Introduction

I ignored the previous set release on the page, other than to talk crap about Lord of the Rings (again) and expose their dirty, stinking capitalist hearts through my analysis of the “One Ring“. Outside of the page, I actually played one of the commander decks from the set because Chris and Jason splurged for them. I picked the Galadriel, Elven-Queen deck and elf things happened. Unfortunately, they happened a bit too slowly and succumbed to removal. Now, you know all about my MTG adventures between March of the Machine and this Wilds of Eldraine Esper article.

Speaking of adventures (how about that segue?), the return to Eldraine brings the mechanic back into Standard. Other mechanics in the game are “role tokens”, bargain, and celebration. You can read about these keywords and mechanics. here. However, I’m sure I will discuss them at some point in this article, too.

Wilds of Eldraine White Honorable Mention (Fun Police Reporting for Duty)

All three of these cards feed right into my play style. Those of you who follow the page know that I’m only happy in Magic the Gathering when my opponent is absolutely miserable. So, exiling and locking their board sounds like fun to me! I loved playing Glass Casket the last time around. Glad they brought it back. Cooped up just looks like a more powerful Pacifism (my favorite card of all time) and Break the Spell gives enchantment hate in a world full of enchantment. Yes, please!

Wilds of Eldraine White Card I Love (Bring Back My Weenie!)

I always wanted to make a white weenie deck. Okay, here’s the actual truth. Once upon a time, I wanted to make a deck for each of the colors and color combinations in Magic the Gathering. I put together a spreadsheet and everything. For white, I envision a tiny leaders deck. Well, that dream died like so many of my other gaming dreams. “Hey,” you might say, “dreams aren’t dead until you are!” Thanks for the inspiration, random internet denizen. I appreciate it. I don’t see any legendary white weenies in this deck, so I need to do more research. But, be on the lookout for my (possibly insane) “Deck in every single color and combination in Magic the Gathering” series of articles. Coming soon-ish.

Wilds of Eldraine Blue Honorable Mention (Playing into Open Blue Mana? You Fool)

Regular readers of the page will not be surprised by the selections here. I already talked about my fondness of fun police decks. Countering spells is my favorite part of that strategy. Why remove something when you can simply prevent them from casting it? Same for drawing cards, searching their library, gaining life, really anything. I know I sound like a hypocrite because I often speak out against solo Magic the Gathering, but countering spells is just good, clean, interactive game play. The way Richard Garfield intended.

Wilds of Eldraine Blue Card I Love (You Get a Trigger, and You Get a Trigger, Everyone Gets a Trigger!)

I don’t often play ETB trigger decks, but I can be persuaded to change. Especially playing this deck on Arena or xMage sounds fun. I too often miss triggers when actually playing the cards. I just don’t play my decks enough to remember what all of the cards do. If I build this deck for actual play, I will need to goldfish it or come up with a way to remember all of the triggers. Because zero times two is still zero. *sad trombone*

Wilds of Eldraine Black Cards Honorable Mention (Removal, Limited Thoughtseize, and A Terrible Pun)

First, let me clear the air. I don’t know that “Scream Puff” is strictly a pun. I belong to a pun group on Facebook and people often argue that things like rebus and something along the lines of “Scream Puff” aren’t actually puns. The thing is, I can’t find another category for it. So, if it’s not a pun, don’t scream at me about it. Let me know what it actually is, so I can learn. As far as the other cards, The End feels like a fun trick to play on your opponent late game and I think that Thoughtseize with exile instead of life loss might be slightly better. I’m sure Spikes out there will tell me why I’m wrong.

Wilds of Eldraine Black Card I Love (Guess Who’s Back?)

This is one of the first cards I saw from the set. While it doesn’t explicitly do things that I often do in Magic the Gathering, I still found myself drawn to the card. I like Ashiok’s lore in the game and I welcome them coming back to grace us with their presence. Hey, I always tell you. It isn’t the best cards in the deck. It’s Wilds of Eldraine Esper Cards I Love.

The Verdict

Wilds of Eldraine Esper cards aren’t terribly powerful. But, they are interesting and fun. That’s all I ask out of my Magic the Gathering cards. People often ask, why put bad cards in your deck? I say, why not? When I top deck that terrible card in just the right situation one out of a thousand times, you can bet I’m going to take a picture of that moment and post it on our Instagram.

Notes: Card images taken from Mythic Spoiler