It’s time for Wizards to bring the Eldrazi back to MTG
WotCOf all the varied creatures, factions, and villains introduced to the worlds of MTG, few have had the same impact as the Eldrazi.
The majority of Magic’s greatest antagonists have been around since the game’s earliest years. The Machiavellian dragon mage Nicol Bolas and the corrupting, metal-flesh amalgams of Phyrexia headed up MTG’s most recent long-term villain arcs, and both of them have been part of the game almost from the very beginning.
The Eldrazi are, comparatively, a new large-scale threat to the Magic multiverse. Debuting in 2010’s Rise of the Eldrazi set, these titans and their brood brought a whole new flavor of threat to the game.
While Phyrexia and Yawgmoth saw MTG tackle body horror and cosmic horror, the Eldrazi are a full-on unfathomable Eldritch threat, turning whole planes of existence into dust.
Despite only appearing in a handful of sets since the Eldrazi have remained at the forefront of many Magic players’ imaginations. This has become increasingly apparent in 2023 and 2024, as two Eldrazi pre-con Commander decks have debuted within the span of a year.
Commander Masters: Eldrazi Unbound
WotCCommander Masters — despite its pricing debacle — served as part of MTG’s 30th anniversary celebrations.
The four Commander decks released alongside the Commander Masters set featured classic archetypes intended to draw players in, justifying the higher-than-normal price point.
The Eldrazi were one of the archetypes chosen for the decks, and the return of these Creatures helped to hype up the product significantly before launch.
Modern Horizons 3: Eldrazi Incursion
With Modern Horizons 3 leaks appearing weeks before the official reveals were scheduled to begin, MTG fans were treated right away to brand-new Eldrazi cards like Nulldrifter and Echoes of Eternity. The sources of the card leaks were clearly trying to tap into fans’ excitement, and showing off the new Eldrazi was a surefire way to do so.
What’s more, Wizards acknowledged the Modern Horizons 3 leaks and released a few official spoilers from the set to tide fans over. Among these official spoilers, confirmation of the Eldrazi support was front and center.
The remaining Eldrazi Emrakul is an unresolved background threat on the plane of Innistrad, sealed inside the moon for her own unknowable reasons. But despite this lingering plot thread, the Titans have been mostly absent from Magic’s ongoing story for years.
The Eldrazi Commander decks show Wizards meeting the player base’s appetite for this archetype, but they would be better served by bringing them back into the main story regardless.
Eldrazi in MTG’s story: Making up for mistakes
WotCWhen the Eldrazi first debuted in MTG, they were eventually beaten back by the formation of the Gatewatch. This team of planewalkers was comprised of MTG stalwarts like Jace Beleren and occasionally trustworthy figures like Liliana Vess.
The Gatewatch has always been a contentious subject among MTG players, with many feeling that the group took up too much screen time in official sets and stories and was overly influenced by popular media like The Avengers.
By and large, Magic has moved away from the superhero-centric storytelling that was in vogue when the Eldrazi made their first appearance. Many fans felt at the time that the Gatewatch was a poor fit for the Eldrazi storyline, as it was frustrating to see Lovecraftian monsters fought off so easily.
If the Eldrazi were to return to MTG’s ongoing story, they would be able to serve as a more long-running threat that isn’t overcome within a small handful of sets.
A significant roadblock to the Eldrazi returning to Magic’s story in the near future is that it hasn’t been long since the conclusion of the Phyrexian Invasion arc in March of the Machine.
MTG’s story seems to be moving in a new multiverse-heavy direction with the inclusion of the Omenpaths. With this new direction, it’s unlikely that Magic will feature major antagonists focused on corruption and manipulation of physical forms so soon after the Phyrexians.
However, as a counterpoint, proper use of the Eldrazi to push Magic back into horror territory could work to remove some of the bad taste left by the swift wrapping up of March of the Machine.
While players enjoyed the ongoing Phyrexian arc and the villains’ momentary triumph in Phyrexia: All Will Be One, general consensus is that March of the Machine’s swift story wrap-up was an anticlimax.
MTG may be working to establish new villainous threats in addition to its multiversal status quo. But the game’s writers and designers would be missing a potential fan-pleasing slam-dunk by allowing the Eldrazi to fade fully into the story’s background.
