It is that time once again, a new set is here to jumpscare us, which means even more commons and uncommons to talk about. I have to say, my enthusiasm for Duskmourn: House of Horror is at the lowest it’s been for a set since… I honestly don’t know. A long time, if I’m being honest. 

There’s nothing about Duskmourn that really appeals to me. I don’t really enjoy horror movies, so the reference are all lost on me and the art direction of Duskmourn is a weird mix of campy and things trying so hard to be scary that they cease being scary. It’s disjointed, and while I’ve been told that’s kind of the point, it is almost completely unappealing to me. I loved Bloomburrow, Outlaws, Lost Caverns of Ixalan and Wilds of Eldraine. The cool part of Magic is that I don’t have to love this, because many other people will, and do, and I truly do appreciate that fact.

That also doesn’t mean there aren’t cards I’m interested in, because of course there are. But the art of Duskmourn isn’t the only thing I’m not high on.

Every single time I write these, I talk about how many cards I had to narrow down and the hard cuts I had to make and this list is the opposite. Getting to 10 new cards for this list felt more challenging than normal and while I do like the cards on here, picking a number one was also difficult.

Now that I’ve gotten all the negativity out of the way, let’s get to the cards.

Reprints

Pyroclasm

Pyroclasm is maybe the highest impact card on this list for Pioneer and Standard. We’ve seen a much heavier influx of aggro decks in both formats and while cards like Temporary Lockdown help slow these down, another color getting a card like this is a net positive I think.

There are legitimate questions, though, if two damage to everything for two mana is even relevant anymore and it definitely might not be. A lot of decks grow creatures pretty quick and there are more two mana x/3s than there used to be. If nothing else, it’ll be a good card to have around as an option so aggro players have to take a second to consider if they want to dump their hand on turn two against a red deck.

Scorching Dragonfire and Ethereal Armor

Both of these cards are already legal in Pioneer and Modern, but they’ve both been perennial players, especially in Standard, so they’ll both be pretty nice tools for Standard players to have access to.

The common lands

I wanted to talk about the lands separately, and not include them on the list. These lands are at least interesting. While I don’t actually think they’ll be good enough for constructed (outside of Pauper), it is interesting that we have dual lands that can even conditionally enter untapped at common. If some deck ends up playing these I won’t even be surprised. There certainly isn’t an iconic creature that cares about you having less than 13 life after all.

Drag to the Roots

I’ll be honest, I’m just always going to be a sucker for GB removal spells and this one is potentially promising so it’s on here. It is certainly the card I am least confident in here, but there are some upsides. GB has always had a bit of a graveyard sub theme so hitting delirium shouldn’t be too hard, especially in Modern where you have Fetch Lands and Urza’s Saga to get some card types easy. Getting an Assassin’s Trophy without the ramp seems potentially pretty good and I could definitely see this slotting into both GB Ygra in Pioneer and a Rock-style deck in Modern. 

Sheltered by Ghosts / Shardmage’s Rescue / Optimistic Scavenger

All three of these cards go together because they’re all going to be live for the same archetype, which is, of course, auras. Sheltered by Ghosts being a tutorable removal spell for Light-paws is kinda nuts, while Optimistic Scavenger can help buff your creatures swiftly in auras and Shardmage’s Rescue is a protection spell and can give you a one turn Bogle in Auras. Incidentally, I think both Sheltered by Ghosts and Optimistic Scavenger could see some play outside of Auras.

Untimely Malfunction

Untimely Malfunction is an incredibly niche card, but it’s a card that fills three niches. Sometimes that is all it takes for a card to see play. The most commonly selected mode will certainly be destroying an artifact but I think the other two modes will be relevant enough for this to be a consideration.

There is even flexibility within the modes. For example, the third mode can be used to trigger Heroic or Valiant, or take blockers out of the way, or one instance of each. The second mode can be a Counterspell, Deflecting Palm, or a Bolt Bend in the right circumstances and the first mode… Can blow up any artifact. Okay, not really a ton of hidden versatility with that one, but it is still pretty solid.

This is a very cool card and if nothing else I hope people try it out. I do think it could have just the right amount of words to show up in a 75 somewhere.

Piggy Bank

I completely discounted Piggy Bank at first and I think it’s easy to do so. On the surface, it’s just another uncommon 3/2 beater but the death ability of making a treasure is pretty legit. It turns out players typically don’t like losing games of Magic so when the opponent plays a 3/2 for two mana, they elect to kill it. Piggy Bank makes it a little harder to do so, as killing the Bank potentially lets your opponent ramp into their four drop on curve. Piggy Bank also trades well in combat, which you’re more okay with doing because it does give you the Lotus Petal for free. Is it Bloodtithe Harvester? Probably not, but in not-RB Midrange lists, I could see considering Piggy Bank as a two drop of choice.

