of them.
To help break things down, I'll be combining insights from my personal experience with data from 17lands.com, focusing specifically on Premier Draft performance. The goal? To figure out what's winning and how you can draft smarter in this evolving format.
How Does Tarkir: Dragonstorm Compare to Other Sets?
One of the most common problems with Limited sets is color imbalance. This usually happens for a few reasons—sometimes, certain color pairs don’t have enough mechanical support, or one color ends up feeling significantly weaker overall.
Take Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, for example—blue felt almost nonexistent. Or Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, where the Gruul Modified archetype just didn't have the tools it needed to succeed.
Fortunately, Tarkir: Dragonstorm doesn't suffer from those issues.
Most color combinations in the set feel well-rounded, and there’s no huge drop-off between, say, going Mardu versus going Abzan. While there's about a 3% win rate difference between the top-performing and lowest-performing archetypes, that’s relatively minor, especially when you compare it to sets like Duskmourn, where that gap can exceed 6% even among supported archetypes.
What’s the Best Deck to Draft in Tarkir: Dragonstorm?
If you're looking to maximize your win rate, the best-performing color combination is Mardu—more specifically, a Boros core splashing black.
The key here is access to premium commons and uncommons that help you stay ahead or recover on card advantage, something that's often tricky for aggressive decks in Limited.
That said, not all Mardu decks are created equal. One important detail is that your primary color should be white. Decks that lean too heavily into red or black tend to underperform, as seen in the drop-off in win rates for Rakdos and Orzhov builds that don’t center on white as the foundation.
Best Performing Draft Archetypes in Tarkir: Dragonstorm
One of the more surprising details from this data is how well the mono-color decks with a splash are performing—Mono-White + Splash and Mono-Red + Splash both have win rates above 59%, which is higher than almost any three-color combination.
That said, their overall sample size is pretty small compared to the core archetypes in the format. So while these decks aren’t the go-to strategies for most drafters, the numbers suggest that when they do show up, they tend to overperform. It might just be that players who land in these archetypes are making very deliberate picks—focusing on a consistent core while still having access to a powerful splash thanks to the format’s solid fixing.
When you look at the broader picture, two-color decks continue to be the backbone of success in Tarkir: Dragonstorm. They've got a healthy 58% win rate across thousands of games, and that level of consistency says a lot. Boros (red-white) stands out as both the most played and one of the most successful decks, winning over 60% of its matches. It's fast, aggressive, and clearly efficient at capitalizing on early tempo plays—whether that's Flurry triggers or just good old-fashioned combat math.
Three-color decks, by comparison, seem to be lagging behind.
Even though the set includes plenty of fixing and tempts players with flashy rares and multicolor synergies, most three-color combinations hover around the 51–53% win rate range. That doesn’t make them unplayable by any means, but it does suggest they’re a bit riskier. You might get higher highs when everything clicks, but you’re also more likely to stumble on mana or tempo, especially if your deck leans too hard into greed.
Even though Tarkir: Dragonstorm offers tons of fixing and encourages experimentation, the best-performing decks tend to stick with a solid two-color core. Splashing a third color is fine—especially if the payoff is worth it—but you don't need to go full three-color chaos to win games. In fact, keeping your curve tight and your mana clean often makes a much bigger difference.
If you're going into three colors, my advice is to prioritize cheap removal in your base colors. That way, you can stay alive long enough to take advantage of your multicolor payoffs. I'm personally not a fan of relying on early creatures to stabilize—especially since cheap, efficient removal like Molten Exhale exists in aggressive decks like Mardu. In my experience, it's better to have removal that clears the board than creatures that just try to block and hope for the best.
Three - color decks vs Two - color + splash
In most Limited formats, two-color decks with a light splash tend to be more consistent than full-blown three-color builds. That's because they can curve out more reliably and avoid awkward draws with too many lands of the wrong type. However, sets like Tarkir: Dragonstorm are designed to support multicolor play, especially with access to fixing through lands, dual-color commons, and cards that search for basic lands , that later can provide additional value. Still, the optimal approach is often to stick to a strong two-color core and splash a third color only if you have the fixing and the splash cards are worth it, usually bombs or premium removal. Going full three-color is viable, but only when your deck includes enough fixing to support it without sacrificing tempo or consistency.
Another thing to take into consideration is that if you’re sitting down for a draft and realize half the table is fighting over Mardu cards, don’t panic—there are plenty of solid backup plans. The numbers suggest that two-color + splash decks are generally where you want to be, and that opens up a lot of flexibility. Boros might be the most popular kid at the party, but color pairs like Simic or Azorius offer great value plays, especially if you’re leaning into synergies like card draw or tempo rather than focusing on creatures. Sometimes, the best path to a trophy is just drafting the deck no one else at the table wants while maintaining synergies intact.
Is Tarkir: Dragonstorm a Prince format?
Yes, Tarkir: Dragonstorm is very much a Prince format. This trend started becoming more common with the introduction of Play Boosters and the inclusion of bonus sheets like Special Guests, which significantly increase the odds of opening high-impact rares and mythics.
The shift toward Prince formats arguably began with Innistrad: Double Feature, which combined cards from Midnight Hunt and Crimson Vow. That set included two rares per pack, leading to a high density of bombs in most draft decks. Since then, formats have increasingly rewarded players who open or are passed powerful rares, and Dragonstorm is no exception. While there are still strong commons and synergy-based decks, games often come down to who draws their mythic or build-around first.
What to Pick first?
Thanks to the abundance of fixing in Tarkir: Dragonstorm, it's totally reasonable to start your draft by grabbing clear bombs and strong signpost uncommons, even if you're not locked into a color pair yet. Personally, I like to reference 17lands and keep an eye on cards with a win rate above 60%, regardless of their color combination. That gives me a strong foundation to build around. From there, you can start picking up synergy pieces or other potential bombs that complement your early picks. As for fixing, I usually soft-prioritize it in Pack 2—especially if I've already committed to splashing a powerful rare. By Pack 3, your deck's shape is mostly set, so that's the ideal time to grab any final fixing you need to smooth out your mana base.
How to Play in a Prince Format
In a Prince format, where games often revolve around powerful rares and mythics, your draft strategy needs to adapt. First, prioritize removal more highly than usual, especially flexible or cheap options that can answer bombs efficiently.
Second, don’t pass up premium rares, even if they pull you into an off-meta archetype; the power level can often carry your deck. It’s also smart to value splashable bombs and fix more than usual.
It's also no surprise that in Prince formats, counterspells like Dispelling Exhale go up in value. Being able to stop a game-breaking card from ever hitting the board can be more important than dealing with it afterward.
Finally, keep in mind that synergy still matters—especially when you don’t open a bomb. If you can build a streamlined, aggressive, or synergy-based deck that closes games before your opponent draws their rare, you’ll still have a fighting chance.
Thanks for reading!
