Warning!

The decks you are about to see are mostly untested first drafts! They were played last Wednesday on the early access Streamer Event on MTG Arena and are my first stabs at the new Lorwyn Eclipsed Standard format. Most are brews jam packed with Lorwyn Eclipsed cards, while there are also a few updates to previously established archetypes, but it's important to note that these are the first steps and not finished products! Use them as stepping stones for your own deck brewing process, but play them card for card at your own risk!

Starting 2026 off with a bang, Lorwyn Eclipsed is one of the most anticipated Magic sets in a long time.

The long-desired return to the beloved planes of Lorwyn and Shadowmoor, Lorwyn Eclipsed hits all the marks with a mixture of kindred strategies as well as other mechanics and themes. As a non-gameplay note, the art and art direction in this set is also just out of this world!

Today we are going to go over all ten decks I played as part of my Ten New Brews on YouTube and stream, briefly going over each list and my thoughts on how it was, giving it a letter grade, and talking about what kind of potential it has going forward. I played five games of best of one with each deck so the deck's record will also be included, but do note that these matches were played during the Early Access event not on the open ladder. My opponents were all other content creators also trying out all sorts of fun Lorwyn stuff.

Let's go!

Bitterblossom | ECL Standard | Jim Davis

• Creatures (20)
• 2 Enduring Curiosity
• 2 Obyra, Dreaming Duelist
• 4 Bitterbloom Bearer
• 4 Flitterwing Nuisance
• 4 Glen Elendra Guardian
• 4 Sleep-Cursed Faerie

• Instants (13)
• 1 Spell Snare
• 2 Requiting Hex
• 2 Shoot the Sheriff
• 4 Faerie Fencing
• 4 Spell Stutter

• Sorceries (2)
• 2 Ego Drain

• Artifacts (2)
• 2 Dawn-Blessed Pennant

• Lands (23)
• 2 Island
• 7 Swamp
• 4 Watery Grave
• 2 Cavern of Souls
• 2 Undercity Sewers
• 4 Gloomlake Verge
• 2 Multiversal Passage

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Deck's Record: 3-2

Deck's Grade: B-

Deck Potential: Medium

Standout Card: Bitterbloom Bearer

If you were around for Lorwyn the first time, you know how powerful Bitterblossom and the Dimir Faeries deck was. Well, Bitterblossom is back!

Now stapled to a creature, Bitterbloom Bearer has pluses and minuses when compared to the classic enchantment. Being a body itself as well as having flash are both huge plusses, as you can leave mana up, play it on the end step, and almost always guarantee yourself a token, and of course it attacks and blocks too; the downside being it is vulnerable to creature removal. The worst part is that cost, but the card is still great, as are new entries like Glen Elendra Guardian and Flitterwing Nuisance.

The big question with this deck is how much to lean into the kindred stuff and how much to play off what already makes Dimir Midrange good. The Faerie spells from Wilds of Eldraine also underperformed, which makes the kindred parts of the deck less interesting.

Sneak Attack! | ECL Standard | Jim Davis

• Creatures (19)
• 2 Tannuk, Steadfast Second
• 2 Terra, Magical Adept
• 3 Famished Worldsire
• 4 Badgermole Cub
• 4 Llanowar Elves
• 4 Threefold Thunderhulk

• Instants (2)
• 2 Sear

• Enchantments (11)
• 3 Earthbender Ascension
• 4 Meek Attack
• 4 Shimmerwilds Growth

• Artifacts (4)
• 4 Nexus of Becoming

• Lands (24)
• 9 Forest
• 3 Mountain
• 4 Commercial District
• 4 Stomping Ground
• 4 Thornspire Verge

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Deck's Record: 3-2

Deck's Grade: C

Deck Potential: Low

Standout Card: Meek Attack

Meek Attack! Get it?

An adorable call back to the very powerful Sneak Attack, Meek Attack is a much more limited version of the powerful effect. Now our goal is to look for creatures that have a low printed power and toughness, but a big effect on the game.

There are two good options in Standard currently - Threefold Thunderhulk, which makes an army of gnome tokens, and Famished Worldsire, which can swing for a huge attack but doesn't have evasion of any kind naturally. Nexus of Becoming is an awesome second enabler, being truly great with Thunderhulk, and the rest of the deck is mana to get us there.

