Eldraine Draft Guide ⏤ Overview
Wilds of Eldraine draft presents a unique experience, focusing on “Celebration” triggers and the strategic use of “Food” tokens for value generation.
The set launches on MTG Arena, offering early access on August 31st, and features ten archetypes, each with distinct synergies and playstyles.
Top-tier archetypes include Mono Red, Boros, Rakdos, and Golgari, demanding adaptable drafting strategies and a keen eye for impactful common cards.
Understanding key mechanics like Celebration, Food, and Roles is crucial for success, alongside recognizing open lanes and prioritizing effective removal spells.
Wilds of Eldraine (Woe) draft introduces a captivating foray into the fairytale realm, demanding a shift in drafting paradigms. Unlike many sets, Woe emphasizes synergistic archetypes built around unique mechanics, most notably “Celebration” and “Food”. This isn’t simply about raw power; it’s about crafting a cohesive strategy that leverages these elements.
The set’s launch on MTG Arena provides an excellent platform to hone your skills, beginning with an early access period on August 31st. Expect a diverse metagame, with ten distinct archetypes vying for dominance. Successful drafters will need to quickly identify open lanes and prioritize cards that support their chosen strategy.
Preparation is key. Familiarize yourself with the core mechanics, understand the strengths of each color pair, and be ready to adapt your draft based on the signals you receive. Woe rewards players who can build around a central theme, creating a powerful and consistent deck capable of overcoming any challenge. This draft format is a delightful blend of strategy and fairytale charm.
Key Mechanics in Eldraine Draft
Wilds of Eldraine revolves around several core mechanics that define the draft experience. “Celebration” is paramount, triggering abilities when two or more permanents enter your control during a turn – surprisingly achievable with Food tokens, Rats, and Roles.
“Food” isn’t just a keyword; it’s a central resource. Generating and sacrificing Food provides value, enables Celebration triggers, and fuels certain archetypes, particularly Golgari. Understanding Food’s versatility is crucial.
“Roles” are enchantments attached to creatures, granting them unique abilities. These often synergize with Celebration, creating powerful board states. Beyond these, expect a standard array of creature types and abilities, but always consider how they interact with the set’s defining mechanics. Mastering these interactions will elevate your drafting and gameplay, leading to consistent wins.
Archetype Breakdown
Eldraine offers ten distinct archetypes, ranging from aggressive Mono Red to synergistic Golgari, each demanding unique strategies and card prioritization during the draft process.
Red/Green: Ruby & the Wolf
Red/Green in Wilds of Eldraine centers around the “Ruby & the Wolf” archetype, a strategy that thrives on powerful creatures with 4 or more power. This synergy rewards players for consistently deploying substantial threats, creating a board state difficult for opponents to overcome.
The deck aims to overwhelm opponents with aggressive, large creatures, supported by pump spells and combat tricks to push through damage. Key cards look to capitalize on the power threshold, triggering additional effects and snowballing advantages. Prioritize creatures that hit the four-power mark consistently, and include cards that benefit from having large attackers.
Drafting this archetype requires a focus on efficient creatures and ways to protect them. Removal is important, but the core strategy revolves around overwhelming the opponent with brute force. Look for cards that synergize with large creatures, such as those that grant trample or haste, to maximize their impact.
Mono Red Aggro
Mono Red Aggro in Wilds of Eldraine is a classic archetype focused on swift, relentless aggression. This strategy aims to quickly reduce the opponent’s life total to zero through a constant stream of efficient, low-cost creatures and direct damage spells.
The deck prioritizes early-game threats and burn spells to maximize damage output in the initial turns. Key cards include creatures with haste and those that deal direct damage, allowing for immediate pressure. Maintaining momentum is crucial; consistently applying pressure forces opponents into reactive positions.
Drafting Mono Red requires prioritizing cheap, aggressive creatures and burn spells. Removal is less critical than maintaining a consistent curve of threats. Look for cards that provide reach, enabling you to finish off opponents even after they stabilize. A low mana curve and efficient damage are key to success.
Boros (Red/White): Celebration Matters
Boros (Red/White) in Wilds of Eldraine centers around the “Celebration” mechanic – triggering abilities when two or more permanents enter the battlefield under your control during a turn. This archetype thrives on synergy, creating a board state that consistently activates these celebratory effects.
