Bitterbloom BearerBitterbloom Bearer | Art by Chris Rahn

Hey everyone! After looking at the different mechanics that debuted with the original Lorwyn/Shadowmoor block — except the untap mechanic, because there are so few cards with it — it's time to come back to the present with latest booster set.

That's right, today I'm breaking down the most played cards from Lorwyn Eclipsed. Which card among all the typal goodness has taken the top spot? Let's dive right in!

10. Harmonized CrescendoHarmonized Crescendo - 16,310 decks

Card draw and/or typal aficionados will know that the four-mana Distant MelodyDistant Melody already exists. It sees play in almost 175K decks, from Faeries to Merfolk to Allies. Do you know what those three decks (and more typal builds) have in common? They run a ton of creatures to convoke Crescendo and potentially make it cost less!

Redundancy is incredibly important in Commander, and having multiple ways to draw an absurd amount of cards in your creature deck is crucial, especially when you're battling sweepers and combos that demand CounterspellCounterspells or other forms of interaction. 16K? That number's going waaaay up.

9. High Perfect MorcantHigh Perfect Morcant - 8,276 decks, 9,155 as commander

The Elves deck doesn't really want for curve-toppers. You've got typal MVPs like Lathril, Blade of the ElvesLathril, Blade of the Elves (though she's currently more likely to be your commander) Lys Alana HuntmasterLys Alana Huntmaster, and Beast WhispererBeast Whisperer, among others, as well as supporters and finishers like Seedborn MuseSeedborn Muse and Natural OrderNatural Order.

Still, Morcant works well with the other expensive cards and really anything that makes more than one piece of cardboard per card.

If you want to optimize for abilities, you can play a bunch of token makers and doublers like Doubling SeasonDoubling Season and Parallel LivesParallel Lives. Your opponents won't be able to keep a creature on the board for more than a turn cycle.

8. Bloodline BiddingBloodline Bidding - 17,816 decks

This is one of those splashy typal payoffs you would expect from a set built around creature types. Why be precise and specific with unearth and persist when you can bring everything back. Bloodline BiddingBloodline Bidding is less fiddly than Haunting VoyageHaunting Voyage and refuses to help opponents out like Twilight's CallTwilight's Call or Patriarch's BiddingPatriarch's Bidding.

It's just a better card than the latter two, unless you're actively inviting chaos.

Convoke is just the cherry on top. I imagine a common use case for this would be after a sweeper, so you wouldn't have a ton of creatures in play to help you cast it, but it's just nice having more ways to get this onto the stack. Too bad it might not be what Minotaur typal is looking for!

7. Abundant CountrysideAbundant Countryside - 18,523 decks

Our Minotaur Reviewer likes Countryside a lot more than Bidding, and with good reason. This land gives every typal deck a very relevant mana sink on top of a five-color mana fixer for creatures.

Six mana is a little clunky, though; Maskwood NexusMaskwood Nexus is both more efficient and makes bigger tokens, but having this effect on a land means you're giving up basically nothing to gain access to more creatures.

6. Eclipsed RealmsEclipsed Realms - 19,282 decks

Realms trades off Countryside's more flexible mana generation for fixing your ability costs as well, which matters in creature-heavy decks. Having an additional, albeit narrower, copy of Secluded CourtyardSecluded Courtyard is awesome.

We'll toss it onto the pile alongside Cavern of SoulsCavern of Souls, Unclaimed TerritoryUnclaimed Territory, Ancient ZigguratAncient Ziggurat, and Path of AncestryPath of Ancestry, and we'll enjoy it.

5. Springleaf ParadeSpringleaf Parade - 21,595 decks

I love it when new Magic sets print cards that are basically "old card, but bigger." Now everyone (terms and conditions apply: only tokens in this case) gets their own Springleaf DrumSpringleaf Drum and you can even put a bunch of paraders into play to more or less double your mana.

The deluge of changelings works really with with a bunch of commanders, including debutantes Maralen, Fae AscendantMaralen, Fae Ascendant, Brigid, Clachan's HeartBrigid, Clachan's Heart's back side, and Morcant.

Looking beyond this set, there really are an absurd number of things you can do with a ton of mana in typal decks, from activating Horde of NotionsHorde of Notions a bunch to triggering Risen ReefRisen Reef more times than really necessary.

4. Bitterbloom BearerBitterbloom Bearer - 25,309 decks

Getting to play two BitterblossomBitterblossoms is great news for any number of Sacrifice or Token decks. You just never have to worry about producing enough fodder to get Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIERSephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER or Marneus CalgarMarneus Calgar going.

Meanwhile, Faerie decks probably benefit even more from getting another very powerful member printed, because Alela, Cunning ConquerorAlela, Cunning Conqueror, Obyra, Dreaming DuelistObyra, Dreaming Duelist, and Alela, Artful ProvocateurAlela, Artful Provocateur all reward you for volume.

3. Chronicle of VictoryChronicle of Victory - 28,928 decks

Vanquisher's BannerVanquisher's Banner has another buddy! This is another fantastic payoff that slots into pretty much any typal deck. Six mana isn't all that much in Commander and it rewards you both for having already amassed a board and for inviting new guests to the party.

You're going to be casting a lot of creatures in these decks anyway, so don't worry too much about making the card draw pop, but you can build around the first ability by playing this in token-generating commanders like Lathril, Edgar MarkovEdgar Markov, and Krenko, Mob BossKrenko, Mob Boss.

Check out Jeremy Rowe's full article about this artifact.

2. Formidable SpeakerFormidable Speaker - 33,694 decks

Turning the worst card in your hand into the best creature in your deck for the situation at hand is absurd upside, so much so that you can run this in a ton of decks that don't even care that it's an Elf.

Rograkh, Son of RohgahhRograkh, Son of Rohgahh and Thrasios, Triton HeroThrasios, Triton Hero welcome Speaker into their gnarly Birthing Pod builds that can both combo off and answer any challenge from opponents. Etali, Primal ConquerorEtali, Primal Conqueror tends to lead CloneClone and/or combo decks, so having a way to tutor up whatever you need is invaluable.

Speaker is a fantastic card that is making waves in 60-card formats as well, and it's more than good enough to hang with the best creature combo enablers in Commander.

1. Hexing SquelcherHexing Squelcher - 50,728 decks

Cheap cards are good cards, so it's no surprise a 2/2 that posits several problems for your opponents currently occupies the top spot on this list. Squelcher, which is a fun riff on Vexing ShusherVexing Shusher, protects combos and acts as a lightning rod for removal that your opponents would much rather use on something actually threatening.

Imagine getting your removal spell redirected with Deflecting SwatDeflecting Swat after already taking two damage to pay for its ward cost. Maddening.

It's also a fine disruptive, aggressive card for Goblin typal decks that attack from different angles, whether it be token generation with Krenko or just turning stuff sideways.

No Map. No ComplaintsNo Map. No Complaints

Lorwyn Eclipsed has given us a bunch of typal-friendly cards that don't really box you into playing certain types. Any blue creature deck can run Crescendo; decks playing black may want Bidding; and, while Goblins pick up Squelcher, you can also just run it in red aggressive decks for its protective effect.

This set is a huge winner for Commander, and I'm sure many of these cards will see even wider play as more time passes. What's your favorite card from the set that missed the list? Let us know!