Sets (MID) Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Testing/Includes Thread

After all, this set has some cards that I'm interested in, even though I completely ignored all daybound, decayed and pushed stats.

Includes:

1631306470274.png1631306479444.png

That's my biggest hit. Enables madness and selfmill and acts as a payoff for both while just being a good card on it's own. I'd actually prefer the front side to just be a 2/2 or something, as I like keeping blue at the worst creatures departement, stat wise at least.


1631306496537.png1631306505975.png

Not quite as good, but I think this will just play well. I also like having at least two or three cards with a non evergreen mechanic.


1631306526884.png

White could really need another disenchant on legs, this is really pushed for a common but thus fits my cubes power level. Just remember Viridian Zealot who was a rare that saw constructed play ... but I'm gla for this progress here and will find a cut for the Commando.


Considerations:

1631306559874.png

I'll test this if it stays cheap. Should be nice with lands/graveyard themes in simic.


1631306575093.png1631306581554.png

I might like this more than Soul Warden, but damn I can't cut that card ... but do I want two of these in my white 1-drops?


1631306603916.png1631306609618.png

If Disturb actually plays even better than expected in madness/dredge/ninja/blink decks, I might even add this guy.
 
... continued considerations:

1631306658775.png

Thrill of Possibility sees play, but it's not thrilling. Do I reallywant to add a mana? Well, I know I would want to add a flashback cost ...


1631306848312.png

I'd like a flexible Smelt, but I dislike that, unlike Shredded Sails or the MVP Abrade, this card's other mode isn't interesting for control decks at all ...


1631306941288.png

I love that white now gets cantrip creature so regularly, and this one really excites me as I think it should be very easy to cast this as a cantripping Isamaru ... and it's not even horrible to pay four mana i think. Damn, this might make it in.


1631307112650.png

I don't really get the flavor, I don't like the art, but the exact effect is something I do like quite a bit. And I could just cut the Wind ...


1631307220283.png

I kinda hate this, because I feel like I have to play this over Opt, even though the "maybe mill 1" won't even matter in half the games or more. Well, I'm definitely not cutting Opt here, as the old border option still puts it above Consider. Aesthetics do matter to me for enjoying my cube.


Honorable mention for the most touching card ever:

1631307354372.png1631307363342.png

I'm not crying Wizards, you are crying ...

It's not a bad card too, but I'm not sure I am emotionally stable enough to cube this.
 
Last edited:
This might be my favorite non-Horizons set ever for cube, right up there with Throne of Eldraine in terms of inclusions. Even after ignoring the majority of flip cards and anything referencing the day/night mechanic, there were still a large number of cards that I wanted to test out in my cube. My shortlist of inclusions for now are the following:



Y'all know how big a fan I am of pushing aggressive strategies in general and it looks like we've got a ton of goodies here with Midnight Hunt. Sungold Sentinel is a solid 3/2 human beater in its base case and provides incidental graveyard hate ala Mardu Woe-Reaper which is always welcome. I'm not a fan of protection-y mechanics, but this Coven ability is conditional and requires a mana investment so it feels like a more fair implementation. Being able to utilize it aggressively to push through damage also opens up neat lines of play. This card is going to play real well in my W/B Human Aggro. Same with a card like Fateful Absence which is a nice piece of removal that most decks will like, but especially something like a W/x Aggro deck that applies enough pressure to NOT allow the opportunity to crack a clue.

I've already sung my praises of Champion of the Perished so no need to rehash it, but I'm also excited for the impact two drops they're printing in this set. Both Jadar and the black Adversary slot very well into my existing aggressive strategies and can even play double duty with tokens for something like a Stax deck. I am a bit wary of pushed stats like a 2/3 Deathtouch for 2, but like I mentioned in the spoiler thread I think this is fine in moderation. As long as you're not bogging down the game consistently with very defensive bodies, having one pop up every now and then isn't bad at all. Those kind of spikes in gameplay are healthy when managed correctly. The flexibility of this adversary makes it especially attractive as it can pull double duty as a way to grow the Champion of the Perished by 3 power if deployed with its "kicker" instead. Making 3 bodies also makes it perfect for a Cryptbreaker activation to draw an additional card. Big fan.

