We're ankles deep into spoilers, and I hope you're feeling wondrously overwhelmed by the influx of the biggest, baddest tribal in the Multiverse.
Today on Card Corner, we're gonna take a look at the CommanderCast preview card I got to check out a few weeks ahead of time, which was a pretty awesome experience.
So after sitting on my thoughts for a week and a half, I get to do some analyzing and postulating, and I hope you'll join me as we talk about the White Dragon Regent!
THE FLAVOR
Although there are Dragons scattered across every color in Magic History, the most compelling part about this block's theme was the sort of "future flavor," if you will, in design. While Red, Black, and even Blue have that innate "enemy" color persona, Green and White have never really been able to reproduce the same kind of reverence when it comes to making a Dragon feel like a Dragon.
The sneak peek in Fate Reforged did little-to-nothing for me in terms of mapping out how they were going to demonstrate this, and I have to admit I felt a little cheated. For starters, Dromoka didn't feel complete as a Dragon (or a Legendary Creature, in my opinion), and the two cards we did get (Wardscale Dragon and Destructor Dragon) barely seemed to communicate a precedent for this design space.
In all fairness, these colors pose a challenge. With Green, Flying is a static ability left almost exclusively to small bugs and bees, while White has the opposite problem- too many creatures with Flying, and not enough space to separate their feel from Angels or Birds.
Relating to Sunscorch Regent, it's pretty clear that the Tarkir flavor REALLY overpowers the essence of this card as a Dragon, which is fine, but it's not aligned with my personal impressions and expectations as a marketed product. While I won't say it was a let down, because I understand what Design and Development had to do to make this work, I have to admit I was a little disappointed. I'm still not sure what a White Dragon looks like, and even though it's a foolish human impulse to use one card to demonstrate the whole, it was clear that Sunscorch Regent wasn't going to be that card, and we were still in the hunt.
THE MECHANICS
Mechanically, I think this card is pretty nice. This is probably attributed to the fact that they really went what they call "Bottoms Up," designing cards with rules and stats before giving it a name and all that.
As it relates to Tarkir, and what we understand of Dragons, and the underlying motivations of the Dragon Broods, it does this well. A reactionary, opponent contingent trigger provides balance while maintaining the power of that old green Forgotten Ancient made by the Magic Community a long time ago. Infused with the afterthought of incremental life gain, we're reminded that this is in fact a card we're gonna pay Plains mana to play, while also giving us additional value driven incentive.
Here in Commander, this card is playable, simply because a 5-Cost creature with evasion and a reason to remove it provides enough incentive for our opponent(s) to think about it. There is going to be a drastic difference between its value in multiplayer versus 1v1, but I think it will be fine for either.
THE ART
What I don't like is the color palette. It's just too beige to distinguish the dragon from the background. It's almost like camouflage, which could be an arguable flavor point, but I'm not sure that's really Dromoka brood thing.
Which leads us to the part I both like and dislike- the beam of light coming from Sunscorch Regent's mouth. This is where our eyes are drawn, and I like this eerie, glowing quality. Immediately, I thought Sunscorch Regent was abducting two small people, and I found this notion to be fairly charming, for no real reason.
The thing I dislike is that the more I've been thinking about this, the more I realize that it doesn't make sense when you think about what the card ACTUALLY does. We don't know whether or not Sunscorch Regent is helping or hurting these people. Regardless, how does that relate to the flavor? If he is using it to "sunscorch," that doesn't sound like a good thing. And his reactive, triggered ability suggests that this is a creature more incentivized by hitting back than hitting first. This art doesn't convey these things clearly, based on what I know about the story of Tarkir and the innate-ness of the card.
CONCLUSION
Overall, I think this card is pretty average for us. I like the weirdness, and am really happy, regardless of whether or not it slides into any deck I make, that I had the privilege of getting to see it before everyone else.
Let me know what you think about my thoughts here in the comments below, or on Twitter, where you can now FOLLOW ME @UncleLanddrops! I'm anxious to hear your thoughts!
Pass.
-UL
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