Gruff Triplets – Wilds of Eldraine
Date Reviewed: September 4, 2023
Ratings:
Constructed: 4.00
Casual: 4.88
Limited: 5.00
Multiplayer: 3.50
Commander [EDH]: 3.75
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
I thought Gruff Triplets might be a fun place to start with Wilds of Eldraine just because there is a lot to talk about even before you get to the game text. It’s a reference to one of the fairytales they couldn’t get to in the first Eldraine set, but it also raises questions too. Satyrs in the fairytale plane was a surprise to me at first, but I think they’re channeling Narnia – Mr. Tumnus was also a surprise to people when that property originally launched, but eventually it felt like he fit right in.
Gruff Triplets is an example of the kind of design they can manage to do when they use a little cleverness. Not only do the three creatures and the growing power really feel like the Billy Goats Gruff, making them both satyrs and warriors opens up tribal synergies. (And if we want talking goats, they might do them again in Bloomburrow, I guess?) They’re not without weaknesses, as there are some eyebrow-raising exile cards in recent sets, but if such effects aren’t available, opponents can have serious trouble dealing with them. And of course, if you have a way to sacrifice creatures at will, you can get around that and/or trigger the massive power boosts when it best suits you.
Constructed: 4
Casual: 5
Limited: 5
Multiplayer: 4
Commander [EDH]: 4
Into the Wilds of Eldraine we go, returning to the site of one of the most infamous sets of recent memory into a world that leans more heavily on the storybook and fairy tale aspect this time. Gruff Triplets is a pretty straightforward card: six mana for 9/9 in stats, split among three bodies. A 3/3 trample doesn’t seem like much…but if one dies, the others become 6/6 bodies with trample, and the last becomes a 12/12 when it’s alone. These can be a pretty dangerous trad to work through, because splitting the stats between three bodies makes them less immediately removable…and they punish you when one does die.
Six mana is a bit of a concern, and I think they may be a step too slow…but it’s a caveat of “may”, and these three still require careful maneuvering to get through and get around. They also stack well with multiples of each other as a result of how they’re worded, so that’s fun. They are not fans of being shrunk, but every card has its weaknesses, and I imagine Gruff Triplets will do plenty of damage in this format.
Constructed: 4
Casual: 4.75
Limited: 5
Multiplayer: 3
Commander [EDH]: 3.5
We would love more volunteers to help us with our Magic the Gathering Card of the Day reviews. If you want to share your ideas on cards with other fans, feel free to drop us an email. We would be happy to link back to your blog / YouTube Channel / etc. 😉
