The largest event since Dragons of Tarkir has been legal has taken place in the form of Pro Tour Dragons of Tarkir and the entire Standard landscape has felt the impact of the latest large set.  With the TCGplayer MaxPoint $50,000 Invitational coming up in less than two months, now seems like the perfect time to take a look at what cards are commanding a premium and which have fallen flat.

Top 25 'Dragons of Tarkir' Cards by Dollar Volume

$ Vol.

Rank

Card Name

Average

Price

1

Dragonlord Atarka

$14.89

2

Dragonlord Ojutai

$16.91

3

Dragonlord Silumgar

$8.92

4

Thunderbreak Regent

$10.28

5

Atarkas Command

$5.29

6

Deathmist Raptor

$16.61

7

Den Protector

$2.86

8

Narset Transcendent

$34.45

9

Dromokas Command

$7.74

10

Icefall Regent

$2.21

11

Haven of the Spirit Dragon

$3.40

12

Collected Company

$4.66

13

Zurgo Bellstriker

$3.19

14

Sarkhan Unbroken

$16.24

15

Surrak, the Hunt Caller

$3.06

16

Dragonlord Dromoka

$6.48

17

Secure the Wastes

$3.29

18

Sidisi, Undead Vizier

$4.98

19

Silumgars Scorn

$0.75

20

Myth Realized

$3.01

21

Shaman of Forgotten Ways

$5.54

22

Stratus Dancer

$1.52

23

Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit

$2.65

24

Roast

$0.79

25

Ojutai Exemplars

$5.77

With the top three cards from the set being Dragonlords, it's easy to see that the set's dragon theme has been a huge success with tournament players.  In fact the fourth most popular card is also a dragon, along with the tenth!  That means that half of the Top 10 cards after Pro Tour Dragons of Tarkir are… well, dragons, which is just awesome.  The remaining five cards are comprised of two Commands (a cycle of five cards, each revolving around a specific dragonlord, with two abilities per card), a functionally similar reprint of the classic Eternal Witness in Den Protector, a planeswalker (Narset Transcendent), and a dinosaur that simply won't stay extinct.  Er, apologies to Deathmist Raptor: a beast lizard.

The popularity of Deathmist Raptor and Den Protector (sixth and seventh place respectively) should not be understated.  These two cards work incredibly well in conjunction with one another and, along with Dromoka's Command (ninth place), form the backbone of most of the green/white-based aggressive decks currently in Standard.

With the most popular decks in the format looking like Esper Control (blue/black/white), Red/Green Dragons, and Green/White Midrange decks, the Top 10 seems to make perfect sense: Esper wants to play with Dragonlord Ojutai, Dragonlord Silumgar, Narset Transcendent, and Icefall Regent; Red/Green wants to play with Dragonlord Atarka and Thunderbreak Regent; and the Green/White decks want to play with Deathmist Raptor, Den protector, and Dromoka's Command.  But what about the last card on the list that we haven’t mentioned yet?  Well, that would be Atarka's Command, and it was merely in the deck that actually won the Pro Tour, so that explains that!  I don't think Atarka's Command should have any problems commanding the attention of competitive players in the coming months.

But the Pro Tour was not your last chance to win big with the help of the latest Dragons that Magic: The Gathering has to offer.  With  the TCGplayer MaxPoint $50,000 Invitational right around the corner, taking place on June 6th and 7th, the Pro Tour has definitely given us some things to think about along with some very compelling strategies to try out.  I for one can’t wait to see how it evolves in the coming weeks and I look forward to what we can expect at the next huge event in Las Vegas, NV.

Frank Lepore is the editor of Magic.TCGPlayer.com.  TCGPlayer.com is the largest collectible card marketplace on the web, with hundreds of brick and mortar sellers listed.

The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.