If you’re excited about the latest MTG set or simply curious about Duskmourn: House of Horror, buckle up! Today, we’re delving into one of the most eerie preconstructed decks: Jump Scare!, led by the mysterious Zimone, Mystery Unraveler.
Meet the Commander: Zimone, Mystery Unraveler
Zimone, Mystery Unraveler is a 3/3 Human Wizard costing four mana in the Simic colors (2 uncoloured, a Green and a Blue). Her standout ability is “Landfall,” which activates whenever a land you control enters the battlefield. When a land you control enters the battlefield each turn for the first time, Zimone’s Landfall ability allows you to manifest dread – this means you can look at the top two cards of your deck, put one face down on the battlefield as a 2/2 creature, and send the other to your graveyard. This lets you keep hidden creatures to surprise your opponents!
This new ability feels like a twist on an older mechanic, Morph (first seen in Onslaught), which lets you play creatures face down in much the same way. If you enjoy keeping your opponents guessing, this deck will be right up your alley.
The deck also features Kianne, Corrupted Memory as an alternate commander. She’s a 2/2 Illusion that gets stronger with counters every time you draw a card, meaning you c
ould end up with an extremely powerful creature on your board simply by playing through your turns (and not including any other enchantments or counters you might want to add). If her power is even, you can cast noncreature spells with flash (anytime). If it’s odd, you can do the same with creature spells instead. There’s multiple other great Simic commander alternatives in Jump Scare, including Rashmi, Eternities Crafter, and Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait.
What’s New in Jump Scare?
The Jump Scare deck introduces eight new cards that complement its unique playstyle and mechanics. Let’s take a closer look at some highlights:
- Experimental Lab // Staff Room: A unique enchantment that introduces the Room subtype (newly introduced in Duskmourn), offering additional ways to manifest creatures and bolster your board.
- Curator Beastie: A massive 6/6 creature that adds +1/+1 counters to your colorless creatures when they enter the battlefield. It also triggers “Manifest Dread” when it attacks and enters, making it a potent threat in colorless and manifest-based strategies. As an added bonus, its reach is a great counter to flying threats from other Duskmourn decks like Endless Punishment.
- Shriekwood Devourer: A formidable 7/5 Treefolk with trample that untaps lands when your creatures attack. This leaves your mana unspent to play more creatures, or perhaps more importantly leaves your mana pool ready for any instants on your opponents’ turns.
- Disorienting Choice: Forces your opponents into a difficult decision—either lose their most powerful card or allow you to play a land and trigger further Landfall, which could tip the scales in your favor.
- Glitch Interpreter: A 2/3 Human Wizard that when it enters if you control no face-down permanents returns to your hand and allows you to manifest dread, it also grants card draw whenever your colorless creatures deal damage—perfect for those who love incremental card advantage.
- They Came from the Pipes: A card that enhances your manifest dread strategy while providing card draw when face-down creatures enter—fueling both your hand and battlefield presence.
- Zimone’s Hypothesis: A flexible removal spell that also synergizes with manifest, offering solutions to a variety of threats.
- Giggling Skitterspike: This indestructible creature deals damage equal to its power to each opponent whenever it attacks, blocks, or becomes the target of a spell – with the added bonus of making it Monstrous for 5 mana to increase its power (and therefore the damage dealt to each opponent).
Image credits: Wizards of the Coast
Deck Themes and Strategies
At its core, Jump Scare! revolves around manifesting face-down creatures and synergy with mana ramp and landfall mechanics. Cards like Trail of Mystery and Whisperwood Elemental turn face-down creatures into valuable assets, while Yedora, Grave Gardener brings even more utility by transforming your fallen creatures into Forests, triggering Zimone’s landfall ability.
The deck leans into the landfall ability, featuring cards like Scute Swarm, Sakura-Tribe Elder and Tatyova, Benthic Druid to capitalize on additional land drops. Key ramp spells like Cultivate and Kodama’s Reach ensure you have the lands to keep these synergies rolling.
Additionally, there’s a strong emphasis on +1/+1 counters, with cards like Curator Beastie and Growing Dread. Token generation through spells like Cackling Counterpart and Spitting Image adds flexibility and boosts your offensive potential.
How to Play Jump Scare!
Playing Jump Scare! feels like solving an ever-shifting puzzle. You’ll juggle multiple abilities and synergies, which keeps gameplay exciting and full of potential surprises. If you love intricate combos, this deck is brimming with them.
For instance, pairing Zimone with Ashaya, Soul of the Wild allows you to repeatedly trigger Zimone’s landfall ability. Since Ashaya turns your creatures into Forests, each face-down creature you play will count as a landfall trigger.
One particularly powerful combo involves Yavimaya Elder and Yedora, Grave Gardener. Sacrificing the Elder to draw lands turns it into a Forest, triggering Zimone’s ability while refilling your hand. These interactions can snowball quickly, especially when combined with cards like Overwhelming Stampede, which can transform a field of 2/2 manifest creatures into an overwhelming force.
Keep in mind, not every card in this deck is a creature, which might occasionally limit some synergies. But with careful planning, Jump Scare! can unleash devastating attacks on your opponents.
Key Synergies and Combos
- Zimone, Mystery Unraveler + Ashaya, Soul of the Wild: Every manifested card counts as a landfall trigger, leading to multiple manifests per turn.
- Yavimaya Elder + Yedora, Grave Gardener: Sacrificing the Elder turns it into a Forest, triggering Zimone while also netting you extra cards.
- Trail of Mystery + Face-Down Creatures: Every manifest or morph creature allows you to search for basic lands, fueling Zimone’s landfall ability.
Final Verdict: Is Jump Scare! Worth It?
So, is Jump Scare! worth picking up? Absolutely—especially if you enjoy the suspense of hidden information, tactical decision-making, and land-based synergies. The face-down creature mechanics add a layer of intrigue, and the new cards, while a mixed bag in terms of power level, offer fresh and fun interactions.
Kianne, Corrupted Memory, the backup commander, provides an interesting alternative, though she may struggle without the right support cards for evasion. Nonetheless, Jump Scare! is packed with exciting reprints like Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait, and it offers a fresh take on Simic strategies, making it a solid addition for both collectors and competitive players alike.
Expect more spooky insights as we continue testing the precons in this set!
FAQs
- What is the primary strategy of Jump Scare!? The deck focuses on face-down creatures through the manifest dread mechanic, combined with landfall and +1/+1 counter synergies.
- How does Zimone, Mystery Unraveler’s ability work? Zimone’s ability triggers whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, allowing you to manifest one card (turn it into a 2/2 creature) and send another to your graveyard.
- What are some key combos in the deck? Notable combos include Yedora, Grave Gardener turning creatures into lands for landfall synergies and Ashaya, Soul of the Wild enabling multiple triggers with manifest creatures.
- Can this deck compete with stronger preconstructed decks? While Jump Scare has some powerful synergies, it may require a few upgrades to match higher-tier precons. Adding stronger draw and interaction spells can make it more competitive.
- Is this deck beginner-friendly? The deck has some complex interactions and timing-based mechanics, which may be challenging for beginners, but its unique gameplay can be rewarding with practice.
If you’re in Melbourne and interested in Magic: The Gathering You can check it out over at PAX Aus this coming week October 11th-13th
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Lead image credit Mila Pesic/Wizards of the Coast
