With Dominaria Remastered just around the corner, there have been rumors about that two more “remastered sets” are currently in the works. While it’s not a sector of design that we talk about much on here, I wanted to take a moment to see if I could try to anticipate what a hypothetical Innistrad Remastered might look like, if only to finally cleanse the taste of Double Feature as a full reprint set is something that we can actually speculate about.
Mixing together the Eight Innistrad Sets (Innistrad, Dark Ascension, Avacyn Restored, Shadows over Innistrad, Eldritch Moon, Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, and Innistrad: Crimson Vow) and a few additional innistrad cards from commander decks and core sets, I have assembled a set that I feel approaches the power level of the remastered sets we have seen.
Set at a Glance
Allied Colors Set (of the 8 innistrad sets, only the most recent two have had signpost uncommons in all ten color combinations (and boros in particular has fairly terrible options). While it is possible to draft enemy colors (U/R spellslinger and UG/BG self-mill should work decently well, for example), I made the deliberate choice to avoid enemy colored cards with the exceptions of 2 uncommons that seemed too iconic to leave out (Lingering Souls and Spider Spawning).
Seeking Feedback Part of me debates whether these two cards should be removed to avoid giving bad signals. Having two enemy colors splashing into black would mean that things could not be “evened out” without running a full 10 uncommon slots (running both Desperate Ravings and Boiling Oil in red, for example), most of which wouldn’t be too great. I don’t think that remastered sets have to worry too much about completing cycles (and it would feel a bit odd to make an innistrad remastered without those cards) but I’m still interested in feedback.
Tribal Focus While this has always been the case for Innistrad on some level, these environment highly focused on the five main tribes (Human, Spirits, Vampires, Wolves/Werewolves, Zombies). I feel that minor inter-tribe synergies (Most werewolves also being human half of the time, humans being disturbed as spirits, Spirits/Vampires/Zombies all doing well with discard effects) and the viability of at least some enemy color strategies avoids the worst of the linear drafting from Ixalan.
Seeking Feedback If you feel that it would still be miserable, please let me know. If you have specific ideas for card suggestions to empower enemy color synergies, I’m also open to hearing them.
The Full Bonus Sheet Thankfully, the “special gimmick” of an “Innistrad Remastered” Set to justify the high prices (like the time spiraled remastered bonus sheet or old-bordered Dominaria Remastered cards) is more or less baked right into our expectations for Innistrad. As one of the only sets that virtually always has a bonus sheet to start with, this set includes a full bonus sheet of 121 TDFCs (32 common, 56 uncommon, 26 rare, 7 mythic) from across multiple Innistrad Sets. I imagine that each pack of Innistrad Remastered would replace two common slots with DFC slots.
Note The one real stumper here is the matter of mixing and matching original werewolves with daybound/nightbound werewolves. There would be a real pressure to reprint some original werewolves in this type of set (especially stronger ones like Mayor or Huntsmaster) as it’s hard to print them elsewhere but that would mean keeping track of two different transformation timings that line up sometimes but not always. Even though a non-premier set is allowed a greater level of complexity, this is the biggest thing that I think gets in the way of an Innistrad remastered set (and, IMHO, is the thing most likely to forcefully errata Daybound/Nightbound onto older werewolves in the future).
Have you ever wanted to use Nightpack Ambusher in a draft with plenty of werewolves or Shacklegeist in a draft with ample spirits?
By mixing and matching some of the best elements of different Innistrad sets and cards together, you can get an actual curated drafting environment that lets you pit humans, part-time humans, and former humans against one another in a high-power environment.
Seeking Feedback: If anyone has any general thoughts or advice (such as if I left out a mandatory effect for draft environments, put in too little or too many spells/creatures for a color, skewed too high or too low on average MV somewhere, or if the focus on spirits/werewolves in the DFCs may unbalance things against humans/vamps/zombies), please let me know.
Dragonic Vampire2 Creature — Vampire Dragon Rogue
Flying, protection from red and from white A heart of fire and darkness behind a gaze of stone.
3/4
Sure, something like this is blending down from Phyrexian Crusader, but that doesn't matter. It's still good and would still be worth it. This is about the spot on the mana curve we should really see things like this, but instead we always see this being overclocked and placed on Knight+ (2 and 3 CMC).
Mixing together the Eight Innistrad Sets (Innistrad, Dark Ascension, Avacyn Restored, Shadows over Innistrad, Eldritch Moon, Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, and Innistrad: Crimson Vow) and a few additional innistrad cards from commander decks and core sets, I have assembled a set that I feel approaches the power level of the remastered sets we have seen.
