Mark Rosewater shares the Throne of Eldraine tale with 8 spoilers

A fairy tale story comes to life.

MTG Arena Streamer Event ELD
Image via Wizards of the Coast Magic: The Gathering

Magic: The Gathering’s head designer Mark Rosewater officially kicked off the 12 days of Throne of Eldraine spoilers today with eight new cards. 

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Rosewater described how the MTG design team worked European folklore and fairy tale stories into the creation of the Throne of Eldraine (ELD) set. Using the story of Cinderella as a guideline, Rosewater revealed eight new cards within ELD. From creatures and Artifacts to an Instant that doesn’t cost any mana to cast, the MTG design team was able to tell a story from start to finish. 

The tale within ELD starts with Once Upon a Time, as all good folklore stories should begin.

Once Upon a Time MTG Throne of Eldraine
Image via Wizards of the Coast Magic: The Gathering

Once the storyline has been established, the MTG design team introduced the villain: Wicked Guardian. Due to the high mana cost, Wicked Guardian isn’t a good Standard card, but it’ll likely see play in Limited Draft. 

Wicked Guardian MTG Throne of Eldraine
Image via Wizards of the Coast Magic: The Gathering

With every villian in a fairy tale story, there’s a Faerie Guidemother (in Magic, anyway). Faerie Guidemother is a showcase style card featuring a creature spell split with an Adventure mechanic. While it might fit in with White Weenie decks, it’s overall value is on the low end. 

Faerie Guidemother MTG Throne of Eldraine
Image via Wizards of the Coast Magic: The Gathering

The good and bad characters have been established, so now the tale needs a pumpkin ride, according to the MTG design team. Enchanted Carriage is a solid Artifact-Vehicle that’s introducing mouse tokens to Magic.

Enchanted Carriage MTG Throne of Eldraine
Image via Wizards of the Coast Magic: The Gathering

After taking a ride in a pumpkin, someone should turn into one via the Instant, Turn into a Pumpkin. This four mana blue Instant bounces a creature and produces card draw. It also uses the mechanic Adamant and has the ability to produce Food tokens

Turn into a Pumpkin MTG Throne of Eldraine
Image via Wizards of the Coast Magic: The Gathering

After the story has taken a few twists and turns, the design team brings the tale back to its foundational roots with Return to Nature. For only two mana, this ELD Instant is slightly better than Naturalize in that a player can either destroy an artifact, enchantment, or exile a creature from a graveyard.

Return to Nature MTG Throne of Eldraine
Image via Wizards of the Coast Magic: The Gathering

But the tale isn’t finished yet. There still needs to be a Crystal Slipper that equips a creature and a Wildwood Tracker.

Despite not being closely related, Crystal Slipper is a solid Artifact-Enchantment for two mana. Wildwood Tracker, on the other hand, has the added benefit of gaining a possible +1/+1 until the end of turn. 

The Throne of Eldraine set releases on Oct. 4 via tabletop and on Sept. 26 via MTG Arena

Author
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Danny Forster
Staff writer, lead beat writer for MTG and TFT
Danny has been writing for Dot Esports for over five years, first as a freelancer and now as a staff writer. He is the lead beat writer for Magic: The Gathering and Teamfight Tactics. Danny is also a solid Monopoly GO player, having beaten every main event without spending a dime. When Danny isn't writing or gaming, he's chilling by the water in Spacecoast Florida with his family and friends. He's always got a tan, because touching grass is important, and loves playing strategic digital and tabletop games. Past outlets Danny has written for include TheGamer and ScreenRant.