Clachan FestivalClachan Festival | Art by Kev Fang | Evershrike's GiftEvershrike's Gift | Art by Drew Tucker

Welcome back to Lorwyn, the plane that not only introduced a new card type into the game (planeswalkers), but whose titular 2007 set delivered some iconic enchantments: the catch-all-ish Commander staple Oblivion RingOblivion Ring, the Doran, the Siege TowerDoran, the Siege Tower-approved LignifyLignify, and the downright debaucherous Forced FruitionForced Fruition.

The new Lorwyn Eclipsed continues Lorwyn's enchantment tradition of providing enchanting utility players over heavy hitters—nothing remotely compares to Smothering TitheSmothering Tithe, Rhystic StudyRhystic Study, and the like—though the average power level of these cards continues to climb alongside the rest of the game.

On the eve of Lorwyn Eclipsed's prerelease weekend, we're taking a look at eight of the set's best enchantment spells (most of which are actually quite cheap, even for prerelease prices), highlighting some of their use cases and commanders alongside whom they might shine. You'll find them sorted by mana value, not by strength.

Evershrike's GiftEvershrike's Gift

RancorRancor contains a misprint that reduces its mana value, but remains a glorious mistake that sets the bar for playable Auras in Commander. No longer could opponents easily earn a two-for-one trade with our enchanted creatures; Rancor was always ready to return with a power pump and some evasiveness for a lone green pip.

In fact, to remove Rancor from combat calculus entirely, players had to respond to its casting by removing its creature target with precise timing. See also: Aspect of MongooseAspect of Mongoose, Spirit LoopSpirit Loop, and Fallen IdealFallen Ideal—though these retain a more reasonable mana value.

Evershrike's GiftEvershrike's Gift is about as close as we're going to get to another Rancor. For a single white mana, this Aura offers one point of power and flying, which is already a great rate for the effect. Its recursion costs more than its predecessors, in that it contains any cost at all; pay at sorcery speed, place two -1/-1 counters on a creature we control, and this Gift becomes one that keeps on giving.

This may seem like a significant downside at first blush, but considering how weenie-riffic white creatures often are, Gift's graveyard payment reads like a sac outlet that can be used on a dinky 1/1 token to minimize the number of counters we wind up doling out. And, the card can be recurred even if opponents attempt a Rancor-style instant MurderMurder of its original target.

Consider Evershrike's Gift in any white deck that wants to go both wide and tall. Adeline, Resplendent CatharAdeline, Resplendent Cathar and Anim Pakal, Thousandth MoonAnim Pakal, Thousandth Moon leap to mind for how effortlessly they can grow their power, the sheer volume of tokens they manufacture, and the fact that they require attacks to pop off.

Phelia, Exuberant ShepherdPhelia, Exuberant Shepherd would love to take to the skies and can easily strip our creatures of -1/-1 counters with its flicker trigger. Breena, the DemagogueBreena, the Demagogue could gift Gift onto one of its wimps, then immediately negate the counters with two +1/+1 counters of its own. Pretty fly, for a white guy.

Lasting TarfireLasting Tarfire

The damage dished out by Lasting Tarfire really adds up. If we manage to get a counter onto one of our creatures every turn—any type of counter, anyone's turn—the enchantment deals six damage, divided among our (usually) three opponents. That's 24 damage per turn cycle for a two-mana investment, reducing life totals at a rate only matched by fearsome damage-dealers like Purphoros, God of the ForgePurphoros, God of the Forge.

Naturally, Lasting Tarfire shines in any deck with the ability to place counters on everyone's turns; if it wants All Will Be OneAll Will Be One, it probably wants Lasting Tarfire.

Laelia, the Blade ReforgedLaelia, the Blade Reforged is famously a card draw engine but can pump itself using exile engines such as Relic of ProgenitusRelic of Progenitus or Grim LavamancerGrim Lavamancer. Valgavoth, Harrower of SoulsValgavoth, Harrower of Souls and The Scorpion GodThe Scorpion God take the Rakdos path and profit off pain, dishing out additional Tarfire pain in the process.

And, lest we forget, Vivi OrnitierVivi Ornitier's prowess 2.0 ability places +1/+1 counters when we cast noncreature spells and deals one damage to each of our opponents. Throw in a City on FireCity on Fire or Torbran, Thane of Red FellTorbran, Thane of Red Fell, and the hurt won't halt anytime soon.

Springleaf ParadeSpringleaf Parade

Flexibility is the key ingredient of Commander's secret sauce—a singleton format in which every included card must be capable of impactfulness in a multitude of situations. Grand CrescendoGrand Crescendo is one of the most adaptable: a reactive protection spell that's easier to hold up than Heroic InterventionHeroic Intervention or Dawn's TruceDawn's Truce because it can provide tokens as a proactive measure, if needed, that also receive indestructible until end of turn.

Springleaf ParadeSpringleaf Parade represents another fantastic modal spell that primes its own pump. Two mana scores us an Insidious RootsInsidious Roots/Enduring VitalityEnduring Vitality-adjacency that transforms our tokens into Birds of ParadiseBirds of Paradise while any additional mana dumped into the of its cost translates into 1/1 Shapeshifter creature tokens with changeling that tap for said mana of any color.

