Wizards of the Coast revealed Meathook Massacre II, a sequel to another infamous Magic: The Gathering card, on September 3. And, like almost every sequel to an iconic horror movie, this new MTG card is a worse, more expensive imitation of its predecessor. Wizards is nailing the schlock-y horror vibes of Duskmourn, it seems.
It’s not that Meathook Massacre II is a bad Magic: The Gathering card; it’s just never going to live up to the hype of the original. Released in 2021’s Innistrad: Midnight Hunt MTG set, The Meathook Massacre was a low-cost board wipe that could eviscerate an army of small creatures. Pay enough mana, and you could eliminate some pretty beefy ones, too. Oh, and creatures dying means life gain for you and life loss for your enemies.
The Meathook Massacre could cause problems for entire deck archetypes, so Wizards of the Coast decided to ban it in October 2022. We thought that was the last we’d see of the black card – until last week. Head Magic designer Mark Rosewater released his usual round of set teasers, and the MTG Duskmourn spoilers included an ominous card title, ‘Meathook Massacre II’.
Now, thanks to Tuesday’s Weekly MTG video, we know what this resurrected monster can do. It’s a legendary enchantment that costs four black mana, plus two ‘X’ mana, which can represent any number of your choice. When Meathook Massacre II enters the battlefield, each player sacrifices X creatures.
After that, whenever a creature you control dies, you can pay three life to return it to the battlefield under your control with a finality counter on it. When a creature your opponent controls dies, they can also choose to pay three life. If they refuse, you return that creature to the battlefield under your control with a finality counter on it.
This is an explosive effect, but the high cost of entry is extremely off-putting. Paying zero mana for the X value and ignoring the board wipe is the cheapest way to get this into play, but if you’ve got the MTG lands to splash, you could still take out a heap of weenies.
We reckon that Meathook Massacre II is on par with the second Nightmare on Elm Street or Friday the 13th movie. It’s not got that lightning-in-a-bottle feel, but it’s still pretty good. For more of our horror movie opinions, check out the best haunted house movies to watch before playing Duskmourn. Or, for more Magic, here’s everything you need to know about MTG Arena decks and MTG Arena codes.
Source: Wargamer
