I distinctly remember drafting triple Lorwyn, meaning it couldn't have been that long ago. And yet, someone born the same weekend I was learning to first-pick Mulldrifter is approximately the same age now as I was then and old enough to vote in the midterms. So, I thought it would be worth revisiting the set that gave us Cryptic Command and Thoughtseize, particularly as the other cards that defined its Standard environment may have been forgotten as Commander took off and Modern shifted from the Lorwyn-dominated early Modern phase to the Modern Horizons era. The most powerful cards from Lorwyn Block have lingered, but there are also hidden gems that are just waiting to be set into a modern context, especially when a new Lorwyn set is releasing in a matter of days and bringing new treats for typal decks.

Lorwyn is an interesting set - the art and aesthetics of the plane were polarizing at the time, and it came during a sales doldrums as the complexity and self-regard of the Time Spiral block segued into the Great Recession before the player acquisition boom of the Zendikar through M10 era. I loved Lorwyn, notoriously difficult draft format, ugly-cute Kithkin and Shapeshifters, and all, but I recognize not everyone did; so, it's even more important to highlight some of the underheralded cards from the set. Today, we're only tackling cards from 2007's Lorwyn, leaving out Morningtide, Shadowmoor, and Eventide for the moment.

Lorwyn's focus on creature types makes it unlikely that cards find universal adoption; Wren's Run Packmaster is a terrific card, for example, but it does require a critical density of Elves to even function. The intensive focus on the eight creature types means many of the cards are, like Onslaught before it, only desirable if you're firmly in Goblins, Merfolk, Faeries, Elves, Treefolk, Elementals, Giants, or Kithkin. The Shapeshifters and their Changeling ability were crucial mortar for the set, slotting in amongst and bolstering your various Giants or Faeries, but most of them were distinctly Limited-only. Cairn Wanderer was a fine card in 2007 Limited or 2011 Commander, but doesn't get far outside of those formats. Still, the vast majority of current Magic players weren't playing back in 2007, and so they may have never played a Profane Command - the original Torment of Hailfire - or tapped an opponent down during their upkeep with a well-timed Mistbind Clique, which functioned basically as a four-mana Time Warp. Here are some of my favorites that have found their way into my Commander decks, even almost twenty years on:

Seedguide Ash

There's cheaper and better ramp than paying for a 4/4, but any time a card doesn't say "basic" before a land type and can grab multiple lands, it's worth a second look. Aside from shocklands, Seedguide Ash can snag Hedge Maze, Underground Mortuary, Dryad Arbor, Murmuring Bosk, or Sapseep Forest. is a big ask, but any deck that can repeatedly cycle the Treefolk in and out of the graveyard can skim a stack of Forests out of their library. Similarly, Treefolk Harbinger isn't exactly a well-kept secret, but if you've still never played it, it enables greedy hands and gets significantly better in a world of Surveil lands and shocklands. Harbinger can even grab a Mutable Explorer for some round-about ramp, and the duo of searching Treefolk team up well together.

Who Wants It:

• Meren of Clan Nel Toth
• Henzie "Toolbox" Torre
• Kirri, Talented Sprout
• Zimone and Dina

Nameless Inversion

Once a heavily-played Standard staple, Nameless Inversion has never seen much adoption in Commander, as single-target removal spells aren't potent enough in the format. But what if Nameless Inversion wasn't a one-time-only removal spell? My favorite (albeit never tournament-level) trick in Time Spiral-Lorwyn Standard was repeatedly casting Nameless Inversion with Haakon, Stromgald Scourge or recurring it with Wort, Boggart Auntie. I wouldn't recommend it as just a flexible Scorpion's Sting, but it's the overwriting creature types that I find interesting. If your playgroup is full of typal decks - and Lorwyn Eclipsed's imminent release makes that increasingly likely - being able to strip the Elvishness or Zombieosity of a Commander at instant speed is worth including. Plus, that +3 power boost cam kill a player from Infect or Commander damage - a rare but very memorable moment.

Who Wants It:

• Gisa and Geralf (particularly with the aforementioned Haakon)
• Zask, Skittering Swamlord
• Wort, Boggart Auntie

Cloudthresher

At one point, Cloudthresher was a preeminent solution to the Faerie menace that was dominating Standard - for , you could wipe away any number of Bitterblossom-spawned Faerie Rogues, Spellstutter Sprites, and Scion of Oona once they'd tapped out. For , you could do that and block a Mistbind Clique. I rarely see Cloudthresher in Commander any more, but an instant-speed Squall that nets you a reanimation target is something worth considering. To keep your Cloudthresher around, you need to commit to being almost mono-Green, but that's only if you want to keep it around - many decks are happy to blink, reanimate, or cheat it out.

Who Wants It:

• Horde of Notions
• Eshki, Temur's Roar
• Omnath, Locus of Rage
• Helga, Skittish Seer
• The Green Gods (Karametra, God of Harvests, Klothys, God of Destiny, Kruphix, God of Horizons, Nylea, God of the Hunt, Nylea, Keen-Eyed, Pharika, God of Affliction, Xenagos, God of Revels)

Nova Chaser

One of Magic's most unique power-to-toughness ratios, Nova Chaser requires some setup. Your deck needs to be running a critical mass of Elementals to use it, and even more if you want to exploit it. Luckily, there are 619 Elementals in Magic, of which approximately 150 have beneficial "enters" abilities. Tucking a Bane of Progress, Beza, the Bounding Spring, Fury, or Regal Force under the fragile Chaser means you get to attack for 10 and then (most likely) get to double-dip on your returning Elemental when the 10/2 gets blocked. This was before Lorwyn Eclipsed gave us a whole new host of Elementals and a five-color Commander deck with brand-new Elementals - Eclipsed Flamekin, Jubilation, Impulsivity, Lamentation, Subterfuge, and Belonging certainly don't mind being Championed by Nova Chaser. If nothing else, Nova Chaser is one of those cards that'll periodically get more attention and increase in playability over the years - it's not likely that Wizards stops printing Elementals any time soon.

Who Wants It:

• Omnath, Locus of the Roil
• Omnath, Locus of Rage
• Zilortha, Strength Incarnate (although this will often result in your Nova Chaser living through combat, and thus not getting your Championed Elemental back)
• Ziatora, the Incinerator

Lorwyn feels like coming home. I drafted the set twice a week every week during its tenure - dropping off a bit with the release of Morningtide, and I have fond memories of demolishing opponents with Profane Command, Wydwen, the Biting Gale, and a flurry of Mono-Red Elementals. This was the set that gave us Shriekmaw and Mulldrifter, cards that are still referenced in modern cards like Nulldrifter and Ravenous Chupacabra. Standard was a mess at the time, thanks to the Vivid lands and Reflecting Pool allowing for hideously greedy mana bases and Faeries being a full tier above any other competitor. For those of us playing a level below the top tables, it was a joy - Knucklebone Witch and Mad Auntie, Incandescent Soulstoke teaming up with Supreme Exemplar, Elvish combo decks with Heritage Druid, Haakon machine-gunning down a board with Nameless Inversion... The format was far less restrictive than the rigidity of creature types would suggest!

With Lorwyn Eclipsed, it seems that Wizards took the right lessons from the flawed Lorwyn-Shadowmoor block. The weirdness has been toned down, the creature types streamlined, and the emphasis placed on the interesting things you can do within the framework of the dual plane, rather than the restrictions mandated by it. I'm excited for a whole new generation of Magic players to fall in love with Lorwyn - and even more excited to still be here, between the light and the dark.