WOE is a solid set, but not one of my favorites. I think of the format as defined by a trinity of archetypes: red aggro, green value, and blue control. In an Arena flashback setting, it’s pretty likely at least one of these lanes will be open. While the breadth of distinct decks isn’t vast, the interest comes from executing their plans. The set’s a lot like NEO that way. The main issue, gameplay-wise, is their firm rock-paper-scissors relationship. Red runs down blue, blue counterspells green’s threats, and green outsizes and out-lifes red. Of course, this is Magic; you can win any matchup. Just be ready to get shut out sometimes.
Red Aggro (RW, RB)
If you’re looking to be the reason people bemoan best-of-one as the death of Magic, it doesn’t get much better than WOE red. Torch the Tower is probably the best Shock variant ever made, Cut In is unusually great for expensive red removal, and Harried Spearguard, Grand Ball Guest, Ratcatcher Trainee, Minecart Daredevil, Redcap Thief, and Edgewall Pack comprise a phenomenal curve. If you’re white, your main complements are Archon’s Glory; Cooped Up; Hopeful Vigil; Ash, Party Crasher; and other uncommons; white’s common creatures are unremarkable, even Armory Mice, whose 1 toughness is a liability against Rat Out and Flick a Coin. Black is more inclined to the ‘Rat Blast’ strategy, where you cast as many Ratcatcher Trainees’ Pest Problem as you can to maximize Gnawing Crescendo.
Green Value (GB, GR, GU)
Hamlet Glutton embodies green’s main strategy: make Food, ramp, trample, and gain life. Hollow Scavenger is a fantastic opener, Rootrider Faun blocks and fixes, Ferocious Werefox turns anything into a threat, and Brave the Wilds offers crazy value when bargained. Avoid Return from the Wilds, though, it’s never a good deal. Black is green’s best friend, with Food, removal, and threats abound. Red shores up the early game and has a fantastic signpost in Picnic Ruiner, one of the main signals to play the pair. Blue can go wrong if you lean into the Giant ramp too heavily, but it has some fantastic rares and is the best base for splashing. WARNING: Green was the most commonly contested color and is fairly shallow at common. Do not take Hamlet Gluttons early if you can help it; that’s an easy path to a weak deck.
Blue Control (UB, UR, UW)
Blue is my favorite thing to play in WOE; it’s an unusually pure control deck with incredible resilience beyond the first few turns and makes key role players out of traditionally bad card templates. While black can fill a lot of card slots, these decks tend to be near mono-blue, splashing around for great removal and signposts from black, red, and white. Bargain is the common denominator; you’re using Ice Out, Diminisher Witch, Johann’s Stopgap, Tenacious Tomeseeker, Torch the Tower, Candy Grapple, and Kellan’s Lightblades to sacrifice Hatching Plans, Prophetic Prism, Into the Fae Court tokens, and possibly The Princess Takes Flight. To avoid dying early, Aquatic Alchemist is the perfect card, rebuying whatever spell you need late-game and punishing opponents for slow starts with its spell triggers. You draft this deck for the uncommons and rares; Hatching Plans, Picklock Prankster, Archive Dragon, Frolicking Familiar, and Threadbind Clique are what you want to see getting passed. This deck is full of cards that seem weak to the average player and counters the Timmy-favorite green strategy, so I highly recommend it for laddering. It’s a bit difficult to play, but as long as you’re staying alive and drawing cards, a way to win should present itself. Aquatic Alchemist and Into the Fae Court tokens can put in a ton of damage!
Black
Black is a contender for the best color, not because it’s that strong by itself, but because it’s perfectly flexible. Candy Grapple is phenomenal in any deck, and it gives red Rats, green Food, and blue removal and evasion. Top rares like Lord Skitter, Sewer King and Virtue of Persistence only sweeten the bargain. Start with black cards and you can’t go wrong.
White
White has some great cards but suffers from three of its four color pair themes (GW enchantments, WB aura recursion, UW tapping) being relatively unviable. Its commons are stuffed with awkwardly statted, synergy-focused creatures that struggle to compete with the above archetypes. Hopeful Vigil, Archon’s Glory, Cooped Up, and Stockpiling Celebrant are so good they almost compensate, though. It has some awesome uncommons: The Princess Takes Flight is absurd with bargain or Stockpiling Celebrant and good without, and signposts like Ash, Party Crasher; Imodane’s Recruiter; Woodland Acolyte; Shrouded Shepherd; and Sharae of Numbing Depths define archetypes, admittedly because all but Ash are incredibly splashable.
17Lands Logs
I played a fair amount of this set, so if you want to see these archetypes and cards in action, check out my event history:
https://www.17lands.com/user_history/6d65a93e7e2348c7960ffdff4541281a
