Innistrad

About this set

Game

Magic: The Gathering

Released

September 2011

Size

A gothic-horror set

Featured here

2 cards

Innistrad is a gothic-horror plane with vampires, werewolves, ghosts and zombies. It introduced double-faced cards, which show a different card on each side and transform during play.

The set also brought back and refined a graveyard mechanic called flashback, which lets players cast spells from the discard pile for an added cost.

It is regarded as a strong example of how a flavorful setting can shape every mechanic in a set.

What to look for in this set

How to explore this set

Innistrad is a gothic-horror plane with vampires, werewolves, ghosts and zombies. What makes it a good study is that the story and the rules support each other. Every mechanic feels like something from a scary tale, and you can read the set as a lesson in how flavor shapes design.

Open Delver of Secrets first. It is a Common, and it shows the set's best-known trick: a double-faced card that transforms from a small human wizard into a flying creature. Our page on transforming cards explains the idea.

Next, look at Snapcaster Mage. It pairs flash with a way to reuse a spell from the graveyard, so it ties two mechanics together. Read the flashback page alongside it, because Innistrad brought that graveyard mechanic back and refined it.

If you want a challenge, try spotting which cards use the day-and-night feeling of werewolves, and which lean on the graveyard. Both are present in the set.

What changed after it

Innistrad arrived in September 2011, in the stretch of years when Magic had planeswalker cards (2007) and Mythic Rare (2008). It pushed the game toward gothic horror and transforming cards. Double-faced cards then became a recognized part of the game, with their own special rules in official events for how they are sleeved and tracked.

Flashback had debuted in the Odyssey block in 2001, so Innistrad is a good case of an older mechanic returning in a new setting. The same habit shows up later in Modern Horizons 2, which mixes brand-new cards with old mechanics in fresh forms.

Questions readers ask

Why do some cards have two faces?

The back is not a normal card back, because the card can flip during the game. That design suited a theme full of creatures that change at night.

Is Innistrad good for beginners?

Its theme is easy to follow. The transforming rules take a little attention, so read the official rules from Wizards of the Coast if you are unsure.

Which Innistrad card should I read about first?

Start with Delver of Secrets to see a transforming double-faced card, then Snapcaster Mage to see flash and flashback together.

Mechanics you will see

• Flash Casting a creature or spell at instant speed.
• Flashback Casting spells again from the graveyard.
• Transform & Double-Faced Cards Cards with two faces that change during the game.