MTG Cantrip tactics with Throne of Eldraine Faerie Vandal

Beware of Faeries that power up off cantrip.
Faerie Conclave Magic The Gathering Faeries
Image via Wizards of the Coast Magic: The Gathering/Stephan Martiniere

Bringing to life fairy tale creatures and folklore stories, the Throne of Eldraine set has created synergy using the mechanic Flash and cantrip with Faerie Vandal 

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Introduced via the Brawl preconstructed decks that are available to play on MTG Arena through a special event until Sept. 9, Faerie Vandal is a simple Blue flyer with a few tricks up its wings. Set to release on Oct. 4, the Throne of Eldraine (ELD) set and Brawl preconstructed decks are introducing new mechanics and card styles.

Faerie Vandal isn’t about the new, but rather an expansion upon the existing Flash mechanic and cantrip (card draw). The tempo of a match is imperative within any archetype. Using Flash and cantrip together not only increases the tempo of the game but gives players more control over the board state.

And the ELD set caters to this style through Faerie Vandal as a two-drop with Flash, and Tome Raider (another Faerie) who’s a three-drop that activates card draw when it enters the battlefield. The cantrip activates an ability on Faerie Vandal, giving it a +1/+1 counter for every second card draw made during a turn. 

By combining Faerie Vandal with other cards that produce card draw, it quickly becomes a powerful flyer that entered the battlefield as a two-drop. Existing cards not rotating out in Standard that could trigger quick counters on Faerie Vandal include Fblthp, the Lost, Radical Idea, Winged Words, and Teferi, Time Raveler. 

Related: A viewer’s guide to every Throne of Eldraine spoiler release

Throne of Eldraine releases via MTG Arena Sept. 26, with Brawl likely arriving shortly afterward. Pre-release for ELD via tabletop is Sept. 27 to Sept. 29 with the official release launching on Oct. 4. 


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Danny Forster
Lead Magic: The Gathering/Teamfight Tactics scribe and staff writer for Dot Esports. Danny is a gamer beach bum residing in Spacecoast Florida and has been a journalist for seven years, of which five have been at Dot Esports. Prior media outllets Danny wrote for were Screen Rant and TheGamer. You can typically catch Danny playing TCGs and a variety of strategic games. He also hangs out on Twitter @Dannyspacecoast.