Wilds of Eldraine Commander Set Review

It’s time for the Wilds of Eldraine Commander set review — a set I love the look of. Our set reviews here at Card Kingdom only delve into the most useful and powerful cards for your collection, and we’re less concerned with super niche cards for only one deck, so we won’t be covering every card… just most of them. 

You can find other recent Commander set reviews here:

• Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth
• March of the Machine: Aftermath
• March of the Machine
• Phyrexia: All Will Be One
• The Brother’s War
• Battle for Baldur’s Gate

WILDS OF ELDRAINE: WHITE

Archon of the Wild Rose slots right into the Virtue and Valor precon. 

Going wide with Auras has historically been less viable, but in today’s Commander climate, you should be forcing your opponents to play more board wipes. It’s a neat way to beef up those fragile enchantress creatures and end the game. 

I’m not super into new board wipes, but in Expel the Interlopers, we do have a mostly-better version of Fell the Mighty. That makes it worth a mention.

Not having to target your creature stops this from being a blowout. It also means the card is castable when you have nothing in play. I can see tokens decks that get attack trigger buffs (think Shared Animosity) that would like this quite a bit. That and Walls/big booty decks. 

You waited. And I tell you what; tick followed tock followed tick followed tock followed tick. The mono green player laughed; I don’t care who you are, here’s to your dream.

The mono-white devotees returned to their decks. And play design hit the beat with all their might. Good things come to those who wait.

It’s white Craterhoof Behemoth. 

Spellbook Vendor is a little unassuming. The way you want to think about this card is that it’s way closer to {1}: Draw a card in Enchantress decks that have EtB card draw based on Auras/Enchantments. It also grows your count for cards like Ancestral Mask. 

Will it be hard to find a slot for? Potentially. Is it serviceable? Definitely. 

As already mentioned, going wide with enchanted creatures isn’t usually super viable. That said, A Tale for the Ages is a solid buff for two mana. 

It’ll shine in a deck like Estrid or in a deck using Role tokens. It’s reasonable to assume we’ll see more aura tokens going forward, so it’ll potentially age pretty well. 

It’s great to see that our revisit to Eldraine has made up for the pretty mediocre Circle of Loyalty with Virtue of Loyalty. Getting to untap your board, while growing it, is a very powerful effect — one that at first glance might seem under baked. 

I assure you it isn’t. Making a token along the way is nice, but a lot of the time we’re slamming this for five and we’re happy. 

Top five white Common/Uncommons:

1. Discerning Financier: The kind of mono-white value hitherto unprinted, sure to excite those of use who enjoy white’s catchup mechanics and/or play Smothering Tithe. Not for Sword of the Animist decks, though.
2. Stroke of Midnight: Oh hey, a 1/1 Human is smaller than a 3/3 Elephant. A 1/1 Human cannot, however, destroy a Maze of Ith or Cabal Coffers. Still very playable.
3. Return Triumphant: Two mana has become pretty standard for returning MV3 or less creatures to play. Not as good as Recommission, but you may want both.
4. Solitary Sanctuary: Hylda comes hot cool on the tails of Rhoda and Timin, and both decks could play this.
5. The Princess Takes Flight: With all of the tools Saga decks have to manipulate counters, this could be a solid roleplayer.

WILDS OF ELDRAINE: BLUE

Blue has always been a color that struggles dealing with creatures permanently. I still think it should be, to an extent, but it’s nice to see more board wipe options either way. 

Asinine Antics asks opponents’ creatures to show some Humility. I love the flash speed mode; it’s sure to create some real blowouts in your games. You could say I’m pretty high on this card.

Extraordinary Journey is kind of the blue card in the cycle (if the cycle had Meathook Massacre and Spiteful Banditry). I say kind of because it’s a lot more cost intensive. 

The card is still relatively decent, though — especially if you look at it as a six mana play. You can even cast it for four, as a tempo play, against decks that cast from exile (à la Prosper). 

We’ve seen how good Aerial Extortionist is. Give this a playtest. 

I loved Memory Deluge from MID. And likewise, Farsight Ritual is a fun iteration on the four mana draw spell. Bargaining lets your sight go far indeed — Digging through Time itself. Solid, if replacement level. 