I really like that RB Aggro is having its identity fleshed out a little more with Vampires in this set. Adds a small tribal component to distinguish it from other blends of aggressive decks. Falkenrath Pit Fighter is just a great one drop with added utility allowing you to pull off a Tormenting Voice impression and dig deeper for relevant cards in the event of a board stall. The red Adversary is similarly pushed like the black one, but not nearly as egregious with its base stats. A 2/2 haste for 2 with upside is strong as we've seen in the past with something like Robber of the Rich, but we trade in that weird Gonti like trigger for the utility in being able to pull an aggressive leaning Snapcaster Mage impression in the later game. To top it off we've also got a new Rakdos vampire to further push this tribal slant and it also allows for additional reach in the R/B decks by allowing them to generate pseudo card advantage based off damage. It's kind of similar to Tymna, the Weaver with its trigger but with a better body and more of a 1v1 lean. Really solid card, nice card that clearly signals an aggressive deck in Rakdos.

Briarbridge Tracker is a dense card with a lot of different applications and checks off a ton of boxes for me. Cares about token synergies to become a bigger beater, can play defense with a solid 2/3 or 4/3 body, and it generates some card advantage with a Clue. This is pretty much a fairer one-shot version of Tireless Tracker for those of you wary of power level. Having the Clue generation tied to an ETB makes it pretty sweet for inclusion in stuff like blink, Coco, and Pod which love the additional means of turning mana into a card. I think this one is going to play extremely well and will be in my cube for a long time to come. W7 and the new Regrowth effect just seem like solid inclusions for now, time will tell if they end up sticking around long term. I'm 50/50 on how impactful they'll end up being though I have higher hopes for the Revival in sticking around long term for grindier GB and GW strategies.

Finally I'm digging the new weird Simic Ooze. It slots in nicely with my fetch-heavy environment and any self-milling/looting we've got going on, messes around with +1/+1 counters like the majority of my other Simic inclusions, and it has a really weird LTB trigger to pull off a Loam impression. I don't really know how strong this actually is, but it does enough weird stuff to get my gears turning if I see it in a draft so it's well worth running. Also that horror night frame looks super sick and I definitely want a copy for my cube.

In total I've got 13 cards right now which is quite a bit for a normal set. I don't expect everything to stick around long term, but there could be 7-8 cards that will be around for the long haul which would put this up there with many of the most impactful sets since I've been cubing. Especially with no land cycle to include! There weren't a whole lot of cards that inspired new ideas for me in terms of archetype design, but there were a LOT of cards that served to supplement and beef up existing themes which is equally as exciting.
 
Last edited:
Man, I'm like three sets behind on updating my Arena cube (and like three years behind updating my paper cube...). But here's the cards I like:

en_oUP44cToxT.png
en_xgXMrxu110.png
en_o0CAwuuHEQ.png
en_QOYQ4ZJEj1.png
en_lYlOejVXQ4.png
en_40YzDJ7F1Z.png
en_jn9cVQ8S8v.png
en_Rv3oyUMo8c.png
en_vXtxi5jl1B.png
en_DhVc3f1nvG.png
en_Mn9Z83bRUQ.png
en_UR0xFsTiap.png
en_6sbvFR6DjL.png
en_KEX99QwT6W.png
en_8NrNVwUmEv.png
en_IFDVyV6JH8.png
en_IAPhgJj471.png
en_rblTxmVv5Z.png
en_qfq1ey5YWP.png
 
big theme of this set for me is KEEPIN IT CLEANNNNN. there’s so many clean, simple, powerfully rated effects in this set!

Already running (and may double up):
Consider - wowee how did this take until 2021 to get printed, what a killer CLEAN core effect

Pretty much guaranteed to run:
Cathartic Pyre - i need more ways to rummage and loot for RB, now i can rummage on my searing spear? thx for makin it CLEAN Maro
Deathbonnet Sprout - MUSHROOMS RAGE CHANNELER! i’m running it as a single faced custom tho. not very clean but definitely very cool
Infernal Grasp - so CLEAN and stronk
Locked in the Cemetery - it might not stick due to a lot of my tapped critters still bringing value, but it’s an effect i’ve wanted to be playable for a while and this is the best chance yet. kills Goyfs ded and it’s CLEAN
Cathar Commando - CLEAN disenchant beats and plays nice with clues/moderation
Fateful Absence - CLEAN white kill spell
Faithful Mending - CLEAN looting spell to pair up Gifts Ungiven and guess what - it costs the same as cracking a clue
Slog irk the Overslime - LFTL that beats, yup, this will never ever get cut

