Ten Stories Tall
When I talked about the design of Wilds of Eldraine (Part 1 and Part 2), I discussed how we chose to take the ten two-color draft archetypes and attach a story to each one. Today, I'm going to examine each of those ten stories and walk through what exactly the story is (as we enjoy doing our take on the classics) and how we illustrated it on cards. Note that the titles are the fairy-tale stories we were inspired by.
I'm going to start by showing the five stories that are part of the main storyline with Kellan, in the order they appear in that story. I will then talk about the five other stories.
Sleeping Beauty (Blue-Black)
Characters
- Talion – The leader of the High Fae. Talion is curious, supremely powerful, and otherworldly. They (Talion uses they/them pronouns) regard themselves as the protector of Eldraine.
- Obyra – Talion's daughter and the greatest duelist in Eldraine. She's currently trapped under the effects of the Wicked Slumber, but her finely tuned sword-fighting instincts can't be suppressed—Obyra roams Eldraine, seeking other duelists even while asleep.
The High Fae, led by Talion, are a rowdy bunch that enjoy causing mischief. They all returned from a jaunt to the edge of the plane to find the Phyrexians invading. Striking a deal with the three witch sisters, Agatha, Hylda, and Eriette, a massive sleeping spell, known as the Wicked Slumber, spread throughout Eldraine and turned the tides of the invasion.
After the Phyrexians were defeated, the Wicked Slumber remained and grew in power.
It attracted creatures that feed upon dreams and nightmares.
Eventually, it took hold in Tuinvale, where the High Fae have taken up residence.
Obyra, Talion's daughter, has fallen asleep and is causing havoc as she sleep-duels her way across the plane.
Talion calls on Kellan, a boy from the Boundary Lands, to go retrieve the three gifts they gave to the witch sisters (the soul cauldron, the winter crown, and the tempting apple) to break the spell.
Meanwhile, Obyra's attendants, Beauty, Song, and Blessing, try to keep her out of trouble with whatever means necessary.
Little Red Riding Hood (Red-Green)
Characters
- Ruby – A tough, street-smart young woman who would do anything for her family. She is cunning and resourceful.
- Agatha – One of the three witch sisters. Her kind and motherly appearance disguises her bestial nature.
- The Wolf – Ruby's brother and a fearsome warrior. He is enthralled by Agatha and forced to fight his sister.
Story
The witch Agatha was gifted a magical cauldron by Talion for her role in creating the Wicked Slumber.
The cauldron has the power to boil down living creatures into their magical essence. She sets up nearby Edgewall, hoping to trick some poor fools into becoming her next meal.
Meanwhile, Ruby's brother has suddenly gone missing. Unbeknownst to Ruby, her brother was taken and ensorcelled by Agatha to be her muscle. Ruby meets Kellan in the streets of Edgewall, who was sent there to retrieve the cauldron and other artifacts for Talion. She agrees to help him find the local witch, hoping that it might lead her to her brother.
After plenty of dangerous encounters in the forests of the Boundary Lands, Ruby and Kellan reach Agatha's hut.
After a fierce battle, Kellan pushes Agatha into her own cauldron, boiling her alive.
Finished with his first quest, Kellan journeys onward with Ruby.
Jack and the Beanstalk (Green-Blue)
Characters
- Troyan – A vedalken from Ravnica who journeyed here through the Omenpaths.
- Beluna Grandsquall – A giantess noble and the leader of the Stormkeld giants. Also coincidentally a kleptomaniac.
- Ruby and Kellan – This duo from our main story journey up the beanstalk to find the mirror of Vantress, hoping to ask where the ice witch Hylda is located.
Story
Ruby and Kellan seek the three gifts that Talion gave to the witch sisters to break the Wicked Slumber. They enlist the help of Troyan, a strange explorer from a distant land, to lead them to the fabled magic mirror Indrelon, the treasure of Castle Vantress, which has been stolen.
