Mark Rosewater took the stage at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday evening for one of Magic: the Gathering’s biggest announcements of the year: the official unveiling of Throne of Eldraine, Magic’s forthcoming Fall expansion set.
Throne of Eldraine key art by Seb McKinnon
An Arthurian Fairy Tale World
Eldraine is a top-down fairy tale world with elements of Arthurian mythology, which Wizards described as “Camelot meets Grimm’s fairy tales.” A top-down design means that Wizards began with a world concept, in this case fairy tales, and designed the cards and mechanics around that idea. This is evident in many of the images shared during the panel, which evoke tropes from classics fairy tales like Snow White, the Little Mermaid, and the Gingerbread Man.
The Gingerbread man meets Eldraine.
The Little Mermaid meets Eldraine.
The Snow White meets Eldraine.
Where the plane of Innistrad took a look at classic horror stories like Frankenstein and Dracula, and Lorwyn took a look at classic fairy tale creature tribes like fairies, giants, goblins, and elves, Eldraine is going to directly tackle some of our most beloved stories—hopefully in ways less Disney and more like Shadowmoor.
A dark—or perhaps a more traditional—look at fairy tales, combined with a world similar to that of Arthurian legend, is a new challenge for Magic’s creative team, though it certainly helps to be able to build on the successes and failures of the past that have similar themes. While some may be disappointed that faerie tribal won’t be making a return, perhaps knight tribal will finally see its day in the sun.
The burning question of course for the Vorthos community is: will the set have seven dwarves?
Well, we’ll find out in Kate Elliot’s The Wildered Quest ebook, which will follow Rowan Kenrith (see below) and set the stage for Throne of Eldraine’s story. The ebook will be available on on September 4, 2019 for $3.99.
The Planeswalkers of Eldraine
No panel would be complete without some Planeswalker news, despite the fact that we’ve been inundated with Planeswalkers over the past few months thanks to War of the Spark. To that end, Mark Rosewater revealed that the sibling Planeswalkers Will and Rowan Kenrith, who first appeared in the multiplayer-themed set Battlebond in 2018, will appear in Throne of Eldraine and are originally from the plane of Eldraine.
Borderless Planeswalkers, Extended Art Frames, and Showcase Cards
When it comes to splashy product changes Wizards did not disappoint, announcing that Throne of Eldraine will include three special variations of cards in the set: borderless Planeswalkers, extended art frames, and something called Showcase cards. The borderless Planeswalker and Showcase card styles have a chance to appear in normal draft booster packs, while the extended art styles will only be available in Collector Boosters (see below).
The borderless Planeswalkers will be the same style as the Planeswalkers from all three Ravnica Mythic Editions, while the extended art frames will be the same style as the Ultimate Masters Box Toppers.
The borderless planeswalker and extended art styles from previous products.
Showcase cards, on the other hand, are a brand new style. The Showcase version of a card will have a unique card frame and new art, similar to the Masterpiece Series that was tested with the Zendikar Expeditions and ran from Kaladesh through Amonkhet. Throne of Eldraine has common, uncommon, rare, and mythic rare cards that have alternate Showcase versions.
The non-showcase vs the showcase versions of the same unnamed Throne of Eldraine card.
New Booster Packs
In addition to a new set and new card styles, Wizards also announced that booster packs themselves are getting an overhaul.
The traditional booster pack that Magic has used since its inception has been renamed a Draft Booster. It will be joined by two new permanent types of booster packs: the Theme Booster and the Collector Booster.
Theme Boosters
Theme boosters will a 35-card pack of cards of from a specific color. They will contain 1.1 rares and mythic rares, meaning that one in 10 will have two rares, as well as 33–34 commons and uncommons.
Theme boosters were originally introduced in Guilds of Ravnica.
Collector Boosters
Collectors boosters will cost between $20-25 and will have increased odds of premium foil cards, as well as guaranteed borderless and showcase card styles. They are also the only place where you can find the extended art card style.
They will contain 15 cards, plus one foil token card:
- 1 Rare/Mythic Rare with Extended Art
- 1 Foil Rare/Mythic Rare
- 9 Foil Commons/Uncommons
- 3 Special Frame Cards (Borderless Planeswalkers or Showcase Cards)
- 1 Ancillary Card
- 1 Foil Token
Throne of Eldraine pre-releases will be held on the weekend of September 28th and 29th with the set releasing to the public on October 4th.