cephille's First Look at Wilds of Eldraine (WOE) Limited — Red

Note: This article was translated from Chinese by AI and may contain errors. Read the original Chinese version.

This article follows the Limited grading scale and writing format that LSV and Reid Duke published on the Channelfireball (CFB) website for The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth (LTR).

Grading Scale

The retired overlords who made the Limited bomb Hall of Fame: Pack Rat, Umezawa’s Jitte, The Scarab God.

• 5.0: Chrome Host Seedshark. Breach the Multiverse. Sunfall.
• 4.5: Doomskar Warrior. Archpriest of Shadows. Borborygmos and Fblthp.
• 4.0: Preening Champion. Bloated Processor. Invasion of Amonkhet.
• 3.5: Final Flourish. Ephara’s Dispersal. Stormclaw Rager.
• 3.0: Vanquish the Weak. Eyes of Gitaxias. Zhalfirin Lancer.
• 2.5: Oracle of Tragedy. Ichor Drinker. Marauding Dreadship.
• 2.0: War Historian. Gloomfang Mauler. Order of the Mirror.
• 1.5: Expedition Lookout. Akki Scrapchomper. Infected Defector.
• 1.0: Disturbing Conversion. Tenured Oilcaster. Coming In Hot.
• 0.0: Invasion of Arcavios. One with Nothing.

Red

Limited rating: 3.5

A three-mana 3/3 is a reasonable body, and if you can trigger celebration, it gives a target creature you control +1/+0 and menace, which is very powerful on offense. It performs better in decks with lower curves; red-white and red-black should both be fine, while red-green may not be as good since the slightly higher costs make celebration less likely to trigger.

Limited rating: 3.5

A five-mana 4/4 with haste is a very good attacking body, and the adventure side lets you spend three mana to remove the two most annoying blockers on the turn you attack.

Limited rating: 2.0

Apart from The Irencrag it transforms into, this is the only Equipment in the set (Kellan, you were born at the wrong time…), and this Equipment is very ordinary, with celebration merely making equipping a bit smoother. But if your deck is mostly creatures with 3 power or less, you can still play it to add punch; if your creatures have good bodies, skip it.

Limited rating: 3.0

A two-mana Bear fits red-green’s signature 4-power plan. It discards first and then draws, but it’s red after all, so nothing to be done; if you can trigger it reliably, you can swap your hand for something better, but if you can’t, you might not need to use it.

Limited rating: 3.0

A two-mana 1/1 body is simply too bad. Of the three-way enter ability, only putting a Wicked Role on her to make her a 2/2 with haste does much, and making the opponent lose 1 more life when it leaves might be slightly stronger; the other two options have no immediate effect on the board. Although it’s a rare, the base body is below standard, and the flexibility of the abilities adds a little to the rating. Worth noting is that the second and third enter abilities can both trigger celebration.

Limited rating: 3.0

A four-mana sorcery that deals 4 damage to a creature and makes a Young Hero Role, a practical Limited card. Remove an annoying blocker before combat, then have a small creature enchanted with the Young Hero swing in and grow; when the board is even or slightly behind, you should be able to turn the situation around.

Limited rating: 3.0

A four-mana 3/3 with menace that enters with a 1/1 Rat token. The Rat can’t block, so the whole card leans toward offense, but it’s still a decent four-mana filler.

By the way, I find this art of a Rat riding a hound really funny, and the art style of this card is very un-Eldraine, more like the dogs happily running around Gavony Township in the Innistrad plane.

Limited rating: 2.0 (sealed)
Limited rating: 3.0 (draft)

The problems with a one-mana 2/1 are all about the same: in sealed the pace is slow, and drawing it late is a very poor topdeck, while in draft you can build toward an extreme aggro deck, so it needs different scores for different formats.

Limited rating: 2.0

A three-mana instant that does three things; are you trying to make me call it Coin Confluence? But honestly, the three effects together don’t affect the board much. Maybe try it in a blue-red spells deck?

Limited rating: 4.0 (when your deck has lots of Food)
Limited rating: 0.0 (when your deck has little Food)

Don’t play with your food! A two-mana Enchantment that gives your Foods an extra ability to sacrifice for at least 2 damage to any target; basically the more Food, the stronger it is. However, note that mono-red has basically no sources of Food, so you’d probably play it in red-green, red-black, or black-green splashing red. Of course, since this card has no floor, if you have too few Food sources, don’t play it.

