Lorwyn Eclipsed brings new typal synergy cards for eight main types plus Changelings. With cards for Elementals, Elves, Faeries, Giants, Goblins, Kithkin, Merfolk and Treefolk, who are the real winners of this expansion, and who are left wanting more? Let’s dive in.
CHANGELINGS: BIG WINNERS
First up, let’s get Changelings out of the way. They’re not a typal deck so much as a multi-typal dreamcoat of a deck, so with that in mind, what do they pick up?
Well, they get some great sources of mana. Between Springleaf Parade and Firdoch Core, manafixing is looking good for multicolor Changeling decks. Firdoch Core in particular is really interesting, as it can take advantage of a myriad of typal payoffs, not least making a Treasure token when Magda is in play. Mutable Explorer is a Changeling Wood Elf of sorts, except it gives you a bonus copy of Mutavault, which is really nice.
Otherwise, they get a Reclamation Sage, a two mana Flash creature, and a Clone with Convoke, which are all stellar pickups.
Changelings don’t need much to get better, and its best to keep in mind their individual cards will be trickled in slowly with minimal power creep, as they need to be finely balanced. That said, they have access to essentially every other typal pickup in the set, which makes them pretty big winners.
(AZORIOUS) MERFOLK: BIG WINNERS
I say Azorius in brackets, because the UW Merfolk (or Bant Merfolk) decks are going to win the most from this update – though any monoblue cards can absolutely find their way into the likes of Kumena, Hakbal or Svyelun.
Sygg is just a solid card even outside of Merfolk decks, and within them, offers great smoothing for draws and attacks. He’s the kind of card that might see play in Modern Merfolk decks. Sygg’s Command is one of the better Commands for Commander, and at just three mana is a powerful tempo play whichever way you slice it.
Adept Watershaper unlocks board wipes and free attacks in a similar way to Dolmen Gate, while Champions of the Shoal provides a hefty body with a relevant “titan” ability for just four mana. Meanders Guide, meanwhile, is a really solid reanimator option for Merfolk that is a pretty rare pickup.
Even outside of the more pushed cards, there are multiple lord effects and a solid “make a token” creature all at two mana. While I wouldn’t say Merfolk are the biggest winners, they still win pretty big – they just didn’t need most of these cards to already be good.
ELVES: WINNERS
Speaking of types that don’t need the extra support, let’s look at Elves.
Elves get some pretty sweet cards in this set. High Perfect Morcant is the perfect alternative to Lathril or Tyvar at the helm of a deck, and offers a little deckbuilding direction too. She’s a powerful new Commander to be feared, and I expect her to gain popularity.
Formidable Speaker is marvelous in Elf decks. It find an Elf you really want, and untaps your Marwyn or Selvala or land enchanted with Elvish Guidance (or your Gaea’s Cradle, if you’re a lucky son of a gun).
Outside of those two biggest pickups, there’s Gloom Ripper if you want another one-for-one curve topper, Champions of the Perfect for a chunkier Beast Whisperer, and Morcant’s Loyalist, a pretty sweet Lord effect.
You also get the option to add a redundant effect for Heroic Intervention – on a body that can be found with Chord of Calling – and Trystan’s Command as an Overrun-come-multitool.
Elves even get a new one-drop, though it’s yet to be seen if it’s powerful enough to make a splash in Modern or Legacy. What do you think?
With all of that, I’d say Elves are pretty big winners here.
ELEMENTALS: BIGGEST WINNERS?
The biggest winners happen to be the only ones who get a dedicated Commander deck. Funny, that, eh?
Elementals get two new CZ options in Ashling, the Limitless and Mass of Mysteries. These options are both fantastic, and even if they’re not in the ‘zone they’re a sure shot in the 99 of a five color build. They provide oodles of power and performance, and in many ways compete for the top spot for Elementals decks if you’re not in a dedicated spellslinger Izzet build, or something.
They pick up a number of Incarnations from the ECC deck, and also a five-color payoff in Elemental Spectacle.
