Wilds of Eldraine Draft Guide ⸺ Overview
Wilds of Eldraine draft presents a unique experience, emphasizing roles, enchantments, and food synergy. Top archetypes include Golgari Food, Boros Aggro, and Rakdos Rats.
The set’s draft environment is dynamic, with red, black, and green color pairs currently dominating early assessments, though predictions remain fluid with increased gameplay.
Wilds of Eldraine transports players to a realm steeped in fairytale aesthetics, blending classic stories with Magic: The Gathering’s gameplay. This set introduces a captivating draft experience centered around the concept of “Roles,” enchantments that bestow creatures with powerful abilities. The draft format encourages synergistic deckbuilding, particularly around food generation and utilization, creating a unique and engaging dynamic.
Early analysis highlights Golgari Food, Boros Aggro, and Rakdos Rats as premier archetypes, demonstrating the set’s diverse strategic options. Understanding the interplay between Roles, enchantments, and creature abilities is crucial for success. The environment is still evolving, with ongoing playtesting refining archetype evaluations and card rankings. Prepare to embrace the enchanting challenges and strategic depth of Wilds of Eldraine draft!
Key Mechanics
Wilds of Eldraine introduces two central mechanics shaping the draft experience: Roles and Food synergy. Roles are enchantments that attach to creatures, granting them keyword abilities and transforming them into powerful assets. These Roles are pivotal for building effective decks, often dictating archetype choices and strategic approaches.
Complementing Roles is a robust Food system. Generating and consuming Food tokens provides valuable benefits, including life gain and card advantage. Decks focused on Food synergy can consistently accrue value, creating a resilient and powerful engine. Mastering these mechanics – strategically applying Roles and efficiently utilizing Food – is paramount for success in Wilds of Eldraine draft.
Roles & Enchantments
Wilds of Eldraine heavily features Roles, which are enchantments that bestow keyword abilities upon creatures. Naughty, a standout common, exemplifies how impactful even a simple 1/1 Role can be for Faeries. These enchantments aren’t merely stat boosters; they fundamentally alter a creature’s function, enabling aggressive strategies or bolstering defensive capabilities.
Prioritizing Role cards in the draft is crucial. They offer significant value, especially when paired with creatures that synergize well with the granted abilities. Recognizing which Roles best complement your chosen archetype and efficiently deploying them are key to maximizing their potential and achieving victory in Wilds of Eldraine drafts.
Food Synergy
Wilds of Eldraine introduces a robust Food synergy, rewarding players who can generate and utilize Food tokens effectively. Golgari Food, a top-tier archetype, exemplifies this strategy, leveraging creatures and cards that both create and consume Food for powerful effects. This synergy isn’t limited to Golgari; other colors can also benefit from incorporating Food into their decks.
Drafting cards that produce Food, alongside those that provide value when Food is sacrificed, is essential for capitalizing on this mechanic. Prioritizing this synergy can lead to a resilient and powerful deck capable of outlasting opponents and securing a dominant position in the draft.
Color Tier List
Evaluating color strength is crucial for Wilds of Eldraine draft success. Currently, the color tier list places Red, Black, and Green at the top, demonstrating their potent combinations and impactful common cards. These colors support aggressive strategies and synergistic archetypes, offering a higher probability of building a strong deck.
White and Blue occupy a secondary tier, providing solid options but requiring more precise deck construction to maximize their potential. While not as consistently powerful as the top tier, they can excel in specific archetypes. Understanding these relative strengths allows drafters to prioritize colors and adapt their strategies accordingly.
Detailed Color Analysis
Wilds of Eldraine’s colors offer distinct draft strategies. White focuses on aggro and auras, Blue on Faeries and control, Black on sacrifice and Rats, and so on.
White ─ Aggro & Auras
White in Wilds of Eldraine draft excels at aggressive strategies, leveraging auras to quickly overwhelm opponents. The color’s strength lies in its efficient creatures and the ability to enhance them with powerful enchantments, creating a formidable board presence.
However, white can be vulnerable to removal and struggles against decks that can stabilize and go late. A key aspect of success with white is prioritizing role cards that boost creature power and resilience. Building a critical mass of auras is essential, but be mindful of enchantment removal in the opposing deck.