Set at a Glance
Allied Colors Set (of the 8 innistrad sets, only the most recent two have had signpost uncommons in all ten color combinations (and boros in particular has fairly terrible options). While it is possible to draft enemy colors (U/R spellslinger and UG/BG self-mill should work decently well, for example), I made the deliberate choice to avoid enemy colored cards with the exceptions of 2 uncommons that seemed too iconic to leave out (Lingering Souls and Spider Spawning).
Seeking Feedback Part of me debates whether these two cards should be removed to avoid giving bad signals. Having two enemy colors splashing into black would mean that things could not be “evened out” without running a full 10 uncommon slots (running both Desperate Ravings and Boiling Oil in red, for example), most of which wouldn’t be too great. I don’t think that remastered sets have to worry too much about completing cycles (and it would feel a bit odd to make an innistrad remastered without those cards) but I’m still interested in feedback.
Tribal Focus While this has always been the case for Innistrad on some level, these environment highly focused on the five main tribes (Human, Spirits, Vampires, Wolves/Werewolves, Zombies). I feel that minor inter-tribe synergies (Most werewolves also being human half of the time, humans being disturbed as spirits, Spirits/Vampires/Zombies all doing well with discard effects) and the viability of at least some enemy color strategies avoids the worst of the linear drafting from Ixalan.
Seeking Feedback If you feel that it would still be miserable, please let me know. If you have specific ideas for card suggestions to empower enemy color synergies, I’m also open to hearing them.
The Full Bonus Sheet Thankfully, the “special gimmick” of an “Innistrad Remastered” Set to justify the high prices (like the time spiraled remastered bonus sheet or old-bordered Dominaria Remastered cards) is more or less baked right into our expectations for Innistrad. As one of the only sets that virtually always has a bonus sheet to start with, this set includes a full bonus sheet of 121 TDFCs (32 common, 56 uncommon, 26 rare, 7 mythic) from across multiple Innistrad Sets. I imagine that each pack of Innistrad Remastered would replace two common slots with DFC slots.
Note The one real stumper here is the matter of mixing and matching original werewolves with daybound/nightbound werewolves. There would be a real pressure to reprint some original werewolves in this type of set (especially stronger ones like Mayor or Huntsmaster) as it’s hard to print them elsewhere but that would mean keeping track of two different transformation timings that line up sometimes but not always. Even though a non-premier set is allowed a greater level of complexity, this is the biggest thing that I think gets in the way of an Innistrad remastered set (and, IMHO, is the thing most likely to forcefully errata Daybound/Nightbound onto older werewolves in the future).
The Elevator Pitch
How would you like to have the chance to use Deadeye Navigator or Spectral Shepherd to continuously reuse disturbed spirits?
What if you could use disturb to trigger Laboratory Drudge or Thalia's Geistcaller in a limited environment?
Would you want to mix vampires with madness and vampires that make blood tokens together?
How about triggering Voldaren Ambusher or Stromkirk Bloodthief off of Blood Artist or Falkenrath Noble triggers?
Have you ever wanted to use Nightpack Ambusher in a draft with plenty of werewolves or Shacklegeist in a draft with ample spirits?
By mixing and matching some of the best elements of different Innistrad sets and cards together, you can get an actual curated drafting environment that lets you pit humans, part-time humans, and former humans against one another in a high-power environment.