The strategy involves deploying multiple threats simultaneously, utilizing tokens (like Food) and efficient creatures to trigger Celebration. Cards that generate additional permanents, such as those creating tokens or playing multiple spells in a turn, are highly valued.
Drafting Boros requires prioritizing cards that support the Celebration mechanic and provide value when it triggers. Efficient creatures, token generators, and spells that play well with a wide board are essential. A strong mid-game presence and the ability to overwhelm opponents with synergistic plays are key to victory;
Rakdos (Red/Black): Sacrifice & Value
Rakdos (Red/Black) in Wilds of Eldraine leverages sacrifice synergies and extracting maximum value from every card. This archetype isn’t about overwhelming opponents with raw power, but rather about grinding them down through efficient trades and recurring threats.
The strategy revolves around sacrificing creatures – often Food tokens or smaller bodies – to trigger powerful effects, draw cards, or disrupt the opponent’s game plan. Cards that reward sacrifice, provide card advantage, or offer repeatable removal are crucial.
Drafting Rakdos demands prioritizing sacrifice outlets, cards that benefit from creatures dying, and efficient removal spells. A resilient strategy focused on value generation and controlling the board is key. Don’t shy away from cards that seem weak on their own, as they can become powerful engines in a sacrifice-focused deck.
Golgari (Black/Green): Food & Graveyard Synergy
Golgari (Black/Green) in Wilds of Eldraine centers around maximizing the utility of Food tokens and exploiting graveyard synergies. This archetype aims to build a resilient engine that generates value over time, overwhelming opponents with consistent advantage.
Food tokens are particularly potent in Golgari, serving as both mana ramp and sacrifice fodder for powerful effects. Cards that create Food, benefit from Food being sacrificed, or recur creatures from the graveyard are essential.
Drafting Golgari requires prioritizing cards that interact with the graveyard, generate Food tokens, and provide efficient removal. A strong mid-range strategy focused on incremental advantage and outlasting opponents is key. Look for cards that offer repeatable value and synergize with both Food and graveyard mechanics.
Card Evaluation & Strategy
Effective drafting hinges on identifying high-impact commons, leveraging uncommon power plays, and understanding the crucial role cards play in archetype cohesion.
High-Impact Common Cards
Identifying strong common cards is paramount for a successful Eldraine draft. Several commons consistently outperform expectations, forming the backbone of winning decks. Frantic Firebolt, a red instant, provides efficient removal and potential reach, fitting well into aggressive strategies. Hearth Elemental, another red common, offers a repeatable threat and synergizes with Celebration triggers.
White boasts impactful commons like Hopeful Initiate, a solid body with potential for role assignment, and efficient removal options. Black provides disruption with cards like Duress variants, controlling the opponent’s game plan. Green offers ramp and value with efficient creatures and food generation. Blue’s commons often focus on card draw and tempo plays, supporting instant-sorcery strategies.
Prioritizing these commons early in the draft significantly increases your chances of building a consistent and powerful deck. Recognizing their synergy with specific archetypes is key to maximizing their value.
Uncommon Power Plays
Eldraine’s uncommon cards offer significant power spikes, capable of swinging games and defining archetypes. Aquatic Alchemist and Splashy Spellcaster, in Blue/Red, reward heavy instant and sorcery play, creating explosive turns. Sanguine Bond, a Black/White uncommon, can win games through incremental life gain and food sacrifice, demanding careful resource management.
Red/Green benefits from uncommon creatures with high power, enabling aggressive strategies and synergy with Ruby & the Wolf archetype. Golgari’s uncommon cards often enhance food synergy and graveyard recursion, providing sustained value. Boros uncommons frequently support the Celebration mechanic, creating board states that trigger multiple abilities.
Identifying and prioritizing these uncommon power plays during the draft is crucial. They often dictate the direction of your deck and provide a significant advantage over opponents.
Role Cards and Their Importance
Wilds of Eldraine introduces “Roles,” enchantments attached to creatures granting powerful, often temporary, abilities. These cards are pivotal, defining a creature’s function and significantly impacting board states. Identifying key Role cards – like those enhancing aggression, defense, or card advantage – is crucial during drafting.
