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Draft strategy with a two-faced favorite from Wilds of Eldraine
If you’re drafting in a set that loves adventure and flavorful twists, this card is a perfect micro-cosmos of the experience. On one face you’ve got a sturdy 3/2 Human Warlock with lifelink and a knack for pressuring opposing boards as you gain life. On the other face, you get an instant that creates a Food token and lets you cast the creature later from exile. The synergy is deliciously thematic for Eldraine’s feel-bad-but-fun flavor—sweets and danger wrapped in a bow of black mana 🧙♂️🔥. In limited, that duality unlocks timing tricks you don’t often see in a single pack, especially when you’re building toward a lifegain or Food-synergy plan.
Two-faced design and how it lands in a draft curve
The Gumdrop Poisoner side gives you a reliable body with a lifelink payoff that scales into the late game. The flavor of “you gain life, you poke back” isn’t just fluff; it directly powers a unique mechanic: when this creature enters, up to one target creature becomes smaller by the exact amount you’ve gained this turn. In practice, that means your life total isn’t just a resource to keep you alive; it’s a dynamic dial you turn to temper the board. If you’ve stacked a few lifegain effects or had a Food token or two riding along, you can trigger a surprisingly potent -X/-X swing on a big blocker or a key creature, often swinging tempo in your favor ⚔️🎲.
The Tempt with Treats adventure lets you spawn a Food token for free and then exile the card—which you may later recast from exile. This is where the draft chess becomes fun: you can engineering a plan where you seed life gain through other sources, drop Gumdrop Poisoner into the battlefield with a meaningful lifegain total, and then reassemble the threat later via the adventure. It’s a little bit of a heist: a creature that acts as both a threat and a delayed payoff, paired with a token that can smooth out mana, fix your color balance, or simply help you push into the late game with a lifegain cushion 🧙♂️💎.
Early picks, late-game payoff, and the food chain
In pack one, you’ll want to assess your black-leaning options and how many lifegain or Food-synergy cards exist in your aisle. Gumdrop Poisoner rewards a life gain engine—whether that comes from lifelink on your creatures, a burn spell that hits you for a moment, or tokens that leave behind life totals. If you’re already drafting a deck that chips away at the opponent while you build your life total, this card fits like a glove. The adventure side can help you stabilize when you’re behind: dropping a Food token can be a waystation to slow the pace, then replays the creature later from exile for a second wave of pressure. The net effect is a flexible plan: you can be reactive early and suddenly become proactive once you’ve assembled the lifegain and Food tempo you need 🔥🎨.
Drafting around Tempt with Treats also means thinking about your mana base and curve. The card’s mana costs—{2}{B} for the creature and {B} for the adventure—don’t demand triple black in the early turns, but you’ll want to ensure you can reliably cast the creature itself by turn three or four while keeping the exile option ready for late-game recasts. In practice, this often translates to a lean, midrange-black shell that can pivot into a more grindy plan if the food tokens begin stacking up. And since the food token tends to generate life, you’ll be able to push that -X/-X lever on bigger targets when the situation calls for it 🔧💡.
Deck-building notes for Wilds of Eldraine limited
Gumdrop Poisoner brings a rare slot that’s worth leaning into if you see other lifegain synergies or strong black removal in your seat. You’re looking for cards that care about life totals, or for other adventure options that echo the same theme. The set’s emphasis on Food tokens and bite-sized removal means you can often close games with a few well-timed lifegain bursts, then slam your poisoner into play to finish the job. The flavor—the idea of a poetic vendor offering tempting sweets, a poison hidden behind a smile—translates into a strategy that’s as interactive as it is flavorful 🧙♂️⚔️.
As you navigate pack two and three, keep an eye out for synergies with other two-color combos that can support a more stable life-gain engine. Cards that weave lifelink with direct removal, tapped-out turns, or resilient blockers will help you reach the life totals needed to maximize the -X/-X effect. In play, you’ll likely prefer to have Gumdrop Poisoner enter the battlefield after you’ve stacked a few life gains, so that the mask of the Adventure can recast the threat later with a second pulse of pressure. The result is a nimble, flexible game plan that can swing both ways depending on your draws and your opponent’s tempo 💎🧙♂️.
Flavor, art, and collector value
Beyond raw gameplay, the card’s two-face presentation—one a deal-closing threat, the other a reversible spell—exemplifies Eldraine’s fascination with stories within stories. The art by Brian Valeza captures the contrast between charm and danger with a wink, and the rare status in Wilds of Eldraine makes it a compelling pick for collectors and players who love two-faced designs. The card’s price and reprint status reflect its popularity in Limited and its potential as a casual commander piece in a black-docused deck, where lifegain and Food interactions often shine in multiplayer play 🧙♂️🎲.
- Tempo play: Use the lifegain trigger to power up -X/-X on a key blocker or a fragile finisher.
- Adventure timing: Exile Tempt with Treats early to start your Food token engine and set up a future recast from exile.
- Life-total planning: Track life gained this turn to maximize the spell’s effect; synergy with other lifegain sources pays off big.
- Mana concerns: Stay mindful of your mana curve to ensure you can play the creature and later recast it if needed.
- Flavor payoff: Enjoy Eldraine’s storytelling as you fold “temptation” into “retaliation” on the battlefield 🎨🔥.
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