Today, January 16th, Wizards of the Coast will reveal details of the next Magic: The Gathering main series, Murders at Karlov Manor, which will debut on February 9th, 2024.
The new version of the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game, Karlov Mansion Murders, is just around the corner. After fixing Ravnica, we return to one of the most popular planes in the immortal card game. Set in the urban landscape of Ravnica, you’ll need all your wits to solve the mystery built around it. Solve puzzles, gather evidence and identify suspicious people to find out who is behind the gruesome murders that occur in the plot.
History, characters and plane killers in Karlovy Vary
The brilliant detective Alquist Proft has found the culprit and invites everyone involved in the investigation to join him in finding him. But which of them did it?
Our story begins after the Phyrexian invasion. With Phyrexia defeated, Ravinnica is eager to “get back to normal”. And what better way to show that the spirit of the people remains intact than with a big party at Karlov’s Mansion?
The host of the show is Tessa Karlov, the leader of the group, a descendant of the famous aristocratic and powerful Karlov family. During the Phyrexian invasion, he saved many lives by providing information about the advancing army. Who is jealous of a well-deserved party?
One of the guests at the party was Teysa’s former Orzhov friend, the Planeswalker heroine Kaya. Following the defeat of the Phyrexians, Kaya returned to her former realms. In addition to celebrating the return to normality, Karlov’s house party hosted members of the Ravinika Magical Research Agency, serving as a new stage for the party. The agency is a new force in the Ravnica community, created to prevent group politics from influencing the investigation of true crimes. Or, at least, to touch them as little as possible. One of the members of the agency is rookie detective Kellan.
He is eager to follow the clues wherever they lead. The night went as planned: the heyday of the party drowned out Ravinika’s recent woes in glitz and excess. But the celebration was cut short when a body was found lying in the coat of arms. It was stupid!
Return Mechanics: Investigate
The party was immediately filled with suspicion. Fortunately, Alquist Proft, the self-proclaimed “Grand Detective” of Ravnica, was on the scene, ready to investigate any possible clues left behind. Investigate is a mechanic that brings you back to this collection. It makes you feel like a detective and delve deeper into the events. Allows you to create a Clue Token, a colorless artificial token that you sacrifice to draw a card.
New mechanic: clothing
Proft quickly realized two things; The first: the randomly placed coats of arms under the citizenry show the symbols of each of the guilds. A false leader indeed, or rather many false leaders. He also noticed that someone was wearing Celcina’s colors without the appropriate style… clothes! Before the Prophet pulls the stranger aside, her true identity is revealed: Etrata!The new disguise mechanic adds a sense of mystery to the game. Anything can be hidden under your opponents exposed cards. Cloaking allows you to throw cards down so another player doesn’t know what they are.
Aurelia’s Defender: Pay (3) to cast this spell and become a 2/2 creature and no other abilities (2). As long as you have priority, you can unlock the front by paying the concealment cost. This happens immediately, the stack is not used and there can be no response. That 2/2 creature that your opponent thought was safe to block is the perfect angel to fly for a free life link. Kaya is ready to get off the plane she once called home, but is called to the scene of a crime. Karlov says he has something important to tell Tessa at the mansion…but by the time Kaya arrives, Tessa’s corpse is cold. Another murder!
New Mechanics: Issues
Kaya found a note written in Teissa’s handwriting, but the writing was Phyrexian. Did Tessa work for them? Could there be another killer on the loose? These unanswered questions and the burial of his dead friend prompt Kaya to take up the case. Like Sagas, Cases are a new mechanic that allows you to experience different actions. As the detective reveals the secret. Issues are spells similar to quests, but with three abilities. The first is always active. The middle one is a prerequisite to “solve the case”, and the bottom one is a reward once you unlock it.
A CASE SOLVED help token is placed at the top, meaning the conditions have been met and the ultimate ability is active.
New Mechanics: Suspect
While at the Agency, Kaya and Kellan captured Agrus Kos, one of Boros’ best researchers. Now that he’s dead, things haven’t changed much. He reluctantly decided to help the agency’s investigation and was willing to arrest anyone suspected of foul play.
Suspicion is another new mechanic, which allows you to fix your detective eye on any creature that seems useless. “Sceptic” is a label that can be applied to creation.
A SUSPICIOUS help token is placed above. A suspicious creature has a threat and cannot block. Once a creature is Suspected, it remains Suspected until it leaves the battlefield or another result becomes Suspect.
Kaya and Kellan begin their investigation and go to talk to Judith of Rakdos. Judith was present at the Karlov Mansion party night. Kaya is surprised by the invitation, knowing that Judith had a falling out with Tessa before she was killed. Judith insists that she is innocent, but informs detectives that they don’t know the whole story.
New mechanics: collect evidence
He pointed them to the original joint venture in Vitu-Gazi and promised to clear things up for them. Etrata and Alquist headed to the last place he remembered before leaving for the party; One of their killer hideouts: a fine grayish-yellow powder found dusting their nightstands and pillowcases. Your first test.
Evidence gathering is another new mechanic. You can solve the mystery in your head, but nothing is as important as hard evidence to bring the guilty to justice. To gather evidence, exile any cards from your graveyard that have a total mana value equal to or greater than the correctly indicated number. When certain cards enter the battlefield, “Evidence Collected” unlocks optional effects.
Final information and important dates
Starting with Assassination at Karlov Manor, game boosters replace draft boosters and edition boosters across the entire Magic product line. Game Boosters combine the best of both worlds: the game experience of a draft booster with the exciting unlocking experience of an edition booster. With up to four rare cards and exciting roster updates in each booster pack, the excitement increases with each unlock. ; This way, the game bundles will be as much or more interesting than the edition bundles. You can find more details about changes to game packs here or in your WPN store and here on the official Magic: The Gathering blog.
Your eye for detail and detective skills are still important. In addition to playing the new collection, there are 12 puzzles and a meta-puzzle to solve. You can get the first puzzle in a delivery pack and then get more in products like game packs and bundles.
Starting January 16, players can visit RavnicaDetectiveAgency.com for more puzzles and the final puzzle.
There are many more puzzles and mysteries to solve in Karlov’s Murder.