Wilds of Eldraine is a set full of wonder. From intriguing fairy tale Sagas to unique Storybook Adventures, this set has a lot to offer. One of the new aspects of the set is the Enchanting Tales bonus sheet. These cards are featured in every boost pack, with one slot in every draft or set booster, and three to four slots in every collector booster. There are 15 mythic rare, 30 rare, and 18 uncommon Enchanting Tales cards, all of which are Enchantments from Magic’s past.
Of the 63 Enchanting Tales cards, 20 of them have the opportunity to feature gorgeous anime artwork. These cards can again be found in any booster pack. However, these 20 anime art cards also have foil confetti version that appear only in collector booster packs. Each Enchanting Tales card is designed to showcase aesthetics from the Eldraine plane. As reprints, their legality in major formats does not change. As a result, these cards will not be Standard legal.
Notably, this will be the first time that some of these cards will be featured on MTG Arena. As a result, they would indeed become Historic legal, since the Historic format focuses on the entire Arena card pool. Much like how bonus sheet cards were handled during Strixhaven with Mystical Archive cards and the Brother’s War with retro Artifacts, some of these Enchanting Tales are being banned preemptively. There’s a bunch of new Enchanting Tales cards that were just recently spoiled, some of which are getting this initial ban. To start things off, let’s take a look at the Enchanting Tales cards that are getting the banhammer early.
Historic Bannings
Six cards total from the Enchanting Tales bonus sheet are being preemptively banned in Historic on MTG Arena. They are, however, legal in Historic Brawl, as well as Wilds of Eldraine Limited, so long as the card is in your card pool. While some of these cards are extremely powerful, there are certainly some interesting inclusions to go over. First up, we have a card that is banned in Legacy and restricted in Vintage. This Enchantment is none other than Necropotence. Obviously, Necropotence is much scarier when paired with cards like Dark Ritual. Even still, this card can draw A LOT of cards very quickly, and it makes sense why it would get the axe.
Next up, we have a card that was actually banned in Premodern earlier this year. Land Tax lets you search your library for up to three basic Land cards and put them into your hand. This card was banned in Premodern for its ability to be abused alongside Scroll Rack to generate lots of card advantage. With lots of powerful cards already on Arena, this one is a bit of a weird inclusion.
Third on the list of cards banned from day one in Historic is Sneak Attack. Sneak Attack is an excellent when paired with huge Creatures to cheat into play, and it appears Wizards of the Coast is taking a very cautious approach with these decisions.
The last group of cards banned can both heavily effect your opponent’s mana development. Blood Moon and Spreading Seas have the potential to prevent your opponent from being able to cast their cards on curve. Blood Moon especially can be backbreaking against multi-color decks with lots of nonbasic Lands. Still, Spreading Seas is a rather tame card, so seeing it in the same group as Necropotence is rather strange.
It’s also safe to say that not everyone approves of this initial list of banned cards. This is especially true when outrageously powerful cards like The One Ring are still legal. It will be interesting to see how these decisions play out in Historic.
Notably, while we only went over five cards, there will be a sixth card getting banned from the start, but we don’t know the last card yet. Expect it to be spoiled some time in the near future. Beyond these bannings, though, there are a bunch more Enchanting Tales to take a look at.
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New Anime Treatments
While not all 20 Enchantments that will receive anime artwork have been revealed yet, another group of them have just recently been spoiled. Necropotence, Blood Moon, Land Tax, and Sneak Attack are all receiving beautiful anime art, but there’s still more goodies to go over. First up, we have Kindred Discovery. Kindred Discovery is a fantastic Commander card for any deck focused on a specific Creature type. This Enchantment is capable of drawing you quite a few cards when built around, and the artwork is very heartwarming.
Speaking of the heart, another card receiving cool anime treatment is Defense of the Heart. Defense of the Heart is a unique Enchantment that has an extremely powerful ability, but there’s a catch. The catch is that you only get the bonus of Defense of the Heart if an opponent controls three or more Creatures. If they do, though, you get to search for two Creatures and put them directly into play. This card can be quite good in multiplayer Commander, forcing everyone else to keep their Creature counts low or risk potentially dying to the likes of cards like Craterhoof Behemoth.
Additionally, two more cards are receiving anime treatment. Polluted Bonds is another card that is stronger in multiplayer Commander, draining each of your opponents whenever a Land enters the battlefield under their control. For opponents looking to ramp a ton, this can definitely ruin their day. The Enchanting Tales bonus sheet would not be complete, however, without Bitterblossom. It’s iconic, produces Faeries in a fairy tale-themed set, and now has fantastic anime artwork. What more could you want?
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Additional Enchantments
While not every card is receiving anime artwork, like Spreading Seas, there’s still more cards to look forward to. Along with Polluted Bonds, we are also getting an Enchanting Tales version of Sanguine Bond. Sanguine Bond is great if you are trying to gain lots of life by punishing your opponents at the same time. Pair it with Exquisite Blood and you’ve got a plan! Another black Enchantment that can mess with your opponents is Oppression. This card makes it very difficult for your opponents to chain spells and can even act as a discard outlet for you for some reanimation shenanigans.
Showing off the “wild” aspect of Wilds of Eldraine, Unnatural Growth is on the bonus sheet too. This card can make your Creatures each into massive threats in combat, threatening lots of damage. Another card that threatens a ton of damage is Fiery Emancipation, greatly increasing the power of your Creatures and burn spells alike.
Finally, we have an Enchantment that can be any Enchantment your heart desires. This card is none other than Copy Enchantment. Does your opponent have a super powerful Enchantment in play? For the low cost of three mana, you can get a copy of it for yourself! Importantly, it’s still possible that some of these cards receive anime treatment, but none have been confirmed yet. These Enchanting Tales cards provide an excellent opportunity for anyone looking to add some extra pizazz to their decks.
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