Focus on a proactive game plan, applying early pressure and capitalizing on opportunities to close out the game before opponents can establish control. White’s aggressive nature makes it a strong contender in faster, more tempo-oriented matchups.
Key Commons ─ White
White’s key commons in Wilds of Eldraine draft revolve around efficient creatures and impactful role enchantments. Look for cards that provide immediate value and contribute to an aggressive game plan. Prioritize commons that synergize well with auras, maximizing their effectiveness.
Strong contenders include cards that offer both offensive and defensive capabilities, allowing you to maintain pressure while protecting your board. Commons that provide utility, such as removal or card advantage, are also valuable additions. Remember to evaluate how each card fits into your overall strategy and complements your other picks.
Drafting these key commons will significantly bolster your white-based decks, enabling you to consistently apply pressure and outpace your opponents.
Strengths & Weaknesses ─ White
White’s strength in Wilds of Eldraine draft lies in its aggressive potential and powerful aura synergies. It excels at establishing an early board presence and overwhelming opponents with efficient creatures enhanced by roles. The color’s ability to consistently apply pressure makes it a formidable force in the early to mid-game.
However, white can struggle against decks that effectively control the board or disrupt its aggressive strategy. It lacks robust card advantage engines and can be vulnerable to removal-heavy opponents. Its reliance on enchantments also makes it susceptible to enchantment removal.
Successfully drafting white requires careful balancing of aggression and protection, mitigating its weaknesses while maximizing its strengths.
Blue ⸺ Faeries & Control
Blue in Wilds of Eldraine draft leans heavily into Faeries and control strategies, utilizing tempo plays and disruption to gain an advantage. The color excels at manipulating the board and hindering opponent’s plans with counterspells and bounce effects. Naughty, a standout common, exemplifies how Faeries benefit greatly from even a simple 1/1 role aura, boosting their effectiveness.
However, blue can be slow to develop a strong board presence and relies on reactive plays. It struggles against extremely aggressive strategies that overwhelm its defenses before it can establish control.
Drafting blue successfully requires finding synergistic role cards and efficient ways to protect your key creatures.
Key Commons ⸺ Blue
Blue’s key commons in Wilds of Eldraine draft revolve around enabling Faerie strategies and providing control elements. Naughty stands out as a premier common, significantly enhancing Faerie creatures with a simple yet effective boost. Sorcerer offers valuable tempo and disruption, allowing you to control the board and protect your threats.
Look for cards that provide card advantage or efficient removal. Belunas Gatekeeper // Entry Denied, while lower rated, can offer situational control. Prioritize cards that synergize with roles, as blue benefits from enhancing its creatures.
Drafting these commons allows you to build a cohesive Faerie or control-oriented deck.
Strengths & Weaknesses ─ Blue
Blue’s strength in Wilds of Eldraine draft lies in its potent Faerie synergies and control elements. It excels at disrupting opponents’ plans and leveraging small creatures with roles for significant value. Efficient counterspells and bounce effects provide tempo advantages, while card draw ensures consistency.
However, Blue struggles against aggressive strategies that can overwhelm its defenses. It lacks strong standalone threats and relies heavily on synergy. A weakness is its vulnerability to enchantment removal, diminishing the impact of key roles.
Successfully drafting Blue requires a focused strategy and careful consideration of the metagame.
Black ⸺ Sacrifice & Rats
Black in Wilds of Eldraine draft centers around sacrifice synergies and a surprisingly strong rat theme. The color excels at generating value from creatures dying, utilizing sacrifice outlets for card advantage and tempo swings. Rats, while seemingly niche, offer a cohesive tribal strategy with synergistic payoffs.
However, Black can be slow to develop and relies on consistent access to sacrifice outlets. It often lacks efficient removal outside of sacrificing its own creatures. A weakness is its vulnerability to graveyard hate, disrupting key sacrifice strategies.
Drafting Black requires commitment to the sacrifice theme or a strong rat package.