The evoke cycle are all Elementals, and though not all of them are amazing in Commander (and for more, check our set review), some of them are pretty decent, and even potentially playable in Canlander, and are all cube material.
When you lock in, you get EtB damage on Champion of the Path, a doubler that flies in Twinflame Travelers, and a cheeky little two-use token creator in Kindle the Inner Flame.
Oh, and for good measure, there’s an Elementals-themed equivalent to the best effects in sea creatures decks. Elementals are the biggest winners here – and Changelings can pick up a lot of these effects too.
(RAKDOS) GOBLINS: DOING GOBLIN THINGS
Goblins are a really popular deck in Commander, and for the most part, they are mostly mono-red. That said, the Rakdos Goblins decks are also pretty fun, whether you opt for a Goblin Commander or something a little off-beat like Alesha, Who Smiles at Death.
Boggart Mischief is probably the biggest pickup in Commander, while the likes of Scuzzback Scrounger and Hexing Squelcher can not only bolster any Goblin build, but also many builds playing red in general. Hexing Squelcher is the kind of pickup that will enhance a cEDH deck or potentially a burn or Goblins deck in a 1v1 format.
If you do go RB Goblins, Grub, Storied Matriarch and Grub’s Command are two really nice pickups.
That said, Goblins didn’t get the most love here, and their best cards are replacement level or in the case of Hexing Squelcher – good everywhere.
FAERIES: SMALL LOSERS
Faeries are losers when it comes to ECL support. There’s very nearly a Faeries deck in Standard, but with Wilds of Eldraine through Duskmourn rotating in early 2027, not getting more Faerie support here kinda leaves the dream dead in the water.
Faeries do at least get Bitterbloom Bearer, Glen Elendra Guardian and Voracious Tome-Skimmer, but they’re hardly enough to prop up the little pranksters here and are merely some nice little nods.
Oh and I guess there’s Glen Elendra’s Answer, but it’s really a win-more kinda counterspell for Commander.
KITHKIN: SMALL LOSERS
Kithkin deserved so much more.
While Brigid is a fine and even powerful Commander, she doesn’t really care about Kithkin so much as she cares about going wide.
And what do we get that does care about Kithkin? An underwhelming Command, an expensive Lord, and a common EtB anthem. Kithkin got next to no support this set, and it’s really sad.
The best card is arguably Kinbinding, and that’s way more of a tokens deck kinda card than a Kithkin one. They really are losers when it comes to Lorwyn Eclipsed.
TREEFOLK: BIG LOSERS
Bigger losers still are Treefolk – and I don’t just mean vertically. Doran really has been Besieged by Time, with his latest iteration paling in comparison to the Tarkir Dragonstorm Abzan offering. It’ll maybe be good in the 99 of that deck, but do Treefolk get anything else?
Well, no, not really. Their best cards are Reaping Willow – which is more of an Orzhov counters kinda card – and Sapling Nursery, which again, is more of a card for a landfall deck than anything else. Without what they got in Tales of Middle-earth, Treefolk would be on life support.
GIANTS: BIGGEST LOSERS (HA!)
The biggest losers – both vertically and in regards to typal support in Lorwyn Eclipsed – are without a doubt Giants.
Bre of Clan Stoutarm could theoretically lead a Giants deck, but really she’d be wasted not leading a Boros lifegain deck with more robust and useful creatures in the 99. That, or she works great in the 99.
If you want actual playable Giants, you have Curious Colossus which does a someway decent Humility impression, but then beyond that you just have two forgettable commons. Giants are the biggest losers of ECL because they had the most to gain and gained the least.
END STEP
What can we hope for in the future to help out Giants and Kithkin? Well, perhaps we’ll see grouping for Giants and Titan and a Universes Beyond Attack on Titan set. Or maybe they’ll group Kithkin with Halflings at some point. Either way, I don’t expect we’ll see more support for Kithkin for a long time. Giants have a small chance with the end of year Magic set Reality Fracture if it truly does set up the Fomori.
Are you happy with the typal support in ECL or do you think it needed another set to shine?
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.