Magic: The Gathering has had an amazing year so far, and it looks like there are still plenty of surprises in store from Wizards of the Coast. Duskmourn House of Horror is a tribute to the horror genre, filled with many Easter eggs. It’s a must-see for horror enthusiasts and TCG fans. The latest set from Magic: The Gathering is based on a plane inspired by horror media from the 1980s to the 2020s. The House has taken consumed the plane, and survivors must navigate through ever-changing rooms and face horrors behind every door. As the backdrop for an MTG expansion, it’s insanely juicy for horror aficionados.
Here’s a list of 15 of our favourite Easter eggs from the new set, each as iconic as the next!
Let’s Play a Game – The Saw Franchise
Nothing is as chilling and cruel as the games played by one Jigsaw AKA John Kramer in the SAW franchise. His brutal justice, designed to inflict hellish torture on participants he interprets as guilty. Likewise, Let’s Play a Game lets players hit opponents directly by either weakening creatures, discarding cards or losing life so that you can gain life. Players can use more than one of the effects if they have four or more card types in their graveyard. Talk about house rules!
Trapped in the Screen – Poltergeist
This is what happens when someone changes the channel while I’m watching my shows! Just like the horror epic Poltergeist, trapped in the screen feels like one of the Duskmourn’s best easter eggs. Even the flavour text adds to the horror of what it must be like to get trapped in a TV just as sweet little Carol Anne was in Steven Spielberg. As an exile card, Trapped in the Screen not only exiles a target artifact, creature or enchantment but also features Ward allowing it to be protected for 2 mana.
Rugged Playmate – The Chucky Franchise
Sadistic toys in horror movies are nothing new, but Chucky has to be one of the most iconic killer toys we’ve seen. That red hair cements it for me, this is one toy that you don’t want to play with. It’s a shame we didn’t get a devious Tiffany reference though. I can definitely hear Chucky saying that line from the flavour text though. With one mana and tapping lets you make a weaker creature unblockable.
Unsettling Twins – The Shining
Two twins standing at the end of a hallway. NOPE! In probably one of the most iconic visuals from across the genre, Unsettling Twin is an easy wink at The Shining. The card also allows the player to manifest dread which is exactly what references to this hallway do to me. Manifesting dread lets players play a card facedown that they can turn face up for its mana cost as long as it’s a creature card. It’s a clever way to get a creature down on the battlefield
Come Back Wrong – Evil Dead Rise
Bringing stuff back from the dead is a messy business indeed, but what if what’s brought back isn’t the same? This is another trope common through horror but this card is giving me real Alyssa Sutherland from Evil Dead Rise vibes. It allows players to take control of an enemy creature till the next end step where it’s destroyed.
Chainsaw – The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre series is no stranger to game adaptations such as Dead By Daylight or Gun Interactive’s own asymmetrical horror game The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, yet this easter egg is not so subtle. As an artifact, it lets players deal damage instantly to a creature but where it gets interesting is that when creatures die, you put a rev counter on the the artifact. Later, players can equip the chainsaw where its rev counters each count as 1 additional damage adding to the equipped creature’s damage output.
Living Phone – Skinamarink
Ring Ring, Ring Ring! There’s another spooky toy in Duskmourn. This clever twist on the iconic toy phone feels like it’s right out of Skinamarink. The toy is none other than a chatter phone, which is featured in a pretty unforgettable scene in the film. When the card dies, the player gets to look at their top five library cards before revealing a card with power 2 or less and putting the other 4 cards at the bottom of their library.
Killer’s Mask – Friday the 13th Part 3
Okay, so while the iconic Jason hockey mask doesn’t appear in the series till Friday the 13th Part 3, it soon becomes an iconic element of his murderous appearances across the films. When played, this manifests dread, then attaches to the summoned facedown creature giving it menace.
Cursed Recording – The Ring Series
Be kind, rewind! Cursed tapes are another fun trope from the horror genre, and in Duskmourn it seems there’s no shortage of cursed media. The Ring series definitely takes the cake here, with each film revolving around a cursed tape that kills the viewer unless it’s copied and shown to another person within seven days. It’s It Follows but with legacy media. While it does have a nifty copying mechanic, each instant or sorcery cast results in a counter being added to Cursed Recording. After 7 counters, it deals 20 damage to the player – Blockbuster fines could never be so harsh!
Threats Around Every Corner – Thirteen Ghosts
Just like Thirteen Ghosts, this card sees a character wearing special glasses to see the ghosts around him. Threats Around Every Corner manifests dread and also allows players to search their library for a basic land and play it tapped after casting their first land. Definitely a nifty way to pull lands from your deck to beef up your mana mid-game.
Arabella, Abandoned Doll – The Annabelle Series
Another creepy toy? Arabella is definitely Duskmourns own Annabelle! Known for her gorgeous pigtails and demonic possession, she even received her own spin-off films given her reputation and intrigue by fans in the original Conjuring films. Arabella is a great card if you have a stack of power 2 or less creatures, allowing her to deal damage to players and gain you more life. Maybe this demon can stick around if it’s on your side… for now at least.
Orphans of the Wheat – Children of the Corn
What is it with kids and venturing into fields? Orphans of the Wheat is definitely a very supernatural take on the trope. Based on Stephen King’s original novel, that sees a town’s children indoctrinated into a cult where all the small town’s adults are murdered to guarantee a successful harvest – hectic stuff! Given the eerie stare, it feels like the original Children of the Corn is receiving a very decent nod here. Even that flavour text is a delicious wink at the horrors of children left unattended near large crops. Orphans of the Wheat is able to boost its power and defence by tapping any number of untapped creatures controlled by you. This is definitely one of my favourite cards from Duskmourn purely from its art.
Dashing Bloodsucker – Blade
Known for his vampire abilities, Blade AKA Eric Brooks is a skilled supernatural fighter and one of the earliest Marvel Comics to be adapted. This card is oozing that signature Blade style right down to the sunglasses. When you use an enchantment or unlock a room he gets a + 2 power boost and lifelink till the end of the turn making him a great counter.
Say Its Name – Candyman
While it’s not uncommon for scary movies to have horrors unleashed by saying the creature’s name, Say Its Name feels like it draws inspiration from Candyman, particularly with the bugs crawling in the reflection. Its focus on eerie portraits and summoning an urban legend by saying its name multiple times in a mirror is clever indeed. Similarly, Say Its Name has players mill three cards, allowing them to return a creature or land to their hand. What makes it interesting is that players can exile three copies of Say Its Name, allowing them to cast Altanak, Thrice-Called – a 9/9 insect beast with trample. Altanak, Altanak, Altanak.
Found Footage – Blair Witch Project
The found footage genre shot to fame with the Blair Witch Project‘s thrilling bubbling of tension mixed with shaky cam shots and running through the woods. It’s an eerie film that never quite resolves and something about Found Footage feels like this tape is better left unwound. The card lets players check the face-down creatures controlled by opponents, a great counter for the manifest dread mechanic featured in Duskmourn.
There’s definitely a stack more horror references in the set for those with a keen horror eye. As MTG sets go, Duskmourn feels like a really fascinating blend of iconic horror and set mechanics that really breathe life into a horror-themed set.
Magic: The Gathering – Duskmourn is available now.