Roles aren’t archetype-specific, but certain colors and strategies benefit more. Boros leverages Roles to trigger Celebration, while Golgari uses them for value and synergy with Food. Prioritizing Role cards that complement your chosen archetype is essential for maximizing their impact.
Don’t underestimate the flexibility of Roles; they can adapt to changing board states. Recognizing their potential and drafting accordingly will elevate your Eldraine drafts.
Food Tokens: A Core Resource
Food tokens are a central element in Wilds of Eldraine draft, functioning as both a resource and a win condition. Generated by numerous cards, Food can be sacrificed for various effects – life gain, card draw, or powering up abilities. Golgari heavily relies on Food synergy, but its value extends across multiple archetypes.
Prioritize cards that efficiently generate Food, and those that provide substantial returns when sacrificed. Sanguine Bond, for example, transforms Food into a primary win condition. Don’t overlook the strategic value of simply having Food in play; it can deter attacks and create tempo advantages.
Effectively managing your Food tokens is key to success, balancing immediate benefits with long-term value.
Color Pair Synergies
Eldraine’s color pairs offer distinct strategies: Blue/Red focuses on instants and sorceries, while White/Blue leverages artifacts and enchantments for control.
Blue/Red: Instants & Sorceries
Blue/Red in Wilds of Eldraine draft centers around maximizing the impact of instant and sorcery spells, creating a tempo-based and reactive strategy. This archetype thrives on casting multiple spells in a single turn, leveraging payoffs like Aquatic Alchemist, Splashy Spellcaster, Frantic Firebolt, Hearth Elemental, and Unruly Catapult.
These cards reward you for consistently playing instants and sorceries, providing significant advantages over opponents who aren’t prepared. Drafting this archetype requires prioritizing cheap interaction, card draw, and spells that can generate value over time. Be mindful that opponents may not actively seek these payoffs, making them available later in the draft.
Successfully piloting Blue/Red demands careful mana management and an understanding of when to hold up interaction versus deploying threats. The goal is to control the board, disrupt your opponent’s plans, and close out the game with efficient spells and synergistic creatures.
White/Blue: Artifacts & Enchantments
White/Blue in Wilds of Eldraine draft traditionally focuses on fliers, but this combination uniquely emphasizes synergy with Artifacts and Enchantments. This archetype aims to build a board presence with creatures that benefit from, or interact with, these permanent types. Look for cards that generate value when artifacts or enchantments enter the battlefield or when you control a significant number of them.
Drafting White/Blue requires prioritizing cards that support this engine, including efficient artifact and enchantment removal to clear the path for your strategy. Consider cards that can copy or recur artifacts and enchantments, further amplifying their impact.
Successfully piloting this archetype involves establishing a strong board presence and leveraging the unique abilities of your artifacts and enchantments to overwhelm your opponent. Be prepared to adapt your strategy based on the available cards and the opposing archetype.
Black/White: Lifegain & Sanguine Bond
Black/White in Wilds of Eldraine draft presents a unique, albeit conditional, strategy centered around lifegain and the powerful card, Sanguine Bond. While lifegain can be a serviceable tactic, the archetype truly shines when Sanguine Bond is secured, transforming Food tokens into a primary win condition.
This strategy demands a consistent source of Food generation, alongside sufficient mana to repeatedly crack those tokens for life gain and, consequently, damage to your opponent. Prioritize cards that create Food, offer incremental lifegain, or synergize with graveyard strategies, as Black often provides recursion.
Successfully drafting Black/White requires a delicate balance of lifegain engines, Food production, and the crucial Sanguine Bond. Be mindful of removal and disruption, as this archetype can be vulnerable if its core components are removed.
Draft Tips & Tricks
Prioritize removal spells, identify open lanes early, balance your mana curve, and recognize opponent archetypes to maximize success in Wilds of Eldraine drafts.
Identifying Open Lanes
Early in the draft, paying attention to what cards are returning in packs is paramount to identifying open lanes. If you consistently see strong Red cards with minimal competition, it signals that Red might be underdrafted, presenting an opportunity to commit to a Red-based archetype.
