Wilds of Eldraine (WOE) Limited Set Review: Artifacts, Lands, and Multicolor Part 1

Hey everyone! I hope you’re ready to get wild in the crazy world of Eldraine. Things have changed since the last time we visited with a serious lack of Elk related humor. Instead, we are focusing on WotC’s strange takes on classic fairy tales. That means that it is filled with puns and dad jokes galore so it’s clearly designed to go along with my writing style.

On top of that I get to pronounce WOE exactly like Joey Lawerence every time. Granted most of you are thinking “What is this old man blathering about, someone get him his meds.” I can assure you it was a thing back in the day with Avatar of Woe.

Per usual, I’ll be grading the entire set for the purpose of limited as well as writing about a million other articles about it until they let me out of the content creation dungeon. With all that, you’ll be well prepared to crush some dreams.

For those of you wondering if I missed some cards, the adventures that require different colors for each part are in the multicolor section. The Enchanting Tales bonus sheet will have its own article as well.

Here’s the usual grading scale:

• 5.0: Disgustingly powerful and basically unbeatable. Either answer it the turn it comes down or just pack up your cards. (Tovolar's Huntmaster, The Meathook Massacre, Starnheim Unleashed)
• 4.5: Incredible bomb that still gives your opponent a slim chance. (Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Alrund's Epiphany, Grand Master of Flowers)
• 4.0: Great rare or the absolute best uncommons and removal. (Froghemoth, Morbid Opportunist, Skullport Merchant)
• 3.5: Great role filler or removal that you never cut. (Magic Missile, Cathartic Pyre, Battle Cry Goblin)
• 3.0: Good playable that I’m basically never cutting. (Usher of the Fallen, Search Party Captain, Dragon Turtle)
• 2.5: Decent playable and the bar I hope nearly every card in my deck to reach. (Mourning Patrol, Steadfast Paladin, Goblin Morningstar)
• 2.0: Mediocre filler that normally is your 20-23rd card(s). (Contact Other Plane, Mindleech Ghoul, Timberland Guide)
• 1.5: Replaceable, overall bad filler. Could also be decent sideboard cards. (Secrets of the Key, Spiked Pit Trap, Village Rites)
• 1.0: Bad filler. Gets cut most of the time. (Secret Door, Mystic Skull, Funeral Longboat)
• 0.5: Very unhappy to main deck this, but maybe it has fringe sideboard applications. (You See a Guard Approach, Bramble Armor, Compelled Duel)
• 0.0: Unplayable in every possible situation. (Mimic, Change of Fortune, Curse of Shaken Faith)

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Artifacts

Agatha’s Soul Cauldron

Rating: 1.5/5

The first part doesn’t really do anything until you exile a creature with an activated ability of a different color so we can basically ignore that. There aren’t a ton of creatures that have interesting activated abilities at common to hand out besides maybe Unruly Catapult or Frostbridge Guard.

That leaves this as a slow source of +1/+1 counters, but that needs creatures in the graveyard to get it going. Unless your opponent is cooperating by playing an attrition game, it’s going to be hard to keep fueling it. It is instant speed which allows you to threaten it during combat, but they can see it coming and block accordingly.

Candy Trail

Rating: 1.5/5

This card would have been a major player if it simply had “when this goes to the graveyard, draw a card” instead of having to use the sacrifice ability to get a card. As it is, it’s probably going to sucker a few too many people to follow the Candy Trail right into a trap. Unless you have some great food synergies or are seriously lacking a card twenty-three, don’t fall for it.

Collector’s Vault

Rating: 1.5/5

Pharm reps used to bring me so much Panera Bread that whenever I had to actually pay for it, it just felt wrong. I feel the same way about looting effects.

Granted this does technically only cost one mana after you get the treasure and it enables a lot of things through those treasures. It’ll be good when it’s out during a long game, but it’s not going to do much early on.

Eriette’s Tempting Apple

Rating: 1.5/5

What is this card even doing? A colorless Threaten for four mana that you can pay two mana and sacrifice it to either gain three life or deal three to your opponent. So far the artifacts have been following a theme of filler cards you aren’t going to be thrilled with playing.

I could see it stealing a game here or there, but I am certainly not tempted by this.

Gingerbrute

Rating: 2.0/5

Your boi is back! This thing can get extremely annoying especially if it has some kind of aura on it. Would you look at that, Role auras are actually a big theme of the set. There aren’t a ton of creatures that are going to have haste to be able to block this so Gingy is going to be getting his beat on.

