Legacy: Lorwyn Eclipsed Review (Post-Release)

Greetings, Legacy community! I took a long break to travel through the southernmost part of South America for the third time (if you'd like to see more about this region, check out my Twitter!), but I'm finally back!

And it's time, once again, to talk about Legacy. Before we go into it, though, I'd like to offer my deepest condolences for Kai Budde, one of the greatest (if not the greatest) MTG players in the history of the game. Kai Budde had been battling cancer for a while, and was named Player of the Year by Wizards of the Coast in 2024. We covered this incredible honor at the time. Rest in Peace, Kai Budde. You are a legend and an inspiration.

Now, back to business: because I was on vacation when Lorwyn Eclipsed was released, I didn't get to review it properly. So, instead of reviewing the entire set, I'll review the cards from this set that are actually impacting the format right now.

Let's go!

By far, this Goblin is the most influential Lorwyn card seeing play in Legacy right now. Squelcher is an uncommon case of a hatebear (2/2 creatures that cost 2 mana and disable certain strategies completely) that found a place in several strategies. Its effect might not be new, as cards like Vexing Shusher and, more recently, Spider-Punk, are very similar, but it has never been this efficient. Squelcher is much easier to summon than Shusher, and doesn't need mana to protect your spells. And, unlike Punk, it is not a legendary card and can't be countered. On top of it all, its Ward ability stacks with extra copies, and it is relevant for aggressive decks. Paying 2 life is not irrelevant when your opponent is pressuring your total life points.

As its global ability affects nearly all blue decks, a significant part of the format, many players like this card, both for aggressive decks and combo decks. Let's see a few of the archetypes that recruited Hexing Squelcher.

Red Stompy, one of the most traditional decks in Legacy, had been trending down post-bans, and wasn't happy at all to see Show and Tell lists rise. Recently, this trend ended and Red Stompy once again started performing well. The growing popularity of Hexing Squelcher is a reason for this sudden change. It does cost 2 mana, which is not the most efficient if you want to play it with Sol Lands (Ancient Tomb and City of Traitors), but it is still a turn-1 play with Chrome Mox or Simian Spirit Guide. Once this card is in play, playing relevant cards, like The One Ring, Chalice of the Void, or Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, is a lot easier.

As this deck has returned to center stage lately, we're all still looking for the best versions. Players are still debating whether to use Urza's Saga or not, and how many Moon effects (Blood Moon and Magus of the Moon) they should use. Whether they should use alternative threats like Pyrogoyf and Screaming Nemesis or not, and even if they should use Hexing Squelcher after all.

On the other side, Hexing Squelcher is also interesting to combo decks, in particular Storm lists. One of the advantages you get for using Squelcher to protect your key cards against counters is that it is a creature. Counter decks usually don't play creature removals against this archetype.

Boros Energy has also been performing well and is a decent home for Hexing Squelcher. It makes Voice of Victory more redundant in terms of ignoring enemy interactions, and the Ward it gives your creatures allows you to put even more pressure on the opponent.

An interesting deck I noticed was playing this card as well was a hybrid Burn/Goblins list. Seeing Goblin Grenade in 2026 makes me, who started playing in 1995, very happy. In any case, this deck has the potential to bring your opponent's life points to zero quite fast. They definitely won't want to pay Squelcher's Ward cost, for instance.

Moonshadow is another 1-mana black creature that can see play in Legacy, like Nethergoyf, Death's Shadow, and Stalactite Stalker. Moonshadow can also grow quite fast with fetch lands, Wasteland, and Mishra's Bauble.

Moonshadow has been giving Monoblack players new hope, particularly after this budget list became a bit less viable once Troll of Khazad-dûm was banned. Please note that Moonshadow also grows when you cycle Street Wraith.

Why use 1 Shadow if you can use 2? We got used to seeing Death's Shadow in the Dimir version, but Moonshadow will make it a lot more redundant. This way, it will be able to see play with only one color!

Dimir Tempo is the most popular deck in the format post-bans, and some players have tested out Moonshadow instead of Nethergoyf. It won't grow as much in this list as it will in the lists above, but, on the other side, it won't be affected by effects that attack the graveyard or that interfere with Murktide Regent's Delve.

Tutors are relatively hard to find in Legacy, particularly those that put cards directly in your hand. Formidable Speaker both offers you the opportunity to find the right card in decks that already want to do that, and a very useful and versatile activated ability.

Cradle Control seems like the obvious home for Speaker. It allows you to get rid of dead cards so that you can find more resources, and its ability is quite useful with Gaea's Cradle and Knight of the Reliquary.

This list stood out to me a lot because it plays 2 combos, and both of them can involve Formidable Speaker. One of these combos is the good ol' Show and Tell into Omniscience. Then, all you have to do is play Speaker into Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, and get ready to win. The other combo involves playing Aluren, using Speaker for free to find Acererak the Archlich, and venture into the Lost Mine of Phandelver dungeon until you drain all of the opponent's life points.

One deck that found space for Vibrance was Lands, where it both cosplays as Sylvan Scrying and acts as an answer to Magus of the Moon.

This Elemental Incarnation is quite versatile. It allows you to cycle through your deck or offers you a way to remove the countless problematic artifacts/enchantments in Legacy. And, eventually, it will pay for Force of Will's alternative cost.

Bant Beans is definitely interested on a 5-mana card that actually only costs 2. Wistfulness is an answer to things like Urza's Saga or Chalice of the Void, but it can also be fuel Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath's Escape, and represents extra cards alongside Up the Beanstalk.

Countryside is a substantial upgrade to Secluded Courtyard or Unclaimed Territory, and a land that creates colorless and colored mana for Eldrazi. As it isn't tied to creature types, it makes playing non-Eldrazi creatures like Broadside Bombardiers easier in this deck.

Besides these cards, which have popped up more often, some archetypes have tried out a few other cards:

Firdoch Core showed up in Eldrazi lists as a way to create colorless mana through Blood Moon. It can also become quite strong later on.

Loch Mare and Oko, Lorwyn Liege showed up in some Control lists.

Some Dimir Reanimator lists tried out Deceit as a card that does something similar to Troll of Khazad-dûm: generate an effect and then wait in the graveyard until you reanimate it.

Silvergill Mentor seems quite cool in Merfolk lists, but these haven't showed up in the meta much.

Abigale, Eloquent First-Year came up as an option for Recruiter of the Guard's toolbox, but it didn't stick.

As usual, Standard-focused sets don't impact Legacy much. Of course, some sets haven't impacted this format at all, like Spider-Man and Final Fantasy, while others have been quite impactful (Edge of Eternities, for instance). Lorwyn Eclipsed sits in the middle, very similar to Aetherdrift: some Lorwyn cards are quite cool in a few archetypes and one definitely stands out. It was Stock Up in Aetherdrift, and now it's Hexing Squelcher.

As this set has just come out, there's still time for other cards to see play.

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!