Parade would have been fantastic if these tokens were simply Elves, Humans, or any other quasi-popular creature type. But the fact that it creates tokens with changeling means the card has a happy home in all manner of typal decks. Slivers are an obvious choice, as Sliver QueenSliver Queen and Sliver HivelordSliver Hivelord would love a Parade of their very own.

It also shines in Grist, the Hunger TideGrist, the Hunger Tide, Arasta of the Endless WebArasta of the Endless Web, Omnath, Locus of RageOmnath, Locus of Rage, and even something like Omo, Queen of VesuvaOmo, Queen of Vesuva that cares about creatures that are all types. Expect this card to be quickly minted as a staple.

Meek AttackMeek Attack

Sneak AttackSneak Attack is an iconic Magic card that has inspired fairly recent card designs that expand on its original premise. Tannuk, Steadfast SecondTannuk, Steadfast Second and Purphoros, Bronze-BloodedPurphoros, Bronze-Blooded are some of the most direct analogies, trading Sneak Attack's straightforwardness for a more limited pool of potential targets but expanded utility for the card itself—namely, the ability to attack and block, and, in the case of Purphoros, much more resiliency in the face of removal.

Meek Attack seems out of place at first, as it restricts the creatures we can sneak onto the battlefield to those with a combined power and toughness of five or less. But the key here is that Meek Attack cares about power and toughness, not mana value.

Commander contains plenty of stellar and impactful high mana value cards with meager stats. Ravenous ChupacabraRavenous Chupacabra, Karmic GuideKarmic Guide, Bane of ProgressBane of Progress, Kalonian HydraKalonian Hydra, Ignition TeamIgnition Team…the list goes on.

Heck, we could even throw down AngerAnger or Golgari Grave-TrollGolgari Grave-Troll to attack and force them into the graveyard, where they belong.

The happiest homes for Meek Attack are in decks where the commanders also care about low power and low toughness creatures. Alesha, Who Smiles at DeathAlesha, Who Smiles at Death loves a way to extract maximum value from Ponyback BrigadePonyback Brigade and Beetleback ChiefBeetleback Chief while setting them up to be recurred. Obeka, Brute ChronologistObeka, Brute Chronologist and any red deck running Sundial of the InfiniteSundial of the Infinite can abuse the ending of the turn to keep the Meek creature on the battlefield.

Consider Meek Attack as a toolbox facilitator rather than Sneak Attack's propensity for explosiveness.

Mornsong AriaMornsong Aria

Here we have a reconfiguration of Maralen of the MornsongMaralen of the Mornsong in enchantment form with the added clause that players can't gain life. Not surprisingly, Mornsong Aria plays a similar role as Maralen, slowing down the game but unlocking each deck's potential for powerful, if not predictable plays.

Board wipes always arrive on time, combo pieces rarely sit in our hand to be rendered irrelevant, and stax effects hit extra hard. Heck, it only takes an added Opposition AgentOpposition Agent to lock down the game immediately.

It's no surprise that Mornsong AriaMornsong Aria slots perfectly into Maralen of the Mornsong decks for some redundancy. But it also represents the best card in the 99 of an Ob Nixilis, UnshackledOb Nixilis, Unshackled deck capable of slaughtering opponents fairly quickly, as the search clause is not a "may" ability. Aria also sings in Commander decks in which certain cards form a two-card combo with the commander itself, including Vito, Thorn of the Dusk RoseVito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose and Dina, Soul SteeperDina, Soul Steeper, both of which want Exquisite BloodExquisite Blood.

Not all players will be a fan of the sorts of games Aria encourages, but those that do will revel in receiving a new staple.

Grave VenerationsGrave Venerations

Part Bastion of RemembranceBastion of Remembrance, part Oversold CemeteryOversold Cemetery, and a little bit Court of AmbitionCourt of Ambition, Grave Venerations is going to populate all corners of the Commander format. It provides the monarch upon entry to afford us both a card from our library and a creature decomposing in our graveyard the turn it comes out, and contains the Zulaport CutthroatZulaport Cutthroat text to drain our opponents whenever one of our creatures dies. It only requires a single black pip, too.

Notably, its last ability is not tied to the monarch, though the graveyard recursion will only trigger if we're the monarch at end of turn.

The monarch is one of the most underrated mechanics of Commander for its ability to break parity. It forces opponents to attack or risk falling behind the rest of the table, ensuring even the pillow fort players will turn creatures sideways at some point. At the same time, if we can amass a few chump-y tokens to cancel out incoming attacks, there's a good chance the monarch will remain on our side of the table throughout a turn cycle—not to mention that our tokens' deaths will trigger the Aristocrats text on Venerations.

Or, use Venerations to strike a deal with an opponent to trade the monarch back-and-forth. This is a political format, after all.