Hylda’s Crown of Winter

Rating: 4.0/5

Cheaper Icy Manipulator (yeah, it can only hit creatures, but that’s what Icy does 98% of the time) that can potentially be turned into a whole bunch of cards. Considering it’s colorless, there’s a good shot that this card should never be passed P1P1.

Prophetic Prism

Rating: 1.5/5

If you’re splashing or in need of something to sacrifice to Bargain, then this cheaply replaces itself before sitting there awaiting it’s turn to be tossed in the dumpster. This isn’t an auto-include because you can’t get away with taking turn two off all the time.

Scarecrow Guide

Rating: 1.5/5

I don’t really include this when I’m considering my ability to splash because it’s way too fragile. Losing your mana fixer to a Rat Out is a great way to be guided down the path to the next game.

Soul-Guide Lantern

Rating: 1.0/5

There aren’t enough graveyard things going on in this set to mainboard this.  You also don’t get the card if you sacrifice it to Bargain. Short form, don’t play this in the main.

Syr Ginger, the Meal Ender

Rating: 2.0/5

Thematically this is such a glorious card that anyone who watched the trailer for the original Eldraine set immediately understood.

The card itself is playable, but not great in limited. They are only going to have a Planewalker if they have Ashiok, Wicked Manipulator which means you have bigger problems to worry about than getting those bonuses.

You really need to sacrifice at least an artifact or two to get this going, otherwise it’s a sad little 3/1 for two.

The Irencrag

Rating: 2.0/5

I’m going to always refer to this as the Aggro Crag because I have GUTS. If you got that reference, how’s your back feeling today?

A two-mana ramp card that comes in untapped is something that felt like a thing of the past. This one helps you get going and then turns into a big old equipment later on for the small ask of a legendary creature.

Alright, that’s actually not a small ask, just makes sure you have some if you play this.

Three Bowls of Porridge

Rating: 1.5/5

This feels like you’ll be durdling around with it when the three bears get home early and take care of business. Being four mana into two damage is just not something I’m interested in even if I can get two other minor effects from it before it goes away.

Lands

Crystal Grotto

Rating: 2.0/5

I don’t really want to be relying on this as a mana fixer for my main colors because adding an additional mana to anything is a pretty big cost. I mostly just want to play this in the same deck as I would a Zhalfirin Void with the upside of paying for off color adventures.

Edgewall Inn

Rating: 3.0/5

This Inn appears to be pretty welcoming. Functionally it is similar to Evolving Wilds in that you get whichever color you need with it coming into play tapped. The option of getting back your best adventure card in the late game is a great bonus on top of something you would be playing anyway.

Evolving Wilds

Rating: 2.5/5

We’ve played this card in a ton of sets and no matter how much sets have evolved, it’s always good. It especially puts in work in a set like this without non-rare dual lands.

Restless Bivouac

Rating: 3.0/5

All of the restless lands are great if you are already in these colors because they mana fix and let you have a creature in the land slot. This one is fairly cheap to activate and can help snowball the game if your opponent doesn’t deal with it.

Restless Cottage

Rating: 3.5/5

Have you ever been smacked in the face with a house? This cottage will leave you feeling like the Wicked Witch of the East after turning into a 4/4. Doesn’t feel homey enough for you? Don’t worry it even provides the comfort of food to keep you nice and relaxed.

Restless Fortress

Rating: 3.0/5

I’m not a huge fan of the 1/4 stat line, but at least that means it has a chance to survive combat. The draining for two on attack is the big deal here because it doesn’t take many of those to put the game out of reach.

Restless Spire

Rating: 3.0/5

I like this one a little less than some of the others even though it is the cheapest option. I never want to activate this early in the game unless my opponent is tapped out because losing a land is a huge setback. Once the game is stable, it is only a 2/1 first striker which doesn’t do much.

Restless Vinestalk

Rating: 3.5/5

This big boy can cause some serious problems when it rumbles into the red zone. It is even kind enough to upgrade one of your little guys into a Centaur Courser. That ability doesn’t have to target your creatures so you can shrink their creature if they happen to have something bigger than this.

Multicolor Part One

Agatha of the Vile Cauldron

Rating: 2.0/5

Not pumping herself is kind of a giant party foul because it could lead into cheaper activations. We’ve played various versions of the one drop group pumpers before which were much less detrimental to your curve. Playing a 1/1 for two that isn’t going to do anything else until at least turn five is not where I want to be.

Where it can get interesting is if she has a Role on her or you use a cheap pump spell so you can mass pump the rest of your team multiple times.

