As a long-time Magic: The Gathering enthusiast with over two decades of playing under my belt, I must say that our recent game with the Duskmourn Commander Deck was an absolute rollercoaster ride! The mechanics of the Black Bird creatures were truly innovative and kept me on my toes throughout the match.
Wizards of the Coast generously extended an invitation to us for a Duskmourn: House of Horror sneak peek gathering. There, we got to try out some of Magic: The Gathering’s spookiest Commander decks ever created, and they were an absolute joy to play with!
Magic: The Gathering’s release pattern offers an exhilarating journey, with four primary sets launched annually, complemented by engaging collaborative projects in between. It seems that as soon as we get accustomed to the charming animal personas of Bloomburrow, a new expansion like Duskmourn: House of Horror emerges.
Instead of experiencing a jarring shift from Bloomburrow’s charming tale into the chilling horror setting as anticipated, surprisingly, we found ourselves feeling comfortably at ease within this house of horrors – particularly when it came to the pre-built Commander decks in the set.
Even though only three out of the four Duskmourn’s face Commanders were utilized in our matchup because of the widespread preference for one, our encounter served as a fantastic demonstration of the set’s innovative mechanics. It appears that the Duskmourn Commander decks complement each other exceptionally well based on our experience with them.
Duskmourn: House of Horror Commander decks
In the build-up to the launch of MTG Duskmourn, each commander deck showcased has unique advantages and disadvantages. Designed around the novel mechanics of the set, there’s a choice to suit all players.
Each deck includes its own chilling backstory to create an appropriate atmosphere, along with instructions on how to effectively use them. Here’s our summary of their key features.
Jump Scare (Blue/Green)
In the Jump Scare Commander deck, Zimone, the Enigma Solver steals the limelight; aptly titled due to its dependence on the recently-dubbed Manifest Dread mechanic. As a 4-cost Commander, Zimone utilizes the Landfall ability to add cards to your field as hidden, colorless 2/2 creatures at no cost. Typically, you can reveal these later for their mana value and they will acquire their standard characteristics.
If you manage to add another land to the field during your turn and play it efficiently, you’ll be able to turn over one of your hidden creatures at no cost. Luckily, the green cards in your deck offer numerous chances for this trick due to their ramping capabilities.
One way to rephrase that in a more natural and easy-to-understand manner is: “Releasing the dormant Worldspine Wurm from its reprinted state at no cost is an excellent match for this Commander deck. If you can boost its already formidable 15/15 stats, your opponents will be in a tight spot. However, these cards do become significant targets for other decks’ removal strategies.
Miracle Worker (Black/Blue/White)
If you appreciate value, Aminatou, the Warden-Wielder, or Veil Piercer, would suit you perfectly. This Commander grants a special tag called “Miracle” to your Enchantment cards. With her by your side, you can cast these enchantments for four less colorless mana as soon as you draw them!
In the Miracle Worker deck, there are numerous Enchantment cards that offer potent control abilities, which we can leverage effectively. To maximize this benefit, several of the creature cards within the deck are also Enchantments, providing a variety of strategic choices.
The Demon of Destiny’s Plan stands out in this case, transforming into a 6/6 creature when cast with two Black mana, given that Aminatou is active. Its unique ability to sacrifice other Enchantments increases its might, making it simpler to visualize the sequence of events for this card.
Endless Punishment (Black/Red)
The nickname for this deck is no joke – it revolves around the central figure, Valgavoth, Tormentor of Spirits, whose abilities include gaining 1/1 counters and drawing cards whenever an adversary sustains damage during their turn. This airborne Commander can quickly turn into a terror.
In this scenario, the true Penalty arises from the alternate Commander of the deck, known as The Lord of Suffering. During his presence on the battlefield, opponents are unable to augment their life total. Moreover, whenever an opponent casts a spell for the first time in their turn, you have the power to select another opponent and inflict damage equivalent to the mana cost of that spell.
Discussing with fellow gamers during the demo, it appears that setting The Lord of Pain in the Command Zone is the most common approach to play the deck, and there’s good reason for it. This placement ensures a consistent entry into the game, which creates an intimidating experience for opponents.
