The Modern Impact of Lorwyn Eclipsed

Hello, and welcome back to Metagame Mentor, your weekly guide to the top decks and latest Constructed developments on the path to the Pro Tour. While the current round of Regional Championship Qualifiers (RCQs) features Standard, the next round‘s in-store Constructed format will be Modern. This next RCQ round will begin on April 4 and run until August 2.

While this is still two months away, Modern recently received an exciting infusion of new cards with Lorwyn Eclipsed. Today’s article takes a close look at the set’s standout additions. After providing a snapshot of the Modern metagame, I’ll highlight the most-played Lorwyn Eclipsed cards and explore the decks they’ve come to call home.

Modern is a nonrotating 60-card format based on expansion sets, core sets, and straight-to-Modern sets from Eight Edition forward, save for cards on the banned list. With over 22 years of card history behind it, Modern offers intricate card interactions and a vast array of viable strategies. If you’re new to the format or returning after a hiatus, my latest format primer offers an introduction to Modern’s top-tier decks.

To capture a snapshot of the metagame, I analyzed over 700 successful tournament decks from events held after the online release of Lorwyn Eclipsed. My dataset drew from every published Magic Online list from scheduled events held between January 23 and February 9, along with top-finishing decklists from the destination qualifiers at Damnation Fest and LotusVale.

To show which decks were dominating the top tables, I assigned points to each deck based on its rectified number of net wins, calculated as the number of match wins minus losses, with negative values adjusted to zero. By combining these points across all events, each archetype’s share of the total rectified net wins blends popularity and performance into a single, comprehensive metric: the winner’s metagame share.

In this table, each archetype name hyperlinks to a top-performing decklist that closely reflects its aggregate build. The “Other” category collects decks with less than one percent metagame share, including Orzhov Blink, Eldrazi Broodscale, Esper Blink, Simic Ritual, Azorius Miracles, Song of Creation, Four-Color Omnath, Primal Prayers, Izzet Metalcraft, Mono-Black Eldrazi, Grixis Shadow, Hammer Time, Izzet Wizards, Merfolk, and more.

Compared to the metagame at the Regional Championships from November 22–23, 2025, Boros Energy, Ruby Storm, and Dimir Midrange have all gained ground. Boros Energy posted an excellent win rate at those Regional Championships and has sustained that momentum.

4 Ajani, Nacatl Pariah
3 Arena of Glory
4 Arid Mesa
1 Dalkovan Encampment
2 Elegant Parlor
3 Flooded Strand
4 Galvanic Discharge
3 Goblin Bombardment
4 Guide of Souls
1 Lightning Bolt
4 Marsh Flats
4 Ocelot Pride
4 Phlage, Titan of Fire’s Fury
2 Plains
4 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
2 Ranger-Captain of Eos
3 Sacred Foundry
3 Seasoned Pyromancer
2 Thraben Charm
2 Voice of Victory
1 Windswept Heath


2 Celestial Purge
2 High Noon
3 Obsidian Charmaw
2 Orim’s Chant
2 The Legend of Roku
2 Wear // Tear
2 Wrath of the Skies

The strategy is well-known: use Guide of Souls and Galvanic Discharge to dominate combat through the energy mechanic; deploy Goblin Bombardment to sacrifice Cat tokens and transform Ajani, Nacatl Pariah into a planeswalker; and close games by using Arena of Glory to hasten an escaped Phlage, Titan of Fire’s Fury.

When the Modern RCQ cycle begins on April 4, Boros Energy will surely be one of the main contenders. However, it’s not unbeatable. As Pro Tour Edge of Eternities demonstrated, fast and linear combo decks like Tameshi Belcher and Simic Neoform have a favorable matchup against Boros Energy. For players seeking an edge in upcoming Modern tournaments, these streamlined combo strategies may be especially well-positioned.

The metagame snapshot also showed that Magic: The Gathering® | Avatar: The Last Airbender™ has carved out a meaningful presence in Modern. Over the past few weeks, the three most-played cards from that set have been:

• The Legend of Roku: As a sideboard option in Boros Energy, it has effectively supplanted Showdown of the Skalds as the go-to card for grindy matchups.
• Wan Shi Tong, Librarian: This legend punishes fetch lands and has enabled a sleek new instant-speed build of Dimir Midrange, replacing Psychic Frog as the primary win condition.
• Badgermole Cub: This efficient two-drop has given rise to a novel Selesnya Cub deck, built around mana-generating creatures alongside Leyline of Abundance and Nature’s Rhythm.

