Just like Throne of Eldraine before it, Wilds of Eldraine is absolutely loaded with incredible cards. Featuring incredible art, flavor galore, and oodles of Typal support, this set has something for everyone. Beyond just offering fun, however, Wilds of Eldraine also has plenty of incredibly powerful cards, primed to warp formats.
Following the Prerelease weekend for Wilds of Eldraine, some cards have already started doing exactly that. Specifically, one card, in particular, is making itself known by topping tournaments. Considering it’s perhaps Wilds of Eldraine’s best card, it’s no surprise Beseech the Mirror is already causing trouble. For better or worse, this is only the beginning.
Breaking the Meta
Given all the hype around Beseech the Mirror being released, it really shouldn’t be a surprise it’s topping tournaments so soon. After all, the card fits so well into the current meta of multiple formats that it’s practically an auto-include! Able to tutor Sheoldred, the Acopalypse or The One Ring, the card’s strength was obvious.
Despite definitely having a home in formats like Standard, Modern, and Commander, that’s not where Beseech the Mirror is making waves first. Instead, the card has debuted in Legacy in absolutely spectacular fashion. Reinvigorating a fairly popular combo, Beseech the Mirror is already showing its strength in one of the most competitive formats around.
Over the weekend, Beseech the Mirror popped up in Legacy lists of “Mono Black Helm.” In doing this, the deck was utterly transformed from being a consistent underperformer, into an absolute all-star. Winning a highly competitive European Legacy Masters tournament, this deck is well and truly breaking the established meta.
In case you’ve not heard of it before, you might be wondering what on earth Mono Black Helm even is right now. As the name suggests, this combo deck revolves around Helm of Obedience. Thanks to the unique wording of this card, you can mill an opponent’s entire deck easily in the right conditions.
To enable those conditions, you simply need to have milled cards go to exile, rather than the graveyard. Thankfully, this is quite easy to do with cards such as Leyline of the Void and Dauthi Voidwalker. Once either of these is in play, activating Helm of Obedience wins you the game instantly.
Why Is It Good Now?
Obviously, game-winning combos have the potential to pop off, however, Mono Black Helm has previously struggled somewhat. This is due to a lack of consistency in finding and paying for all the combo pieces.
In order to keep up with the ultra-competitive pace of Legacy, Mono Black Helm has to move incredibly quickly. Unsurprisingly, this means Dark Ritual and Chrome Mox are both four of inclusions. While useful, however, these cards obviously add additional required complexity to the two-card combo.
While it cannot help in the early game, Beseech the Mirror provides some much-needed consistency to Mono Black Helm. After all, as a tutor, it can find any of the required combo pieces that you may be lacking. Sure, it costs four mana, but so does Leyline of the Void and Helm of Obedience. The only change is needing to pay the Bargain cost.
By adding this consistency, Beseech the Mirror allows the decklist to be trimmed down significantly. In the tournament topping list, for example, all but one copy of Helm of Obedience and Karn, the Great Creator are removed. This allows it to run four Urza’s Sagas, alongside extra discard effects with Hymn to Tourach.
Thanks to these dramatic changes by František Juda, the deck was able to break its usual run of form. Typically, it’s incredibly rare to see this deck finishing beyond the top 8, let alone winning an event!
Currently, while František Juda’s revamped Mono Black Helm is obviously strong, it’s unclear if this is the new meta. After all, this wouldn’t be the first time an expected deck wins a tournament thanks to improvements and the shock factor.
The Best Is Yet to Come
Having topped a Legacy tournament just two days after release, Beseech the Mirror is obviously off to a good start. This, however, is just the start of what the card is surely bound to do. After all, as we mentioned before, Beseech the Mirror absolutely has a home in Standard, Modern, and Commander. With Wilds of Eldraine releasing today on MTG Arena, Standard is sure to be the next format rocked by this powerhouse card.
Ultimately, while Beseech the Mirror is starting off with a very strong showing, the meta is far from solved quite yet. Thanks to this, we’re sure to see plenty more unorthodox and meta-breaking brews over the coming days and weeks. After this, however, we should return to some sense of normalcy that actually reflects the true new meta. Within this, there’s no doubt that Beseech the Mirror is going to have a home. So long as it doesn’t get banned, that is.
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