Death Toll (Black/Green)
Winter, Cynical Opportunist is the reluctant hero of this Duskmourn: House of Horror Commander deck and he’s a sleeper for sure. In true Golgari fashion, he likes to mill his own cards and summon them for free from the Graveyard. Granted, you do have to exile some as a cost and the free card is saddled with a Finality counter.
Life-taking actions one does to oneself can be compensated by means to regain the lost life, and these efforts go hand in hand with various entities that thrive when a complete cemetery is present.
Reminiscent of the duo, Stickfingers and Carrion Grub, these characters hold an edge due to their abilities being influenced by the number of creatures residing in your Graveyard. Given Winter’s frequent Milling actions and other sacrifice-based mechanics, they consistently pose a potential danger.
Testing Duskmourn’s Commander decks
Initially, it should be noted that we didn’t take part in a contest where all four Duskmourn’s latest Commander Decks were showcased. The Endless Punishment deck was the most favored, as explained previously, and our team composition reflected this: there were two players using Death Toll, one with Miracle Worker, and I chose Jump Scare.
To add some variety, one of our experienced players swapped out their main Death Toll commander and opted for Rendmaw, the Creaking Nest instead. Despite his secondary role, don’t underestimate this creature that resembles both a scarecrow and a bird’s nest; it poses a significant danger.
His unique talent of generating two Black Bird creature tokens that are provoked to attack Commanders other than his owns adds an enjoyable dynamic to the game, as their tapped state prevents players from blocking them with their own creatures. This means that every player is consistently receiving damage due to a scarcity of Flying creatures for defense.
In this match, our game served as an exemplary demonstration of the political strategies within Magic: The Gathering’s Commander format. To maintain a sense of fairness throughout, we relied on dice rolls to decide Bird attacks. Eventually, the Miracle Worker among us used their Shark Typhoon Enchantment to keep the Birds under control.
Through their capability to inexpensively cast Enchantments supported by their Commander’s Miracle mechanism, they could produce Flying Shark Tokens with differing power levels. Upon entering the battlefield, we countered their influence by having our Bird creatures collide with their Sharks, thus reducing their potential impact.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t manage to successfully upload the “Jump Scare” deck on the web. It seemed more like a matter of chance (either good or bad luck) as I was unable to locate a “Land” piece during the mid-game and didn’t draw any Search tools to help me find what I needed.
Despite successfully using the Manifest Dread mechanic a couple of times, it was often thwarted by board wipes from our Miracle Worker player. I can’t help but curse the creator of Time Wipe for this!
At the start, a combination of Demolisher Spawn and Ursine Monstrosity dealt me 20 points of damage. After that, I took incremental damage from various sources which gradually weakened my health. Unfortunately, I was defeated just one turn before I could activate my Voltron strategy with a 24/24 Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle, strengthened by Overwhelming Stampede.
In this game, the standout figure, whether seen as a hero or a villain, was our Death Toll player, skillfully executing the deck’s intended strategy without any modifications. The strategic alliance of Winter, Cynical Opportunist, and Polluted Cistern subtly sapped the life force from everyone at the table.
Polluted Cistern is one-half of one of Duskmourn’s new Room Enchantments. It has the powerful effect of causing each opponent to lose a life whenever its controller puts a card in the Graveyard. My biggest piece of advice for this set is not to sleep on Rooms.
Every turn, players faced the double trouble of having three cards milled (discarded from their deck) by Winter Milling and Professor Onyx (Liliana) boosting the damage. This relentless duo caused a guaranteed loss of five life points per turn. Amazingly, a player who hadn’t played Magic: The Gathering for five years managed to defeat me and two more experienced opponents with just one attack, despite this formidable combination.
“What makes Magic truly captivating is that there are 100 potential outcomes for each game. If I were to single out one positive aspect about MTG’s Duskmourn Commander Decks, it would be this: despite suffering a crushing defeat, I found myself enjoying the intricate strategies unfold before me.
On September 27, 2024, you’ll have the opportunity to acquire Duskmourn: House of Horrors.
If you’re interested in Magic: The Gathering or already deeply involved in this pastime, Duskmourn’s Commander decks are an excellent choice. For those who enjoy creating their own Commander Deck from the ground up, Duskmourn’s evil clown and terrifying archdemon could serve as a source of inspiration.
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2024-09-26 08:21