In Magic: The Gathering's third Standard set of 2023, we were taken on a trip to a fairy tale land in Wilds of Eldraine. In our first visit to the plane in 2019, we explored a world of big bad wolves and gingerbread houses, but also Arthurian knights and feats of derring do. MTG Wilds of Eldraine ditched Camelot to venture deeper into the woods, showing us more of the fairy tale folk and less of the castles and courtship.
Wilds of Eldraine was the first Standard set in a good while that wasn't part of the Phyrexian plotline. This spanned four sets, beginning with Dominaria United and wrapping up in April 2023 with MTG March of the Machine and its Aftermath set. We love 'em as much as the next player, but it was still a breath of fresh air to get a Magic set with no creepy robots. Check out our MTG 2023 release schedule to see where Wilds of Eldraine fits in.
Below, you'll find all this MTG set's key details. Read on to find out about the key dates, cards, and mechanics of Wilds of Eldraine.
MTG Wilds of Eldraine release date
MTG Wilds of Eldraine released on September 8. This was its global tabletop release date, but a couple of days before that, it came to MTG Arena on September 5.
Leading up to Wilds of Eldraine's release, we had a couple weeks of spoilers, starting on August 15. These were then followed by prerelease events (where cards are now legal as soon as you buy them) on September 1-7.
MTG Wilds of Eldraine cards
Below you'll find a bunch of MTG Wilds of Eldraine cards to peruse, from three powerful witches, to a ton of fairytale folk. Wilds of Eldraine has 266 regular cards and 63 cards in its Enchanting Tales series, a bunch of reprints of iconic enchantment cards.
Check out Eldraine's twist on classic fairytales through cards like the Goosemother and the gummy worm-slicing Gretel. (The Goose also gives us Hydroid Krasis flashbacks). Beseech the Mirror also deserves a shoutout, as a very strong MTG Tutor card.
Other all-star cards from the set include Moonshaker Cavalry. Doing a strong impression of a White Craterhoof Behemoth, it seems destined to end numerous Commander games. Meanwhile, the 'Restless' cycle of creature lands did significant work in the top MTG Arena decks in Standard, while The Irencrag was the first two mana mana rock printed in yonks.
Our first real Wilds of Eldraine spoilers came on July 28, at Barcelona MagicCon. We got to see the new Ashiok card, the only MTG planeswalker in this set, and a ton of the Enchanting Tales reprints with special treatments.
A bunch of other new cards were shown off as well, from angry cookies to the wild hunt. And there was sumptuous artwork to enjoy, artwork that showed Eldraine's takes on new fairytale characters, like Red Riding Hood, and Jack and the Beanstalk.
Before the first spoilers came, MagicCon Minneapolis revealed plenty of artwork from the set. There's the image below of Evolving Wilds, for instance, a reprint that has come up in plenty of sets. (This is artist Alayanna Dayner's second take on the same card, in fact!)
We also met a furious looking gingerbread man, atop her trusty steed. This creature, named Syr Ginger, The Meal Ender is destined to take on Planeswalkers, and she looks like she'd run you through before you can say "not the gumdrop buttons".
MTG Wilds of Eldraine story
In the Wizards Presents 2022 video, we were told that in Wilds of Eldraine, "We're taken away from the cities and castles, and into Eldraine's wilds". It seemed clear that the Camelot subtheme, which sat somewhat uneasily alongside the fairy tale tropes in Throne of Eldraine, would this time be taking a backseat.
In terms of the story, it was revealed the knightly courts fell in the big bad robot invasion, and the king and queen Kenriths were killed.
At MTG Minneapolis, plenty of artwork from the set was shown off. We saw how Will and Rowan Kenrith, newly-orphaned heirs to the throne were taking very different approaches to their plane's (and their personal) tragedy. These two planeswalkers had also lost their sparks, and Wilds of Eldraine started Rowan down a villainous path, influenced by Eriette the witch.
Some context to the set: on Eldraine, a magical sleep was unleashed. Used to defeat the Phyrexians, this power now didn't want to go back in the box, and the nightmare beast Ashiok was lurking to take advantage!
MTG Wilds of Eldraine Commander
The Wilds of Eldraine Commander decks were Fae Dominion and Virtue and Valor. These Commander precons were both pretty mighty. One was a controlling deck centred on Faeries; the other was all about the new Role mechanic, enchanting creatures with auras, before sending them out to fight.
In practice, Tegwyll Duke of Splendor played second fiddle to his deck's alternate Commander Alela, Cunning Conqueror. This was vastly more popular than Ellivere, because people love Dimir Faeries. However, Ellivere's Fae Dominion deck was terrifying, able to create massive creatures and loads of card draw.
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