Duskmourn Commander Set Review

It’s time for the Duskmourn Commander Set Review. This review will consider what’s hot from the set. If you’re a fan of 80’s horror, then you’ve come to the right place. You can check in any time you like, but it’s very hard to leave.

You can find other recent Commander set reviews here:

• Bloomburrow
• Assassin’s Creed
• Modern Horizons 3
• Thunder Junction
• Karlov Manor
• Lost Caverns of Ixalan

As per usual, this Set Review isn’t concerned with the forgettable draft cards. We’re only concerned with the cream of the crop for Commander brewing and collecting. Grab a torch and some gummy snacks, we’re headed into the House. 

DUSKMOURN: WHITE

Kicking things off today, we have a Room. Prop Room alone seems really well costed for the effect, and if you head to the Dazzling Theater, you also get to convoke your creatures out. I really like this one. 

The “Enduring” cycle of Glimmers in this set are all effects that stick around after a wrath, which is generally what you want in Commander. You also generally want card draw, and so Enduring Innocence looks like one of the better ones in the cycle.

Sigil of the Empty Throne and Hallowed Haunting are already great in Enchantress strategies, so I’m quite high on having that effect on a flyer that also digs an enchantment from out of the yard – or even unlocks a door of a Room. 

Overlord of the Mistmoors is basically a stronger Grave Titan for one more mana, in most decks. You can cast these critters for their Impending value, but Impending 4 on turn 3 or 4 might mean you never actually see this thing again. 

Reluctant Role Model is very well named, because I am reluctant to endorse a card with such anachronistic art. Still, it’s fairly tame compared to many secret lairs. If it wasn’t clear – yes, I do endorse this card in counters strategies. It’s a much more accessible pseudo-Ozolith effect.

What a tasty wrath, and at three mana, no less! I love this one. Aggro decks can choose to blow up what’s untapped after combat, and more defensive decks can punish the aggro decks. Sweet little card.

Three mana to nuke a creature is pretty okay, but in many ways this is a less flexible Skyclave Apparition. It’s still worth a look though.

The Wandering Rescuer reads pretty uninterestingly, but I think as a card she’s primed to make a splash. Think of her much like a Clever Concealment which leaves behind a ¾ double strike and a continuous hexproof effect for tapped creatures. 

Top 5 White Common/Uncommons

1. Sheltered by Ghosts – We powercrept Chains of Custody already. 
2. Exorcise – Sorcery speed removal gets a bad rap in EDH. This hits so many things for just two mana.
3. Unwanted Remake – Sure it’s not Path or Swords, but in an increasingly efficient environment, maybe you don’t want to give them life or lands.
4. Surgical Suite – solid recursion for two mana, and a slow value generator while you convalesce
5. Glimmer Seeker – Hey it’s white card draw, and sometimes it’s token generation.

DUSKMOURN: BLUE

Abhorrent Oculus really caught my eye. Yes, it asks a lot of you to cast it early, but I think that’s perfectly reasonable considering how strong it is. Manifesting Dread on each opponent’s upkeep is stellar, and gives you blockers for days. In any deck that can self-mill, I would love to run this card.

A win condition for Rooms decks (so, namely Marina Vendrell, I guess), Central Elevator // Promising Stairs does exactly what you want it to do. It tutors for a Room, and it wins you the game. I would be surprised to see any Rooms deck not running this card. 

Enduring Curiosity is the Coastal Piracy effect on an Enduring Glimmer. Again, keeping card draw after a board wipe is stellar, so I’m really high on this one. The fact it can enable itself, and be cast at Flash speed? What a good kitty. 

Blue card draw is often tied to the set mechanic, but that doesn’t make seeing a blue enchantress before we get another white one any less annoying. Well, to us white players, at least. Entity Tracker, for everyone playing blue, is just what the doctor ordered. Fantastic enchantress.

The Leylines in this set are hit and miss for Commander, but I’d say that Leyline of Transformation is pretty darn neat. Many decks like to mess with creature types, whether Changeling focused or otherwise. Getting a “fixer” in play without expending mana is excellent, and it’s otherwise fine for four mana. 

Will, Scion of Peace is getting hooked up. Marina Vendrell’s Grimoire is a spicy Lich effect in blue, and on an artifact, no less. This one is a remarkably flexible Lich effect, seeing as you don’t lose for it leaving play. As such, I feel like it’s going to see a lot of play.

The Mindskinner is secretly a Voltron Commander, and you can’t tell me otherwise. It’s a 10/1 for three!

Seriously, though, loading this up with buffs and milling everyone out is definitely the plan here. At least it dies to more types of removal. 

