Beadle and Grimm's Tarkir: Dragonstorm Token Set review ⏤ The ultimate Tarkir accessories

Beadle and Grimm's latest Magic: The Gathering token set centers around Tarkir: Dragonstorm, currently the latest Magic set to release. If you’re familiar with Beadle and Grimm, then you know that when they make something, it will be as quality as possible. Beadle and Grimm made a similar token set for Wilds of Eldraine. I’m not sure why they pick specific sets. With that said, Tarkir is a beloved plane by many players, so that may have contributed to choosing Tarkir: Dragonstorm. So what exactly comes in their token set, and is it worth the $45 price tag?

Overview

The token set comes inside a tin featuring the artwork of Ugin, Eye of the Storms. The token set contains the following items: an Ugin life counter, five Tarkir-themed dice, seven metal Tarkir tokens, and five +1/+1 (backside is +5/+5) metal counters. Let’s examine these one by one, as I think most of them are great, but I do have some criticisms.

The tin itself is quite nice, though I’m not sure what I’ll do with it as I integrate the token set into my Magic accessories. It’s not the right size for cards, but it’s nice enough I want to do something with it. Maybe it’ll become a dice container, but I wish it was partitioned so that I could keep cards/tokens inside it.

The highlight of this set is the Ugin life counter. I honestly didn’t know what to expect with this particular item. When I first opened the tin, my first impression was that this life counter was too small. This sentiment changed as I used it. The life counter fits inside existing storage compartments for deck boxes I already have. This meant Ugin could ride into battle without needing his own storage. This minimalist aspect can be important to some players.

The other aspect that impressed me with the Ugin life counter is how well it functions. This little life counter functioned great as it is sturdy enough to withstand table bumps without losing its spot. It also just has a great tactile feel as you use it to track your life total. I was genuinely impressed by how well this life counter did its job.

The five metal +1/+1 tokens are simply stunning. I don’t think I’ve ever held +1/+1 tokens with such a nice sheen to them. When you look closely at them, they even have dragon scales reflecting back at you, which is just thematically perfect. These tokens perfectly represent what I come to expect from Beadle and Grimm’s products.

The five Tarkir-themed dice are good, but these were the items I was a little disappointed with. Don’t get me wrong, these are nice dice. I appreciate each clan symbol being the high value too. It’s just when you compare them to the other items included, these seem kind of…plain. If these dice shared the dragon scale theme that the +1/+1 tokens have, that would have been perfect. Perhaps I’ve been spoiled by all the fancy dice the RPG world has to offer. (Also, orange seems like an odd color for Abzan.) Even with this criticism, these are still quality dice.

The metal creature tokens featuring official artwork are also fantastic. It’s a little odd to have tokens this nice, but they are durable and perfect for game use. While the seven included tokens are great picks, here is where I wish they had included all of the tokens in the set. Tarkir: Dragonstorm has 16 total tokens. That's a lot, but wouldn’t it be great to have all of the tokens from a set? An alternative could be to cut the generic token, like the treasure token, for a Tarkir specific one. I was truly sad that the 5/5 elephant token wasn’t included here, as it comes up in limited play a fair amount, and it’s just a cool elephant.

So is this worth the $45 price tag? Yes and no. What you are getting is top-notch quality, but that price tag is steep. There are just a myriad of options for Magic: The Gathering accessories. Beadle and Grimm are consistent in what they sell. You know you’re getting great stuff from them, but it isn’t cheap. If you love Tarkir: Dragonstorm, I can absolutely recommend this token set as a way to bling out your Tarkir decks. If not, then…maybe wait and see what the next token set they dive into is.