Lorwyn Eclipsed releases January 23rd, and it’s a return to a plane of Merfolk, Faeries, Giants, Kithkin and more. Let’s review the set for Commander.
You can find other recent set reviews here:
- Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar Jumpstart
- Marvel’s Spider-Man
- Edge of Eternities
- Final Fantasy
Card Kingdom’s set reviews only care about broadly relevant cards, because we want to maximize the usefulness of the cards in your collection. That said, with Lorwyn Eclipsed we have a type-matters focused set. As such, we’ll actually be covering the better niche cards for a change.
Are you ready to journey beyond the wilds to discover the lands of the Fey? Let’s get going, before the sun sets.
LORWYN ECLIPSED SET REVIEW: WHITE
While a solid pickup for Bant or Azorius Merfolk decks, Adept Watershaper can also find a home in other aggro decks that favor Dolmen Gate or Iroas, God of Victory in their strategies. The 3/4 body for three makes it a decent body.
The fact that Curious Colossus turns an opponent’s board into 1/1s indefinitely is what makes it so humiliating. UW flicker decks could already be obnoxious enough, but this might take them to a whole new level.
Kinbinding is the set’s “Adeline, Resplendent Cathar” card. We have a whole host of Commanders that make tokens, and a whole host of Commanders that helm token based decks. Kinbinding is a really strong damage amplifier for those builds, whether mono-white, Naya, or Mardu.
Kinscaer Sentry seems like a solid pickup for Winota, Joiner of Forces, but also for the burgeoning genre of decks that like to go wide with immunity, utilizing the aforementioned Dolmen Gate or other similar effects. First Strike and Lifelink seal the deal.
Morningtide’s Light is a fun casual card. It’s a four mana sorcery speed flicker which is a little slow and pricey, but when it comes bundled with a pre-fog, it starts to look a little more worth it. I could see myself trying this out in some decks.
Rhys, the Evermore is basically here to remove counters from your creatures, whether they be Saga creatures, Blighted, or otherwise. The bonus EtB persist is pretty nice value, too. I’m considering this for my Joshua deck, and it’s probably good in decks with Finality counters too.
Winnowing is our white wrath for the set, and though it’s not as good as the one we got in Avatar, it’s still not bad for typal decks, giving another convoke wrath that can be cast cheaply.
TOP WHITE COMMON/UNCOMMONS
Meanders Guide is a reanimator card that Merfolk decks sorely lacked. Pyrrhic Strike helps you get some dies-triggers while being a powerful and flexible removal card. Flock Imposter gives Changelings a rescue card that is otherwise a good flyer.
LORWYN ECLIPSED SET REVIEW: BLUE
Champions of the Shoal is a hefty body for four mana, which makes attacking with it quite easy, especially considering the attack trigger you want to enable also removes blockers. Stun counters are great, and getting access to more in a Merfolk deck is always good.
Not quite Glen Elendra Archmage, but still a solid interactive card. Exchanging persist and a {U} activation for the ability to come down earlier, at flash speed, with a more reusable activation, even if it’s one generic mana more expensive? This is a good card.
Glen Elendra must really be masters of the Counter-magic school, because Glen Elendra’s Answer is a phenomenal catch-all answer. It’s a mostly-better Summary Dismissal that leaves your spells and abilities intact while countering all of the rest, and netting you a 1/1 flyer for everything you counter. It’s mythic for a reason, because in Limited that’s a beating.
What a cheap and powerful draw effect! Harmonized Crescendo asks you to go shields-down to refill your hand, except not really, because it’s at Instant speed, meaning you can do it in response to a wrath or after blocking or just before you untap. Very, very good.
Mirrorform has all you weird combo enjoyers off to the races. It’s pretty unprecedented to get this level of flexibility on an instant speed trick. You can turn your board into lands to end up way ahead of a Farewell. You can turn them all into the best card draw or treasure producer to get maximum value. The sky truly is the limit with this card. Just be careful, as there’s no going back.
