The recent return to Innistrad brought two new sets and with them a smattering of Spirits. Unfortunately it seems Spirits have lost the spirit of the tribe which is their disruptive and interactive nature, instead taking in Aura flip sides as the other half of their transformative Disturb mechanic. Midnight Hunt frankly had very little outside of Spectral Adversary. Adversary was exciting but ultimately not enough to make the cut. Crimson Vow is doing a little better with tempting selections like Dorothea, Vengeful Victim
Flip, Katilda, Dawnhart Martyr
Flip, and Dreamshackle Geist. The first two are really just beaters. Dorothea is a one shot big beat on the cheap that can bring an Invocation of Saint Traft effect from the yard, which is probably just more efficient for the beats than Katilda, even without the lifelink. Dreamshackle Geist seems like a Shacklegeist that trades tap down efficiency for combat efficiency. I’d probably still take Shacklegeist for the mana efficiency.
The most intriguing new ghost has to be Cemetery Illuminator. This offers something new, unique, and potentially powerful to the tribe. Especially in tandem with Rattlechains, this neat little spook lets you play with the top of your deck, effectively in your hand. This can help you dig a little more effectively and trick opponents. Spirits love tricks. Rattlechains allows you to get this benefit in your opponent’s turn as well. Yum. My favorite aspect of the card (especially compared to all but the green member of the ‘Cemetery’ cycle) is that the repeatable hits to the graveyard give the card some graveyard hate applications. We’ll see if the card has what it takes. I love the design so will have to see how it performs.
