Magic: The Gathering's latest expansion, Throne of Eldraine, is out now, bringing with it a plethora of fantasy- and fairy tale-inspired cards to the long running strategy card game. Included among these brand new cards are dauntless knights, mysterious faeries, intrepid heroes, and cunning villains.
Some of the new cards introduced are true game changers that can turn the tide of a match dramatically in your favor. Others, however, are a little less impressive and may not see as much serious play. Let's now examine five of the best cards from Throne of Eldraine and the five worst.
10 Worst: Irencrag Feat
Irencrag Feat is not the worst card from Throne of Eldraine - there's a reason why it shows up here at the start of our list, after all - but it does present its own unique set of limitations that restrict its usefulness. It adds seven red mana at the cost of four, but then prevents you from casting more than one additional spell during your turn.
For some decks, this can be an excellent addition, especially when looking to play a devastating finisher. However, the restriction does go a little bit against red's philosophy of quick, reactive plays, making your moves a bit more predictable to your opponent and limiting your options.
9 Best: Drown In The Loch
Blue and black are the Magic colors all about removal and countering, so it makes sense that they'd have the best control powers. Drown in the Loch is definitely in line with these principles, and could potentially be an incredibly dangerous spell.
For just one blue and one black mana, Drown in the Loch can counter a spell or destroy a creature provided its target's mana cost is less than or equal to the number of cards in its controller's graveyard. While a little situational, this means Drown in the Loch can easily become a two cost counter or removal spell for nearly anything your opponent could play.
8 Worst: Memory Theft
Memory Theft is an okay card, but it's not much more than that. For three mana, you can look at your opponent's hand and have them discard a nonland card. You can then also put an Adventure they control in exile into their graveyard, preventing them from getting any more use from it.
All in all, there are just better - and often cheaper - options than Memory Theft. The ability to get rid of an Adventure can be useful, but it's extremely dependent on what your foe is playing, making it too unreliable to play in most decks.
7 Best: Syr Konrad, The Grim
Syr Konrad, the Grim is a new legendary black knight who deals a damage to each opponent whenever a creature you control dies, or a creature card is put into your graveyard from anywhere. or a creature card leaves your graveyard. He also has a two mana ability that makes every player move the top card of their deck to the graveyard.
Combined with the wide variety of black creatures and other cards that benefit from death and dying, Konrad can easily become a damage engine, pinging your opponents till they're defeated. His ability also lets players parse through their deck and can get them some extra damage on top of that.
6 Worst: Mystical Dispute
Mystical Dispute is another card that is largely not great due to its conditional nature. It could be a powerful blue counter spell, but its limitations prevent it from really becoming a game changing threat.
For three mana, Mystical Dispute counters a spell unless its controllers pays three mana. It does have the added benefit of only costing one mana if the target is a blue spell, but this is hardly enough to justify its inclusion in most decks. It may be a decent side board card, but will likely not see play in most strategies.
5 Best: Emry, Luker Of The Loch
Emry, Luker of the Loch is a relatively low cost card at three mana that can be reduced even more, costing one less for each artifact you control. When it enters the battlefield, you put the top four cards of your library into your graveyard, but then its tap ability lets you cast a target artifact from your graveyard.
Emry fits perfectly into an artifact deck - perhaps one that focuses on milling itself. It lets you recur any artifacts you play, such as those with an effect when you sacrifice them, giving you extra value. It can also be a guard against artifact destruction, rescuing these powerful cards from the graveyard.
4 Worst: Fires Of Invention
Another red card that can potentially be very powerful but for a unique set of limitations, Fires of Invention is an enchantment that prevents players from casting spells outside of there turn, and only allows them to cast two spells a turn. However, it also lets you play cards with cost less than or equal to the number of lands you control without paying for them.
Fires of Invention definitely has a powerful ability, but it may be just a bit too unwieldy. Especially for red, which likes strong reactive plays, sacrificing the ability to play on your opponents' turns may just be a bit too much.
3 Best: Once Upon A Time
Every fairy tale starts with Once Upon a Time - and that just happens to be the name of our next card. Fittingly enough, this card gets better the earlier you play it, costing nothing if it's your first spell. It then lets you look at the top five cards of your deck, reveal a creature or a land, and put that into your hand.
Even without the free play ability, Once Upon a Time is still cheap at two mana. It lets you parse through your deck to find vital mana or powerful creatures - whichever it is you need. This makes it definitely one of the best new cards from Throne of Eldraine.
2 Worst: Happily Ever After
After Once Upon a Time comes Happily Ever After - although unfortunately, here this means Happily Ever After is our pick for one of the worst cards from the set. A three mana enchantment, it introduces an alternate win condition where if you control permanents of five colors, have six card types between your battlefield and graveyard, and if your life total is greater than or equal its starting value, you win the game.
That condition is quite a mouthful, and it's just as difficult to satisfy. There are three separate elements that must be met, each of them a unique challenge to accomplish. That makes it highly unlikely Happily Ever After will ever be more than a gimmick card.
1 Best: The Royal Scions
Finally, our choice for the best new card of the set is The Royal Scions. This brand new Planeswalker card costs three mana and starts at five loyalty. It has two +1 abilities that can draw you a card or pump up a creature, and a -8 ultimate that draws you four cards, then deals damage to any target equal to your hand size.
The Royal Scions are doubly good as they can be played early and start with a lot of loyalty, meaning that they can be difficult to remove. Their powers let you parse through your deck or strengthen your attacks, and their ultimate can win you the game in its own, making it the best new card from Throne of Eldraine.