A new MTG Lorwyn Eclipsed card is about to steal the fun away for all the wrong reasons

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Although there was a lot of anticipation, the previews for Lorwyn Eclipsed were relatively calm compared to the upcoming Marvel Heroes set for Magic: The Gathering, and even recent sets planned for 2025. Despite the slow reveal of cards, Lorwyn Eclipsed is already looking like a fun and interesting set with cards that could significantly impact various Magic: The Gathering formats. There’s a lot riding on this set, however, as the original Lorwyn cards didn’t sell well, and Wizards of the Coast needs it to be successful to revive interest in the plane after 19 years.

The Magic: The Gathering set, Lorwyn Eclipsed, has some really exciting cards to collect. From beautifully illustrated Special Guest prints to surprisingly strong common, uncommon, and rare cards, there’s a lot to look forward to. A particularly noteworthy card, Hexing Squelcher, is expected to have a big impact on several MTG formats, though some players worry it might make the game less enjoyable.

What Does MTG’s Hexing Squelcher Do and Why Is It Good?

  • Hexing Squelcher is a 2-CMC 2/2 goblin creature that can’t be countered, has ward (pay 2 life), and gives both these effects to your spells and creatures, respectively.
  • A 2-mana uncounterable creature that makes spells uncounterable is incredibly strong.
  • Ward (pay 2 life) disincentivizes removal spells in MTG.
  • Hexing Squelcher, being a Red creature, means it can be used as an asset to counter Blue/control in otherwise fast decks.
  • It has synergy with MTG‘s Goblin decks.

MTG’s Best Red Lorwyn Eclipsed Card is Already Clear

Hexing Squelcher is a very powerful card in Magic: The Gathering, excelling in many different types of decks and game formats. However, it ironically risks becoming the very problem it’s designed to solve. Essentially, Hexing Squelcher is a perfect counterspell for blue control decks, making spells impossible to counter and giving creatures a protective ward that forces opponents to pay a life cost to target them. Despite its power, its relatively low mana cost makes it easy to add to blue control strategies.

Hexing Squelcher is reminiscent of the original Vexing Shusher from the Lorwyn set – both are goblins that prevent spells from being countered.

How Hexing Squelcher is Warping MTG’s Formats

As a Magic player, I’m really noticing how good Hexing Squelcher is for its cost – just one generic mana and one red! But honestly, that low cost is a little worrying. It means the very decks it’s supposed to stop are actually able to easily include it themselves, and I think that could create some problems with balance in the game.

  • A revival of the Izzet domination in MTG’s Standard: Izzet has been the go-to color combination in Standard for a long time, and while MTG‘s Vivi ban combined with Avatar’s release made Standard more varied, Izzet is still at the top of the meta with three different deck archetypes – Izzet Lessons, Izzet Looting, and Izzet Splash.
  • A lockdown of MTG’s cEDH: Magic: The Gathering‘s cEDH decks are Commander decks cranked to eleven with powerful combos, expensive and incredibly powerful cards, and top-tier optimization. However, these decks mostly run very few removals, and cEDH games are all about counterspells and interaction to secure victory, or rather, to prevent others from winning before you do. Hexing Squelcher breaks that balance, as the first to cast it can easily secure their combos, especially in decks like Blue Farm.
  • Burn decks in Modern and Legacy will burn brighter: A lot of Burn decks in MTG rely on their cheap, powerful damaging spells to do their work and take down the opponent, and having a 2-mana 2/2 creature that can attack for more damage while protecting all creatures and making all burn spells uncounterable is incredible value. It breaks cards like Chalice of the Void and Force of Will, too.

You can currently pre-order Hexing Squelcher online for more than $37 for the standard edition, and around $90 for a special edition.

MTG’s New Lorwyn Eclipsed Rare is Virtually Unbeatable

Considering all of this, it’s difficult to justify allowing Hexing Squelcher in play, as it fits into almost any deck and significantly alters the way games are played, whether those games focus on counterspells or removing threats. Furthermore, in most formats, players could include four copies of Hexing Squelcher in a single deck, creating a nearly impenetrable board position.

It’s difficult to say exactly how the Magic: The Gathering competitive scene will change across different game types, but because this card is likely to be popular in Commander, we can expect it to show up in other formats as players test it. The main issue is that Hexing Squelcher could quickly become dominant, causing more and more decks to include it just to counter it.

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2026-01-09 03:34