Summer tends to be a rather slow time for Magic: The Gathering fans. While there are tournaments, events, and some collections, they are generally smaller in scale. The last major collection usually comes out at the beginning of summer, and it’s not until September that the new tournament season, the World Championship, and, of course, the rotation begin. The first collection legal in the new Standard format.
To make a long story short, this means that every September a new collection is released, and all collections that came out two years ago cannot be played in Standard. Standard is a format where only collections from the last two years can be used. But this year, that has changed. Standard has been extended to three years, and there has been no rotation. However, this doesn’t mean we don’t have a new collection, even if we have to wait until next year for rotation to occur. And the excitement of seeing what cards it brings with it is just as high as if there had been a rotation.
This new collection is called “The Wilds of Eldraine.” Set in a fantasy world where humans live in an Arthurian reality and everyone else in a fairy tale reality, when both worlds collide, disasters occur. And in this collision, it’s happening on a grand scale.
Following the events of the previous sets, a plague is ravaging Eldraine. Many people fall asleep, and there’s no way to wake them up. With the king and queen dead, the young twin princes set out to find answers among witches, fairies, and other fairy tale creatures. And that’s what the entire collection is about. Evil witches. Mirrors that show you what you want to see. Magic beans. Knights coming back to life. And of course, many, many fairies.
All of this is enhanced, of course, by the mechanics unique to this collection. Some new, others returning from the past, all of them bring something special, something unique, that gives the feeling of being in a strange and playful world. These are roles, celebration, venture, and adventure.
Roles are a type of enchantment given to a creature. This assigns them a role, as if it were a play or a story, telling them what their function is. Perhaps they are a Monster, a Wizard, or a Villain. In any case, each Role provides specific benefits or drawbacks that change their characteristics. Similarly, Celebration is triggered as soon as we play two or more cards that remain on the table that aren’t lands. Because, what kind of celebration would it be if it were just one person?
However, the two most interesting mechanics are the last two. “Negociar” allows us to sacrifice an artifact, enchantment, or token to get an extra effect. Because if we’re dealing with witches, it’s normal to have to sacrifice something of ours for them to grant us their true power, right? On the other hand, “adventures” are split cards. If we play the left part, we can exile it and then play it from outside our hand. Or we can play it directly from the left side and forget about the right side. It’s a very strong mechanic due to its versatility, which has been problematic in other collections, but here it seems much more balanced.
To know which colors and cards will be the best, we’ll have to wait a bit, but there are already very clear first impressions. And we have good or bad news, depending on your preferences. Because, once again, it seems that Black is going to remain the dominant color in the game.
Beseech The Mirror, Mosswood Dreadknight, and Decadent Dragon are three of the most powerful cards in the collection. “The End” is a great card to work against the biggest threats within its own color. For the rest, at least, there are interesting general-purpose pieces. Green has the amazing “Up the Beanstalk,” and cards like “The Irencrag” and “Collector’s Vault” should see a lot of play due to their versatility. And if you’re wondering, of course: the new rare lands will surely find their place in more than one or two decks, especially if the matches are not very fast.
On the other hand, that’s not the only thing included in “The Wilds of Eldraine.” In this collection, in every booster pack, there is at least one bonus card. A card from what they’ve called the Enchanting Tales. There are 63 classic enchantments with new illustrations, which will delight both veteran players and those who play more casual formats.
It’s also appealing to those who play Limited. This is the format where you open between three and six booster packs and build your deck with what you choose and what you get. The Enchanting Tales add more variety, but due to the power level of the collection, it requires more skill and relies less on simply getting the best card or card combination possible. Unless there is a very abrupt shift from what we’ve seen, it will make for a very enjoyable collection to play in Limited.
For all these reasons, “The Wilds of Eldraine,” which was released on September 5th in Magic: The Gathering Arena and on September 8th in physical form, feels like a successful collection. Even without rotation, it doesn’t feel like it will fall short, nor does it force its place through cards that may need to be banned. The Enchanting Tales and the fascinating setting make it a very interesting and refreshing collection, and we’re eager to learn more about what the future of this game will bring.
Some of the links added in the article are part of affiliate campaigns and may represent benefits for Softonic.