Venerations shines in any deck based around group slug strategies, though it's not a strict requirement. Queen MarchesaQueen Marchesa and Breena, the DemagogueBreena, the Demagogue love it, but so do Aristocrats commanders, including Teysa KarlovTeysa Karlov and Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIERSephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, plus graveyard players like Teval, the Balanced ScaleTeval, the Balanced Scale and Meren of Clan Nel TothMeren of Clan Nel Toth.

Give it a whirl; it's worth testing a card that represents three other cards at an aggressive mana value.

Raiding SchemesRaiding Schemes

Mark Rosewater has said that the conspire mechanic was a failure because it ultimately felt like filler rather than something uniquely powerful. In fact, he lamented on his blog that players probably didn't even remember what it did. Let's clear this up, as it pertains to Raiding Schemes: When we cast a noncreature spell, we have the option to tap two creatures we control that share a color with the spell.

Two white creatures could tap to copy a five-color spell, or two five-color creatures could tap to copy a white spell, and so forth. If we go for it, the original spell is copied. This can only occur once per spell cast, and the tapping of a creature cannot be applied to multiple conspire triggers.

Prior to Lorwyn Eclipsed, conspire could only be applied to instant and sorcery spells, with a single out-of-universe exception. Cards like Mine ExcavationMine Excavation and Memory SluiceMemory Sluice had conspire printed on them to begin with, while Wort, the RaidmotherWort, the Raidmother gave all of our red or green instants and sorceries conspire.

Rassilon, the War PresidentRassilon, the War President, from Doctor Who, inched towards Raiding Schemes by providing conspire to all noncreature spells we cast from exile. But this commander is not popular, holding only around 350 decks according to EDHREC.

Raiding Schemes requires a significant mana investment, but can pop off pretty quickly, given all of the tokens running around a typical Gruul deck. Here are some great cards worth copying:

• Crackle with PowerCrackle with Power
• Chaos WarpChaos Warp
• Mana GeyserMana Geyser
• Impact TremorsImpact Tremors
• Dragon TempestDragon Tempest
• Three VisitsThree Visits
• Rishkar's ExpertiseRishkar's Expertise
• Doubling SeasonDoubling Season
• Guardian ProjectGuardian Project
• Escape to the WildsEscape to the Wilds
• Bitter WorkBitter Work

…the list of great targets continues until the heat death of the game itself.

The obvious downside of the card is that it can't copy creature spells, usually the bread and butter of Gruul; but in a deck helmed by the right commander, Raiding Schemes can help secure a few easy wins.

With the right configuration, Bello, Bard of the BramblesBello, Bard of the Brambles loves this card, as its deck will be full of noncreatures to maximize Bello's effect on the board. (Be warned, though, that conspire does not work for colorless spells, as colorless creatures don't share a color with a colorless spell.) Same with Wildsear, Scouring MawWildsear, Scouring Maw, whose cascade trigger can allow for a second conspired spell if you have the creatures to tap.

And any partner commander deck partially helmed by Tana, the BloodsowerTana, the Bloodsower would be psyched to conspire using some of the many tokens Tana provides. Don't be afraid to ramp hard into Raiding Schemes so it can be online sooner rather than later.

Sapling NurserySapling Nursery

Any mono-green deck should be able to cast Sapling Nursery for , though cards like Overgrown TombOvergrown Tomb and Ziatora's Proving GroundZiatora's Proving Ground also count towards the Nursery's affinity for Forests. Unless we're running some sort of five-color pile, the Nursery is coming down cheap and more than ready to produce some beefy 3/4 reaching tokens.

The fact that a fetchland can produce six power's worth of creatures is insane. Rampaging BalothsRampaging Baloths costs much more mana and only provides vanilla beaters. The card's last line of text offers more flavor than function outside of a dedicated Treefolk or earthbending deck, although it's worth pointing out that it can at least save the tokens it previously created.

Naturally, Treefolk-focused and Forest-friendly decks will be better equipped for the protection Sapling Nursery provides. Fangorn, Tree ShepherdFangorn, Tree Shepherd and Doran, the Siege TowerDoran, the Siege Tower are full of Forests and would love a few more Treefolk sauntering about. Ashaya, Soul of the WildAshaya, Soul of the Wild transforms all of our creatures into Forests, affording them the ability to trigger landfall and become indestructible when we sac Sapling Nursery.

Dedicated Landfall decks like Bristly Bill, Spine SowerBristly Bill, Spine Sower and Kodama of the West TreeKodama of the West Tree will have no trouble getting the Nursery down for two green mana and triggering it relentlessly.

It won't be long before Sapling Nursery shows us a Forest for the trees.

Some Enchanted Evening

What do you think of these enchantment selections? Nothing featured on this list is going to break the format, but each has the potential to make at least a small impact on games. That said, Springleaf Parade is the best of the bunch, followed closely by Grave Venerations—two modular picks that support existing, popular archetypes.

But, prove me wrong! Tell me about how you're using some key enchantments from Lorwyn Eclipsed. Or, better yet, send me your deck list as proof of where these cards could be housed to great effect. If there's one thing all these cards have in common, it's their potential for brewing.

More Lorwyn Eclipsed: