(Ellivere of the Wild Court | Art by Dmitry Burmak | Gylwain, Casting Director | Art by Aurore Folny | Syr Armont, the Redeemer | Art by Magali Villeneuve)

Hello readers! My name is Beth, Queen of Cardboard, and this is the Precon Primer for the Wilds of Eldraine Commander deck Virtue and Valor. This deck may seem like just another enchantment deck, especially since it's coming on the heels of the Enduring Enchantments deck from Commander Masters. But if you look at the face commander, Ellivere of the Wild Court, you'll note that the deck comes with a brand new Aura token type: Roles. Roles may seem confusing at first, but they're a perfect way to bring your token players and enchantment players together with one deck.

Ellivere is a four-cost Selesnya (green/white) 4/4 with a powerful ETB and attack trigger, creating a Virtuous Role token attached to another target creature. In addition to this ability, you're awarded a card draw any time an enchanted creature you control deals combat damage to a player. This is quite possibly one of the most synergistic cards I've seen in a while. And if you're a "cute card" lover like me, I want to tell you this one gets a 10/10.

But what's in a Role?

Role for Value

This is one of the few decks that I actually went back and played straight off the list, just to get used to this new mechanic.

There are seven Roles in Wilds of Eldraine. The other six roles are Royal, Sorcerer, Monster, Young Hero, Cursed, and Wicked. While you can only get Virtuous from Elliver, other cards in the the deck give you access to Monster, Sorcerer, Royal, and Young Hero.

So what do these roles do?

• Monster — Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and has trample.
• Royal — Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and has ward 1.
• Sorcerer — Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and has “Whenever this creature attacks, scry 1.”
• Young Hero — Enchanted creature has “Whenever this creature attacks, if its toughness is 3 or less, put a +1/+1 counter on it.”
• Virtuous — Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 for each enchantment you control.

In addition to Ellivere, you have three other cards that grant Roles in the deck, most notably, Gylwain, Casting Director, the alternate commander. Unfortunately, for those who like seeing new cards in action, out of the 15 Role-giving cards available in these colors, this deck only included four.

Enchantress Staples

While the Enduring Enchantments deck focuses on Sagas and enchantment creatures, this one is all about Auras. Thanks to a commander that passes these out like candy, the Virtuous role is a star in the deck whether you use Gylwain or Ellivere as your main commander. The Totem Armors Snake Umbra and Bear Umbra come in extremely useful when these big creatures ultimately are destroyed. Umbra Mystic gives Totem Armor to all your Auras, which overcomes board wipes and targeted removal. Constellation also makes a return in this deck, giving you value for each enchantment entering the battlefield.

The two all-stars in this deck are Songbirds' Blessing and Mantle of the Ancients. If we're being completely honest here, Mantle of the Ancients is ridiculously good, especially when you bring back all your enchantments that your opponents thought were gone after casting a piece of key removal. Songbirds' Blessing allows you to quickly move through the deck, finding more Auras and enchantment creatures to overcome your opponent with.

Anthems Abound

The steady strength of this deck is through anthem effects. The Virtuous Role gives the enchanted creature +1/+1 for each enchantment you control. In addition to this Role, there are the Auras Ethereal Armor, Mantle of the Ancients, Ancestral Mask, and Sage's Reverie. This deck truly is giving you the option to go both wide and tall, quickly creating several big creatures that can be especially hard to defend against.

In addition to your Aura anthem cards, there are two creatures that have anthem effects for themselves. Aura Gnarlid is especially nasty here because it can't be blocked by creatures with lesser power. There's a good chance if you're waiting to put this onto the battlefield that your creatures are also the biggest on the battlefield, giving you a huge, unblockable, killing machine. The Eidolon also pumps itself or can be Bestowed as an Aura to pump another creature. Pair either of these two with flying or trample and you've got two game-ending creatures.

Interaction, I Barely Know Her

One weakness of this deck is the lack of instant speed interaction and removal. While the Fae Dominion precon abounds in interaction, this deck has a total of two instants and five sorceries, not including the Adventure card Realm-Cloaked Giant. Of the seven removal cards in the deck, three of them cost more than five mana, making removal seem like an afterthought. We're relying purely on overcoming the opponent by playing enchantment after enchantment as quickly as possible.

Reprints, Not for the Weak

This deck contains a LOT of reprints. However, in this list, they work. Transcendent Envoy and Jukai Naturalist make all your Aura spells cheaper to cast, while Starfield Mystic makes all enchantment spells cheaper. Destiny Spinner helps with the lack of interaction in the deck, making the majority of your spells uncounterable. And you've got tons of card draw in reprints like Enchantress's Presence, Sage's Reverie, and Snake Umbra.

While it would have been nice to see these functions on new cards, these reprints provide essential value and make the deck incredibly difficult for opponents to deal with. This is a classic case of "If it's not broke, why fix it?" Or in the Magic world, "If there's a card that does it, why make a new one?"

Conclusion

While this deck tries to introduce a new mechanic, there are several Roles and cards missing that would have been easy includes in this list. While Ellivere is powerful and a perfect fit for this deck, you could interchange the face commander and alternate commander with ease, as Gylwain provides almost as much value as Ellivere. The Virtuous Role being applied multiple times a turn is insane, and with a flicker package you're going to make and destroy enemies on the board in a succinct manner. It makes sense that this Role is only available via one card in all of Wilds of Eldraine.

If you're looking to upgrade this deck, first look at the weaker enchantment Auras and non-enchantment creatures. I've got more info available in my Virtue and Valor Precon Upgrade Guide article.

If you liked this article you might want to read:

• Wilds of Eldraine: The Starring Roles
• The Command Zone - “Virtue and Valor” Wilds of Eldraine Precon Upgrade Guide | The Command Zone 556 | MTG EDH Magic
• The Over/Under - Predicting the Popularity of Wilds of Eldraine Commanders

Beth Queen of Cardboard

Beth is an casual Commander player who's passionate about silly decks, creating safe community spaces, and crowns. She loves to travel and play magic with friends. When not playing Magic, she's probably snuggling her dogs or playing some video games.