Introduction
A couple of days ago, I wrote an article about my impressions of Duskmourn, the new Magic the Gathering set that just released. In that article, I also started a short story in the setting. I promised to continue it in this article, Noob’s Duskmourn Prerelease. Unlike other events in the past, I simulated this one on DraftSim. As kids get older, it becomes easier to do things on your own. But, I find they’re not as satisfying as when we all went as a family.
Maybe next time I will order a few of the packs and we can put on our own event here at home. Only thing about that is that they’re like 25-30 bucks each and that’s a lot of scratch just for the ability to put together a deck and play a few games. Especially when I could easily simulate the packs again and proxy the cards, or import them into xMage and play that way. Wizards keeps pricing out players. Oh well, back into the story.
Into the Unknown (Noob’s Duskmourn Tale II)
The circle of light from the lantern fights against the encroaching darkness, barely winning the battle. You know from experience that this darkness stems not only from the setting sun, but also from the land itself. The spirit of Duskmourn lives off the night and tries to suffocate any warmth and light that dares to infringe into its territory.
Off in the distance, something lets out a low growl. The swamp bubbles and pops, releasing more of the foul ichor and stench into the air. Against all good judgement, you must remove your goggles to wipe the mess off of them. The flame of your lantern flickers and goes out for a moment. You need to be moving as quickly as possible.
Thankfully, someone erected a makeshift bridge over the swamp. Just wide enough for your horse, the animal dances momentarily before taking a tentative step onto the bridge. It groans under the weight. You kick your heels into the horse’s haunches to bring the speed up to a canter. The bridge splinters on the sides. While wide enough for the horse, you now regret not testing the weight.
Thankfully, though, you make it across without major incident. The thing growls again, this time closer and more menacing. You realize now that the real threat exists outside of the swamp and you might be marching right to it. You swear an oath to whoever might be listening. Keeping a watchful eye on darkness just beyond the light, you continue.
In due time, the ring of light reflects off something and back to you. You slow the horse to a crawl as the growl comes from that direction, louder and more menacing than ever. Placing your other hand on your sword you see a wrought iron gate swinging free on a single hinge. You breathe a sigh of relief and enter the grounds. So far, the trip has been mostly uneventful. But, who knows what horrors await here.
Noob’s Duskmourn Prerelease Deck
Sorry to end on another cliffhanger, but at this point, I have no choice. I actually haven’t invented the horrors that await you just yet. I know I promise this often, but maybe I’ll release more parts of the story during our celebration of Spooktober next month. Remind me if I forget.
Anyway, after opening the packs, I consulted a guide for Duskmourn limited. As I looked through the cards, I considered building a blue-white deck. Unfortunately, the packs didn’t contain enough of those cards. Instead, I pivoted to white black reanimator. That one came together like a dream.
I got several of the biggies in Emerge from the Cocoon and Shroudstomper. Innocuous Rat can build up the graveyard with other big fatties like the Excrutiator and Glimmer. Attack-in-the-Box just provides recursive attack after recursive attack. I question how effective such a strategy can be with a 40 card deck, but it just looks like fun.
The spells strictly work in the reanimator theme. As long as you get the spells and bin the right monsters, you’re in for a fun time. I played around with the deck some on Moxfield and it never quite came together the way I wanted, but that’s par for the course. I swear, if they gave a prize for most unlucky MtG player, I’d win it in a landslide. Back to the deck, though, add in a Terramorphic Expanse and Valgavoth’s Lair for some mana fixing and I’m ready to play.
The Verdict
I only constructed this one deck. However, I reloaded the packs a few other times. And, I must say, I enjoyed my time exploring for Noob’s Duskmourn Prerelease. I know part of that is simply because I enjoy the limited format so much and never get a chance to actually play it. Who knows? Maybe I’ll load up a draft or two on Arena.