The Throne of Eldraine is one of the most beloved and feared collections of recent years. Introducing a beloved mechanic like Adventure, significantly raising the power level of the cards, printing cards that had to be practically automatically banned, such as Oko, Thief of Crowns and Once Upon a Time, and featuring a uniquely fantastical setting that blended Arthurian myths and 18th-century European romantic legends in equal parts, the collection was a resounding success. That’s why it shouldn’t surprise us that we’re returning to Eldraine once again this September.
“The Wilds of Eldraine” is the upcoming Magic: The Gathering standard collection, and once again we return to Eldraine. However, not without consequences. After the Phyrexian invasion, the king and queen have perished, and the only way to halt the invaders was to cast a spell that put them to sleep, never to awaken. The problem is, this spell also affected many inhabitants of Eldraine, who remain asleep even after the invasion has ended, and it seems to be spreading among those still awake.
This forms the foundation of the collection, and thus, this time there will be scarcely any knights, palaces, or Arthurian references. The focus shifts to myths and legends, to the Wilds, the realm of fairies, and where witches roam freely, with a slight twist: this time the influence hails from European folktales.
This is something evident both in the cards themselves and in the draft archetypes. There are characters inspired by Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Jack (of beanstalk fame), and many other characters that, in turn, represent a unique combination of the two colors that make up each of the archetypes in this collection and how they are played. This original twist makes drafting “The Wildlands of Eldraine” feel similar to drafting “The Lord of the Rings: The Middle-earth Saga,” where it’s like choosing a specific theme to play under, allowing you to create a coherent thematic deck when playing limited.
But perhaps what stands out the most about the collection are the mechanics – both returning and introduced for the first time. Among these, three mechanics have the most potential to make an impact in constructed formats: Bargain, Role, and, of course, Adventure.
Spells with Bargain are cards that allow us to sacrifice a token, artifact, or enchantment to apply a predetermined extra effect. Roles are aura tokens that can be attached to creatures, cannot stack, and grant benefits or drawbacks to the specific creature. And Adventures, as veteran players are well aware, are cards split into two halves, where the right half can be cast, then the card is exiled, and then the left half can be cast as if it were in your hand, but not the other way around.
In “The Wildlands of Eldraine,” Adventure cards were very powerful, with some of them even being considered too powerful, a fact that Wizards of the Coast has taken into account. That’s why now there are Adventures that have different colors of mana in each of their halves or where the right side is more costly than the left, aiming to prevent the creation of cards with the same prevalence and ferocious consistency as the legendary Bonecrusher Giant.
In addition to all of this, there are the typical releases, such as two new Commander decks. One is blue and black, centered around fairies, while the other is red and white, focusing on tokens and counters. What’s most unusual is that both collector and set boosters will come with a bonus card called “Enchanting Tales.” These are famous and frequently played enchantments from Magic’s history, reprinted for the occasion and only legal in formats they were already legal in before, featuring new artwork inspired by fairy tales.
All of this will also make its way to Magic: The Gathering Arena. With the customary change of the game board, simulating a pop-up storybook theme, and accessible avatars, bundles, and battle passes, the same content available in the physical game will be accessible on the online platform as well.
“The Wilds of Eldraine” will be available on September 8th in physical form, and on September 5th around 5 PM Spanish time on Magic: The Gathering Arena. And just like every September collection that marks the start of a new rotation – even if that’s not the case this year (as Standard now has a three-year rotation) – there’s no better time to get into Magic than with this gorgeous collection that’s truly a fairy tale come to life.
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