Last updated on December 31, 2022
Path to the Festival | Illustration by Darek Zabrocki
Innistrad: Midnight Hunt has promised a new experience that is both fresh and nostalgic. It’s a second return to a beloved plane, and the beginning of a new Standard format. Magic players have a lot to explore with this set as Midnight Hunt is shaking up both the Limited and Standard formats quite a bit.
So let’s take a look at this new and wild set!
Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Basic Information
Mountain | Illustration by Muhammad Firdaus
Set Details
| Set Symbol |  |
| Set Code | MID |
| Hashtag | #MTGMidnight and #MTGInnistrad |
| Number of Cards | 277 + 114 |
| Rarities | 100 commons, 83 uncommons, 64 rares, 20 mythic rares, 10 basic lands |
| Languages | English, Brazilian Portuguese, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, Korean |
| Cards per Pack | 15 |
| Mechanics | Daybound/Nightbound, Disturb, Flashback, Investigate, Coven, Decayed |
Important Dates
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Previews Start | September 2, 2021 |
| Official Draftsim card preview | September 9, 2021 |
| Available on Draftsim's draft simulator | September 10, 2021 |
| Full limited set review | September 14, 2021 |
| Release on MTG Arena | September 16, 2021 |
| Available on Arena Tutor | September 16, 2021 (estimated) |
| Prerelease Week | September 17 to September 23, 2021 |
| Paper release date | September 24, 2021 |
About the Set: The Story
Innistrad: Midnight Hunt art
Sparks finally catch hold as the sooty end of your torch flares and settles into a familiar orange glow. It’s time to find yourself at home before something finds you.
Welcome back to Innistrad.
Adam Styborski
We’re back on Innistrad, but things aren’t looking so great for humanity at the moment. Nightfall is starting to take over, the weather is getting unusually cold, and Harvesttide is coming up, the one thing that might save the population now that their Angel of Hope is gone.
Witches and warlocks of the land believe that humanity may have to turn to older and darker magic to save themselves. Werewolves have started to lose their minds and are threatening people where they previously kept their wits about them.
A new threat looms over the humans of Innistrad as they just can’t seem to catch a break: a night that might never end. Things that go bump in the night are in full supply, but the humans gathered in the Kessig countryside haven’t given up hope yet. They’ll find a way to stave off the creatures that hunt humanity if it’s the last thing they do.
And it very well just might be.
Want to know more? Check out Episode 1 of the Midnight Hunt story to keep up with all the latest Magic lore!
Set Mechanics
Daybound/Nightbound
Although not technically a new mechanic, “daybound” and “nightbound” are keywords that make the new transforming double-faced cards a lot easier to follow.
Take Mayor of Avabruck for example. It says: “At the beginning of each upkeep, if no spells were cast last turn, transform Mayor of Avabruck.” On the other side (Howlpack Alpha), it reads: “At the beginning of each upkeep, if a player cast two or more spells last turn, transform Howlpack Alpha.”
These wordy pieces of text have been replaced with daybound and nightbound, which look a lot nicer on a Magic card. Plus, we get these really cool Day and Night tokens:
Not only do these tokens help from a thematic standpoint, they also allow cards like Tovolar, Dire Overlord to transform werewolf cards using conditions other than just counting the number of cards a player cast during their turn.
Disturb
Werewolves aren’t the only double-faced creatures in Midnight Hunt. Creatures of any tribe can feature the new “disturb” mechanic, which allows you to cast them from your graveyard for an alternate cost. When you do, that creature enters the battlefield transformed.
It’s important to note that you can cast a creature for its disturb cost regardless of how it entered the graveyard, so discarding or milling with disturb is good value.
Flashback
Flashback is another Innistrad mechanic returning to MTG with Midnight Hunt. A spell with flashback can be cast from your graveyard for its flashback cost, which is usually more expensive than its regular cost.
Flashback provides free built-in value on your spells and also plays well with discard, self-mill, and graveyard synergy. Join the Dance is a mediocre but playable spell that comes with an over-costed second cast.
Investigate
“Investigate” is a mechanic returning from Shadows Over Innistrad. Whenever you investigate, you create a Clue token. This is a bit like drawing a card only slower.
You can sacrifice a Clue anytime you want, assuming you have the mana to activate its ability. It’s a great mechanic for Limited where card draw and value generation can be hard to come by.
Coven
“Coven” is a new mechanic that specifies some kind of triggered reward for having three or more creatures with different powers, just like a witch’s coven. This trigger happens at the beginning of combat on your turn. The easiest way to build a good coven deck is by playing a high number of creatures with different powers.
