Wild Speculations on The Wilds of Eldraine

“Magictating” is defined as getting into the zone with your Magic the Gathering collection--thinking, planning, organizing, reminiscing about past games, and imagining future games. It is a combination of hard thinking about the game and calm meditation, reveling in the joy it brings you.

The biggest and most exciting odd-ball element of this set is that we will finally get in universe editions of the Secret Lair X Walking Dead cards.  Seriously, it’s been about three years. So, you won’t have to play Rick, Steadfast Leader anymore if you want to pump all your humans. I’m actually super intrigued by this whole reprint concept. When you consider that design and play tend to try and find sets where the mechanics from these items can fit well, we have a few clues about possible mechanics and concepts that could pop up in the wilds. These cards seem to suggest that humans may actually have a presence in this set alongside the faeries. Perhaps there will be some sort of alliance to try and find the evil leaders that lurk in the wilds. Perhaps we can even get a chance to pick up additional supports for not only humans, but zombies as well. Walkers may be some sort of special class of zombie that are created by some sort of wild magic in the depths of Eldraine. The possibilities are super exciting. Additionally, we can look forward to plenty of access to these cards, and picking up packs of this set will allow people to finally crack open cards with really cool mechanics and some super sweet Eldraine styled art to go along with it. In-Universe art is always more appealing to me, and I don’t suspect I’m alone in this preference either.

Getting Eldraine themed art on these exclusive reprints is definitely exciting, and that also brings up premium Eldraine artwork as well. Recently, we’ve seen plenty of specialty boarder printings thanks to March of the Machines Aftermath. Opening those packs is honestly super exciting for anyone that’s got a penchant for interesting art and border designs. Those treatments are seriously fun, and there’s no doubt that Eldraine will be offering some of the all-time most popular art boarders. The original Eldraine was the first set to offer these specialty type of boarders and there’s no doubt that Wizards knows that the pressure is on to make “project booster fun” deliver with its return Eldraine. I’m excited to see what types of stops they pull out for specialty card treatments and what else we can snag from this set.

Anticipating what will be spoiled for this set or any other set is always exciting. Usually mining the story can lead you to help anticipate what cards or types of cards will be showing up in a set, and this set offers up plenty of clues so far. We have a slumber spell happening along with a warrior king wielding a magical family sword, a vile planeswalker profiting from people’s misery, and a mage on a quest for more power. We can expect lots of different types of mechanics here. I suspect we will have tribal synergies and support for both faeries and humans. Additionally, we should have some sort of sleep-walker or zombie styled mechanics to tie things nicely together. Additionally, Ashiok will likely feature some sort of emblem, and thus provide some interesting angles on deck construction and potentially even affect the standard metagame.

When you look back at format affecting cards, the first Eldraine is a veritable gold-mine of format all-stars. The biggest offender would be the original Oko, and maybe, just maybe we will see another Oko show up? It’s possible in a world gripped with a massive nightmare sleep spell that literally anything could surface. Additionally, when you consider that two new Commander decks will be on offer, then we might see some interesting items surface. Oona, Queen of the Fae might get a newly styled revamp, or perhaps a simple reprint. Likewise, we will surely see the Kenrith twins surface in a new form as well. Knights will definitely be featured in this set, and likely will feature a bit in the green and white Commander precon as well. I’m excited to see what cool new items will be available for our Commander decks with this new set.

The fairy tale twist on these cards is going to offer some unique and cutesy cards for those dying for some gingerbread or Shrek style action. Additionally, the darker tone of this set will be a nice contrast to the original Eldraine, and will likely feel like a Lorwyn and Shadowmoor styled vibe. That’s a good thing, as those were some excellent sets for both limited and Commander fun as well. The number of legendary creatures is likely to be pretty high, as that tends to be the standard these days. It is almost like every set is a new Commander-centric set lately. That’s not an awful thing for Commander players, and if anything, it’s great as we can go ahead and participate in drafts, pack-cracking, and random booster box buys without feeling like we will whiff on a given set. Having sets offer up so much Commander stuff means we get to purchase new, and I’m focusing on standard legal sets here, sets without fear of having nothing worth playing or building around. There are so many opportunities to build new decks, update old, and even just tinker around that I know I literally can’t write enough about all of these new cards. I’ve tried to cover as many of these as possible with new sets, but I just can’t cover it all.

There’s no doubt that this new set, Wilds of Eldraine, will be an excellent release for players of all types. I’m usually focused on Commander, but with options available for standard and limited—it’s almost a layup that people will be snapping up these interesting fairy tale cards with abandon. I’m looking forward to pre-ordering it myself, as that makes sure you don’t have to sit around during spoiler season wondering if you should’ve pre-ordered now or tomorrow, or that you’ve missed the boat as the big cards have now been spoiled, and everyone is jacking up the prices on these things. Being able to lock- in at a low rate is awesome. Knowing that the set is likely going to provide tons of fun-value is what I’m personally looking for. I don’t flip boxes, nor do I store them for resale. I buy Magic product to have fun, and if the fun-value looks high, then I’m in. That’s why I’m saying this set is going to be totally worth it from a fun perspective. Cracking packs will be a joy between the setting, art treatments, and reprinted exclusives. Drafting will likewise be a blast as well with interesting supports and fun archetypes returning. Constructed will be a Commander players fairy tale dream as well. That’s about all I have to say on this set for now, but I know once spoilers start, I’ll be getting even more excited, and I’m sure you all will too! Until then, may the fairy tales and the cards be ever in your favor.