Welcome Magic lovers!
Ah, yes, it's that glorious time of the…month when the Magic: the Gathering world is buzzing with excitement about all the new toys they'll soon be tinkering with and trying to determine which formats and deck archetypes will be most affected, as the upcoming Duskmourn: House of Horror set release is now less than a week away.
While Duskmourn: House of Horror does seem to contain many powerful creatures and spells to build around or which may find a home in existing decks, today we're going to zoom in on the Standard format specifically and explore the most potent and dangerous cards we've seen spoiled thus far that may make an impact on Magic's most restricted competitive constructed format.
10. Allied Verge Lands
Yes, it's boring to start with something like a cycle of lands, but it's important to draw attention to the fact that these are incredible additions to Standard that will see plenty of play over the entire time that they're legal. Dual lands that come into play untapped are always very powerful, but add to that the fact that they work so well with the surveil lands from Murders at Karlov Manor, as well as Fabled Passage, and it's easy to see why the Verge lands will be fantastic in Standard. These will smooth out many rough mana bases in Standard, especially in aggro decks like Gruul which are still relying on terrible mana fixing from things like Thran Portal. Craft these early on Magic Arena, as you will certainly be getting plenty of use out of them.
9. Sheltered by Ghosts
Honestly, this one almost didn't make the list as I think a are almost never good enough for constructed, as the risk of losing two cards to your opponent's one timely removal spell is usually too great. However, Sheltered by Ghosts is just cheap and flexible enough to warrant the risk. It almost seems like the inverse of an aura like Ossification, which was an enchantment removal spell which was difficult to remove as it targeted a land and not a creature. That said, it was limited in its ability to only hit creatures and planeswalkers. Sheltered by Ghosts, on the other hand, can tag any permanent on the battlefield aside from a land, however it's easier to remove as it must target and be carried by a creature.
While the Ward 2 it bestows does increase the creature's survivability, there are still many sweepers, sacrifice effects and good old fashioned enchantment removal in Standard that can ruin one's day if they rely too heavily on a removal spell like Sheltered by Ghosts to blunt the opponent's assault. I see this card being very powerful when combined with hexproof creatures, perhaps in an enchantment-based deck running Ethereal Armor (yes, it's back!), or in a very tempo-based aggressive deck that just needs a cheap way to clear that last one or two blockers in order to connect for lethal damage.
8. Abhorrent Oculus
A three-mana, blue dragon that puts creatures into play every turn for free? You've got my attention. The power is obviously there, but with a pseudo-Delve 6 attached to its casting cost, is it actually viable in Standard? The answer to that is almost certainly, oh yes.
There are many ways to get around its drawback. For example, something as simple as turn one surveil land into a turn two Founding of the Third Path guarantees that one can cast the Abhorrent Oculus on curve. If sagas aren't your style, that's no problem, as the Oculus plays well with many other two-mana graveyard-enablers, such as Picklock Prankster or Cache Grab, the latter of which also happens to put the creature into one's hand.
In Standard there are also the spells-based, blue-white tempo decks that run Helping Hand to put Haughty Djinn or Monastery Mentor into play which will welcome another powerful three-mana creature to cheat into play early.
The power level on Abhorrent Oculus is quite high, and I expect it to find a home in Standard at some point.
7. Demonic Counsel
While it's been a long time since actual Demonic Tutor has been legal in Standard, the new Duskmourn equivalent, Demonic Counsel, does a damn good impression of it. Being able to fetch any card in one's deck is obviously powerful, but that can only be achieved through getting Delirium going. Fortunately, that's not too hard to put together, as decks like Golgari Midrange already play plenty of different card types, from creatures and spells, to lands and planeswalkers and even enchantments. Being able to Demonic Counsel for Vraska, Betrayal's Sting in order to combo kill the opponent on the spot seems great in Golgari, allowing the deck to cut extraneous copies of the clunky six-mana planeswalker.
Demonic Counsel also seems good in Sultai Squirming Emergence decks or other reanimator strategies which are rapidly trying to mill themselves. Delirium should be trivially easy to achieve early in these shells, allowing the Counsel to find whichever combo piece one requires, from reanimation spell to large creature or permanent to cheat into play.
While I'm not as confident this one will see as much play as some other cards on this list, I do fully expect to see it show up in the most broken combo decks that Standard can muster across the next few years.
6. Hauntwoods Shrieker
While not a very flashy, combo-enabling piece, Hauntwoods Shrieker seems very powerful for its cost. While a three-mana 3/3 certainly isn't anything to write home about, it does Cut Down and its being able to manifest dread each time it attacks is VERY strong. Not only will the Shrieker create an army for its controller, it also helps fill the graveyard for delirium strategies, and can even flip over a massive threat for two mana if one happens to manifest the right thing. A card like this that can snowball and take over the game demands respect (and an immediate removal spell). I suspect Hauntwoods Shrieker will see some amount of play in Golgari or other green-based decks looking to get value from the graveyard.
5. Overlord of the Hauntwoods
While the Overlord cycle that's been spoiled all seem quite powerful, a couple of them stand above the rest and Overlord of the Hauntwoods is definitely one. Three-mana ramp/fixing usually isn't very impressive, however in some decks, like Domain Ramp, it's a crucially important piece of their gameplan. Currently, decks like Domain are running Heaped Harvest in order to provide the early ramp and mana-fixing that the deck so desperately requires, and Overlord of the Hauntwoods is a straight upgrade here in almost every way.