Talion’s Messenger is the Ledger Shredder we have at home. Outside of a Faerie deck, you probably would prefer Ledger Shredder. 

In one though? It’s the kind of unassuming curve filler that keeps your deck going. I wouldn’t be unhappy to draw and play it. 

Virtue of Knowledge is probably the strongest of the cycle for Commander. Vantress Visions is a one shot mash-up of Rings of Brighthearth and Strionic Resonator (which is ironic given the self same Rings look like they appear in the art for Virtue of Loyalty, right?). 

Having a strong Adventure bumps up the card, but it’s still good at five mana. A lot of decks that run Panharmonicon and Panhar-Mommy-con are incidentally blue decks, which will snap this up, too. 

Top five blue Common/Uncommons:

1. Chancellor of Tales: You’re going to need this for your Adventures deck, kid. 
2. Spell Stutter: Versatile counter that shouldn’t be hard to turn on, especially in the new Alela or UB Changeling builds, like Sivitri or Volos + Background.
3. Mocking Sprite: Way more at home in Alela, Cunning Conqueror control than anywhere else (which is literally where you can find one in the precon). 
4. Quick Study: Instant-speed Divination has to be worth something to someone, even if three mana for two cards is a little steep in Commander.
5. Freeze in Place: In the right deck, this either does exactly enough or can be proliferated. 

 WILDS OF ELDRAINE: BLACK

Ashiok, Wicked Manipulator is wicked at manipulating your library. Tired pun? Sure, but I’m a little sleepy. 

Aside from orchestrating the Eternal Sleep, Ashiok laughs at the life cost of Necropotence, Bolas’ Citadel and Hatred, turning them into self-mill wincons too. That’s powerful. 

Beseech the Mirror is low-key kinda bonkers. At least in Modern and Legacy it’s your copies five through eight of The One Ring — but also your way to get rid of the burden of said ring. 

Meanwhile, in Commander-land, it’s a tutor that lets you cast the card for free if it’s cheap. So, in Commander, it’s a wildcard for one half of your combo. Yeah, that’s really good. 

Lich-Knights’ Conquest asks: what if Living Death and Reprocess had a child? Well, it’d look like this. 

Honestly, I’m really high on it. One sided recursion at five mana, for multiple targets, is aggressively costed. It also doesn’t target, so in theory if you sacrifice artifact creatures or enchantment creatures, you can essentially get a board-flicker without being in blue or white. Spicy.

Baba Lysaga has entered the chat. 

Between Palantir of Orthanc, Call of the Ring and Lord Skitter’s Blessing, I’ll finally stop seeing Phyrexian Arena across the table. 

It’s been a while since we’ve had a Hornet Nest. It’s a little harder to turn on given it can’t block, but Tangled Colony fits in any RB deck wanting to go wide and play burn wraths.

Move over Debtors’ Knell, Virtue of Persistence is here with an early game removal spell along the way. Other than devotion, there’s not much reason to run Knell over this now.

Top five black Common/Uncommons:

1. Ashiok’s Reaper: Between Sagas and Auras, investing in some out-the-door card draw is a good plan. Not every deck can run Femeref Enchantress.
2. Back for Seconds: The Victimize we have at home is actually fairly decent. Rezzing a crucial EtB creature and saving another in hand for three is deece.
3. Shatter the Oath: Black enchantment removal is hard to come by. Feed the Swarm is cheaper, but who knows. Maybe you’ll take both.
4. Rowan’s Grim Search: An instant speed version of black’s staple draw effect, with the ability to juice it beyond Dark Bargain or Demon’s Due.
5. Twisted Sewer-Witch: A little niche but a great way to score a rat-trick. 

WILDS OF ELDRAINE: RED

At face value, Charming Prince is a little better than Charming Scoundrel. Still, Human or Rogue decks will welcome a hasty creature to trigger combat effects, especially when she makes a Lotus Petal. Pretty nifty body to copy/flicker for value.

Imodane, the Pyrohammer. Damn, that artwork. 

