The 30 Most Expensive Cards in Duskmourn: House of Horror

Last updated on November 27, 2024

Damnation | Illustration by Masahiro Ito

Duskmourn is right around the corner, and people are getting excited for it! There’s lots going on in this Magic set, and it has some powerful-looking cards, and some amazing and spooky art to go with them. But what are the best and most exciting Duskmourn cards to open when you’re cracking that box or prerelease kit? Let’s take a look!

Note, all prices were taken from TCGplayer on September 16, 2024.

Honorable Mention: Nightmare Bundle Exclusives

Living Death | Illustration by Josh Newton

The Nightmare Bundle is a special bundle, a bit like the Gift Editions or the Compleat Edition that came with Phyrexia: All Will Be One. You’ll get a “Movie Poster” version of one of Living Death, Goryo's Vengeance, or Archon of Cruelty, plus a promo version of Crypt Ghast, Exhume, or Damn. Of these, Goryo’s Vengeance is the best hit, but they won’t be included in Play boosters or Collector boosters.

#30. Leyline of Resonance (DSK) – $11.25

This is a red enchantment that’s making some heads turn in Standard. Leyline of Resonance can allow for some turn-2 wins in what’s meant to be the weakest Constructed format in Magic. Play a 1-drop on your first turn with this red card on the battlefield, and there’s every chance you can simply cast two pump spells on your second turn to make your Heartfire Hero or similar big enough to one-shot your opponent. Obviously it’s fragile, but it has some people excited… and others worried!

#29. Overlord of the Boilerbilges (DSK) – $11.31

The Overlord cycle is the new mythic cycle in Duskmourn, and each one comes with an impending ability, which is a little like a cross between suspend and the Theros god ability, as it can start as just an enchantment with an enters trigger attached. Overlord of the Boilerbilges can either be a 6-mana 5/5 red creature that can remove something (or hit face) with its attack trigger, or just a burn spell for 4 mana. The flexibility on this red enchantment creature is nice, and for 6 mana you’re going to have a good time. The impending cost is pretty expensive if you never get to turn this into a creature, but that’s kinda the point. Flexibility is always good, though.

#28. Dollmaker's Shop // Porcelain Gallery (DSK) – $11.57

Dollmaker's Shop // Porcelain Gallery is a really interesting white enchantment that’s almost a deck all in itself. It’s a nice effect on the left door, especially if you have a good 1-drop to play, then the more expensive right door is a way to win the game, providing your board manages to dodge a Sunfall!

This white room pairs really nicely with Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon, which can also make a big board when other creatures attack. 1-drop into Dollmaker's Shop into Anim Pakal is a hell of a curve!

#27. Hauntwoods Shrieker (DSK) – $12.30

Hauntwoods Shrieker is a solid 3-drop green creature that provides an interesting form of card advantage. Some people just want to play this beast mutant for the value it brings, but there are others that want to use it as the latest way to cheat out Phyrexian Dreadnought or something like that. It’s a lot of mana for that combo, but people will look to cheat stuff in. Remember: You don’t get the ETB when you flip over a face-down card.

#26. Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait (DSC) – $12.60

Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait is getting a reprint in the Duskmourn Commander precons, and this is one of the modern classics of “Simic Value Decks.” While it’s not the face commander, it’s nice to see the first non-List reprint of this Simic commander () included in the 99 to add some nice value to the precon.

#25. Funeral Room // Awakening Hall (DSK) – $12.92

Funeral Room // Awakening Hall is two really popular black mechanics on one black card. This black enchantment's left door is like a Zulaport Cutthroat, while the right half is an 8-mana mass reanimation effect that wins the game if you build your deck right.

Although the Funeral Room side is quite expensive for this effect, it allows you to stay alive longer to make the Awakening Hall half easier to cast later. I can see why this is popular, but I don’t think it’ll end up being as good as people are hoping, unfortunately.

#20-25. Verge Land Cycle (DSK) – $13 (ish)

We have a new rare land cycle causing a bit of a stir, mainly because they come in untapped. We have Blazemire Verge, Hushwood Verge, Thornspire Verge, Floodfarm Verge, and Gloomlake Verge which all tap for one color of mana, but tap for a second if you have a land of a certain type. People are very excited, but I’m personally a bit more skeptical as you need a second land of the right color (and type!) if you want to get the second color from these, which is likely your splash color. We’ll have to wait and see how they end up playing, but I don’t see them holding this price.

#19. Ashaya, Soul of the Wild (DSC) – $14.50

Ashaya, Soul of the Wild is another nice reprint to see in the Duskmourn Commander precons. First printed in Zendikar Rising, this green elemental has been slowly rising in price due to some silly land-based combos you can pull off when all your creatures are also lands. The reprint is really nice to see, as this green commander would have kept rising otherwise. The card dips for now, although I can see Ashaya, Soul of the Wild creeping back up again if it manages to dodge a reprint for the next couple of years.

