Valgavoth, Terror EaterValgavoth, Terror Eater | Illustrated by Antonio José Manzanedo

Welcome to the next installment in our series examining Magic sets and their impact one year later! Last time we examined Bloomburrow and the cozy woodland vibes it brought to the gaming table. Today, we're taking a much darker turn with Duskmourn: House of Horror!

Duskmourn came out one year ago (at the time of writing), on September 27th, 2024. The set has had the lion's share of criticism and wasn't as well-received as Bloomburrow for those critical reasons. Nonetheless, the set's lore had a fantastic plot that engaged players in a huge way, as well as mechanics that really tied the set together under its horror flavor.

What were the criticisms, and what made Duskmourn shine despite them? Come with us as we delve into the fear factory that was The House!

General Notes on Duskmourn: House of Horror

We got our first major look at the set on June 28th. The set contained various house-horror tropes that hearkened back to pop-cultural horror across the history of the genre. The set takes tropes from a lot of literary horror as well. Stories like the Japanese author Uketsu's Strange Houses or Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves all surely left their mark on this set.

Of these tropes, though, the films of the 1980s were most prevalent and were the focal point of much of the art and flavor of the set. You'd see ideas from A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Halloween (1978), or even Skinamarink (2022) in this set. Any nightmarish being you can think of from all manner of horror or slasher film could feasibly make an appearance in Duskmourn.

For many, however, this was a bit of an issue, but it wasn't necessarily the horror's fault.

According to Magic Head Designer Mark Rosewater's State of Design 2025 article, there were a few issues with Duskmourn alongside some great praise. The article explores the good and less-good aspects of the reception of Magic's designs from the previous year. So, when it came to the Duskmourn setting, Rosewater mentioned that players had issues with what he calls "mundane modernity." To quote Rosewater's analysis within that article:

Some things Duskmourn: House of Horror did for the first time bothered players, like having characters wearing and using things that we actually use: things like sneakers, or jeans, or a baseball bat. Part of fantasy is the idea that you're coming to a world that is fundamentally different than your own. Fantasy wants to be inspirational, and seeing everyday objects which are a part of all of our daily lives deflates that.

A Contrast From Bloomburrow Showcases What Makes Magic Special

And now, I'd like to bring in a slight sidebar. Something I've noticed about sets like Bloomburrow is their propensity to release just before or after a very dark set, such as Duskmourn. Magic: The Gathering has done this a few times as a "palate cleanser." We saw it with the Lorwyn block on the heels of Time Spiral Block, which was extremely dark. We saw it with Kaladesh, with the lighter, brighter themes following Shadows over Innistrad and Eldritch Moon's sharp morbidity and cosmic grotesquery.

And we saw it most recently last year with Bloomburrow releasing before Duskmourn: House of Horror.

According to Rosewater's analysis, this brand of dichotomic planar juxtaposition is something that, from a flavor perspective, makes Magic: The Gathering so special. Wizards of the Coast is capable of showcasing great darkness and lightheartedness in equal measure over a short span. The way that the company can manage to do this is a major boon to the Magic cosmology, from a lore standpoint, and to the brand as a whole.

This phenomenon keeps players highly engaged and interested for a while longer than they would if it were thematically the same throughout its expansion sets. In turn, the game continues through the revenue players put into it out of their interest in the themes.

On the "Modern Mundanity" Issue

Of note, based on some information that I've read recently, to use Rosewater's coined term, "modern mundanity" is still a problem for players. This year, we've had multiple Universes Beyond sets release, the most recent being Marvel's Spider-Man.

Spider-Man's reception at this time is not stellar. One Reddit thread stated that for their store, the set's Prerelease had the worst attendance they had in recent years, beating out Murders at Karlov Manor.

Spider-Man was our lowest Pre-Release attendance ever
byu/Any-Conversation1401 inmagicTCG

By contrast, Final Fantasy sold even better than Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth before the Square Enix collaboration even came out. I'd posit that this stark contrast isn't just about Universes Beyond, as players seem to say and believe. Rather, it's also largely about the lesson that Magic still hasn't quite learned from Duskmourn: House of Horror.

Modern mundanity is something that players see as having no place in Magic. Believe it or not, fantasy sells a game rooted in the fantasy genre. Even the science fiction sets do pretty well, looking at Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty and even Edge of Eternities. It's when Magic drops a certain amount of fantastical escapism that it begins to suffer somewhat.

Getting back to Duskmourn, people complained a ton about the '80s-chic high school-grade outfits that so many background characters had. It was in huge contrast to the key players in the story: KaitoKaito, The WandererWanderer, TyvarTyvar, NikoNiko, and ZimoneZimone.

Ah, Some Light in the Dark... *Click* Maybe Turn That Off Again?

ValgavothValgavoth, oh ValgavothValgavoth. Let's take a moment to discuss this insanely terrifying Elder Demon.

His presence in the Duskmourn story made it so much better than many would expect. Uncharacteristically for the majority of other Magic stories, Valgavoth's presence was horrific because he was everywhere and nowhere all at once. We hardly saw much of this monstrous character until the end of the story, but his existence as not just in The House but as The House itself was felt.

Valgavoth is Duskmourn, and Duskmourn is Valgavoth. This was so important when looking at the storyline beats. It simply bears mention, because to neglect Valgavoth is to feed the dread he inspires.

