The Special Guests for Lorwyn Eclipsed feel more like a mini bonus sheet than what we’re typically used to. Bringing back 20 cards from the original Lorwyn block, Wizards reprinted tons of beloved, high-priced, and powerful cards. While these Special Guests aren’t expected to be good at lowering prices, many of them are new to MTG Arena.
While MTG Arena getting new old cards is always a treat, some of the Lorwyn Eclipsed Special Guests are too strong for their own good. A pair of combo enablers is so powerful, in fact, that they’ve been pre-banned in Historic ahead of the set’s release.
Painter’s Servant Pre-Banned
For those aware of Legacy’s Painter’s Servant decks, its Historic pre-banning probably isn’t shocking. Turning all cards into the same color may seem harmless, but it enables a lethal combo alongside Grindstone. By simply activating Grindsone’s ability with Painter’s Servant in play, you’ll mill your entire opponent’s deck in one fell swoop.
With the low mana cost of these spells and tutors like Goblin Engineer and Whir of Invention, this combo is incredibly efficient and deadly. In Historic, turn three kills were on the table, and other formats can go even faster. Fortunately for anyone concerned by this possibility, Wizards is taking preemptive action and pre-banning Painter’s Servant in Historic on MTG Arena.
Devoted Druid Pre-Banned
Intended to offer a one-time burst of mana, Devoted Druid isn’t too difficult to break with the right support. Using this creature alongside Vizier of Remedies, for example, allows Devoted Druid to tap for infinite mana.
While infinite mana is obviously powerful, enabling tons of win conditions, this combo is hardly the quickest in MTG. Due to summoning sickness, Devoted Druid takes some time to get going and is susceptible to removal in the interim. On top of this, you’ll also need an outlet for your infinite mana, so a combo kill on turn three isn’t guaranteed.
For that reason, Devoted Druid may actually be at an appropriate power level for Historic. Wizards of the Coast agrees with this, but has decided to pre-ban Devoted Druid in Historic anyway because of its poor gameplay patterns. Specifically, in Wizards’ eyes, the need to keep activating Devoted Druid’s ability makes it far too tedious for MTG Arena.
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