The Commander Decks of Lorwyn Eclipsed are close enough that i can already feel my wallet trying to crawl under the couch.
Lorwyn Eclipsed hits tabletop on January 23, 2026, with prerelease starting January 16. That’s “plenty of time” right up until holidays, travel, and real life turn six weeks into about nine minutes. So yeah, it’s watchlist season. Not “panic buy” season. Watchlist season.
We’re getting two Commander precons: Blight Curse (Jund) and Dance of the Elements (five-color). Even with partial info, you can start lining up the obvious upgrade cards and the cards that tend to pop when a theme gets a big spotlight.
What we know about the Commander Decks of Lorwyn Eclipsed
Wizards has confirmed there are two Commander decks alongside the set. Retailer listings and product blurbs point to two clean themes:
- Blight Curse looks like it’s built around -1/-1 counters in Jund.
- Dance of the Elements looks like five-color Elementals, with a mix of ramp, big bodies, and some sacrifice or copy-style value.
If you’ve played Commander long enough, you know what happens next: everyone remembers the same 20 “on theme” cards, and a chunk of them get bought out for a week. Then the decklist drops and half the internet realizes the obvious reprints are in the box. That’s the whole game.
How i approach precon speculation without lighting money on fire
A few simple rules keep you from getting wrecked by reprint risk:
- Separate “likely reprint” from “likely upgrade.” If a card is perfect for the theme and has a history of being reprinted, treat it like it’s guilty until proven innocent.
- Prioritize versions with weird supply. Old foils, borderless foils with low inventory, Secret Lair variants, and Universes Beyond versions tend to move differently than basic nonfoils.
- Have a plan for exiting. If you’re speccing, decide now if you’re selling into hype, buylisting, or holding long-term. Waiting until you’re staring at a spiking graph is how you end up holding 37 copies of something nobody wants.
And if you’re on the “i’m just building the deck” side of things, it’s still worth tightening your upgrade plan early. A lot of these lists end up wanting the same support pieces, like protective and consistency tools. If you want a quick refresher, here’s our Kraken Opus guide on utility artifacts in MTG.
Blight Curse watchlist for Jund -1/-1 counters
A -1/-1 counters precon is basically a permission slip for a bunch of older Shadowmoor and Amonkhet-era cards to get re-evaluated. Some are obvious. Some are “how is this still cheap?” cards. And some are traps.
The engine pieces people always want
Blowfly Infestation
This is one of the most “oh no” cards in the whole space. It turns a board with counters into a chain reaction. If Blight Curse is even moderately popular, people will chase this.
Flourishing Defenses and Nest of Scarabs
These are the classic “turn counters into bodies” payoffs. They play well with sweepers that distribute counters, and they scale with the table. If they dodge a reprint, they get attention fast. If they do get reprinted, the fancy versions are where the conversation shifts.
Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons
Hapatra is the cleanest commander-adjacent payoff for -1/-1 counters. The only question is whether Wizards wants an older legendary to upstage the new face commander. If she’s not in the deck, she becomes one of the first upgrades people add.
The “this looks like it belongs in the precon” pile
These are strong, on-theme, and feel like the kind of cards that end up in the 99:
Black Sun’s Zenith
It’s flexible, it scales, it shuffles back in, and it plays ridiculously well with token-maker payoffs like Hapatra, Nest of Scarabs, and Flourishing Defenses. The safest “spec” angle here is not the cheapest copy. It’s the versions where supply is thinner and the decklist doesn’t instantly nuke the price.
Crumbling Ashes
Slow, but brutal if the table is living with counters. Precons love this kind of repeatable removal because it reads splashy without being complicated.
Dusk Urchins
This is the kind of card that suddenly looks clever again when the theme returns. Big counter sweeps, big card draw. Simple.
Fevered Convulsions
This one is clunky. But clunky cards still spike when they match the theme and nobody has thought about them in years. Just don’t convince yourself it’s secretly amazing.
The likely “value reprint” cards
Necroskitter
If Blight Curse is real -1/-1 counters, Necroskitter is basically a mascot. It’s powerful, specific, and the kind of “looks expensive” reprint Wizards likes to use to prop up perceived deck value. Great card. Dangerous timing.
The Scorpion God
If you see a -1/-1 deck, you check The Scorpion God. If it’s not reprinted, it’s an easy upgrade and people will grab copies. If it is reprinted, the premium versions are the only interesting angle.
Yawgmoth, Thran Physician
Yawgmoth does everything, and he plays absurdly well with counter-based engines. This is less about “will it be in the precon” and more about “will demand rise anyway.” If the deck turns a bunch of players onto counter loops, Yawgmoth gets dragged upward with the tide.
