We came within sight of the formal beginning of Lorwyn Eclipsed spoilers season without any great disturbance, if one overlooks the minor confusion caused by a few preconstructed commanders that emerged shortly before the end of the year. That brief order has now given way. Only hours before the scheduled reveal, a large section of the set has found its way onto the internet, owing to an individual who appears to have acquired a Collector box earlier than intended.

In circumstances like these, secrecy quickly becomes a fiction. Once the material exists in public view and can be examined by anyone inclined to look, it is more honest to acknowledge it than to feign restraint. What follows, then, is a discussion of several cards that stand out. Readers should note that these images originate from Lorwyn Eclipsed spoilers and are of low clarity, though it is quite possible that many will already have received official confirmation by the time this is read. Those with an interest in typal Commander strategies, at least, will find that the early disclosures offer ample reason for anticipation.

A Renewed Focus on Creature Types

It was already understood that Lorwyn Eclipsed would lean heavily toward typal design. The earlier block was built around eight principal creature types and made prominent use of what was then called the tribal mechanic, now repurposed under the name kindred. The present set makes frequent reference to that foundation. 

There is renewed attention given to merfolk, elves, kithkin, and their like, but alongside this sits a broader set of tools intended for players who commit themselves to a single creature type, whatever it may be. It is worth beginning, then, with a look at the more general-purpose cards revealed in the leak.

Abundant Countryside

Abundant Countryside appears in the Dance of the Elements Commander precon deck and offers yet another method for producing shapeshifter tokens, in the manner of Maskwood Nexus or Birthing Boughs. The process is not an efficient one, and no effort is made to disguise that fact. Its value lies elsewhere: it functions as a source of untapped, five-color mana, provided that mana is spent on creatures, which is often enough justification in decks built along typal lines.

Chronicle of Victory

Chronicle of Victory can be thought of as an expanded and more ambitious version of Vanquisher’s Banner. Its anthem effect is doubled, and it goes further by granting first strike and trample to the selected creature type. In addition, its draw trigger applies to any spell of that type, rather than being limited to creatures alone. This increase in power, however, comes at a clear cost. The card requires an additional mana, and in practical play that difference is rarely trivial.

Bloodline Binding

Bloodline Binding carries a printed cost of {6}{B}{B}, though this figure is softened by the inclusion of convoke. It appears to belong to a small cycle of rare cards that share this mechanic and are designed to favor a disciplined commitment to a single creature type. The effect itself is a broad reanimation limited to that chosen type, recalling cards such as Haunting Voyage from Kaldheim. Its distinction lies in flexibility: under the right conditions, and with a sufficiently developed board, the spell may demand very little mana at all.

Rimefire Torque

The card text is not entirely clear in the leaked image, but the general outline of Rimefire Torque can be discerned as . It is an artifact that requires the player, upon entry, to name a creature type. Each time a permanent of that type enters the battlefield, the Torque accumulates a charge counter. By tapping it and removing three such counters, the player may copy the next instant or sorcery spell cast that turn. In practical terms, every third permanent of the chosen type (not merely creatures) can be converted into a duplicated spell. This will not suit every typal deck, though it may find a place in decks that already blur the line between creature synergy and spell-based play, such as wizards or faeries.

Collective Inferno

A damage-doubling effect combined with convoke is capable of producing excesses in the right circumstances, and Collective Inferno is no exception. It reduces the cost of City on Fire by a full three mana, though it does so at the price of offering only a partial increase in damage rather than the full measure. It is worth noting that the effect applies to damage from any source, not solely from creatures. As a result, cards such as Boggart Shenanigans will also see their damage increased, provided goblins are the chosen type.

Oko, Lorwyn Liege / Oko, Shadowmoor Scion

Oko has returned, and he brings with him the same unsettling flexibility that marked his earlier appearances, most clearly on the reverse side of the card. Oko, Lorwyn Liege is able to grant a creature every creature type permanently, while his transformed half produces an emblem that grants creatures of a named type a substantial increase in strength, along with vigilance and hexproof. This design seems better suited to decks built around broad typal manipulation, those already interested in effects like Arcane Adaptation or Leyline of Transformation, than to more straightforward builds such as blue-green merfolk or elemental lists.

Selfless Safewright

Safewright repair, Safewright replace. The card presents itself as a modest elf warrior, but one carefully worded to function in any typal strategy. Its value lies in its timing: you can flash out to blunt an opposing removal spell, acting as a kind of sudden and localized Asceticism. In the right moment, that small intervention may prove decisive.

Winnowing

Winnowing functions as a board-wipe spell in the manner of Cataclysm, though it is designed, at least in theory, to leave the caster largely unaffected while steadily reducing the resources of everyone else. Each player is permitted to keep a single creature. The expectation, of course, is that you will retain a crowded battlefield while your opponents are reduced to one survivor apiece. Convoke plays its familiar role here as well, lowering the practical cost and allowing the spell to be cast earlier than its mana value might suggest.

That brings this portion of the discussion to a close. The cards that offer broadly useful typal support appear, for the most part, to be confined to the higher rarities. Among the leaked commons and uncommons, there is little that would justify inclusion across a wide range of decks. There is no shortage of rewards aimed at specific creature types, nor of changelings distributed throughout the set, but the cards that function as universal typal tools seem almost entirely restricted to rares and mythics.

With the official preview season now underway, clearer images and confirmed details should emerge over the coming days. If the early material is any indication, players who favor typal strategies will find that this set offers them no small number of reasons for cautious optimism.

Conclusion

According to Lorwyn Eclipsed spoilers, the game seems to be eager to provide typal enthusiasts with all they have been demanding, as long as they are able to open their wallets to those glittering rares and mythics. The commons and uncommons, in the meantime, appear to be happy to sit this party out, presumably with drinks in the corner as Oko once again demonstrates that there are planeswalkers who cannot be entrusted with design space. 

It is yet to be seen whether these leaks are the entirety of what is to come or just the appetizer. The only thing that is sure is that any one operating a tribal, I mean, kindred, deck will be interested in having his ears pricked up when the official spoilers come. 

FAQs

Q1: Should I be excited about the Lorwyn Eclipsed spoilers? 

Yes. Lorwyn Eclipsed seems to be providing precisely what the typal players have been demanding, powerful new tools that will reward tribal devotion. But, in case you like the plans that do not require sorting your creatures by species, this is not likely to be your collection.

Q2: Is Oko going to be banned again? 

We should not jump the gun. Yes, Oko has a pretty colorful record with the banlist, but this one appears to be more oriented towards Commander than competitive. With that said, it does sound like the type of thing that would get interesting to grant every creature type permanently.

Q3: What happened to all the good commons and uncommons? 

The leaks imply that you will have to go further up the rarities in order to get truly effective typal tools. The commons and uncommons appear to be happy to offer changelings and type-specific rewards without much appeal to the general.