We're deep into the woods of Innistrad, and we've found a wedding!

Before I get into the coolest cards in Crimson Vow, let's talk about the vow part! It's an Olivia-Edgar wedding and that's certainly not a sentence I ever expected to write about a Magic set. We've come a long way in what worlds Wizards is visiting and exploring, and it's been really cool to see.

Going to School

For instance, Strixhaven. We've had basically infinite high-fantasy sets that are based around knights and dragons and warriors and so on. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but it does get stale after 28 years or so, and personally I've enjoyed the sets over the last few years where Wizards has really leaned into something unique that represents a risk they didn't use to be as comfortable taking.

Not concepts I ever expected to see explored in a Magic set, but it's where Wizards has shined the most over the last few years. The heavy Autumn themes of our last trip to Ravnica were a neat way to put a twist on a familiar setting, and Adventures in the Forgotten Realms showed just how effective leaning into the flavor could be for set design.

Which brings us to Crimson Vow. An entire set themed around a wedding? What? Not exactly what you'd expect if someone introduced you for the first time to the game, but damnit if it isn't actually a pretty fun thing to explore on our third trip back to Innistrad.

More of this, please.

Getting Back Into Innistrad

With that said, let's look at some of the highlights from Crimson Vow!

Jacob Hauken, Inspector

This may seem like an odd one to start on, but I absolutely adore the design here. Yes, it's flavorful and all that, but more than anything I love putting this "play cards from exile" ability onto a Blue card!

This is definitely reminiscent of Jace, Vryn's Prodigy, which allowed you to discard cards to play later after it transformed, but Jacob Hauken is definitely a sweet upgrade in my opinion in terms of Commander. Planeswalkers are notoriously vulnerable in Commander, and enchantments much less so. Six mana is a huge cost to transform Jacob, but it's also completely optional and doesn't stop you from looting through your deck until you're ready to pull the trigger.

And when you do, you'll get that mana back very quickly. Hauken's Insight seems made to play expensive sorceries like Expropriate or Time Stretch (or even cards that don't make your tablemates hate you) for free, likely winning the game in short order. Note that you can activate and transform Jacob at instant speed, setting up to untap with all your mana available while you cast free spells.

Hallowed Haunting

Sigil of the Empty Throne, eat your 4/4 heart out!

This is actually a really neat addition to the White enchantment-matters suite alongside Sigil and Starfield of Nyx. Instead of turning your enchantments into creatures, the Haunting provides a payoff when you have one of those other cards turning your enchantments into attackers already by giving them both flying and vigilance.

That alone may not be enough to justify the four mana for this, but it also brings its own army as you build up your enchantment count. Whether you're using the Spirits this makes to fuel a huge swarm or simply using them to buy time as chump-blockers, Hallowed Haunting is a solid addition from Crimson Vow.

Howling Moon

I've talked a lot over the past few months about Werewolves. I really wanted to put together a Werewolf Commander deck when Midnight Hunt came out, but with the day/night mechanic change Werewolves were pretty tricky to build around even if we all agree the reworked mechanic was better in the long term.

Crimson Vow gives us another tranche of Wolves cards to work with, and Howling Moon does some important work in the archetype. It takes an entire turn of doing nothing for the sun to set and your Werewolves to come out, but all that can be undone by an opponent who casts two spells in a turn, which is especially devastating when one or both of those spells ends up being removal of some kind.

Howling Moon doesn't solve all your problems, but it does at least give you some value when things aren't going your way. Pumping one of your creatures for 2 a turn isn't anything to sneeze at in a combat-focused archetype like Werewolves, but the fact that this thing can end up spitting out a lot of Wolves to pump in a typical Commander game makes it one of the underappreciated gems coming out.

Headless Rider

Another card that I haven't seen much talk about, but one that I think is actually very important for Zombie decks across multiple formats. Xathrid Necromancer has been a strong roleplayer in competitive formats for years, and Headless Rider looks like a worthy successor.

Not only does it provide a 2/2 Zombie on its way out - and opponents are incentivized to kill it first - but it also offers all-important Wrath of God protection. If your opponent sweeps the board with anything that isn't Anger of the Gods, the Rider guarantees an undead army rising from the earth after it's been scorched. Not to mention that this has combo potential in Commander - all in all Headless Rider is an excellent addition to the Zombie tribe.

Splendid Reclamation

Thalia, Guardian of Thraben has garnered most of the headlines in terms of key reprints, but it was actually Splendid Reclamation that stood out to me in the card gallery.

You may not have noticed, but this was originally printed in Shadows Over Innistrad and had crept up over $5. For a card that does so much in Commander - from simply being a value piece in a mill-themed deck or an absolutely combo crusher in more powerful builds - Splendid Reclamation is a solid piece of Commander tech that had no business costing the $10 it was on its way to. I love when Wizards comes in with smart, targeted reprints like this, and just seeing it in the spoiler got the wheels turning for all the terrible Standard shenanigans I want to try out with this!

What stands out to you from Crimson Vow so far? The set looks like a worthy successor to Midnight Hunt, and with the exception of [Cleave] I can't wait to get my hands on some of the cards this weekend at MTG Vegas!

Thanks for reading,

Corbin Hosler

@Chosler