Massacre Girl, Known Killer
If you’re putting -1/-1 counters on everything, turning that into card advantage is exactly what Commander players want. She’s also the kind of upgrade that gets bought in a hurry once people see gameplay clips.
The weird one
Misfortune (Reserved List)
It’s on-theme by color and wording, but it’s also not great. Still, Reserved List cards sometimes spike for irrational reasons, especially when a niche mechanic gets a fresh spotlight. If you’re allergic to gambling, this is where you back away slowly.
The “probably safe from reprint” angle
Spitting Dilophosaurus
Universes Beyond cards are a different kind of inventory. Even when Wizards reuses UB cards, it’s not always in the obvious place and not always in the same treatment. If Blight Curse wants repeatable counters, this is the kind of card people discover late and then scramble for.
Dance of the Elements watchlist for five-color Elementals
Five-color Elementals is the kind of deck that turns into a parts list fast. People will upgrade the mana. They’ll grab tribal staples. And they’ll chase the cards that make Elementals feel unfair.
The biggest thing to remember is that the main set will likely have Elementals too, which raises the odds of reprints for the obvious hits. So the best targets are often the cards that are good, but not “front page of the tribe.”
The staples that might soak up demand anyway
Risen Reef
This is the card that makes Elementals feel like a real deck instead of a pile of typal creatures. If it’s not in the precon, it becomes an instant upgrade for basically everyone.
Flamekin Harbinger
Tutors that cost one mana always get attention, especially in tribes that have a deep bench of payoffs. It’s also the kind of card players love upgrading into special versions.
Incandescent Soulstoke
This one is an actual watchlist card because it swings between “bulk rare” and “why is this five dollars?” depending on demand and reprint timing. Two relevant abilities on one card, both strong, both tribal.
The “might get overlooked” picks
Creeping Trailblazer
Not the flashiest, but it does the job. Tribal anthem plus mana sink is always playable. These are the exact cards that jump when the obvious reprints take up all the slots.
Chandra’s Embercat
Two-mana tribal ramp creatures are always in the conversation, even when they don’t make final cuts. If the precon leans into “big Elementals, fast,” this gets a second look.
Omnath check-in
When Elementals show up, people always ask, “which Omnath do i want?” The short version: the earlier Omnaths that actually care about Elementals tend to get the most love as upgrades. And the more premium printings can move just because a bunch of players decide they’re building the deck at the same time.
Versions to prioritize when you do buy
If you’re buying before full decklists, the boring copies are usually the worst risk.
A few version types tend to hold up better:
- Old foils with low inventory
- Borderless foils that were opened less than people assume
- Secret Lair versions that Commander players treat as “default bling”
- Universes Beyond versions that have their own collector demand
This is where “foil multiplier” and supply actually matter. When everyone tries to upgrade at once, the premium versions run out first.
Timing: when to buy and when to wait
If you only remember one thing, make it this:
- Before decklists: build your list, identify the “overlooked upgrades,” and only buy the stuff you’re comfortable holding if you’re wrong.
- At decklist reveal: that’s when you pounce on the cards that didn’t get reprinted and are obvious upgrades.
- After release: the best deals are often 2 to 6 weeks later, when the hype cools and people move on to the next thing.
And yes, waiting is the safest route. It’s also the route where you miss the easy gains. That trade-off never changes. It’s the tax we pay for caring about cardboard.
If you want more MTG reading while we wait for previews, the Kraken Opus Blog has the running archive.
Conclusion
The Commander Decks of Lorwyn Eclipsed are lining up to hit two themes that Commander players love: counters that turn into value, and a five-color tribe with a deep pool of upgrades.
For Blight Curse, the key is separating the “this will be reprinted” cards from the “this becomes an instant upgrade” cards, then watching premium versions where supply is thin.
For Dance of the Elements, expect a rush on tribal engines and mana support, with the best opportunities coming from the cards that are good but not obvious enough to eat a reprint slot.
Make your list now. Keep your powder dry. And when the decklists drop, move quickly on what’s missing.
Wizards of the Coast: “Collecting Lorwyn Eclipsed: A First Look” (product overview, dates, deck names). MAGIC: THE GATHERING
Wizards of the Coast: Lorwyn Eclipsed product page (release date). MAGIC: THE GATHERING
Wizards of the Coast: “Where to Find Lorwyn Eclipsed Previews” (release and prerelease timing). MAGIC: THE GATHERING
TCGplayer product listing: Lorwyn Eclipsed Commander Decks (Set of 2), deck names. TCGplayer