Last updated on January 4, 2022
Curse of Clinging Webs | Illustration by Marie Magny
Wow, time flies. It’s been almost a year since the Commander 2020 decks were released. Since then, each new set (with the exception of some special ones) have featured Commander precons as part of their product list.
Innistrad: Midnight Hunt is no exception. MID offers two new EDH decks for aspiring commanders out there. According to WotC, these decks are “intended as on-ramps for newer players and introductions to the amazing world of Commander.”
So let’s take a look at Midnight Hunt Commander, shall we?
- 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
What are the Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Commander Decks?
Visions of Ruin | Illustration by Andrew Mar
As I already mentioned, the Midnight Hunt Commander decks have been branded as on-ramps for newer players. These products aren’t geared towards veterans of the game or players looking for a competitive edge at their local game store. Beginner-friendly decks generally lack the raw power and consistency that streamlined decks offer, opting instead for a simple, straightforward strategy that even newer players can follow.
Commander decks also usually showcase new mechanics from their set that. Midnight Hunt features two Commander decks: one that revolves around the new coven mechanic and another that focuses on zombies and sacrifice effects.
What Makes the Midnight Hunt Commander Decks Special?
Wall of Mourning | Illustration by Kasia ‘Kafis' Zielinska
With WotC releasing new Commander products left right and center, you might feel less pressured to buy the latest addition to the series. The days of only four or five new Commander precons being released are over. This makes it all the more important for the MID decks to stand out if you’re going to buy one (or both) of them.
For starters, each of Midnight Hunt’s new Commander decks is closely tied to the set. If you happen to like the cards or set mechanics in MID (or any of the other Innistrad sets, for that matter), then there’s a good chance that you’ll like these precons. Nothing about these two decks stands out from the crowd. You’ll have to examine them individually so see if they’re the right fit for you.
Should I Buy Midnight Hunt Commander?
Visions of Dominance | Illustration by Andrew Mar
The MSRP for Midnight Hunt Commander decks sits around $35, and depending on sales, there's a small discount for buying both of them together. Unless both decks are of interest to you, you may as well buy just one or the other. Commander precons used to be basically impossible to buy for their MSRP thanks to low supply but you can expect to get a fair price on the products now since Commander releases have become more frequent.
Oh, and if you aren’t sure about which of the two decks you should buy, don’t go anywhere. It’s time to take an in-depth look at both Coven Counters and Undead Unleashed, this set’s two precons.
Coven Counters
Leinore, Autumn Sovereign | Illustration by Fariba Khamseh
Commander (1)
Creature (38)
Avacyn's Pilgrim
Mikaeus, the Lunarch
Ainok Bond-Kin
Gyre Sage
Knight of the White Orchid
Kurbis, Harvest Celebrant
Wall of Mourning
Abzan Falconer
Bastion Protector
Champion of Lambholt
Dawnhart Wardens
Eternal Witness
Heronblade Elite
Orzhov Advokist
Somberwald Sage
Stalwart Pathlighter
Wild Beastmaster
Yavimaya Elder
Custodi Soulbinders
Heron's Grace Champion
Odric, Master Tactician
Riders of Gavony
Elite Scaleguard
Herald of War
Juniper Order Ranger
Kessig Cagebreakers
Kyler, Sigardian Emissary
Sigarda's Vanguard
Sigarda, Heron's Grace
Sigardian Zealot
Verdurous Gearhulk
Victory's Envoy
Dearly Departed
Enduring Scalelord
Moorland Rescuer
Angel of Glory's Rise
Somberwald Beastmaster
Trostani's Summoner
Instant (6)
Swords to Plowshares
Beast Within
Inspiring Call
Unbreakable Formation
Return to Dust
Ruinous Intrusion
Sorcery (8)
Growth Spasm
Celebrate the Harvest
Bestial Menace
Cleansing Nova
Shamanic Revelation
Biogenic Upgrade
Celestial Judgement
Hour of Reckoning
Enchantment (4)
Curse of Clinging Webs
Citadel Siege
Curse of Conformity
Death's Presence
Artifact (6)
Sol Ring
Arcane Signet
Moonsilver Key
Swiftfoot Boots
Talisman of Unity
Lifecrafter's Bestiary
Land (37)
Blighted Woodland
Canopy Vista
Command Tower
Exotic Orchard
Forest x12
Fortified Village
Krosan Verge
Myriad Landscape
Path of Ancestry
Plains x12
Rogue's Passage
Selesnya Sanctuary
Sungrass Prairie
Temple of Plenty
Temple of the False God
Commander, Theme, and Strategy
Coven Counters is all about one of Midnight Hunt’s new set mechanics: coven. Cards with coven grant you a bonus ability if you control three or more creatures with different powers. With this in mind you’ll want to run as many creatures as possible to maximize your chances of having coven active at any given time.
