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On Friday, the new expansion for the veteran trading card game (TCG), Magic: The Gathering (MTG), is called “Duskmourn” was released. Apparently Wizards of the Coast wanted it the cute “Bloomburrow” from the end of July 2024 won’t last long as the latest set. With “Duskmourn” there appears to be an extreme thematic counterpoint, because instead of cute little animals it’s about bloody horror. I took a quick look at the new cards.
I have to say that I’m more of a casual player when it comes to Magic: The Gathering. So if you are looking for a delicate evaluation of the individual cards or an assessment of their current and future value, then I am not the perfect person to contact. So in the end I’m just a simple MTG player giving his first impressions.
“Duskmourn: House of Horrors”, as the set is called in full, focuses on horror. Elements reminiscent of horror franchises from the 1980s are mixed with modern touches. Connoisseurs will discover a number of allusions to real brands such as Stephen King’s “It”, “Poltergeist” or “Chucky – the murderer doll”. A soft spot for horror doesn’t hurt to appreciate the flavor of this edition.
Magic: The Gathering “Duskmourn: House of Secrets” – the fresh mechanics
With each new set, new mechanics are introduced – and old tricks return. Of course the same is true with “Duskmourn”. So now there are “rooms”. These are enchantments with the “space” subtype. These cards are divided and their two halves are separated by a door. So if you play a room, you have to choose one of the halves. It is not possible to cast both at the same time. As a rule, one half can be played cheaply – the other half eats up a lot of mana. However, you can also open the half that was still blocked when the game was played if the room is already in play. For this you pay the corresponding mana costs and the unlocking works like magic.
However, unlocking a half of the room is a special action that cannot be answered or countered directly on the stack. If both sides of a room are unlocked, both effects apply. So rooms can become quite powerful. Important, however: If a room comes into play without being actively cast, e.g. B. from the cemetery, both halves initially remain blocked.
Also new is the keyword campaign “Manifest the horror”. You look at the top two cards in your library – one of which you can bring into play face down (manifest), the other goes into the graveyard. The face-down card is automatically a 2/2 colorless creature with no name, mana cost, abilities, or creature type. If the card you placed face down is naturally a creature, you can reveal it at any time for its mana cost. So that can make for some pretty strong surprises.
Then there is the “Survival” skill. This ability triggers in the second main phase when that creature is tapped. Survival includes various effects that vary depending on the creature, so there is a hodgepodge there. What all creatures with this skill have in common is that they also have the new survivor creature type.
And even more new mechanics in “Duskmourn”: eerie and ominous
But that doesn’t cover all the new mechanics, because there’s also “Scary” included. Here too, the ability can have different effects depending on the card. They trigger whenever an enchantment under your control comes into play or a room is unlocked. “Ominous,” in turn, is emblazoned on some new ruler cards and allows these cards to be cast for alternative costs. So can bring more flexibility into play.
Personally, I particularly like the rooms of the new mechanics, because they are basically multi-faceted maps that you can also use, for example. B. can be used in legacy games. It’s always a bit difficult when cards in an edition develop very strong synergy effects exclusively with other cards from the same set. Manifesting is also a nice mechanic, but it’s also familiar from previous sets – without the addition of horror.
In terms of the artwork, however, I find the rooms less attractive to look at because I personally don’t like these double designs in landscape format at all and have already criticized this look in the past. When it comes to horror aesthetics in general, I find the idea of double exposure cards quite appealing. Such cards look a bit more surreal and are a bit reminiscent of the old days of MTG, when the artwork was still very experimental.
I also like the cards with the paranormal card edge. They match the flavor and have their own distinctive look that reminds me a little of a mixture of old horror comics and “Wasteland”.
My conclusion
I really like the presentation of “Duskmourn” and the many little horror allusions to real brands are successful. The new mechanics are also not so isolated that they only work in Standard mode, but are also useful for legacy players like myself. On top of that, in my opinion, this set is once again blessed with more gameplay than most expansions before it – including “Bloomburrow”. However, if you are careful to get the most for your money, you should buy individual cards and not boosters or bundles.
I personally think “Duskmourn” is very strong and I personally ordered the upcoming Nightmare Bundle because I simply like the horror flavor. So I hope you also have fun with this set for Magic: The Gathering.
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