I probably won't be playing this deck at Pro Tour Lorwyn Eclipsed in a few weeks, but it was a lot of fun!

The Siege Tower| ECL Standard | Jim Davis

• Creatures (55)
• 2 Tam, Mindful First-Year
• 3 Betor, Kin to All
• 3 Fecund Greenshell
• 4 Bedrock Tortoise
• 4 Dalkovan Packbeasts
• 4 Doran, Besieged by Time
• 4 Great Forest Druid
• 4 Voice of Victory
• 2 Eclipsed Flamekin
• 2 Emptiness
• 2 Rimekin Recluse
• 2 Roaming Throne
• 2 Sunderflock
• 2 Wistfulness
• 3 Deceit
• 4 Ashling, Rekindled // Ashling, Rimebound
• 4 Flamebraider
• 4 Vibrance

• Instants (11)
• 2 Requiting Hex
• 2 Shoot the Sheriff
• 2 Ashling's Command
• 2 Sear
• 3 Burst Lightning

• Sorceries (2)
• 2 Zero Point Ballad

• Enchantments (2)
• 2 Seam Rip

• Lands (48)
• 1 Forest
• 1 Wastewood Verge
• 2 Restless Cottage
• 2 Starting Town
• 3 Bleachbone Verge
• 3 Hushwood Verge
• 4 Godless Shrine
• 4 Overgrown Tomb
• 4 Temple Garden
• 2 Mountain
• 2 Thundering Falls
• 4 Cavern of Souls
• 4 Eclipsed Realms
• 4 Riverpyre Verge
• 4 Starting Town
• 4 Steam Vents

• Artifacts (2)
• 2 Patchwork Banner

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Deck's Record: 3-2

Deck's Grade: C+

Deck Potential: Medium

Standout Card: Flamebraider

Another fun callback!

Smokebraider was an awesome card in Standard and Block Constructed back in the old Lorwyn days, and Flamebraider is just an upscale in basically every way - power and toughness and the ability to use the mana for abilities. Ashling, Rekindled // Ashling, Rimebound also provides some two-drop mana dork redundancy.

So, what are we casting? How about the whole new cycle of Evoke elementals? Playing Vibrance or Wistfulness on turn three is an awesome place to be, and evoking them is also a fine result. The real payoff here however was Roaming Throne, which was incredible and should probably be a four of.

This list is rough, but there's some really powerful stuff happening here.

I Am All | ECL Standard | Jim Davis

• Creatures (22)
• 2 Mischievous Sneakling
• 2 Sarkhan, Dragon Ascendant
• 3 Possibility Technician
• 3 Sizzling Changeling
• 4 Feisty Spikeling
• 4 Mutable Explorer
• 4 Three Tree Mascot

• Instants (6)
• 2 Shoot the Sheriff
• 4 Caustic Exhale

• Artifacts (9)
• 2 Throne of the Grim Captain // The Grim Captain
• 3 Mox Jasper
• 4 Thrumming Hivepool

• Lands (23)
• 1 Swamp
• 2 Soulstone Sanctuary
• 4 Blazemire Verge
• 4 Blood Crypt
• 4 Starting Town
• 4 Stomping Ground
• 4 Thornspire Verge

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Deck's Record: 2-3

Deck's Grade: C-

Deck Potential: Low to Medium, But Fun!

Standout Card: Mutable Explorer

Okay, some decks are just made to be fun, and this one takes the cake!

Thrumming Hivepool is an odd Standard card, as there are no Slivers currently legal in Standard... Or are there! Changelings change everything, and once you've got Thrumming Hivepool costing two or 3 mana, it is an unbelievable engine that also pumps up your team! Throne of the Grim Captain is also easy to pull off too!

You also get to make use of basically and creature-type-matters payoff you could want, from extra mana from Mox Jasper, to card draw like Possibility Tehnician, to removal like Caustic Exhale.

Perhaps the biggest miss here was not trying Unholy Annex as a card draw engine, but this deck was a blast!