Key Commons ─ Black
Black’s key commons in Wilds of Eldraine draft revolve around enabling sacrifice strategies and supporting the rat tribal archetype. Look for cards that provide value when creatures die, or directly benefit from rat synergies. Prioritize efficient sacrifice outlets to maximize value from your creatures.
Strong picks include cards that generate card advantage through sacrifice, or offer tempo swings. Commons that directly boost rats, or provide rat-specific utility, are also highly valuable. Don’t underestimate the power of repeatable sacrifice effects.
Focus on building a cohesive strategy around these key commons for success.
Strengths & Weaknesses ⸺ Black
Black’s strength in Wilds of Eldraine draft lies in its potent sacrifice synergies and the surprisingly strong rat tribal theme. It excels at grinding out opponents, generating card advantage through death triggers, and disrupting enemy strategies with removal. The ability to consistently generate value from dying creatures is a significant advantage.
However, Black can be vulnerable to aggressive strategies if it lacks early interaction. It often requires careful sequencing to maximize sacrifice payoffs. A reliance on the graveyard can be exploited by graveyard hate. Building a cohesive rat strategy requires finding enough supporting cards.
Balancing sacrifice outlets with payoff cards is crucial.
Red ─ Aggression & Minecarts
Red in Wilds of Eldraine draft is primarily focused on aggressive strategies, leveraging efficient creatures and burn spells to quickly overwhelm opponents. A unique subtheme revolves around minecarts, offering tempo-based advantages and disruptive effects. Red aims to close out games before opponents can establish control.
The color excels at applying early pressure and disrupting opposing plans with direct damage. Minecart cards provide interesting tactical options, allowing for surprise attacks and tempo swings. However, Red can struggle in longer games if it runs out of steam or lacks card advantage.
Prioritizing efficient attackers is key to success.
Key Commons ─ Red
Red’s key commons in Wilds of Eldraine draft center around aggressive creatures and impactful removal. Minecart Daredevil stands out as a powerful common, offering both offensive pressure and disruptive potential. It’s a crucial piece for tempo-based strategies.
Other notable commons include efficient burn spells for clearing blockers or finishing off opponents. Prioritize cards that enable aggressive starts and capitalize on early advantages. Look for creatures with haste or abilities that reward attacking. Red’s removal suite is generally direct and effective, allowing you to control the board and push through damage.
Drafting these commons will significantly boost your red decks.
Strengths & Weaknesses ─ Red
Red’s primary strength in Wilds of Eldraine draft lies in its aggressive potential and efficient removal. It excels at applying early pressure and disrupting opponents’ plans with direct damage spells. The color’s ability to close out games quickly is a significant advantage, especially in faster matchups.
However, red struggles with card advantage and sustained value. It often runs out of steam in longer games, lacking the tools to rebuild after board wipes or attrition wars. Red’s reliance on creatures makes it vulnerable to removal-heavy decks.
Successfully piloting red requires proactive play and capitalizing on every opportunity to push damage.
Green ─ Monsters & Food
Green in Wilds of Eldraine draft focuses on powerful monsters and leveraging the food synergy. It boasts some of the largest and most impactful creatures in the set, capable of overwhelming opponents with raw power. The food mechanic provides consistent value, enabling card advantage and bolstering creature stats.
Green’s strength lies in its mid-to-late game dominance, consistently deploying threats that demand answers. It pairs well with colors that can provide removal or protection for its key creatures. However, green can be slow to develop, vulnerable to early aggression if it doesn’t draw its ramp spells.
Prioritizing efficient ramp and impactful creatures is key to success with green.
Key Commons ⸺ Green
Green’s key commons in Wilds of Eldraine draft revolve around efficient creatures and food generation. Grabby Giant is a standout, offering a substantial body for its cost. Bellowing Bruiser provides a powerful threat that grows with food tokens. Verdant Embrace is a strong role enchantment, boosting a creature’s power and toughness.
Old-Growth Hermit offers card advantage, crucial for maintaining momentum. Look for cards that synergize with food, like those that create or consume tokens. Prioritize commons that enable you to deploy threats consistently and capitalize on the food ecosystem.
These commons form the backbone of a successful green-based deck.
