Duskmourn’s official release is less than a week away, and this set looks like a lot of fun. The horror aesthetics are quite interesting, and the mechanics are very flavorful. In addition to new mechanics, we’re also getting some sweet throwbacks to older keywords that fit Duskmourn thematically.
At the top of that list, we have Delirium. Delirium is a neat mechanic that typically provides you with a bonus as long as you have four or more card types in your graveyard. With Delirium making a triumphant return, we thought it would be cool to go over the strongest cards with Delirium that have been printed over the years. Enabling Delirium isn’t super difficult, and the following cards all pay you off heavily for doing so. Now, without further ado, here are the MTG best Delirium cards.
#6 | Winter, Misanthropic Guide
- Mana Value: 1BRG
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 3/4
- MTG Sets: Duskmourn
- Card Text: Ward 2. At the beginning of your upkeep, each player draws two cards. Delirium — As long as there are four or more card types among cards in your graveyard, each opponent’s maximum hand size is equal to seven minus the number of those card types.
Kicking things off, we have Winter, Misanthropic Guide. Winter is a new creature that has Commander written all over it. In typical group-hug fashion, Winter lets everyone get in on the fun of drawing cards. However, once you start filling your graveyard with different card types, Winter becomes a scary engine. Letting your opponents draw extra cards isn’t a big concern if they’re forced to discard a bunch of them at the end of their turn.
Winter’s card drawing ability is also easily abusable. Effects that drain harm your opponents whenever they draw cards, such as Underworld Dreams, work perfectly alongside Winter. Once Delirium is turned on, cards like Waste Not become super appealing.
Ultimately, there were a few other legends that could have earned this sixth spot on our list. Ishkanah, Grafwidow is a sweet card, too, but we ultimately decided to give recognition to the new creature that we think is one of the best Commanders in Duskmourn.
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#5 | Traverse the Ulvenwald
- Mana Value: G
- Rarity: Rare
- MTG Sets: Shadows over Innistrad
- Card Text: Search your library for a basic land card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle your library. Delirium– If there are four or more card types among cards in your graveyard, instead search your library for a creature or land card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle your library.
Next, we have Traverse the Ulvenwald. Traverse is a cool card. Early in the game, you can always cast Traverse the Ulvenwald just to hit your land drops. Once you enable Delirium, though, Traverse becomes an excellent tutor.
In Commander, as long as you’re doing some self-milling in green, you’ll probably want access to Traverse. Traverse also shows up in Constructed from time to time, helping combo decks that fill their graveyard find a specific creature. For example, Abzan Greasefang in Pioneer often runs Traverse as a way to grab the namesake card. As good as Traverse is, though, it doesn’t see quite as much competitive play as it used to, so putting it here at number five seems appropriate.
#4 | Unholy Heat
- Mana Value: R
- Rarity: Common
- MTG Sets: Modern Horizons 2, Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander, Mystery Booster 2
- Card Text: Unholy Heat deals 2 damage to target creature or planeswalker. Delirium– Unholy Heat deals 6 damage instead if there are four or more card types among cards in your graveyard.
Coming in at number four, we have Unholy Heat. Now we’re starting to get to the all-time great Delirium cards. Unholy Heat is a rather simple removal spell, but it’s incredibly effective. On turn one, Unholy Heat does a fine job keeping opposing one-drops like Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer in check.
As the game progresses, though, Unholy Heat has the potential to take out much larger threats. Being able to remove copies of Phlage, Titan of Fire’s Fury or Primeval Titan for the low cost of one mana is incredible. As such, Unholy Heat is a staple of Izzet Murktide in Modern. Between Fetchlands, Mishra’s Bauble, and Dragon’s Rage Channeler, it’s not hard to get Delirium in the early turns of the game.
The only reason Unholy Heat isn’t higher on this list is that it doesn’t see as much play as it used to. Since the release of MH3, many Modern strategies rely on the power of Galvanic Discharge instead. Unholy Heat still gets the job done for a handful of decks but isn’t the format staple it was a couple years ago.
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#3 | Demonic Counsel
- Mana Vlue: 1B
- Rarity: Rare
- MTG Sets: Duskmourn
- Card Text: Search your library for a Demon card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle. Delirium– If there are four or more card types among cards in your graveyard, instead search your library for any card, put it into your hand, then shuffle.
Demonic Counsel is a very unique card. In Commander, it’s obviously a slam dunk inclusion in any deck with some reasonable Demons to tutor up. In a Constructed setting, though, this card is largely predicated on your ability to get Delirium quickly.
The upside on this card is huge. Demonic Tutor is a card that is restricted in Timeless, banned in Historic, and even banned in Legacy. It wouldn’t be shocking if this card ends up breaking out in a Dark Ritual combo shell, though it does take some work to maximize. Considering this card should at minimum see a decent amount of Commander play, we felt that giving this card a speculative spot at number three in our rankings was appropriate.
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#2 | Shifting Woodland
- Rarity: Rare
- MTG Sets: Modern Horizons 3
- Card Text: Shifting Woodland enters the battlefield tapped unless you control a Forest. Tap: Add G. Delirium– 2GG: Shifting Woodland becomes a copy of target permanent card in our graveyard until end of turn. Activate only if there are four or more card types among cards in your graveyard.
At number two, we have Shifting Woodland. Shifting Woodland was one of the most hyped cards during MH3 spoiler season. While it hasn’t quite lived up to expectations, that doesn’t mean it hasn’t made its mark on competitive Magic.
One of the best shells for it is in Historic. The goal is to copy Omniscience and follow up with a bunch of potent haymakers. Using tools like Malevolent Rumble to get Delirium going, this unique combo deck is one of the strongest choices in the format.
Beyond Historic, the strong land shows up in other archetypes like Amulet Titan in Modern. Shifting Woodland even makes a splash in the Vintage Cube on Magic Online, further showcasing its power. There’s a lot to like about Shifting Woodland, but it still falls short of the top slot on our list.
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#1 | Dragon’s Rage Channeler
- Mana Value: R
- Rarity: Uncommon
- Stats: 1/1
- MTG Sets: Modern Horizons 2, Mystery Booster 2
- Card Text: Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, surveil 1. (Look at the top card of your library. You may put that card into your graveyard.) Delirium– As long as there are four or more card types among cards in your graveyard, Dragon’s Rage Channeler gets +2/+2, has flying, and attacks each combat if able.
That’s because Dragon’s Rage Channeler is an absolute beating. It may get outshined a bit by some other one-drops in Modern nowadays, but it’s still the real deal. Thanks to the Surveil 1 ability, it’s trivial to set up Delirium with a couple cantrips. Once you do, you get a 3/3 Flier at your disposal.
For this reason, Dragon’s Rage Channeler has become a staple of Grixis tempo decks in Legacy. It’s even more prominent at this point than Delver of Secrets, which used to be the pinnacle threat of Legacy tempo shells. Dragon’s Rage Channeler does everything you want at very little cost, and therefore earns the title of the best MTG Delirium card.
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