Duskmourn Set Review - Allied and Shards
Sawblade Skinripper by Zezhou Chen
White | Blue | Black | Red | Green | Artifacts & Lands | Allied & Shards | Enemy & Wedges | cEDH | Reprints | Pauper/Budget
SPOOKY TIME IS UPON US!
Duskmourn is my single most anticipated set of the year. I'm a massive horror fan, and though I don't care for paranormal and I'm more into slashers, Duskmourn captures a lot of the tension I look for in a horror flick.
I love the aesthetic, I loved the stories, I am so thrilled about this set. Allow me to gush and critique the offerings in allied colours and shards; Azorius, Dimir, Gruul, Rakdos, Selesnya, Bant, Esper, Grixis, Jund, and Naya are on the table... but I'll be greedy and snag the four- and five-colored cards, too, if any.
Mythics
Aminatou, Veil Piercer
They've desparked my girl! That's alright, this version of Aminatou is interesting as hell.
Beginning the review with a face legend of the Commander precon decks, Aminatou's first creature card is a buff baby that rewards epiphanies.
Each enchantment card in your hand having miracle is quite fun, but it requires you to remember not to draw cards directly to your hand, at least for the first card you draw. The real attraction is that freaking mana reduction; holy hell, that's huge!
Care for a three-mana Mind's Dilation
I think what makes this extra good is the upkeep surveil. Setting yourself up perfectly for a miracle is almost like it's no miracle at all!
Does Aminatou have much to do in other decks?
In the 99, Aminatou, Veil Piercer
While it's not really super impressive in most shells, there might be something here for reanimation shells that want to fuel the 'yard while keeping the creature count high. However, despite all this, Aminatou is a star that belongs at the helm of a deck.
Kaito, Bane of Nightmares
Somebody smarter than me will write a 4000-word essay on Kaito, and all I'll have to say is "buddy, this guy rips."
Kaito is strong. A planeswalker with ninjutsu who's like the new Gideon in that he's a creature during your turn? That's intriguing to say the least. A 3/4 with hexproof that you can uptick immediately to anthem all your Ninjas (including himself) is pretty great for a Ninja deck, but this should have Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
The 0 loyalty ability allows you to set up with the surveil or cash in on the draw when each opponent loses life from Yuriko's trigger. That's three more cards for doing what you're already doing.
The -2 shouldn't be slept on either. Getting rid of a defender when your deck absolutely needs to get through is so good, but locking it down for two of your turns is divine.
Does Kaito have a home in other decks? Certainly, beyond Ninja decks, Superfriends decks will want to snap this up.
Planeswalkers in Superfriends decks are always fighting for their position in them, but as someone who runs Aminatou, the Fate Shifter
I'll also suggest any aristocrats shell that loves the likes of Zulaport Cutthroat
Those decks tend to love a graveyard, and surveil 2 and draw three can easily spell draw five with some gravy on it. Buddy, this guy rips.
The Lord of Pain
Anybody who's read me long enough knows that, as much as I want to be a nice person, the Cult of Rakdos demands that I build like a real asshole.
A five-mana 5/5 with menace and "your opponents can't gain life" isn't what's moving the needle for me here.
Turning each players' first spells on each turn into damage to another player means this game can grind to a halt or it can move fast. This reminds me of Kaervek the Merciless
This makes me want to rebuild my old Mathas, Fiend Seeker
How do we really crack this? Is there a way to force players to cast spells on every turn? Is that just in blue? Is there a strange Vial-Smasher, the Fierce
Is this a new Rakdos, Lord of Riots
This is going to be the deck I build to break out at the end of the night for a quick one. Might be my fave legend of the set.
The Master of Keys
This art is some of the coolest art I've seen in a minute. The art alone tells me The Master of Keys
For three mana, you can slam this guy down if you've already got a full graveyard with enchantments you want to escape into play. For four mana, you've got a flying 4/4 that mills two; not bad.
