General [ECL] Lorwyn Eclipsed

[Seeker]

Set code: ECL (and Commander is [currently unknown])
Release date: January 23, 2026

We got some leaks, then we got some spoilers, confirming those leaks.

Evoke's back:

Some callbacks to old friends:

And a bunch of DFCs that are a pain in the butt to post when they're one card, let alone two, so I'll just card tag them and you can wait for Scryfall in a few days:
Sygg, Wanderwine Wisdom and Ashling, Rekindled and Eirdu, Carrier of Dawn

 

[Seeker]

Worth noting, we got one enemy and one ally evoke mythic spoiler today. I'm really hoping for literally 10/15 of the mythic sheet being Evoke Idiots because hell yeah I love evoke.

 

[TekLazar]

Emptiness is probably the best six drop I could have asked for, super powerful in Orzhov, but not overwhelming depending on your three drops. In powered cubes getting a Monastery Mentor would hurt, for me, the best thing it could get is like splinterfright

 

[Mown]

I like the idea of making lorwyn and shadowmoor sectioned areas instead of just the obvious day/night cycle, it feels inspired and kind of works with the "suddenly you're in fairy land" trope that's in line with the setting, and the evoke elementals are mechanically cool, but there's a lot of other decisions I just don't understand. Sygg is blue instead of yellow now because he's either using illusion magic for seemingly no reason, or wotc doesn't care about having a consistent depiction of their characters, making me wonder the point of reintroducing them to begin with. Cinders can just now decide to become introspective and produce ice instead, which is kind of like if Marie Antoinette instead asked all the people that couldn't afford bread to instead practice asceticism to solve their hunger issues, consequently removing one of my favorite "factions" in magic. The worldsoul is also now a prominent part of the setting that people worship, and even though Shadowmoor is generally categorized by people being miserable, and as I understand it the vast majority of people don't even know what Lorwyn is because they get Severance'd when they go there, there's still a notable faction of worshippers that pray to this worldsoul to make Shadowmoor the status quo everywhere, and I do not understand how that makes any kind of sense. The Lorwyn Elves also use the Shadowmoor people as a "safe" outlet for their racism despite the fact that there's a slim minority of Shadowmoor inhabitants who would be able to cross into Lorwyn without suddenly becoming a different person. Are the Shadowmoor boggarts throwing rocks over the border without crossing it to create this exploitable xenophobia?

 

[Seeker]

Are the Shadowmoor boggarts throwing rocks over the border without crossing it to create this exploitable xenophobia?

they're just doing that because it's fun. the Lorwyn goblins probably toss rocks back, too, inadvertently creating the only functional cross-border society

this is a joke but it also fits

...actually, do we know how the thoughtweft works now? like, can the Lorwyn side kithkin thoughtweft into the Shadowmoor side?

 

[Mown]

...actually, do we know how the thoughtweft works now? like, can the Lorwyn side kithkin thoughtweft into the Shadowmoor side?

Well, probably, but I don't think they're ever in close enough proximity to each other for it to really come up.

 

[Velrun]

We got 5 out of 10 potential Shock lands.

But not the 5 you would think. It’s not the 5 ally or the 5 enemy.

Do we think the other 5 will show up? Or are Wizards doing some weird fun color combination for Lorwyn Eclipsed?

 

[Humpty_Dumpty]

The Elemental Incarnations are a lovely design. I’m trying to decide whether being terrible reanimation targets is a feature or a bug.

 

[Seeker]

We got 5 out of 10 potential Shock lands.

But not the 5 you would think. It’s not the 5 ally or the 6 enemy.

Do we think the other 5 will show up? Or are Wizards doing some weird fun color combination for Lorwyn Eclipsed?

This set has UW, UR, BG, GW, BR, and Edge of Eternity had BW, UG, RW, UB, RW.

(not just on the bonus sheet, they're in the actual set too, thus back to being legal in Standard already - and everyone was wondering exactly this about those at the time too!)

 

[inscho]

The Elemental Incarnations are a lovely design. I’m trying to decide whether being terrible reanimation targets is a feature or a bug.

