PersonifyPersonify | Art by Slawomir Maniak

Welcome back to Lorwyn, everyone! While I wasn't yet playing Magic when we first took a trip to this twee plane, I've been eagerly awaiting our return. This set's got cute creatures, eccentric Elementals, and an all-encompassing darkness that threatens the very soul of each of its inhabitants. How fun!

Much like its predecessors, Lorwyn Eclipsed is focused on a few specific creature types. As noted on Dawn-Blessed PennantDawn-Blessed Pennant, there's eight specific groups of creatures that Lorwyn is built to support. But, other popular Commander strategies have seen some fantastic new cards too.

Today, let's take a look at the best cards for Blink decks from Lorwyn Eclipsed. I'll consider flicker spells, creatures with repeatable ETBs (enter the battlefield abilities), and a few payoffs for having creatures enter the battlefield. and cards will feature heavily, but I'll also shout out a few exceptional cards from other colors.

Blink Spells

PersonifyPersonify

While this spell may cost more than the ever-popular CloudshiftCloudshift, Personify is still one of the best blink spells we've ever seen. It creates an extra creature token, meaning it'll get us an additional trigger from cards like Soul WardenSoul Warden and Impact TremorsImpact Tremors. That's also relevant for commanders like Galadriel, Light of ValinorGaladriel, Light of Valinor, as the token is ripe for +1/+1 counter placement.

Notably, the token it makes has changeling. While that won't matter for most blink-focused decks, it's significant for Preston, the VanisherPreston, the Vanisher pilots. The Rabbit Wizard's activated ability becomes even easier to activate once we cast Personify.

Morningtide's LightMorningtide's Light

GhostwayGhostway is a pretty good card. FogFog is a pretty good card. So, when we put Ghostway and a multi-turn Fog onto the same spell, the result is pretty fantastic.

While this sorcery won't be blowing anybody's hair back in higher-Bracket games, it's a fantastic mass-flicker spell in more casual environments. The vast majority of wins in Brackets 1, 2, and 3 come through combat, so preventing each of our opponents from killing us for a full turn cycle can be a huge blowout.

Blink Targets

BelongingBelonging

In my mind, the standard for creatures that enter with friends is Resolute ReinforcementsResolute Reinforcements. It's hard to beat the efficiency of this simple card. But, despite its high mana cost, Belonging is a nice curve-topper for Blink decks. It provides a 6/6 body and three 1/1 bodies for , and can pump out absurd numbers of 1/1 bodies if we flicker it a few times.

Having encore is also a huge strength, because we can make nine 1/1 creatures and three (temporary) 6/6 creatures for just if we get Belonging into our bin. I don't think this Elemental Incarnation is an instant staple for Blink decks, but it'll be pretty popular in mono- decks as a game-ending option.

The "Eclipsed" Creature Cycle

Lorwyn Eclipsed brought a cycle of five multi-color creatures that grab either a basic land or a creature with a specific type when they enter the battlefield. There's a black and red Goblinblack and red Goblin (can grab Goblins, Swamps, or Mountains), a black and green Elfblack and green Elf (can grab Elves, Swamps, or Forests), a blue and red Elementalblue and red Elemental (can grab Elementals, Islands, or Mountains), a green and white Kithkingreen and white Kithkin (can grab Kithkin, Forests, or Plains), and a white and blue Merfolkwhite and blue Merfolk (can grab Merfolk, Plains, or Islands).

For typal decks, these abilities are slightly stronger than cards like Wall of OmensWall of Omens that simply draw a card when they enter the battlefield. These five creatures provide casters the choice between mana and creatures, and more choices is always a good thing for Commander players. They likely won't get much attention outside of kindred strategies, though.

ShinestrikerShinestriker

When I look at this Elemental, I'm reminded of the dozens of blue cards that cost and let us draw three cards. Shinestriker outclasses almost all of them. This creature can be flickered, letting us draw between one and five cards every single time it enters the battlefield.

