Welcome back to the Commander Corner, folks. Wilds of Eldraine is here, and we all know what it means: It’s time to look over the best cards from the set!
Unlike previous iterations of my new set reviews, this time I’ll be looking at the Wilds of Eldraine Commander cards as well. So strap in, and let’s get wild.
Before we jump into the cards, I should mention I won’t be covering any of the cards mentioned by Ryan Hay here or here, or by Anthony Lowry here. If you think I missed something good, there’s a solid chance it’s in one of those articles. Give them a read (after you’re done with this one). Additionally, I’m not covering legendary creatures here, since some of those are going to be covered individually in the future. Let’s get into it.
Archmage of Echoes
Five mana is about the sweet spot for permanent ways to copy your spells, and being stapled to a 4/4 with flying and ward 2 is a great way to ensure it’s at least somewhat less prone to removal. I’d wager this is an easy inclusion in nearly any faerie or wizard typal deck for a very long time.
Virtue of Persistence
The worst thing about huge top-end spells is having them rot in your hand until the late game. The Adventure side of this card being a serviceable removal spell goes a long way towards making this a much more palatable version of Debtor’s Knell.
Asinine Antics
Aside from the fact this only hits creatures you don’t control, it also dumps a large number of enchantments onto the battlefield at once. So bust out your Eidolon of Blossoms and Setessan Champion and get ready to rock.
Ox Drover
This card has a lot of things going for it. It’s a human, it gets you a card back immediately, and the built-in downside is pretty negligible. The biggest issue is that most mono-white decks already have a ton of competition in the four-mana slot, but I’m still jamming this straight into my Leinore, Autumn Sovereign deck.
Throne of Eldraine
All I can think of when I see this card is how it doesn’t let you become the monarch. It also can’t cast artifacts or colorless cards, ever. However, it does ramp quite well in non-green mono-color decks, and drawing cards once the ramp has lost its value is quite nice.
Virtue of Knowledge
The bonus granted by Vantress Visions is actually quite potent despite only being able to target your own abilities, but the real meat of this card is the extra copy of Panharmonicon. Fun fact, Panharmonicon only counts artifacts and creatures, whereas Virtue of Knowledge counts any permanent.
Charming Scoundrel
Somehow, 10,000 decks registered on EDHREC contain Wily Goblin. I’d say Charming Scoundrel being a human is a downside, but the top 7 commanders for Wily Goblin aren’t even goblin typal decks, so I’ll take the upside of haste, greater versatility, and a better casting cost.
Misleading Signpost
Cards that do more than one thing at a time for a somewhat reasonable rate usually impress me, and Misleading Signpost manages to ramp while also usually making a decent impact on the game. Whether a suited-up Zurgo Helmsmasher aims at another player or you point someone’s Tymna, the Weaver at someone with a spare 3/3 beast token, I think this will do well.
Lich-Knights’ Conquest
The rate on getting back two or more creatures from your graveyard is usually steeper than this, and the secondary cost is pretty low. Bare minimum, this gets jammed into almost every Braids, Arisen Nightmare deck to great effect.
Court of Vantress
This card has two distinct modes. If you’re the monarch, you’re probably trying to copy things like Rhystic Study or loftier targets like Portal to Phyrexia, and this is powerful. If you’re not the monarch, you’re probably copying things like Sol Ring, which is decent. Overall, I think it’s worth shooting for the stars, especially in control decks.
Elvish Archivist
While you are limited to each ability triggering only once each turn, this is another enchantress effect for any deck that wants more of them. While the extra +1/+1 counters might not seem like much, even one trigger makes this a decent blocker against many of the smaller value creatures in the format.
Blossoming Tortoise
Aside from powering up filter-lands like Sungrass Prairie and making Lavaclaw Reaches especially deadly, there’s a handful of other lands this turtle makes much better. The problem is most of these lands are mediocre without the turtle in play. Probably worth keeping an eye on this one.
Honorable & Dishonorable Mentions
The cards below are, in my opinion, worse than the others I’ve highlighted. Some just have better variations and others just won’t overperform in almost any situation. Even so, they’re worth a mention if only so you can avoid them while they’re overpriced and pick them up when they’re budget-friendly replacements for better cards.
Virtue of Strength
The adventure half of this card is the only thing worthwhile and it’s not too exciting. Nyxbloom Ancient this is not, and I feel like I’d only consider this in a deck with 38+ basic Forest.
Thunderous Debut
Sadly, you can entwine Tooth and Nail for only one more mana. Looking through your whole deck is substantially better than looking at the top twenty.
Malleable Impostor
Not only are there cheaper clones available, but See Double has the same functionality with an additional mode. Good for faerie typal though.
Songbirds’ Blessing
A high casting cost and elements of randomness make this a bit of a win-more meme card, even in aura-based decks. I think this is almost relegated to decks where the only other aura is Colossification.
Farsight Ritual
With Memory Deluge and Dig Through Time in the format it feels like we don’t need any more of this effect at this mana cost. Don’t be fooled by the bells and whistles of bargain.
That’s All, Folks
Honestly, it’s a bit of a relief to not have fifty-plus Commander cards to cover. I must admit that I’ve not connected with Wilds of Eldraine the same way I have a lot of other recent sets, but a lot of my friends really vibe with it, so I’m happy. I didn’t cover a lot of the narrow typal-specific cards, so if you’re a huge fan of faeries, rats, or goblins, check out the full set. At any rate, I’ve been Luka “Robot” Sharaska, and this has been the Commander Corner.
Luka V. Sharaska (they/them) earned the nickname “Robot” by having a monotone voice, a talent for calculating odds, and a perfect poker face. Robot has been playing Magic for more than a decade, starting during the days of New Phyrexia in 2011.