Wizards of the Coast has revealed new clues and motivations within their upcoming Poirot-inspired Magic: The Gathering set, Murders at Karlov Manor. The set will lean into its fantasy murder-mystery trappings and introduce several thematically appropriate mechanics.
The Murders at Karlov Manor preview
According to an official press release, the set-up for Murders at Karlov Manor is after the events of the last major set, March of the Machine. Set in the world of Ravnica in the aftermath of the Phyrexian invasion, the esteemed guild leader Teysa Karlov holds a major party at her manor.
That party turns into a crime scene. One of Teysa's colleagues has been found dead. Those in attendance not only had motive but means as well. It is up to the players, and Ravnica's own great detective Alquist Proft, to solve the mystery.
In keeping with this theme of navigating a mystery, Murders at Karlov Manor introduces new mechanics. A returning mechanic is Investigate, and it works as before. Using it creates a Clue token, which you can sacrifice to draw a card.
A new mechanic, Disguise, is a bit more complicated. If the card has Disguise, you can play it face-down. While face-down, it is treated as a 2/2 creature with Ward 2. When you have priority, you can pay the Disguise cost and turn the card face-up. This happens immediately, doesn't use the stack, and cannot be responded to.
This means you can summon a Disguised creature, use it to block an enemy attack, and then reveal it was a completely different creature, possibly with First Strike, Flying, or Lifelink. This can lead to some wonderful mind games at a table.
By contrast, there is Evidence. If a card effect requires you to collect Evidence, you must exile cards from your library with mana equal to the indicated cost or greater. Certain cards will unlock additional abilities if Evidence is collected, which is good for combos.
As for conditions, this new set introduces a new one called Suspected. If a creature is Suspected, they have menace and cannot block. In addition, this effect stays until they leave the battlefield or another effect removes it.
In addition, Murders at Karlov Manor introduces Cases. These Enchantments are similar to Sagas and contain three distinct effects. The top effect is always active. The middle effect has a "to-solve" condition and the bottom effect is the Solved effect, which activates when the middle condition is met.
Last but not least, Murders at Karlov Manor will contain puzzles. The first will be available as part of the set's Prerelease kit. The rest can be found within Play Boosters and set bundles. There is even a major meta puzzle, one the community will need to work together to solve via RavnicaDetectiveAgency.com
Murders at Karlov Manor will have its prerelease on February 2, followed by its MTG: Arena debut February 6, then its physical release February 9.