Limited rating: 3.5

The floor is a three-mana instant dealing 2 damage to a creature, which is usable, but as the game goes long and your graveyard accumulates more instants, sorceries, and adventure cards, it gets better and better. It’s a quality removal spell worth taking many copies of, or holding back a little to answer the opponent’s bigger creatures!

Limited rating: 3.0

A Burn Bright with an extra ability is still worth playing in aggressive red Limited decks; and when your nontoken creatures die, you can make an equal number of 1/1 Rats, which let you launch the next wave of attacks or serve as sacrifice fodder for other cards, which is quite nice. Basically red-black Rats needs a card like this, otherwise 1/1 Rats that can’t block are really too bad.

Limited rating: 4.5

A three-mana 3/3 with haste, and celebration can turn it into a 4/4 Dragon with a built-in firebreathing ability, which is really strong. Note that its celebration ability says this turn, so when the opponent tries to kill it on their turn with a 3-damage spell, you can trigger celebration to make it a 4/4 and survive.

By the way, its mannerisms remind me of VOW’s Alluring Suitor; both feel a little naughty.

Limited rating: 3.5

First use the two-mana instant adventure to make a Treasure for a little ramp, then slam a 4/3 reach creature for four mana, which is very comfortable. On the creature side, in the mid to late game you can occasionally use its ability to sacrifice an artifact/land for three mana and draw a card, a nice resource trade when both sides have creatures lined up.

Limited rating: 2.0 (hard to trigger celebration)
Limited rating: 3.0 (easy to trigger celebration)

A two-mana 2/2 buddy; triggering celebration gives +1/+1 and trample. If you can trigger it reliably it deserves a higher score, and if not it’s just ordinary filler.

By the way, I think the creature types should add Dwarf (Drumstick Bro’s inner voice: I only look short because I’m sitting down, who told you I’m a Dwarf! Your whole family are Dwarves (angry)).

Limited rating: 1.0

A one-mana 1/1 is too weak no matter what ability you give it (OK, indestructible might be an exception, but it’s still weak), and a 1/1 Rat that can’t block when it dies doesn’t make me happy either. I won’t play it.

And the people on this card really look unhappy (hey).

Limited rating: 3.5

Unless you have lots of instants/sorceries/adventures in hand on turn two and use its two-mana adventure to discard them all and draw two, you’re unlikely to land a 4/5 on turn three; but that is such a loss, please don’t do that. Normally you hold it in hand until your hand runs out, then use its adventure to draw two cards and follow up with a discounted 4/5, and that is the correct way to use it.

Limited rating: 4.0

A four-mana 4/4 is a very solid body, and while she’s around, your single-target burn spells also deal equal damage to the opponent; the more burn, the stronger she is.

Limited rating: 1.5

Although cards with this same effect have many different names: Coming In Hot, Daring Escape, or Storm Strike, they’re all the same ordinary small trick. I’d only consider it in a deck with many prowess creatures.

Limited rating: 2.0

Chapters I and II each give a Treasure; Chapter III exiles the top three cards of your library, which you can play this turn. The resource gain is a little too slow, and Treasure has no supporting mechanic in this set, so I probably wouldn’t want to play this Saga.

So in the ELD Brawl precon, Korvold, Fae-Cursed King was a human cursed by the Faeries into becoming a Dragon; no wonder his legs are so long…

Limited rating: 2.5

Singing and singing, hey! Our young hero makes his entrance!

A three-mana 3/2, or four mana to enter and put a Young Hero Role on a target creature you control; I think both are just fine, but if you put it on itself, it attacks next turn as a 4/3, and if it survives, hits again as a 5/4, which seems OK?

Limited rating: 2.5

A three-mana 4/2 that encourages you to attack, and the adventure side is a two-mana instant +2/+1 small trick; both sides are mediocre, and if you’re behind on board this creature may not help much.

Limited rating: 2.5

A one-mana instant giving +3/+1 and trample, and leaving a Monster Role behind if the creature survives the turn is actually pretty good. Trample is strong!

Limited rating: 3.0

I believe I can fly… but actually it can’t fly, it just jumps high (maybe the photographer lay on the ground and shot upward to frame it?).

