Table of Contents – Ultimate Guide to Innistrad Midnight Hunt Limited and Prerelease
Chapter 1 - Top Commons for Limited and Prerelease
Chapter 2 - Top Uncommons for Limited and Prerelease
Chapter 3 - Guide to Combat Tricks and Removal Cards by Colour
Chapter 4 – Graveyard Guide for Flashback and Disturb
Chapter 5 – Guide to the Day/Night Cycle
Welcome all to the Ultimate Guide to Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Limited and Prerelease. It’s time for the Guide to Combat Tricks and Removal Cards by Colour. I find one of the hardest things to grasp at the start of playing with a new set is knowing what cards my opponent could use as either instant combat tricks or to remove my threats. Midnight Hunt is filled with more removal than the average set and it’s good to know what can possibly get rid of your best threat on the battlefield. This guide will help give you the knowledge to predict your opponents’ next spell and help you be prepared for anything Midnight Hunt has to offer.
To make it easier, I’ve broken the combat tricks and removal cards down by colour so you can have an easier reference to what you’re looking for. Anything related to removing cards from graveyards I’ve put in a Graveyard Guide to Flashback and Disturb in Chapter 4 of this guide.
White Combat Tricks and Removal Cards
White has a few removal spells in its bag of tricks including one of the best in the set in Fateful Absence. Giving your opponent a clue token is a small price to pay for a blanket removal spell. For more situational removal, you have the big creature killer Sungold Barrage and then Spirit killing Thraben Exorcism. If you want some enchantment removal, you have Borrowed Time and Candletrap for only one mana. If killing one thing at a time isn’t enough for you, one of the best sweepers in the set is Vanquish the Horde. With a battlefield full of creatures you should be able to cast it and follow it up with a threat after the destruction. Cathar Commando gives you an instant speed artifact and enchantment removal on a body.
There are a few combat tricks to watch out for when it comes to White spells. Blessed Defiance will pump up a creature to block up in combat, help them gain life, and leave a 1/1 Spirit creature behind afterwards. Flare of Faith is a combat trick that adds some toughness as well and potentially for Humans, make them indestructible. Finally, Ritual of Hope is the team pump spell of the set with the potential to add two power to all your creatures.
Brutal Cathar // Moonrage Brute is a nice Werewolf that can exile a creature upon entering the battlefield on its Daybound side and could potentially exile more during the game. There is one last instant threat available and that is the Flash creature Loyal Gryff.
Blue Combat Tricks and Removal Cards
Blue starts off with its usual pool of counterspells to help it survive. Both Dissipate and Devious Cover-Up can not only counter a spell but make sure it doesn’t go into your graveyard so you can cast it again with Disturb or Flashback. Flip the Switch should counter any spell unless it’s much later in the game and will provide a 2/2 decayed Zombie as well.
Blue has a trio of bouncing combat tricks that include Revenge of the Drowned that bounces a creature and puts it on top of the library instead of in your hand. Fading Hope is a one mana bounce spell but only bounces creatures while Geistwave can bounce any nonland permanent but costs a little more. Another combat trick from Blue to watch out for is the power reducing Startle. As usual, Blue has a lockdown enchantment in the form of Locked in the Cemetery.
Finally, watch out for two Flash creatures that could surprise you. Spectral Adversary is less likely as it’s a mythic but can not only be a blocker, but can phase out creatures, artifacts, and enchantments as well. The one you will see more often is the common Stormrider Spirit.
Black Combat Tricks and Removal Cards
Although Black has some nice removal spells, overall there aren't too many to look out for. One of the best removal spells in the set is the two-mana Infernal Grasp. Olivia’s Midnight Ambush is another two-mana removal spell with the potential if it's Night to kill any creature. Defenestrate acts as the opposite of Plummet and can destroy a creature without flying.
At sorcery speed, you have the half removal/ half sweeper card Bloodline Culling. If you need a bigger sweeper though, look no further than The Meathook Massacre. It'll clear the battlefield and start killing you over time.
There is one creature in Covert Cutpurse // Covetous Geist that an opponent can use during their turn to finish off a creature. Other than removal, the only combat trick to look out for from Black is the Deathtouch giving Bladebrand.
Red Combat Tricks and Removal Cards
There are plenty of ways to damage and kill creatures in Red. For the creature-only removal spells, Cathartic Pyre can deal three damage to a creature or planeswalker. All the other Red damage spells can deal damage directly to a player, like Burn the Accursed and Neonate’s Rush. Play with Fire and Moonrager’s Slash can damage any target for a cheap cost. Light up the Night can finish off a player late in the game or kill a large creature.
Red does have a sweeper in the form of five damage to each creature and planeswalker with Burn Down the House. Immolation acts as a one-mana removal spell for creatures with two or less toughness.
When it comes to non-damage combat tricks, there are three in Red to look out for. Lunar Frenzy can blow you out of the water and potentially finish you off if enough mana is spent to cast it. Raze the Effigy can affect attacking creatures while it can also take out one of the few artifacts in the set. Stolen Vitality is a nice combat trick that can be used on attackers or blockers to great success.
Green Combat Tricks and Removal Cards
There are few ways for Green to get rid of artifacts and enchantments with the instant Return to Nature and Outland Liberator // Frenzied Trapbreaker. Green has some situational removal in the form of Plummet that can destroy a Flying creature and Duel for Dominance that can only really be cast if it's caster has three creatures on the battlefield. There are some nice combat tricks that you need to watch out for from Green. Howl of the Hunt and Might of the Old Ways can both add +2/+2 during combat. The two most dangerous combat tricks are Defend the Celestus that could pump three creatures at once and Clear Shot which can both pump up a creature and kill another one at the same time. Finally, there is a Flash creature to watch out for in the form of Bounding Wolf.
Multicolour and Artifact Combat Tricks and Removal Cards
When it comes to multicolour spells, Sacred Fire can kill a small threat while helping its caster gain some life. Another potential instant speed spell is the token making Corpse Cobble. It can turn your removal into food for them by allowing them to sacrifice their own creatures. At sorcery speed Dire-Strain Rampage can kill an artifact, enchantment, or land if needed. Then theres one of the best removal cards in the set in Rite of Oblivion that can exile any nonland permanent.
I hope that this Midnight Hunt Guide to Combat Tricks and Removal Cards by Colour will provide some value and insight into what to expect at your first Prerelease or Draft. Thanks again for reading Chapter 3 of the Ultimate Guide to Innistrad Midnight Hunt Limited and Prerelease. Next up is Chapter 4 and the Graveyard Guide for Flashback and Disturb. If you’ve missed any of the other chapters for this guide, click below to check them out.
Table of Contents – Ultimate Guide to Innistrad Midnight Hunt Limited and Prerelease
Chapter 1 - Top Commons for Limited and Prerelease
Chapter 2 - Top Uncommons for Limited and Prerelease
Chapter 3 - Guide to Combat Tricks and Removal Cards by Colour
Chapter 4 – Graveyard Guide for Flashback and Disturb
Chapter 5 – Guide to the Day/Night Cycle
