Dual lands aren’t returning to Magic: The Gathering within the Throne of Eldraine set due to an underlying theme of mono-colored deck strategies.
Mark Rosewater revealed several weeks ago that dual lands would not be in the Throne of Eldraine set (ELD). Spoilers during preview season have shown a trend towards mono-colored archetypes, but the theme of mono goes beyond Standard Constructed.
Andrew Brown confirmed the mono-colored theme within the ELD set during MTG Weekly today. He also dropped a bomb regarding mono-colored builds in Limited.
“One of the most unique things about Throne of Eldraine is, in Draft and Sealed, being a mono-colored deck is a reasonable thing to do.”
The MTG design team is working mono-colored into Limited through a cycle of hybrid cards: Arcanist’s Owl, Fireborn Knight, and Oakhame Ranger.
These four mana hybrid cards aren’t overpowered and provide flexibility for players to either choose dual-colored builds or mono-colored within Limited.
“With multi-colored Uncommon we generally want them to be around the same powerband,” said Brown. “So, I would say these are probably in the realm of pick two, three, or four.”
In addition to four mana hybrid cards, there’s also a cycle of triple mono-colored Rare cards. Of the ELD spoilers thus far, only Ayara, First of Locthwain and Gadwick, the Wizened have been revealed.
“All of them are going to work with casting spells of that color,” said Brown.
Wizards of the Coast has also included the mechanic Adamant, which rewards players who devote towards a specific color. Hence, mono-colored builds.
The verdict on whether the push towards mono-colored decks in MTG will live up to the hype and potential is up in the air. And it won’t be determined until the full Throne of Eldraine set is released on Oct. 4 (Sept. 26 via MTG Arena).