Lorwyn Eclipsed also unleashed several potent options into Modern, invigorating both established and emerging archetypes. Below is an overview of the ten new-to-Modern cards that have seen the most play across the decklists I reviewed.

By raw numbers, Formidable Speaker leads the pack, with Wistfulness close behind. In that respect, Modern mirrors Standard, as these two cards also topped the charts at Pro Tour Lorwyn Eclipsed. Yet they’re far from the only new cards making an impact. To better understand how all these new cards are reshaping the Modern metagame, let’s explore the archetypes that have incorporated them most successfully.

1 Arena of Glory
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Boseiju, Who Endures
1 Commercial District
4 Eldrazi Temple
3 Emrakul, the Promised End
3 Forest
4 Formidable Speaker
1 Ghost Quarter
2 Herigast, Erupting Nullkite
1 Icetill Explorer
1 Ilharg, the Raze-Boar
4 Kozilek’s Command
2 Kozilek’s Return
4 Malevolent Rumble
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Shifting Woodland
2 Sire of Seven Deaths
4 Sowing Mycospawn
2 Stomping Ground
4 Talisman of Impulse
4 Ugin’s Labyrinth
1 Unholy Heat
4 Utopia Sprawl
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Vibrance
1 Wooded Foothills
1 World Breaker


1 Blood Moon
2 Fade from History
2 Magus of the Moon
2 Nature’s Claim
1 Soulless Jailer
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Trinisphere
2 Unholy Heat
1 Vexing Bauble

Formidable Speaker [1ROabEqJav1ayycvSvItdA]

Formidable Speaker appeared in 9.4% of Modern decks, primarily in Golgari Yawgmoth, Eldrazi Ramp, and Living End. Many Golgari Yawgmoth decks adopted two copies of Jean-Emmanuel Depraz’s World Championship card to find Yawgmoth, Thran Physician or silver bullets like Endurance with greater consistency. Similarly, Living End decks also often ran a pair, both to stock the graveyard and to gain more reliable access to Shardless Agent.

Decks that used the full four copies of Formidable Speaker stood out even more. In certain Eldrazi Ramp builds—such as this Top 8 list by Lightspirit—Formidable Speaker is the perfect setup tool for Emrakul, the Promised End. Through Ugin’s Labyrinth or Utopia Sprawl, Formidable Speaker can consistently be played on turn two, letting you put Kozilek’s Return in the graveyard while tutoring for whatever creature the moment demands. One particularly elegant line involves finding Herigast, Erupting Nullkite and casting it for its emerge cost on the following turn with the mana from Eldrazi Temple and a sacrificed Formidable Speaker, immediately triggering Kozilek’s Return. From there, Herigast helps pave the way for Emrakul, the Promised End.

Vibrance [iM0hSuiLCndly0LE7gFlo]

Vibrance, another addition from Lorwyn Eclipsed, expands the options available to Formidable Speaker. This flexible card offers either efficient creature removal or a land-search effect for just two mana, which sometimes is exactly what you need.

That said, the deck’s true apex is still Emrakul, the Promised End. The discard from Formidable Speaker already reduces Emrakul’s cost by adding a card type to the graveyard, and untapping Eldrazi Temple, Ugin’s Labyrinth, or a Forest enchanted by Utopia Sprawl accelerates you even more. Once Emrakul takes control of the opponent’s turn, victory is typically assured. In this shell, Formidable Speaker is both architect and accelerant, blending tutoring power with mana ramp.

2 Aether Hub
1 Boseiju, Who Endures
1 Breeding Pool
4 Dour Port-Mage
1 Endurance
4 Flare of Denial
2 Force of Negation
4 Formidable Speaker
4 Greenbelt Rampager
2 Hedge Maze
4 Ice-Fang Coatl
1 Laboratory Maniac
4 Malevolent Rumble
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Primal Prayers
4 Shardless Agent
2 Shifting Woodland
3 Snow-Covered Forest
1 Snow-Covered Island
4 Utopia Sprawl
4 Verdant Catacombs


3 Consign to Memory
2 Endurance
2 Harbinger of the Seas
3 Nature’s Claim
3 Propaganda
2 Soulless Jailer

Eldrazi Ramp was not alone in embracing a full playset of Formidable Speaker. In this Primal Prayers combo deck, piloted to a Top 4 finish by ScreenwriterNY in a recent Magic Online Challenge, it can be deployed for a single energy to grab a missing combo piece: Greenbelt Rampager or Dour Port-Mage.