Will probably test if i pick one up:
Sacred Fire - CLEAN flashback burn and nice value, but i think just not as strong as what i’ve already got in Boros. it gets in if i run enough golds though.
Meathook Massacre - i want it to be good because it’s cool, but it may be a tough sell outside control decks, we shall see
Augur of Autumn - i like it a little better than Courser but Courser is already on my low end and it is probably slightly less powerful - but the coven effect is sweet
Triskaidekaphile - LOL please let me see someone win with this just once then i’ll cut it
Candletrap - costs 1, which checks my happy box, but not sure if it’s good enough at the end of the day. worth testing tho
Geistflame Reservoir - SO COOL! but probably bad. one way to find out
Moonveil Regent - see Geistflame Reservoir
 
Like some of you, I am choosing to stay away from day/night cards. I will also be avoiding coven and decayed zombies as they add new keyword/tokens for some non-essential effects for my cube. That being said, I am happy with what the set is offering!

Including



The 2 removal spells and the cantrip are bread and butter cards that are cheap and impactful. The instant speed is crucial and I like to have some life payment when possible as it encourages games to end as the life loss stacks.

I was looking at Leonin Lightscribe as an anthem for weenie decks, but it turns out it's tough to play enough spells and creatures in those decks to reliably trigger the cat. Enter the Intrepid Adversary which is impactful early and late, gains life to help race, plays nicely with blink and boosts your whole team. It's the anthem I didn't know I wanted.

Bloodthirsty Adversary has many of the same benefits, but instead it pushes the spells matter archetype. The biggest downside for me is the wall of text this card has.


Testing



Maybe I am crazy not slamming Adeline into the cube, but for some reason, I am reluctant. I think it might be because of the Brimaz, King of Oreskos comparaison that is floating around. Brimaz didn't have the right play pattern for my cube. I appreciated it's potential in aggro (even though so many vigilant bodies made it hard to race), but in more controlling decks, it was a stonewall.
Adeline has even more snowball potential triggering off a 2 drop, but plays worse in controlling decks as the tokens attack and it probably won't trigger until turn 4 when Adeline herself attacks.
All that to say: I think she is different enough to Brimaz to be worthwhile, but I want to test before including her for sure.

Memory Deluge is a cool draw spell. My cube has some key build around cards and being able to look at top 4/7 cards is often important. Self-mill is also an important part of Blue's identity, meaning I might have to finally let Fact or Fiction go.

I really don't know how to evaluate The Meathook Massacre. My first instinct is to count it as an aristocrat card with upside (meaning it would probably replace Bastion of Remembrance as I think I have enough payoffs for now). At the same time, in a deck interested in wraths, I would probably play this if I didn't have access to the better ones. This modality makes it interesting and reduces narrow aristocrat build arounds.

I currently run 3 Faithless Lootings. I am considering going back down to 1 and including Gamble and the Pit Fighter. This is quite unlikely, but this one drop is powerful!

Wrenn and Seven is the ultimate Lands planewalker, but I don't think I need it. I already have a ton of lands payoffs in Green specifically and would want to diversify into other colors rather than pile it up more in the same color. What has me interested is that this does a lot of what the lands deck wants to do. Ultimately, I think the 5 mana cost and the fact it is Green will make me cut it.

Finally the Slime is a really cool effect. The base of 3/3 trample for 3 is solid. The +1/+1 counter trigger isn't too difficult to trigger meaning this could get huge. It protects itself and plays with Pod/blink/sacrifice shenanigans and provides value if it is removed. The thing going against it is once again that huge wall of text. I know some of my players will just ignore the card even if they are in the right color combination. For that reason alone, I should probably look elsewhere, but at the same time it is a really great design and will play well.
 


Organized... not at all. A jumble of includes, testings, maybes, etc.

