Now that the holidays are over, Lorwyn Eclipsed preview season has begun in earnest, and it’s an absolute doozy so far. From the wild new main set cards to a bunch of valuable Special Guests, today’s stream was packed with crowd-pleasing goodies. As is often the case with MTG reveals, it stoked a bit of controversy as well, specifically around new spoiler Hexing Squelcher. Thanks to its low cost and brutal abilities, some Commander players are worried that this little Goblin will shake up the format for the worse.
Hexing Squelcher MTG
– Mana Value: 1R
– Type: Creature – Goblin Sorcerer
– Rarity: Rare
– Card Text: This spell can’t be countered.
Ward – Pay 2 life.
Spells you control can’t be countered.
Other creatures you control have “Ward – Pay 2 life.”
– Stats: 2/2
Hexing Squelcher is an absolute nightmare for MTG decks that like to interact with their opponents. Not only is it impossible to counter itself, but it makes all of your other spells uncounterable too. Usually effects like this are more conditional, like Cavern of Souls or Frenzied Baloth. Seeing blanket spell protection like this, then, is unusual.
Even more unusual is the fact that it only protects your own spells. Spider-Punk got a lot of hype during preview season for Spider-Man, and that offered the same protection to the entire table. Squelcher’s ability is infinitely better, since it doesn’t inadvertently open you up to opposing combos.
On top of this, Hexing Squelcher also punishes opponents for interacting with your creatures outside of counterspells, too. Two life isn’t a massive cost, but it adds up, especially in 60-card formats. It makes the card ideal in aggressive decks, where it advances your game plan even if removed. Throw in highly relevant Goblin typing, and this is a seriously pushed package for two mana.
A Day-One Controversy
Thanks to this potent suite of abilities, Hexing Squelcher is by far the most talked-about card in the early stages of Lorwyn Eclipsed preview season. Both X and Reddit are packed with players hyping the card up right now. Some Reddit posts are already calling it the money card of the set, for example. Many on X are also noting how quickly it has managed to power-creep Spider-Punk and Frenzied Baloth.
While a lot of this is just your general spoiler season hype, there are legitimate concerns around the card, too. In the cEDH community in particular, players are calling the card a mistake, and are noting how much it buffs up specific strategies in the format.
These concerns are not unwarranted. As a format, cEDH is much more reliant on counterspells than most of Magic. Games tend to be won or lost based on the outcome of a single stack of spells, and countermagic is the most reliable way of interacting with those.
A card like Hexing Squelcher, then, which totally shuts down countermagic as an option, has real potential to cause problems. Since it can’t be countered itself, it’s easy for players to drop it and then proceed with their game-winning combo uninterrupted. On top of that, it also protects your own interaction. Not only does this allow you to stop your opponent’s combos, but their own protection may not work.
Even outside of cEDH, Hexing Squelcher is a pretty controversial design. Cards like this, by their very nature, reduce the options players have in-game. While this can sometimes be a positive, many online have pointed out the “problematic” implications of such effects on play. When you reduce the avenues of interaction, games of Magic can end up less interesting as a result.
Keeping It Real
As valid as these concerns are, it’s important to keep things in perspective at this early stage. While Hexing Squelcher is powerful, it’s hardly unprecedented. The last few years have seen a ton of interaction-suppressing two-drops printed into Magic, in various colors. We’ve touched on Spider-Punk and Frenzied Baloth already, two very similar cards that haven’t proven problematic so far. Heck, even Voice of Victory, a legitimate new cEDH staple, hasn’t unbalanced the format to a significant extent.
If these cards aren’t an issue, it’s hard to believe Squelcher will be. While it shuts down countermagic, it doesn’t do anything against removal. As long as you’ve got two life to spare, you can simply kill Squelcher and then stop your opponent’s combo as normal. In more casual games, the card also has the issue of dying to every board wipe under the sun. Whether it’s Toxic Deluge or Culling Ritual, Squelcher is easy to sweep up and get off the board.
Even if Squelcher does stick around, there are ways to play around it. You might not be able to counter spells, but you can counter abilities, like those on common cEDH win condition Thassa’s Oracle. If the card does become popular, it may simply push players to run more tools like Spider-Sense to deal with it.
Overall, Hexing Squelcher seems like a strong and exciting MTG card, but not a problematic one. I expect it to be a solid role player upon release, but not a format-defining piece by any means.
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