Ash, Party Crasher

Rating: 2.5/5

Hard to cast deuce deuce haste for two is alright on its own. The celebration would be much better if she didn’t have to attack to get the counter, but I guess no one is going to talk them out of crashing into the party. It’s fine if you are already in these colors, but not a draw into them.

Beluna Grandsquall

Rating: 3.5/5

There are plenty of ways to splash a third color especially when you’re playing Green. Even if you just slam this on turn three, it’s a fine beater. Asking you to have plenty of adventure cards to maximize this is basically saying “do the thing you were planning on doing anyway”.

Callous Sell-Sword

Rating: 2.5/5

I hate the way they worded this Fling, just make the sacrifice a part of the cost like the other ones. I’m sure there are going to be a few judge calls on that one over prerelease weekend.

Using this turn three to force a trade of your two drops and playing this as a 3/3 is umm…fine, I guess. It’s nice that later in the game you can toss your biggest thing at their face. Basically the floor isn’t too low and it has a decent ceiling.

Cruel Somnophage

Rating: 2.5/5

Ach! Hans, run! It’s the Somnophage!” I’m sure at least one or two of you are old enough to get that Lhurgoyf reference.

The mill is nice to have so you’re not just sitting there staring at this hoping for some creatures to die. Then it starts getting chonky and is usually the biggest thing on the board later.

Decadent Dragon

Rating: 4.5/5

Oh, they were not exaggerating, this is downright decadent.

The cards not going away on the adventure part is much better than the usual “until the end of your next turn” thing that red gets. Granted it’s from your opponent’s deck so you might need some treasure to cast them, but this is a one stop shop so the dragon will provide. This is also a situation where a Crystal Grotto would have a little more potential.

The creature half is certainly no slouch coming in hot as a 4/4 flying trample for four. That’s not all though because you get a treasure token every time it attacks. All around great card.

Devouring Sugarmaw

Rating: 3.0/5

Some people might be scoffing at this, but a 6/6 trample menace has to be dealt with in a hurry while this bad boy comes down on turn four. Sure, you need to have some fodder, but you can adventure up a couple pieces before it came down. It’s also not hard to keep producing cheap nothings in this format.

Worst case scenario, they remove it and you’re out your worst game piece that you just sacrificed.  Not great, but certainly not the end of the world.  

Elusive Otter

Rating: 2.5/5

Along with being Otter-ly adorable, this can put in some serious work with the adventure part growing your side. It’s versatile enough to do anything from making one of you creatures monstrous or spread the love out amongst your entire team.

The creature itself is merely alright, as you usually don’t want to give up the adventure part just to drop this on turn one.  It is mostly just a body later, but prowess gives you the opportunity to get some use out of it.

Eriette of the Charmed Apple

Rating: 3.5/5

The first ability is a bit of a conundrum because it puts the breaks on anything of theirs that you enchant. Cursed Role is the first thing that comes to mind, but they are already 1/1s and mostly off of blue cards. The other auras like Cooped Up and Bitter Chill already shut things down so you’re left with Bestial Bloodlineturning into a Pacifism as long as this is out. That doesn’t sound like a reasonable game plan.

It’s still a nice body that sits there draining your opponent out. Even hitting for two every turn is going to be difficult to race, but based on your deck it can be Corrupting the face for five or six every single turn.

Faunsbane Troll

Rating: 3.5/5

A 5/5 trample for four mana is a pretty good deal even by todays lofty standards. It can even sacrifice its aura to fight something down. Not restricting that to the Monster Role means that you can keep putting new Roles on and sending this back into the ring to lay the smackdown on some opposing critters.

Frolicking Familiar

Rating: 3.5/5

Who needs a Wind Drake when you can have a Wind Otter. It’s even wearing a wizard hat, what more could you possibly ask for.

There are plenty of things that the adventure can pick off or you can even go upstairs if you feel like it before coming down as a pseudo-prowess flyer. That can get pretty insane in the Izzet spells deck.

Gingerbread Hunter

Rating: 3.5/5

A removal spell adventure followed up by a beefy creature with a food token thrown in. That sounds like a deal to me. It’s not looking particularly good for the gingerbread crew with this giant on the prowl.

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Wrap Up

The artifacts are pretty shaky filler outside of Hylda's Crown of Winter which is a straight up bomb. Most of the lands are fairly strong while the multicolor cards we looked at today are almost all powerful if your mana base can support them.

Thanks for reading! I’ll be back tomorrow with the second part of my multicolor review! Until then, stay classy people!

If you have any questions, let me know in the comments below.

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