Lorwyn Eclipsed
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Upcoming release The horizon is tantalizing in both its uncertainty and its potential.
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| Lorwyn Eclipsed | |||||
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| Set Information | |||||
| Set symbol | |||||
| Symbol description | A small globe casting a shadow on a larger globe. | ||||
| Vision Design | Mark Gottlieb (lead) | ||||
| Release date | January 23, 2026[1] | ||||
| Plane | Lorwyn–Shadowmoor | ||||
| Themes and mechanics | Light / dark, color, hybrid, kindred, typal | ||||
| Keywords/ability words | Changeling, Evoke, Persist, Transform | ||||
| Expansion code | ECL[3] | ||||
| Development codename | Wrestling | ||||
| Standard | |||||
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Lorwyn Eclipsed is an upcoming premier set, returning to the plane of Lorwyn-Shadowmoor[a] for the first time since 2008.[4][5] It is the 109th Magic expansion and will be released on January 23, 2026.[1] The Lorwyn and Shadowmoor aspects of the plane are both represented, creatively and mechanically, within the set.[4] Similar to Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, Lorwyn Eclipsed brings modern design sensibilities to a setting that under-performed on its first outing, while keeping some nostalgic elements of the original block such as goblins, kithkin, faeries, and elves.[6][7]
Many of the original artists were brought back to stay true to the art direction of the earlier sets.[4]
Set codes
The main Standard-legal Lorwyn Eclipsed set uses the set code ECL. Related non-Standard codes are ECC (Lorwyn Eclipsed Commander) and SPG (Special Guests); these are legal in Commander, Legacy, and Vintage, and reprints remain legal where already legal. All cards opened in Lorwyn Eclipsed Play Boosters are legal in Draft and Sealed, including the SPG cards.[2]
Alternate card frames have a different card number than the original version. Borderless "Fable frame" cards are #TBA-TBA. Reversible shocklands are #347-351.
Product suite
Lorwyn Eclipsed will be available in Play Boosters, Collector Boosters, the Lorwyn Eclipsed Bundle, two Theme Decks, two Commander decks, and a new product called Draft Night. The Draft Night box contains 12 Play Boosters, 1 Collector Booster, 90 basic lands, and 10 double-sided tokens, enabling a Pick-Two Draft out of the box.[2]
Booster packs
The Lorwyn Eclipsed 14-card Play Booster contains 6–7 common cards, 3 uncommons, 1 wildcard of any rarity, 1 rare or mythic rare, 1 traditional-foil card of any rarity, 1 basic land, and one non-foil double-sided token. Each booster box contains 30 Play Boosters.
The 15-card Collector Booster contains 5 traditional-foil commons, 4 traditional-foil uncommons, 1 traditional-foil basic land, 1 traditional-foil rare or mythic rare, 1 non-foil ECC rare or mythic rare, 2 non-foil Booster Fun rares or mythic rares, 1 foil Booster Fun rare or mythic rare, and 1 art card or traditional-foil double-sided token. Each box contains 12 Collector Boosters.[2]
Commander decks
Two preconstructed Commander decks will be released alongside the main set.[2]
| Theme deck name |
Color Identity | Commander | ||||
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| Dance of the Elements | W | U | B | R | G | |
| Blight Curse | – | – | B | R | G | |
Theme Decks
Two preconstructed Theme Decks will be released alongside the main set. These are 60-card, Standard-legal decks, one themed around Pirates and the other around Angels. They're designed to introduce players to Constructed formats, and to play well against each other and against future Theme Decks. The flavor of the decks is not specific to Lorwyn-Shadowmoor;[4] they include cards from across Standard. Other Theme Decks are planned to release alongside upcoming in-universe Standard sets.[2]
| Theme deck name |
Colors Included | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Pirates | – | U | – | R | – |
| Angels | W | – | – | – | G |
Tokens
Lorwyn Eclipsed has TBA tokens.
1/1 Faerie creature with flying for Bitterbloom Bearer.
Copy for Ashling's Command.- Mutavault, a Land with "
: Add ." and "
: This land becomes a 2/2 creature with all creature types until end of turn. It’s still a land." for Mutable Explorer.
Themes and mechanics
Lorwyn Eclipsed calls back mechanically to both the Lorwyn and Shadowmoor blocks.
Nonmodal double-faced cards (NDFCs) with Transform are used to thematically represent the alternating between Lorwyn's charm and Shadowmoor's malevolence. NDFCs don't show up in large numbers, but are used for a few key characters. The design of the transformation offers players more control than usual by having a mana cost to transform once each turn.
Evoke is used on a series of Elemental Incarnations that are a callback to Lorwyn. Persist is reused from Shadowmoor, and with it the return of -1/-1 counters. The set also sees the return of Changeling as typal glue for the various creature type themes in limited.[4]
Card types
Lorwyn Eclipsed sees the return of the Kithkin creature type as one of the main typal synergies, matching those from the Lorwyn-Shadowmoor block. Other returning typal creature types from Lorwyn include Goblins (Boggarts), Merfolk (Merrow), Elves, and Elementals (Flamekin). Greater Elementals (also with the Elemental creature type) are found across all five colors. Many of Lorwyn-Shadowmoor's minor creature types resturn include Giants, Treefolk, and Noggles. The plane's Changelings return to act as typal glue.