Yeah, I love the designs so far, but being poor reanimation targets keeps them from being a windmill slam for my cube

 

[Velrun]

This set has UW, UR, BG, GW, BR, and Edge of Eternity had BW, UG, RW, UB, RW.

(not just on the bonus sheet, they're in the actual set too, thus back to being legal in Standard already - and everyone was wondering exactly this about those at the time too!)

Thank you

And I love that! Good job Wizards clap clap clap!

 

[TrainmasterGT]

I like the idea of making lorwyn and shadowmoor sectioned areas instead of just the obvious day/night cycle, it feels inspired and kind of works with the "suddenly you're in fairy land" trope that's in line with the setting, and the evoke elementals are mechanically cool, but there's a lot of other decisions I just don't understand. Sygg is blue instead of yellow now because he's either using illusion magic for seemingly no reason, or wotc doesn't care about having a consistent depiction of their characters, making me wonder the point of reintroducing them to begin with. Cinders can just now decide to become introspective and produce ice instead, which is kind of like if Marie Antoinette instead asked all the people that couldn't afford bread to instead practice asceticism to solve their hunger issues, consequently removing one of my favorite "factions" in magic. The worldsoul is also now a prominent part of the setting that people worship, and even though Shadowmoor is generally categorized by people being miserable, and as I understand it the vast majority of people don't even know what Lorwyn is because they get Severance'd when they go there, there's still a notable faction of worshippers that pray to this worldsoul to make Shadowmoor the status quo everywhere, and I do not understand how that makes any kind of sense. The Lorwyn Elves also use the Shadowmoor people as a "safe" outlet for their racism despite the fact that there's a slim minority of Shadowmoor inhabitants who would be able to cross into Lorwyn without suddenly becoming a different person. Are the Shadowmoor boggarts throwing rocks over the border without crossing it to create this exploitable xenophobia?

I think it has just been almost 20 years and they wanted to change the art direction a little bit to match the new "light and dark" theme.

 

[LadyMapi]

there's still a notable faction of worshippers that pray to this worldsoul to make Shadowmoor the status quo everywhere, and I do not understand how that makes any kind of sense.

I dunno, I think stabilizing stuff so that you don't have a random chance of turning into a completely different person at any time is a pretty reasonable thing to want to accomplish.

The thing I think you're forgetting is that crossing an aurora affects your memories, not the memories of any outside observers. So people are probably very aware that going from the shadows into the sunlight (or vice-versa) replaces you with someone else, even though no-one remembers it ever happening to them personally.

...

The thing I'm most curious about is what happens when someone living in Lorwyn gets their hands on a Reliquary of Twilight. Would they immediately flip into their Shadowmoor self, or would it not do anything until they crossed into a patch of Shadowmoor, transformed, and then crossed back?

 

[Mown]

I think it has just been almost 20 years and they wanted to change the art direction a little bit to match the new "light and dark" theme.

And Sygg matches the light and dark theme better in blue? I don't really know what this is supposed to be in response to.

I dunno, I think stabilizing stuff so that you don't have a random chance of turning into a completely different person at any time is a pretty reasonable thing to want to accomplish.

The thing I think you're forgetting is that crossing an aurora affects your memories, not the memories of any outside observers. So people are probably very aware that going from the shadows into the sunlight (or vice-versa) replaces you with someone else, even though no-one remembers it ever happening to them personally.

That is kind of a fair reason, although I still don't really understand how these people have knowledge of the other setting to begin with. I imagine the border is more of a "twilight zone" and less of a sharp cutoff that people can just stand on each side of and talk to each other across. It seems like the people most equipped to explore what it means are the ones with the reliquaries, and if I was one of them I would probably just stay in Lorwyn, but even if I return I don't know if I could in good conscience advocate for more Shadowmoor unless I'm an extremely jealous antagonist. I mean I guess spite could be a reason, it just seems like this would be such a fringe belief, I feel like I would worship this creature mostly out of reverence more than because I like what it's doing.

There's also a lot of faeries, who can travel between the two without much issue, which I kind of forgot, but I don't see why they would differ greatly from the reliquary holders.