Leinore, Autumn Sovereign is the perfect commander for this kind of deck for multiple reasons. She has 0 power, which is a great for activating coven since so few creatures in your deck have 0 power. Her ability can also help you activate coven if two of your creatures have identical power.
The rest of the deck contains some +1/+1 counter synergy to provide a supplemental strategy to your coven plans. This secondary strategy also works well with Leinore, making the deck a potent value machine.
Notable Cards: Reprints and $$
The only card of significant value in Coven Counters is Bastion Protector, a reprint from Commander 2015. This Commander-specific card provides an extra layer of protection for your leader and curves out really nicely with Leinore, Autumn Sovereign since you can play the Protector on turn 3 and your commander on turn 4.
The Verdict
Although Coven Counters’ gameplan is rather simple and doesn’t have any crazy combos, it does an excellent job at providing new players with a deck they can play straight out of the box after learning the rules of the game. The mana base is diverse enough to easily support two colors and the curve is built so that you won’t skip your first few turns.
I wouldn’t recommend this if you’re a creative player who likes to brew wild decks in your spare time, though. But if you’re a new or returning player you’ll have a blast playing Coven Counters.
- 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
Undead Unleashed
Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver | Illustration by Chris Rallis
Commander (1)
Planeswalker (1)
Creature (31)
Undead Augur
Cemetery Reaper
Death Baron
Diregraf Captain
Diregraf Colossus
Fleshbag Marauder
Gleaming Overseer
Liliana's Devotee
Lord of the Accursed
Midnight Reaper
Spark Reaper
Cleaver Skaab
Corpse Augur
Forgotten Creation
Gisa and Geralf
Havengul Runebinder
Prowling Geistcatcher
Shadow Kin
Tomb Tyrant
Undead Alchemist
Eloise, Nephalia Sleuth
Eternal Skylord
Hordewing Skaab
Ravenous Rotbelly
Stitcher Geralf
Gravespawn Sovereign
Ruthless Deathfang
Butcher of Malakir
Eater of Hope
Overseer of the Damned
Gorex, the Tombshell
Instant (3)
Go for the Throat
Drown in Dreams
Aetherspouts
Sorcery (10)
Dark Salvation
Dread Summons
Empty the Laboratory
Feed the Swarm
Hour of Eternity
Distant Melody
Ghoul's Night Out
Syphon Flesh
Zombie Apocalypse
Army of the Damned
Enchantment (7)
Dreadhorde Invasion
Curse of the Restless Dead
Endless Ranks of the Dead
Liliana's Mastery
Open the Graves
Rooftop Storm
Curse of Unbinding
Artifact (7)
Sol Ring
Arcane Signet
Charcoal Diamond
Sky Diamond
Talisman of Dominance
Commander's Sphere
Crowded Crypt
Land (40)
Bojuka Bog
Choked Estuary
Command Tower
Darkwater Catacombs
Dimir Aqueduct
Exotic Orchard
Island x12
Mortuary Mire
Myriad Landscape
Path of Ancestry
Sunken Hollow
Swamp x15
Tainted Isle
Temple of Deceit
Unclaimed Territory
Commander, Theme, and Strategy
Undead Unleashed is all about zombies and sacrifice effects. The idea is to have cards like Undead Augur in play when you sacrifice your creatures. You also have token-generating effects like Army of the Damned to provide you with enough expendable creatures to sacrifice.
