Wilds of Eldraine Land Review: Duals, Full-Art Basics, and More

Last updated on March 6, 2024

Faerie Conclave | Illustration by Stephan Martiniere

Wilds of Eldraine is here, and it’s got some new lands for you. In addition to some sweet full art basics, we’ve got the start of an interesting cycle and a key piece for adventure decks.

Let’s look at these lands and talk about how to get your hands on them.

Ready to go?

Basic Lands

Every set comes with basics. Some we love, but in a world of specialty lands and full arts, these often end up in the pile for Draft deckbuilding only. Which is a shame, because some of these are quite interesting. I’m particularly a fan of the Swamps with the faerie lights.

Full Art Basics

I know that folks might be a little jaded with full art basics now that every set has a cycle, but take a look at these! If it looks like paper cutouts, that’s because they are! If you haven’t seen the process artists Hari & Deepti use for this, take a look at this video from their Instagram and be amazed!

Draft Fixers

Evolving Wilds and Crystal Grotto are our two reprints to make the off-color adventure cards work in Draft. You have these already, but check out the art on the Wilds from one of my favorite MTG lands artists, Alayna Danner! Epic.

Edgewall Inn

Clearly key for Draft fixing, Edgewall Inn is a must-play in an adventures deck. Coming in tapped is rough for Standard, but being able to grab the card from the graveyard can be big game, especially instant speed adventure spells that can wreck combat or do a last pip of damage like on Frolicking Familiar or even drop a creature with flash on Virtue of Loyalty. For sure, this goes in Gorion, Wise Mentor in EDH, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few in Constructed decks if the adventures decks are good.

The Restless Creature Lands

These are the hype for the set. Dual creature lands. These are the enemy color pairs, and there isn’t exactly a previous cycle, as ten lands across all the color pairs showed up in Worldwake, Battle for Zendikar, and Oath of the Gatewatch and were reprinted across Masters sets and Commander Legends: The Battle for Baldur’s Gate. But this cycle is new.

These will see play across formats that can be slow enough to manage the coming into play tapped element. Think about the creature lands from Adventures in the Forgotten Realms like Hall of Storm Giants, which still see play in certain decks. They always enter tapped in the late game, but having a reliable threat like that is worth it, especially for control decks.

Restless Bivouac

Boros never wants a tap land, and one +1/+1 counter is kinda weak for taking a turn off in this color pair, so I can’t see Restless Bivouac in many decks.

Restless Vinestalk

Too low impact overall, but you can bet Restless Vinestalk goes in my Galadriel of Lothlórien deck, which drops extra lands off the top tapped, so it works just fine.

Restless Cottage

Restless Cottage has hilarious art by Jesper Ejsing, so I’ll play it for that. And making a Food and eating someone’s reanimation target is just fine. Four mana to activate is a lot, though.

Restless Fortress

The life drain and gain have got to matter. Restless Fortress is no Ramunap Ruins, but you know someone is going to beat you with this activation at some point!

Restless Spire

Izzet control can be slow sometimes, which means a Restless Spire is just fine in many builds. The 2 mana to activate allows you to hit planeswalkers after a board wipe, and the scry isn’t nothing.

All of these are better than the previous dual creature lands, but none more so than here. Just look at Wandering Fumarole and this card!

Decent Commander Deck Reprints

The mana base in the WOE Commander precons is somewhat laughable, but there are some key notables here. Honorable mentions to non-bulk staples Bojuka Bog and Castle Ardenvale.

Faerie Conclave

This is good. Ish. A creature land that flies is awesome. Faerie Conclave isn’t Inkmoth Nexus, but it has its place.

Secluded Glen

This gem from Lorwyn is just an awesome dual land for a faeries deck. Secluded Glen is an awesome pickup!

Hall of Heliod’s Generosity

One of the best utility lands in MTG for an enchantments deck, Hall of Heliod's Generosity is a welcome and valuable reprint!

Where to Get Them

You can find the Commander lands in the Fae Dominion and Virtue and Valor precons. The draft fixers, Edgewall Inn, and the restless lands are in all the boosters. The regular basics are in Draft Boosters, Set boosters (20% chance of foil), Bundles (20 regular basics and 20 foils), and Commander decks. The full art lands have a chance of appearing in every Draft (33%) and Set booster (33%), with an additional chance for foil. But one in foil full art will be in every Collector booster.

Wrap Up

Edgewall Inn | Illustration by Alayna Danner

I like this! The full arts are wicked. Edgewall Inn is nice. The creature lands are interesting and, to a card, I think, stronger than the previous creature land duals in those colors. Will they be good enough for maindecking in control decks in Constructed formats? Not as four-ofs, but I’d be shocked not to see some!

Are you ready to enter the wilds? Got a deck in mind for one of the restless lands? Let us know in the comments or on our Discord!

See you in the next one!