Magic: The Gathering is heading back to one of its most beloved planes in Innistrad, and with preview season beginning this week, Innistrad: Midnight Hunt is at the forefront of many players' discussions. Innistrad is a lore-rich plane that has played host to both a traditional gothic horror story and an eldritch body horror saga when players first returned in Shadows Over Innistrad, and expectations are high for both its characters and its gameplay.
What's currently known about Innistrad: Midnight Hunt - and its follow-up set, Innistrad: Crimson Vow - is that it's a return to the more traditional elements of the plane, prior to the Eldrazi invasion. Humans must band together to face the night and all its terrors, absent the protection of the Archangel Avacyn, who perished during the events of Shadows Over Innistrad and Eldritch Moon. That means the return of more classic werewolves, zombies, and more, and also some of the mad science that has popped up in previous Innistrad sets.
It's in that final archetypal narrative that Screen Rant's exclusive Innistrad: Midnight Hunt card is located. Galvanic Iteration continues the pursuit of knowledge at all costs that has been embodied by Innistrad cards like Delver of Secrets and Rooftop Storm, and should be a powerful blue & red instant for combo and control mages alike. Here's a look at both the regular version and the extended art version of Galvanic Iteration:
Galvanic Iteration is a UR instant spell that allows its caster to copy their next instant or sorcery spell that turn. Importantly, Galvanic Iteration reads "when you cast your next instant or sorcery spell this turn" rather than choosing a spell already on the stack, meaning it has some restrictions on how it can be played. Luckily, it has another potent keyword on it: Flashback.
The history of flashback in Magic: The Gathering is a long one, with cards like Think Twice and Ancient Grudge making splashes across several formats. Galvanic Iteration's flashback cost is 1UR, but it's nature as an instant means the opportunities to use it will be varied.
Without seeing more of Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, it's difficult to say how Galvanic Iteration slots into the Standard format. It has a lot of potential, however, and does a wonderful job of encapsulating its flavor text - a rare instant in these colors should almost certainly be more potent than predictable, and Galvanic Iteration's use cases are as varied as they are brimming with prospective combos. Hopefully some of those come to fruition when Innistrad: Midnight Hunt releases on September 16, 2021 on Magic Arena and Magic: The Gathering Online, and on September 24, 2021 for tabletop.