Last updated on January 2, 2024
Oko, Thief of Crowns | Illustration by Yongjae Choi
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…
… the High King claimed the throne of Eldraine, having fulfilled the High Quest. Fair and just was his rule, and his hand firm. No monster, witch, or bitter elf dared approach the Realm, and they all kept themselves to the Wilds.
Until one day…
… come, gentle reader, come! Magic: The Gathering has many lands full of wondrous enchantments, spells, and wizardry, but none are quite like the fairy tales we find in Throne of Eldraine.
Throne of Eldraine: Basic Information
Once Upon a Time | Illustration by Matt Stewart
Throne of Eldraine, MTG's 82nd expansion, was released on October 4, 2019. The Eldraine plane is a high-fantasy medieval setting, inspired by Arthurian legend and Grimm's fairy tales.
Throne of Eldraine: Set Details
| Set Symbol |  |
| Set Code | ELD |
| Hashtag | #MTGEldraine |
| Number of Cards | 399 cards in total (including all card versions and all products). |
| Rarities | 107 commons, 83 uncommons, 70 rares, 22 mythic rares |
| Mechanics | Adventure, Food, Typal Synergies |
Throne of Eldraine: Important Dates
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Set Release | October 2019 |
| Available on Draftsim's Draft simulator | Yes |
About the Set: The Story
Happily Ever After | Illustration by Matt Stewart
Throne of Eldraine's Story Spotlight Cards
The Story Spotlights cards in Throne of Eldraine are:
Once Upon a Time…
Like in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings or Sapkowski's The Witcher, in Eldraine the elves ruled before mankind. Unlike those other stories, Eldraine's elves were proud, arrogant, vain, and cruel (or so the humans say).
A couple of centuries before the events narrated in Throne of Eldraine, mankind rose and overthrew the Elven Lords. Since then, Eldraine is divided in three regions:
- The Realm, where most humans reside, along with some dwarves, giants, and one last elven kingdom; the Realm is ruled by five Courts (each representing one of MTG's colors), which are in turn ruled by the High King;
- The Boundary Lands, which separate the Realm from the Wilds;
- The Wilds, a shifting domain full of strange creatures, wild beasts, and arcane magic, home of faeries, merfolk, goblins, reclusive humans, and where most elves were displaced after humans expelled them from the Realm.
The Realm of Throne of Eldraine
The events in Throne of Eldraine take place when the Realm is ruled by High King Kenrith. All is well and good at the start, as it tends to happen in fairy tales.
That is, until the day Oko, a mischievous planeswalker from an unknown plane, arrives on Eldraine.
Oko loathes authority (and balanced metas; but that part of the tale comes later). He’s also extremely clever and happens to be a gifted shapeshifter who possesses mind-controlling powers. When Oko decides that he wants to sow discord and chaos among the five Courts and disrupt the peace in the Realms, he doesn't lack the skills to do so.
Long story short, he kidnaps High King Kenrith and turns him into a stag. The King's son and daughter embark on a quest to find and save their father, a quest they fulfill – igniting their planeswalker spark in the process.
Oko, though defeated, manages to flee by planeswalking to an unknown destination (and he hasn't thus far reappeared in any other MTG set).
Throne of Eldraine: Mechanics
Throne of Eldraine brings three new mechanics to MTG: adamant, adventure, and food. It also focuses quite a bit on typal synergies.
Adventure Cards
Throne of Eldraine introduces a new style of cards: adventure.
Adventure cards are creature cards, with an adventure ability that allows them to be cast as a sorcery or instant from your hand. Cards with Adventure have two distinct parts:
- The Adventure Spell: This is the sorcery or instant part of the card that can be cast from your hand like a regular spell. It often has effects like dealing damage, destroying creatures, drawing cards, or providing other utility.
- The Creature: After casting the adventure spell, the card is exiled (instead of going to the graveyard) and you can later cast the creature side from exile, effectively bringing it into play as a creature.
For example, you can cast Bonecrusher Giant as an adventure, and in that case, it's an instant spell that deals 2 damage. Its cost and rules text are on the lower left corner of the card. After it resolves, it’s exiled rather than going to your graveyard, and you can later cast it as a creature; in this case, its cost and rules text are on the lower right corner of the card.
You can also cast Bonecrusher Giant as a creature directly from your hand if you prefer; when you do, it behaves exactly as any other creature spell, completely ignoring its adventurous side.
Adamant
Each of Eldraine's five courts is aligned with a color, and they handsomely reward those that adamantly dedicate themselves to pursuing the virtues that each court represents (loyalty, knowledge, persistence, courage, and strength).
Spells with adamant have added effects if you spend 3 or more mana of a single specified color to cast them.
Slaying Fire, for example, deals 4 damage rather than 3 if you spent at least to cast it.
Food
Food is a common topic in fairy tales: sometimes sweet, sometimes tangy… sometimes downright unsavory. Throne of Eldraine pays homage to this tradition in many ways: food (that bites back!) is the setting of Throne of Eldraine's Official Trailer, and when the set launched Wizards of the Coast organized the The Great Eldraine Bake-Off, an Eldraine-inspired online recipe competition.
