Haunted homes are a horror staple, however how do you do one in Magic: The Gathering, the place a typical growth represents a whole aircraft of existence? Duskmourn: House of Horror solutions that by having a haunted home unfold past its grounds to take over a whole world. The backstory has it {that a} type of worry demon imprisoned throughout the bounds of a single mansion discovered a loophole, increasing the grounds till everybody on the aircraft of Duksmourn was trapped inside.
Where Magic has accomplished physique horror in Phyrexia and gothic horror within the Innistrad units, Duskmourn has extra of a Nineteen Eighties horror vibe, with VHS static and chainsaws—a brand new type of terror in each room of its infinite home. Think of Stranger Things, Hellraiser, House of Leaves, and Stephen King’s It, or videogames like Anatomy and MyHouse.wad. (There’s just a little Silent Hill in there as nicely, and Team Silent legend Masahiro Ito contributed card artwork.)
Appropriately, a brand new card sort in Duskmourn are referred to as Rooms. Technically enchantments, every one has two results you may select from when enjoying it—the opposite impact stays locked till you pay the extra price. This is represented by Rooms being performed horizontally, an illustrated wall separating the 2 halves. When your opponent performs one you get a preview of what else they’re going to be capable of do with it, creating a way of dread.
Which is what Duskmourn is all about. A brand new mechanic referred to as impending implies that sure playing cards representing the home’s most monstrous inhabitants are performed with a stack of counters on them, one in all which is eliminated on the finish of every flip, coming to life solely when the ultimate counter leaves. Again, what’s coming, and have to determine how one can cease it in time. No soar scares right here.
Other playing cards are designed to play off the Room playing cards, like these with eerie skills which set off when an enchantment is performed or a Room is unlocked. Our preview card, Ghostly Keybearer (artwork by Marco Gorlei), is one other, unlocking a Room once you deal fight harm to a participant because it flies out of the home’s nightmare mirrors on a cloud of glitching TV display fuzz.
Duskmourn: House of Horror can be playable at prerelease occasions from September 20, and can be accessible in Arena on September 24 and in paper Magic on September 27.Â