They journey up the beanstalk and arrive in the Stormkeld, home to the storm giants.
They sneak past many dangers, finding themselves in the parlor of the storm giants—on Beluna's birthday.
Beluna is slow to trust them. After all, outsiders might be here to steal her many precious treasures (never mind that she stole them all first).
At the insistence of Yorvo, former ruler of Garenbrig, Beluna lets them into her vault to consult the mirror.
They discover that the witch queen has built a fortress over Loch Larent and head there immediately.
The Snow Queen (White-Blue)
Characters
- Hylda – One of the three witch sisters. She is as aloof and cold as the blizzards she commands.
- Sharae – Leader of the merfolk of Loch Larent, who Hylda trapped under the surface of the lake when she formed her icy castle.
Story
As a gift for helping create the Wicked Slumber, Hylda receives a crown of wintery power from Talion capable of conjuring blizzards, snow, and ice.
She creates a kingdom of ice in the farthest reaches of Dunbarrow, above Loch Larent.
Her ice powers cause problems for the residents of the land and freeze over the local lake, trapping the merfolk in and beneath the ice.
Kellan and Ruby, who are seeking out the gifts that Talion bestowed, come to Hylda's frozen kingdom searching for the icy crown.
He battles with the ice elemental guardians.
At a critical moment, he discovers his ability to manifest weapons made from ethereal light.
Forming a glowing blade, he strikes an elemental down. Kellan collapses before he can reach Hylda. Ruby carries him nearly to the castle gates.
In a moment of kindness, Hylda kisses Kellan's forehead. With her blessing, Kellan and Ruby are protected from the cold.
Snow White (White-Black)
Characters
- Neva – A young noble who was sealed in a glass casket when the Wicked Slumber took her.
- Eriette – One of the three witch sisters. She is vain and controlling.
Story
As the Wicked Slumber sweeps over the land, Neva succumbs to the spell and is placed in a glass casket to protect her while the wizards of Vantress study the slumber's effects.
Meanwhile, the witch sister Eriette uses the charmed apple that Talion gifted her to maintain the curse of the Wicked Slumber long after the invasion was repelled.
Neva is stalked in the dream realm by nightmares, some resembling Phyrexians that hunted her in the real world.
Eriette meanwhile takes over the ruins of Castle Ardenvale and ensorcells any knights that come to defeat her, using her magic to manipulate those under the Wicked Slumber's curse like puppets.
Neva is only able to fend off the nightmares due to the influence of a mysterious spectral visitor who saves her life.
Eriette convinces Rowan to join her as an apprentice. When Kellan and Ruby show up at Castle Ardenvale to get the tempting apple, it's Rowan they face.
One witch would be a tough enough opponent—but the pair must also face down the Planeswalker Ashiok. With some help from Will Kenrith, the unlikely heroes manage to save the day.
Kellan learns that his real father may be hiding not just somewhere in the far reaches of Eldraine, but on another plane entirely—and sets off to find him.
Now we get to the five stories that are independent of the larger story.
The Pied Piper of Hamelin (Black-Red)
Characters
- Totentanz – A struggling artist trying to make ends meet. His desperation leads him to evil. He's creepy and vindictive.
- Lord Skitter – A demonic rat who lives beneath Edgewall. He is cruel and cunning.
Story
Totentanz was a struggling musician who could barely make ends meet.
While staying out on the streets of Edgewall, he fell into the sewers beneath and was led by the rats to Lord Skitter.
Lord Skitter granted Totentanz powers, specifically the ability to enthrall listeners in a way that his music never could.
In exchange, Totentanz must lure victims into the sewer so that Skitter and his brood can feast on them.
Totentanz leads droves of hapless Edgewall citizens into the undercity with his music.
Lord Skitter and his brood grow in power, and eventually rats swarm the city.
At first, the people of Edgewall are outwitted by Lord Skitter.