Mirror Room // Fractured Realm is great in the new-school UG tokens decks, like Adrix and Nev. Three mana to copy one of your creature tokens is nice. In Simic colors, ramping to seven is easy enough too, so the other half of the card will be achievable. Outside of green, maybe less so.

Silent Hallcreeper is one creepy longboi, but that doesn’t stop me from loving the card’s design. It has three very relevant combat triggers, and I like the idea of putting this out early before transforming it later.

The Tale of Tamiyo feels ostensibly like Tamiyo DLC for the Modern Horizons 3 Tamiyo deck, but don’t let that get in the way of your analysis. It’s just a decently strong effect in spellslinger and control decks. 

Top 5 Blue Common/Uncommons

1. Enter the Enigma – Unblockable? Cantrip? Please form a queue behind all of the U/x spellslinger decks gagging for this.
2. Bottomless Pool // Locker Room – An unsummon can really slow tempo these days. Turning it into card draw later seems deece.
3. Cursed Windbreaker – Soon we will have enough Autumn/Winter wear to start a “cheat the haymaker” catalogue.
4. Get Out – flexibility might be enough to make a double blue pip counter attractive enough to run
5. Fear of Isolation – It’s not quite Kor Skyfisher, but an Enchantment that can bounce stuff has interesting applications

DUSKMOURN: BLACK

Doomsday Excruciator is a great way to lose excess friends in Commander, if you need to. Just play this on curve – or earlier, with Dark Ritual – without mentioning its in your deck.

Casual games aside, this might prove to be a solid redundant effect for Doomsday in Doomsday combo lists. I’m not sure it’s really a good card to play, otherwise.

One of the temptations of running life altering cards is to run them out earlier than you can combo with them. That can mean your Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose ends up in the yard instead of winning you the game. Enduring Tenacity helps with that, because it’ll come back after a boardwipe. Sneaky. 

Stapling a mass reanimation effect to Bastion of Remembrance is a great way to get me to put down what I’m doing and head over. Funeral Room // Awakening Room is a very strong card and one that I think will see a lot of play. Remember to pack your graveyard hate.

Are sequels good? Generally? I mean, Aliens was decent. The Two Towers as well. Anyways. 

I want to judge this card based on the baseline effect, four mana as an enchantment, without “kicking” it. Paying 3 life to bring a creature back to play that dies is sweet. The Finality counter might not even matter. What makes this spicier, is forcing opponents to pay 3 life too, otherwise you’ll get their creature.

I think this card is very strong, and getting the “kicked” effect is just gravy. Delicious, meaty gravy. 

Overlord of the Balemurk would be pretty medium without an impending cost of 1B, and it’s this that takes it from medium to more playable. Think of it as a split card, because in five turns the game may be over. 

Unstoppable Slasher is notable here for having a semi-undying ability, and for having two very impactful creature types. If you’re into this kind of effect, it’s a card that’s worth picking up.

Aha, and here he is. He’s not just “coming out of the god damn walls”, he is the walls. He’s everything. He’s also a 9/9 for 9, which is pretty steep.

Thankfully, Valgavoth also has a very steep ward cost. And he makes opponent pay for using cards by getting to rifle through whatever cards would be put into graveyards and cast them by paying life instead. 

Very powerful card, and a beast of a reanimator target early game.

Top 5 Black Common/Uncommons

1. Withering Torment – It’s Feed the Swarm, on an Instant, and you’ll only ever pay 2 life!
2. Nowhere to Run – I really like this. It’s removal that sticks around to make sure other removal goes through.
3. Osseous Sticktwister – I think this card is kinda slept on for Cranial Plating/Counters strategies.
4. Live or Die – Instant reanimate that can sometimes be removal? Pretty cool.
5. Final Vengeance – Bone Splinters exiles now. 

DUSKMOURN: RED

I’m not super high on equipping my fantasy Paladin with a chainsaw, but you can’t deny the value Chainsaw provides for RW equipment decks. It’s a lightning bolt when it enters, and it gets stronger over time. What’s not to like?

Charred Foyer // Warped Space is sweet for impulse draw decks. I’m very excited to get Warped Space into play, especially in a deck like Florian. There’s not a huge amount to say here – this is one of the better Rooms in the set.

Cursed Recording is an interesting one. I don’t know that it’s worth the risk in a lot of Casual decks, but once you get to that hyper-optimized ground, I think it’s significantly better and a real house. Just make sure you pass it on when you’re done.