Mogg Monday| ECL Standard | Jim Davis

• Creatures (28)
• 1 Grub, Storied Matriarch
• 3 Taster of Wares
• 4 Boggart Cursecrafter
• 4 Burnout Bashtronaut
• 4 Howlsquad Heavy
• 4 Mudbutton Cursetosser
• 4 Searslicer Goblin
• 4 Stadium Headliner

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Grub's Command

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Boggart Mischief

• Lands (24)
• 4 Mountain
• 1 Swamp
• 3 Soulstone Sanctuary
• 4 Blazemire Verge
• 4 Blood Crypt
• 4 Cavern of Souls
• 4 Eclipsed Realms

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Deck's Record: 4-1

Deck's Grade: B+

Deck Potential: Medium

Standout Card: Grub's Command

It wouldn't be a return to Lorwyn without Goblins! And oh boy are there a bunch of great Goblin cards in Lorwyn Eclipsed!

Grub's Command is the absolute standout, giving you removal as well as a Goblin Ringleader-like ability that can even find itself! Taster of Wares disrupts your opponent, while Boggart Mischief gives you an awesome aristocrats/Blood Artist type feel that can be hard to overcome.

And the best part is that there already are some very solid Goblin cards in Standard! Searslicer Goblin and Howlsquad Heavy both make a bunch of tokens, which fit perfectly alongside the death trigger effects that Lorwyn Eclipsed brings.

This one was awesome!

Big Stupid Idiots | ECL Standard | Jim Davis

• Creatures (30)
• 2 Loch Mare
• 4 Abigale, Eloquent First-Year
• 4 Monoist Sentry
• 4 Moonshadow
• 4 Overlord of the Balemurk
• 4 Rot-Curse Rakshasa
• 4 The Ancient One
• 4 Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist

• Sorceries (7)
• 3 Tragic Trajectory
• 4 Quag Feast

• Lands (23)
• 1 Island
• 8 Swamp
• 2 Susur Secundi, Void Altar
• 4 Gloomlake Verge
• 4 Undercity Sewers
• 4 Watery Grave

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Deck's Record: 3-2

Deck's Grade: B

Deck Potential: Medium

Standout Card: Abigale, Eloquent First Year

What an interesting card Abigale, Eloquent First Year is!

Removing abilities to make a creature into a Baneslayer Angel is pretty awesome, especially when you use it on huge creatures with troublesome drawbacks! And the best part is that there's already some redundancy in the format in the form of Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist, which doubles down on the big vanilla creature plan.

And what big drawback idiots there are in Standard right now! The curve of The Ancient One into Abigale, Eloquent First Year sees you attacking with an 8/8 flying lifelink on turn three, which is pretty awesome!

Blue and Black also offer a great host of interaction and removal, making me think this deck could have some surprising game despite feeling like a meme.

Hobbits | ECL Standard | Jim Davis

• Creatures (30)
• 2 Brigid, Clachan's Heart // Brigid, Doun's Mind
• 4 Bristlebane Battler
• 4 Eclipsed Kithkin
• 4 Figure of Fable
• 4 Goldmeadow Nomad
• 4 Kinsbaile Aspirant
• 4 Kinscaer Sentry
• 4 Thoughtweft Lieutenant

• Planeswalkers (3)
• 3 Ajani, Outland Chaperone

• Enchantments (4)
• 2 Case of the Gateway Express
• 2 Kinbinding

• Lands (23)
• 2 Forest
• 6 Plains
• 4 Temple Garden
• 4 Hushwood Verge
• 3 Abandoned Air Temple
• 4 Multiversal Passage

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Deck's Record: 4-1

Deck's Grade: B-

Deck Potential: Low to Medium

Standout Card: Ajani, Outland Chaperone

They're taking the Kithkin to Shadowmoor!

There's nothing too fancy here, just a solid kindred deck made almost entirely of Lorwyn Eclipsed cards. Three good 1-drops is the number you want for an aggro deck, and there's a bunch of pump and smash stuff going on with all of the go wide triggers for playing extra creautres, as well as a nice flip card in Brigid, Clachan's Heart // Brigid, Doun's Mind, which is also just two bodies for 3 mana.

The most exciting card is the new Ajani planeswalker, Ajani, Outland Chaperone, who is just incredible for a three-mana planeswalker. +1 to make a token is great, and especially good in this deck to keep triggering the "play a creature" triggers.

