MTG Lorwyn Eclipsed Draft Archetypes: Mechanics, best cards, more

As a Magic player, I think drafting the Lorwyn Eclipsed set is seriously a blast! But before you jump in, it really helps to know what kinds of decks you can actually build that have a good chance of winning. Luckily, I’ve got the info you need to figure out the best strategies!

After exploring popular universes like Final Fantasy and Avatar: The Last Airbender, Magic: The Gathering is back to its roots, revisiting the beloved worlds of Lorwyn and Shadowmoor. While the recent crossovers were fun, many fans agree that the game’s own original fantasy settings are hard to top.

The Lorwyn Eclipsed booster packs are full of playful merfolk, friendly goblins, and other magical creatures. If you want to add to your collection of this new set and play with these creatures, the Draft format is a great way to do it.

To get you ready for drafting, we’ve put together a guide to the different strategies in Lorwyn Eclipsed. We’ll cover the key mechanics for each color combination and highlight the best cards to look out for.

What is an MTG Draft archetype?

If you’re just starting to play Magic: The Gathering – and many people are, according to the numbers – you might not understand some of the terms we’ll be using. So, let’s quickly cover some basics before we dive in.

Want to learn how a Magic: The Gathering Draft works? We have a detailed guide using the Lorwyn Eclipsed Draft Night Box as an example. Simply put, a Draft is a format where players share booster packs, taking turns to pick cards and build their own decks. Then, they play in a short tournament for fun and prizes.

Okay, so when I’m drafting in Lorwyn Eclipsed, I’ve learned it’s best to really focus on just two colors. The card pool isn’t huge, and as picks go on, your options get pretty limited. The designers actually built the set around five different two-color strategies, or ‘archetypes’ as they call them, making it easier to build a solid deck if you pick a lane early on.

This set’s Draft format focuses on building decks around creatures that work well together, especially those of the same type like Kithkin and Elves. Many cards will reward you for having several creatures of a single type in play or in your graveyard.

Okay, so not only are there a bunch of cool color combinations you can build around in Lorwyn Eclipsed draft, but each one really lends itself to a specific playstyle. Now that we’ve got the basics covered, let me break down each archetype – basically, the different types of decks you can build – and point out some key cards to look for when you’re picking!

Selesnya Kithkin (Green/White)

Okay, so in Lorwyn Eclipsed, my go-to strategy is Selesnya Kithkin. Basically, I try to get a ton of Kithkin creatures onto the battlefield, and then boost them all up with different effects. A lot of those boosts come from just playing more creatures or having Kithkin already out there, so it’s all about building up that board presence!

Beyond that, this strategy lets you use Green’s tools to quickly increase your creatures’ power, and White’s consistent removal and life gain. Once you have enough creatures attacking, you can add Trample to make sure as much damage as possible gets through to your opponent’s planeswalker.

If you open a pack with a rare card like Brigid, Clachan’s Heart or Brigid’s Command, it strongly suggests you should build your deck around those cards. Brigid, Clachan’s Heart consistently creates Kithkin creature tokens, which is perfect for a strategy focused on having a lot of creatures. When she transforms into Brigid, Doun’s Mind, she lets you quickly generate more resources based on how many creatures you control.

Brigid’s Command is a versatile spell that helps you win by letting you choose the best effect – you could copy a creature with a powerful ‘enter the battlefield’ ability, or significantly strengthen a creature that already attacks well. Keep Out is a reliable way to get rid of opponent’s threats, and Mistmeadow Council lets you draw extra cards.

The main strategy is to use Brigid, Clachan’s Heart to quickly establish a strong presence on the board. Then, use Brigid, Doun’s Mind to power up a powerful creature with high stats. Equip that creature with trample to push through your opponent’s defenses and overwhelm them.

Azorius Merfolk (White/Blue)

Players using a blue and white strategy inspired by the Merfolk of Lorwyn in Magic: The Gathering aim to win by gradually reducing their opponent’s life total with flying creatures, while also using disruptive control spells to hinder their plans.