#18. Walk-In Closet // Forgotten Cellar (DSK) – $14.72

Most of the price for Walk-In Closet // Forgotten Cellar is for the left half: A 3-mana green enchantment that lets you play lands from your graveyard is always going to be interesting. The Forgotten Cellar half is very expensive for what it is, but it’s still a great bonus on top, especially if you can ramp using the left half. All in all, it’s a solid green card with a late-game bonus, but it probably won’t keep the price unless someone finds a good way to crack it.

#17. The Rollercrusher Ride (DSK) – $15.72

The Rollercrusher Ride is an interesting legendary enchantment with an interesting X cost. It takes a lot of mana to make the removal side work, but if you manage to get delirium, it doesn’t really matter as it doubles the damage of your burn spells, as well as pingers like Thermo-Alchemist. Neither side of this is really amazing, but maybe when you add both sides it’ll be good. If gets a lot better if you can make a lot of mana, though. Difficult to evaluate.

#16. The Wandering Rescuer (DSK) – $16.00

The Wandering Rescuer is going to be a pain to play around in plenty of formats. This legendary white creature is a solid white card even without convoke, and a 3/4 flash, double-striker is going to catch plenty of people out in combat.

Hexproofing your other creatures means it’s something you’re going to have to watch out for in a number of ways, although it doesn’t do a huge amount against board wipes, and Standard has a lot of those right now!

#15. Come Back Wrong (DSK) – $16.90

Both the flavor and the mechanical design of Come Back Wrong are slam dunks for me. You won’t always be able to make great use of the reanimate ability, as the creature you bring back won’t be able to attack without haste, but you’ll get to use any ETB or death triggers. Someone somewhere will find a way to break this black sorcery by destroying your own stuff, and that might keep the price this high. At sorcery speed, it doesn’t feel broken. At least not immediately….

#14. Tyvar, the Pummeler (DSK) – $17.99

Everyone’s favorite himbo is back as Tyvar, the Pummeler. I’m not sure where this card’s going to fit. Maybe in some kind of Elfball deck where you can go wide then pump everything? The indestructible ability is pretty sweet and will make Tyvar difficult to deal with. I can see a lot of good things from this elf warrior, but wonder where it’ll go….

#13. Abhorrent Oculus (DSK) – $19.96

Abhorrent Oculus has made a lot of people get their brewing caps out of storage, as it has a lot of potential. Yes, there are builds where you can stock your graveyard up, but I’m thinking you could reanimate this blue creature with something like Unearth or Helping Hand, or play it in a tempo build and cheat it in without casting with something like Collected Company. Ultimately this blue card depends on how easy you can get it out on turn 3 or before, but the potential is there!

#12. Shriekwood Devourer (DSC) – $20.00

Just hitting that $20 mark, Shriekwood Devourer feels like a great top-end for ramp decks, but also much more than that. Notably, this green treefolk doesn't need to attack itself, so you can play it, attack, then untap straight away. It can even untap your opponents' lands if you’re looking for some way to politic in your Commander games. Obviously, there are some silly things you can do with utility lands, and the potential alone has people pumping the preorder price up here.

#11. Sacrifice (SPG) – $20.00

Sacrifice is a great flavorful addition in the Special Guest slot. Other printings of this black instant aren’t particularly expensive (you can easily find it for less than $5) so I don’t expect the price to hold. It’s still very pretty, though, and anyone who’s not a fan of some of the more traditional art might look at this one in particular.

#10. Phantasmal Image (SPG) – $24.95

Phantasmal Image is another classic blue card getting a reprint in the Special Guest slot with some super creepy art. Again, you can pick this up for much less than this is preordering at, but it’s a pretty nice reprint that some people will be using to upgrade their decks.

#9. Screaming Nemesis (DSK) – $25.10

Wizards has had a thing against lifegain decks recently, and Screaming Nemesis is the latest in this line. I haven’t noticed many lifegain decks running around recently, at least not in Standard, but they do exist in abundance in Pioneer and Explorer, so it might be intended for those formats. I don’t think this red spirit will see a lot of maindeck play, but it could end up pretty happily in sideboards. That probably means it won’t be a $25 card when all’s said and done, though.

#8. Kaito, Bane of Nightmares (DSK) – $25.43

Kaito, Bane of Nightmares is an interesting spin on a planeswalker. Usually, we only see white planeswalkers become creatures, although it’s turned up in other colors occasionally. This card reminds me of Gideon, Ally of Zendikar which was a super-popular card in its time in Standard. Will Kaito see the same play? Probably not unless ninjas come back, unfortunately.

