MTG Duskmourn is like if Cabin in the Woods was a card game: "We were very inspired by horror media from the last 30 or 40 years."

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Wizards of the Coast / Chris Rallis) I’ll admit that when I attended the MagicCon Amsterdam preview panel, MTG Duskmourn wasn’t my top priority. At the time, I was far more interested in seeing the newest cuddly creature from Bloomburrow or learning about unrevealed sets like MTG Foundations. After all, horror is pretty well-tread ground in Magic: The Gathering. The plane of Innistrad has given us plenty of exposure to vampires, werewolves, zombies, and ghosts – and Eldrazi have the cosmic horror angle totally covered. Face your fears. All of them. #MTGDuskmourn - YouTubeWatch On Face your fears. All of them. #MTGDuskmourn - YouTube Face your fears. All of them. #MTGDuskmourn - YouTube Despite Cartagena’s nostalgia and admiration for classic horror cinema, he does recognize that there have been a number of welcome shifts in audience palettes. True to the “Magic is for everyone” credo, he and his team made a careful effort to deliver scares without actively disturbing or alienating players. Achieving this goal required them to exorcize some of the particularly unsavory demons of the horror genre: “There were certain forms of body horror that I wanted to avoid. There are many negative tropes in 80s horror that I wanted to avoid as well. The team was very cognizant of that. We had consultants on both horror and its tropes so we could do the best version, filled with all the things we love about classic horror.”That said, one area where Duskmourn is eager to dive into tropey fun is with its band of survivors. Rather than creating a random rag-tag band of tubular teens with questionable perms, Cartagena and his team set to work deciding which existing MTG characters would fit within classic slasher film archetypes: “Who is the burnout? Who is the jock? Who is the nerd who comes up with some machine to help everyone? From there, we matched them to several characters. Some came very late into the process, and some came quite fast. You know, Zimone came like this [snaps fingers] Of course, she is our genius. Tyvar took a few meetings, a few heated discussions but finally, we’re like, you know what, we need him as the jock.” (Image credit: Wizards of the Coast / Oliver Bernard) Of course, Duskmourn isn’t entering uncharted waters with its nostalgia-leaden, glitchy horror aesthetic. Retro and faux-retro media have become fertile ground for scares as of late and are something that have especially captured the imagination of independent online creators in the past decade. I saved myself the indignity of querying Cartagena about his takes on the Backrooms and Five Nights at Freddy’s, but I did ask him if he was aware of the current Analog Horror trend and where it fit into his team’s creative process.In some ways, it seems as though Analog Horror (and modern audiences' relationships to it) forms the thematic backbone of Duskmourn as a set. The obsolescence of things like cassette tapes and CRT televisions only intensifies the feeling of being lost in time deep within the unending maze of Duskmourn’s mansion. In Cartagena’s words, “We’re definitely responding to the audience’s excitement for Analog Horror. That feeling of being disconnected, being not in sync with the world. Like you are using, for some reason, a TV that is completely obsolete that nobody ever would use anymore. [The anachronisms] are thematic and very resonant with modern tastes.” (Image credit: Wizards of the Coast / Produzioni Atlas Consorziate) Blockbusters and creepypastas aside, some deeper cuts from Cartagena’s filmic mood board for Duskmourn include a number of picks from the Italian horror subgenre of Giallo. However, the place of Giallo cinema in Duskmourn’s development offers more than a hipster, cooler-than-thou reference. Cartagena describes how he was particularly interested in emulating the genre’s high-contrast cinematography, owing to how well it lends itself to being printed at a small scale. Looking to keep up with other upcoming Magic releases? Why not swap out monsters for mice and check outeverything we know about Bloomburrow. Or, if you’re looking to expand beyond MTG, give another one of thebest card gamesa try. Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more Today’s best MTG Duskmourn deals:$41.99View$49.99View$143.20ViewShow More DealsWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices Today’s best MTG Duskmourn deals:$41.99View$49.99View$143.20ViewShow More DealsWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices Today’s best MTG Duskmourn deals: $41.99View$49.99View$143.20View $41.99View $41.99View $41.99View $41.99 $41.99 $49.99View $49.99View $49.99View $49.99 $49.99 $143.20View $143.20View $143.20View $143.20 $143.20 Show More Deals Show More Deals We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices More about tabletop gamingThis new indie D&D campaign setting brings Studio Ghibli and Zelda: Breath of the Wild aesthetics and worldbuilding to the tabletop RPG, and I’m already scheming hard as a DMD&D Monster Manual 2025 is going to 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origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 2 Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 3 Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 4 The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 5 Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat” 1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat” 1 Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat” 2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 2 Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of 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