Rimefire Torque joins Adaptive Training Post with that same line of text, though this time it’s a tap ability so it’s harder to keep going off. That said, you can store more charge counters on it to use it more than once with an untapper, and in decks like Ovika, Enigma Goliath, The Locust God or Magnus the Red, you might be onto a winner.
Sunderflock is an Elemental deck’s bread and butter bounce wrath. It gives them access to the same kind of tech that sea creature decks love. The fact this can come down for quite cheap and leave a 5/5 flyer is notable.
TOP BLUE COMMON/UNCOMMONS
Omni-Changeling is an easy to cast Clone the retains the crucial Changeling ability. Thirst for Identity is great card draw for any typal deck in blue. Unwelcome Sprite will find a home in plenty of Dimir or Esper control decks.
LORWYN ECLIPSED SET REVIEW: BLACK
Oh hey, it’s Bitterblossom but on… wings? The tried and tested method of putting a powerful enchantment effect on a body is on full force here, with Bitterblossom becoming Bitterbloom Bearer. Why wouldn’t you want to play this? It’s cracked.
Speaking of cracked, check out Bloodline Bidding. It’s a fantastic one-sided reanimation spell that can use your fodder creatures or tokens to help bring back the haymakers from beyond the veil. I really like this one as it can become quite the cheap tempo play.
Gloom Ripper isn’t a card I’d ordinarily point out, given it’s only really good in Elf decks, but given the vibe of the set, it’s worth mentioning here. It’s a removal elf, and you probably want to play it in a casual build. It’s pretty neat to buff Lathril with that trigger, too, I guess.
Possibly my favorite card in the set, Twilight Diviner is a splashy doubler for cards entering from the graveyard. You get a cheeky surveil to get you going, but if you’re built around this card in any way it’s going to perform really well. Makes me want to rebuild Chainer, Nightmare Adept.
TOP BLACK COMMON/UNCOMMONS
Boggart Mischief is a Bastion of Remembrance upgrade for Goblin decks. Nightmare Sower is an interesting four-drop for control oriented builds. Unbury is an efficient Raise Dead for typal decks.
LORWYN ECLIPSED SET REVIEW: RED
Terror of the Paths, eh? Champion of the Path turns Elemental etbs into burn. It’s a tempest of fire, and if you’re playing Elementals, having access to a 7/3 brawler that can increase the clock is pretty nice indeed.
Collective Inferno joins other five-mana damage doublers, except this is for creature type matters decks, and it’s got the ability to be convoked out. That cheeky Convoke line is what takes this from decent to good, and I feel like it’ll find a home in plenty of builds.
A really neat way to reuse spells, Goliath Daydreamer lets you free-cast your already cast instant and sorceries when it attacks. It’s not the most busted card, but it’s quite nice in certain builds.
Hexing Squelcher has the makings of a new cEDH staple, let’s be honest. It’s two mana and stops your spells being countered. That’s it, that’s the card. In more casual play, it also helps you get around Ward triggers yourself, and taxes some life. Expect this to be a rare chase of the set.
Oh hey, it’s a group hug kinda card. Haven’t had one of those in a hot second – at least one that’s playable. Lavaleaper combines the Concordant Crossroads/Mass Hysteria worldwide Haste with a Manaflare. This has the potential to really backfire, but will at least make for some memorable games.
Oh hey – it’s Sneak Attack, but for smaller bodies and for a generic mana more per cast. Is this a good card? I think it’s fine, but a little overrated all told. I don’t usually review “bad” cards, but when it comes to a mythic people are talking about, I feel like I should mention that I think it’s mid af.
Scuzzback Scrounger is a mighty fine looking treasure engine if you’re in the business of making tokens or playing reanimator. Two mana for a treasure each turn is a pretty sweet deal, even with the drawback.
Soul Immolation is a hell of a Magic card. What’s so crazy about it is that you don’t have to put those, say, eight -1/-1 counters on your 8 toughness creature. You can dump them on a token or mana dork instead. It’s unintuitive, but know that, it makes the card so much better. Oh, and it doesn’t even hit your own creatures. What? Absurd.
