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Magic the Gathering (MtG) is a long running, collectable card game for two or more players. Each game represents a battle between powerful wizards, known as Planeswalkers, who have the ability to travel a multiverse - Within which lie countless worlds in habited by species as varied as the fantastic lands they live in.
Players will cast spells, summon creatures, and deploy artifacts to overcome their opponents. Typically, a player will win by reducing their opponent’s starting life points to zero, but there are other paths to victory.
Throne of Eldraine is the 82nd expansion for MtG, released on 4 October 2019. This expansion introduces a new gameplay mechanic: Adventure. It also introduces a new keyword ability: Adamant. The set’s overall design has been heavily influenced by European fairytales and Arthurian legend. Players can expect to find an abundance of Knight and Faerie creatures, and unique spells that play on the theme. You can read my summary of the set here: MTG Throne of Eldraine.
Planeswalker Decks
A Planeswalker deck is a pre-constructed, ready to play, 60 card deck - which also comes with two booster packs. This product is aimed primarily at new players, as it enables a player to jump right into the action. It will also help players begin to learn the strategies and mechanics of gameplay and deck construction. As part of the Throne of Eldraine product range, two Planeswalker decks have been released. Both contain cards showcasing the new themes and mechanics introduced in the Throne of Eldraine expansion.
Rowan's Deck
Decklist
| Planeswalker (1)
Rowan, Fearless Sparkmage x1 |
Instant (3)
Scorching Dragonfire x3 |
| Creature (27)
Acclaimed Contender x1 Ardenvale Tactician x2 Garrison Griffin x4 Giant Killer x1 Inspiring Veteran x2 Knight of the Keep x2 Prized Griffin 2 Rimrock Knight x3 Rowan's Battleguard x3 Rowan's Stalwarts x2 Venerable Knight 2 Weaselback Redcap x1 Youthful Knight x2 |
Sorcery (2)
Joust x2 |
| Artifact (2)
Weapon Rack x2 |
|
| Land (25)
Wind-Scarred Crag x4 Plains x11 Mountain x10 |
Deck strategy
Rowan's deck draws on Red (Mountain) and White (Plains) mana and focuses on creatures with the Knight subtype. Inspiring Veteran, Venerable Knight, and Acclaimed Contender all have strong synergies with other Knights. Inspiring Veteran will provide all your Knights with a +1/+1 buff, whilst in play. Venerable Knight provides an early attacker that will pump up another Knight when it dies - and Acclaimed Contender’s ability to gain a extra cards in hand will trigger whenever you successfully cast a Knight.
Ardenvale Tactician is a flying Knight, which gives you an evasive creature for combat. It can be played as an Instant, to tap two target creatures. This is a handy little trick for pre-combat phase, to neutralise some potentially tricky defending creatures.
Your Knights will help keep your opponent at bay until you can get Rowan, Fearless Sparkmage into play. Her offensive abilities will buff your creatures even further and help you clear out your opponent’s defenders, before striking directly. Should Rowan be removed from play, bring Rowan's Stalwarts into play, to retrieve her from your graveyard (or library.) Scorching Dragonfire and Giant Killer provide your removal options.
Oko's Deck
Decklist
| Planeswalker (1)
Oko, the Trickster x1 |
Enchantment (6)
Charmed Sleep x3 Frogify x3 |
| Creature (25)
Beanstalk Giant x1 Bramblefort Fink x3 Faerie Vandal x2 Garenbrig Carver x3 Keeper of Fables x2 Maraleaf Pixie x3 Mistford River Turtle x2 Oko's Accomplices x4 Tome Raider x3 Tuinvale Treefolk x1 Wildborn Preserver x1 |
Instant (3)
Oko's Hospitality x2 Return of the Wildspeaker x1 |
| Land (25)
Thornwood Falls x4 Island x10 Forest x11 |
Deck Strategy
Oko's deck draws on Blue (Island) and Green (Forest) mana and highlights non-Human creature synergies and card draw. Keeper of Fables will enable you to draw a card each time one of your non-Human creatures deals damage to an opponent. As twenty two of the twenty five creatures in the deck are non-Humans, that's potentially going to trigger a lot. Tome Raider and Return of the Wildspeaker are also going to support card draw. The ability to draw extra cards is great as you'll have more options in your hand. If Faerie Vandal is in play, it will be gaining +1/+1 counters each turn.
Beanstalk Giant and Tuinvale Treefolk are big hitters that you want in play as quickly as possible. Pair one in attack with Mistford River Turtle, and you have an unblockable beast marching through to deliver a sizeable punch. Oko himself will buff your creatures with +1/+1 counters and can even become a copy of a creature and attack directly. Trigger his minus seven ability and give all your creatures power and toughness of ten, and Trample, until end of turn. If you time that right, the battle will be yours.
Thoughts
I enjoyed the Throne of Eldraine expansion, and the two Planeswalker Decks contain some fun cards to play with. Planeswalker decks are a product for the new players, and to them I'd recommend these in particular. They provide good examples of tribal deck construction (Rowan) and how to build around mechanics like card draw (Oko). The latter in particular is a good lesson to learn for new players. A big part of MtG (and my favourite part) is developing your own decks. Planeswalker products are a good foundation from which to start learning, and playing.
That said, collectors may want to pick this up, as both decks contain five exclusive cards. Those cards will not be available in any other Throne of Eldraine product.
