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 Red cards!
This is one of the coolest burn commanders since… well, actually since last Eldraine when we got Torbran, Thane of Red Fell. Imodane is very cool and different and gives home too all of those instants and sorceries that do a lot of damage to just creatures and turns them into a burn on your opponents’ life totals.
Remember, the instant or sorcery needs to only target a single creature. If you copy that spell and it’s got a single target too, that also still works! Play stuff like Explosive Singularity and Into the Maw of Hell. Pack the deck with Stuffy Doll and Brash Taunter. Really go off!
Don’t forget to pack your Forbidden Orchards and Akroan Horse!
I am a Prosper, Tome-Bound player on the verge of also becoming an Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin player. Suffice it to say, if you know me, you’re aware that I love 1. Rakdos 2. Graveyard strategies, and 3. Prosper exile matters decks.
When your deck is Reckless Fireweaver, Impact Tremors, and Ingenious Artillerist and you get three cards per trigger, it’s really hard to not look at this card like the all-star that it is. Five mana isn’t a huge cost when you’ve got so much to go with. Be careful pairing this with Valakut Exploration, though, you’ll just lose three cards if you let anything hit the bin.
With each of the Virtues, being able to tuck it into exile with the Adventure mode means that it likely won’t get wheeled away. But in this case, in a Prosper or Faldorn deck, that’s added upside! You get an exile cast and boom! Gravy!
At first, I wasn’t sure if I liked this card. It’s red Grave Titan lite. Hmm.
But then you realize that Grave Titan is pretty great and this is so red even its tokens are all about attacking.
Being able to stack a few triggers means you’ll have some pretty big Rats going in for a bite. Pop this in your Jaxis, the Troublemaker decks and your Rionya, Fire Dancer decks and watch your opponents scramble about what to do.
I really, really love that we’re seeing more Titan designs. A reminder of Magic’s old top end and yet they remain iconic and strong. Primeval Titan is a house in older formats. Sun Titan gets reprinted with such regularity it was the old Zetalpa, Primal Dawn. Titans are fun designs! And that’s why I love the Chitterlord.
This is the closest thing we’re getting to How to Keep an Izzet Mage Busy when it comes to card names. It’s just a game to them. Flick a Coin is a red card, but make no mistake, it’s an Izzet card because it’s only going in decks with blue in it too. I dare you to tell me I’m wrong.
Flick a Coin should be the top end of your Thousand-Year Storm so you can refill your hand, get mana, and whittle down your opponents’ life totals or defences. It’s just fine when you cast it on its own. But when you’ve got cost reductions and ways to “storm” this card, it’s scary… for your opponents.
Charming Prince, Callous Bloodmage, Aether Channeler, and now Charming Scoundrel.
I love Charms on creatures. We saw Lord Skitter’s Butcher in blacks cards in this set and I liked that. I also really like Charming Scoundrel. ETB for a rummage is great especially when you’re in a Madness deck. ETB create a Treasure is also great. ETB get an Aura token that pings all opponents when it goes to the graveyard has many applications – triggers constellation, Altar of the Brood, Kodama of the East Tree, etc.
When you’ve got a way to flicker or copy this (like in your Jaxis, the Troublemaker or Rionya, Fire Dancer decks) or get this in and out of your graveyard, you’ll be getting a lot out of your two mana creature.
Honorable Mentions
- Bespoke Battlegarb – Any equipment with a free equip clause is worth noting!
- Boundary Lands Ranger – Got big creatures? Free rummage at combat for two mana seems pretty good.
- Charging Hooligan – If you’re in an aggro deck, this can get real big. Fling it!
- Court of Embereth – This version of the Court cycle is fine. Get a 3/1 at your upkeep, that’s sweet. But get keep the monarch (Aragorn, King of Gondor) and you’ve got a token army, you’ll make a dent in life totals. Grand Warlord Radha and Eomer, King of Rohan are great homes for this.
- Food Fight – This is big whatever. If you can copy it a bunch, cool, but I don’t care about it. Sorry!
- Frantic Firebolt – Imodane, the Pyrohammer will love this.
- Gnawing Crescendo – Three mana for all of your nontoken creatures dying into tokens can be the perfect end to the game when you’ve got your aristocrats sacrifice engine online.
- Goddric, Cloaked Reveler – This doesn’t trigger Dragon stuff unless you’ve had two permanents enter and even then you won’t get cast triggers. The Dragon pump is sweet, but I just really don’t like this card. I’ve seen some chat about this card being underwhelming and I agree.
- Grabby Giant – Zirda, the Dawnwaker decks will have a great time with this card. A sacrifice outlet for artifacts and lands, that’s a new one!
- Harried Spearguard – Apparently this is the first red Doomed Traveler, which is notable. Lyzolda, the Blood Witch seems like a great fit.
- Korvold and the Noble Thief – Sagas have their commanders and token doublers are out there. This gets a nod because Korvold is a popular commander and, hey, his name is in there!
- Raging Battle Mouse – I don’t know how to feel about this but I imagine getting to play Lotus Petal into free Sol Ring will feel like dreams are coming true.
- Realm-Scorcher Hellkite – The ETB doesn’t trigger unless it’s bargained and therefore cannot be blinked or reanimated for value. The activated ability is expensive but is a great infinite mana outlet.
- Redcap Gutter-Dweller – Semi Outpost Siege that requires a creature sacrifice at upkeep.
- Rotisserie Elemental – I don’t know if I like this card yet. Exile matters decks will like this if it can get through to deal some combat damage.
- Song of Totentanz – Tempt with Vengeance at home but can also be a sorcery speed one mana haste for your board if you need it.
- Stonesplitter Bolt – Imodane, the Pyrohammer will love this more.
- Twisted Fealty – Oh, man! They’ve gone and done it! Act of Treason is powercrept.
That does it for red, check back in soon for green!
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