Eldraine: Where Medieval and Magic: The Gathering Meet

Trailer for Throne of Eldraine

    Throughout its history, the creators of Magic: The Gathering (MTG), Wizards of the Coast (WOTC) have created many fictional worlds ranging from a Mesoamerican setting filled with dinosaurs and conquistador vampires to Sci-Fi carnivals traveling outer space, however none are quite as familiar as the plane of Eldraine. Eldraine is the location of two trading card game (TCG) sets produced by WOTC that combines elements of the middle ages with classic fairytales. The first set, Throne of Eldraine, focuses on the five distinct noble courts, each with their own values. In the second one, Wilds of Eldraine, the attention was focused on the untamed wilderness of Eldraine and its denizens, the fair folk.

Throne of Eldraine

Heraldic Badges of the five courts, Ardenvale, Vantress, Embereth, Locthwain, and Garenbrig By WOTC

    As previously mentioned, the courts of Eldraine had their own unique values: Ardenvale's is loyalty, Vantress' is knowledge, Locthwain values persistence, Embereth holds courage in high esteem, and Garenbrig values strength. Based on their respective value, the courts offer challenges to participants in order for them to be recognized as a knight in that court. In fact, knights can be recognized by multiple courts, provided they beat the challenges, and in order to be in the running as the ruler of Eldraine, you have to be recognized by all five courts. This connects to the idea of chivalry from the Middle Ages. Knights of the Middle Ages strived to embody all the chivalrous qualities despite how challenging some qualities can be while the knights of Eldraine faced literal challenges in order to be recognized as embodying specific qualities. Another quality of the courts that makes them distinct from each other is their prized relic that their value comes from. These relics are remainders of the time when elves ruled Eldraine and a court losing their relic can cause turmoil. Essentially these relics are similar to the relics of the Middle Ages. While Middle Age relics were typically body parts or objects associated with saints, both them and the Eldraine relics are highly prized due to their magical properties and rarity.

The Magic Mirror by Anatasia Ovchinnikova

Wilds of Eldraine

The Goose Mother by Jesper Ejsing

    When revisiting the realm of Eldraine, WOTC decided to take a closer look at what is referred to as the fair folk, a label for any sort of magical creature one may find exploring the wilderness. One of the more detailed examples were Eldraine's fae, magical faeries often sorted into courts of their own, with the most powerful being the residing lord or lady of their court. The types of fae also correspond with the various descriptions of fairies from the Middle Ages as the categories, based on behavior, are: benevolent, mildly inconvenient, and malevolent. Of course, other creatures from the Middle Ages make appearances in Eldraine too such as merfolk, dragons, and even unicorns. WOTC also made animals that would not look too far out of place from a medieval bestiary like The Goose Mother. While the name maybe be a pun about Mother Goose, the character is not some kindly old woman but rather a massive, flying goose hydra hybrid that fiercely defends its nest.

Works Cited

Ejsing, Jesper. "The Goose Mother." Magic: The Gathering, Wizards of the Coast, 2023, scg-       static.starcitygames.com/articles/2023/08/819129e)-the-goose-mother.jpg. Accessed 4            December 2024.

Finnegan, Jubilee. "A First Look at Wilds of Eldraine." Magic: The Gathering, Wizards of the     Coast, 2023, magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/a-first-look-at-wilds-of-                    eldraine. Accessed 4 December 2024.

"Heraldic Badges of Eldraine Courts." Magic: The Gathering, Wizards of the Coast, 2019,             media.wizards.com/2019/images/daily/qaMbGDAVb6.png. Accessed 4 December 2024.

Mooney, Chris. "Planeswalker's Guide to Eldraine." Magic: The Gathering, Wizards of the            Coast, 2019, magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/planeswalkers-guide-eldraine-2019-10-       31. Accessed 4 December 2024.

Ovchinnikova, Anatasia. "The Magic Mirror." Magic: The Gathering, Wizards of the Coast,           2023, media.wizards.com/2019/images/daily/cardart-eld-TheMagicMirror.jpg. Accessed 4     December 2024.