5-Color Commander Reaps the Rewards of Returning Lorwyn Mechanic

Last updated on October 10, 2025

Mutable Explorer | Illustration by Wayne Reynolds

The times, they are a-changin'.

And changelings, they are a-comin' back to Magic!

Or at least that's what many of us expect Lorwyn Eclipsed, the first MTG set of 2026, to bring: Changelings were introduced in the original Lorwyn block, and Wizards of the Coast has already officially revealed one changeling from the next set, Mutable Explorer.

At quick glance, Lorwyn Eclipsed reveals didn't have too big of an impact in the MTG card market (just yet) – Morophon, the Boundless, for example, is the most popular commander with “changeling” in its rules text, but its price hasn't changed much…

… but that's sort of changelings' thing, though: They are a sneaky bunch that can hide in plain sight.

And, as it turns out, one of their most popular commanders is indeed trending up right now. And by quite a bit.

Changeling Jumpscare

[cardChangeling Outcast[/card] | illus.Micah Epstein

As noted, Morophon, the Boundless is one of the most popular commanders in the whole game. But here's the thing: While Morophon is the most popular changeling commander, it's not the most popular commander for shapeshifter decks.

That's the tricky (and cool!) thing about shapeshifters: They are excellent to support other typal strategies. So, say that you want to build a turtle typal deck; there are few good turtles in Magic, and even less that you'd want to put in the command zone (at least until Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles drops in March next year!). But, if you find yourself in that pickle, then Morophon, the Boundless can be a very good turtle commander: You get a nice cost reduction for your creature type of choice, and as a five-color commander you'll be able to put turtles of any color in your deck.

The reverse is also true. Even when a creature type has great commanders and cards, your 99 may welcome a few shapeshifters to round things up. Take ninjas, for example: Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow is one of the strongest, most popular commanders out there, and she's got a deep bench of great ninjas to play with. But the most popular creature in a Yuriko deck is Changeling Outcast.

So here's the kicker: When you look specifically at shapeshifter decks, Morophon, the Boundless is just their third most popular commander.

The first two are not changelings themselves – but they have excellent bonuses for when playing a specific creature type: The Ur-Dragon, and Reaper King.

And it's the King who's spiking right now.

The original print from Shadowmoor went up by 50% in the last couple of weeks, jumping straight from about $6.50 to almost $10 when you look at near-mint copies:

Source: TCGplayer – Reaper King – Shadowmoor (SHM), near mint

And the Secret Lair version, which is the most sought-after (it trades two copies per day on average, versus one per day for the original print) saw a huge 100% spike in the last couple of weeks, after a dip in late August:

Source: TCGplayer – Reaper King – Secret Lair Drop Series (SLD)

A Scarecrow In My Shapeshifter Deck? It's More Common Than You Think

Amoeboid Changeling | Illus. Nils Hamm

“There are two main ways to build a Reaper King deck,” writes Sean in our Commander deck guide. “One is the obvious scarecrow tribal, and the other is shapeshifter tribal with changeling.” 

Of course the King is the King of Scarecrows, too – but is even better with shapeshifters.

“The King’s ability is so good that this is a decent typal commander packed with shapeshifters and changelings and other lords with utility like Haakon, Stromgald Scourge,” explains Steve in our best scarecrows ranking. And since it's a five-color commander, you're able to fit any shapeshifter (or any card, for that matter) to round up your deck.

Oh, and pretty obviously: the Reaper King absolutely rules as a Halloween commander!