As a Commander, she’s not providing enough card advantage, I think, to be buildable. There aren’t enough aggressively costed red removal spells worth playing. Board wipes are just more efficient. 

She could fit into the 99, though, and provide a bit more of a clock. 

If I had a nickel for every Flying + Haste Dragon I’ve reviewed lately that could come in at a reduced cost, I’d have two nickels. It’s not a lot, but it’s funny that it’s happened twice in two set reviews. 

Cavern-Hoard Dragon this is not, by any means, but Realm-Scorcher Hellkite is still worth a look. 

Having explosive turns is what wins you Commander games. Being able to drop this for two in, say, Miirym, and then convert the refund into another Dragon? That is, as the kids say, walue. Worst case you just Shock something anyway.

Redcap Gutter-Dweller achieves the impressive feat of being a Goblin you want to make room for in your Goblin deck. It offers repeatable card advantage every turn, and for the first two turns, he doesn’t even eat into your supply of Gobbos. Once the larder’s dry, though… Mogg-lent Green, anyone? 

If this keeps up, my Neyali deck will just be a series of X spells that make hasty tokens, but I can’t complain. 

Song of Totentanz is a huge pickup for exactly those kinds of go-wide decks. It’s also a subtle hint that it’s ok to play more board wipes. Please. Play them.

Virtue of Courage is actually… quite good? There are a bunch of decks that can reliably trigger this, from Ashling to Neheb, the Eternal. Flame Rift lets you see four cards. Shalai and Hallar will trigger this perhaps even too often. Card’s good. 

Top five red Common/Uncommons:

1. Flick a Coin: Money can be exchanged for goods and services. Flick a Coin is just as versatile. Zada? Anhelo? Triggering Enrage? 
2. Witch’s Mark: Thrill of Possibility comes in many flavors. I still think Bitter Reunion tops the list, but Mark has a use in Voltron builds.
3. Boundary Lands Ranger: Repeatable on-board draw for two mana, in mono-red. Tasty.
4. Unruly Catapult: Another pinger for spell-slinger. Some decks will care about this being an artifact.
5. Grabby Giant: Two pretty interesting effects on a Reach body makes this a viable budget pick.

 WILDS OF ELDRAINE: GREEN

Blossoming Tortoise. What. A. Card. 

You don’t have to return a land that you milled — it could already be there. It does this on EtB and attack. It fills your yard with creatures to reanimate. And it makes Cabal Coffers cost one less? Deserted Temple free? 

This is a Golgari staple if ever I’ve seen one. 

I get the feeling Bramble Familiar will be overplayed. It’s fine, and I think in big-mana decks that play enough doublers (or triplers), it’ll overperform. But on average, it fits into way fewer decks than you’d think. 

You’ll get more out of Bird of Paradise, Armored Scrapgorger and Selvala, Heart of the Wilds… even if she does kinda enable Bramble Familiar. 

Green furthers its juggernaut-like ascent into being-good-at-everything by now rewarding us for both artifacts and enchantments on one card. 

Elvish Archivist only triggers once a turn, but you should consider taking it over other Enchantresses if you’re making a lot of Clues or Treasures. Especially if you’re playing Smothering Tithe. Ha!

Tooth and Nail just got reprinted in Commander Masters, so if you wanna grab one, they’re pretty affordable. If you’d rather crack packs of WOE,  you might open Thunderous Debut. 

For all intents and purposes, it’ll play like Tooth and Nail. But to shave that one whole mana off, you’re relying on variance and having to sacrifice something first. 

Ostensibly it will still help you win games, but unless you’re on a super tight budget, I’d grab Tooth and Nail first. And then maybe Vivien, Monster’s Advocate.  

Mono-green stompy just got hooked up again. Virtue of Strength is really good, but specifically really good in mono-green. I could see an argument for running this in Gruul or Selsenya with over ⅔ basic lands, but unless you commit to running mostly basics, you’ll struggle. 

You can build around it, though, by running Sword of the Animist, Bitterthorn and/or Kodama of the West Tree.

