Scrabbling Skullcrab | Duskmourn: House of Horror | Art by John Tedrick
14, Oct, 24

Spooky New MTG Skeleton Deck Debuts Just In Time For Halloween

It'll send shivers down your spine for sure...

We’re deep in the dark, dark woods of October now, and All Hallows’ Eve is fast approaching. Wizards’ intent with releasing Duskmourn: House of Horror so soon before it was surely to give players something spooky to play at their FNM. In that regard, it appears it has succeeded. Over the past few days, the presumed-dead MTG Skeletons archetype has risen again, this time in a lovely shade of Dimir. Is this new deck a treat for Halloween lovers? Or a nasty trick that will lead you down a dark road to 0-2 results? Let’s take a look!

The Skeleton Squad

Dimir Skeletons MTG Core Package

Before we examine Dimir Skeletons itself, and how it’s doing in MTG Standard, it’s worth looking at the deck’s roots. Ever since Outlaws of Thunder Junction, players have tried to make a Skeleton deck work in Standard. The set added excellent new aggressive Skeletons in Forsaken Miner and Tinybones, the Pickpocket. It also brought Gisa, the Hellraiser in as a Skeleton lord effect.

All of this Skeleton support drew attention to the other Skeleton cards that had been printed previously. Corpses of the Lost from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan suddenly looked like a pretty great deal. Case of the Stashed Skeleton from Murders at Karlov Manor got some love too.

To round out the deck, players added many of the generic ‘Best cards in Standard.’ Coincidentally, many of these cards were available in Mono-Black. Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor, and Deep-Cavern Bat all found their way into Skeleton lists. Although these cards were all individually powerful, they also didn’t add to the deck’s capabilities. Straightforward Aggro remained the main path to victory.

Mono-Black Skeletons was solid, but it never really ‘broke through’ when it came to the Standard meta. As with most Aggro decks, it was great for grinding the ladder on Arena. It never saw the same success in tournaments, however. While the deck was powerful, it was also very linear. Outside of ‘play small creatures, remove threats,’ the deck had very limited interaction. In a format where Mono-Red and Gruul could do the same thing much more reliably, it was always in the shadows.

A Dash Of Dimir

Dimir Skeletons MTG Duskmourn Cards

Now that Duskmourn is here, it may finally be time for Skeletons to emerge from the closet. While we actually didn’t get any direct Skeleton support in the set, outside of a few new creatures with the Skeleton type, it seems that a lot of Duskmourn cards play very nicely with the existing Skeletons shell. This has led to a number of players trying out Dimir Skeletons decks in MTG Standard, and so far they’re doing very well indeed.

This deck still plays all of the Skeleton classics. Forsaken Miner, Case of the Stashed Skeleton, Corpses of the Lost, all that good stuff. What it adds is a number of powerful grindy cards for Midrange matchups and an unexpected enchantment subtheme. The sole new Skeleton in the deck, Skullsnap Nuisance, has an Eerie effect that lets you filter your draws. This plays nicely with Case and Corpses (both enchantments), as well as Hopeless Nightmare, which is another new addition to the deck.

Supporting these synergies we have Nowhere to Run and Fear of Isolation. These cards play great together, but Isolation also combos well with Case, Corpses, and Nightmare too. Enduring Curiosity and Fear of Impostors round out the enchantments suite, while Nashi, Searcher in the Dark helps grab them back from the graveyard. Kaito, Bane of Nightmares is mostly just a generic value card, but it does pair very well with Nashi.

Bring it all together, and Dimir Skeletons becomes a much more flexible and powerful MTG deck than its Mono-Black ancestor. It can hit the crazy early curves just like Mono-Black could, but it can also pursue interesting attrition lines to boot. Hopeless Nightmare into Fear of Isolation, for example, is incredibly solid. In the current Midrange-heavy Standard meta, Dimir Skeletons is positioned very well.

Bone Breakers

Counter Play

That said, it’s too early to call Dimir Skeletons a meta-breaker. It’s a powerful and flexible list, but it also has clear weaknesses to many popular decks in Standard right now. While the deck has Midrange elements, it’s still an Aggro list at heart. The majority of its cards, therefore, creatures and otherwise, are vulnerable to Temporary Lockdown. This is a sideboard staple right now, and is especially prevalent in the likes of Orzhov Midrange and Mono-White Tokens. Enchantment hate is your best bet against this card, so sideboarding a copy or two of Withering Torment could be the play.

Speaking of enchantment hate, Dimir Skeletons is particularly vulnerable to it, too. The enchantment synergies in the deck broaden its scope, but also add a lot more value to your opponent’s removal. Cards like Tranquil Frillback and Pick Your Poison become much better against your deck, for example. There’s not a lot you can do about this, since enchantments are pretty central to what the deck is doing. Just be aware of the options your opponent could have available in the enchantment hate department.

Finally, as with all decks in the current Standard, there’s always the chance that Dimir Skeletons just gets run over by a fast combo deck like Gruul Prowess. Your early creatures can help with this somewhat, but you’ll really feel Forsaken Miner’s inability to block when you’re taking 20 from a Leyline of Resonance combo on turn two. Withering Torment is a great answer to Leyline, but for the creatures you’ll want more cheap removal. Consider adding more Cut Down and Anoint With Affliction for these matchups.

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