It might not be released until 2026, but hype for Lorwyn Eclipsed is at an all-time high. This long-overdue return has been 19 years in the making, and the First Look didn’t disappoint. Not only is Lorwyn Eclipsed hitting the plane’s high notes, but there are some fantastic new designs already.
Thanks to all the buzz around Lorwyn Eclipsed and the titular plane, it’s the perfect time to look back at what came before it. To date, there have actually been four sets that take place on Lorwyn across two back-to-back blocks. Each comprised of a large and a small set, the Lorwyn–Shadowmoor block has no shortage of incredible cards.
In fact, between Lorwyn, Morningtide, Shadowmoor, and Eventide, there are tons of competitive and Commander staples. For better or worse, that means this pair of blocks has some seriously expensive cards. If you plan on cracking some packs and reliving the glory days of the Lorwyn block, these are the most expensive cards to look out for.
Dolmen Gate | $24 | Lorwyn
Kicking things off with a card from the titular set, Dolmen Gate is a classic Commander staple that works in countless archetypes. If you’re attacking with creatures on the regular, there’s a strong chance you’ll want this artifact in the 99. At the very least, this card can keep your creatures protected, but at best, it makes them effectively unblockable.
Currently, Dolmen Gate sees play in around 73,000 Commander decks, and supply seems to be the limiting factor holding it back. Despite being reprinted twice, The List and a Secret Lair drop haven’t increased supply by a great deal. Thanks to this, even though the card isn’t hugely played, it is rather expensive.
Selling for $24 on average, it’s hard to say MTG players don’t get their money’s worth with this card. After all, the protection that it offers can be easily leveraged by players, especially in Commander. Whether you’re attacking with Isshin, Two Heavens as One or racking up poison with Fynn, the Fangbearer, Dolmen Gate puts in work.
Plague of Vermin | $25 | Shadowmoor
Much like Dolmen Gate, Plague of Vermin isn’t actually a very popular card in Commander. Only played in around 13,000 decks, according to EDHREC, this card is far from a format staple. That said, it is definitely an auto-include in a few archetypes and even has some game-ending potential.
For starters, Rat Typal decks obviously love this card. While it can cost a decent amount of life, getting to flood the board with Rat Tokens is always useful. Pairing this ability with Commanders like Marrow-Gnawer or Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm can quickly get out of hand. On top of this, Plague of Vermin can also be great in Aristocrats decks, provided you have a sacrifice outlet.
Should synergy not be enough for you, there are a couple of combos using Plague of Vermin, too. Sadly, none of these are infinite, but they can still close out the game in an instant, depending on the game state. If you have more life than your opponents, using Plague of Vermin alongside Ayara, First of Locthwain or Mirkwood Bats can end the game.
Thanks to these compelling strengths, Plague of Vermin typically sells for around $25 on average. Currently, it seems the majority of this value is propped up by the card’s scarcity, rather than its raw power. For better or worse, this likely means that a reprint would annihilate its current price point, if accessible enough.
Maralen of the Mornsong | $25 | Morningtide
On the surface, Maralen of the Mornsong seems like a really terrible MTG card. Sure, her effect is incredibly powerful, but everyone else gets to use it first. Unless you can flash her in just before your turn starts, each opponent gets a basically free tutor before you. While this obviously isn’t ideal, it’s definitely possible to break Maralen and make her a real menace.
For starters, pairing Maralen of the Mornsong with Opposition Agent is rude in the best way possible. Not only do you get to pick out what your opponent tutors from their library, but you can cast that spell too. While this is obviously very powerful, doing this will paint the biggest target on your back, so just watch out.
If you still want to be mean but a little bit less oppressive, there are other options available. Ob Nixilis, Unshackled, for instance, will only hurt your opponent while they tutor. Sadly, outside of that, Maralen isn’t a synergy machine, but she can still put in good work. So long as you’re tutoring up more useful cards than your opponents, you should be able to stay ahead.
Much like Plague of Vermin from before, the price of Maralen of the Mornsong is also propped up by her rarity. Only having one printing from Morningtide made Maralen rather scarce, keeping her price high. Potentially, a widely available reprint would decimate this price point, as even though she does stop card draw, her tutoring effect is undeniably risky.
Scapeshift | $61 | Morningtide
Jumping up steeply in price, copies of Scapeshift from Morningtide are worth a whopping $61. Notably, you can get copies of this card for slightly cheaper, as it was reprinted in Core Set 19. Even then, copies from this set will still set you back $54, as this card is a multiformat powerhouse.
For starters, Scapeshift is the most played card on this entire list, appearing in over 86,000 Commander decks. Beyond this, the card is also a competitive staple, appearing in both Modern and Pioneer. Within these formats, Scapeshift is a core part of Amulet Titan and Simic Scapeshift Mill decks, so demand is fairly stable.
In terms of its power, Scapeshift might seem fairly meh on the surface. Getting to replace your lands in play with lands from your deck technically doesn’t change anything. While technically true, Scapeshift does allow you to tutor up all the lands you need, while hitting a bunch of Landfall triggers.
The true power of Scapeshift is unlocked when used with effects that untap the lands it finds. Amulet of Vigor and Spelunking turns Scapeshift into a tutor and a ritual at the same time. This flows into a bunch of different infinite combos using cards that bring lands back from your graveyard.
Beyond working wonders in Landfall Commander decks, Scapeshift also fuels your graveyard. Since there are plenty of MTG cards that can play lands from the graveyard, this resource isn’t even lost. Even if you’re not playing these cards, removing a bunch of lands from your deck should sure up your draws going forward.
Out of all the cards on this list, Scapeshift is also arguably the most stable. With competitive demand and Landfall synergy, there are always decks that can use this powerful sorcery. Even if it gets reprinted in a future set or Commander deck, there’s a good chance it’ll retain much of its price point.
Painter’s Servant | $67 | Shadowmoor
Finally, the most expensive card from the entire Lorwyn block is currently Painter’s Servant. Banned in Oathbreaker, this card will set you back $67 at its cheapest, but chase variants are currently going for $212! Considering Painter’s Servant is barely played in Commander, only appearing in around 13,000 decks, this may be rather surprising.
In Commander, there is some synergy using Painter’s Servant, but it’s not much to write home about. Technically, it can let you capitalize on color synergy within decks; however, Commander’s color identity rules typically solve that already. Instead of expanding synergy, the real use of Painter’s Servant is alongside Grindstone, both in Commander and beyond.
Alongside Grindstone, you can force your opponent, or yourself, to mill their entire library. Since everything is one color, the mill effect will repeat until there’s nothing left, guaranteeing you the win. Even without any fancy tricks, you can do this combo on turn three, as Painter’s Servant and Grindstone curve out perfectly together.
If you throw in a bit of ramp and extra support, the Painter Grindstone combo easily becomes competitively viable. This deck is a strong performer in Legacy, in fact, although it’s not quite a tier-one deck. Despite this, demand from this format is more than enough to keep the card’s price exceptionally high.
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