Magic: The Gathering and Wizards of the Coast bring us a new edition that raises many expectations. Although the products can now be purchased in physical and online stores, this is a murder in the house of Karlov, which will officially go on sale on February 9, 2024. We’ll be returning to the plane of Ravnica, which was an actor earlier this year, and game incentives will be released, replacing Draft and Edition incentives. New cards, classes, and mechanics will be offered beyond the new game packs.
The format that best suits such a deck is not typical of the packed format, presentation and draft contests that seem to have new life with ‘Karlov Mansion Murder’. Guilds are important again, as well as multi-colored cards and combinations for combos, the latter is already common in the built-in.
Everything depends on what you open in the presentation or draft, but the good thing is that now there are only one kind of envelopes, game envelopes. Multi-colored cards will be more important than ever, always renewing the spirit that dominates the plane of Ravnica: the Guilds. In this version, care has been taken to ensure that there are combinations between them and that they share skills, which encourages the unity of the Guards and the search for the combination of the three colors.
Murders, criminals and conspiracies
Detectives and Assassins are the most prominent sub-classes in the latest cards we see in the new edition. Both have powerful cards and combinations to consider. But the power of this issue lies in the teams and their leaders. Guilds are always the main players in Ravnica, so combining colors will be important to complete a competitive deck.
The friends are again basic, so the unity of colors and the combination between them is important. Especially with the new packs, the new mechanics and this edition, to face each other in the packaged format that comes loaded with the most competitive cards that see play in other formats. Some cards have already been searched for combos.
We remember the ravinika groups, their stigmas and colors:
Azorius and Boros, loyalty and justice in the service of power
The Azores Senate Association seems the perfect fit for a detective raid in the Karlov Manor Murders. New members benefit from disguise, investigation and some issues in the games. But in a plane where power is based on information and influence, everyone wants their piece. Angels are one of the classes making a strong comeback to support people with cards that use new mechanics.
The Legion of Boros sees its alliance with the Senate as an opportunity to increase its influence, especially when Aurelia imposes legislation on the Angel Legions. She is not a detective, but her presence greatly benefits creatures with the detective subtype. A clear example of this alliance of guilds is ‘Erzim the Director of the Agency’ which is a very charismatic card as he is the head of the detectives. Create artifacts to become a game winning machine. As long as you are on the field, small creatures with Aurelia are the key to keep.
With these two friends, the combination of three colors (white, red and blue) looks complex but interesting.
Dimir and Rakdos, power based on fear, strength and terror
House Dimir (Blue and Black) was no less, with assassins and spies using their own means to uncover the murders that had destroyed the entire fabric of Ravnica. His alliance with the Rakdos Society (Black and Red) seems chaotic and full of treachery. The anger and aggressiveness of some combined with the malice of others united in a power struggle. They use ‘suspicion’ and ‘hide’ skills to hide in the shadows. The ‘Etrata, Deadly Escape’ card stands out for its versatility and leader of the killers.
One of the most wanted cards in her best assassin edition is ‘Massacre Girl, Famous Assassin’. Other assassins fearlessly support Dimir’s cause. Although there aren’t many assassins in this version, basing your strategy on them is not highly recommended. But the armies of evil knew this. Thus, both color combinations feature a myriad of intruders such as gorgons, vampires, zombies, fairies and metamorphoses.
The Orzhov Guild is ready for anything in the pursuit of justice
The power struggle of these four groups overshadows the investigation of the others, but from the shadows, the Orzov Union controls the threads of the investigation. ‘Kaya, Justice of the Spirits’ seeks justice and takes revenge out of control. Planeswalker will be one of the most popular cards in the edition, giving wings to all creatures that die and go into exile. He will have the invaluable support of ‘Teysa, Opulent Oligarch’ and his most trusted human advisor ‘Tomic, Legal Expert’ (this last card comes as a promotional card in some presentation packs).
Guilds, detectives and conspiracies will be the main protagonists in ‘Mudders at the Karlov Mansion’, an edition that will feature cards for the new game envelopes and become a playable version on its own. Time will tell you the effect on other formats, but it is presented as fun and equally competitive.
Presentations, packed drafts and the Arena, the best place to try Karlov Mansion Murders
This edition has a lot of mechanics to work with, some cards will (as almost always) have a place in constructed formats, but the packed combos are where they’re most experienced. In the delivery box comes the necessary things to build a deck and play in an economical and fun way. 20 sided die, label, box to store the cards, promotional envelope with Arena Code and two foil promotional cards and six game envelopes to match the deck.
You can see the contents of the pack here.
In the build up there is a combo that wreaks havoc on an initially seemingly harmless card, ‘Noir Writer’. Red Goblin, three mana and with Strength 1 and Defense 3. Adding +1/+1 counters to generate mana for each sacrifice combined with the “module” animation makes it a bug-making machine. and “grinding station”. Infinite colorless utility for only 6 mana.
We will soon look at the effect of ‘Killing at Karlov Manor’ on Magic: The Gathering. For now, the new game packs have simplified sales for stores and improved card ratios. It will always be higher with collector incentives, but that’s another topic.
On Ravnica, where guilds fight and leaders seek power, anything can happen. Which side are you from?