Conversely, a lack of key cards in a color, or seeing them heavily picked by other drafters, indicates that lane is likely closed. Don’t stubbornly force a strategy if the signals are telling you otherwise; adaptability is key.
Look for archetype-defining commons passing late. For example, if Unruly Catapult consistently appears in later packs, Blue/Red might be open. Recognizing these signals allows you to pivot and capitalize on underutilized strategies, increasing your chances of a successful draft.
Remember, information is power – use it wisely!
Prioritizing Removal
In Wilds of Eldraine draft, removal is exceptionally valuable due to the prevalence of powerful creatures and the “Celebration” mechanic, which rewards multiple permanent deployments. Prioritize cards that efficiently answer threats, especially those that can deal with larger creatures or disrupt key synergies.
Direct damage spells, like Frantic Firebolt, are strong choices, offering immediate answers. Versatile removal, capable of handling various threats, is also highly desirable. Don’t underestimate the power of bounce effects, which can disrupt timing and reset opponent’s boards.
However, avoid overvaluing removal at the expense of building a cohesive strategy. A balanced deck with sufficient threats and removal is more effective than one overloaded with answers but lacking offensive capabilities. Assess your archetype and prioritize removal accordingly.
Balancing Curve & Mana Fixing
A well-rounded mana curve is vital in Wilds of Eldraine draft, given the set’s emphasis on both aggressive and controlling strategies. Aim for a curve that allows you to consistently play spells throughout the game, with a healthy mix of early-game plays and impactful late-game threats.
Eldraine’s dual lands are relatively common, but don’t rely on finding them. Prioritize cards that can help fix your mana, such as those producing multiple colors or enabling color-intensive plays. Be mindful of your archetype’s color requirements and adjust your mana base accordingly.
Avoid committing too heavily to expensive spells without sufficient ramp or fixing. A smooth curve ensures you remain competitive in the early and mid-game, setting the stage for a strong finish.
Recognizing Opponent’s Archetype
Identifying your opponent’s draft archetype is crucial for informed decision-making throughout a match in Wilds of Eldraine. Pay close attention to the colors they’re playing, the types of cards they prioritize, and their overall game plan.
For example, a player heavily utilizing Food tokens likely drafts Golgari, while a deck overflowing with Instants and Sorceries signals Blue/Red. Recognizing these patterns allows you to anticipate their plays and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Knowing their archetype informs your removal choices, attack patterns, and overall resource management. Don’t be afraid to sideboard cards specifically to counter their strategy, maximizing your chances of victory.
Advanced Strategies
Mastering Eldraine draft requires exploiting Celebration triggers consistently and maximizing Food token value through strategic cracking for impactful plays and game-winning advantages.
Exploiting Celebration Triggers
The Celebration mechanic in Wilds of Eldraine is surprisingly potent, and consistently triggering it is key to dominating drafts. Unlike many conditional abilities, Eldraine’s design actively supports frequent Celebration activations. Prioritize cards that generate multiple permanents each turn, such as those creating Food tokens, Rats, or Roles.
Drafting cards that allow you to play permanents in the same turn – like those with “Adventure” – significantly boosts your Celebration potential. Remember, you need at least two permanents entering the battlefield under your control during a single turn to trigger Celebration.
Don’t underestimate the value of token generators; they’re often undervalued in drafts but are Celebration engines. Cards that create multiple tokens simultaneously are especially strong. Building your deck around this synergy allows you to consistently unlock powerful abilities, overwhelming opponents with incremental advantages and snowballing into victory.
Maximizing Food Token Value
Food tokens are a core resource in Wilds of Eldraine drafts, extending far beyond simple life gain. While Sanguine Bond can win games by repeatedly cracking Food, their utility doesn’t stop there. Prioritize cards that synergize with Food, offering additional benefits beyond the basic one life. Look for effects that trigger when you sacrifice Food, or cards that become more powerful with Food in play.
Don’t treat Food solely as emergency life gain. Consider them as a form of mana ramp in the late game, or as a way to enable powerful sacrifice effects. Golgari, in particular, heavily leverages Food for graveyard synergy and value generation.
Efficiently managing your Food supply is crucial; avoid accumulating too many, as they become dead draws without a way to utilize them. Drafting cards that consistently create and consume Food will unlock the archetype’s full potential.