#7. Overlord of the Hauntwoods (DSK) – $26.73

Another of the mythic Overlord cycle, Overlord of the Hauntwoods has a lot of people’s attention because of the Everywhere land token. Giving all basic land types is great for some decks, like domain, and some people are looking for ways to maximize this strange token. It feels like it might actually be the real deal to me, especially as land tokens are also relatively new, so this might be one to keep an eye on.

#6. Valgavoth, Terror Eater (DSK) – $27.99

Valgavoth, Terror Eater is the big bad from Duskmourn, and while it’s certainly big, it’s by no means bad. Clearly a reanimation target, this black creature is particularly annoying to get rid of and can provide a bunch of card advantage, too. I doubt this DSK draft bomb going to be as good of a target as the traditional Griselbrand or something more modern like Atraxa, Grand Unifier, so we’ll see if the elder demon can keep this price tag.

#5. Meathook Massacre II (DSK) – $28.91

Probably the punniest name in a Magic set full of puns and references, Meathook Massacre II is the sequel to the notorious card that had to be banned from Standard. I think the infamy of the first in this series is pumping up the price somewhat, but this is certainly not a bad card, if not quite what the predecessor was. This won’t be bulk, but it will almost certainly drop.

#4. Noxious Revival (SPG) – $29.99

Free spells are always worth looking at, but Noxious Revival isn’t the most broken of these. Another Special Guest reprint, most versions of this green instant are sitting around $6-7, so this’ll likely drop to around $10 on release. Don’t worry, though: That slot does have some juice worth the current price tag!

#3. Expropriate (SPG) – $35.00

Speaking of, Expropriate is almost worth the current $35 price, with other versions around $12. It’s not quite there, but it’s the first “fancy” version of this blue sorcery, only being printed in Conspiracy: Take the Crown and Mystery Booster so far, so I expect this to be a good chunk more than that base price. It might settle out at $20-$25, and that’s going to be a good hit!

#2. Damnation (SPG) – $39.95

Damnation is the Special Guest card you really want to hit. Normal versions of this black sorcery are $20, so I expect this to be at least $25 when things settle out, maybe more as it has fantastic art. It’s had plenty of printings over the years, some of which are nice full art versions, so fans of bling already have options, but people always want this unconditional black board wipe, and it’ll always be great to see in your Duskmourn Limited pool.

#1. Metamorphosis Fanatic (DSC) – $39.99

You may not be aware of Metamorphosis Fanatic, never mind not realizing that it’s the most expensive card in Duskmourn, but it’s only a Commander precon exclusive (in the Miracle Worker deck if you’re interested). If you miracle it, this black cleric’s a 2-mana 4/4 lifelinker that reanimates something from your ‘yard with a lifelink keyword counter on it, which is such an incredible rate.

There are rumblings that this’ll see play all the way back to Legacy, but we’ll really have to wait and see with that one. I don’t think anyone would blame you for not spotting this one yet, but it’s something you should probably be aware of!

Promos, Alternate Art, and More

As ever these days, there’s a plethora of special treatments, Booster Fun, alternate arts, and more. The most common alternate you’re most likely to see are Double Exposure cards. These have art featuring two colors and look pretty funky with their neon highlights. There’s also Textured Foil double exposure cards, which can only be found in Collector boosters.

Another treatment you’ll see are Fracture Foils. Both Fracture Foils and Textured Foils appear to show up in around 1% of boosters.

Something else that you’ll find in all boosters are Lurking Evil alternate arts. With these, one in four of the arts contains the image of a monster stalking the character in the picture, with that monster absent the other three out of four times. Note that these Lurking Evil cards have a different collector number from the regular versions, but you might not notice straight away if just glancing at the cards.

As well as all of this, there’s an alternate frame on some cards, called the Paranormal Frame. This is a retro-futuristic frame, looking something like an old-style TV with the front panel taken off. It might look jarring, but it fits with the overall tone of Duskmourn.

Finally, there are Mirror Monster cards, which have a borderless treatment and depict some of the deadly creatures on Duskmourn, usually through the reflection of another object in the art. These can be found in Play boosters and Collector boosters.

There really is a lot going on for alternate arts in this set, so be sure to check out the Collecting Duskmourn article on the Mothership to get all of the details.

Wrap Up

Meathook Massacre II | Illustration by Tiffany Turrill

Duskmourn is certainly getting people hyped, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that it’s going to be falling around Halloween. While it’s certainly not for everyone, much of the aesthetic is going down well with fans, and people are getting excited.

Are you looking forward to Duskmourn? What are you hoping to open on Prerelease weekend? Be sure to let us know in the comments down below or on the Draftsim Discord.

I’ll catch you next time… if you make it out of the House alive, of course!