Decayed
Another new set mechanic from Innistrad is “decayed.” A creature with decayed can’t block and its controller sacrifices it at the end of combat after it attacks. Creatures with decayed are generally weaker than creatures without it since they can only attack once, but cards featuring the mechanic make up for this by having other powerful effects alongside the decaying creature.
Land Lovers Rejoice
Slow Lands
“Slow lands” are a brand-new cycle of dual-color lands that have the potential to come into play untapped, assuming the proper conditions are met. In contrast to fast lands which require you to have two or fewer other lands in play to enter untapped, slow lands require you to have two or more other lands in play if you want to use them immediately.
Players love building greedy mana bases for their Standard decks so these slow lands will be in high demand for the next couple of months (or years).
Eternal Night Basic Lands
We’ve also gotten a set of 10 full-art basic lands dubbed “Eternal Night” basics. These appear in Draft, Collector, and Set Boosters. You’re guaranteed one in every draft booster.
Midnight Hunt Card Gallery
White
Blue
Black
Red
Green
Multicolored
Colorless
Double-Faced Cards
Lands
Products Available
Set Boosters
Introduced in Zendikar Rising, set boosters are aimed at players looking to open packs without drafting them. These have a higher average number of rares than their draft counterparts and also contain cards from “the list,” a pre-curated selection of varied cards from across Magic’s long history. Among them we have Mortify, Early Harvest, Witch of the Moors, and Ancient Tomb.
Another new addition to the set boosters is even more cards. There’s a chance for you to open the four legendary creature cards from Midnight Hunt‘s Commander precons, plus eight new-to-Magic EDH cards that aren’t even in the precons. These are: Avacyn’s Memorial, Visions of Glory, Visions of Duplicity, Visions of Dread, Curse of Obsession, Visions of Ruin. Visions of Dominance, and Lynde, Cheerful Tormentor.
Set boosters contain:
- 1 rare/mythic card
- 1 traditional foil card
- 2 “surprise” cards (any rarity MID cards, fun variants, or MID Commander cards)
- 2 common/uncommon cards
- 2 uncommon single-faced cards
- 3 common single-faced cards
- 1 Eternal Night basic land
- 1 token/ad card or 1 card from the list
- 1 art or foil-stamped art card
- 30 Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Set Boosters
- Best MTG booster to open just for fun
- 12 Magic: The Gathering cards per pack
- 1–4 Rares and/or Mythic Rares plus at least 1 foil in every pack
- May contain Commander cards—get 1–2 in 14% of packs
Draft Boosters
The same booster box full of packs you’ve known for years with 15 cards. The only product intended to be used for Draft and Sealed.
Midnight Hunt‘s booster packs contain:
- 1 rare/mythic card
- 3 uncommon cards
- 1 common double-faced card
- 9 common single-faced cards
- 1 Eternal Night basic land
- 1 token/ad card
- 1 double-faced helper card
- 36 Innistrad: Midnight Hunt MTG Draft Boosters
- 15 MTG cards per Draft Booster
- 2 double-faced cards in every booster
- 1 Eternal Night full-art basic land in every pack
- Become what you fear in a gothic horror set overrun with werewolves, warlocks, and spooky mechanics
Collector Boosters
The packs with the bling. Collector boosters are intended for players who like to focus more on pretty, valuable cards or upgrade the “regular” versions of cards they already have.
The Midnight Hunt collector boosters include:
- 1 foil rare/mythic card
- 1 foil extended-art or booster fun rare/mythic card
- 1 booster fun rare/mythic card
- 1 extended-art rare/mythic Midnight Hunt Commander card
- 1 extended-art rare/mythic card
- 1 foil showcase equinox common/uncommon card
- 2 showcase equinox common/uncommon cards
- 2 foil uncommon cards
- 4 foil common cards
- 1 foil Eternal Night basic land
- 1 foil double-sided token
- 12 Innistrad: Midnight Hunt MTG Collector Boosters
- Shortcut to the coolest cards in Innistrad: Midnight Hunt
- Total of 8 special treatment cards plus total of 10 foils per pack
- Only MID boosters with Extended-Art cards
- Total of 15 Magic cards plus 1 foil token in each booster
Prerelease Packs
These are usually reserved for play during the set’s prerelease weekend at your LGS, but you’ll now either have to wait to use them or get creative. Or just crack the packs.