[b]Colorless[/b]
C1: It of the Horrid Swarm
C2: Wretched Gryff
U1: Abundant Maw
U2: Mockery of Nature
U3: Vexing Scuttler
R1: Distended Mindbender
R2: Elder Deep-Fiend
M1: Emrakul, the Promised End
[b]White[/b]
C2 Apothecary Geist
C3 Blessed Spirits (downshift)
C4 Bonds of Faith
C5 Cathar Commando
C6 Dauntless Cathar
C7 Defy Death (downshift)
C8 Desperate Sentry
C9 Doomed Traveler
C10 Gallows Warden (downshift)
C11 Gather the Townfolk
C12 Heron-Blessed Geist
C13 Ironclad Slayer
C14 Lunarch Mantle
C15 Resistance Squad (downshift)
C16 Search Party Captain
C17 Supernatural Rescue
C18 Thraben Inspector
C19 Unruly Mob
U1 Bound by Moonsilver
U2 Courageous Outrider
U3 Champion of the Parish (Downshift)
U4 Devout Chaplain
U5 Fleeting Spirit
U6 Intangible Virtue
U7 Lingering Souls
U8 Nearheath Champion
U9 Odric’s Outriders
U10 Subjugator Angel
U11 Spectral Shepherd
U12 Thalia, Heretic Cathar (Downshift)
U13 Thraben Watcher
R1 Adeline, Resplendant Cathar
R2 Angel of Flight Alabaster
R3 Thalia’s Geistcaller
R4 Angel of Jubilation
R5 Cathars’ Crusade
R6 Riders of Gavony
R7 Odirc, Master Tactician
R8 Storm of Souls
R9 Thalia’s Lieutenant
R10 Vanquish the Horde
M1 Avacyn, Angel of Hope
M2 Hallowed Haunting
M3 Intrepid Aversary
[b]Blue[/b]
C2 Broken Concentration (Downshift)
C3 Consider
C4 Chill of the Grave
C5 Cruel Witnss
C6 Deranged Assistant
C7 Dreadlight Monstrosity
C8 Falcon Abomination
C9 Forbidden Alchemy
C10 Organ Hoarder
C11 Nagging Thoughts
C12 Repository Skaab
C13 Silent Departure
C14 Skaab Goliath
C15 Stitchwing Skaab (Downshift)
C16 Stormchaser Drake (Downshift)
C17 Take Inventory
C18 Think Twice
C19 Unthinking Observer
U1 Advanced Stitchwing
U2 Compelling Deterrence
U3 Drunau Corpse Trawler
U4 Favorable Winds
U5 Geistlight Snare
U6 Laboratory Drudge (Downshift)
U7 Laboratory Maniac
U8 Mausoleum Wanderer (Downshift)
U9 Ominous Roost
U10 Phantom Carriage
U11 Rise from the Tides
U12 Scuttletide
U13 Shacklegeist (Downshift)
R1: Call to Kindred
R2: Cleaver Skaab
R3: Deadeye Navigator
R4: Devastation Tide
R5 Geralf, Visionary Stitcher
R6 Hullbreaker Horror
R7 Niblis of the Frost
R8 Patrician Geist
R9 Rattlechains
R10 Skaab Ruinator (Downshift)
M1 Cemetery Illuminator
M2 Lier, Disciple of the Drowned
M3 Snapcaster Mage
[b]Black[/b]
C2 Crawl from the Cellar
C3 Crow of Dark Tidings
C4 Diregraf Horde
C5 Falkenrath Noble (Downshift)
C6 Ghoulcaller’s Accomplice
C7 Ghoulraiser
C8 Gift of Fangs
C9 Haunted Dead (Downshift)
C10 Hobbling Zombie
C11 Moan of the Unhallowed
C12 Murderous Compulsion
C13 Olivia’s Dragoon
C14 Pointed Discussion
C15 Ransack the Labs
C16 Stromkirk Mentor
C17 Tragic Slip
C18 Twins of Maurer Estate
C19 Whispers of Emrakul (Downshift)
U1 Archghoul of Thraben
U2 Biting Rain
U3 Blood Artist
U4 Call the Bloodline
U6 Edgar’s Awakening
U7 Graf Harvest
U8 Indulgent Aristocrat
U9 Morbid Opportunist
U10 Sinister Concoction
U11 Stitcher’s Supplier
U12 Stromkirk Bloodthief
U13 Stromkirk Condemned (Downshift)
U14 Tomb Tyrant (Downshift)
R1 Archfiend of Spite
R2 Asylum Visitor
R3 Crossway Troublemakers
R4 Dark Salvation
R5 Diregraf Colossus
R6 Exquisite Blood
R7 Glass-Cast Heart
R8 Harvester of Souls
R9 Gisa, Glorious Resurrector
R10 Jadar, Ghoulcaller of Nephalia
M1 Griselbrand
M2 Liliana of the Veil
M3 Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
[b]Red[/b]
C2 Ardent Elementalist
C3 Blood Petal Celebrant
