While I opted to skip the Magic Portland Regional Championship (mainly due to a lack of interest in Standard), I have to admit that I've been playing more Limited. I haven't really been playing much Magic in the last few months anyhow, but with rejoining the Los Angeles Team Draft League this season I've started to grind away at Lorwyn Eclipsed Limited.

Lorwyn Eclisped is an interesting set in a lot of regards. It's kind of clunky - it's similar to Bloomburrow in that you want to draft a typal archetype (like Kithkin, Goblins, Merfolk, etc.) but there isn't really a specific creature designated for each two-color combination. From looking at the set and playing a handful of drafts, Elves, Goblins, Kithkin, Merfolk, and Elementals seem to be the most supported archetypes.

Now there are cards for Giants in Gruul, and Faeries in Dimir, but overall it feels like you shouldn't be playing archetypes where there isn't a coherent theme. Simic and Boros feel shallow, and while I do like Dimir Faeries in concept, it doesn't feel like the typal cards are there to really support the archetype. Out of the other five non-represented two-color combos, I like Orzhov the most, mainly because of how deep Black is as a color.

My first Draft of the set led to a disappointing 1-2, as I honestly didn't know the cards and had not a clue what I was doing. I ended up with a four-color deck, the issue being my cards were strewn across multiple archetypes. I did have Sunderflock at my top end, along with some other Elementals, but I fell prey to my opponents engines.

In this Limited format you need to be in a lane and find your engine. I know this isn't really the most exciting way to Draft, since oftentimes you just have to pick subpar creatures to fit your theme, but it's what works. After two 3-0s, one on Arena and on in paper, I've been thoroughly impressed by one specific archetype: Elves.

Elves is impressive in Lorwyn Eclipsed Limited for a multitude of reasons. For starters, you have good quality creatures at the common and uncommon level, in addition to very powerful theme cards.

Elves can both out-aggro your opponent fast, with good attackers like Iron-Shield Elf, Dawnhand Eulogist, Moonglove Extractor, and Vinebred Brawler, but because it has cards like Morcant's Eyes and Lluwen, Imperfect Naturalist, you can also just sit around and win a long game.

From one paper draft and one MTG Arena draft, here are two 3-0 decks with Elves!

While these decks are pretty different in some aspects (the paper draft was from a 6-person pod), they share a lot of the same core concepts. You really want to leverage the power of some of the good uncommons in this archetype, especially if you don't open an Elf or good Green or Black rare, like Morcant's Loyalist or Eclipsed Elf. However, you can honestly do just fine picking a handful of different Elves and good removal.

Because this format is so dependent on your deck having engines, or ways to generate value, you need to be on the lookout for ways to bury your opponent in card advantage. This is the reason why Reaping Willow makes an appearance in both of these decks. With Morcant's Loyalist you have a ton of graveyard recursion, but the card is still just good with cards like Moonglove Loyalist, allowing you to attack with it for a card, even if it gets eaten by a larger creature.

I also want to call out the power level of Gathering Stone. While not an Elves-exclusive card, it just goes into any typal deck. Not only does this card excel in the Elves archetype since it basically Surveils 1 every turn, but it can help you double spell when you get caught with multiple four-drops in your hand, or you want to activate Safewright Calvary on the same turn you want to cast a spell.

I've played a few games now where a player having a Gathering Stone and the opposing player not having one is pretty backbreaking, especially if you're able to draft a high concentration of your typal cards in your pool. I would take this card highly, especially since it can go in most decks.

In a similar vein, because there are so many Artifacts and Enchantments that just hang out on the board and gain you value, Disenchant effects are pretty desirable. Chomping Changeling is 100% maindeckable in this format, along with Unforgiving Aim. Chomping Changeling counting as an Elf (or any creature type for that matter) is why Shapeshifters are so powerful in this format. You can find this card off Eclipsed Elf or have it count toward your Dawnhand Eulogist. You can even get it back with Trystan's Command and Unbury. These Changelings can really fill the gap when your deck is lacking key creatures of a certain type.

Overall, the Golgari Elves deck is powerful, resilient, and probably my favorite deck to draft so far in Lorwyn Eclipsed Limited. With Black and Green being so deep the deck can usually support more than one player at the pod, and since you're base-Green you can also try and splash powerful off-color rares you might find. While the deck does need some key pieces to out-perform your opponents, if you spot cards like Morcant's Eyes early, you can definitely build around your engine cards.

Good luck drafting out there, I'll be back soon to talk about my Lorwyn Eclipsed Limited exploits... hopefully with a different archetype!

-Roman Fusco