Standard: The Best Cards from Duskmourn for the Format

Standard was thoroughly changed by Bloomburrow and quickly became dominated by new strategies, particularly aggro decks. These decks were fast enough to beat the vast number of Midrange and Control decks that had been the pillar of this format for a long time.

Gruul Prowess is one of the most popular decks nowadays and also the best example of how this format has been, but, after DSK comes along, T2 should keep changing, and we should see other strategies conquering some space.

Duskmourn: House of Horror will be released on September 24th. You can check out more details about the new mechanics in this set by clicking here.

White

This creature has a very relevant body and a recursive ability. It also has evasion and a strong synergy with enchantments. I believe it may find space in Mono-White Tokens or a deck like it, particularly as the new Bloomburrow Classes are still strong in this format.

This is another interesting global removal, as it lets you pick between dealing with all tapped creatures or all untapped creatures. It is a practical option against Convoke decks and is less situational than Temporary Lockdown.

This is a welcome reprint for anyone who loves aggressive strategies centered around enchantments. Despite not being strong enough to put these decks back in the top rankings, I believe it will most likely find some space in the format.

DSK will bring us a new type of enchantment, Rooms, which are similar to split cards, but are permanents. When you cast these cards, you'll pick one of its sides (one of its "rooms"), and you'll only be able to access the other side after it is on the battlefield and if you pay its mana cost. Dollmaker's Shop is another source of creature tokens for this format, and its second room, Porcelain Gallery, turns your army of tokens into gigantic creatures.

This is a turn 1 threat that works like graveyard hate when it attacks. After a few turns attacking with it, you can turn it into a 5/4 with Hexproof. Besides, it is a Human and is in the right color.

Considering the Mount mechanic fits this creature really well and, with it, it will be easier to turn it into a 5/4, I believe we'll see Veteran Survivor in some deck that takes advantage of its ability.

Blue

This card seems very strong at a first glance, but it is not what it seems when you take a closer look. Nonetheless, it still has enough potential to get into the right list.

Picklock Prankster and Helping Hand can easily get a lot from Abhorrent Oculus in some build that explores the graveyard or uses some looting engine. This way, you'll be able to put Oculus in the graveyard and then Reanimate it with Helping Hand.

This is a 2-drop with three abilities that you can pick as you deal combat damage with it, until you use the last of the three abilities. You can draw a card, put two +1/+1 counters on Hallcreeper, and turn it into a copy of another creature you control.

Rooms should add new interactions to the format, but Central Elevator, undoubtedly, stands out, as it can be the central piece of a deck that focuses on these enchantments. Central Elevator lets you get a Room from your deck, whereas Promising Stairs is a win condition.

DSK will bring us many Rooms with varied effects, from removals to card advantage, which will definitely make building a control deck that focuses on these new permanents very easy.

Black

One of the best graveyard hates of all time has returned to Standard. It will pair up with Rest in Peace and become another weapon against any Reanimator strategy, or any strategy that explores graveyards. There are pros and cons when you use Leylines, but this card is very efficient, so we had to talk about it.

With this card, you can tutor any Demon card and, if Delirium is enabled, you can tutor any card. Tutoring cards in Standard is either incredibly interesting or doesn't do anything relevant at all, but we had to mention this card in case some strong combo or interaction with it comes up eventually.

This is the perfect removal for token and enchantment decks. It combines a cheap cost with efficiency and can deal with threats like Atraxa, Grand Unifier and Monastery Swiftspear just as easily. Depending on the list, there won't be any drawbacks when you use this removal.

Red

When the first few details about DSK were revealed, I wrote an article about this card. Click here if you want to see more.

Basically, Screaming Nemesis will be a powerful tool for aggro decks against lifegain, particularly Sheoldred, the Apocalypse and Deep-Cavern Bat.

This card will give you a 3/3 with Haste, which, if blocked, will prevent your opponent from gaining life for the rest of the game. Even if you use it to block something or if it remains in play and attacks freely, it may quickly become a problem.

Besides the fact it has one of the coolest designs in the entire set in terms of flavor, this artifact can be a decent removal in the first few turns and become a powerful tool later on. It can even finish the game if you equip it on a creature.

This 2-drop will be a nice presence on the board and has a very useful effect, as it lets you discard a creature in a Reanimator deck or swap a land in your hand for a draw. In any case, it is interesting and can play in many strategies.

Green

This green removal will probably be best in a Survival deck, one of the new mechanics in this set (also represented by creatures like Veteran Survivor). Tap two creatures you control, remove an enemy threat, and make sure they Survive.

This is a 1-drop with a 3/3 body, so that alone is enough to make it stand out. This card still needs Delirium to attack, but, on its own, it does a lot to enable it, and, in a Mill deck, could be quite interesting.

Kona makes Coordinated Clobbering look even better in a deck that focuses on the Survival mechanic. Four mana for a 4/3 that lets you put a creature on the board for free is great. It will probably inspire many deck ideas, from putting an Atraxa in play to playing an Etali or another absurd threat on the board as early as turn 4.

Colorless

This is a graveyard hate that you can use, later on, to steal creatures from your opponent's graveyard and play them under your control, and it is undeniably strong. If we consider the sheer number of powerful creatures seeing play in this format, even more in aggro decks, you can easily imagine what this card is capable of. Furthermore, the creatures you steal will have Flying, and, even though they'll be 1/1, they can still be a big problem for your opponent.

Multicolored

This is an excellent 2-drop, as it enters play and already impacts the board. You can also bring it back from the graveyard with a +1/+1 counter if a non-Zombie creature dies that turn, so you'll be able to take advantage of it whenever one of your own creatures dies.

This is another interesting piece that interacts with Rooms, and discounts the cost of both these enchantments and how much it costs to unlock their other sides. It is also not too expensive, and is a great presence on the board.

Lands

Lastly, we have the lands from this set. I'll highlight the new Verge Lands, which will become part of Standard's mana base and be a lot of help in some decks. You can check out more about them here.

Which of these cards is the strongest? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!