Crimson Vow

Seeing Innistrad on the front of Magic cards once again - truly a marriage made in heaven! And that counts double for the 90th expansion in Magic: the Gathering’s storied history, Innistrad: Crimson Vow, a set narratively focused on the upcoming nuptials between Olivia  Voldaren and Edgar Markov. 

Crimson Vow continues the story started in Midnight Hunt as we explore the neverending power struggle of vampires and werewolves, with a dash of spirits, a helping of zombies and a collection of humans all with their own motivations and mechanics. 

Vampires are known for their predilection for blood and this isn’t any different on Innistrad. Here, blood serves two purposes - firstly, it’s a food source, secondly a tool to divine the future. The ability to filter through your deck repeatedly can never be underestimated and as such, Blood tokens will prove a powerful tool in any Limited deck-builder’s arsenal. 

Werewolves also remain true to form, transferring from humans into terrifying monsters in the blink of an eye. The rules for these transformations were simplified in Midnight Hunt with Daybound and Nightbound and that continues in Crimson Vow. Knowing exactly when to hold off playing a spell to ensure your wolf can continue to rule the battlefield can be the difference between victory or ending up like Little Red Riding Hood.

In this environment, surrounded by monsters at every corner, humans know they must help one another and they do that in Crimson Vow through hard work and Training.

When a human with the Training ability attacks alongside a creature of greater power, it will receive a +1/+1 counter. Many of these humans can then use those counters in enterprising ways, manipulating the battlefield to their advantage.

Zombies reuse a mechanic last seen seven years ago in Dragons of Tarkir - Exploit. Exploit allows the player to sacrifice a creature when casting the spell to gain some additional benefit, ensuring their small creatures or tokens can accomplish something more than simple cannon fodder. Deciding when that benefit is worth more than the extra battlefield presence will be the difference in another tick in the win or loss column. 

Spirits return from the grave to Disturb those still alive in another mechanic that saw its debut in Midnight Hunt. Disturb plays out in practical terms like Flashback for creatures. In Midnight Hunt, each creature turned into an alternative version of itself but things are a little different this time round. In Crimson Vow, each creature Disturbs into an Enchantment Aura. These can prove to be mini-games in themselves with opponents forced to decide whether a powerful creature is the lesser of two evils.

Crimson Vow’s final mechanic isn’t tied to a specific tribe but instead appears on various instants and sorceries. Cleave allows a player to pay an alternative cost for a spell in exchange for ignoring some of the words in the card text, normally making the card substantially more powerful in effect. These cards offer flexibility depending on what stage of the game the player is in and what resources they have available to them. 

Now you have some ideas on who might be attending and what presents they might be bringing to the party, it’s time to dust off your party suits and dresses, order that Uber and get ready to attend the wedding of the century. You can order everything from Innistrad: Crimson Vow that you need at Chaos Cards right here, right now!