Pauper Set Review: Wilds of Eldraine - What Faerie Tales are made of

So, it’s that time of the month again, spoiler season. This time we are back looking at the new Commons in Wilds of Eldraine. With this Fairy tale theme, we have very fun cards, not to mention the card created from the original Eldraine Trailer Syr Ginger, the Meal Ender.

The set is filled with flavor and is all round a great set for the theme of Eldraine. However, that is not what we are here to discuss. Let’s take a look at the Commons of Wilds of Eldraine and see how they will impact the Pauper metagame!

White

Besotted Knight is subtly a solid option for Mono White Heroic. The Adventure half does three things for the deck; one triggers Heroic, the second is an enchantment for All that Glitters and Ethereal Armor and the third one gives the creature you enchant Ward, so it has some form of protection against targeted removal like Cast Down and Snuff Out.

Finally, it has all of this strapped onto a creature which isn't completely unplayable, especially if the games go long and get very grindy.

It seems like a solid addition to Mono White Heroic's arsenal.

I am unsure if Break the Spell having access to destroy enchantments is good, especially in a world of All that Glitters, however, having to destroy your own enchantment to draw a card really gives it niche areas to work with. My first thought is this could be a sideboard option for Bogles. This is because if it's not useful, you can trade it in by killing your Rancor for a card.

Overall, I don't have high hopes for this card, but it has solid interactions that may make it worth a sideboard slot in some decks.

This is another potential creature for the White Heroic archetype. Helping you control your draw is a powerful ability in Mono White Heroic, as the deck has no card draw. It does all of this whilst having a three mana Ethereal Armor attached to it.

This helps you have a creature that you don't need to suit up as it does it itself.

Honorable Mentions

Hopeful Vigil is a Barbed Batterfist at home for Mono White Aggro. It's doubtful whether it will go far, but it is just another option for a borderline powerful deck.

Return Triumphant really has to compete with Recommission, but, if this Unearth effect is needed in droves, we now have that as an option.

Stockpiling Celebrant is Kor Skyfisher 5-8, or 9-12 if you can play Glint Hawk. However, there is a nice interaction with Experimental Synthesizer with which you get to Scry to have some decision in what you flip to it.

Blue

This is my pick for probably the best card in the set.

I believe this replaces Faerie Miscreant in Mono Blue Faeries. Miscreant has always been the weakest card in Mono Blue Faeries (except when it was bugged on MTGO), due to how difficult and unreliable the effect is to trigger.

Snaremaster Sprite fills the same role early on, and is a Flying Men that helps you put your Ninjas in play. However, in the mid to late game, it makes your Ninjas get damage for an extra two times! This seems perfect for Mono Blue Faeries.

I don't think this makes its way into the two color faeries decks; however, it is a strong effect, and there's a lot of flexibility in what their deck looks like.

I wasn't going to mention this card as I, personally, don't think it is great. However, there has been a lot of discussion about whether this card makes it into any Faerie variations. Personally, I don't think so, as they currently play Counterspell and don't currently play Mana Leak, which is very comparable.

However, on the other side of the discussion, there is so much flexibility in Faerie variations that they could find space for Spell Stutter.

One deck that could find a home is Fae-miliars or Faerie Familiars, as it can utilize the discount of Sunscape Familiar and has enough Faeries for it to be relevant.

Honorable Mentions

Ice out is another Cancel that has a discount clause as a way to have a pseudo Counterspell. I'm unsure if it is very good, and it is most likely not. However, this is relatively easy to discount.

But I'm still unsure what archetype would need this and benefit from the Bargain, or need 5-8 Counterspell.

Mocking Sprite is a three mana Goblin Electromancer, which doesn't see too much play currently. However, if being a faerie ever mattered to Mono Blue, this is the card. Currently, I don't think this is going to see play, but it is worth mentioning.

Stormkeld Prowler is a cheap threat that works well in certain decks. Artifact-based decks can utilize it with Thoughtcast, Reverse Engineer or Myr Enforcer. Other archetypes, like Terror, could potentially utilize this when casting Tolarian Terror. Overall, I don't think this card will see play, but it is a potential tool that these decks could use.

Black

We recently got the card Final Flourish, which is very similar. The two main differences are: it kills a Kenku Artificer Bridge without sacrificing anything; secondly, you can sacrifice a Plant Token in something like Golgari Gardens to pay the additional cost.

Again, I don't think it is going to break the meta, but is just going to be another removal spell option in the /X Midrange options.