The issue with this deck is that it doesn't quite feel like it's doing enough, nor does it seem to line up well against removal heavy Lessons decks or super fast Green mana decks like Ouroboroid or Landfall.

Taste The Rainbow | ECL Standard | Jim Davis

• Creatures (14)
• 1 Glarb, Calamity's Augur
• 1 Tam, Mindful First-Year
• 2 Aurora Awakener
• 3 Explosive Prodigy
• 3 Sanar, Innovative First-Year
• 4 Bloom Tender

• Sorceries (2)
• 2 Ill-Timed Explosion

• Enchantments (18)
• 2 Aang's Iceberg
• 2 Annie Joins Up
• 2 Dragonback Assault
• 2 Seam Rip
• 2 Urban Retreat
• 4 Leyline of the Guildpact
• 4 Shimmerwilds Growth

• Artifacts (4)
• 4 Ancient Cornucopia

• Lands (22)
• 1 Forest
• 1 Breeding Pool
• 1 Floodfarm Verge
• 1 Sacred Foundry
• 1 Wastewood Verge
• 1 Willowrush Verge
• 2 Hushwood Verge
• 2 Sunbillow Verge
• 4 Starting Town
• 4 Stomping Ground
• 4 Temple Garden

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Deck's Record: 2-3

Deck's Grade: D+

Deck Potential: Low

Standout Card: Sanar, Innovative First-Year

Vivid is a new mechanic in Lorwyn Eclipsed that counts the colors on permanents you control, so what if all your permanents were just every color from turn one?

Any deck based around a Leyline is going to have issues, as while all of your cards are supercharged with Leyline in play - Bloom Tender taps for 5 mana, etc - but you have to build your deck in a manner where it functions when you don't draw your Leyline, which is the tough part. Shimmerwilds Growth and Ancient Cornucopia were an attempt at this, but it doesn't feel like the juice is worth the squeeze.

However, one strong standout was Sanar, Innovative First-Year, who was a super charged card draw engine on a pretty good body. That being said, I don't think this deck has serious potential beyond some memes.

Elf Box | ECL Standard | Jim Davis

• Creatures (30)
• 1 Champions of the Perfect
• 1 Gloom Ripper
• 1 High Perfect Morcant
• 1 Morcant's Loyalist
• 1 Reclamation Sage
• 1 Sentinel of Lost Lore
• 4 Dwynen's Elite
• 4 Formidable Speaker
• 4 Llanowar Elves
• 4 Lys Alana Dignitary
• 4 Mutable Explorer
• 4 Virulent Emissary

• Instants (3)
• 3 Nameless Inversion

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Trystan's Command

• Lands (23)
• 6 Forest
• 1 Swamp
• 1 Ba Sing Se
• 1 Three Tree City
• 2 Cavern of Souls
• 4 Blooming Marsh
• 4 Overgrown Tomb
• 4 Wastewood Verge

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Deck's Record: 1-4

Deck's Grade: D

Deck Potential: Low

Standout Card: Mutable Explorer

Our last deck was an interesting attempt at Elves, forgoing the usual turbo mana strategy in favor of a more toolbox-focused approach based around Formidable Speaker, a bunch of tech one-ofs, and Mutable Explorer to help ramp it all out.

The issue was that this sort of slow, midrange toolbox strategy doesn't really work very well in 2026. Formidable Speaker is a pretty mediocre card when you aren't either picking up some graveyard synergy or using it to fuel a broken combo, as the body isn't good and it's not card advantage in any way.

The deck was both slow as well as not very controlling, meaning it wasn't good at being proactive or reactive, which is a recipe for disaster.

The Most Important Set Of 2026

Lorwyn Eclipsed is a huge set for many reasons. Aside from the obvious of being the return to a beloved plane after 20 years, it's also Magic's first big in-universe release in a while, among a sea of Universes Beyond sets that have received mixed reviews.

It's also a big set for me personally, as it marks my return to the Pro Tour! Pro Tour Lorwyn Eclipsed is in two weeks and features the set heavily, as both the draft format as well as a key part of the Standard format.

Lorwyn Eclipsed is a banger!