Tarkir: Dragonstorm (TDM) Limited Overview — Black

Note: This article was translated from Chinese by AI and may contain errors. Read the original Chinese version.

Tarkir: Dragonstorm (TDM) prerelease events run on April 4, 2025, with the official release one week later on April 11, 2025. Want to know more about how individual cards rate in Limited, plus some pick advice? Then check out this series of TDM Limited overviews!

• For the mechanics, see this article: Tarkir: Dragonstorm Mechanics Breakdown

Rating Scale

5.0: Unconditional first pick; gives you a near-winning advantage
4.5: Unconditional first pick if you are in the right colors; gives you a huge advantage
4.0: Worth a first pick; synergizes extremely well with the archetype, and can be the deciding card for splashing / switching colors or moving into a color pair
3.5: Top uncommons and commons of the set and other sufficiently strong cards; synergizes well with the archetype and can be the key card for moving into a color pair
3.0: Important cards for the archetype, plus other above-average cards; you want these in your final deck
2.5: Average; usually a decent curve filler
2.0–1.0: Below average; you generally prefer not to play them, can be used as filler if necessary, but not too many
0.5–0.0: Unplayable; basically never play them, they will only help you lose

Card Ratings

This black rating takes the clan themes into account: Abzan (whiteblackgreen), Mardu (redwhiteblack), and Sultai (blackgreenblue).

Score: 2.5
Comment: The first card is our Abzan color fixer. It not only adds consistency, but some black-white removal needs sacrificed materials, and this card meets that need. A pretty good two-drop curve spot, but on defense it cannot block 1/1 tokens.

Score: 2.0
Comment: A 5/3 for five; you would absolutely never want to hard-cast it, and drawing it into your hand is a real headache. In the Sultai mill theme, it only gives +1/+1 as a reward, which feels a bit weak.

Score: 2.0
Comment: Although looking at the hand can deal with the opponent’s bomb early in Limited, the usage conditions are rather restrictive. It might be usable in a sealed event, but in a draft environment the tempo is simply too poor.

Score: 2.5
Comment: A 2/1 body has a hard time attacking, and on defense cannot stop this set’s mass of attacking 1/1 tokens, but it has a chance to give an evasive creature lifelink late in the game, offering a chance to turn the game around.

Score: 2.5
Comment: Across countless Limited games, the deathtouch-and-indestructible trick has proven its value again and again. You will put 1-2 in faster decks.

Score: 4.0
Comment: A 2/4 deathtouch body is both offense and defense in one, and if it shows up in the mid-to-late game it may create a large number of tokens at once!

Score: 3.0
Comment: It can be straight removal or a trick in combat, very flexible.

Score: 2.0
Comment: Dragon costs are all rather high, and playing this on turn two may cost you the board, collapsing before you can reuse it. But in a slower sealed event it might be usable.

Score: 2.5
Comment: Card draw with surveil attached; consider putting in one.

Score: 2.0
Comment: Not good most of the time, but paired with Sage of the Fang or Adorned Crocodile, it has unexpected effects.

Score: 2.5
Comment: Drawing two with the 1/1s made by Mobilize will be the common way to use it.

Score: 3.0
Comment: This time the straight removal needs only one colored mana, which strengthens the flexibility of splashing black! Very powerful; the pity is that killing a Dragon costs extra.

Score: 2.5
Comment: Putting a counter on at two mana at sorcery speed plus the draw risk is high, and an evasive 3/5 for six is also a bit insufficient. As filler, it is just ordinary.

Score: 2.5
Comment: Being able to deal with a blocker on entering is nice, and as a 5/5 with menace it is a high-cost threat; play at most one.

Score: 3.0
Comment: Gathering three counters is not hard, and being able to cast it twice is also one of its strengths.

Score: 2.5
Comment: A plain, unadorned 3/2 lifelinker. Whether stealing life early or keeping the opponent’s 1/1 tokens from getting bold on defense, it is quite good!

Score: 2.0
Comment: It takes some time to grow, and it also has a life loss side effect, so in practice it will be worse.

Score: 2.5
Comment: Deathtouch creatures generally want to be as cheap as possible. Mobilize seems to add a bit of damage, but most of the time it will be blocked.

Score: 4.0
Comment: A single card that can win the game, and even if it gets killed it can give the next creature strong evasion.

Score: 2.5
Comment: This card is only great in aggressive decks. After it dies it can serve as board clearing, a good helper for finishing.

Score: 2.5
Comment: Four-mana sorcery straight removal is still rather clunky.

Score: 3.0
Comment: When the opponent’s board is empty you will want the 4/3 menace, and when you need to defend you can make a 2/2 to help block. A great common workhorse creature.

Score: 4.5
Comment: It can sweep the board and can also be played as a threat in the mid-to-late game. A powerful bomb.

Score: 1.0
Comment: It destroys all your creatures that enter, which is far too risky in Limited.

Score: 3.0
Comment: It will be pretty good in the Sultai color pair.

Score: 4.0
Comment: It brings its own evasion plus growth, or makes a 1/1 to help block during a race. Very strong.

Score: 3.0
Comment: Black really has a lot of removal this time, and exiling the graveyard will definitely make opponents playing Renew want to flip the table.

Score: 2.5
Comment: Use it to eat Mobilize’s 1/1 tokens, while I grow big all by myself.

Score: 2.0
Comment: This card is clearly designed to flash in and block when the opponent attacks, but the 3+1 cost is actually a bit heavy, and its own attacking ability is poor too, so you will almost never want to use it.

Score: 3.5
Comment: A solid clan-theme uncommon bomb. In the Mardu color pair it lets all your Mobilize 1/1 tokens deal damage.

Score: 3.0
Comment: An instant-speed mass -1/-1 can decide the outcome of a Limited game!! The graveyard recovery effect also keeps this card from being a dead card.

Score: 2.5
Comment: Black already has enough removal, and a sorcery cannot take advantage of Mobilize’s 1/1s, so putting in one is already the limit.

Score: 3.5
Comment: The last black card is surprisingly an uncommon bomb, giving all your Abzan Endure creatures a card-draw buff!

Conclusion

This time black’s creatures are relatively conservative, replaced by plenty of quality removal and tricks. Picking the right uncommon creature can take your deck’s theme up a level. From what we see so far, black’s cards supporting Abzan and Mardu are the more powerful ones this time. Build an army, and use black to destroy the enemies in your way!!