Magic The Gathering's latest set, Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, launches on Arena today. To celebrate, Wizards of the Coast has released an impressive launch trailer that takes a look at the delicate balance between humans and the monsters hunting them down.
Midnight Hunt takes place on the Gothic horror-inspired world of Innistrad. Most trips to Innistrad are defined by the constant struggle between the plane's human population, and the hordes of werewolves, vampires, zombies and ghosts who prey upon them. Midnight Hunt, and this trailer, focuses on the werewolves of Innistrad, showcasing their newfound strength since the world's day and night cycle have been severely knocked out of balance.
The trailer gives us more of a look into the backstory of one of Midnight Hunt's Legendary creatures, Jerren, the Corrupted Bishop who runs an orphanage-slash-sweatshop. In the game's lore, Jerren is secretly the head of a cult that worships the demon Ormendahl, which is represented in Midnight Hunt by Jerren's card (Jerren, Corrupted Bishop) being able to transform into Ormendahl once you hit 13 life.
This cinematic does raise a few questions, though, namly what exactly are the glittering crosses surrounding the moon (which holds the extra-planar Eldrazi titan Emrakul, who has become Innistrad's equivalent of Cthulhu), and who was that mysterious doctor? Either of those questions could be answered in the ongoing story published on the official website, or maybe even in the next set, November's Innistrad: Crimson Vow.
This is the first cinematic Wizards of the Coast has released for a set in quite a while. Both Adventures in the Forgotten Realms and Modern Horizons 2 used live-action skits for their promotions, while Strixhaven before them held "The Great Strixhaven College Clash", a reality show narrated by The Great British Bake-Off's Sue Perkins, where celebrities competed to see who could learn the most about the game. The last true cinematic was for January's Kaldheim, and even that didn't feel as substantial as the trailer we've received for Midnight Hunt.
Innistrad: Midnight Hunt launches today on Magic the Gathering Arena and Magic Online, with pre-release events being held for tabletop play this weekend (September 17-23) ahead of a full launch on September 24.