14 January 2026

The fourth most popular MTG Lorwyn Eclipsed commander makes this Avatar card virtually unbeatable

By newsgame

Magic: The Gathering‘s Lorwyn Eclipsed set is a homecoming release after 19 years since the original Lorwyn block. While Lorwyn was not a commercial success according to Wizards of the Coast’s metrics, the story may very well be different now, as Lorwyn Eclipsed’s trailer was one of the most-watched in the game’s history. Even outside of that, MTG fans are pouring love for Lorwyn Eclipsed on social media and forums, showing that there is indeed a lively world to explore in this plane. Between great main set cards and some value-packed precon Commander decks, Magic: The Gathering‘s next set has a lot of content to be hyped about — and one specific commander should be on your radar.

Despite the problematic Universes Beyond discourse in MTG, not all UB sets of 2025 were met with the same reception, and the same goes for those of 2026, even before they are released. MTG‘s Avatar set introduced some incredibly strong cards, and many of the new additions became loved by the community regardless of fans’ experience with the IP. A standout pick among them is The Walls of Ba Sing Se, a 0/30 wall with Defender that makes your other permanents indestructible. There were several good strategies for this card already, but Lorwyn Eclipsed adds another commander that makes the 0/30 creature shine even brighter.

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Magic: The Gathering’s Lorwyn Eclipsed May Finally Reset a Long-Running Pattern

Magic: The Gathering’s 2026 schedule starts with Lorwyn Eclipsed in January, and it will most likely break a trend lasting since August of 2024.

Say Hello to MTG’s Doran, Besieged by Time

The base set for Lorwyn Eclipsed in MTG includes a card called Doran, Besieged by Time. This is a 4-CMC (1 generic, 1 White, 1 Black, 1 Green) 0/5 legendary creature that makes your creature spells with toughness greater than their power cost 1 less to cast, and then makes creatures you control that are attacking or blocking get +X/+X until the end of the turn, where X is the difference between their power and toughness.

On EDHREC, a website used to keep track of MTG commanders and their possible combos (even unreleased ones), the new Doran, Besieged by Time card is the fourth most popular. The chart is:

High Perfect Morcant – 2,057 decks
Maralen, Fae Ascendant – 1,145 decks
Eirdu, Carrier of Dawn / Isilu, Carrier of Twilight – 1,015 decks
Doran, Besieged by Time – 624 decks

There is another version of Doran called Doran, the Siege Tower, which is a 3-mana 0/5 creature that allows your creatures to assign combat damage with their toughness, instead. This can be played alongside Doran, Besieged by Time, due to MTG’s legendary rule.

How Lorwyn Eclipsed Makes Avatar’s Biggest Creature OP in MTG

This card already combos with itself, becoming a 5/10 whenever it attacks or blocks, but it makes The Walls of Ba Sing Se even more broken for several reasons:

Doran, Besieged by Time is a relatively cheap MTG commander at 4 mana, and it makes The Walls of Ba Sing Se easier and faster to cast, which can be a problem for the 8-mana creature.
- Doran’s Azban identity (White, Black, Green) means that MTG mana rocks are easily accessible in the deck, ramping up mana production more easily, which is a further benefit for The Walls.
The Walls of Ba Sing Se can be used in combination with Doran and Felothar the Steadfast from Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander decks.
- The combo has multiple layers, as Doran makes The Walls a 30/60 creature when it attacks or blocks, Felothar allows The Walls to attack even if it has defender and assign combat damage equal to its toughness, and by spending 3 mana and tapping Felothar, you can sacrifice The Walls to draw 60 cards and discard 30 if The Walls was attacking or blocking.
Jaws of Defeat is a 4-CMC Black enchantment that can be played in the Doran/Walls deck to make an opponent lose 30 life (the difference between The Walls of Ba Sing Se’s power and toughness) when the creature enters the battlefield.
- This also works with blink effects in White used on The Walls of Ba Sing Se, like Ephemerate, Last Blink, and Restoration Angel. It also works with MTG‘s Avatar mechanic of Airbending.
Arbor Adherent can make the Doran + Walls combo generate 60 mana, as it adds mana equal to the greatest toughness among creatures you control.
Enchantments and temporary effects like Stoneskin, which gives +0/+10 to the enchanted creature, can further improve the Doran + Walls combo because if The Walls of Ba Sing Se’s toughness increases, so does its power when it attacks or blocks (and its toughness increases even more).
- Refuse to Yield is a 2-mana instant MTG spell that gives a creature +2/+7, meaning The Walls will become a 37/72 creature when attacking or blocking.
Unnatural Growth is an enchantment that costs 1 mana of any color and 4 Green, giving creatures you control double power and toughness at the beginning of combat. Without further effects, Doran + The Walls combo would get The Walls of Ba Sing Se to an astonishing 60/120.
- Zopandrel, Hunger Dominus is a 7-mana 4/6 creature with the same effect, and they stack. If Doran, The Walls, Unnatural Growth, and Zopandrel are on the field, The Walls of Ba Sing Se can get to a whopping 0/120 before attacking or blocking, and become a 120/240 when attacking or blocking.
Cards like Primal Rage, a 2-mana enchantment that gives your creatures trample, are highly recommended in order to make the combo less likely to fall flat in combat.
Canopy Gargantuan is a 7-mana 7/7 creature that allows you to put a number of +1/+1 counters on each creature you control at the start of every upkeep, equal to that creature’s toughness. This means that Doran becomes a 5/10 and Walls a 30/60 before combat (so a 10/15 and a 60/90, respectively, when attacking or blocking) and after just one turn, with their power and toughness scaling exponentially.

The Walls of Ba Sing Se Combos in MTG Can Skyrocket Out of Control

As you can see, there are plenty of ways to take this combo to the next level, and multiple cards make it scale to incredible numbers. For example, what happens after two turns of Canopy Gargantuan if you have Doran, The Walls of Ba Sing Se, Unnatural Growth, and Zopandrel, Hunger Dominus, all in play? The answer is that The Walls becomes a 90/120 creature via Canopy Gargantuan, then it becomes a 360/480 creature before attacking or blocking, at which point it reaches 480/600 power and toughness. Yep. Frankly, you don’t even need all this to win when the original combo is set up, and you can just defend The Walls from potential removals, but be warned — this playstyle can easily and quickly make you the very definition of archenemy in MTG Commander games.