Revisting the Top Cards from Dragons of Tarkir

In the final part of my Standard Pauper set review for Dragons of Tarkir, I listed 11 cards that I believed would make the biggest impact in the format. I thought it would be helpful to look back at these cards today and compare my evaluations to how the metagame has turned out thus far. Overall, of these 11 cards, 8 have seen play in decks that have placed in the Top 4 or higher in multiple events, which isn't too shabby. Here's my list:

Of these, four have been all-stars, appearing in virtually every deck that runs those colors: Anticipate, Duress, Epic Confrontation, and Evolving Wilds. Anticipate provides excellent card selection and has been an auto-include in Izzet Control, some versions of Dimir Control, and both Zephyr Scribe Combo and Mono Blue Control. Duress, while typically just in the Sideboard, is an excellent option against Control decks, and is seeing play in both Dimir Control and Mono Black Devotion. Epic Confrontation is one of the best Green removal spells, with every Green deck running 4 copies. And of course, Evolving Wilds is excellent in any deck that runs two or more colors, and is even worth considering in a mono-colored deck.

Less impactful, but still seeing some play, are Pacifism, Twin Bolt, Vulturous Aven, and Zephyr Scribe. These are still fairly solid cards, but they are somewhat niche choices, relying on a deck that synergizes well with them or simply being borderline depending on the metagame.

Next time, I'll look at the remaining three cards and discuss why I don't think they have made as much of an impact as I expected.