Unable to Scream

Witness Protection has been a playable Pioneer card effectively since it was printed in Streets of New Capenna, and while I think Witness Protection is a funnier card (who doesn’t love Sheoldred as a Legitimate Businessperson), Unable to Scream might be better in that zero power is less impactful than one power, even at the cost of an extra toughness. Most of the decks interested in Witness Protection (or Bind the Monsters for that matter) are chock full of flyers anyway so the toughness is moot. Standard was also missing a one mana version of this effect currently, so it is also very welcome there.

Turn Inside Out

We live in a world where people are out here registering Titan’s Strength in decks and this is almost certainly better than Titan’s Strength. What it lacks in a boost in toughness, it makes up for in replacing the body, which feels incredibly valuable in decks like Rakdos Fling or Boros Heroic in Pioneer. Imagine you kept one of those hands where you only have one creature and all the pump spells, your opponent casts Fatal Push, and you can respond by replacing that body with another body.

This also gives a Monastery Swiftspear, for example, the ability to trade with a Sheoldred the Apocalypse while still getting a body as well. It is interesting to play in a world where pump spells are good, but it’s the world we’re in and I think this one will make the cut.

Broodspinner

On our podcast, Fireside Magic, I called this card the GB Bloodtithe Harvester, and while I’ve come off that evaluation a bit, I do still think Broodspinner is a strong card. It’s a body that blocks pretty well, both because it’s a 2/3 and because of Reach and in an aggro meta, especially one with Slick-shot Showoff, none of that is irrelevant. Getting a Surveil 2 when it enters is also quite good, especially if you’re trying to fuel your bin for delirium or any other purpose. The activated ability is cool but I have a suspicion that nobody will ever actually activate this ability ever. Ultimately, GB Midrange is missing the Fable power level card before it can compete with Rakdos but I do still think this would slot in nicely as a two drop in that shell.

Nowhere to Run

Nowhere to Run is always going to be a meta call when it comes to inclusion, but it ultimately is a great card to have access to. In a world where either Bogles or Graveyard Trespasser makes a big comeback, Nowhere to Run will have a home. If a Doom Foretold or other type of deck that cares about permanents becomes relevant, Nowhere to Run will be there. It’s a pretty versatile card and while I don’t think it’ll be a format regular, I think there will be times we see it show up.

Veteran Survivor

Veteran Survivor is a heck of a card for Humans or maybe even Convoke. Being a base Savannah Lion that also gives you a bit of grave hate is nice but if you ever get to exile three cards with it, buckle up, because a 5/4 Hexproof is no joke. One drops that command answers are pretty important because they can help clear out removal for your bigger threats and most opponents aren’t going to want to leave Veteran Survivor around long. Humans has gotten a lot of tools the past few sets but it’s always kind of lacked another good one drop. I feel strongly that they’ve found it here.

Honorable Mentions

Wildfire Wickerfolk

We’ve seen the two mana 3/2 with upside of haste before but usually the haste is conditional. With Wildfire Wickerfolk, you always get the haste and if you have delirium, it even becomes a 4/3. This card will end games very quickly and I like that it sneakily helps fuel delirium by itself by being an artifact creature. It slots in very nicely to the Gruul Aggro lists in Pioneer and I suspect this card will close out some Standard games too in a similar archetype. This isn’t necessarily an exciting number one card in the set but I do think it’s incredibly strong and deserving of the top spot.

My favorite card: Abhorrent Oculus

As much as I talked about my disinterest in this set due to theme, I absolutely love everything about this card. I love card arts that give me a cosmic sense of dread (think Progenitus) and this checks that box. This thing is a true nightmare. But I also think it’s just incredibly strong. Exiling six cards is a steep cost but one copy can just be game ending. They also play well in multiples, with Manifest Dread adding to your bin and if you are able to Manifest into another copy, you can flip it for three without needing to exile six cards. Watch out for cards like Helping Hand or other reanimation spells with Oculus and not for nothing, you can also Collected Company into it. I can’t wait to try this out, I’m hoping Pioneer got it’s Murktide Regent.

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And that’ll do it for the latest sets commons and uncommons. Despite everything I said at the beginning, I’m looking forward to drafting this set and building around some of these new cards in constructed and I will definitely be trying several of the cards on this list, as well as many that are not.

I’m also really looking forward to Foundations in November. I’ve always been a big fan of Core sets and I’m excited to see the direction they take with this latest iteration of them. Based on what they’ve previewed so far, it looks like it’ll be a pretty strong set.

Until then though, I am excited to see what Duskmourn has to offer.