Some cards, such as Champions of the Shoal and Pestered Wellguard, have abilities that trigger when you tap them. These abilities work not only when your creatures attack, but also when you use those creatures to pay the cost of spells like Harmonized Crescendo that use the Convoke mechanic.

This strategy makes playing a strong Instant spell more affordable and reliably activates several beneficial effects. When combined with a card like Deepway Navigator, which lets you untap your Merfolk, you can even use those abilities twice during a single turn, plus still get an attack in.

Success in drafting Azorius Merfolk in Lorwyn Eclipsed depends on getting the most out of your creatures by strategically tapping and untapping them. When executed well, this strategy can lead to quick and powerful wins.

Izzet Elementals (Blue/Red)

The Elementals from the Lorwyn and Shadowmoor sets play like the classic Izzet style – they’re all about casting spells! You’ll be duplicating Instants, Sorceries, and abilities that trigger to directly damage creatures or your opponent’s Planeswalkers.

A key part of building a successful Blue/Red deck in Lorwyn Eclipsed is focusing on spells that cost four or more mana to cast. Ashling, Rekindled is a useful card for quickly finding those higher-cost spells, and flipping her into Ashling, Rimebound makes it even easier to play them.

With Ashling, you can summon powerful creatures like Champion of the Path before your opponents are ready. Not only is Champion of the Path incredibly strong, but it also makes all Elementals immediately deal damage when played.

Staying with the strategy, using spells that cost four or more Mana will also activate effects on cards like Flaring Cinder and Enraged Flamecaster. If played skillfully, these Izzet Elementals can create a constant attack that quickly defeats opponents.

Rakdos Goblins (Red/Black)

The Rakdos archetype features creatures called Boggarts, but we’ll simply call them Goblins. These Goblins love to weaken opponents by adding -1/-1 counters. However, a new game mechanic called ‘Blight’ can sometimes backfire, forcing them to put those counters on their own creatures instead.

It’s okay if your own creatures get weakened or destroyed. Some Goblin cards, like Mudbotton Cursetosser and Bile-Vial Boggart, actually help get rid of opposing creatures or make them weaker when they die.

This makes them ideal creatures to discard – like Goblins – to cover the cost of playing strong cards such as Chaos Spewer, without weakening your main strategy. Plus, if you have cards like Boggart Cursecrafter or Boggart Mischief in play, even when these Goblins are sacrificed, they can still damage your opponent and heal you.

If you don’t want to lose your creature tokens, Grub, Storied Matriarch can bring them back from your discard pile to bother your opponent. You can also transform her into Grub, Notorious Auntie, which lets you copy any attacking token creature, but it will give it the Blight status effect.

Rakdos Goblins are an aggressive and risky deck. However, if you can manage their tendency to sacrifice creatures, they can be very difficult to beat.

Golgari Elves (Black/Green)

In Magic: The Gathering, the Golgari color combination often works well with graveyard strategies, and the Elves deck from the Lorwyn Eclipsed set is a prime example. Putting Elves in your graveyard significantly boosts the power of this Golgari deck, making it the strongest archetype in the Lorwyn Eclipsed draft format.

Cards such as Scarblade Scout and Dawnhand Eulogist let you fill your Graveyard by discarding cards from your deck. Once you have an Elf in play, you’ll also get some extra card draw and life gain.

Focus on controlling the board by using creatures with Deathtouch, Lifelink, and the ability to exile opponent’s cards. This will help you stay ahead even as you discard cards yourself. When your graveyard has enough cards, you can then play powerful creatures like Moon-Vigil Adherents to win the game.

Golgari Elves play in a way that puts constant pressure on your opponent, making them think twice about every decision. While they can eliminate your creatures, doing so often actually strengthens your position.

These five draft strategies in Lorwyn-Shadowmoor really emphasize working with creatures that complement each other. However, don’t hesitate to add in other powerful creatures like Giants, or Changelings, which can become even stronger when combined with creature types.

Okay, so I’ve got my Lorwyn Eclipsed draft strategy down, and now I’m super excited to actually play! I’m going to check out the Wizards Store Locator to find some local events and put all this practice to the test. Bring on the draft!

2026-01-30 05:21