Five mana, mill four, 5/5. What about ten mana? That's seven into X, so a 10/10 mills 14? Empty most of your library into the 'yard and cast an Awakening Hall
What's interesting is that enchantments are some of the toughest permanents to remove, so unlike Underworld Breach
Unless, of course, we're talking Seal of Cleansing
It's pretty clear that Esper enchantress is the home for this card. It's also its own special flavor of Esper enchantress, so I can really picture The Master of Keys
Where else does The Master go? That self-mill scales really nicely, and I think a decent reanimator shell, like The Ever-Changing 'Dane
Niko, Light of Hope
Shards are back! And they remain a Niko-exclusive thing. That's pretty sweet, but also, god I love Shards! Enchantment tokens that Opt
Niko is such an interesting design. At its base, Niko enters with two Shards, and their ability to lets you get another delayed entering trigger from your creatures while letting you swing with the Shards 0r double up on abilities.
Cavalier of Dawn
Pair this with Niko Aris
Have Niko exile a Solemn Simulacrum and the Shards can attack or block with a little more value, drawing a card without paying the Shard cost.
Finding a balance between enter and death triggers in Azorius presents a challenge, but I am absolutely about it.
I mean, sure, you can have Shards become Agent of Treachery
Why, entering triggers, attack triggers, and combat damage of course:
- Sun Titan
- Frost Titan
- Aerial Extortionist
- Battle Angels of Tyr
- Dazzling Sphinx
- Cephalid Constable
- Harnessed Snubhorn
- Schema Thief
There are plenty of creatures that it'd be amazing to have many of. That's just those that take the combat step in account. Oh, so does Loyal Drake
Niko is going to be a commander that many tinker with and only die-hards keep up. I don't see a great place for Niko in the 99. I'd try them out in my The Ever-Changing 'Dane
If you've got a dedicated blink deck with room to try something out, give Niko a go! Brago, King Eternal
Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls
Y'all know me, I'm a simple guy: I see Rakdos colors, I love the card.
Pack a Roiling Vortex
If you've ever wanted to turn your opponents' land drops into life loss for an opponent, life gain for you, a +1/+1 counter on your creature, and a card draw, then run this Elder Demon and Polluted Bonds
If you're okay with being the table's worst nightmare, you'll love Valgavoth at the helm. Is this the deck for The Rack
- Iron Maiden
- Lavaborn Muse
- Misers' Cage
- Paupers' Cage
- Price of Knowledge
- Skullcage
- Rackling
- Viseling
- Wheel of Torture
Do you need players to lose life in their upkeeps? Take a look at:
- Ancient Runes
- Collapsing Borders
- Forsaken Wastes
- Gibbering Descent
- Sulfuric Vortex
- Havoc Festival
- Gibbering Fiend
- Barbed Wire
- Mogis, God of Slaughter
- Urborg, Stalker
Punish their card draw with:
- Fate Unraveler
- Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
- Kederekt Parasite
- Orcish Bowmasters
- Razorkin Needlehead
- Underworld Dreams
- Spiteful Visions
Finally, you can punish all types of game actions with:
- Hearthborn Battler
- Brash Taunter
- Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor
- Immolation Shaman
- Harsh Mentor
- Manabarbs
- Kaervek the Merciless
- The Lord of Pain
- Maddening Hex
- Pain Distributor
- Syr Konrad, the Grim
- Vengeful Tracker
- Zo-Zu, the Punisher
- Burning Earth
- Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant
- Aether Sting
- Blood Seeker
This all works with instant-speed ways to hit opponents, like:
and many more.
Make sure you have ways to gain life back from all the damage your opponents will be doing to you and you'll do to yourself. Exquisite Blood
Jeez, should I have just made a decklist? This is lands and ramp away from being a deck tech article. Valgavoth rules!
Rares
Marina Vendrell
Don't forget your keys, folks! Marina Vendrell teaches us that doors can be locked! Who knew! Here's the basket to put all your Room cards into. I don't feel particularly drawn to this card beyond the absolutely stunning art.
Five-color legends are always a bit of a shrug for me, though, so let's see what we can do here.
Marina's ETB looks at seven cards and puts all enchantments into your hand. Pair that with Skybind
If you don't build her as a Room commander, taking advantage of this might be the way since you can dump your hand completely full of enchantments and slam a Replenish
Leyline of Anticipation
Retriggering some Rooms seems like it'll be good and you'll probably want a Thousand-Year Elixir
Using Freed from the Real
Nashi, Searcher in the Dark
Love me a two-mana commander. New Nashi is pretty great and is a solid candidate for a Dimir Voltron legend. A Rat Ninja Wizard! Yes! That art! Yes! Okay, I like this one.