The set sees the reintroduction of the Sorcerer creature type since its removal during the Grand Creature Type Update in 2007. It was re-added to help cover the reduction in the use of Shaman as red's spellcaster job.[8] It will not be used to replace all instances of Shaman as a creature type.[9]
Although Design has retired the Kindred card type, they felt that a return to Lorwyn, the world where the card type began (as "Tribal") felt like a place to strategically re-use it.[4][10] A small number of Kindred cards are included as a nod back to the original block.
Limited archetypes
About half of the draft archetypes involve a typal component as a reference to Lorwyn, while the other half use color as a mechanical thread, referencing Shadowmoor.[4]
Notable cards
Storyline
Dare to enter the ever-changing plane of Lorwyn and Shadowmoor and discover your true self. The set is the second in the third and final story arc of the Metronome storyline. What has been happening on the plane since the Lorwyn–Shadowmoor block is a big part of the storyline. We are introduced to 4 new Strixhaven students, who are setting out on the study-abroad course of a lifetime: a journey to Lorwyn.[12][13][2]
Marketing
| “ | Return to the Land of Light and Shadow | ” |
A return to Lorwyn was first teased during the 2023 Announcement Day panel at Gen Con Indiana with an expected release date in Q4, 2025.[6][14] With the introduction of Universes Beyond sets into Standard, the release date was pushed back to early 2026.[15] The First Look was given at the MagicCon: Atlanta 2025 preview panel in September; it emphasized nostalgic callbacks to the original Lorwyn and Shadowmoor blocks.[4]
Events
- Prerelease: January 16–22, 2026
- MTG Arena Release: January 20, 2026
- Commander Box League: January 16–22, 2026
- Two-Headed Giant Commander Night: January 23–February 26, 2026
- Magic Academy Events: January 23–February 26, 2026
- Standard Showdown: January 23–February 26, 2026
- Friday Night Magic: January 23–February 26, 2026
- Commander Party: January 30–February 5 / February 13–19, 2026
- Store Championship: February 6–22, 2026
Headliner
The Headliner for this set is Bitterbloom Bearer, which features a serialized version (#1-500) with art by returning artist Rebecca Guay and a showcase fable frame.
Promos
- Prerelease: A traditional-foil card (not date-stamped)[2]
Cycles
| Cycle name |
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| Shock lands | Hallowed Fountain | Blood Crypt | Temple Garden | Steam Vents | Overgrown Tomb |
| Five rare dual lands with basic land types that enter tapped unless their controller pays 2 life. Unlike most dual land cycles, there is a mix of allied and enemy color pairs. Each of the land's art depicts the habitat of major typal groups in the set at the border between the bright Lorwyn aspect and the dark Shadowmoor aspect from left to right. The flavor text describes the typal group's behaviour on Lorwyn, then the phrase "...when the skies darkened, then...", and then finally the typal group's counterpart behaviour on Shadowmoor. The Booster Fun versions of these cards are reversible to show off both their Lorwyn and Shadowmoor aspects. These lands complete the cycle from Edge of Eternities. | |||||
Notes
- ↑ The word "Lorwyn" is sometimes used in marketing materials to refer to the entire plane, including its Shadowmoor half.
References
- ↑ a b Magic: The Gathering Bluesky account (June 20, 2025). "Next, we are announcing that the first set of 2026 will be 'Lorwyn Eclipsed' which releases on January 23, 2026!". Bluesky.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Mike Turian and Jubilee Finnegan (September 26, 2025). "Collecting Lorwyn Eclipsed: A First Look". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Information below the text box[2]
- ↑ a b c d e f g h The Preview Panel at MagicCon: Atlanta (Video). Magic: The Gathering. YouTube (September 26, 2025).
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (September 26, 2025). "Everything Announced for Magic: The Gathering in 2026". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ a b WPN (August 7, 2023). "Magic at GenCon: Celebrating 30 Years and Casting Foresee on Years Ahead". Wizards Play Network.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (February 18, 2024). "Should I temper my expectations about this return trip matching gamefeel or returning mechanics?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (September 27, 2025). "So, the new Ashling has the Sorcerer creature type. Is that replacing Shaman?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (September 26, 2025). "One thing that personally stood out to me was that Ashlings now use the new creature type Sorcerer instead of Shaman.". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (September 27, 2025). "So where actually is Kindred on the Storm Scale now?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (September 29, 2025). "The Formidable Speaker of Lorwyn Eclipsed: Jean-Emmanuel Depraz". Magic.gg.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (November 30, 2024). "I'm trying to find how exactly the Eventide story ended". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ As seen on Creakwood Ghoul and Creakwood Liege
- ↑ Jess Lanzillo, Chris Kiritz, Athena Froehlich & Mark Rosewater (August 5, 2023). "Magic: The Gathering 30th Anniversary Panel at GenCon – A Recap of MTG's Past, Present & Future (Video)". Magic: The Gathering. YouTube.
- ↑ Magic: The Gathering (October 25, 2024). "That means the first set of 2026 will be when Magic returns to Lorwyn!". Twitter.
Further reading
- Neale LaPlante Johnson, DK Billins, Laurel Pratt (September 26, 2025). "Planeswalker's Guide to Lorwyn Eclipsed". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.