 

[Seeker]

There's also a lot of faeries, who can travel between the two without much issue, which I kind of forgot, but I don't see why they would differ greatly from the reliquary holders.

Not entirely without issue unless they changed this, I haven't read all the lore:


Obviously there's the unchanged ones (of course 20 years later everyone remembers that Endry is the surviving third of the Vendilion Clique) but not all of them!

...also the faeries are all jerks, that's their entire character trait, so they differ by all being jerks, maybe they're pro-Shadowmoor cause they're jerks

 

[Velrun]

Double-faced cards..

Could that mean Battles are returning or soon returning?

 

[Mown]

Not entirely without issue unless they changed this, I haven't read all the lore:

My assumption was that Groundlings are more of a unique creature along the lines of Noggles, Selkies, Duergar, Gwyllion and such without an explicit Lorwyn counterpart. Faeries are unique in that they were the only creatures to retain their memories after the great aurora (plus like Maralen, Ashling and I think Colfenor for various reasons)

Double-faced cards..

Could that mean Battles are returning or soon returning?

You can design single-faced Battles.

 

[Velrun]

They have an explanation for the Cinders.

"Rimekin emerged from the horrors of the Phyrexian invasion, born from flamekin whose emotions had grown too hot. Unable to contain their flames, they repressed themselves, looking inward, extinguishing their heat, and turning toward cold logic instead—like stars collapsing in on themselves—to become heatless inversions. Their focus is often on the state of the world and the way they can change it. They are also gifted with unique powers, and the weapons they make alongside their flamekin brethren are imbued with icy magic that can freeze even flamekin-made iron.

Though some rimekin exist in Lorwyn, Shadowmoor is where they found their true home. Historically, flamekin in Shadowmoor were known as cinders. They are skeletal and smoky beings that can barely hold flame. After the invasion, their numbers have noticeably decreased, since the presence of an actual threat to their existence in the Phyrexians caused many cinders to question their nihilistic ways."

However I do not see a reason for the sectioned areas Lorwyn and Shadowmoor instead of Lorwyn -> Shadowmoor -> Lorwyn -> Shadowmoor -> Lorwyn etc etc.

 

[Seeker]

Invitational (yeah ok I'm old, World Championship) cards continue to be sick as hell. I know Duelist of the Mind didn't work out but I'm absolutely putting this one in my cube day 0. Eat it, Fauna Shaman, even though you do totally different stuff.

@MilesOfficial it was you reminiscing about Reveillark like a month ago, right? Cast this, ditch Reveillark, fetch Body Double, get it back later, ditch Venser, Shaper Savant, fetch Mirror Entity...

edit: also I would like to point out, while I'll never win Worlds, if I did there's no way they could talk me out of "hey man you wanna be a doofy looking elf?" like, he's wearing a stupid facemask, doesn't matter, this is fantastic art to get.

 

[Velrun]

You can design single-faced Battles.

Yes I can.
But Wizards said they would be double-faced.

However they are known to change their mind given enough time and it has been a few years so they could have changed their mind(s) on Battles.

 

[shamizy]

I'm likely skipping out on adds to my cube with the next two UB sets (too far gone for me art and flavor-wise), but ECL is already pretty exciting with the new designs. I'm saving a slot for Formidable Speaker; it's everything I've wanted as a creature tutor and can set up some awesome lines. Setting up big Vengevine recursion turns or tutoring up your finishers by pitching away a dead card is awesome. Fauna Shaman has always felt clunky to me, but putting a one-shot of the effect on a much better body and ETB makes it much more playable for my cube.

 

[Brad]

If the mythic evoke cards are only the four Bx color combos, I will rebuild The Black Cube and abandon Eldrazi.

 

[Velrun]

He’s back boys!!

 

[ravnic]

If the mythic evoke cards are only the four Bx color combos, I will rebuild The Black Cube and abandon Eldrazi.

Well, I don't think they would put ten mythics of the same cycle in the set. How many mythics do sets get, like 15? And since we got and the surely aren't giving us either ally or enemy only.

 

[Velrun]

I would assume we get five. Specifically