A 2/2 menace who mills you equal to damage done while either drawing you gas or getting +1/+1 counters for the next combat, Nashi, Searcher in the Dark
You could build this deck with a legendary or enchantment theme or avoid those at all cost and just enjoy a thick graveyard and thick commander.
No matter what, you'll want to take advantage of the graveyard, so be sure to pack some recursion or graveyard mechanics, like flashback. Araumi of the Dead Tide
Nashi feels like a solid inclusion in Muldrotha, the Gravetide
Similarly, Lazav, the Multifarious
Who knew after all Nashi's gone through in the haunted house of Duskmourn that he could be pals with The Master of Keys
Peer Past the Veil
This feels like it's in the wrong colors. Peer Past the Veil
For those who want the full list of card types, here you go: artifact, battle, creature, enchantment, instant, kindred, land, planeswalker, sorcery.
Is this good? The ceiling is amazing, but you really need to build for it. An instant-speed personal Wheel of Fortune
What's the floor for you on this card? What would you be most comfortable with? I guess four-mana discard your hand and draw four at instant seems decent?
I just have absolutely no clue what to do with this one. Is this a Kalamax, the Stormsire
Phenomenon Investigators
Okay, X-Files reference, I see you.
Phenomenon Investigators
Or protect and redeploy another nonland permanent to get you a card too. This card rules. Hand size matters cards, like Body of Knowledge
One day, we will get an Esper bounce-back-to-hand legend. I want it. I've wanted it since I read Kyle Keller's Forgotten Harvest article in 2019 about Dromar, the Banisher
Every other year, we get a new card that makes me yelp in excitement and that's what this does. There are many applications for this Detective duo, but I am tunnel visioned on a dream.
Restricted Office // Lecture Hall
Hello, enchantress decks with these colors. I'm talking to you Estrid, the Masked
You can play this card. It will maybe, potentially, replace your sorcery wrath and be added utility since it comes on a modal enchantment. You can protect your permanents from targeted removal.
It is very niche. If you got excited looking at this, then you don't need me to tell you to put this anywhere.
Rip, Spawn Hunter
While I am enjoying Duskmourn's creepy horror aesthetic, I do not care for the reference stuff with the humans too much. Go back to Phenomenon Investigators
This Ghostbusters reference of a card seems pretty stacked, though. Rip doesn't need to attack to be tapped, but with a 4/4 stat line, you won't always face down some opposition.
Speaking of Opposition
You don't even need to buff up Rip because looking at the top four cards of your library means that you're pretty likely to get two creatures to hand if you build with a decent spread of powers among creatures and Vehicles.
Leinore, Autumn Sovereign
Undead Sprinter
A Rakdos Gravecrawler
Infinite casts, enters, and dies triggers. Zulaport Cutthroat
Juri, Master of the Revue
Winter, Misanthropic Guide
Look, I know people love group hug and slug and a lot of folks will try to build around Winter's Delirium, but I'm going to tell you right off the bat that I'm holding onto my Bojuka Bog
I'll let Winter live, though, because thank you so much for the extra cards!
So how do you build this? Take some cues from Nekusar, the Mindrazer
Punish for hand size with Gaze of Adamaro
I can't picture Winter anywhere but at the helm of a deck, as is common with three-colour legends.
Uncommons & Commons
Drag to the Roots
A two-mana kill spell for the Delirium decks out there who need to remove anything but lands!
Gremlin Tamer
Thrilled to see an Eerie token-maker. Popping this in enchantment decks to make a bunch of lil blockers is the way to go.
Inquisitive Glimmer
An Azorius Jukai Naturalist
Sawblade Skinripper
A little more palatable Mayhem Devil
Skullsnap Nuisance
I love Constellation, and having Eerie rips. This lil guy is a bread and butter smoother adding surveil to all your enchantments hitting the field.
DUSKMOURN IS THE TRUTH
I really love the environment and the lore. The art rules and as a fan of reanimator and enchantments, this set is already one of my faves in recent memory.
What color combo has captured your heart?