Strengths & Weaknesses ⸺ Green
Green’s strength in Wilds of Eldraine draft lies in its powerful creatures and ability to generate food tokens, fueling synergistic strategies. It excels at deploying consistent threats and overwhelming opponents with larger bodies. The color pair’s access to efficient ramp allows for early creature deployment.
However, Green can be vulnerable to removal and lacks strong answers to fliers. It struggles against decks that go wide with smaller creatures, requiring efficient combat tricks or board wipes. Its reliance on the battlefield can be exploited by disruptive strategies.
Balancing creature strength with interaction is key to success.
Top Common Cards
Wilds of Eldraine boasts impactful common cards like Ferocious Werefox and Minecart Daredevil. Powerful role cards, such as Naughty, significantly enhance Faeries strategies.
Best Common Creatures
Several common creatures stand out as draft staples in Wilds of Eldraine. Ferocious Werefox consistently ranks as a top pick, offering significant value as a 4/x body. Bellowing Bruiser provides a strong aggressive presence, while Grabby Giant offers versatile utility.
Minecart Daredevil is a notable red common, excelling in aggressive strategies. These creatures aren’t just individually powerful; they often synergize well with the set’s role cards and enchantments. Prioritizing these commons can significantly bolster your creature base and overall draft strategy, leading to a more consistent and competitive deck.
Remember to evaluate how each creature fits within your chosen archetype for maximum effectiveness.
Powerful Role Cards
Wilds of Eldraine’s role cards are central to draft success, offering significant boosts to creatures. Naughty consistently emerges as the strongest common, particularly benefiting Faeries with its impactful 1/1 aura effect. Sorcerer is another strong contender, providing valuable power and keyword abilities;
These roles aren’t simply stat boosters; they define the set’s gameplay, enabling synergistic strategies and impactful combat tricks. Prioritizing role cards allows you to enhance your creatures, creating a dynamic and adaptable board presence. Understanding which roles best complement your chosen archetype is crucial for maximizing their value during the draft.
Don’t underestimate their power!
Archetype Breakdown
Wilds of Eldraine draft features strong archetypes: Golgari Food, Boros Aggro, and Rakdos Rats are Tier 1, offering consistent power and synergistic gameplay opportunities.
Golgari Food ⸺ Top Tier
Golgari Food consistently ranks as a top-tier archetype in Wilds of Eldraine draft. This strategy revolves around generating Food tokens and leveraging their benefits for card advantage and tempo. Key commons support this plan, enabling consistent value generation throughout the game.
The archetype excels at grinding opponents out with repeatable effects and resilient creatures. Prioritize cards that create Food, benefit from Food in play, or provide efficient removal to control the board. A strong Golgari deck can overwhelm opponents with incremental advantages, ultimately securing a dominant position. Focus on synergy and consistent value to maximize your success with this powerful archetype.
Boros Aggro ⸺ Top Tier
Boros Aggro is a consistently high-performing archetype in Wilds of Eldraine draft, known for its explosive starts and relentless pressure. This strategy aims to quickly overwhelm opponents with efficient creatures and aggressive role cards. Prioritize low-cost threats and cards that enhance combat prowess.
A successful Boros deck focuses on maximizing damage output and capitalizing on early advantages. Look for opportunities to equip creatures with roles, boosting their power and enabling decisive attacks; While lacking long-term resilience, Boros can close out games quickly, before opponents establish control. Efficient removal is valuable for clearing blockers and maintaining momentum.
Rakdos Rats ⸺ Top Tier
Rakdos Rats emerges as a premier archetype in Wilds of Eldraine draft, leveraging a synergistic strategy centered around rat creatures and sacrifice effects. This deck excels at generating value through rat tokens and utilizing sacrifice outlets to disrupt opponents and gain incremental advantages.
A successful Rakdos Rats deck requires a critical mass of rat creatures to overwhelm the board. Cards that benefit from rat synergies, such as those providing bonuses or triggering abilities upon rat death, are crucial. Black’s removal suite complements the aggressive rat strategy, eliminating key blockers. Prioritize cards that enable consistent rat production and efficient sacrifice opportunities.