C4 Bloodmad Vampire
C5 Electric Revelation
C6 Faithless Looting
C7 Falkenrath Celebrants
C8 Hungry Ridgewolf
C9 Insolent Neonate
C10 Kessig Firebreather
C11 Moonrager’s Slash
C12 Pack’s Betrayal
C13 Pyre Hound
C14 Ravenous Bloodseeker (Downshift)
C15 Senseless Rage
C16 Thermo-Alchemist
C17 Unholy Heat
C18 Voldaren Ambusher (downshift)
C19 Voldaren Epicure
U1 Burning Vengeance
U2 Falkenrath Pit Fighter (Downshift)
U3 Incorrigible Youths
U4 Lightning Axe
U5 Pyreheart Wolf
U6 Rakish Heir
U7 Runebound Wolf
U8 Scourge Wolf (Downshift)
U9 Seize the Storm
U10 Shreds of Sanity
U11 Stromkirk Occultist (Downshift)
U12 Ulrich’s Kindred
U13 Vampire’s Vengeance
R1 Anje’s Ravager
R2 [b]Bedlam Reverler[/c]
R3 Blasphemous Act
R4 Falkenrath Gorger
R5 Kessig Wolfrider
R6 Markov Enforcer
R7 Reforge the Soul
R8 Scion of Opulence
R9 Wolf of Devil’s Breach (Downshift)
R10 Wildfire Devils
M1 Bonfire of the Damned
M2 Manaform Hellkite
M3 Past in Flames
[b]Green[/b]
C2 Boneyard Wurm (Downshift)
C3 Bounding Wolf
C4 Crossroads Augur
C5 Crushing Vines
C6 Flourishing Hunter
C7 Grapple with the Past
C8 Gnaw to the Bone
C9 Hamlet Captain (Downshift)
C10 Howl of the Hunt
C11 Hunger of the Howlpack
C12 Intrepid Provisioner
C13 Moldgraf Millipede
C14 Nightshade Peddler
C15 Noose Constrictor (Downshift)
C16 Shadowbeast Sighting
C17 Travel Preparations
C18 Wolf Strike
C19 Young Wolf
U1 Bramble Wurm
U2 Cloaked Cadet
U3 Cult of the Waxing Moon
U4 Deranged Hermit (Downshift)
U5 Full Moon’s Rise
U6: Ghoultree (Downshift)
U7 Howlpack Resurgence
U8 Laid to Rest
U9: Packsong Pup
U10 Silverfur Partisan (Downshift)
U11: Spider Spawning
U12 Ulvenwald Tracker (Downshift)
U13 Veteran Cathar
R1 Champion of Lambholt
R2 Descendents’ Path
R3 Hamlet Vanguard
R4 Heronblade Elite
R5 Hollowhenge Overlord
R6 Howling Moon
R7 Kessig Kagebreakers
R8 Nightpack Ambusher
R9 Parallel Lives
R10 Traverse the Ulvenwald
M1 Craterhoof Behemoth
M2 Cultivator Colossus
M3 Wrenn and Seven
[b]Multicolor[/b]
U2 Dawnhart Wardens
U3 Diregraf Captain
U4 Drogskol Captain
U5 Faithful Mending
U6 Immerwolf
U7 Join the Dance
U8 Possessed Skaab
U9 Stromkirk Captain
U10 Unnatural Moonrise
R1 Anje, Maid of Dishonor
R2 Halana and Alena, Partner
R3 Katilda, Dawnhart Prime
R4 Prized Amalgam
R5 Spell Queller
M1 Kyler, Sigardian Emissary
M2 Millicent, Restless Revenant
M3 Strefan, Maurer Progenitor
M4 Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver
[b]Artifacts and Lands[/b]
C2 Haunted Cloak
C3 Honored Heirloom
U1 Angelic Armaments
U2 Moonsilver Key
R1 Runechanter’s Pike
R2 The Celestus
C1 Evolving Wilds
R1 Cavern of Souls
[b]DFC Bonus Sheet[/b]
1 WC1 Drogskol Infantry
2 WC2 Kindly Ancestor
3 WC3 Loyal Cathar
4 WC4 Lunarch Veteran
5 WC5 Mourning Patrol
6 WC6 Town Gossip-Monger (Downshift)
7 WU1 Ambitious Farmhand
8 WU2 Beloved Beggar
9 WU3 Bereaved Survivor
10 WU4 Chaplain of Alms
11 WU5 Distracting Geist
12 WU6 Extricator of Sin
13 WU7 Hanweir Militia Captain (Downshift)
14 WU8 Panicked Bystander
15 WU9 Pious Evangel
16 WU10 Twinblade Geist
17 WR1 Bruna, The Fading Light
18 WR2 Katilda, Dawnhart Martyr
19 WR3 Marriage Announcement
20 WM1 Gisela, the Broken Blade
21 UC1 Baithook Angler
22 UC2 Binding Geist
23 UC3 Delver of Secrets
24 UC4 Galedrifter
25 UC5 Gutter Stalker (Downshift)
26 UC6 Lantern Bearer
27 UU1 Aberrant Researcher
28 UU2 Civilized Scholar
29 UU3 Covetous Castaway
30 UU4 Curious Homunculus
