Time sure does fly when you’re having fun. It feels like only yesterday we were sitting down to play at the Bloomburrow Prerelease, and now the community is gearing up for the release of Duskmourn. True, it’s still around three weeks before previews begin in earnest. But that small fact hasn’t stopped players from going wild with speculation online. In a thread on the r/MagicTCG subreddit started by HonorBasquiat, many players chimed in with what they wanted to see from Magic’s next foray into the fearful. Duskmourn predictions are here, and the MTG hype train is officially never stopping.
Hopes And Nightmares
The thread began with a simple prompt: “What are you looking forward to the most about the Duskmourn: House of Horror set? Any predictions or wants?” From this tiny acorn, a mighty oak of MTG Duskmourn predictions grew.
Naturally, a lot of discussion centered around the art for the set. As Pollution_Agile put it: “I want some insane art that makes me unable to sleep at night.” Many echoed this point around art, with some getting even more specific. Lotus-Vale listed “More Junji Ito art cards” in their wants, and AporiaParadox wholeheartedly agreed. “Junji Ito is a must, if they could get him for Phyrexia: All Will be One then surely they can get him for this.”
Others dug a little deeper. Face-down cards are already confirmed as a theme for the Simic Jump Scare! Commander deck for the set. Looking at Creepy Crawler, a playtest card from Mystery Booster 2, some players believe the ‘afraid’ mechanic is a teaser for Duskmourn. “Oh yeah, that playtest card is totally a teaser. It makes too much sense as a mechanic.” noted CosmicCryptid_13. It’s hard to argue with that; the fact that the ‘afraid’ mechanic includes enchantments, a card type already confirmed as a focus in Duskmourn, makes it very likely in my book.
A lot of players are also hoping that Duskmourn avoids the pitfall Murders at Karlov Manor and Outlaws of Thunder Junction fell into. That is to say: the overuse of pop culture tropes. Some are hopeful this will be the case, while others are more pessimistic. WrestlingHobo, for instance, notes that “Duskmourn looks like another Magic the Tropening set.” Based on the cards revealed so far, which include clear references to The Ring and The Evil Dead, this particular want may be wishful thinking at this point.
Too Much Too Soon
Other predictions concerned specific cards that might see print. Many players were keen to see more support for Magic’s darker creature types, including Atheistmantide: “Hoping for Horror, Nightmare, Demon, and Zombie tribal support.” All of these seem very likely given the set’s haunted house theming, but the inclusion of modern horror elements does cast some doubt there.
There was also a lot of speculation as to the nature of the mysterious new Room cards. So far it’s been confirmed that Room is a new subtype, but we don’t know anything more beyond that. “Would MDFC Shocklands be too strong? That’s what I think Rooms will be.” suggested burritoman88. It does seem unlikely that a cycle so powerful would be printed, but Rooms being lands makes a lot of sense. Maybe the first real cycle of enchantment lands in Magic, in keeping with the rest of the set?
Interestingly, despite this being a thread specifically for Duskmourn predictions, many players used it as a forum to vent their concerns about the rapid speed of new MTG releases. This isn’t a new issue for Magic. Players have been struggling to keep up with the constant spoiler season for quite a while now. The gap between Bloomburrow and Duskmourn is particularly small, however.
As sassysakai put it: “I want it to come out later so I can appreciate Bloomburrow before being buried in more product.” They weren’t alone, either. Every few comments in the thread, this concern rose up again. This is not a problem that will be addressed any time soon. Given how regularly it comes up, however, it’s something WotC will need to properly address at some point.
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