Innistrad: Midnight Hunt is finally here! Well, almost - previews start today. We've had a trickle of information over the last few months, from the reveal that we were getting a Werewolf-themed set (Midnight Hunt) followed by a Vampire-themed set (Crimson Vow). After the gothic horror of the Innistrad plane gave way to the eldritch Lovecraftian theme of Shadows Over Innistrad and Eldritch Moon, I think there's been a real appetite for a return to classic Innistrad in the way that the Battle for Zendikar arc left players wanting a classic return to the adventuring plane.

And it looks like that's exactly what we're getting here. As the previews roll out over the next few weeks, we're going to see a huge influx of interest in tribal Werewolf cards. Ulrich of the Krallenhorde just didn't cut it as a Werewolf commander, but I think we'll see that fixed very well with Midnight Hunt. And while this is not a financial column, I will point out that Ulrich has doubled in price over the past two weeks despite being on the weaker end of Werewolves, and we're going to continue to see more and more of that with the popular tribe. It's a topic we've dived deep into over the last few weeks on my podcast Brainstorm Brewery, because it's really not that hard to predict - remember, Bitterblossom spiked in price just on the announcement that Throne of Eldraine was going to be about "fairy tales."

With that said, let's look at some of the Werewolves I'm most excited build with again in Commander!

Werewolf Commander Highlights

Mayor of Avabruck

We have to start with the OG Werewolf. This was the first card previewed out of the original Innistrad, and debuted the daytime/nighttime flipping that heralded the entry of double-faced cards into the game. We've come a long way since then, and today double-faced cards are just a normal part of the design process, one that has opened up a ton of space for Wizards to build sets around.

We'll see over the coming weeks how they innovate on the original design of this guy, but I know that I'm excited to work Mayor of Avabruck into decks again. What's interesting about the history of the elected leader of Avabruck is that over the years he's seen play in a good number of Humans tribal decks thanks to the buff on the front side, but it's really the backside of the card where you can continually pump out Wolves that has the most upside with Midnight Hunt on its way.

Geier Reach Bandit

Here we have the second Werewolf card that would make a better legendary creature than Ulrich. This is a really near Werewolf lord effect, and leans into one of my favorite things in all of Magic - mechanically unique lord effects.

Sure, you've got your "all other [creature type] get +1/+1" baseline, but going back to Lord of Atlantis in the beginning of the game the coolest lords were always the ones that granted a unique tribal effect, and that's especially true when it's something that leans into their unique identity as opposed to something generic like first strike of hexproof ala Drogskol Captain - something like Rage Forger has always been a more interesting design.

Once you transform Geier Reach Bandit, that's exactly what you get - the backside of Vildin-Pack Alpha transforms your Werewolves as soon as they enter play and that's where things get spicy. Not only does this immediately turn your Humans into their powerful 'wolf versions, but it also triggers any "transform" triggers like Huntmaster of the Fells. At only three mana to play the front side, this is one of the best cards in any Werewolf deck you'll be looking to build with Midnight Hunt.

Immerwolf

Speaking of unique Werewolf lord effects, Immerwolf isn't just a sweet Breaking Bulk (t's been worth a dollar or so in the past and probably will be so again), it's possibly the best of the Werewolf lord bunch but on an uncommon.

We get that traditional +1/+1 bonus here, but with Immerwolf we get what has been the most important effect for Werewolves decks up to this point: the ability to protect the transformed versions. It's been very easy for opposing players to mess up your transform plans, whether by teaming up to cast multiple spells or casting an instant in your end step when you've passed your turn to try and transform the team. Immerwolf puts a stop to those shenanigans, and allows your Werewolves to run free so long as it's on the field.

Duskwatch Recruiter

This has mostly been known as a combo piece in Modern to draw through your deck once you've made infinite mana with Devoted Druid and Vizier of Remedies, but Duskwatch Recruiter has way more than that going for it.

Not that that's a bad start - the ability to dump three mana to go digging for creatures is a good sink for Commander games that go long, and it provides card selection in addition to raw card advantage, all while hitting the battlefield early.

But the flipside of Krallenhorde Howler is actually very interesting in its own right when you're trying to do more than just combo off - the ability to discount your creature spells can make for some very explosive turns, especially when you can sometimes untap with that available to you as early as turn three.

Nightpack Ambusher

Thus far I've covered cards from the Innistrad sets, but Wizards has actually done a cool job of sprinkling other tribal support into the game, even in sets that don't actually feature Werewolves.

Nightpack Ambusher is the perfect example. It's a Wolf and not a Werewolf but what was essentially flavor text in Magic 2020 - "and Werewolves you control" - meant that not only does it work as a powerful self-contained card spitting out Wolf tokens, but it slots right into existing Werewolves decks and will be a must-include in any EDH build.

Master of the Wild Hunt

Another excellent example of the above, though this one is old enough I'm not positive it was actually on purpose.

Either way, Master of the Wild Hunt is a beating. Sure, it's slow on its own in Commander - a four-mana creature that makes one Grizzly Bear a turn isn't lighting the Commander world on fire - but in a deck where all your other plays will already be Wolves or Werewolves? Suddenly, untapping with Master of the Wild Hunt is a repeatable removable engine at instant speed.

Werewolf Pack Leader

This one, on the other hand, is a definite plant, showing up in Adventures in the Forgotten Realms right before the release of Midnight Hunt.

And while the Pack Leader isn't much of a leader for Werewolves in particular, it is an easy one to obtain that helps to negate the one big drawback of playing a combat damage creature deck in Commander: the susceptibility to boardwipes. With the Pack Leader providing 3 power on its own, it generally only takes one other Werewolf to get you to six total power to trigger pack tactics and draw a card. That's the kind of card advantage the tribe needs in Commander, and this is a worthwhile addition.

Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves and Realmwalker

These are sort of honorary Werewolf cards, but both are worth including. As a Green creature and one that comes down cheaply, Realmwalker is made for decks exactly like this: creature-based decks that want to lean into a tribe lacking traditionally powerful options. It's another dose of card advantage, and if you really need to you can even name "Human" based on which flavor of Werewolves you build your deck around.

Similarly Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves is more of a companion card to the tribe than a flagship build-around. That said, it's another unique lord effect shoved into the deck, at the cost of playing White instead of just Red-Green. But it triggers on every Wolf that hits the field under your control, which can lead to you absolutely dominating the battlefield and forcing people into playing to wipe the field rather than try to out-gun you on it.

The Werewolf Support Cards

I've mentioned the drawbacks of the tribe throughout this article, and these cards go a long way to offset that. Two of the three come down at instant speed, and all three provide instant-speed effects that help to shore up a Werewolves deck's weaknesses.

Howlpack Resurgence and Moonmist function as powerful combat tricks, while both Resurgence and Full Moon's Rise give your army trample. Moonmist represents the biggest blowout potential of the bunch, potentially enabling a bunch of transform triggers but at a minimum turning your creatures into their most-dangerous side right before you untap. And oh, by the way, it also will ensure you win any combat you cast it in. Powerful stuff.

I have no idea what Midnight Hunt will bring to the Werewolf tribe, but I'm incredibly excited to find out and start brewing! What are you most hoping to see?

Thanks for reading,

Corbin Hosler

@Chosler