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Ah, it feels like just yesterday that we were discussing Bloomburrow and some of the notable rares and mythics it contained. And now, here we are, with Duskmourn's release on the horizon, we'll be able to start playing with the latest horror-themed set on September 27th.
With Bloomburrow having been released on August 2nd, that's less than two months between sets. I don't know about you, but that feels like an awfully short period between Standard sets, but that's a topic for another day, and one that people have also been going over for quite a while now.
Today we're going to talk about some of the most notable rares and mythics from Duskmourn, in no particular order, and discuss why they're notable and where they might fit in the Magic landscape.
Overlord of the Hauntwoods
Not only was this one of the first cards revealed from the set, it's also still one of the most hyped, and this card is a sweet one. Overlord of the Hauntwoods, and all other Overlords, have the new impending mechanic. This is basically suspend, but instead of the permanent waiting in exile, it gets to sit on the battle as an enchantment. The big differences here are that the enchantment can be killed while it's on the battlefield, you get a cost discount, and you get the "enters the battlefield" effect much earlier.
This guy is basically a three-mana Rampant Growth that gets a...I don't know, a Mana Confluence that doesn't deal you damage? It's kind of a nuts ability and Everywhere is a really strong land. It also triggers every turn you attack with it once it enters the battlefield!
Meathoook Massacre II
The sequel to Meathook Massacre is definitely a notable card, but I can't help but wonder if it's a little too expensive. For a symmetrical effect that causes both players to sacrifice one creature, it's going to cost you six mana. If you pay three life, you get your creature back. Your opponent can also pay three life to prevent you from getting their creature.
So in this situation, for six mana, you lose three life, your opponent loses three life, and they sacrifice one creature. In 1v1 formats, that seems like a big investment for not a huge upside.
Once we hit eight mana, things get a little spicier, but producing eight mana is also a tall order. This definitely feels like much more of a Commander card than the original Meathook Massacre did, which you can usually pinpoint by a card saying "each."
Valgavoth, Terror Eater
This card is pretty slick. If you thought Vein Ripper was tough to get rid of, wait until you try to deal with Valgavoth. Unfortunately, unlike Vein Ripper, this is often going to require some dedicated reanimation to get into play, but to be fair, Atraxa often did as well, and that card was a multi-format all-star.
Valgavoth gives me big Griselbrand vibes. Hard to kill, hard to cast, flying, lifelink. The card advantage Valgavoth provides is a bit more tame than Griselbrand's, but it's still pretty good once it gets going. I'm also not sure how many extra cards you're really going to need once this thing starts attacking. Is it better than Atraxa currently? I don't think so, but it still seems very powerful, and much harder to deal with.
Tyvar, the Pummeler
This card is going to be bonkers in Commander, I bet. Also an Elf Warrior for three, I think it's just a solid Ezuri upgrade. While Tyvar doesn't give trample with his Overrun ability, it does scale shockingly well. You can also protect him for zero mana, rather than protecting other elves as was the case with Ezuri. He's also a 3/3 instead of Ezuri's 2/2.
I will also mention that providing a free way to tap creatures in a set with a mechanic that checks for tapped creatures during your second main phase (survival) is pretty cool.
So, you know...power creep?
Abhorrent Oculus
Good gravy, look at this art. This card is cool, man.
A 5/5 flier for three mana is a great deal, but you do have to do a little work for it. Fortunately, decks have been putting cards into graveyards at breakneck speed for years. If this survives the turn, you also get a free 2/2 on each opponent's upkeep (there's that Commander word again). If you can get the six cards in your graveyard, this is a shockingly good threat, and each Oculus helps fuel the next thanks to manifesting dread!
This also marks the eighth Eye creature in Magic.
Unstoppable Slasher
Look, I have no idea what this card is. In fact, I want to stop looking at it. When I first saw the art, I didn't really see the legs because they kind of blend into the background, and I thought this was some kind of lobster creature rolling around on a saw blade. (I still think the head looks a bit large for the body...)
This seems very powerful and very obnoxious for a three-drop. It reminds me of Epochrasite in that you have to keep killing it or throwing things in front of it, and it keeps coming back
Honestly, there are a lot of cool, powerful cards in this set - and a lot of them seem to be green or black. I'd love to go over all of them, but that would be a lot of cards to discuss.
For example, I think Walk-In Closet // Forgotten Cellar seems like it could be really strong, imitating both Crucible of Worlds and Yawgmoth's Will, and you can cast both off of the same card.
Hauntwoods Shrieker seems awesome, making you a 2/2 every time you attack, that you can just flip up for two mana. Hit an Eldrazi? Cool, flip it up for two mana!
While I'm forever feeling new set fatigue, Duskmourn looks to have some really cool designs and I'm excited to try them out in Constructed formats and add them to various Cubes!
For those interested, you can also find the newest iteration of my Horror Cube on Magic Online again this year (an Innistrad-centric version debuted last year around Halloween) from October 9th - 23rd. This time I'll be incorporating Duskmourn cards! You can find the announcement here
As always, thanks a ton for reading and I'll catch ya next time!
Frank Lepore
