Hello! Welcome to my set review of Wilds of Eldraine, where I will pick cards of each colour and discuss my five favourite cards from them. Yes, there will be and artifact and lands review as well as a multicoloured review.
Given that the set also comes out with a set of preconstructed Commander decks, I’ll also be covering my favourite new cards from there in another article. The set booster and Jumpstart exclusive cards from this set will be in their respective colour reviews.
Without further ado, here are my favourite Green cards!
This is one of the coolest designs in the set. I recognize that a lot of people are disappointed this isn’t legendary. I get that and agree, it’d be cool if this were legendary.
ETB and attack mill three and ramp to play is so sweet. Somebody in design has a Gitrog Monster deck for sure.
The cost reduction on land abilities also does something we never see which is reduce the activated abilities by one even it brings the cost down to 0. Deserted Temple is a standout all star with this card. Let’s not forget that Ashaya, Soul of the Wild turns your nontoken creatures into lands which means they get pumped by the Tortoise and their abilities are discounted! That’s pretty friggin’ sweet.
Speaking of sweet…
Yes, I recognize that Jaheira, Friend of the Forest is a card, but that’s a unique effect and having this on an enchantment is pretty dope. Giving your Food tokens a mana ability gives them utility when you’re sitting on them wondering if it’s worth cracking them for life. In the right deck, this comes down and your Food tokens pay for a few spells or pay to crack this enchantment for the big pump ability.
Being on an enchantment is also great because enchantments can’t be goaded into combat. Enchantments can’t be pinged with some random damage. Blasphemous Act doesn’t hit Night of the Sweets’ Revenge. Wrath of God doesn’t. Farewell can, but boo, Farewell! Boo!
I’ll be running this in my Will the Wise and Mike, the Dungeon Master deck and I assume it’ll go in the Food and Fellowship precon upgrades from here on out.
Two mana to draw a card is the going rate for cycling away a Blasted Landscape. The rest is gravy here. Five mana value isn’t too hard to reach. Casting a five mana spell is as easy as casting a Mulldrifter for 2U with Evoke. See what I’m getting at?
This card could be huge in Modern what with Evoke elementals. Force of Will triggers this. Cost reduction is plentiful. You can make your X spells big enough to cantrip pretty easily, especially in something like Zaxara, the Exemplary or Magus Lucea Kane.
Just look at an Imoti, Celebrant of Bounty list. Vial Smasher the Fierce when partnered with a green partner might have some cool tech that’ll trigger this too.
Up the Beanstalk is going to be a popular uncommon!
Once a turn for each of these abilities is still solid considering in this set there are ways to basically accidentally have artifacts and enchantments enter the battlefield. This is a limited Setessan Champion and it’s still very much worth considering for your enchantress decks, primarily.
Artifact decks? Sure. If you need a gradual beater, pop this in your green artifact deck (Mike and Will maybe).
But while enchantress decks have gotten a lot in recent time to support the archetype, it’s hard to turn down a two drop that rewards you for doing what you want the deck to do and that wears Auras well too.
I am still enamoured by this design. For two mana, you get so much.
ETB create a Food token. No matter how many times it enters, Tough Cookie is giving you a Food token. Not to mention that stuff like Night of the Sweets’ Revenge or Sweettooth Witch counts Tough Cookie because it is a Food!
As it that wasn’t enough, Tough Cookie can turn noncreature artifacts you control into 4/4 artifact creatures without needing to tap it! For three mana! Volrath, the Shapestealer is the first that comes to mind for this. I haven’t gotten all my brew brain wrapped around this, but at the very least, this can turn those Food tokens into pretty strong creatures for three mana at instant speed. That’s pretty spicy.
Honorable Mentions
- Bramble Familiar – One of the most interesting mana dorks out there. If you’ve got lots of mana, you can take advantage big time. Or if you’re playing Gorion, Wise Mentor.
- Court of Garenbrig – Why is this one just three mana? Of all the colours, green has the easiest time making mana. Anyway, this is just for +1/+1 counter decks honestly. I’m not into it, personally.
- Feral Encounter – This a weird fight spell that’s also a limited draw spell that exiles the card? What? What is this?
- Graceful Takedown – Aura decks have one of the most powerful bite spells I’ve ever seen. That said, most of those decks have white and Path to Exile and Swords to Plowshares exist.
- Gruff Triplets – This card is very silly in Esix, Fractal Bloom and don’t even get me started on Rite of Replication.
- Howling Galefang – This is really cool design space for Adventure decks!
- The Huntsman’s Redemption – I find this Saga quite underwhelming. It seems like it’s best in 60-card formats. Saga decks might make use of this but I think there are better ones out there.
- Provisions Merchant – Good way to use Food and get your team pumped with trample. I like it!
- Return from the Wilds – For three mana you either get a Farhaven Elf, half a Brandywine Farmer, or a Rampant Growth that makes you a Food. Pretty good! Flexibility is amazing!
- Royal Treatment – This isn’t Tamiyo’s Safekeeping but it’s this set’s version of it. It creates an Aura and is another protection spell.
- Sentinel of Lost Lore – I can’t believe this says “Choose one or more”. Three mana 3/4 is solid with any one of these abilities but to choose more than one is just great value. Unfortunately, it’s quite likely in EDH that exiling a graveyard is the choice players make with this. This will be big in Standard.
- Skybeast Tracker – I love the flavour on this. A giant archer that hunts the skies for its Food.
- Tanglespan Lookout – This card rules in Aura decks. Eidolon of Blossoms for Auras? Easy include!
- Thunderous Debut – Tooth and Nail at home. Finale of Devastation at home. Not good without bargain. Not great with it.
- Troublemaker Ouphe – This is a new Masked Vandal variant that I quite like. All it requires is bargaining it. That’s an easy cost. But man that artwork is terrifying.
- Virtue of Strength – So a semi-Regrowth for one mana that becomes a Nyxbloom Ancient for basic lands you control. One of the more disappointing cards that we hyped up trying to figure out Mark Rosewater’s set reveal clues.
- Wildwood Mentor – This is a better Syr Faren, the Hengehammer that pumps itself. Unfortunately, it doesn’t grant trample. It can get absolutely huge and will make other creatures massive as well.
That does it for green, check back in soon for artifacts/lands/colourless!
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