Pioneer Set Review: Lorwyn Eclipsed

The Magic: The Gathering 2026 release season has begun! Lorwyn Eclipsed, the first of three in-universe expansions this year and the first of seven releases scheduled for 2026, returns players to a plane brimming with mystical creatures and fables, marking a homecoming to the iconic realm of Elves, Goblins, Faeries, Kithkin, and Elementals.

With previews wrapped up, our review season at Cards Realm begins, where we highlight the biggest additions of the expansion for Magic's major formats. In this article, we cover Pioneer!

A first turn with Elvish Mystic or Llanowar Elves followed by Brigid, Clachan's Heart can create explosive openings the next turn when we transform her, guaranteeing at least two extra mana for the turn, with the potential for more depending on our sequencing.

It wouldn't be surprising to see her as complementary copies of Badgermole Cub in Selesnya Company lists, as she fits the scope of Collected Company, helps cast Ouroboroid, and rewards the archetype's go wide plan.

I would be more optimistic about Eirdu, Carrier of Dawn if it had Convoke instead of giving Convoke to your creatures. In its current form, it requires too much mana and still needs a splash to grant Persist to your creatures. It might see play, but not in any established strategy today.

Kinscaer Sentry rewards go wide strategies like Selesnya Company and can do some work with Abhorrent Oculus in the right list. It might be worth testing, as its body with Lifelink and First Strike is also relevant in Aggro matchups.

Morningtide's Light can be read as "Protection Against Aggro" for a turn. In a Metagame more oriented towards Prowess with Cori-Steel Cutter, I'm not too optimistic about its ability to resolve through a Spell Pierce, and its value heavily depends on what we can do with the extra mana and draw the following turn—if it secures a win and/or an effective sweeper, it earns slots. Otherwise, better options exist.

The Flash might warrant some testing for Rhys, the Evermore since it lets you reuse your creatures' ETB effects when they die. However, as protection against removal, I believe there are more efficient cards in terms of cost and/or scope.

I can imagine a deck like Angels using Winnowing as a cheap sweeper against less linear go wide strategies like Selesnya Company or Mono Red Aggro, but six mana—even with Convoke—is far from the ideal cost for this type of card in the archetype.

Disruptor of Currents offers another payoff for tapping Merfolk easily and triggering Deeproot Pilgrimage, creating numerous tokens in the process. Its ETB is minor but can prevent a lethal attack or remove a blocker while significantly increasing board pressure if the enchantment is in play.

Flitterwing Nuisance does everything we need from a blue one-drop for decks like Dimir Ninjas while having a mid-game ability that turns it into extra copies of Enduring Curiosity for a turn. It seems like an easy replacement for Spyglass Siren, as the value and card advantage it generates are more effective.

Like Disruptor of Currents, Harmonized Crescendo offers another way to tap Merfolk, this time to generate card advantage, as its resolution occurs after the tokens from Deeproot Pilgrimage enter the battlefield.

And with so many Convoke cards and Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca in the format, having Silvergill Mentor as a creature that puts two bodies on the board when it enters makes a difference for paying costs and activating abilities.

Potential staple. Between Cori-Steel Cutter, Badgermole Cub, Bloodtithe Harvester, and others, there are plenty of targets for Spell Snare to always have a relevant one in some matchup, providing an advantage when we're on the draw against more aggressive archetypes. This is especially true for more reactive lists like Azorius Control that lack Thoughtseize or another ideal turn-one play to protect against threats.

We have several high-quality Elementals in Pioneer to create a Goodstuff list that uses the new Lorwyn cards. Among them, Sunderflock basically clears the board of blockers when it enters and has its cost reduced by your other Elementals, enabling explosive lines alongside Omnath, Locus of Creation for a pseudo-Time Walk against the opponent.

Bitterbloom Bearer seems like an excellent two-drop for Dimir Tempo/Dimir Midrange because, like its predecessor Bitterblossom, every turn it stays in play amplifies board pressure. You just need to ensure the opponent's clock isn't faster than yours for it to dominate the match.

In a Prowess-heavy format, however, its risk-reward ratio is too high to warrant slots. It might shine in a post-February banlist Pioneer.

Lorwyn Eclipsed brings the Sacrifice theme to Goblins, and a splash provides Boggart Mischief as a pseudo-Bastion of Remembrance that puts two bodies on the board while potentially triggering a death effect when it enters.

Personally, Goblins today seem much more focused on "combos" with Agatha's Soul Cauldron, Howlsquad Heavy, and Krenko, Mob Boss, but players might find creative ways to use the splash.

For example, you could use Champion of the Weird as a mini-sweeper while also generating more Boggart Mischief triggers, potentially clearing the way to attack with a hasty 6/6 if you have Goblin Warchief.

Seasoned Hallowblade and Guardian of New Benalia became pillars in Orzhov Greasefang lists alongside Monument to Endurance, and Iron-Shield Elf could complement this strategy by occupying the Fleeting Spirit slots.

