Duskmourn: House of Horror is a fun solid Magic: The Gathering set. I love the 1980s horror-inspired setting…mostly. There are bits of theme that seem out of place for Magic: The Gathering. With that said the core set design is a great example of what makes Magic fun. Duskmourn focuses on back-and-forth gameplay, enabling longer games through its design choices. The new mechanics are good iterations of established designs. The horror setting of Duskmourn makes it feel weird to say the actual set design feels conventional, but that design is still a lot of fun. If you're looking for more spooks in your Magic: The Gathering, Duskmourn is a good choice.
Modern Horizons III is one of the best Magic: The Gathering sets in recent memory. The designers at Wizards of the Coast have created an amazing set while balancing somewhat opposing goals. As a set adding cards into the Modern format the draft was always going to be secondary to ensuring a healthy constructed format. As a draft set MH3 is Magic at its finest providing deep and engaging gameplay. The overall draft environment is just fun. The games are complex, but that is to be expected with any set dealing with Modern format cards. Wizards once again reminds people that they are masters of game design and I hope to see as much care in future products as MH3. Even at its higher price tag I absolutely recommend you draft some Modern Horizons III.
The core draft environment of Thunder Junction is fantastic. I love westerns and this set represents a weird west I am happy to explore. The new mechanics and themes are well designed and offer a ton of fun draft archetypes to play. Thunder Junction does have three separate extra card pools that are added into the draft set. The extra cards are very powerful and can lead the gameplay to the meaner side of MtG. If you're not prepared for this it could quickly sour your experience. While these extra cards did put a bit of a damper on my experience, the overall set is enough fun that I was ok with the occasional negative game. If you're looking for some weird west in your MtG, mosey on over to Thunder Junction and give it a try.
Whether you're a fan of Fallout or Magic: The Gathering I think there is something for you to love with these four decks. For the experienced players, there are new mechanics that are powerful and interesting. For Fallout fans there's some of the most amazing Fallout artwork I've ever seen. I truly appreciate the care Wizards takes with their Universes Beyond products and I hope this continues. Despite the decks having a few design hiccups, they are fun to play and I personally love them as a pod being played together. Overall, I absolutely recommend these decks for any fan of Fallout or Magic: The Gathering.
If someone told me that Murders at Karlov Manor was their favorite or least favorite set, I would understand why. I'm strangely medium on the set. The artwork and the setting are top notch. There's a lot of smart design decisions inside and I absolutely enjoyed my time with it. It's just… the more MKM I experienced, the less I liked face-down creatures. If the only thing you read is this summary, I implore you to try MKM as you might find the opposite. The core idea of unknown information within Magic: The Gathering has always been a unique offering. Wizards of the Coast are experts at crafting their games and Murders at Karlov Manor is not bad. It's just not my thing.
If you're considering learning Magic: The Gathering, I recommend the Starter Kit 2023. While it feels like some corners have been cut, the overall product does a serviceable job of teaching new players the game. I'd like the included rules to be more tailored to the Starter Kit, but the games inside are a good showcase of what Magic can be. There is fun to be had within this kit. As for the claim, "The best way to learn to play." I don't think it quite lives up to that. The best way to learn to play Magic is still with a friend who knows the game, but the Starter Kit is still a decent way to get started too.
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan is a complex set with a lot of keywords and abilities on cards making it complex. Despite this, Lost Caverns of Ixalan is a lot of fun to play in Limited. Lost Caverns of Ixalan rewards players through rich drafting and deep gameplay. The artwork for this set is as always stunning. In addition to that, the Commander decks offer good value and gameplay, and I hope that this trend continues for the Commander decks. I can recommend Lost Caverns of Ixalan to anyone looking to dive into some Magic: The Gathering games.
Wilds of Eldraine is a fantastic set, both for veterans and new players. The main set is fun to draft while being friendly to new players. The mechanics offer gameplay that keeps the set dynamic and lively. Matches of Wilds of Eldraine were always moving forward without becoming a slow stalemate. The "enchanting tales" offer bonus value to players while also supporting the flavor and mechanics of the main set. In contrast, the commander decks offer decent value to players looking for an entry point into commander, but aren't anything special from previous commander offerings.