Given the color identity of most Blink decks in Commander, I expect this creature to usually draw us three cards with its ability. In that case, it's like a slightly upgraded CloudblazerCloudblazer. Shinestriker will be an instant staple in high-color Blink decks, like Breya, Etherium ShaperBreya, Etherium Shaper and Atraxa, Grand UnifierAtraxa, Grand Unifier, while it likely won't merit a slot in the 99 of lower-color decks.

Formidable SpeakerFormidable Speaker

This is the only card on this list that I anticipate seeing at cEDH tables. It's a one-time-use Survival of the FittestSurvival of the Fittest on ETB that also untaps any permanent we want for just . In blink decks like Atraxa, Grand UnifierAtraxa, Grand Unifier that rely heavily on powerful individual cards (like Displacer KittenDisplacer Kitten), this Elf Druid will become an instant staple.

By flickering this creature just once or twice, we can assemble a number of game-ending combos. Plus, the ability to untap Gaea's CradleGaea's Cradle is pretty neat!

This was also one of the first cards spoiled for Lorwyn Eclipsed, so cEDH pilots have had a little more time to ruminate on its effectiveness.

Disruptor of CurrentsDisruptor of Currents

Creatures like Skyclave ApparitionSkyclave Apparition and Venser, Shaper SavantVenser, Shaper Savant that provide interaction on ETB are extremely valuable pieces in Blink decks. They represent repeatable removal that our opponents need to constantly keep in mind whenever they attempt to deploy a threat onto the battlefield.

But, notably, those creatures cost mana while Disruptor of Currents can be cast for free. While its mana cost of seems high, we'll frequently pay just , , or even nothing for this creature.

I love that, much like Venser, this Merfolk has flash. It can get rid of any nonland permanent at any time, and we can even cast it when we're completely tapped out. I expect this creature to be recognized as one of the most powerful cards from Lorwyn Eclipsed, in Blink and non-Blink decks alike.

Blink Payoffs

KinbindingKinbinding

For decks that seek to blink multiple creatures per turn, or decks that seek to flood the board with tokens, this enchantment rocks. It'll pump up our whole board by a pretty significant amount, letting us crash in for huge damage. At a bare minimum it'll give our creatures +1/+1 at the beginning of combat on our turn, as it creates a 1/1 Kithkin creature token then.

Much like Morningtide's LightMorningtide's Light, I think Kinbinding's mana cost will prevent it from seeing play in more powerful Commander pods. But this enchantment is a great inclusion for Blink decks and Token decks alike.

Virulent EmissaryVirulent Emissary

Soul WardenSoul Warden, Soul's AttendantSoul's Attendant, and Essence WardenEssence Warden (often referred to as "Soul Sisters") are great creatures for a few reasons: They cost just one mana and they trigger off of every single creature that enters the battlefield (even if we don't control those creatures). Virulent Emissary trades the extra life gain that the other Soul Sisters provide when our opponents have creatures enter the battlefield for deathtouch.

Wizards of the Coast has been printing increasingly powerful -costed creatures with deathtouch recently, from Dragon SniperDragon Sniper to Radioactive SpiderRadioactive Spider. This Elf Assassin is the best variant yet, and I think it'll slot into all sorts of -based decks.

It'll do really well in Blink decks, like those led by Roon of the Hidden RealmRoon of the Hidden Realm, that can use it to gain tons of life over the course of a game.

Conclusion

There were a lot more cards to go over than I expected! There's usually a few good blink spells in every Standard set these days, but it seems that some of Lorwyn Eclipsed's creature types provided a bit of extra design space. Notably, the new evoke Elementals don't make good blink targets, because their ETB abilities only trigger if a specific amount and type of mana was spent to cast them, and they won't be cast if we flicker them. So they're not as primed for blinking as some previous evoke Elementals (SolitudeSolitude, MulldrifterMulldrifter, ReveillarkReveillark).

Lorwyn Eclipsed is shaping up to be a fantastic set! It captures the flavor of the first Lorwyn block well while also correcting some of the mechanical errors that the older block made. I'm pleased with the design of this release, and I'm particularly excited to start jamming some games with Curious ColossusCurious Colossus. Like Boldwyr IntimidatorBoldwyr Intimidator says, "Cowards can’t block Warriors."