Its addition also allows exploring other potential lines with Monument to Endurance, like a Rakdos Discard deck using Madness cards and/or Hollow One alongside Bloodtithe Harvester to trigger the artifact.

Moonshadow is closer to Stalactite Stalker than to Death's Shadow—which its name likely draws inspiration from—and like its predecessor, it requires too much work for each copy to function, making it too conditional and a bad topdeck. Not to mention, all the effort to remove its counters in a format without Fetch Lands is practically negated by a Fatal Push or the new Requiting Hex.

Requiting Hex is a great card when expecting many Aggro decks, and some archetypes, due to a lack of permanents to destroy or sacrifice, might even utilize it better than Fatal Push, although those strategies also wouldn't benefit as much from Blight 1.

Excellent complementary removal for black decks, and it could show up mainly in sideboards if we see more Aggro lists emerge. However, in the current Metagame, its scope is more limited, and the lifegain doesn't make that much of a difference.

For two mana, Boulder Dash deals with a mana dork and any target among Badgermole Cub, Skyclave Apparition, Aven Interrupter, and others. Sorcery speed likely makes it too slow for Pioneer, but it deserves the mention.

Some Elementals lists occasionally appear in Pioneer using Sylvan Caryatid for mana fixing and ramp, which makes sense if the list also includes Bring to Light. In a version more focused on this creature type and leveraging Cavern of Souls, Flamebraider significantly accelerates casting the archetype's key bombs while also fueling Risen Reef for Ramp/card advantage.

Spider-Punk barely saw play in Pioneer, so I'm quite skeptical of Hexing Squelcher's potential outside a deck more dedicated to Goblins and/or a Red Aggro version that benefits from punishing the opponent's spot removal beyond other actions with Razorkin Needlehead and Sunspine Lynx. It might warrant sideboard slots against Azorius Control, Izzet Phoenix, and Rakdos Midrange.

Expedite and Crash Through in a single card. Boros Heroic lists already run a relevant number of Haste creatures, and Trample without a power boost seems redundant when we already have Monstrous Rage and Ancestral Anger.

Versions with Leyline of Resonance might be interested in Impolite Entrance for the potential of Draw 2 for ⁣ plus two relevant abilities, but traditional lists will opt for other cards.

Between Famished Worldsire, Agent of Treachery, and Master of Cruelties, there are enough targets to make Meek Attack worth testing in a combo list, but its setup seems partially harder to establish and requires more slot concessions than Indomitable Creativity lists.

Sear would be the red removal Pioneer needs if it dealt five damage, allowing it to answer Sheoldred, the Apocalypse and Beza, the Bounding Spring. Dealing four damage, I believe it might find slots in some sideboards.

Spinerock Tyrant doubles Thoughtseize, Fatal Push, any spot removal, and even draw effects that target a player. Despite the lack of immediate impact, it has enough potential to be worth testing in Pioneer.

Aurora Awakener and all cards with Vivid have a combo with Leyline of the Guildpact, and Pioneer already has a home for the enchantment in Mono Green Devotion.

Of all the cards with potential for the mechanic, Aurora Awakener is probably the best for Devotion because, despite granting only one devotion point, it does much more than Storm the Festival for one extra mana. On the other hand, it's practically useless without a Leyline in play, making it inconsistent for the archetype's current version.

Bloom Tender also has combos with Leyline of the Guildpact to add five mana on turn three. For most decks needing a two-mana mana dork, Sylvan Caryatid is likely the more appropriate choice.

Like Moonshadow, Bristlebane Battler requires significant effort to become a relevant threat, but at least it has an easy trigger to enable and is in a color that can put multiple creatures into play quickly.

Celestial Reunion might warrant slots if we want to find a specific card in decks like Elves or Angels, although both have more consistent and less conditional options today for flooding the board, like Kayla's Reconstruction for Angels and Chord of Calling for Elves.

Speaking of Angels, Chomping Changeling is a Reclamation Sage within the type. In a Metagame full of artifacts and enchantments like the current one, it might earn sideboard slots, or perhaps even maindeck ones.

Formidable Speaker screams "combo" in almost every line of text and was, in fact, designed by Depraz to be a card that works in creature combo lists. While the untap ability is important for interactions with Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, its most relevant part is the possibility of discarding any card to find a creature.

With the new Elf, you can discard Parhelion II to find Greasefang, Okiba Boss directly while triggering Monument to Endurance, put a Cauldron Familiar into the graveyard to fetch Ygra, Eater of All and start the loop, discard a land to find Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, or even set up Soulflayer by discarding Atraxa, Grand Unifier—all are powerful plays in the archetypes they fit into, and Speaker "converses" with each of them perfectly merely by having an ETB at a cost versatile enough for splashes and a decent body as a blocker.

An Angel that creates a land that turns into an Angel could give Mutable Explorer a niche, but I believe the archetype's three-mana slots are already very crowded, and the new card doesn't interact well with either the Metagame or the deck's general game plan.