Midnight Hunt‘s prerelease packs contain:
- 6 MID draft booster packs
- 1 foil rare/mythic card with a foil year stamp
- 3 double-faced helper cards
- 1 spindown life counter with the MID set symbol imprint
- 1 MTG Arena promo code
- 1 reusable deck box with divider
Midnight Hunt Bundle
The set bundles are the go-to option if you want a good grab bag of stuff to start you off in your Midnight Hunt collection. Or a great gift option if you’re shopping for a friend. There’s lots of cool stuff in this iteration, so make sure to grab one for yourself or your spooky friend to start your MID collection off right.
The Midnight Hunt bundles contain:
- 8 MID set booster packs
- 20 foil basic lands
- 20 basic lands
- 1 exclusive alternate-art foil Triskaidekaphile
- 1 exclusive oversized glow-in-the-dark spindown life counter
- 1 card storage box
- 8 Innistrad: Midnight Hunt MTG Set Boosters
- 1 foil alt-art promo card—Triskaidekaphile
- 40 basic land cards (20 foil plus 20 nonfoil)
- Glow-in-the-dark Spindown life counter plus card storage box
- Become what you fear in a gothic horror set overrun with werewolves, warlocks, and spooky mechanics
Theme Boosters
We’ve got six theme boosters with Midnight Hunt, and they’re about what you’d expect from this product. for casual players looking to expand their collection in a more focused direction. Theme boosters are a pack of 35 cards, specifically made to have the appropriate lands thrown in and boom! You’ve got yourself a cohesive deck, or at least somewhere to start.
MID‘s theme boosters cover each of the five colors, and we’ve got a bonus booster spanning all five colors at once dubbed “werewolves.” I’m sure it’s quite a fun time. Each pack has 1 or 2 rare/mythic cards while the rest are commons and uncommons. Also, 10% of the boosters have a booster fun variant. How exciting!
Commander Decks
As usual, if you buy both decks together in a bundle, you can get a discount:
- Bundle of 2 Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Commander Decks—Coven Counters + Undead Unleashed
- Both ready-to-play MTG decks contain 100 Magic cards (2 traditional foil + 98 nonfoil)
- Each deck comes with 1 foil-etched Display Commander, 10 tokens, 1 life tracker + 1 deck box
- Decks include a total of 30 MTG cards not found in the main set—15 in each deck
- Reduced-plastic packaging
We have a full review of the MID Commander decks here.
Undead Unleashed
Undead Unleashed is, unsurprisingly, a zombie-focused deck. You’ll be led by Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver, a zombie warrior with lots of zombie tribal flair and the ability to draw you a card if you’ve got the zombies to spare. There’s clearly a sacrifice angle going on here with the intent to create an overwhelming army of decaying corpses at your beck and call.
- 100-card ready-to-play Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Commander deck
- Deck includes 2 traditional foils + 98 nonfoil cards
- 1 foil-etched Display Commander
- 10 double-sided tokens + life tracker and deck box
- Introduces 15 MTG cards not found in the main set
Coven Counters
Our second and final Midnight Hunt Commander precon is Coven Counters, led by the wonderfully witchy Leinore, Autumn Soverign. Coven is the name of the game for this legendary human noble and her followers with varying power levels and counters galore.
- 100-card ready-to-play Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Commander deck
- Deck includes 2 traditional foils + 98 nonfoil cards
- 1 foil-etched Display Commander
- 10 double-sided tokens + life tracker and deck box
- Introduces 15 MTG cards not found in the main set
Innistrad: Double Feature
A fun new draft experience awaits us once our two Innistrad sets are released and settled: Innistrad: Double Feature. This unique product will combine select cards from each set into draft boosters for a really special environment. There’s also going to be some special art featured on every card, which sounds particularly enticing. It might be worth it to check these packs out just to get your hands on the art!
This is coming to us in early 2022, which gives us a few months to sit with Midnight Hunt and Crimson Vow before we get to try both out at the same time. Of course, you could just make your own combined draft boosters, but that takes work. And there’s no alt-art involved. Unless you’re the creative type!
Wrap Up
Plains (Innistrad: Midnight Hunt) | Illustration by Andreas Rocha
This is an exciting set, mostly thanks to the long-awaited rotation of Throne of Eldraine. Hopefully you survive the Midnight Hunt!
What have you been most excited to see in this set? Let us know if the comments down below, or tweet us if that’s more your thing. And make sure you’ve got Arena Tutor to help you navigate the new Draft and Standard formats. You don’t wanna be caught unprepared, there’s clearly lots of stuff skulking about in the shadows waiting to pounce on unsuspecting victims.
I hope to see you again when the sun rises, whenever that might be. Happy hunting!
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1 Comment
This makes me not want to buy midnight hunt or crimson vow, that way the cards I get will only be special art from the double feature… I guess it’s only Commander decks for me for a while. Give my credit card some R&R too.
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