Welcome all to the Getting Ready for Throne of Eldraine series. This will be a 7-part series on what current Standard cards from the four non-rotating sets will see more or less play. These sets include Guild of Ravnica, Ravnica Allegiance, War of the Spark, and Core Set 2020. I’ll be dividing some key cards from each color into three categories:
- Moving on Up
- Staying Level
- On the Decline
Today I’m going to be starting with White cards. So let’s see how they stack up once Throne of Eldraine comes into Standard in October.
On the Decline
Bishop of Wings – With 6 Angels being rotated out including the strong 3-drop Resplendent Angel, this card starts to lose its value.
Ravnica at War – A narrow mass removal card to begin with, it becomes worse with 4 sets rotating out and a tougher mana base that rewards only playing 1 or 2-colour decks.
Staying Level
Brought Back – There still probably won’t be too many ways to break this card in the Standard format, but there are still some more basic ways to get value out of it.
Conclave Tribunal – This is still a solid removal card, especially in a creature deck. There are still some token options to go with for Tribunal that work well. But I believe it probably won’t get any better than it already is.
Hero of Precinct One – It doesn’t look like Throne of Eldraine will be a heavy multicolor set, which means this will still have to rely on other strong multicolour cards to make it work.
Rally of Wings – Not many of the flying creatures that are used in the Flying deck are rotating, so with a few replacements, this could still be a great finisher for that deck.
Venerated Loxodon – This will still see a place in Mono-White or Green White decks to pump up your team and put a large threat onto the battlefield. Enough cheap creature replacements are printed every set, so this shouldn’t lose any relevance in the format.
Moving on Up
Angel of Grace – With cards like Lyra Dawnbringer and Shalai, Voice of Plenty leaving the format, this Angel could move to the forefront. It’s still a very powerful card that some players might not see coming.
Finale of Glory – With 4 sets rotating out, it makes it harder to make aggro decks in Standard. This could mean that control decks using this card could start to make an appearance. Going wide might be the strategy needed to win games in the new Standard.
Gideon Blackblade – With a lot of cards being rotated out of Mono-White, this could start making more of a presence in the format. Gets around cards like Despark and Teferi, Time Reveler as well.
Law-Rune Enforcer – With other 1-drops being rotated out of the format, this moves to the front of the line as a solid replacement. With most other colours not playing any 1-drop creatures, Enforcer is a key card. This means you should be able to tap almost every creature your opponent plays.
Planar Cleansing – With the possibility of even more decks being centered on Planeswalkers, this allows you to clear the battlefield completely. I wouldn’t worry too much about the high casting cost. This isn't what you want to be playing if you are only worried about creatures.
Starfield Mystic – This card is here for pure speculation. A lot of times they will print a card in the set before it starts becoming relevant. I believe this card will follow that path. Whether it will become more relevant with Throne of Eldraine or with future sets in 2020 I’m not sure. I just have a good feeling about this one.
Tithe Taker – With cards like Adanto Vanguard rotating out, Tithe Taker will start to see a more permanent place in any Mono-White deck that emerges post-rotation. It’s hard to kill and makes it harder for your opponent to play spells during your turn.
There you have it folks, the lowdown on which White cards I think will start seeing some play this fall. Thanks again for reading the Getting Ready for Throne of Eldraine series. Be sure to join me next time as I investigate which Blue cards will start to see some play!