Selfless Safewright would serve as a good source of protection for more aggressive versions of Green Devotion if it weren't limited to one creature type. With its current text, outside an Elves list, it seems like a less suitable option than Heroic Intervention in green today.

Like Aurora Awakener, Wildvine Pummeler is excellent if we have Leyline of the Guildpact in our opening hand and horrible if we don't. It's not worth the effort in Pioneer until we have a return to Alara to fill the format with multicolored and hybrid cards to give more consistency to the Vivid theme.

Creatures with detrimental static abilities and/or those that reduce their own power and toughness gain a new body with Abigale, Eloquent First-Year. It's worth researching some potential "combos" today or in the future with this card, as it turns any creature into a threat if it has a relevant body.

The new cycle of Commands has creature types, allowing them to bypass interaction with Cavern of Souls. Ashling's Command costs a lot of mana but does a little of everything: copying an Elemental (and most have an effective ETB), clearing the board of small creatures, drawing cards, and accelerating mana for more efficient bombs, plus Flamebraider accelerates its casting.

For its mana cost, it might also warrant slots in Niv-to-Light.

Boggart Cursecrafter complements the payoffs for focusing Goblins in a list based on sacrificing them with Skirk Prospector and other cards.

In most cases, Brigid's Command will be a worse version of Dromoka's Command, unless the specific mix of Pump and Fight is truly necessary.

Catharsis could complement Reckless Bushwhacker in creating a sort of "8-Whack" in Pioneer, using numerous token generators and cheap creatures for an explosive go wide strategy.

The problem is this deck already exists: Boros Convoke, and since it doesn't fit the cost of Knight-Errant of Eos, it's hard to imagine the new Elemental replacing Imodane's Recruiter or Venerated Loxodon as mass pumps, nor does it have room in place of another card, given that even Reckless Bushwhacker would be used before it if we needed an entirely explosive and linear game plan.

Between a Distress and a Bounce effect, Deceit has the potential to see play in variants of This Town Ain't Big Enough that care more about bouncing permanents at instant speed, while the Elemental itself can, in the late-game, target your own permanents to reuse them while removing a resource from the opponent's hand.

Deepchannel Duelist seems like the second most effective two-mana lord Merfolk have received in Pioneer. Tapping one of them per turn basically guarantees another token from Deeproot Pilgrimage each turn, which means two more power on the board.

Meanwhile, Deepway Navigator enables much more explosive lines with Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca or other cards with Convoke, where we can tap five Merfolk to increase their power with Kumena, untap them with Navigator, and attack for lethal, or use combinations between them to perform combat tricks.

The biggest benefit of Emptiness is being a two-mana Helping Hand that can reanimate Abhorrent Oculus while also functioning as spot removal. Paying the full cost can generate significant value if it returns a high-impact creature while also dealing with a board threat.

Lluwen, Imperfect Naturalist could serve as an alternate game plan for Scapeshift lists if we need a more go wide line instead of winning games with Thassa's Oracle, but the archetype doesn't benefit much from the self-mill effect on a creature, so I can only imagine it as a flexible sideboard slot today.

Sygg's Command can copy a Vodalian Hexcatcher, Deepchannel Duelist, or Deepway Navigator while granting Lifelink to your creatures to triumph against Aggro, or remove a large blocker from the board to increase the pressure on the turn.

It seems decent for three mana, even though, like other Lorwyn additions, it requires a white splash that doesn't exist in the archetype today.

Tam, Mindful First-Year is an almost-Giver of Runes for two mana in green and blue.

Without Green Sun's Zenith, it's difficult to imagine it having a major impact on the format because we can't use it consistently as a toolbox slot, but its effect is unique for Pioneer and might deserve more spotlight in a future Metagame.

Trystan's Command is, in isolation, the best of the cycle due to its versatility. With Badgermole Cub, it's easy to reach six mana, and besides using any of the other modes, untapping your creatures allows for another round of casting bombs or a lethal attack.

It reminds me of Casualties of War for the versatility of its modes, but perhaps more appropriate for the format's current standards, as it can return an Ouroboroid and/or Sheoldred, the Apocalypse in the same slot that deals with a problem on the board.

Twinflame Travelers is half-Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines for Elementals for four mana and without the drawback of being legendary. It might warrant slots in a more dedicated archetype for its interactions with Omnath, Locus of Creation, Cavalier of Thorns, or any of the new Evoke cards.

Vibrance doubles as mana fixing and removal on the same card and seems like every Midrange deck's dream. In Pioneer, Gruul isn't the color combination most known for playing a value-oriented game, and its Evoke costs seem a bit too greedy to warrant slots in non-Elemental Goodstuff piles.

Potential staple.

Wistfulness is probably the best Elemental of the cycle for Pioneer. It deals with artifacts and enchantments at a low cost, is never a bad card in hand because it offers a Looting effect for two blue mana, and if we pay the full cost, we get a 6/5 body that guarantees draws while also removing a problematic artifact or enchantment from the board.

That's all for today!

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!