A two-mana 2/1 that makes the second spell you cast each turn cost one less, and with celebration it can also give a target creature +1/+1 until end of turn. Although its standalone combat power isn’t strong, the cost-reduction static ability is quite attractive. Play it on turn two and on turn three you can cast spells in three cost combinations: (0+4), (1+3), (2+2). Setting aside that (0+4) can’t happen in WOE Limited, the other two combinations are both very good, and it’s worth noting that thanks to adventure cards, the chance of those two combinations triggering the discount should be considerable.

Limited rating: 3.0

Five mana paid in installments to make two 1/1s and one 2/1 is flexible. The 2/1 has first strike on your own turn, which suits aggressive decks, and the adventure side can be cast at instant speed to trigger celebration, so watch for the best timing. Of course, this card is very bad when you need to defend or are behind, so on the draw or against a deck that’s faster than you, you can swap it out for big-butt defensive creatures.

Limited rating: 4.5

Simply a six-mana 4/6 flying Dragon with a pinging ability is already very strong, no kicker needed; if you do kick it, the Dragon deals 2 damage on entering, which is worth considering at the right moment, but don’t force it.

Limited rating: 4.0

A four-mana 3/3 with menace that enters with two 1/1 Rats, and during your upkeep you can eat a creature to grow and exile the top card of your library, which you can play that turn. In a red-black Rats deck it should be a great backbone creature, combining Rat-making, solo fighting, and card-advantage ability in one.

Limited rating: 3.0

A three-mana 2/3 that makes a Treasure on entering. It fits red-green plans, jumping up to big creatures, and getting two bodies on entering can trigger celebration, so red-white is worth considering too.

Limited rating: 1.0

A one-mana creature loaded with abilities; without pump it probably can’t get through, and it’s a poor late-game topdeck. And if we look closely at its abilities, it needs to hit a player to put a skewer counter, and then you still have to sacrifice it to draw cards… I think there’s no need to play it. Of course, if your deck is full of prowess creatures and lots of pump spells it should work a bit better, but I think that’s quite hard.

Limited rating: 2.0

A two-mana 1/3 creature with reach; if you don’t pump it, the opponent will probably just let it hit them. Basically I wouldn’t main deck it, and I’d just swap it in from the sideboard when I’m short on creatures to block flyers.

Limited rating: 3.0

Makes a ton of hasty Rats, which is pretty strong on an empty board, but when you’re behind or both sides have creatures lined up, this card can’t help you much.

Limited rating: 3.5

Flexible removal just like black’s Faerie Fencing; it’s worth playing without kicker, but more efficient with it.

Limited rating: 2.0
Limited rating: 4.0 (red-black Rats only)

It’s basically a lord that gives your Rats a conditional +2/+0; if you’re a red-black Rats deck you’ll be happy to see it.

Limited rating: 3.0

A one-mana instant dealing 2 is usually a good card early, and when 2 damage isn’t enough late, you can kick it to deal 3. Sometimes against black decks that recur or dig up graveyard cards, you’ll be very grateful for its exile ability.

Limited rating: 3.0

A three-mana Act of Treason that also gives you a Wicked Role, very good for red-black and red-white decks that need to break through the opponent.

Limited rating: 3.5

A two-mana instant granting double strike is very efficient on offense, and a five-mana 5/4 with menace is also a very good body.

Limited rating: 3.5

A three-mana 0/4 defender is nothing special, but what if it’s a pinger? It fits red-blue spells very well, blocking early creatures while continually stealing damage. It feels like in draft there’s a chance to build a control-leaning deck around it and instants/sorceries, and adventure cards can also fill in the creature shortage of spells decks.

Limited rating: 3.5

On the Enchantment side, for five mana you need to deal noncombat damage to the opponent to start drawing cards, but it’s quite flexible that you don’t have to. The two-mana instant adventure dealing two is still decent, but if your deck doesn’t have many other cards that can damage opponents, it’s just a two-mana deal-two. By the way, the Unruly Catapult I just covered together with the Enchantment side can get a 5.0.

Limited rating: 2.5

Tormenting Voice that also gives you a Wicked Role, pretty good.

Limited rating: 4.0

A four-mana instant dealing 5 can kill over 90% of creatures, and with three or more creatures attacking it can be cast for as little as one mana, which doesn’t seem hard to achieve in a red-based deck. But the main point is that dealing 5 is just too good!

That’s all for this WOE red Limited analysis. I hope everyone finds their own fun in the upcoming sealed and draft events!