Bloomburrow cards have been released in full strength and are making a massive impact in Standard and beyond. Interestingly, spoiler season for Duskmourn is only a few weeks away, even though Bloomburrow cards have only been available on Magic Online and MTG Arena for about two weeks. Duskmourn, a unique ’80s-themed horror set, seems like a nice contrast to Bloomburrow’s cute animal aesthetic.
In June, we got our first look at Duskmourn thanks to the First Look preview. From the stunning graphics to the unique card design, Duskmourn looks really cool.
One neat aspect of Duskmourn that was revealed during the first look was the introduction of rooms as MTG cards. A few beautiful yet haunting backgrounds were showcased as rooms, but there was minimal information about what these cards entailed. This led to a lot of speculation within the community. Well, while things are still pretty open, we now know that these rooms are actually NOT a new card type.
What we know
No rooms have been revealed for Duskmourn yet. The only description we received during the first look said that rooms would appear, with the implication that they have the ability to change shape in some way. Each room “seems to have a mind of its own” and is “constantly changing.”
This definitely leaves a lot of room for speculation (no pun intended). Initially, some players thought that rooms would potentially be an entirely new card type, like battles. According to lead designer Mark Rosewater in response to a recent Blogatog post, rooms will not be a new card type. This implies that they will most likely be a new subtype tied to a core card type like enchantment or land.
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Possible options
Now that we know that rooms aren’t an entirely new card type, the most likely scenario seems to be that they’ll be either enchantments, lands, or battles. This is largely because these three card types are particularly good at displaying artistic backgrounds like the ones shown above. Lands are an obvious option, but enchantments and battles certainly have value in hosting this new subtype.
The magical nature of the house itself that the characters move around in could easily indicate that each room is an enchantment. Furthermore, the division in the two pieces of art shown above could mean that something about the room changes when players meet a certain condition. In this way, rooms could share some similarities with cases or classes, which are other subtypes of enchantment.
Personally, though, I hope rooms are featured on battle cards. First, as Reddit user Will_29 points out, battles in the past have featured horizontal graphics similar to the image above. Plus, in a set where Delirium is confirmed as a mechanic, it makes sense to have an unusual card type appear.
Battle maps naturally change once all defense counters are removed. It would be both intriguing and logical that characters entering unfamiliar rooms of this spooky house would be presented with challenges to overcome. After defeat, the environment would become safer, much like real-life escape rooms. This change in landscape could definitely be what represents the disconnect in both pieces of art.
Wizards of the Coast can take these room cards in many different directions. Look for new information in the coming weeks.
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