Upcoming haunted house-inspired Magic: The Gathering set Duskmourn is introducing a new type of card, Rooms. These cards depict eerie locations within the world-spanning house of Duskmourn. They were revealed a few months ago, but now we know exactly how they work, and surprisingly, they’re not double-sided lands.
The Rooms are actually split cards: they have two different halves and you can play either one. But whereas in the past all split cards have all been instants or sorceries, Rooms are enchantments that stick around on the battlefield.
This MTG set’s Room cards all have two halves, described as ‘doors’. You can choose which side you want to play when you cast it, and this ‘unlocks’ that door. Many Room cards feature effects that trigger “when you unlock this door”. These will go off when you play the Room, but that’s not the only way to trigger them.
Because Room cards also share DNA with classes and ‘level up’ cards. You can play one side of them, and then later pay the other side’s casting cost to unlock it and get its static effect or triggered ability. It’s worth noting that opening one door doesn’t close the other – if you play Porcelain Gallery, above, and then unlock Dollmaker’s Shop, you don’t lose the buff.
Because these are essentially Split cards, there are some weird shenanigans with mana values going on. In your hand, library, or graveyard they have the casting cost of both sides, but on the field they have the mana value of their unlocked doors. Also, if you cheat one onto the battlefield without paying for it, none of its doors unlock – which could make them pretty bad targets for reanimation spells.
We don’t yet know how many Room cards Duskmourn will provide, but we’ve already seen artwork and names for plenty, with Grand Entryway/Elegant Rotunda, Dollmaker’s Shop/Porcelain Gallery, Painter’s Studio/Defaced Gallery, and Moldering Gym/Weight Room all teased.
For more information about the upcoming Magic: The Gathering release, check out our full guide to MTG Duskmourn. And don’t miss our MTG release schedule guide for all sorts of useful information.
Source: Wargamer