Top five green Common/Uncommons:

1. Night of the Sweets’ Revenge: It’s a food win-con and big bump of mana. You already play Jaheira, so why not this?
2. Up the Beanstalk: There are plenty of decks like Imoti that would love to have all of their spells replace themselves. 
3. Troublemaker Ouphe: Disenchants are a dime-a-dozen, but this Ouphe offers quite the bargain.
4. Tanglespan Lookout: I’d take a lot of enchantresses before this one, but it’s sweet for budget decks or to fill a gap.
5. Return from the Wilds: The kind of uninteresting card that smooths out a deck like Food-matters. 

WILDS OF ELDRAINE: MULTICOLOR

What’s cooking Mommy? Magic players are thirsty AF, and there’s nothing they like better than a card to simp over. Nothing, of course, except powerful cards to simp over. 

Beyond providing reasonable value in the ‘zone, Agatha can bubble, bubble, toil and double. Infinitely. Pick a combo and go to town.

The Apprentice’s Folly is good value. You can’t just sit and replicate your best creature, but you do get to have hasty understudies two turns in a row — at least until curtain’s call. 

Eriette of the Charmed Apple is maybe a little less exciting than on first inspection. She’s less “pacifisms.dec” and more in a similar vein to cards like Breena, the Demagogue. 

You want to be running goading Auras, and — if you’re feeling frisky — the kinds that provide huge buffs. All That Glitters is not gold, however, because if they do remove Eriette you’re bound to be bonked for a chunk. 

On the plus side, she has a win condition baked in. Give everyone a role, goad them up, ???, profit?

The Goose Mother is absurd. It’s in a color combination that can make X massive. Violence was, indeed, the only ever option. 

Simic artifacts has had decent support as of late, as has Simic “Birds and Beasts.” You can piece together something with those cards that even Volo would baulk at — and he’s seen it all. 

At least it only draws one card when it attacks. As a treat.

Whatever expectations you had for me reviewing this card, I would urge you to let them go. I can do straight-laced — just watch.

Hylda of the Icy Crown is just a good Magic card. It feels like “Scry 2, draw a card” has power-crept “draw a card,” unless that’s just a WOE thing (but I digress). 

Rhoda and Timin is a popular tap down deck, but it ends up being more of an Azorious prison kind of deck. I suspect Hylda will be able to turn the corner better — and if she can? That’s only a good thing. Games have to end. 

Likeness Looter does a lot for two mana. As much as its an obvious card for Faerie decks, it’s probably going to be way more impressive in a general Reanimator build, where it can enable itself. 

2023 design, folks.

Rowan, Scion of War will far outpace Will, Scion of Peace. It’s way less mana intensive to lose life than it is to gain it, for a start, but Rakdos is also better set up to have the kind of explosive turn that wins the game without having to resort to tired combos. 

She’s also arguably more badass, despite Will having stellar Ryan Pancoast art. 

Talion, the Kindly Lord is one of a number of Dimir Faeries to build. He’s the only one that doesn’t necessarily drag you into creature-matters, though.

So which number should you choose? Well, it’s probably always two or three. Your decision should be affected by how low the curves of your opponent’s decks are, though, and absolutely should be informed by the mana value of opposing Commanders. 

Yenna, Redtooth Regent took me like three read-throughs to grok. Basically, you get to pay {2} to copy an enchantment you control as long as you don’t already have a copy/clone of it. If it’s an Aura, she untaps herself and you scry 2. 

That’s pretty damn strong, especially given a common play pattern will be to copy an Enchant Land Aura onto an untapped land, and then use the newly generated mana to go again.

Don’t forget if you create a token copy of a Pacifism effect, you don’t target with it on the stack; it just comes into play, and then you choose what it enchants. This gets around hexproof and shroud. The same rules oddity has been used historically with In Bolas’ Clutches in Sisay, Weatherlight Captain decks.

Beluna is your Adventure Commander. If your dream is to put them all in one deck, then here she is. Where do you go with it? Well you could slot in Labman/Thoracle, I suppose…

Cool character, still probably not enough Adventure cards to make this an “archetype” that doesn’t otherwise just win with the same Temur win-cons. There’s a famous phrase about could and should. 