Spinerock Tyrant is a really neat card. Giving burn spells Wither is sick, and getting to double up on those same burn spells? Hell yeah. Can’t wait to try this one out.
TOP RED COMMON/UNCOMMONS
Giantfall gives red a Punch effect stapled to a Shatter, for a two mana modal one-two punch. Impolite Entrance is another great cantrip in the genre of one mana cantrips, and Lasting Tarfire can wrack up some serious damage in the right deck.
LORWYN ECLIPSED SET REVIEW: GREEN
I don’t usually enjoy recommending five-color deck cards, but Aurora Awakener is one that I can heartily get behind. It’s like a suped-up Auspicious Starrix, and by suped-up, I mean bonkers good. It’s basically one or two mana more than the Mutate baddie to get five permanents into play.
Beast Whisperer is a known quantity. A 6/6 Beast Whisperer, meanwhile, that also tucks a creature under it to save for later? That’s something to make you look twice. The statlines on the Champions cycle this time around is enviable.
Formidable Speaker is the player-designed card for the World Champion, Jean-Emmanuel Depraz. It’s a one-off Survival of the Fittest with Deserted Temple stapled to it. That’s a pretty deece combo, and then you see it also has that lovely big-butt Commander statline of being a 2/4 for three as well. Nice.
Mutable Explorer is notable as being an on-type ramp creature, like a Wood Elves, for any kind of creature deck in green. While it isn’t fixing, getting another Mutavault is sometimes even better. It’s obviously really good in Changeling decks too, but you knew that.
Landfall decks – particularly mono-green ones – need all the ways they can muster to gum up the board. Multicolor decks might not have needed Sapling Nursery, but mono-green loves it. 3/4 reach Treefolk? A very cheap casting cost? Protection in a pinch? This is one of those permanents that isn’t your main win con, but will run away with the game if left alone.
Selfless Safewright is a more powerful protection version of The Wandering Rescuer, able to be played alongside any typal strategy. It’s just a really solid option for go-wide decks. A second Heroic Intervention for Golgari Elves is always going to be good.
TOP GREEN COMMON/UNCOMMONS
Chomping Changeling is in nearly all ways a better Reclamation Sage due to being type-agnostic. Midnight Tilling is a respectable self-mill option. Unforgiving Aim is the latest Broken Wings variant with a pretty hot token creation mode.
LORWYN ECLIPSED: MULTICOLOR, ARTIFACTS & LANDS
Abigale, Eloquent First-Year is a really interesting little card. It can turn some otherwise clunky creatures into serious threats. Jacob was pretty hype on her too – she features in his 5 Coolest Commanders of the set.
Ashling’s Command is one of the better Commands in the set, largely due to being an Instant. Creating a token copy of your most powerful synergy body is the highlight of this cycle, and the other modes on Ashling’s Command are all worth it at varying stages of the game/boardstates.
Bre of Clan Stoutarm might not be the Giant Commander we deserve, but she’s a very powerful Boros card draw engine, and one I am more than happy to play in my decks. Flying and Lifelink continue to dominate games of Casual Commander.
Brigid, Clachan’s Heart might not be the Kithkin Commander we deser–
Yeah, I’m a little salty this visit to Lorwyn was so short. Where’s the love for these rarely visited creature types? Eh. Anyways, Brigid is still a really powerful Commander. She comes down and gives you a similar amount of mana to a Marwyn in the CZ, but doesn’t limit you to Elves, and gives you white to play with as well. Plus, she keeps you topped up on tokens. She’s good, but I’m just sad she’s not the Kithkin Commander people wanted.
Deepway Navigator is a good option in Merfolk decks that seek to get the most out of tapping and untapping to tap again. It helps you Convoke or use abilities, and it’s also a semi-lord effect at that crucial two-mana point.
Big splashy sorcery spells are always a hoot, and Dream Harvest is up there with the rest of them. Crucially, it makes sure it can hit those low mana value decks that play synergy over impact, meaning you might net a hot wombo-combo out of them for your efforts.
