Magic: The Gathering Midnight Hunt revealed: New mechanics & Commanders

Magic: The Gathering’s newest set Midnight Hunt takes players back to Innistrad for a wave of classic gothic horror fun. Here’s what you need to know. 

It’s been a decade since Wizards of the Coast first took players through the dread-filled plane of Innistrad.

In our last visit, Innistrad was under the threat of the planeswalker Nehiri and the Eldrazi titan Emrakul. After being dealt a terrible loss, the humans of Innistrad were victorious in their fight against the invaders and returned to their normal lives. That doesn’t mean things haven’t changed, however.

Let’s take a look at what’s new this time around.

What’s new in Midnight Hunt

With the threat of the Eldrazi now under control, Innistrad returns to being a run-of-the-mill creepy world.

Midnight Hunt shows us that it doesn’t take all-mighty power to be scary. You should still be afraid of the things that go bump in the extra-long night as zombies, witches, and werewolves rule the day.

Double-faced cards and night/day mechanics

Debuting in Innistrad Block, two-sided cards are making a return to the game. Many cards in Midnight Hunt will have a Daybound and a Nightbound side to them. Each side will have different abilities and stats. Players will control whether it is day or night

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The idea is to highlight how things are often not what they seem in Innistrad. So many different pieces of the ecosystem evolve into something different over time. The living become the dead, the dead become the undead, and the semi-spooky wolf lady becomes absolutely terrifying.

Wilhelt the Rotcleaver

Wilhelt the Rotcleaver is a new commander in this set. His new mechanic Decayed will allow players to build up their zombie army faster and more efficiently than ever before. His abilities are perfectly synchronous and will provide easy power spikes for zombie-themed Commander deck.

There are a few more new Commander cards that you can check out in the official Midnight Hunt reveal livestream

Disturb

Disturb is another new mechanic in Midnight Hunt. It allows players to cast a card from their graveyard by paying the associated Disturb cost.

Just like the Nightbound/Daybound cards, Disturb cards are double-sided and will feature new strength, toughness, and abilities on each side. This will pair well with the new Decayed mechanic, as they both place an extra level of importance on organizing your graveyard.

Coven

The Dawnheart Coven are here to protect the humans, and they’re going to weaponize their numbers to do just that. Coven allows players to search for more Humans to aid in the fight. If you reveal a Human card in your search, then the rest of the cards go to the bottom of the deck at random.

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This kind of effect won’t change the game, but creatures like Sigarda, Champion of Light will help the Dawnheart Coven feel appropriately powerful on the field.

New Equinox/Eternal Night frames

Eternal Night is just one of the new frames arriving later this month. Designed to highlight the terrifying nature of Innistrad, the developers aimed to give horror fans something to sink their teeth into as an alternative to the standard card frame. There is also an Equinox frame meant to highlight the opposing side of the world. Players will have plenty of options to pick from when the set arrives later in September.

Release date

That’s all the major information around the Midnight Hunt reveal. Players can get their hands on the cards on Sept. 16 in the Magic: The Gathering Arena, or wait for the physical release on Sept. 24.