Just play Gorion instead.

Decadent Dragon is one of the better two color adventures. 

In Commander, we’re playing this in a deck that already makes treasures, right? In a Dragon focused deck, you may find you don’t cast Expensive Taste very often as you try to curve out, but it’s still nice to have. 

Heartflame Duelist is an extra Lightning Bolt, which is kinda nice considering you don’t have many reasons to actually play the card when you’re in RW. 

What we’re here for, however, is the two mana way to get lifelink on our burn spells. Always nice to see archetypes with few real roleplayers getting some new tech, too. Casting Blasphemous Act over this will gain you so. much. life. 

Kellan, the Fae-Blooded is another… Boros equipment Commander! Why is he good? Well, he gives you a copy of Open the Armory in the CZ, and he can buff your team if you go wide.

Does that make him better than Wyleth, Nahiri, Akiri, Fearless Voyager or Ardenn + Rograkh? I’d say not. 

He does offer some new space to include tokens in your equipment decks, though, prompting another look at Staff of Titania and Infested Fleshcutter. Boros decks that go wide when playing equipment tend to reward sharing, rather than stacking, so he’s a little at odds with established play patterns. Still a great card in the 99, however.

WILDS OF ELDRAINE: ARTIFACTS & LANDS

Agatha’s Soul Cauldron really must contain Agatha’s sauce of power, because it, too, combos with a bunch of stuff. If you’re not all in on playing it with Grist, the Hunger Tide to do some weird stuff, then you’re more interested in the general use case. 

The Cauldron lets you play ramp like Thran Dynamo and use it for activated abilities. It’s also a nice piece of incremental graveyard hate that gives you some extra advantage for your efforts, occasionally netting a strong activated ability.

If for whatever reason you’re not a fan of Phyrexian Altar, there’s probably a way to turn Ashnod’s Altar mana into some kind of engine. Maybe. 

Hylda’s Crown of Winter is really nice burst draw with a relevant activated ability. As much as it might appear a more control-oriented card, in Commander, it’s actually a decent tool for aggressive decks too. 

You can tap down a block in order to attack and then refill your hand when someone tries to get you on the crackback. Naturally, when this is done against you, that opponent will always draw a fog. Every time.

Every small gain pays dividends in Voltron, and getting a Voltron/Equipment focused mana rock is one such boon not to ignore. 

Late game, that +3/3 could really matter. It does compete for a slot with Liquimetal Torque, though… which is very underplayed alongside Sword of Sinew and Steel and other staple disenchants.

Syr Ginger, the Meal Ender is a top-down meme of a card. Syr Ginger, of course, is out for revenge on Garruk. 

How does it play? Well, it’s a pretty reasonable card in dedicated artifact creature decks but, for the most part, the ability keywords will be offline. 

If it still does enough for two mana then sure, why not? You could in theory loop some artifacts to grow her and then gain a bunch of life, but that’s one too many hoops. 

The land cycle in Wilds of Eldraine is pretty mid, but if you want to put them in your decks, they aren’t a terrible choice. The best of the bunch is Restless Cottage, mainly because it has the most utility and best stat-line-per-mana-investment.

A few more notable Common/Uncommons:

• Collector’s Vault is the kind of smoothing that comes along once in a while. Stellar inclusion for mono-white, Boros and Orzhov if you ask me.
• Greta, Sweettooth Scourge is a great alternative to Gyome or Hobbits if you want a food deck. She draws cards!
• Totentanz, Swarm Piper gives you an opportunity to break the mold to try Rakdos Rats
• Obyra, Dreaming Duelist is a win condition in Faerie decks, but secretly just a good Commander.
• Eriette’s Tempting Apple is notable: a four mana colorless threaten is very rare.

END STEP

That’s Wilds of Eldraine in the books. I am very excited for this set: sweet new cards, exciting Commanders and great reprints on the bonus sheet. There’s a little something for everyone. 

Don’t forget that we’ve got plenty of boosties and singles if you’re wanting to get a bite at that beautiful crystal apple. Meanwhile, let us know on Twitter what you’re brewing from Wilds of Eldraine.