The Gathering’s Innistrad Remastered is Wise to Cut One Mechanic

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home January 19, 2025 2 Views 6 Min Read
The Gathering's Innistrad Remastered is Wise to Cut One Mechanic

Summary

  • Innistrad Remastered will feature the best cards, mechanics, and themes from Innistrad expansions.
  • The Daybound/Nightbound mechanic is not returning due to player confusion and negative feedback.
  • New MTG sets include Headliner cards, starting with Edgar Markov, offering something fresh for fans.

With January now halfway through, it is almost time for Magic: The Gathering‘s first release of 2025, which is going to be another visit to the beloved Innistrad plane, this time in the form of Innistrad Remastered. This set is not legal in Standard, and instead is meant to be a collection of the best cards, characters, locations, and themes of the various Innistrad expansions over the years. Innistrad cards first introduced some iconic Magic: The Gathering mechanics, such as the Morbid ability or double-faced cards without the classic MTG back that also have the keyword “transform” associated with them. One of these mechanics from Innistrad sets is not coming back in Innistrad Remastered, however.

There are multiple sets that comprise the overall Innistrad block, including Innistrad, Dark Ascension, Avacyn Restored, Shadows Over Innistrad, Eldritch Moon, Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, and Innistrad: Crimson Vow.

It’s not uncommon for Magic: The Gathering expansions to cut previous mechanics or keywords because they no longer benefit the game, or the game itself has evolved past them. Likewise, mechanics like the beloved Rad Counters from Fallout MTG products may return due to popular demand, even if they were designed as one-off additions to the game. In the case of the Innistrad sets, the Day and Night cycle, associated with Daybound and Nightbound cards, was poorly received at launch, and it’s being cut entirely from Innistrad Remastered.

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Magic: The Gathering’s Innistrad Remastered is Cutting Daybound and Nightbound

One of the main reasons for the Day and Night cycle’s poor reception is that this creates a game state where players have to constantly keep track of how many spells are cast by each player on each given turn. The problem is that this doesn’t necessarily apply only to those who have Daybound and Nightbound MTG permanents on the battlefield, nor is it limited to those who play these cards in their decks, but rather, it’s something that occurs every time someone is playing at least one of these cards at the table.

There are various unwritten rules for Magic: The Gathering that may vary depending on who is asked or what the game’s purpose is—be it casual or competitive matches, time with friends and loved ones, or something else. One rule that often applies is that players should always keep track of their cards, mechanics, and board state. This makes it easier for them to intervene if needed and ensures everyone at the table is informed about what a given deck does. Doing this for the Day and Night cycle was arguably too much.

Why MTG’s Daybound and Nightbound Mechanic Was Unlikely to Return in Innistrad Remastered

Not only that, but Wizards of the Coast’s R&D (an abbreviation for Research & Design, which was formerly Research & Development) deemed the mechanic to be a mistake, in retrospect. Similarly, when asked about it, Wizards of the Coast’s Head Designer for Magic: The Gathering, Mark Rosewater, said he’d rather have werewolves as designed in old sets as opposed to the Daybound/Nightbound mechanic. Prevalent especially in the last Innistrad sets in MTG, Daybound and Nightbound not coming back for Innistrad Remastered means there is likely no future for them as a whole.

This is likely not to be bad news for players who prefer a simpler approach to tracking mechanics and card abilities in Magic: The Gathering, though it may be sad for some Innistrad fans who hoped to see the many shades of the plane within Innistrad Remastered. Still, Innistrad Remastered will also be a way to make something new for the plane, however, as it will be the first set to include Magic: The Gathering‘s Headliner cards, this time in the form of a special edition of Edgar Markov. The new set is only less than a week away, and only time will tell whether WotC was right about cutting Daybound and Nightbound entirely.

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