I may be a bit late for the party, but I appreciate dragons too...
Circling back to Wasitora, I consider her to be one of the bigger disappointments in this subject. while I don't think the card is BAD, I just feel underwhelmed. The ability makes a good deal of sense, but is somehow just a tiny bit plain for my taste. Even so, I like the mechanics, but the art lacks a lot. It's technical skill is present, but it has no personality. Depicting her mid pounce is extremely bland, and even her design leaves something to be desired. When you say 'cat dragon' and especially 'queen' I'd expect art closer in personality to
Sharuum or
sphinx ambassador, but Wasitora sadly fails to deliver, ending up more akin to
patagia tiger and worse for it.
Very much agreed. Another part of my frustration is that Wasitora is another one of those legends where the art is at best loosely based on her description in the storyline, and I think that's a shame because the result might have looked better if the artist had gone for the black, white and gold that her fur is
supposed to be, especially in a calmer pose. Generally speaking, though, I appreciate that the card is out there because it opens the door for more cat dragons in the future.
One thing I've been very vocal about is how much I hate how pigeonholed dragons are in red. I guess that's the D&D Monster Manual speaking through me, but one particular card I lament will likely never see light again is the Weatherlight art printing of
Alabaster Dragon.
is one of my top picks as well, and I'm firmly in the same camp when it comes to more no-red dragons. I get that Magic wants to keep its colours distinct and that the "iconic" creature types exist for a reason, but I think they should try to expand what dragons can be at least once in a while. As you suggested above, it's a pretty common thing in fantasy to have a wide variety of dragons in lots of different flavours, and it's safe to say that Magic could do more on that front while still being resonant.
In fact, the storyline has a lot to offer when it comes to non-red dragons, it's just that the cards barely represent that. I have a pretty strong desire to delve deeper into the things that have already been established first, instead of constantly pumping out brand new and completely unrelated stuff at an unsustainable rate. Dragons would be an ideal vehicle for that sort of thing. I just hope this won't be forever restricted to Tarkir going forward, because it's actually Dominaria that has the most to offer when it comes to diverse dragons.
Going through some of my favourites from the cards...
Alabaster Dragon has been talked about already.
Ancestor Dragon has a very expressive face and nicely textured horns. The concept of a white-aligned eastern dragon is a nice breath of fresh air next to all the red-aligned western ones.
Bogardan Hellkite has a very unique body shape and horns and a really dynamic pose.
Clockwork Dragon has a really striking face, even though the body looks a bit odd. The art as a whole really pops.
Cloud Dragon is another breath of fresh air (heh), and I like creatures that are "animal X, plus something else", that is, a known species that is also a plant, an elemental, an illusion, what have you. Plus, I just love looking at clouds and trying to find evokative shapes in them.
Covetous Dragon is an early attempt at a greedy, treasure-hoarding dragon, which is cool. There is also something about rk post's style that works really well for dragons, especially the scales.
Dragon Mage is very appreciated for clearly showing the sapience of dragons. I just like quirky outliers like this one.
Ebon Dragon... Well, it's just cool to see a black dragon, and I like the implication that his breath weapon is some sort of mind-melting beam of insanity that makes people discard cards.
Eternal Dragon is another example from the "dragon plus something else category".
Exalted Dragon has also been talked about.
Hellkite Punisher just has a clarity and simplicity to it both in pose and creature design that really speaks to me for some reason.
Henge Guardian is just one Chippy's iconic hunched body shapes, and I love the sinuous wurm-like aspect of the body, neck and head. It also harkens back to that older Magic aesthetic of very organic and alien looking artefact (creature) designs.
Imperial Hellkite. I mean, wow.
Moonveil Dragon has awesome wings, and awesome body and an awesome composition. I guess Innistrad's dragon designs are kinda wasted on a Gothic Horror themed plane that really could have done without dragons, but I'll take it.
Ore-Scale Guardian has a fantastic sense of movement, gliding around that tower and all.
Rapacious Dragon. Again, great composition.
Rathi Dragon has a geat pose, and I love the pattern on the wings. I love the magic it's doing with that glowing ball of energy.
Rimescale Dragon has a great colour palette, and I love the flavour of an icy dragon.
Scourge of the Throne. I mean, just look at it.
Shimmer Dragon. Hurray, a blue dragon! In fact, blue's artefact theme is a great match for the greedy, treasure-hoarding type of dragon.
Shivan Dragon with Donato Giancola's artwork is still one of my all time favourites. Probably the first dragon card I ever owned, too.
Skyline Despot. Do I need to say more?
Sprite Dragon with the normal artwork from the set, and mostly for the fact that they finally made a Faerie Dragon at all. Would have been cooler to see it on Shandalar where it belongs, but it's another one of those cards that will hopefully open the door for more of its kind when the time is right.
Steel Hellkite, because.
Stormbreath Dragon is pretty original as well, with its body shape and its lightning breath (the art is a little bit too dark in places, though).
Terror of the Peaks for the amazing pose.
Two-Headed Dragon because I really want more dragons with additional heads at least once in a while, it's such a classic fantasy design. Maybe just return to Mercadia and make two-headedness a feature of Mercadian dragons? Would certainly emphasise the "everything is weird here" aspect.
Tyrant's Familiar only really shows us its head, but dear god, what a head.
Vampiric Dragon because the concept is hilarious.
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