With both creatures assembled alongside Primal Prayers, you can repeatedly bounce Greenbelt Rampager, drawing your entire deck through Dour Port-Mage. Laboratory Maniac then seals the game. In this context, Formidable Speaker functions much like Imperial Recruiter, but with a sturdier body and easier mana requirements. That subtle upgrade may be exactly what the deck needed to evolve from fringe curiosity into a credible contender in competitive Modern.

1 Breeding Pool
1 Commandeer
2 Curator of Mysteries
2 Deceit
4 Endurance
1 Flooded Grove
4 Force of Negation
1 Forest
2 Formidable Speaker
4 Generous Ent
1 Halo Forager
1 Hedge Maze
1 Island
3 Living End
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Otawara, Soaring City
1 Overgrown Tomb
4 Overlord of the Balemurk
2 Polluted Delta
4 Shardless Agent
2 Sink into Stupor
2 Street Wraith
4 Subtlety
1 Undercity Sewers
2 Underground Mortuary
1 Watery Grave
4 Wistfulness


1 Commandeer
3 Dismember
2 Flare of Denial
3 Foundation Breaker
2 Inevitable Betrayal
4 Mystical Dispute

Wistfulness [bf7maGG21Ilk1tdFxrK1s]

Wistfulness has appeared in a variety of shells, even as a singleton Summoner’s Pact target in Simic Neoform to answer troublesome artifacts or enchantments. But it truly shines in Living End. Because the deck relies on cascade, it cannot afford to play spells with mana value two or less. At the same time, cheap draw and discard effects are exactly what the strategy craves to improve consistency and stock the graveyard.

Wistfulness threads that needle elegantly. It functions as a two-mana draw and discard spell while providing a clean answer to sideboard hate such as High Noon, Vexing Bauble, or Tormod’s Crypt. And along the way, it places a sizable 6/5 into the graveyard, primed to return when Living End resolves. That combination of abilities is exceptional.

Deceit [6DJVTbHjtUcIy6iKynro6t]

Deceit plays a similarly important role. As a disruptive turn-two play that puts a creature into the graveyard, it aligns perfectly with Living End’s central game plan.

To support its mana requirements, the archetype has sensibly moved away from the white splash for Ardent Plea. Between Overlord of the Balemurk and the new Formidable Speaker, Shardless Agent is easier than ever to find. These creatures also help put Living End into the graveyard for Halo Forager. With all these Lorwyn Eclipsed additions, Living End has returned as a serious Modern contender.

1 Blood Crypt
4 Bloodstained Mire
1 Cling to Dust
3 Counterspell
4 Death’s Shadow
3 Expressive Iteration
2 Fatal Push
1 Island
4 Mishra’s Bauble
4 Moonshadow
4 Nethergoyf
4 Polluted Delta
3 Psychic Frog
3 Scalding Tarn
1 Seal of Fire
1 Steam Vents
4 Street Wraith
3 Stubborn Denial
1 Swamp
1 Tarfire
4 Thoughtseize
1 Undercity Sewers
3 Watery Grave


1 Cling to Dust
2 Consign to Memory
2 Fire Magic
2 Hurkyl’s Recall
2 Meltdown
2 Mystical Dispute
2 Spell Snare
2 Stern Scolding

Moonshadow [5l3AbU7aAoxjdjvFZY4GiI]

Moonshadow has surfaced in a handful of Dimir Midrange lists, but it made its strongest impression in Grixis Shadow. In this Top 4 list by Wiltron92 from a recent Magic Online Challenge, Moonshadow begins as an unassuming 1/1 yet scales up quickly. Each fetch land, Mishra’s Bauble, or Street Wraith places a permanent card into the graveyard, removing a -1/-1 counter from Moonshadow. Psychic Frog can also grow Moonshadow by letting you discard additional permanent cards.

Reaching 4/4 menace or larger for a single black mana is not difficult, and at that size it even turns Stubborn Denial into a true hard counter. With this synergistic addition, Grixis Shadow has gained a formidable upgrade, one that fits the deck’s strategy as neatly as its name.