EDHREC Statistics

So, this article also merits some stats. Here are the top five commanders from Duskmourn: House of Horror, as well as the top five commanders from its Commander decks.

Top Five Duskmourn: House of Horror Main Set Commanders

At #5, we have Kona, Rescue BeastieKona, Rescue Beastie. Kona is a mono-green creature with a strong ability that, at least when the set was spoiled, I didn't have much faith in. Nonetheless, Kona currently ranks at #254 on the site with 7,060 decks at the time of writing.

For #4, we have The MindskinnerThe Mindskinner. This mono-blue enchantment creature is a dedicated Mill commander by all respects. And it's still surprising to me that the card is so popular as a commander, especially considering its archetype. With 8,014 decks on EDHREC, The Mindskinner ranks at #202 on the site, just shy of the Top 200.

#3 on this list is a dear favorite of mine: The Jolly Balloon ManThe Jolly Balloon Man. I wrote a deck tech on The Jolly Balloon Man very early on in my time with Commander's Herald, which at the time was one of our sibling sites. So, you can understand why this creep was one of my personal faves.

And I suppose the idea stuck well, because he currently boasts a formidable 8,177 decks on EDHREC, ranking at #194 among the most popular commanders on the site.

#2 is the very person who made the mistake of releasing Valgavoth into The House: Marina VendrellMarina Vendrell. Marina is a commander who deals with one of the set's most memorable gimmicks: Rooms. In essence, Marina can do a lot to make this concept work exceptionally well.

And while I'm the only person I know who has a Jolly Balloon Man deck, I've faced quite a few Marina Vendrell builds. She ranks at #146 on EDHREC with 9,819 decks built. Frankly, I can't wait till she breaks 10k!

And finally, at #1 for main set commanders in Duskmourn, we have a pint-sized powerhouse that I never expected to see on the top ten, let alone at #1. Arabella, Abandoned DollArabella, Abandoned Doll is a truly strong herald of the meek. As an uncommon card and one that's deceptive in its power, I was surprised to see Arabella on this list at all. But lo and behold, Arabella has 13,967 decks on EDHREC at the time of writing, and is ranked well within the top 100 most popular commanders on the site at a mighty #76.

Top Five Commanders From the Duskmourn Precons

The top five most popular commanders from the precons of this set are as follows:

#5 on this list is The Master of KeysThe Master of Keys, a commander whose deck I've faced maybe all of one time. This release was just full of surprises, huh? The Master of Keys is used primarily as an enchantment-centric control commander. With 5,734 decks and a ranking of #346 on EDHREC, The Master of Keys doesn't have a ton of popularity, but it can still hold its own against a lot of other legendary creatures on the list.

On the list at #4 is Rendmaw, Creaking NestRendmaw, Creaking Nest. Rendmaw is a commander whose deck I've faced a handful of times and had a great, really fun match every time. This Scarecrow facilitates a fair few huggy, political builds which is interesting for its black-green color identity. Rendmaw boasts 8,221 decks on EDHREC and is ranked at #192 on here.

#3 on our list is Zimone, Mystery UnravelerZimone, Mystery Unraveler. Perhaps made popular by initial games among the four Duskmourn precons, Zimone dominated many tables using that exact table setup.

One particular game I enjoyed where Zimone had a great showing was one where Ify Nwadiwe of Dropout and Smosh fame piloted her on Commander At Home. You can find that video below. All the other preconstructed decks from the set also showcase their assets amazingly in it as well:

Zimone, Mystery Unraveler has a fantastic ranking of #127 on EDHREC, with 10,550 decks at the time of writing.

At #2 on this list is Aminatou, Veil PiercerAminatou, Veil Piercer. A dedicated Enchantress commander, the designers of her preconstructed deck leaned heavily into the miracle route. Aminatou, the FateshifterAminatou, the Fateshifter was popular enough in Commander 2018 that it must have rubbed off onto the design here.

Due to powerful synergies and a great toolkit in the form of her precon, Aminatou, Veil Piercer ranks at #96 with 12,270 decks on EDHREC right now.

And finally, the #1 most popular commander from the Duskmourn precons is Valgavoth, Harrower of SoulsValgavoth, Harrower of Souls. The House may not always win, but it wins a lot. That obviously includes here in the rankings. Valgavoth is the commander of a Group Slug-style build most of the time, hurting opponents where it hurts them the most, and sometimes in equal or equitable measure.

Valgavoth has even infiltrated the Top 50! With a rank of #38 and 18,152 decks databased on EDHREC, he's one of the fiercest and most formidable commanders of this day and age.

Conclusion, and an Open Call for Opinions

I liked Duskmourn a whole lot more than I did Bloomburrow. I will admit openly that I can be edgy in my interests, but there's definitely a limit. I'm a huge fan of horror in theory, but, perhaps oddly, not in practice. I used to be a haunt actor and designer years ago, and that is maybe the big exception for me, but I can't stomach some horror styles. But haunted houses are my bread and butter, so Duskmourn was too, in essence.

But let's hear from some of you, dear readers! What did you think about Duskmourn: House of Horror a year ago, and has that opinion changed? Do you like it more than you did before? Do you like it less? How has this set aged for you? Sound off in the comments below!