The Dance of the Elements Lorwyn Eclipsed Commander deck contains the following:

• 1 Ready-to-play 100-card Commander deck
• 1 Traditional foil face commander with borderless art
• 1 Traditional foil featured commander with borderless art
• 98 Non-foil cards, including 10 new-to-Magic cards
• 10 Double-sided tokens
• 1 Deck box

Ashling, the LimitlessAshling, the Limitless

Mass of MysteriesMass of Mysteries

JubilationJubilation

Dance of the Elements provides a full cycle of Elemental Incarnations, one for each color. A callback to the first go-round in Lorwyn, where we were introduced to VigorVigor and friends. Of course, that callback was a callback of its own: BrawnBrawn and others were first seen in Judgment, though that cycle weren't also Elementals like their successors.

This time, the cycle's picked up encore, a built-for-Commander ability that asks for a hefty mana cost to get a one-time rebuy of the creature with extra copies, one for each opponent. Normally, that'd be three token copies, which means three triggers for the creature's enters-the-battlefield ability. And that's how we judge the cycle in Dance of the Elements. 

For JubilationJubilation, that equates to each creature gaining upwards of +6/+6 and trample (well, three tramples, technically) - if that doesn't end the game, you're probably not in a great spot. But for nine mana, you're likely hoping it'll be enough to revel in the jubilation of victory.

ImpulsivityImpulsivity

Our red Elemental Incarnation features an ability all-too-common on red cards today in a reuse of an instant or sorcery in the graveyard. Of course, you're hoping to pay nine mana to get three free spells, which, like JubilationJubilation, should end the game, provided you're able to set it up reliably.

It's comparable to Finale of PromiseFinale of Promise or Mizzix's MasteryMizzix's Mastery, but the 21 power it comes with, albeit temporarily, is nothing to sneeze at.

LamentationLamentation

This time we're paying eight mana for encore, but this turtle-crab-porcupine hybrid isn't necessarily breaking the game like the previous two Incarnations. LamentationLamentation instead just nukes three creatures belonging to opponents, and it's worth noting that all three creatures can belong to a single opponent if needed.

Along with that comes nine life, though that's just gravy.

BelongingBelonging

Our white Incarnation is probably the most interesting of the bunch. When encore'd for eight mana, the board benefits from a BelongingBelonging boon of nine 1/1 changelings, which will likely be a massive swing in all manner of typal decks, where 1/1s are rarely just 1/1s.

That said, there'll also be plenty of interest for BelongingBelonging among Reanimator and Aristocrats players as a way to refuel their sacrifice fodder.

SubterfugeSubterfuge

The last of the five Incarnations is SubterfugeSubterfuge, and the dolphin-butterfly-eagle impacts the board in a distinctly blue way. For the encore cost of nine, three of your creatures (which can just be the SubterfugeSubterfuge tokens themselves in a pinch) take to the skies to be flying Cold-Eyed SelkieCold-Eyed Selkies.

SubterfugeSubterfuge is the least game-impacting of the bunch, as even if the encore ability allows the player to draw a dozen cards or more, it still cost nine mana and a successful combat step to do so.

Elemental SpectacleElemental Spectacle

The first appearance of vivid comes on a six-mana green sorcery. With vivid, the card's effect scales with the number of colors among permanents the caster controls and comes in a variety of forms throughout Lorwyn Eclipsed.

In the case of Elemental Spectacle, that form is up to five 5/5 red and green Elemental creature tokens, plus a one-time bonus of lifegain. Six mana for five 5/5 Elementals is a great deal (especially in a deck that cares about that creature type), but it's entirely possible to draw this with only a few colors in play.

There are only five black-aligned permanents in this entire list, after all.

Springleaf ParadeSpringleaf Parade

Color-fixing for a five-color deck is always welcome, especially when it comes with a pocketful of creature tokens relevant to any typal deck. Springleaf ParadeSpringleaf Parade will make appearances in many green/x typal decks beyond Dance of the Elements outside maybe Elves.

Rain-Slicked CopseRain-Slicked Copse

The first of three new lands is Rain-Slicked CopseRain-Slicked Copse, a continuation of the "bicycle" lands that began in Amonkhet with Sheltered ThicketSheltered Thicket and friends. With basic land types, it's fetchable.

Sodden VerdureSodden Verdure

Another enemy-colored, basic land-typed continuation of an old land cycle, Sodden VerdureSodden Verdure's the newest entry into the "battlebattle" lands, named aptly because they first appeared in Battle for Zendikar.

Abundant CountrysideAbundant Countryside

Easily the most interesting of the three new lands in Dance of the Elements, Abundant CountrysideAbundant Countryside acts as an Ancient ZigguratAncient Ziggurat, but better in every way. For one, it still makes a colorless mana for noncreature spells, if needed.

And for two, it's one of the better late-game mana sinks among lands we've seen lately. Six mana for a 1/1 changeling might not seem that good, but when it's repeatable and on a land, it can take over long, grinding games.

Expect Abundant Countryside to see a lot of play beyond this precon.

Dance of the Elements wants to do pretty much exactly what it says on the tin.

The deck is equal parts Elemental typal and evoke/encore-centered, which is a fancy way of saying it wants to control the board with enters-the-battlefield (ETB) effects.

We see that in both headliner legends Ashling, the LimitlessAshling, the Limitless and Mass of MysteriesMass of Mysteries, as well as a few other strategic linchpins:

The above creatures are all about stretching our resources (in both mana and Elementals) as far as possible to eke out advantage.

