After theevents of March of the Machine, a wicked sleep fell over Eldraine and its fairy-tale inhabitants. Wilds of Eldraine comes three years afterMagic: The Gathering’s release of the original, a set well known for power crept designs and contributions to various banlists. It’s not all bad though, with Eldraine’s flavorful setting and adventure mechanic making it a fan favorite among players.
Related:Magic: The Gathering: Every Card In Wilds Of Eldraine
Return visits are always tricky business, but if you set aside the flashy new mechanics and callbacks to ELD, it’s easy to just pause and appreciate the individual cards, whether you’re looking at them from a Commander or Constructed perspective. White made out like a faerie bandit in WOE, providing new format staples and clever top-down designs across the board.
10Cheeky House-Mouse / Squeak By
Who would win in a fight? Savannah Lions, a natural-born predator, or a squeaky house rodent with a penchant for stealing jewelry? Turns out the Cheeky House-Mouse not only wins, it’sstrictlybetter. Granted, 2/1 for one is a common stat-line, the comparison between mouse and lion is just comical.
This upgrade comes by way ofthe adventure spellSqueak By, which gives the Mouse added utility if drawn on later turns. It loses that utility as a turn-1 play, but you’ll always welcome the opportunity to get value from your 1-drop when you draw it later in the game.
9Moonshaker Cavalry
Get ready for the resounding repetitive echo of one million Magic players all collectively saying “ooh, the new Craterhoof Behemoth” for the next year or two. White already had a few ‘hoofy options with finishers like Legion Loyalty and Akroma’s Will, but now it has actual factual white Craterhoof.
The similarities are obvious, but a few tweaks set them apart. Moonshaker has more relevant creature types, and flying will often — but not always — be better than trample. However, Craterhoof’s haste means it benefits from its own ability and adds to combat, something Moonshaker can’t do on its own.
8Three Blind Mice
For some, Three Blind Mice will be a cool new saga to add to their token-heavy Commander decks. For others, it’ll be a traumatic reminder of playing the song on a recorder alongside twenty other students in a grade-school music class.
Related:Magic: The Gathering: Sagas That Tell Great Stories
It’s a bit reliant on the first Mouse surviving, but it becomes much more consistent if you can back it up with a Treasure or Clue, or perhaps a large creature token to copy with chapters two and three. Wedding Announcement isn’t going anywhere in Constructed, but this saga will still make the cut in token EDH decks.
7Stroke Of Midnight
It’s impossible to talk about Stroke of Midnight without making the obvious comparison to Generous Gift. Gift hits lands, Stroke leaves behind a less threatening body that will, almost assuredly, be attacking you. That’s the difference.
If that Elephant from Generous Gift was a substantial threat in most games, it wouldn’t be astaple card for white decks. After all, there isn’t a colossal difference between a 1/1 and 3/3 in Commander. However, you’ll feel it when you need to destroy a critical land and can’t. They both have merit, though Stroke should be the backup option.
6A Tale For The Ages
Tempered Steel had its time in the spotlight, though it’s admittedly much easier to fill a deck with artifact creatures than it is with auras. You’re probably better off runningother anthem effectsin Commander, but Tale might have a home in Constructed.
It ties in naturally with the Role mechanic from WOE. Cards that distribute Roles or creatures that come into play with their own Roles will turn on Tale with minimal effort. There might even be a Standard deck featuring this anthem alongside cheap spells like Embereth Veteran, Monstrous Rage, and Charming Scoundrel.
5Court Of Ardenvale
WOE’s accompanying Commander set introduced a new cycle of Courts modeled after the ones from Commander Legends. They’re exclusive to Set and Collector boosters, so don’t expect to see them in Constructed or Limited. Each one introduces the monarch into the game, and gives you an upkeep trigger that’s amplified if you hold on to the crown.
Related:Magic: The Gathering – The Best Colorless Cards In Wilds Of Eldraine
The white version gives you a small-ball Regrowth each turn, which is already long-term card advantage. The monarch bonus allows you to freeroll the chosen permanent into play, which offers the opportunity to ramp in a white deck by returning lands.
4Werefox Bodyguard
Temporary exile effects like the one on Werefox Bodyguard rarely work both ways. These ‘O-Rings’ usually only target your opponents’ permanents, but Werefox lets you target your own. That makes it simultaneously a proactive aggressive creature and a reactive way to save a creature. It’s also the world’s clunkiestblink effect, if needed.
Flash gives you more strategic agency than these cards typically do. Take away a blocker on end step, remove a key attacker or lord post-blocks, and hide away a creature in response to a single-target removal spell. The list continues.
3Regal Bunnicorn
What do you get when you cross a majestic unicorn with a complacent rabbit? Apparently a big dumb beatstick and nothing else. What Regal Bunnicorn lacks in flavor it makes up for by just beingbig. There are rumblings about this becoming the next Tarmogoyf, which is the highest praise a vanilla creature can get.
1-drop into Bunnicorn into 3-drop results in a 2-mana 3/3 already, and even larger if any of those cards produced multiple permanents. You just can’t ignore a 2-mana creature that can become a 10/10 or larger off the back of just deploying other permanents.
2Virtue Of Loyalty / Ardenvale Fealty
The Virtue cycle contains expensive enchantments with cheap, efficient adventures that help justify putting otherwise cumbersome, clunky spells in your deck. Virtue of Loyalty would be too all-in to make the cut solo, but the modality of being a 2-drop creature early on saves it.
Related:Magic: The Gathering – The Best Blue Cards In Wilds Of Eldraine
Ardenvale Fealty gives you a token to get started with, and Virtue of Loyalty can shut the door on the game after a few turns. The +1/+1 counters don’t really kick in until the following turn, but untapping your creatures means you still get to play defense, and possibly even combo with tap abilities.
1Spellbook Vendor
Spellbook Vendor has what’s essentially a worse version of Luminarch Aspirant’s ability. That is, until you add any sort of enchantment payoffs or synergy into the mix, after which Vendor becomes the preferred card.
The Roles can’t stack on the same creature the way +1/+1 counters can, and the mana investment can push you off curve. Still, all it takes isa constellation cardor enchantress payoff to turn this ability into more than just the advertised +1/+1 to a creature. It also repeatably creates game objects for bargain and other sacrifice effects.
Next:Magic: The Gathering: The Best Multicolored Cards In Wilds Of Eldraine
