ELD spoilers kick off with Once Upon a Time in MTG

Magic’s head designer Mark Rosewater revealed a powerful Throne of Eldraine spoiler today that’s an Instant appropriately named Once Upon a Time. 

Set to release later in September via MTG Arena and in October through booster pack sales, the Throne of Eldraine (ELD) expansion is going full tilt with the fairy tale and European folklore theme.

Once Upon a Time is an Instant spell that can be cast for a zero mana cost if it’s the first spell cast in a match. And if it can’t be cast as the first, it only costs two mana.

The London Mulligan plays a huge role with Once Upon a Time since the Instant allows a player to search the top five cards of their library. From the search, a player can choose either a land or creature and put the card in their hand. 

Even if Once Upon a Time isn’t the first spell cast, players can still use its ability by turn two. This powerful Instant already fits into a handful of Standard decks and will likely see play in other MTG formats like Modern. 

Once Upon a Time essentially functions much like the Leyline cycle theme from M20, but with lots of extra value. This could mean there’s a cycle within ELD that allows for no cost Instant spells (if it’s the first spell cast), but that’s only speculation at this time. 

Once Upon a Time is Green, which allows it to fit into several archetypes that needed a push back into tier-one statuses, such as Gruul, Selesnya, and Golgari. But as one anti-Green MTG player said on Reddit, “Nothing good can come from this.”

Once Upon a Time and the Throne of Eldraine set will be released on Oct. 4.