wrenn and seven - lands-theme planeswalker that can probably take the palce of Vivien Reid.
fateful absence - Nice white removal spell.
burn down the house - [insert david byrne joke here]. flexible red wrath? sign me up.
memory deluge - LOVE. replacing drawn from dreams for sure.
sungold sentinel - Efficient GY permission with a nice utility activation too.
augur of autumn - might replace Courser of Kruphix with this. not sure.
jadar, ghoulcaller of nephalia - Nice repeatable zombie token engine.
deathbonnet sprout - This cute little guy is getting a spot for sure.
cathartic pyre - Not sure I have space, but loving the two options on this
seize the storm - ehh. maybe. Could be a cool spells deck payoff in my format
dryad's revival - YES
contortionist troupe - Don't remember if this was touched on, but this is a pretty neat flexible-cast version of a luminarch aspirant effect. but fair.
cathar commando - Everything I ened in a white flex slot. Aggressive, rattlesnake-y, strapped to a disenchant.
crawl from the cellar - Maybe a cute inclusion for self-mill style decks.
otherworldly gaze - maybe. surveil 3 repeatable is nifty.
consider - of course.
consider - still of course.
angelfire ignition - could be a powerful addition to my double strike deck. not sure if space.
dennick, pious apprentice - the UW tempo 2 drop I've been waiting for.
katilda, dawnheart prime - Could be nifty support for my GW counters decks.
slogurk, the overslime - slogurk more like fastgurk amirite
can't stay away - might not need, but a cute repeatable effect for WB recursive weenies.
fleshtaker - Nice sac outlet for same WB deck. Not sure if space.
diregraf rebirth - NICE. may supplant Unburial Rites, though it burns a bit inside to write that.
faithful mending - lovely little faithless looting variant for UW control/tempo/etc.
 
Jeskai Cube Includes:


Cathar Commando is a great addition and the first Disenchant-on-a-stick in the cube, (which is actually quite strange because of the its prevelance of artifacts). I'm not sure which white two-drop I'll cut yet.

Fateful Absence is great as white is my "unconditional" removal color. The power level seems high for my cube, but artifacts are more useful than they generally are. It'll replace Condemn, although its price has to drop a little before I add it (which may take two years)

Consider is a very nice one-mana cantrip that fits the cube very well. I need more one-mana cantrips anyway. That's also why I'm adding Secrets of the Key, which also has some artifact and/or graveyard interaction to boot. They'll take the place of two-mana cantrips.

Ardent Elementalist is an effect I like better for my red section than my blue section. Two power makes it relevant in combat as well. I'm not sure which red four-drop to cut yet though.

Electric Revelation is very comparable to Chemister's Insight, which is my favourite four-mana draw spell. I like the graveyard interaction enough to add it over Thrill of Possibility



Blessed Defiance goes in my maybe-folder and will be (on of the) first white combat tricks to add if I want one.

Sunset Revelry seems sweet, but I don't think any deck needs it.

If I'll add a single-target bounce spell again, Fadin Hope or Geistwave are up there with Blink of an Eye. If playtest reports of others are positive, I'll add them to my maybe-folder.

Memory Deluge is my third favourite four-mana draw spell and I only need two of them. Might add it to my maybe-folder.

Cathartic Pyre and Raze the Effigy are cool modal cards. The latter might be too strong in my artifact-heavy cube, but I do like to combat trick attached to it. The former is less preferable than Abrade I think, although I might be wrong on that. Both will be added to my maybe-folder anyway.

Geistflame Reservoir is probably too slow. I just like adding colored artifact where I can to be able to decrease my colorless section. This one just misses the mark I think.

Moonveil Regent is very cool, although I have a hard time evaluating its strength in my cube. Currently it's also above my price range, which might drop in the coming weeks. If that happens, I'll probably give him a try.

I'm re-evaluating my land section for the cube. Depending on that, I might want Deserted Beach, as Azorius is a slower color and doesn't care too much for an untapped land in the first two turns.
 
Last edited:

This is what I've added to the list. Some will come back out once I look at it as a whole.
 
Last edited:
28 cards, wow!!



I curate a 720 cube so, yes, we're in for a lot of changes. I thought the Zendikar Rising would long reign as the Queen of Fairmax for "Premiere" sets, but MID takes its crown, brining in even more cards than Eldraine...even if I still give the crown to the fairy tail set for having the most meaningful impact on the archetypes and structures of my list.

720 is a big size, so we've got a lot of variance to contend with, and forced synergies are harder to come by, so I hope that explains any decisions here that may not be obvious on the surface. With this update, I'm also making the final pushes to remove obvious two-card combos (with minor exceptions for long-standing cube favorites), and pulling most tutors, in particular the cycle from Visions. With that background, here we go:

Cathartic Commando in for Nyx-Fleece Ram

:( I love Nyx-Fleece Ram, but this is a stonewall against aggro rather than a speedbump and not particularly interesting.

Intrepid Adversary in for Regal Caracal

Adeline, Resplendent Cathar in for Heliod, Sun-Crowned

Heliod is neat but I'm not fond of the two-card combos with him.

Brutal Cathar in for Basri Ket

I like Basri, but I love the Cathar.