For all of those still playing Ogre Battledriver, we have finally powercrept it with Enduring Courage. The only downside, really, is being easier to remove, on account of being an enchantment. But you gotta remove it twice, haven’t you? Haven’t you boy? Who’s a good little doggie? 

Fear of Missing Out is a pretty on-point fear for Magic to immortalize here, and I’m not sure how I feel about that. It’s less tongue in cheek and more claws-protruding-from-cheek. Getting a two mana extra combat by jumping through hoops is on-rate in 2024, so it’s definitely playable. 

Leyline of Resonance is spicy. I really love this design, and so will players of Feather, Veyran, Zada, and countless other spellslinger decks that care about targeting. Arguably the most exciting Leyline in DSK. 

Razorkin Needlehead is a great punisher effect for the excessive card draw that runs rampant in Commander right now. It’s a candidate for Nekusar decks too, obviously, but I’m more interested in the relevant creature types and synergy with group slug Commanders. 

The Rollercrusher Ride seems primed to be a powerful 1v1 effect, but I still think it’s solid in Commander too. It’s a conditional damage doubler, but it’s also a cheap one that comes with some removal attached to it. We keep seeing more and more “wraths” that leave behind an Enchantment for a continuous effect, and if that’s what it takes to get people to run them, then I’m all for it.

Screaming Nemesis is an interesting one. In the right build, you can deal damage to this thing very easily, and it completely shuts off lifegain across the table. Am I crazy for wanting to run this in a Dinosaurs deck that uses Enrage? Or maybe in Vrondiss, Rage of Ancients? I feel it’ll pull more weight here than in the Boros damage manipulation shells. 

Waltz of Rage is a Chandra’s Ignition adjacent effect that also lets you throw a bunch of cards into exile, impulse style. Laelia, the Blade Reforged is obviously getting hooked up here, but so are a bunch of other Commanders that grow taller. I think this is better than it looks; even if you can only play two or three of seven or ten cards, if you’re not on Combo, then losing access to those other cards is largely irrelevant.

Top 5 Red Common/Uncommons

1. Untimely Malfunction – Flexible interaction so good I wrote an article on it.
2. Grab the Prize – a Red draw variant that makes waves in decks like Neheb or OG Rakdos
3. Irreverent Gremlin – Red gets a typically white effect, but Red flavor
4. Painter’s Studio // Defaced Gallery – I like this quite a bit, two reasonably costed effects on one card.
5. Vengeful Possession – All of the decks that like to steal now get to rummage too

DUSKMOURN: GREEN

I will say that most decks that want to run this will prefer Cryptolith Rite, but, if you’re making a lot of Enchantment creature tokens, then Enduring Vitality is still worth a look, as it’ll mean you’re more heavily in Enchantress as an archetype.

Hauntwoods Shrieker is one of the strongest mythics in the set, at least when it comes to value for face-down decks. This seems like a slam-dunk include if you’re in green, to be honest. Getting access to flip for two mana whenever you like is excellent.

Hedge Shredder is very strong, in my opinion. Any self mill deck now gets an alternative way to ramp, which even fulfills its own ramp condition if you crew it for the low cost of… Crew 1. Hedge Shredder has people divided, but I am hedging on it performing well. It’s better to be lucky than good, after all. That’s why I run Temple of the False God.

Kona, Rescue Beastie seems very, very strong. If your deck can consistently get this thing tapped – through free attacks, convoke, crew, saddle or indestructible – it turns into a free Elvish Piper every turn that can also put an Enchantment into play, or even a Planeswalker. 

High risk, high reward.

Overlord of the Hauntwoods is an exciting Overlord. Making land tokens is cool, and something I’m surprised it took this long to see. The art is also beautiful as it is terrifying, and I know plenty of players are considering it especially in decks like Henzie or Adrix and Nev. 

Twitching Doll is gross. That said, “cracking” your mana dork for some 2/2 tokens with reach is really quite good, and I’m just glad it’s only sorcery speed. Surprise spider blocks for Flyers might be too good at instant speed. 

Tyvar pummels his way through Duskmourn, offering a somewhat predictable Elf legendary. Elves decks don’t necessarily want it, but that’s the beauty – he’s not tied just to Elves, which makes the card way more interesting. 

Another of the best Room cards in the set, Walk-In Closet // Forgotten Cellar seems pretty cracked if you ask me. Crucible of Worlds + Yawgmoth’s Will, in Green? Surely I can’t be the only one who thinks this is nuts. 