31 UU5 Grizzled Angler
32 UU6 Malevolent Catgeist
33 UU7 Overwhelmed Archivist
34 UU8 Soul Seizer
35 UU9 Soulcipher Board
36 UU10 Uninvited Geist
37 UR1 Docent of Perfection
38 UR2 Malevolent Hermit
39 UR3 Thing in the Ice
40 UM1 Poppet Stitcher
41 BC1 Chosen of Markov
42 BC2 Desperate Farmer
43 BC3 Ecstatic Awakener
44 BC4 Graf Rats
45 BC5 Ragged Recluse
46 BC6 Shady Traveller
47 BU1 Baneblade Scoundrel
48 BU2 Bloodsworn Squire
49 BU3 Covert Cutpurse
50 BU4 Heir of Falkenrath
51 BU5 Heirloom Mirror
52 BU6 Innocent Traveler
53 BU7 Kindly Traveller
54 BU8 Midnight Scavengers
55 BU9 Screeching Bat
56 BU10 Vengeful Strangler
57 BR1 Bloodline Keeper
58 BR2 Graveyard Tresspasser
59 BR3 Voldaren Pariah
60 BM1 Henrika Domnathi
61 RC1 Convicted Killer
62 RC2 Fearful Villager
63 RC3 Gatstaff Arsonists
64 RC4 Harvesttide Infiltrator
65 RC5 Hinterland Hermit
66 RC6 Tavern Ruffian
67 RC7 Vildin-Pack Outcast
68 RU1 Ballista Watcher
69 RU2 Breakneck Rider
70 RU3 Conduit of Storms
71 RU4 Flameblade Brigand
72 RU5 Instigator Gang (Downshift)
73 RU6 Mondronen Shaman (Downshift)
74 RU7 Lambholt Raconteur
75 RU8 Smoldering Werewolf
76 RU9 Spellrune Painter
77 RU10 Village Messenger
78 RU11 Village Watch
79 RR1 Geier Reach Bandit
80 RR2 Hanweir Garrison
81 RR3 Ill-Tempered Loner
82 RR4 Kruin Outlaw
83 RR5 Reckless Stormseeker
84 RR6 Smoldering Egg
85 RM1 Volatile Arsonist
86 GC1 Bird Admirer
87 GC2 Hinterland Logger
88 GC3 Hookhand Mariner
89 GC4 Scorned Villager
90 GC5 Solitary Hunter
91 GC6 Tireless Hauler
92 GC7 Weaver of Blossoms
93 GU1 Burly Brawler
94 GU2 Duskwatch Recruiter
95 GU3 Hermit of the Natterknolls
96 GU4 Hound Tamer
97 GU5 Infestation Expert
98 GU6 Kessig Prowler
99 GU7 Oakshade Stalker
100 GU8 Outland Liberator
101 GU9 Shrill Howler
102 GU10 Tangleclaw Werewolf
103 GU11 Wolfkin Outcast
104 GR1 Daybreak Ranger
105 GR2 Howlpack Piper
106 GR3 Mayor of Avabrook
107 GR4 Sage of Ancient Lore
108 GR5 Tovolar’s Huntmaster
109 GR6 Wolf-Bitten Captive
110 GM1 Avabruk Caretaker
111 MU1 Brine Comber
112 MU2 Child of the Pack
113 MU3 Devoted Grafkeeper
114 MU4 Kessig Naturalist
115 MR1 Dennick, Pious Apprentice
116 MR2 Dorothea, Vengeful Victim
117 MR3 Tovolar, Dire Overlord
118 MM2 Huntmaster of the Fells
119 MM1 Ulrich of the Krallenhorde
120 LR1 Hanweir Battlements
121 LR2 Westvale Abbey
Seeking Feedback: If anyone has any general thoughts or advice (such as if I left out a mandatory effect for draft environments, put in too little or too many spells/creatures for a color, skewed too high or too low on average MV somewhere, or if the focus on spirits/werewolves in the DFCs may unbalance things against humans/vamps/zombies), please let me know.
Not doing anything new? Big value curve benders
Double landwalker for 2 or 3
Double protection for 4 or 5
Dragonic Vampire 2
Creature — Vampire Dragon Rogue
Flying, protection from red and from white
A heart of fire and darkness behind a gaze of stone.
3/4
Sure, something like this is blending down from Phyrexian Crusader, but that doesn't matter. It's still good and would still be worth it. This is about the spot on the mana curve we should really see things like this, but instead we always see this being overclocked and placed on Knight+ (2 and 3 CMC).
EDIT: Might I add things like Wall of Vapor // Wall of Tears // Wall of Roots // Wall of Razors // Cinder Wall would be creepy good too.