It was only a matter of time before Magic: The Gathering’s endless spoiler season began in 2025. As has become tradition over the past few years, the first set out of the gate will not be something completely new, but instead a new take on some old MTG cards.
Innistrad Remastered looks like an exciting way to start the new year. We got a slight taste of what the new set offers in 2024, and there are some absolutely incredible treatments coming our way! I am personally very fond of the retro bordered Liliana of the Veil.
Now, we have a few more Innistrad Remastered spoilers before the season officially kicks off tomorrow. Considering that this set releases before January is out, the schedule certainly seems tight.
Meld Monstrosities
Bruna, the Fading Light and Gisela, the Broken Blade are two halves of an absolutely terrifying Meld card. Released in Eldritch Moon, these cards Meld into Brisela, Voice of Nightmares. The nine-mana 9/10 has Flying, First Strike, Vigilance, Lifelink, and prevents opponents from casting spells with mana value three or less. As devastating as this effect is, Melding Bruna and Gisela is a very tall order. You can use Bruna’s effect to resurrect a fallen Gisela, but you still need to resolve a seven-mana creature to do this. The small reprieve is that countering Bruna’s trigger is rather difficult since it’s on cast.
Gisela, on the other hand, is quite good against faster decks. First Strike and Lifelink alone makes this a really difficult card for decks like Mono Red to fight. Despite this, neither of these cards sees much play outside of Commander.
As mentioned in the title, Gisela has a decent secondary market value. The market average for all variants floats around $30. Considering that this card sees rather limited demand, hopefully, this reprint should help lower Gisela’s price a bit. That said, the card has been reprinted as a Mythic Rare.
Bruna, on the other hand, floats around the $8-$10 mark. While it’s not the most exciting card you can open in Innistrad Remastered, many MTG players will be satisfied with finding Bruna. So long as the card retains its secondary market value, that is.
One More Spoiler
Found near the end of the new History of Innistrad YouTube video from Wizards of the Coast, another spoiler has been unveiled. Thalia, Heretic Cathar is seeing a reprint with new artwork. This card sees occasional play in Pioneer Humans, and lots of cEDH and Dual Commander play. If Thalia fits into a theme in your Commander deck, consider trying it!
While this Thalia is largely considered inferior to Guardian of Thraben, the stax effect that this card provides is just as deadly. Having creatures and nonbasic lands enter tapped for your opponents can seriously slow them down. It also allows their board to remain wide open for attacks. If you want to connect with your opponent, this isn’t a bad card to consider.
Interestingly, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben has not yet appeared in Innistrad Remastered. Considering how infamous this particular Legendary creature variant from Innistrad is, we would be incredibly surprised not to see the card appear in the coming days. As popular as this Thalia is in Commander, making all noncreature spells cost one extra is incredibly impactful in the right matchups.
At the time of writing, the cheapest variant of this card on the secondary market is worth about $3, making it a rather lackluster card to find in your Innistrad Remastered pack. The most expensive variant currently available on the secondary market is a Secret Lair one.
Notably, Thalia, Heretic Cathar will also be getting a retro border variant in Innistrad Remastered.
Spoiler Season Kicks Off Tomorrow
Innistrad Remastered releases on January 24th, which doesn’t give much time for Wizards of the Coast to preview the set. Considering this, it shouldn’t be shocking to learn that spoiler season kicks off tomorrow.
As far as these reprints go, expect the secondary market value for these cards to dip momentarily. Judging from past Remastered variants, these reprints don’t affect that much. Take Cyclonic Rift from last year’s Ravnica Remastered, for example. The variant from Ravnica Remastered actually has a premium. I’d expect that’s because of the card’s exclusive artwork being unique, but regardless, the newest variant of the card is still the most expensive one, which is rather unusual.
Want our advice? Consider buying reprints on the initial price drop. There’s no guarantee that cards will rebound afterward but, considering the recent history of premium sets with reprints, I’d say there’s a good chance that this will take place.
Like most sets, Innistrad Remastered’s biggest winners are going to be the singles buyers and the lucky few who are willing to crack open Collector Booster boxes that get lucky.