On the battlefield, food is a new artifact type. Several Throne of Eldraine cards create or make use of food artifacts, and in particular create or interact with Food tokens (which are artifact tokens that you can sacrifice for 2 mana and gain 3 life).
Witch's Oven allows you to sacrifice any of your creatures to create Food tokens. And if Cauldron Familiar is in your graveyard, you can bring it back to the battlefield by sacrificing a Food. You can later sacrifice the Familiar with the Oven to create a Food token, then sacrifice the Food with the Familiar to bring it back again… and again… and again!
Food as a mechanic is found in several MTG sets: it’s a large mechanical theme in The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, and it's also an important mechanic in Wilds of Eldraine.
Drawing Your Second Card
Some red and blue cards in Throne of Eldraine reward you for drawing your second card during a turn.
- Faerie Vandal
- Mantle of Tides
- Steelgaze Griffin
- Bloodhaze Wolverine
- Irencrag Pyromancer
- Mad Ratter
- Improbable Alliance
Hybrid Mana
Hybrid mana symbols represent a cost that can be paid with either of two colors. For example, Thunderous Snapper‘s mana value is 4 which you can pay with either green or blue mana. In other words, is both a green and a blue mana symbol.
Lands of the Wilds, Castles of the Realm
There are two cycles of lands in Throne of Eldraine that explore key locations in the Wilds and in the Realm, and all of them care about basic land types.
Castles of the five Courts of the Realm: They all have activated abilities and enter tapped unless you control a land of that basic land type. These are all rares and see quite a lot of play.
Lands of the Wild: These lands enter untapped if you control at least three other lands of that type (in other words, if you have enough mana of that color to fulfill an adamant ability). If you do, these lands enter untapped and provide a bonus.
Mystic Sanctuary sees a ton of play in Commander (EDHREC lists it in close to 200,000 decks), and it's so powerful that it's currently banned in Modern. The rest of these lands are a lot less popular but still see a fair bit of play.
Throne of Eldraine Card Gallery
White
Blue
Black
Red
Green
Multicolored
Colorless
Lands
Notable Cards
Banned and Restricted Cards
All Throne of Eldraine cards are currently playable in Commander.
Oko, Thief of Crowns is a planeswalker that can create Food tokens, turn opposing creatures into elk, and gain loyalty at a rapid pace. So it was of course quickly found to be ridiculously powerful. According to Bryan Hawley, manager of the Play Design team, there's no question that Oko ended much stronger than Wizards intended.
“There's lots of reasons he wound up as strong as he did,” wrote Bryan in a Play Design Lessons Learned article, “but, ultimately, we did not properly respect his ability to invalidate essentially all relevant permanent types, and over the course of a slew of late redesigns, we lost sight of the sheer, raw power of the card, and overshot it by no small margin.”
In the course of a bit more than a year, Oko was banned in every Constructed format except Vintage and Commander.
A versatile green spell that allowed players to dig through their deck for specific cards at a low cost, Once Upon a Time was also too powerful and followed Oko's steps, being banned in Standard, Historic, Pioneer, Explorer, and Modern.
Mystic Sanctuary is the most powerful of the common land cycle, above all in formats with fetch lands, and was banned in Modern.
Currently Competitive
The Great Henge: A powerful legendary artifact that provides card draw, lifegain, and a substantial mana discount on creatures, making it an ideal addition to green decks that focus on creatures. A Lovestruck Beast on turn 3 allows you to play Henge on 4, and snowball from there. The Great Henge was reskinned as The Party Tree in The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth.
Brazen Borrower: A versatile adventure that provides both an instant bounce effect and a flying creature, which sees play in Modern, Pioneer, and Commander decks.
Embercleave: Having flash, this is more combat trick than traditional equipment, boosting a creature's power while providing trample and double strike for a massive hit.
Bonecrusher Giant: Another flexible adventure card, with a powerful shock effect on its adventure spell and a solid 4/3 body when cast as a creature.
Cauldron Familiar and Witch's Oven: Currently the foundation of perhaps the best deck in Pioneer, Sacrifice, Oven and Familiar are one of the most well-known uses of food synergy.
Command Tower: One of the best mana fixers for Commander, originally from Commander 2011 and very often reprinted – the most common Throne of Eldraine inclusion in Commander decks.
Arcane Signet: See “Command Tower” above, but as an artifact. Signet is an original Throne of Eldraine card and is often reprinted like Command Tower.
Fabled Passage: The third most often seen Throne of Eldraine card in Commander decks, which also sees play in Pioneer.
Fervent Champion portrays Javier Dominguez, Magic: The Gathering's World Champion of 2018.
Available Products
At the time of writing, Throne of Eldraine products are still listed on Magic’s Amazon Page – they may not be for too long, though, since it's the oldest set listed there:
Bundle
Bundles bring a good chunk of boosters, plus lands, a life counter, and reference cards.
