It’s been almost four years since the release of Throne of Eldraine, which is somewhat surprising to me, as it feels far more recent than that (probably the pandemic years). Either way, the time has arrived for us to… arrive, once again, to Eldraine, with Wilds of Eldraine! I’m going to break down the new mechanics and their implications for Limited. Let’s dig in.
Roles
The most interesting mechanic being introduced in Wilds of Eldraine is the Role mechanic. Most Role tokens come from creatures (or creatures with Adventure), but instants, sorceries, and Sagas can create roles as well!
Here is a quick breakdown of the different Roles.
- Cursed – Enchanted creature has base power and toughness 1/1.
- Monster – Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and has trample.
- Royal – Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and has ward {1}.
- Sorcerer – Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and has “Whenever this creature attacks, scry 1.”
- Wicked – Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and “When this Aura is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, each opponent loses 1 life.”
- Young Hero – Enchanted creature has “Whenever this creature attacks, if its toughness is 3 or less, put a +1/+1 counter on it.”
Roles seem to be evenly split among the colors, with certain Roles being more prominent within specific colors.
- White: Royal / Young Hero
- Blue: Sorcerer / Cursed
- Black: Wicked
- Red: Young Hero / Wicked
- Green: Monster / Royal
Per the Wilds of Eldraine Release Notes, Roles prohibit you from multiclassing creatures, as each creature can only have one Role controlled by a player. If a second Role a player controls is attached to a creature, that creature will keep the newest Role, with the previous one going to the graveyard. This will likely come up in some niche scenarios, e.g. changing your Young Hero into a Monster to gain +1/+1 and trample. You can also give Roles to an opponent’s creatures, though the majority of cards that create roles (aside from Cursed) only allow you to target your own creatures.
Further, Role tokens are enchantments, which is relevant for cards like Warehouse Tabby, Savior of the Sleeping, and Redtooth Vanguard, among many others.
Bargain
Bargain is a variant of the kicker mechanic, adding a benefit if you sacrifice an artifact, enchantment, or token as you cast the spell. Not only does the new Role mechanic generate tokens, there are plenty of Food, Treasure, and creature tokens in the set. Most decks should have plenty of options to bargain with. I will add that there are two Threaten effects at uncommon, Twisted Fealty and Eriette’s Tempting Apple. With every color having access to commons with bargain, these can turn into kill spells fairly easily, and I predict they will be more powerful than they look at first glance.
Celebration
Celebration is a new mechanic that triggers “when two or more nonland permanents enter the battlefield under your control this turn”, showing up exclusively in red and white. There are plenty of cards that will trigger celebration on their own, like Edgewall Pack, Redcap Thief, and Hopeful Vigil, but there are some less obvious examples, like Evolving Wilds. In addition, creature cards that create a Role, like Protective Parents and Merry Bards, will also fulfill the requirements. It seems very easy to trigger celebration in this set, so don’t back away from a celebration card if you aren’t specifically Boros!
The Return of Adventures
We have a few returning mechanics, with Food synergies returning to Golgari and Adventures represented among all colors. Temur has the most Adventures, as well as uncommon payoffs like Chancellor of Tales, Hearth Elemental, and Howling Galefang.
In addition, each color has two uncommons with an Adventure cost from another color: Shrouded Shepherd, Woodland Acolyte, Frolicking Familiar, Threadbind Clique, Callous Sell-Sword, Spellscorn Coven, Imodane’s Recruiter, Picnic Ruiner, Gingerbread Hunter, and Tempest Hart. I’m a huge fan of these new Adventure creatures, which encourage some fun drafting and deckbuilding decisions for potential splashes.
I’m extremely excited for Wilds of Eldraine to drop, and I will surely be playing at least one paper Prerelease this weekend! I’ll have another article breaking down the archetypes before Friday, so until then…
Lose and Learn, Learn and Win!
