Unveiled at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, Throne of Eldraine is the latest set coming to MTG Arena. Revolving around classic fairy tales, this new block appears to be a dramatic departure from the plane-spanning story we’ve been experiencing. Some of the stories that have been alluded to are The Frog Prince, Sleeping Beauty, and King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
Set to release this fall, Throne of Eldraine’s release will have dramatic impacts on Standard and introduce a new format to MTG Arena. This new block will dramatically shake-up the format, so be prepared to see a lot of shifts in the meta.
With preview season officially in full swing, here’s what we know so far about Throne of Eldraine.
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General Information
- Name: Throne of Eldraine
- Release Date: October 4, 2019 (Paper)
- Number of Cards: 269
- Themes: Faeries, Knights
- Format Legality: Standard, Draft, Pauper, Sealed, Brawl, Historic
Throne of Eldraine’s Release Date
Currently, the new set is set to have a physical release on October 4, with pre-release events happening on September 28-29. While the MTG Arena release date is unknown, the new set typically has a much earlier release date than the paper variation. We suspect that the MTG Arena Throne of Eldraine release date will be around September 24, which is a little over a week before the full set drops.
Cards – Red
Cards – Blue
Cards – Black
Cards – White
Cards – Green
Cards – Multi-Colored
Cards – Colorless/Lands
Throne of Eldraine World
During the Throne of Eldraine reveal stream we learned some details about the new world. Based around classic fairy tales, Wizards of the Coast decided to keep some of the details ambiguous, so users could discuss and decipher what fairy tales connect to specific stories. Garruk is also confirmed to return as the Huntsman, but there was no word on how this would continue his story. Given the last time we saw him was on Innistrad, there is a lot of unanswered questions surrounding this planeswalker.
Throne of Eldraine Trailer
Standard Rotation
Perhaps one of the biggest changes coming with Throne of Eldraine is the rotation of previous sets in Standard. Once this new block goes live, several sets will be illegal to use Standard and will be only playable in the new Historic format. The sets that are rotating out of Standard when Throne of Eldraine releases are:
- Core Set 2019
- Dominaria
- Ixalan
- Rivals of Ixalan
With this rotation, we expect to see certain decks to completely vanish from the format. Bant Scapeshift will no longer be viable since Scapeshift is in Core Set 2019. My beloved Simic Flash will also suffer since a lot of the core cards come from the previous sets. Esper will still remain a powerful deck despite losing Teferi, Hero of Dominaria and Orzhov Vampires will vanish entirely.
For those purchasing packs, we suggest only picking up boosters from Core Set 2020 or the Ravnica Block. These sets will be Standard for a long time and getting a playset of every dual land will be vital going forward. Remember, MTG Arena will remind you if you’re purchasing cards that will be rotated out of Standard.
Throne of Eldraine – Brawl
One of the most exciting inclusions with the Throne of Eldraine set is the arrival of the Brawl format. A singleton format, players construct decks around a commander who is either a Legendary Creature or Planeswalker. Your deck can only be cards of the same color identity and the format will rotate alongside Standard. This means all the cards in Brawl will be playable in Standard, despite some of them designed for this more casual format.
For those that missed out on the Throne of Eldraine reveal stream, it was revealed that Brawl is now live on MTG Arena. Currently, players can only use the constructed decks that are lead by one of the four Legendary Creatures shown above. Each one of these decks boasts a different theme and a ton of new cards. This will be your first chance to try out the new Throne of Eldraine set and Brawl format online. Remember, it’s only 1 vs 1 right now, so don’t expect any hectic four-player matches.