The name of the game is Elementals, and everything in the list is in service of playing Elementals, triggering Elemental abilities, and steps one and two again. One-time triggers aren't enough. The deck wants more.

But which ones are worth working to rehash?

In short, there are a bunch. The five new Incarnations could also easily fit in this category as well. Of the 35 non-Commander creatures in the deck, only 11 don't have an ETB ability. And two of those, SlithermuseSlithermuse and Omnath, Locus of RageOmnath, Locus of Rage, have leaves-the-battlefield/dies abilities instead.

It's not just the creatures themselves looking to get into the triggered ability craze. While the deck doesn't feature many artifacts or enchantments (thanks in part to Bane of ProgressBane of Progress's inclusion), three of our enchantments are directly tied to actions our creatures undertake.

All three - and Kindred SummonsKindred Summons, too - are about generating card advantage where it can be found, which is important for a five-color deck looking to find and spend all five colors.

There isn't a ton of interaction in Dance of the Elements outside of that created by the aforementioned ETB effects, and that's perfectly fine. We still have the ubiquitous Blasphemous ActBlasphemous Act, if all goes south.

According to combo database Commander Spellbook, Dance of the Elements has no known combos, but it certainly makes up for it in synergy.

As noted above, the mission is to capitalize on all the enters-the-battlefield (ETB) effects seen on the deck's army of Elementals. One trigger is nice, but for this deck, it's the bare minimum.

How does Dance of the Elements ensure multiple triggers for each effect?

Luckily, the deck's commander, Ashling, as well as the alternate commander in Mass of Mysteries, pushes players in that direction. Both seek to maximize taking advantage of Elementals coming and going.

Elementals (and encore) tend to be expensive, however. But the deck's got plenty of ways to ensure casting things for full price is a last resort.

The deck leans into creature mana, with more than a half-dozen slots dedicated to either producing mana or offering alternate costs to cast the expensive Elementals.

With a five-color deck, the ability to produce specific colors of mana is just as important as producing mana in quantity, so the added help from things like Jegantha, the WellspringJegantha, the Wellspring is important.

Dance of the Elements features a total of 40 lands, with an emphasis on lands that can produce a minimum of two colors. Several offer one of any color, albeit with caveats:

Nine lands that produce one mana of any color is a pretty good rate, especially for a preconstructed deck.

Abundant CountrysideAbundant Countryside in particular is excellent here, since not only does it fix our mana requirements, it provides late-game bodies that count as Elementals (and Plants, for Avenger of ZendikarAvenger of Zendikar).

As for utility, there's that Abundant Countryside above, but there's also Flamekin VillageFlamekin Village. Adding haste to any creature for a single is valuable when providing the ability to mana-producing creatures to get to work immediately, or with creatures like Vernal SovereignVernal Sovereign that have attack triggers.

What the deck features in creature- and land-based mana, it falters in artifact mana. However, with 35 creatures in the list, that's to be expected. The options that are included are again focused on ensuring players have access to all colors as reliably as possible. Outside of the usual Sol RingSol Ring and Arcane SignetArcane Signet, there are: Timeless LotusTimeless Lotus, Chromatic LanternChromatic Lantern, and Fellwar StoneFellwar Stone.

When it comes to Dance of the Elements, there are roughly a million options if upgrading is the goal. Typal decks have plenty of support, and enters-the-battlefield (ETB) abilities aren't exactly in short supply, either.

Starting with five cards, what can we add to further the deck's synergy? And how far can the power level be pushed?

First of all, cards can't be added before others are removed, so which five cards are on the chopping block?

Really, just shedding some of the less impactful inclusions is all it'll take to free up room to add more heavy hitters. Take Kindred SummonsKindred Summons, for example. It's not a bad card, but a seven-mana investment will have more punch if it's attached to an excellent Elemental or ETB effect.

Five Additions on a Budget

Five Additions With No Budget

There are many, many options we can consider adding, as there are plenty of generically powerful support cards, budget or otherwise. We already have a good suite of effects, so really, the mission is to make them easier to get into play, or easier to multiply.

Whether they're budget-concious additions or they're cards that come with a heftier price tag, we could swap things in and out all day. However, we just want to do what Dance of the Elements is already doing, but even more efficiently.

Game Changers

Since Dance of the Elements is a five-color deck, it can play literally any Game Changer, though that might not be wise.

HumilityHumility might not be a good choice, for example. But there's a world in which you could argue for Coalition VictoryCoalition Victory.

For both Lorwyn Eclipsed decks, the MSRP is listed at $49.99, up five dollars from Edge of Eternities.

Dance of the Elements comes in at an estimated contained value of around $281. If we remove the 10 new cards, which are currently in prerelease pricing and are subject to fall, the value of the reprints alone becomes around $117, which is actually below average despite some surprising reprints.

The most expensive reprints in Counter Intelligence are:

• Timeless LotusTimeless Lotus
• Cream of the CropCream of the Crop
• EnduranceEndurance
• Omnath, Locus of the RoilOmnath, Locus of the Roil
• and Kindred SummonsKindred Summons.

There's definitely an argument that can be made against five-color strategies in general. When players have access to any card, the only deckbuilding restrictions become those which players impose on themselves.

That said, Dance of the Elements is still a fun five-color list, and that's often all that matters, especially when it comes to preconstructed decks. It might not hit with every player, but there's going to be a good number out there for whom Dance of the Elements might become a top-five precon.

Dance of the Elements gets a B.