Not Dead After All is another option to all those Supernatural Stamina or Undying Evil. One thing that Not Dead After All does that the others don't is killing the opponent. With Archaeomancer, Ashnod's Altar, Energy Refractor and Not Dead After All, you can loop the Not Dead After All on the Archaeomancer. While performing the loop, you get to drain the opponent for 1 thanks to the Wicked Role.

Sweettooth Witch is an upgrade to Tempting Witch, which currently doesn't see play.

But, with the recent influx of Food artifacts and payoffs, the critical mass may make a Cauldron Familiar deck playable.

Sweettooth Witch is another wincon, as it doesn't have to tap to make the opponent lose life, and being a more aggressive body helps to close games out.

This is a subtle upgrade, but who knows. It may be common to be versing Cauldron Familiar in the near future.

Warehouse Tabby is another card that goes infinite with Ashnod's Altar and Energy Refractor. Using Rancor allows you to loop and keep recasting it. The main issue is: this combination needs more tools to do something substantial. Other than this, I don't think this will see much play.

Honorable Mentions

Hopeless Nightmare is a card I've seen a lot of discussion about. The main archetype I see this in is Mono Black Burn, which is hard to interact with and in the late game you get to have some agency with your draws, which isn't a real ability in Mono Black Burn at the moment.

Another interaction to keep an eye on is with Kor Skyfisher, to try and make your opponent run out of cards.

Voracious Vermin is another Mono Black sacrifice payoff. Eventually, Pauper will have a critical mass that may cause Carrion Feeder to become tier 1.

Barrow Naughty is a noteworthy faerie to include in Dimir Faeries. Faeries doesn't have access to lifegain, so I could easily see this replacing Augur of Bolas. I'm not a massive fan overall, but it is just another option.

Red

Flick a Coin is a card that is so close to being so good, at three mana replacing itself and creating a treasure. If it can be reduced twice, Flick a Coin is a free spell. How easy this is to reduce is what will make this card playable.

"Mom Can I have Monastery Swiftspear?"

"We have Monastery Swiftspear at home"

"Swiftspear at home".

This little guy replaces itself when it dies, allowing you to get in a little bit of chip damage with Haste.

However, I feel like this could see some play in a Rakdos Sacrifice, but ultimately I don't think it will go far, considering the reason to play Red is less and less real.

Honorable Mentions

Grabby Giant is here more due to the Adventure half. This is a Strike it Rich we will have to make ourselves with Nightscape Familiar. Also, having a semi reasonable body really allows it to be a consideration if a Nightscape Familiar combo deck ever becomes a real option again.

Green

This card is great! This may bring back Jund Wildfire back on the map! Initially, when you read this card, it seems very underwhelming. But a Green Kenku Artificer could be what this deck needed, especially when paired with Ardent Elementalist and Modern Horizon Bridges.

Kenku Artificer really does cause problems for many decks, and this should be no different for the likes of Jund Wildfire. Especially as the deck already wants to run cards for Deadly Dispute anyway, so bargaining something shouldn't be too hard.

Masked Vandal is already a great card, and I don't believe I expect this to replace that, as the trigger and Changeling typeline are all very relevant. But there are decks that could utilize the Bargain Mechanic more than Masked Vandal, like Golgari Gardens and Mono Green Stompy, which spring to mind. So, I expect to see this in many sideboards.

Honorable Mentions

I don't believe Toadstool Admirer is in the wrong color, as it is in a color that has droves of Hexproof creatures, such as Gladecover Scout and Slippery Bogle. But it potentially gives Mono Green Stompy an early play that makes itself bigger and wears Rancor and Elephant Guide pretty well.

Ferocious Werefox is similar to Besotted Knight, but for Mono Green Stompy. It allows you to play an early Rancor imitation that can give you a reasonable creature later in the game.

Artifacts

In the last two sets, we have had two very strong Food Artifacts. First, we had Lembas, now we have Candy Trail.

We have recently seen a resurgence of Witching Well since the downshift of All that Glitters, so this could be a viable option for other All that Glitters decks that aren't running Blue.

Also, this is another good artifact which can potentially work well with Glint Hawk and Kor Skyfisher.

We have covered a lot of the commons from Wilds of Eldraine! I'm really excited to see how these cards shake up the Pauper metagame, especially as a lot of the decks that got new toys really needed them, so I hope they pay off, and we get to see more Heroic, Jund Wildfire and Stompy!

Until next time!