Top 5 Green Common/Uncommons

1. Break Down the Door – Exile a problem permanent or summon a surprise blocker. Powerful
2. Insidious Fungus – Green one drop multitools keep Exploring new ground
3. Threats Around Every Corner – one you’ll want if you play any kind of face-down deck
4. Greenhouse // Rickety Gazebo – Manafixing and recursion for five color Enchantress, IMO
5. Wickerfolk Thresher – this effigy of Nadu holds the collective playerbase’s ire

DUSKMOURN: MULTICOLOR, ARTIFACTS & LANDS

As a longtime Hofri enjoyer, The Jolly Balloon Man is a really cool Boros Commander. Boros is getting all sort of sweet Commanders these days, and Jolly Balloon Man is just the latest. Running token copiers like Anointed Procession and Ojer Taq will make this start to cascade value, especially alongside token clones and populate cards. 

Kaito, Bane of Nightmares sees Ninjutsu make it onto a Planeswalker for the first time. This is a really elegant design, and one that is evocative of past Standard all-star Gideon, Ally of Zendikar. This one seems even better in Commander, though. It has a much stronger shell to slot into. 

Like any set with a new mechanic that could be parasitic in Commander, Duskmourn has a five-color legend to wrap it all together. Marina Vendrell is your Rooms Commander, and she brings a touch of the Gothic to this Horrid set. She digs for Enchantments when she enters, and she can tap to lock or unlock a Room at sorcery speed. With the right tech, you can initiate a Scooby-Doo chase through the house with her master key. 

Nashi, like Basim from Assassin’s Creed, offers a Dimir Voltron approach with card advantage stapled to it. Doing so with self-mill is a really interesting way to do it, and I predict this card to be quite popular, especially coming in for only two mana. 

Oh hey, it’s the giant butthole from Stranger Things that they try and close in Season… two?

All I’m seeing when I look at Peer Past the Veil is a way to make a… buttload… of Goyfs enter play from the yard with Disa. Definitely feels Jund-aligned, as much as it’s a Gruul card.

The Swarmweaver is one for all you enjoyers of niche creature types. The Insect/Spider mashup of your dreams is here, and this Scarecrow is delighted to help you pilot your jankier theme deck that hides a busted Combo at Casual tables everywhere.

Victor, Valgavoth’s Seneschal is an interesting one. It wants you to be playing enchantments and playing and unlocking Rooms. To get to the third resolution to reanimate seems quite the hoop to jump through. More dedicated minds than I will be able to crack this one.

Winter, Misanthropic Guide is another angle for Jund in Commander. It’s kind of group hug, except not really, because it also strips handsizes down. This is an interesting ebb-and-flow, and one that I can see being played at quite a few tables. Mainly because it’s Jund, a color not know for group hug effects. The only downside is that this hug is kind of strangling. 

Ghost Vacuum is a pretty sweet piece of kit. It comes down early to keep on top of things, and then later on, you can turn it into a mini-Storm of Souls. What’s interesting here is it can steal opponent’s creatures too, which makes me really excited to put this in my Hofri Reanimator deck. Outside of my very personal use-case, I still think it’s a great card, especially given so many creatures have EtBs these days.

Marvin, Murderous Mimic is the kind of card that could have been blue but is so obviously colorless so that it doesn’t combo with practically everything. Dare you build it as a colorless Commander? I mean, you could. I don’t think it’ll be that good, though. In the 99 of twiddly decks though? This is a wild…card. 

We have a rare land cycle in the set, and I actually think it’s… really good? These function essentially as a Basic land, until you play either basic land type that your deck is playing, at which point they unlock and become a dual land. These are some of the best two color lands we’ve had for a very long time, and I expect them to sustain their price once the Commander players cotton on. 

Valgavoth’s Lair, in Commander, is essentially a land that Enchantress decks can play for an extra cantrip. Is it worth it coming in tapped? I’d say so. Pretty lame it isn’t land type Lair though.

Top 5 Multicolor Common/Uncommons

1. Arabella, Abandoned Doll – a win condition and even a strong Commander in her own right
2. Drag to the Roots – great removal on a budget
3. Intruding Soulrager – Plenty of UR decks care about dealing damage, so drawing a card while doing so is good.
4. Rite of the Moth – A new Unburial Rites variant for us to mill
5. Inquisitive Glimmer – a cost reducer if you’re playing with Rooms for sure

END STEP

You’ve survived Duskmourn’s House of Horrors. You’ve escaped with the knowledge of what cards to pick up from the set, and which to leave behind. Now you’re free to enjoy the spookiest set of the year. Enjoy!

For more Duskmourn Coverage, check out our Precon Upgrade Guides and Precon Highlights.

• Duskmourn Precon Highlights
• Death Toll
• Endless Punishment
• Jump Scare
• Miracle Worker