4 Archon of Cruelty
4 Aurora Awakener
1 Blood Crypt
2 Bloodstained Mire
1 Breeding Pool
4 Faithless Looting
1 Flooded Strand
1 Glasspool Mimic
1 Godless Shrine
4 Leyline Binding
4 Leyline of the Guildpact
1 Meticulous Archive
1 Overgrown Tomb
4 Persist
4 Polluted Delta
4 Psychic Frog
1 Raugrin Triome
1 Sacred Foundry
2 Scalding Tarn
4 Scion of Draco
1 Steam Vents
1 Swamp
4 Territorial Kavu
4 Thoughtseize
1 Thundering Falls


2 Ashiok, Dream Render
3 Consign to Memory
3 Drannith Magistrate
2 Pyroclasm
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Vexing Bauble
1 Wear // Tear

Aurora Awakener

Aurora Awakener has been adopted by several Domain Zoo players in a new twist on the archetype. Dudarudi, for example, finished in 11th place at a 201-player Modern RC Super Qualifier with the list shown above. When Leyline of the Guildpact is on the battlefield, Aurora Awakener is guaranteed to put five permanent cards onto the battlefield, potentially including another Aurora Awakener or Glasspool Mimic to continue the chain. The ceiling is spectacular.

Seven mana is still a formidable price tag, but that’s where Persist comes in. By discarding Aurora Awakener to Faithless Looting or even targeting yourself with Thoughtseize on turn one, you can reanimate it as early as turn two and immediately dominate the battlefield. Archon of Cruelty serves as a reliable secondary reanimation target. The deck can also pitch its expensive threats to Psychic Frog or Territorial Kavu, ensuring they never languish uselessly in hand. This new iteration of Domain Zoo, perhaps more accurately described as Domain Reanimator, opens up striking new lines of play.

4 Aether Vial
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Cosi’s Trickster
3 Floodpits Drowner
1 Glasspool Mimic
4 Harbinger of the Seas
5 Island
2 Lord of Atlantis
4 Master of the Pearl Trident
2 Mutavault
2 Otawara, Soaring City
4 Silvergill Adept
3 Silvergill Mentor
2 Sink into Stupor
2 Tishana’s Tidebinder
3 Sygg, Wanderwine Wisdom
4 Unsettled Mariner
3 Vodalian Hexcatcher
4 Wanderwine Hub


3 Consign to Memory
2 Damping Sphere
2 Dismember
3 Force of Negation
3 Stern Scolding
2 Tishana’s Tidebinder

Merfolk has not posted impressive records in Lorwyn Eclipsed tournaments so far, but that has not stopped dedicated pilots from experimenting with the set’s new cards. Several of these additions swim naturally into the deck’s long-established framework.

Silvergill Mentor

At its core, Merfolk seeks to flood the battlefield with cheap Merfolk and amplify them with lords such as Master of the Pearl Trident, all while applying steady disruption. Silvergill Mentor fits neatly into that plan. Beholding a Merfolk is a trivial cost, and both Merfolk created by this creature benefit from the stat boosts granted by the deck’s array of Lord of Atlantis effects. That kind of board presence matters.

Sygg, Wanderwine Wisdom [6aVQv76Do1X1irh1i5HHQc]

Meanwhile, Sygg, Wanderwine Wisdom provides an unblockable threat that generates recurring card advantage. Wanderwine Hub enables transformation, which helps to push damage through clogged battlefields. While the two-drop slot in Merfolk is already crowded with proven performers, the Lorwyn Eclipsed additions may prove strong enough to justify their place.

As noted earlier, the next round of RCQs will begin on April 4, featuring the Modern format. While Boros Energy will likely be the prime deck to defeat, the format continues to evolve month by month, sustained by a remarkable diversity of viable decks. Dozens of archetypes can post strong finishes, and success often hinges on piloting skill and familiarity. In the hands of a seasoned player, nearly any deck can succeed.

That upcoming round of Modern RCQs will mark the beginning of the 2026–27 premier play season, qualifying for a Regional Championship that feeds into the first Pro Tour of 2027. Before then, Modern will take center stage at Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering | Marvel Super Heroes at MagicCon: Amsterdam on July 17–19, 2026. Exciting times are ahead for the Modern format, so grab your deck, learn it inside and out, and maybe we’ll see you on the big stage next!