It’s almost time for another Magic: The Gathering set to launch, which means that there are some new mechanics that digital players should study up on before they dive into the upcoming Magic Arena Lorwyn Eclipsed launch events.
What Are the New and returning Lorwyn Eclipsed Mechanics?
Although launch events are fairly casual and players don’t need to worry about being super competitive during them, it never hurts to take some time to do a bit of homework before a new set drops in MTG Arena.
The arrival of Lorwyn Eclipsed later this month will bring a ton of new cards and a handful of mechanics that are either new or returning after a long hiatus. Gamers who plan to play the event at launch should take a few minutes to read up on these mechanics so they can be ready to dive right into the events on January 20.
Vivid
Vivid is an ability word that highlights abilities that care in some way about the number of colors among permanents you control. This number will be between zero and five. Each vivid ability uses this number in a different way.
Important notes for Vivid:
- Lorwyn Eclipsed includes hybrid cards. You can pay for each hybrid mana symbol with mana of either color, but the resulting permanent will still be every color present in its mana cost.
- Remember that lands are usually colorless, so they won’t help vivid abilities unless something gives them a color, although this is unusual.
Blight
Magic Arena players should get ready for a lot of -1/-1 counters to start flying around the battlefield with the arrival of Blight. This can be a little intimidating at first, but luckily the Arena interface makes it a lot more clear and easier to follow than when playing with actual cards in person.
Blight is a new keyword action. It includes a number and is often phrased as a cost you pay. To blight N, put N -1/-1 counters on a creature you control.
Important notes for Blight:
- You can put more -1/-1 counters on a creature than it would take to get rid of it.
- While -1/-1 counters aren’t great for your creatures, there are several ways in this set to remove them. These effects not only relieve the counters’ power and toughness penalties, but the effects often have additional benefits as well.
- There are no new cards in Lorwyn Eclipsed that put +1/+1 counters on anything. There are rules that explain what to do if a creature has both +1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters, but players shouldn’t need to worry about those at all for launch events. Players who are going to take these cards into other formats will need to study up on those interactions though.
Changeling
The changeling keyword allows the card that has it to be every creature type.
Important notes for Changeling:
- Changeling applies no matter where the card with changeling is.
- Sizzling Changeling has all creature types while in your hand, library, graveyard, and so on.
- If an effect allows you to search your library for a card with a certain creature type or affects cards with a certain creature type in your graveyard, a card with changeling always counts.
Kindreds
Kindred is a card type that’s added to noncreature cards to allow them to have creature types. This is a fairly simple one at its root, but it can certainly cause some confusion when a lot of card interactions start to pile up.
Just keep in mind that a card with Kindred can be counted as a specific creature type when it’s in the library, graveyard, or hand. Don’t forget that it is NOT a creature card or a creature on the battlefield though.
Double-Faced Cards
Double-faced cards were a major game-changer when they first appeared, but they have made frequent appearances in recent years and most players are likely already familiar with them.
After you cast one of these double-faced cards, the spell goes on the stack with its front face up, and after it resolves, it enters the battlefield with its front face up. These cards usually have a way to transform to their other face.
In this set, the double-faced cards all have an ability that triggers at the beginning of your first main phase, signifying the transition between Lorwyn and Shadowmoor. As that ability resolves, you may pay the requested mana if you wish to transform the permanent.
When Does Lorwyn Eclipsed Release?
The full spoiler preview is now available, but most players can’t actually play Lorwyn Eclipsed quite yet. The new set is scheduled to release on MTG Arena on January 20, 2026.
MTG Arena is available on PC, Android, and Apple devices.
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