The townsfolk do the best they can to deal with the rats, but eventually, they band together, steal Totentanz's pipe, and storm the sewers, twisting its wicked magic back onto Lord Skitter and Totentanz, causing them to be devoured by their own rat horde. Without a leader, the rats of Edgewall return to their ordinary ways, though no one knows if Lord Skitter is truly gone for good.
Beauty and the Beast (Green-White)
Characters
- Lady Armont – An Ardenvale knight captain renown for her kindness and beauty. She cannot ignore injustice.
- Yenna – The leader of the werefox elves. She is distrustful and proud.
Story
Lady Armont, looking for a way to heal the realm after the Phyrexian invasion, journeys deep into the wilds with her band of loyal knights.
In the forest, by sheer coincidence, she stumbles upon Redtooth Keep where the ancient bloodline of elves live.
The elves are cursed to transform into werefoxes at night.
Lady Armont commits herself to solving this mystery and breaking the curse. Some of her knights, concerned with their own survival, battle against the werefoxes despite Armont's wishes.
Yanna, leader of the werefoxes, warms up to Armont's kindness and tells her of the enchanted rose that will break the spell.
It is guarded by an archon in a glade nearby. Armont and Yanna venture to the glade in search of the rose.
Sorcerer's Apprentice (Blue-Red)
Characters
- Johann – A foolish apprentice who unleashes havoc after his master leaves the tower.
- Gadwick – Johann's master, unseen in the story, but a character with a card in Throne of Eldraine. He is powerful and mysterious.
Story
After Gadwick leaves Caervelin on mysterious wizard business, Johann tries to maintain the complex mechanisms that rule the wizard's domain.
He fails and winds up unleashing a massive number of elementals throughout the tower. Even worse, the fire and water elementals begin quarrelling!
Johann tries many things, including bottling the elements,
researching how to defeat them,
and even animating the furniture to fight back. All his methods fail.
He is forced to flee the tower out a window …
… as it explodes in a spectacular battle between water and fire.
Hansel and Gretel (Black-Green)
Characters
- Greta – A vicious witch hunter who lost her brother to the horrors of Sweettooth Village.
Story
When she was young, Greta and her brother were lured to Sweettooth Village.
There, they uncovered a slew of vicious creatures made out of sweets.
The encounter was horrible. Greta escaped, but her brother unfortunately did not. Now, she's back for revenge.
Greta storms the village with axe in hand and smooshes candy monsters left and right, looking to take out the witch behind the whole operation.
While fighting, she discovers a young boy stuck in the village. She rescues him, escaping with her new charge and able to save someone who was trapped like she once was.
Cinderella (Red-White)
Characters
- Ash – An Embereth refugee who lives at the Delverhaugh. Her adoptive parents are blacksmiths.
- Goddric – A handsome, elegant man who is really a dragon in disguise.
Story
Ash has always wanted to attend the Grand Ball at the Delverhaugh, but most humans aren't allowed.
She crafts a plan: she'll disguise herself in armor and sneak in to have a grand time.
The mice help her acquire the armor. As she arrives at the party, she is greeted by the handsome Goddric, who asks her to dance.
Suddenly, redcaps and ogres attack!
The dwarves, and others, rush to fight back with everything from skewers to pies!
In a valiant display of heroism, she defends Goddric from a redcap attack.
Prompting Goddric to reveal his power and expel the unwanted guests with a flourish of draconic magic!
At midnight, Ash must leave but accidentally forgets her helmet, which clatters to the floor in her haste. Perhaps the handsome stranger will use it to track her down …
Happily Ever After
And that is the ten fairy-tale stories as told through the set. I hope you enjoyed seeing a peek at all the various cards for the different stories. As always, I'm eager to hear your thoughts on today's article, any of the cards or stories I talked about, or about Wilds of Eldraine itself. You can email me or contact me through any of my social media accounts (Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and TikTok).
Join me next week when previews for Magic: The Gathering® – Doctor Who™ begin.
Until then, may you have fun mixing and matching fairy tales through your games.