Which Lorwyn Eclipsed Creature Type Got the Biggest Boost?

Gathering Stone | Art by Paolo Parente

In respective order of these color identities, the main creature types of Lorwyn Eclipsed are Merfolk, Goblin, Kithkin, Elemental, and Elf. There are three additional types being revisited as well: Faerie, Giant, and Treefolk.

5th Place: Kithkin – 21 New Cards

There are a few standouts for Kithkin at rare in Brigid, Clachan's Heart, Bristlebane Battler, Champion of the Clachan, Kinscaer Sentry, and Figure of Fable. However, the fact that few new common or uncommon Kithkin would make the cut over the creatures that already exist in a strategy like this is not a sign of a big improvement.

Maybe I'm being a bit harsh and Kithkin decks will be happy to include Dundoolin Weaver and Eclipsed Kithkin.

Brigid, Clachan's Heart has some comparisons in the command zone with mana-producers like Katilda, Dawnhart Prime and Selvala, Eager Trailblazer. While Brigid's ability itself is less restrictive and more powerful than these commanders, the fact that you have to wait a full turn cycle to access her mana (even with a haste enabler like Swiftfoot Boots) is a knock against her.

However, working in her favor is the fact that it's way easier to produce infinite mana by combining her with cards like Gauntlets of Light and Staff of Domination, so maybe the tradeoff is worth it.

The pool of potential Kithkin commanders was exactly two (Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile and Gaddock Teeg) before the release of Lorwyn Eclipsed, so Brigid will be a great upgrade for Commander players looking to make a deck focused specifically on Kithkin. Or maybe you can put her to use in a budget-friendly deck that combines tokens and untapping synergies.

4th Place: Merfolk – 21 New Cards

Just like the new Kithkin, there (ironically) isn't a lot of depth for this creature type. What puts Merfolk over the top of Kithkin is the existence of cards like Adept Watershaper, Disruptor of Currents, and maybe even Merrow Skyswimmer that have utility outside a Merfolk-focused deck.

Perhaps -based convoke commanders like Kasla, the Broken Halo and Saint Traft and Rem Karolus will gain popularity with new synergistic cards from Lorwyn Eclipsed.

Adept Watershaper has even more potential, and is especially cute with commanders like Sokrates, Athenian Teacher and Dragonlord Ojutai, ensuring they will be protected in some way no matter whether they're tapped or untapped.

Every creature type loves new "lords" – and Deepchannel Duelist and Deepway Navigator are a perfect fit for anyone inspired by this new set to make Merfolk a thing (probably helmed by Sygg, River Guide, or maybe even the new Sygg, Wanderwine Wisdom).

With these new additions, Merfolk can keep up with the version of the deck in terms of lord density – and untapping creatures is especially good in a format where you have lots of opponents you need to defend against.

So whether Merfolk players are tired of playing the #1 commander Hakbal of the Surging Soul, or simply want access to cards like Swords to Plowshares and Mirror Entity, Lorwyn Eclipsed offers some fun variety.

3rd Place: Goblins – 23 New Cards

Goblins have a little more depth than Kithkin or Merfolk, with uncommons Boggart Cursecrafter and Boggart Mischief providing nice redundancy for Goblins Aristocrats strategies.

They both affect each opponent, which is a major perk for aristocrats payoffs in Commander. Grub, Storied Matriarch is another great inclusion for players trying out this strategy – maybe even in the command zone.

Scuzzback Scrounger is a natural fit in red's many Treasure-based strategies, and Sanar, Innovative First-Year has some great brewing potential.

But what clearly sets Goblins ahead of the creature types so far is Hexing Squelcher, a card so powerful it inspired our cEDH expert Harvey McGuinness to write a full article about its effect on cEDH.

2nd Place: Elves – 28 New Cards

These new Elves look absolutely at home in Commander.

Champions of the Perfect is a bigger, more budget-friendly Beast Whisperer, offering a duplicate of this effect for Elf players. Twilight Diviner and Lluwen, Imperfect Naturalist explore some interesting new space and fit perfectly into graveyard-based strategies.

Selfless Safewright acts as a budget-friendly version of Heroic Intervention for typal decks – one that you can also cast without leaving up any actual mana.

At uncommon, Lys Alana Dignitary does a decent Joraga Treespeaker impression and Morcant's Loyalist grants Elf strategies an additional lord effect.

And this is all before talking about the two strongest Elves from the new set!

As a new Commander, High Perfect Morcant racked up an impressive 200 decks in just 24 hours after being spoiled. Today, it's already closing in on the top 20 spot for commanders – and it's only been around a month.

Finally, Formidable Speaker is an ultra-powerful immediate search engine tacked onto a creature that slots perfectly into any Elf deck (or any green deck at all!). Being able to generate even more mana by untapping creatures like fellow Elves Priest of Titania, Circle of Dreams Druid, and Elvish Archdruid is a nice additional bonus.

1st Place: Elementals – 34 New Cards

While the other creature types have around 5-8 cards that look like they will catch on in some Commander decks, it wouldn't be surprising to see much higher numbers (even a full half of all new Elementals) for this multipurpose creature type. This impressive depth and versatility is enough to catapult them into the top spot.

At uncommon, Elemental-focused decks gain a huge upgrade in Flamebraider (a second Smokebraider effect that allows you to jump from two to five mana). Twinflame Travelers is an on-theme Panharmonicon that turbo-charges classic Elementals like Reveillark and Mulldrifter, while Kindle the Inner Flame does a great Heat Shimmer impression – but twice!

Still at uncommon (yes, this creature type is deep), the vivid Elementals Shimmercreep, Prismabasher, and especially Shinestriker offer powerful effects when they enter. Maxing these creatures out to five isn't as hard as it might look at first glance when they're combined with cards like Fallaji Wayfarer, Scuttlemutt, Leyline of the Guildpact, and the new Tam, Mindful First-Year.

Blinking a draw-five Shinestriker with something like Ephemerate is really living the dream!

At rare, Elemental-centric decks gain cards like Sunderflock, Champion of the Path, and Ashling's Command.

Outside of decks focused on Elementals, Lavaleaper is cool new tech in turbo mono-red strategies, while Eirdu, Carrier of Dawn fits great as a commander for Aristocrats strategies that can end the game on the spot with persist combos.

Finally, it feels like the Elemental Incarnation cycle (Emptiness, Deceit, Catharsis, Vibrance, and Wistfulness) will find their way into the format, whether powered out ahead of schedule by Smokebraider and friends in typal decks or simply as value pieces that are relevant in both early and late game scenarios.