Introduction
With the conclusion of the events in March of the Machine and the completion of the Phyrexian Arc, it is once again an opportune moment to shift our focus to the times ahead and the upcoming premier set on the horizon. As can be surmised from the title, this particular set is none other than Wilds of Eldraine. Situated in the realm of identical nomenclature, this launch will mark an impressive milestone as Magic's 97th expansion up to this point.
As the set's release date draws ever closer, players of MTG have recently found themselves inundated with a multitude of particulars. This can be attributed primarily to the recent Inaugural Stream for Wilds of Eldraine.
Given the influx of novel information, there is no longer any need for delay. Hence, without any additional preamble, presented below is a comprehensive compilation of all the imperative details pertaining to Wilds of Eldraine!
Wilds of Eldraine Release Dates
Continuing from the uniqueness that characterized March of the Machine: The Aftermath, Magic reverts to its conventional release timetable for Wilds of Eldraine. As a result, players can anticipate a consistent flow of sneak peeks given that the period of unveiling has initiated. Prior to this occurrence, a handful of cards were inadvertently unveiled prematurely. Yet, this occurrence failed to alter the intentions of Wizards.
Here are all the release dates you need to know for Wilds of Eldraine.
Global MTG Arena Launch: September 5th
Wilds of Eldraine Story
Ahead of the spoiler season for Wilds of Eldraine kicking off, MTG players got to enjoy five story chapters. While this is considerably less than March of the Machine received, these chapters were still chock-full of details and reveals. Just in case you want to see these reveals on the cards, rather than here, consider this your official spoiler warning.
Speaking of spoilers, actually, we don’t need to rush through them here and spoil the show. Instead, if you’re interested in the jaw-dropping reveals contained within the story, we’ve written about them here. Subsequently, if you’re curious about what happened, have a click on that link!
MTG Arena. Wilds of Eldraine Story - Pure of Hearth
If you’d rather not read our or Wizards’ recount of the story, however, there is an alternative. For Wilds of Eldraine, Wizards offered full audio readings for each chapter. If you’re a fan of audiobooks, these are undoubtedly a great way to digest the story. Hopefully, these audio readings will continue into the future for more sets, however, currently, this hasn’t been confirmed.
Wilds of Eldraine Mechanics
While we’re still relatively early into Wilds of Eldraine’s spoiler season, we do know all about the set’s mechanics. This is thanks to a rather short, but nonetheless forthcoming, Debut Stream for the set. If you’re interested in reading about the new and old mechanics of the set, you can do so here. If you’d prefer a shorter rundown, however, we’ve also got you covered!
- Role Tokens
Role Tokens are a brand new type of Enchantment Aura Token and the main new mechanic in Wilds of Eldriane. Brought into play by a variety of different spells, there are six different Role Tokens in the main set. There are also additional Role Tokens found on Commander cards.
In the main set, all but one of the Role Tokens provide +1/+1 and an added benefit to the attached creature. The only exception to this rule is the Cursed Role, which gives the enchanted creature base stats of 1/1. As a note, a creature can only have one role at a time. If you place a new role on a creature while it already has one, the old role will be replaced.
- Adventures
First seen in Throne of Eldraine, Adventures are unsurprisingly back for the return visit to the titular plane. This time around, however, there is a twist, as Advenutres can be off-color. While this can make casting these spells a touch more difficult, off-color Adventures offer increased versatility and hopefully more fun!
- Bargain
Another new-ish mechanic for the set, Bargain, is essentially a fixed variant of Kicker. Similarly to Kicker, the Bargain cost can be paid when casting a spell to give it additional effects. Unlike Kicker, however, the Bargain mechanic always comes at the same cost of sacrificing an Artifact, Enchantment, or Token.
- Celebration
Last but not least for new mechanics, we have Celebration. Once again, this new mechanic is thankfully quite simple, as it has a fixed cost. Put simply, if two or more nonland permanents have entered the battlefield under your control this turn, you get a benefit. For Ash, Party Crasher, this bonus is simply putting a +1/+1 counter on the card.
Conclusion
A major set is on its way, and it will reveal to us how far its power level can reach. As the release date approaches, fans eagerly anticipate the moment they can embark on their own quests in this enchanting fusion of magic and fantasy.