Card Spotlight
Winter, Misanthropic Guide
A {1}{B}{R}{G} 3/4 with ward {2}. At the beginning of your upkeep, each player draws two cards, and with delirium, each opponent's maximum hand size becomes seven minus the number of card types in your graveyard.
Commander Spotlight
Winter, Misanthropic Guide ↗
A {1}{B}{R}{G} 3/4 with ward {2}. At the beginning of your upkeep, each player draws two cards, and with delirium, each opponent's maximum hand size becomes seven minus the number of card types in your graveyard.
See Winter, Misanthropic Guide's full stats and printings →
Strategies it goes well with
- Draw punishment. Underworld Dreams deals 1 damage per card an opponent draws, so each Winter upkeep deals 2 damage to every opponent.
- Discard punishment. Opponents discarding down to a low hand size at cleanup triggers Megrim and Waste Not on each card.
- Filling the graveyard. Self-mill like Grisly Salvage puts several card types into your graveyard at once to turn delirium on.
How it does in Commander
As the commander
As a Jund commander it leads a group-draw deck that punishes the extra cards. Ward {2} makes it harder to remove than most four-drops. The tradeoff is real: until delirium is on and your punishers are out, Winter gives every opponent two extra cards a turn.
In the 99
In the 99 it's a risky include unless the deck already runs draw or discard punishers. Without them it mostly helps the table.
Formats it's strong in
- Jund punisher decks. Cards that deal damage on draws or discards turn every Winter upkeep into damage to each opponent.
- Self-mill graveyard decks. Decks that mill themselves turn delirium on early, which makes the hand-size cap matter sooner.
Formats it's weak in
- Decks without punishers. Group draw with nothing to punish it hands your opponents cards for free.
- Pods with fast combo. Giving combo players two extra cards a turn helps them find their pieces faster.
Synergistic cards
Underworld Dreams ↗
Deals 1 damage to an opponent for each card they draw, including the two from Winter.
Megrim ↗
Deals 2 damage to an opponent for each card they discard, including discards to hand size.
Waste Not ↗
Gives you a Zombie, mana or a card for each card an opponent discards to the lowered hand size.
Grisly Salvage ↗
An instant that puts up to five cards into your graveyard, often enough types to turn on delirium.
Is it worth the price?
Winter is an inexpensive Duskmourn rare, cheap enough to try in a punisher deck without much risk.
Frequently asked questions
How does Winter's delirium ability work?
Delirium is on when four or more card types are among the cards in your graveyard. While it's on, each opponent's maximum hand size is seven minus the number of those types. Four types means a maximum of three, five types means two.
Doesn't Winter help my opponents draw cards?
Yes, each of them draws two at your upkeep. The plan is that a lower hand size makes them discard most of those cards at their cleanup step, and cards that punish drawing or discarding make them pay for both.
Which card types count for delirium?
Card types such as land, creature, instant, sorcery, artifact, enchantment, planeswalker, battle and kindred. A card with two types, like an artifact creature, counts for both.