Contents:
- 10 Throne of Eldraine booster packs
- 20 foil land pack
- 20 regular land pack
- 1 foil promo card
- 1 oversized spindown life counter (1.5″)
- 2 reference cards
- 1 reusable card storage box
- Many paths to victory. 10 booster packs give you the variety YOU NEED to create the perfect deck. Choose your favorites, build your deck, and battle!
- Get more than packs. You'll be ready to play with 20 basic lands, 20 foil basic lands, 1 alternate-art foil rare card, and one oversized life counter on top of your booster packs.
- Build on the legends. A fresh twist on familiar stories told only the way Magic: The Gathering can. Create your own story as you battle your way to victory with your favorite fairy tale creatures!
- Develop your strategy. Choose your strategic focus, develop decks with different tactics, and adapt your plans on the fly As you battle your way to victory!
- Join the community. Magic: The Gathering (Mtg) players around the world have gathered together to play for years. Become a part of one of the largest card game communities in the world.
Draft Boosters
Draft Boosters have 15 cards, and can include different art treatments like borderless planeswalkers, extended art frames, or showcase frames.
- Expand your collection. With 36 throne of eldraine booster packs, each with 15 magic cards, The possibilities are nearly endless. Choose your favorite cards, PA your deck, and battle!
- These fairy tales fight back. Throne of eldraine spins grimm’s fairy tales and Arthurian legend as only Magic: The Gathering (Mtg) can. Create your own story as you battle your way to victory with your favorite fabled creatures!
- Devise your strategy. Plan your attack, develop new tactics, and adapt your plans on the fly As you battle your way to victory.
- Join the community. Magic: The Gathering (Mtg) fans have come together for decades to share their love of the game. Become a part of one of the largest gaming communities in the world.
- Play the game that started it all. The original strategy card game, Magic: The Gathering (Mtg) has inspired more than 20 million fans over 25 years.
Collector Booster
For those looking for premium foils, Collector Boosters provide the most desirable cards from Throne of Eldraine.
Contents:
15 cards from Throne of Eldraine:
- 1 rare/mythic rare with extended art
- 1 foil rare/mythic rare
- 9 foil commons/uncommons
- 3 special frame cards (borderless planeswalkers or “showcase” cards)
- 1 ancillary card (non-foil version of any ELD card otherwise not found in traditional ELD boosters, such as the Buy-a-Box promo)
- 1 foil token
- Contents: 15 cards from Throne of Eldraine: 1 rare/mythic rare with extended art 1 foil rare/mythic rare
- 9 foil commons/uncommons 3 special frame cards (borderless planeswalkers or "showcase" cards)
- 1 ancillary card (non-foil version of any ELD card otherwise not found in traditional ELD boosters, such as the Buy-a-Box promo 1 foil token
Theme Booster
Theme Boosters have 35 cards, all themed around a single color. Intended for players that want to expand their collection while focusing on a particular strategy or theme.
- Helps new and casual players expand their collection.
- All cards themed around a single colour.
- One rare or mythic rare.
- Item Package Quantity: 1
Planeswalker Decks – Rowan and Oko
Preconstructed Planeswalker Decks allow you to play Magic right out of the box, making them ideal for new players.
Each planeswalker deck provides:
- 1 ready-to-play 60-card deck featuring a foil planeswalker card
- 2 Throne of Eldraine booster packs
- 1 strategy insert
- Start playing magic. This Magic: The Gathering Starter deck is ready to go. Battle a few times to understand how to play your deck, then open the 2 included booster packs to customize it.
- Surprise your opponents. Oko relies on guile and surprise to defeat his foes. Summon small, evasive creatures to chip away at your opponent's life total while you draw cards and build up your resources.
- These fairy tales fight back. Throne of eldraine spins grimm’s fairy tales and Arthurian legend as only Magic: The Gathering (Mtg) can. Create your own story as you battle your way to victory with your favorite fabled creatures!
- Join the community. Magic: The Gathering (Mtg) fans have come together for decades to share their love of the game. Become a part of one of the largest gaming communities in the world.
- Play the game that started it all. The original strategy card game, Magic: The Gathering (Mtg) has inspired more than 20 million fans over 25 years.
Brawl Decks
Brawl Decks are ready-to-play decks designed specifically for the Brawl format. There are four decks available, and each has seven cards not available in Throne of Eldraine booster packs.
Contents:
- 60-card Standard-legal singleton deck (no more than 1 copy of a given card, except basic lands)
- 7 Standard-legal cards not found in traditional Throne of Eldraine booster packs
- 1 foil legendary creature not found in Throne of Eldraine booster packs
- 1 Life Wheel
- 1 Strategy insert
Wrap Up
The Great Henge | Illustration by Adam Paquette
And that, gentle reader, will be all for Throne of Eldraine.
I hope you have enjoyed our journey across the Realm! If this setting fits your playstyle, you may want to check Wilds of Eldraine, MTG's second foray into the plane.
Did you enjoy Throne of Eldraine? Which are your favorite cards from the set? Please let us know in the comments or stop by for a chat at the official Draftsim Discord.
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