It fixes one's mana so much more effectively, as instead of being able to fetch a land that produces only one color and is only one basic type, the pilot can create a land that produces ALL colors of mana and counts as EVERY land type in order to immediately fully power up the Domain mechanic. Not only that, casting it for its Impending cost will also still trigger Up the Beanstalk.
Then Overlord of the Hauntwoods sits on the battlefield, a ticking timebomb out of reach of the opponent, patiently waiting to make a big splash later in the game as it comes down as a large threat that also takes one right up to Atraxa, Grand Unifier mana.
Downsides include having a slightly more awkward double-green mana cost while also not gaining life the way Heaped Harvest does, which can be crucial at helping the slower Domain deck stabilize against the more aggressive strategies in Standard. These don't seem to be dealbreakers, however, and I fully expect this card to see a ton of play in Standard.
4. Overlord of the Mistmoors
As anyone who played with and against Grave Titan in Standard knows, putting multiple creatures into play at once is a massive tempo swing and usually puts one's opponent in a very tough spot, unless they have a sweeper. Overlord of the Mistmoors not only puts ten power across three bodies into play when you cast it, but it also gets to create two bodies in the early-mid game for half the cost! Four power for four mana is an acceptable rate, but throw in the fact that these 2/1 creatures have flying and it becomes really enticing.
The main reason that Overlord of the Mistmoors ranks higher than Overlord of the Hauntwoods is that the former is the same color as the insanely powerful Caretaker's Talent, and works so nicely in tandem with it. Casting the Talent on turn three into an impending Overlord of the Mistmoors on turn four seems incredible, often baiting the opponent into overextending into a turn-five Sunfall. Expect Overlord of the Mistmoors to show up in all the Caretaker's Talent decks going forward.
3. Kona, Rescue Beastie
It should be fairly obvious why this card immediately makes the list, as it's clearly designed to do very broken things. All it takes is casting Kona, Rescue Beastie with another way to tap it already in play, and voila, turn four Atraxa, Grand Unifier or Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls.
Ways to enable it include creatures like Citanul Stalwart or Scene of the Crime, however the real MVP here is almost certainly going to be Relic of Legends. As The One Ring has taught us in other formats, it turns out that being legendary isn't actually a drawback anymore. Being able to cast Kona and immediately tap it to make mana with Relic of Legends while simultaneously cheating something massive into play seems very powerful, and there is no shortage of other powerful legends in Standard to fill the deck out with, from Rona, Herald of Invasion to Inti, Seneschal of the Sun.
The one other thing to note here is that Kona, Rescue Beastie can also apparently rescue non-creatures, allowing one to cheat in bombs like Virtue of Persistence, One with the Multiverse or Portal to Phyrexia. Combine all these things into one card and you've got a very powerful combo engine on your hands. I fully expect this card to spawn a legends-based deck in Standard that is cheating very large things into play very early.
2. Dollmaker’s Shop // Porcelain Gallery
As a two-mana enchantment that pumps out 1/1 creatures each turn, it's easy to compare this to cards like Skrelv's Hive and even Bitterblossom, however there are some distinct differences which put Dollmaker's Shop in a class of its own.
On one hand, Dollmaker's Shop requires one to be attacking with other creatures in order to produce Toy tokens, though that shouldn't be very difficult to do in white in Standard. On the other hand, Dollmaker's Shop not only produces an army, it also pumps up that army later, once the game has progressed to the point that it's pilot can unlock the room, Porcelain Gallery. This allows Dollmaker's Shop to be enabler and payoff in one card, which is very potent. Add to that the fact that Caretaker's Talent is not only one of the best cards in current Standard, but it also plays so beautifully with Dollmaker's Shop, and it seems like the two were made for one another.
other powerful creature-producers like Fountainport and Urabrask's Forge seeing plenty of play in token decks, and it feels like Dollmaker's Shop already has a cozy home waiting for it in Standard. Be prepared to face this toy-making engine often in Standard, as players try and find the optimal number of copies to play in white-based tokens decks.
1. Kaito, Bane of Nightmares
It may seem odd to have a very ninja-centric planeswalker get printed into Standard after the rotation of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, but I think Kaito, Bane of Nightmares will do just fine even without a cohort of stealthy creatures to accompany him. Simply playing a Spyglass Siren on turn one or Faerie Mastermind on the end of the opponent's second turn in order to ninjutsu a Kaito into play, tapped and attacking, on turn three is already very powerful. Being a hexproof creature on its pilot's turn, and a planeswalker on the opponent's turn, makes Kaito very tricky to kill, as he dodges sorcery speed creature removal and sweepers.
Making an emblem with its 'plus loyalty' ability is something we've never seen on a planeswalker, and seems extremely potent as emblems can't be removed once in play. That means Kaito will be hitting harder and harder each turn if one is ahead in the game, and if one is behind, Kaito can use his Surveil 2 ability to help dig through the deck and find the answer one needs in the moment.
Throw in the fact that Dimir Tempo, already one of the best decks in Standard, is a perfect natural home for Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, and you have a card that is going to make a big impact in Standard once it releases.
That's it for my top ten! There are a ton of other honorable mentions that I could have included here as well. Let me know which cards YOU think will make the biggest splash in Standard when Duskmourn: House of Horror drops next week!