Sigardian Savior in for Return from the Ranks

As discussed here.

Fateful Absense in for Declaration in Stone

Sunset Revelry in for Brave the Elements

Suspicious Stowaway in for Wharf Infiltrator

Malevolent Hermit in for Sea Gate Stormcaller

Poppet Stitcher in for Narset, Parter of Veils

Consider in for Dress Down

Memory Deluge in for Echo of Eons

Jadar, Ghoulcaller in for Yawgmoth’s Bargain

Gisa, Glorious Resurrector in for Gelatinous Cube

Infernal Grasp in for Ultimate Price

The Meathook Massacre in for Vampiric Tutor

Falkenrath Pit Fighter in for Fireflux Squad

Bloodthirsty Adversary in for Dreadhorde Arcanist

This one stings, but I think it's the smart choice. Red's two-drops have gotten so good!!

Moonveil Regent in for Experimental Frenzy

This is an objective upgrade to me, very happy with the Regent.

Light Up the Night in for Firestorm

Cathartic Pyre in for Zariel, Archduke of Avernus

Zariel is fine, but red's heavy on 4-drops, particularly when you add in multicolored cards and artifacts, and it's not as helpful as the rest of the slot.

Burn Down the House in for Rolling Earthquake

Deathbonnet Sprout in for Dustwatch Recruiter

Leaving behind my old-style werewolves is made a lot easier when I get to add this mushroom man.

Outland Liberator in for Mayor of Avabruck

Augur of Autumn in for Nissa, Vastwood Seer

Dryad’s Revival in for in for Bala Ged Recovery

Tovolar’s Huntmaster in for Carnage Tyrant

Arlinn, the Pack’s Hope in for Huntmaster of the Fells

I'm still eyeing another several cards, and I do plan on finding room for that was spoiled today, but I couldn't be happier with this set.
 
I envy you for having this combo. I don’t think you should cut Heliod.

I'd rather not have players get randomly nugged by a two-card combo they saw on a Pioneer tournament that can be done on turn 3 or 4, especially since Heliod isn't the easiest to interact with, even if it won't come up all that frequently. I would generally prefer to keep him otherwise.
 
I'd rather not have players get randomly nugged by a two-card combo they saw on a Pioneer tournament that can be done on turn 3 or 4, especially since Heliod isn't the easiest to interact with, even if it won't come up all that frequently. I would generally prefer to keep him otherwise.
But isn't Walking Ballista easy to interact with? It's both a small creature and an artifact. And a spell. I could be wrong here.
 
It can come down and kill in the same turn, and all the abilities can be used at instant speed so you need 1 to 2 instant speed removal spells capable of dealing with it. The pestermite combo is also interactable in the same way, and Modern showed how brutal it still is even with very efficient removal options.
 
walking ballista is great and basically everyone whose power band can handle it should run it.
heliod creates a ton of unfair win conditions and is a crappy play pattern even when played “fairly.” IMO.

EDIT: actually it’s not just my opinion, there was a widespread outcry similar to people’s reactions to Uro when Heliod was first being spammed on Arena. card just sucks to face in any deck that does any kind of synergy with it
 

Dom Harvey

Contributor
I think Heliod is a sweet card and the Ballista combo is much more palatable to me than Twin since both halves are sorcery speed and the cards are both interesting outside the combo. For non-deterministic combos there's something fun about going off with Heliod + Zuran Orb or Heliod + Scavenging Ooze etc and those small combos really add to the texture of a format
 
But it’s still
A non-land card that can be discarded.
A spell that can be countered.
A creature that can be removed.
An artifact that can be removed.

Is it still too difficult to interact with?

I personally like when players can assemble comboes but I also understand that if they are too easy to assemble/fast to assemble/difficult to disrupt, they are dangerous if they are game-ending. Heliod’s indestructible certainly don’t help.
 
i just find heliod to be problematic, i run ballista happily.
and yes, an indestructible enchantment is a BIG part of the Heliod problem. an un-interactive keyword on an un-interactive permanent type

EDIT: for the same reason, i don’t run Klothys, even though i would LOVE her otherwise
 
I mean, almost any two card combo has a laundry list of possible interactions like that. It's the fact that it collapses the opponent's window of opportunity to a couple of turns at most and if they don't come up with the proper set of interactions they just lose. A playgroup can certainly find it individually palatable, but I certainly don't, and based on general feelings of the MTG community I think that's the common view.
 
Top