Eirdu, Carrier of Dawn // Isilu, Carrier of Twilight is so frickin’ cool, right? Moving on from just how rad this thing looks, let’s see how it plays. Well, in many ways it’s a more “fixed” version of Liesa, Forgotten Archangel. It eschews the “hate” part and instead gives you the ability to convoke out your creatures. That’s some serious cost reduction, meaning both sides of this card are exquisite.
Emptiness is one of the highlights of a cycle that otherwise feels more geared toward 60-card formats than Commander. You’re happy to play this as a tempo swing, getting a 3/5, reanimating something, and removing something for six mana. In a pinch, either Evoke “mode” is perfectly serviceable.
Grub, Storied Matriarch isn’t ordinarily a card I’d hype up in a set review, but for Goblins, she’s a pretty huge pickup. Getting a repeatable Raise Dead after you already get one on EtB is great value. Her attack trigger – while not the easiest to pull off given how squishy she is – is also powerful.
Grub’s Command, meanwhile, is even spicier. It’s got removal, it’s got an anthem to help convert to a win, and it’s got a way to double dip on your best Goblins. Another highlight of the cycle to be sure.
High Perfect Morcant is finally an alternative to Lathril worth shaking your stick at. Love playing with Archfiend of Ifnir? Then this is the Commander for you. You might end up being perceived as a more annoying threat than other GB Elves decks, thanks to you shrinking the opposition, but it’s worth it.
Boros continues to get smashing new tech, with Kirol, Attentive First-Year giving us a “free” Strionic Resonator each turn. With Vigilance or ways to untap, this goes pretty hard. Even without them, it’s a solid curve filler on the way to triggers you really want to copy.
Sygg, Wanderwine Wisdom is a fine UW Merfolk Commander, I guess, but to be honest? He’s just a solid way to draw cards and help get your team protection effects in any deck with access to UW colors.
Sygg’s Command is a reward for going more than just UG Merfolk. Getting a big lifelink turn is one of the best ways to use this, alongside, of course, making a token.
Now for the Elf Command, Trystan’s Command is also removal, but also the spendiest of the lot – owing to the fact it has an Overrun stapled to it. While being six mana might ordinarily disqualify such a sorcery from your build, the fact it is a Kindred Sorcery (and will trigger effects) makes it more enticing than if it was a basic Sorcery spell.
Wistfulness is probably one of the better cards in the cycle, alongside Emptiness. You always want to draw cards in Commander, so we’re off to a good start. Stapling on the opportunity to exile an artifact or enchantment takes this up to probably the top spot in the new Evoke cycle for me.
Chronicle of Victory says “Hold my beer” to Vanquisher’s Banner. In most ways other than mana value, it’s just straight up a better card. It mixes in a little bit of what Akroma’s Memorial has cooking, and the end result is a fantastic and flexible typal engine piece.
Mirromind Crown is ripe for shenanigans. Combined with a Blade of Selves or ways to get around Legendary restrictions, you can do some truly crazy things with it. At four mana to cast I really did need it to be {2} or less to equip, so I’m happy it’s relatively affordable to equip once it’s in play.
BEST OF THE OTHER COMMON/UNCOMMONS
Boggart Cursecrafter is an on-type option for decks wanting to make one-thousand cuts. Twinflame Travelers is a doubler for Elemental triggers, at Uncommon! Voracious Tome-Skimmer is one of the better Faeries we’ve had recently.
Firdoch Core is a cheeky three-mana rock that can trigger cards like Miirym. Eclipsed Realms is a solid budget mana fixer for typal decks.
END STEP
And that’s the Lorwyn Eclipsed Commander Set Review. It’s a pretty spicy set all told, and the art and flavor are what I love about Magic. What are you excited to brew with? Let us know on socials.
Kristen is Card Kingdom’s Head Writer and a member of the Commander Format Panel. Formerly a competitive Pokémon TCG grinder, she has been playing Magic since Shadows Over Innistrad, which in her opinion, was a great set to start with. When she’s not taking names with Equipment and Aggro strategies in Commander, she loves to play any form of Limited.