Haunted Ridge – Midnight Hunt
Date Reviewed: November 5, 2021
Ratings:
Constructed: 3.42
Casual: 3.42
Limited: 3.50
Multiplayer: 3.50
Commander [EDH]: 3.67
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
David
Fanany
Player
since
1995
Apparently we’re officially Castlevania now, at least any time they do an Innistrad set. I’m actually kind of fine with that – have you guys played any Castlevania games? And if not, why the heck not?
Haunted Ridge is part of a cycle whose text mirrors that of the dual lands from Scars of Mirrodin and Kaladesh. Being usable immediately in the late game is obviously intended to favor slower decks, and will be noticed most in those situations when you need, say, a fourth land for some kind of sweeper or big play, and happen to draw a Haunted Ridge. Of course, I suspect this cycle will see some play in Commander, where decks just want a lot of dual lands and don’t always care so much about the drawback. I always find it funny when singleton formats do things like that; doesn’t it feel less like singleton at that point?
Constructed: 3/5
Casual: 3/5
Limited: 3/5
Multiplayer: 3/5
Commander: 3/5
David mentioned the Scars/Kaladesh fast lands that this cycle mirrors, but I actually was reminded a lot of the Battle for Zendikar lands like Smoldering Marsh. Unlike that cycle, these only care about lands in general, but they give up basic land types in the process. All the same, while I think their weakness early will constrain them (and, in particular, occupying similar space to the Battle lands while lacking a key upside of theirs), these are a perfectly serviceable cycle of dual lands, and slower decks will have value in them coming in untapped later. They’re not flashy, but Haunted Ridge will get the job done if you need it to.
Constructed: 3.25
Casual: 3.25
Limited: 3.5
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander: 4
Haunted Ridge
I’m a big, big fan of this land. If you draw it turn one or two, no big deal it’ll just be like most dual lands and come into play tapped. Not really the end of the world. But late game, when you so desperately need that one more land to cast your big creature would you rather draw this or blackcleave cliffs? The answer is pretty simple. The main draw back is that it can’t be searched via fetchlands and that’s okay, the idea is that we are going to draw this mid game and be able to play it untapped. This land cycle is going to be a sleeper hit in 5-10 years much like the Scars of Mirrodin lands became mainstays. Pick up a play set while they’re cheap, these are perfect for commander and you’re going to want one for any deck running R/B…vampire aristocrats anyone??
Constructed 4/5
Casual 4/5
Limited 4/5
Multiplayer 4/5
Commander 4/5
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