Your commander, Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver, will generate loads of value for you by creating lots of 2/2 zombie tokens or drawing cards by sacrificing them. You’ll quickly swarm the board with zombies with the right cards in play and you’ll be sure to win the game pretty quickly. Unless your opponent has a board wipe ready, of course.
Notable Cards: Reprints and $$
Our first of two money cards in Undead Unleashed is Curse of the Restless Dead, a card unique to this set. For only three mana even your land drops will generate zombie tokens for you. You can also enchant your opponent if you think they’ll be making more land drops than you, although they may hold their lands in hand if you do so. I don’t think this card is game breaking on its own but it can do some serious damage paired with the right sacrifice outlet.
The other value card to look out for is Drown in Dreams, another new card. It’s basically a strict upgrade to Blue Sun's Zenith. This instant could be playable even if you don’t have your commander out at the time but what you really want is to cast both effects at once. Milling enough cards to hurt your opponent might be difficult but drawing cards for yourself while stocking your graveyard at the same time is nothing to sneeze at. I wouldn’t recommend playing this in the early- or even mid-game, but it’s a good curve-topper if I’ve ever seen one.
The Verdict
Undead Unleashed is a little bit more nuanced than Coven Counters, and I like it. Zombie fanatics will be pleased to see Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver, an interesting commander that opens the door to all sorts of combo synergies out there.
Getting your gameplan online with enough token generators isn’t so easy in the early game, but the game is as good as yours once you do. Even if you’re a less experienced player, Undead Unleashed won’t be too difficult to pilot once you have a few games under your belt.
- 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
The Best Deck Overall: Value, Fun, and Competitiveness
Eloise, Nephalia Sleuth | Illustration by Jarel Threat
I usually like to rate the best decks in a Commander set based on value, competitive viability, and fun. Since there are only two precons with Midnight Hunt, I’m going to change up the format a little. The same deck takes the prize for all three categories, and you’ll already know which deck I’m talking about if you’ve been paying attention.
I have to give the title of “best” deck to Undead Unleashed. It’s been quite a while since I was first introduced to the game of Magic, so I don’t have the most vivid memory of what being a new player is like. But as a more experienced player, Undead Unleashed ticks off more boxes for me than Coven Counters does.
In terms of value, Undead Unleashed has more cards selling above the $5 mark than Coven Counters. That being said, many of the value cards in Undead Unleashed are new cards and new cards tend to fluctuate in price a lot more than older cards. It’s possible that Coven Counters becomes the more valuable deck further down the road, but I find that highly unlikely.
Undead Unleashed wins competitive viability because of its potential to make overpowered plays when presented with the right combinations of cards. In a competitive environment, playing a “fair” game of Magic won’t cut it if you want to win games, and Coven Counters is the exact definition of a “fair” deck. Even though Coven Counters might be the more consistent of the two decks, it’s those high-risk, high-reward plays that take home the prize in multiplayer games.
The most fun deck is a more subjective category, but I’m confident that most people will agree with me here. Coven Counters is too linear, and part of what makes a deck fun is being able to try new avenues to victory each game. Undead Unleashed functions in less predictable ways.
Don’t get me wrong, you still want to summon a massive army of tokens no matter what the situation is, but you have a bit more choice when it comes to how you convert your board of zombies into a win. Sometimes you’ll want to sacrifice them for powerful effects and other times you’ll want to buff them with tribal effects and finish off your opponents the old-fashioned way.
Commanding Conclusion
Empty the Laboratory | Illustration by Tuan Duong Chu
You should have a good idea of whether or not purchasing Midnight Hunt’s Commander precons is right for you if I did my job right. These Commander decks are intended as beginner-products and not the type of deck you want to buy if you’re a very experienced player. If you’re more into competitive-viable Commander decks, you might be better off checking out some of the precons from the original Commander series like Commander 2017.
So, what do you think about these Midnight Hunt decks? Would you recommend them to a friend who’s new to Magic? Are you thinking of purchasing one yourself? Whatever is the case, feel free to start a discussion with us in the comment section below or on Twitter, Facebook, or even Reddit.
See you there!
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2 Comments
Thank you. I was at my card shop today and didn’t realize this new set was out tomorrow. I will be getting some undead action tomorrow. Thanks again.
So glad this helped you! Enjoy the new set.
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