Wizards of the Coast has added 10 Magic: The Gathering reprints to the Duskmourn House of Horrors roster as special guest cards on The List. Here’s which ones to pick and the cards to ignore.
Balance within limited formats like Draft and Sealed has been a concern among MTG players since special guest cards and The List was first introduced. Bloomburrow was one of the first sets I played where special guests didn’t have a huge impact on the meta and the same may be true for Duskmourn House of Horrors. But a few outliers are standing out. And the Duskmourn Draft archetypes are different from the two-color pairs in Bloomburrow. Here’s an early ranking of all Duskmourn special guest cards within the Limited format.
Hallow Haunting Duskmourn special guest
The Duskmourn set is packed with Enchantments, as it’s the main design theme. Hallowed Haunting is a Limited bomb in the right decks. Be sure to have some form of Enchantment removal in your main deck at Prerelease, especially if this special guest enters the battlefield.
Maddening Hex Duskmourn special guest
Maddening Hex is a good Commander card, but somewhat overpowered in Limited. Since there is only one opponent, there’s no getting rid of this Enchantment Curse. And taking one to six damage every turn feels awful within Draft and Sealed. Don’t sleep on Enchantment removal when building your deck.
Sacrifice Duskmourn special guest
The Black and Red Draft archetype has a Sacrifice theme, with the Mono-Black Instant slotting right in. Extra mana is always nice, and if sacrificing is part of your gameplay strategy, Sacrifice is an auto-include. But it’s not a top pick.
Soul Warden Duskmourn special guest
Gaining life points within the Limited format is always a win, as it provides a little extra advantage to win a match. Soul Warden is an auto-include in Red and White Draft decks as a one-drop, and should pull you into the Duskmourn Draft archetype. Outside of RW, the Human Cleric is still good, but not top-pick worthy.
Unholy Heat Duskmourn special guest
Shock is back through Unholy Heat. A majority of the time, the one-drop Instant will get played as a pseudo Shock. But in some decks, watch out for the Delirium clause being met, as it will take out your finisher.
Noxious Revival Duskmourn special guest
Having the option to pay two life points to reanimate any card from your graveyard back to the top of the library is good. The Instant isn’t bomb-worthy, but it is good. Don’t sleep on Noxious Revival, as it can slot into any build thanks to its Phyrexian mana cost.
Damnation Duskmourn special guest
The Blue and Black Duskmourn Draft archetype has a Control theme, and Damnation is the kind of card Control players want. I expect this to be a top pick in Draft through packs two or three, but not pack one.
Phantasmal Image Duskmourn special guest
Phantasmal Image is another solid Blue card that will get played in Duskmourn Limited formats. It’s not a top pick, though, unless you have a creature bomb you can copy on the battlefield. The downside to the MTG Illusion is the sacrifice clause if targeted.
Collected Company Duskmourn special guest
I’m ranking Collected Company low for now, but it could rise in the rankings depending on the remaining Duskmourn spoilers. The ability is strong within low-cost creature decks, and the Instant could shine within an RW build that splashes Green or through RG Delirum Stompy.
Expropriate Duskmourn special guest
Expropriate is a fun Commander card that is extremely expensive for Limited play. The Sorcery spell could find a home in the Blue and Black Duskmourn archetype, though, which should end the game. It’s not a top pick from pack one, but could rise in value by pack three when playing Draft.
You can test out the Duskmourn House of Horror special guest MTG cards in Prerelease events that start on Sept. 20.
