This New Mechanic Is Magic: The Gathering Duskmourn's Ultimate Weapon

If you're the kind of person who prepares for spooky season the same day the pumpkin spice latte hits cafes, you probably want to have Magic: The Gathering Duskmourn on your radar--and it's nothing like the game's super cute Bloomburrow set.

Duskmourn is the upcoming spooky set for Wizards of the Coast's biggest trading card game, and it's inspired by modern horror from the '80s and beyond. While that's obvious in its art and card frames, arguably my favorite thematic element is one of its new mechanics: Manifest Dread.

There are a few other mechanics and details that Wizards revealed today at a PAX West panel, and I'll go over some of those details here as well. But first, let's manifest some dread.

Manifest Dread Is a Tricker's Dream

Longtime Magic: The Gathering players might remember the Manifest mechanic, which also appeared recently in Modern Horizons 3. Manifest Dread is a variant that will be introduced in Duskmourn.

Manifest Dread lets you take the top two cards of your deck and choose one to put face down as a 2/2 colorless, typeless creature. The other gets put face up in your graveyard. That face-down card can be revealed by paying its mana cost, if it's a creature.

It's simple on its face, but the beauty is in the mystery it creates. If I pull a 6/6 creature and a land, I'd probably put the 6/6 creature face down to reveal it later. That seems like the easy answer for maximum viability.

But what if I put that 6/6 creature in the graveyard face up? Obviously, that face down card has to be something insane, right? And to my opponent, that's a scary move--one that might manifest some dread, even.

I love this mechanic because of how much it plays into the horror tropes that Duskmourn is all about. It builds anticipation and tension for your opponents, who have no idea if you're bluffing or getting ready for a game-winning move.

Previously, Wizards shared the Impending mechanic that's part of Duskmourn, which similarly ties into the theme. You can play a card at a lower cost, but it won't really be active until a certain number of turns have passed.

It's another way to build anticipation, but it's the fear of something the opponent knows. A spell cast with Impending is cast face up. But when it comes in face down? I mean, every horror fan knows how terrifying the fear of the unknown is.

Magic: The Gathering Duskmourn Is an Endless Haunted House

In the first look article that Wizards posted, they revealed that the House of Horror is indeed just one house--a house that spans the entire plane. To bring that house to life, a new Enchantment type is coming to Magic: The Gathering: Rooms.

Room cards are split cards (the ones that are horizontal and feature two cards in one), and when you cast it, you choose which side to pay for. Then when it enters on the field, the other side is "locked." You can open the door by paying the other side's mana cost (as a sorcery).

Room cards provide ongoing effects and practically act as two enchantments in one. The art on them is also pretty scary, with the "split" promising to feature some scary hidden easter eggs.

Enchantments were a big idea in Duskmourn, according to Head Designer Mark Rosewater. It just felt thematically on point to focus on them, creating a sort of "enchanted," spooky theme. There are even more Enchantment Creatures, too.

To add to the atmosphere, Eerie is a new effect coming to some cards, which trigger whenever an Enchantment enters the field. This includes Enchantment Creatures, typical Enchantments, and even Rooms--which can trigger twice.

Enchantment Creatures play another big role, synergizing with the return of the Delirium mechanic. Delirium triggers when you have four or more card types in your graveyard, which will likely happen pretty quickly with the Duskmourn cards.

And finally, a new mechanic that's coming to this set is Survival, which triggers when a card is tapped during your second main phase. Again, much like most of what's in Duskmourn, it's a thematically relevant mechanic that especially matches the characters who are trying to survive in the haunted plane.

Magic: The Gathering Duskmourn's Commanders Revealed

We also have new details on the four pre-constructed Commander decks in Duskmourn. The Commander leads are:

• Amanatou, Veil Piercer (White-Blue-Black)
• Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls (Black-Red)
• Winter, Cynical Opportunist (Black-Green)
• Zimone, Mystery Unraveler (Green-Blue)

As you can see, Zimone is probably the one I'll have my eye on the most, with her ability synergizing very strongly with the Manifest Dread mechanic. However, my Asterion-loving heart has a real soft spot for Winter's whole vibe.

The last thing I did want to share with you, as a final hurrah, is the Double Exposure cards Wizards shared with us. Kaito, who you might remember from Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, returns as a Planeswalker, but his Double Exposure treatment looks beautiful.

That's all we have to share about Magic: The Gathering Duskmourn from today's panel, but stay tuned here for more about the upcoming horror-inspired set!

Wizards of the Coast invited TechRaptor to a media event to preview the upcoming details on Magic: The Gathering Duskmourn.