Recently, we got an initial glimpse at what the Murders at Karlov Manor, the first premier set of 2024, would have in store for us. Unsurprisingly, there’s a lot of information to unpack. Right off the bat, there were a ton of spoilers revealed in the WeeklyMTG stream that showcase the mystique of this murder-mystery set. From there, there was discussion about the introduction of play boosters replacing both set boosters and draft boosters, adding some interesting potential to the Limited environment.
Along with the spoilers themselves, we also got to see a bunch of interesting card treatments. From rare, serialized guild leaders to new invisible ink Dossier cards, there’s a lot to look forward to. It’s cool to see all this information on spoilers and card treatments this far in advance. After all, Murders at Karlov Manor doesn’t release until February 9, 2024, which is over two months away.
While we did get a decent amount of information along with some spoilers from the main set, there’s a lot less information available regarding the Commander decks for Murders at Karlov Manor. We did not get any spoilers from the Commander decks, but what we did get are pictures of the product boxes themselves.
There are going to be four Commander decks in total, just like with The Lost Caverns of Ixalan. In a similar fashion, each product box has information that gives hints about the themes and focus of each Commander deck. Let’s take a closer look at each Commander deck individually and see if we can derive some clues about what each one has to offer.
Blame Game
First up, we have a Boros Commander deck with a very flavorful theme. Murders at Karlov Manor is all about searching for clues to find out who’s responsible for the murders themselves. As expected, the characters don’t always have each other’s best interests at heart. Well, what better way to force confessions and leak information than by Goading your opponent’s Creatures!
In Commander, not only does Goading Creatures your opponents control force them to attack each other and not you, but this also makes it easier for you to attack as it removes blocking threats out of the way. There are plenty of ways to Goad Creature in Boros that are quite on-theme. Both
Disrupt Decorum
Disrupt Decorum
Goad all creatures you don't control. (Until your next turn, those creatures attack each combat if able and attack a player other than you if able.)
and
Taunt from the Rampart
Taunt from the Rampart
Goad all creatures your opponents control. Until your next turn, those creatures can't block. (Until your next turn, those creatures attack each combat if able and attack a player other than you if able.)
, for instance, can force a whole slew of Creatures to attack and potentially lead you with some wide open attacking lanes.
While it’s unclear exactly how the main Commander will enhance this gameplan, we have already seen a legend spoiled that is perfect for this style of deck. Aurelia benefits you whenever any player attacks with a bunch of Creatures at once. By Goading lots of Creatures at once, you can all but guarantee that Aurelia’s abilities will trigger. Not to mention, Aurelia’s final ability deals damage to “each of your opponents,” perfect for multiplayer Commander games.
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Revenant Recon
Next up, we have a Dimir Commander deck focused on Surveilling. This is likely the most basic theme between the four Commander decks, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be powerful. Seeing Surveil as a main point of emphasis in a set occurring on Ravnica makes a lot of sense, too. Surveil was introduced back in Guilds of Ravnica specifically for House Dimir, so it seemed poised for a comeback.
The other portion of the deck has to do with resurrecting Creatures. Much like how the Pirate deck for The Lost Caverns of Ixalan featured a lot of looting and a Commander that could bring back Pirates from the graveyard, I expect the Commander for this deck to function somewhat similarly. Connive//Concoct seems like a perfect addition to this deck, considering that it can put cards into your graveyard, bring Creatures back to play, or even steal opposing Creatures and gain information in a flavorful way.
The artwork also depicts a similar character style to
Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker
Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker
Flying
Whenever Mirko Vosk deals combat damage to a player, that player reveals cards from the top of their library until they reveal four land cards, then puts those cards into their graveyard.
. Mirko Vosk was born in Ravnica and had the ability to both obtain memories and also implant specific information into others’ minds. This makes him a perfect inclusion in this set.
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Deep Clue Sea
Third, we have a Bant deck centered around Clue tokens. Clue tokens are naturally made by Investigating, which is once again quite on-theme in this murder-mystery environment. The brief description on the product box mentions Clue tokens and card advantage. Obviously, these abilities go hand in hand. However, there will likely be cards featured that can convert Clues into additional resources beyond the traditional method of paying two mana to crack the Clue yourself.
For example, a new spoiler, Alquist Proft, does a solid
Sphinx’s Revelation
Sphinx’s Revelation
You gain X life and draw X cards.
impression, converting each Clue into potentially a ton of cards and life, assuming you have lots of mana to invest. Cards like
Lonis, Cryptozoologist
Lonis, Cryptozoologist
Whenever another nontoken creature you control enters, investigate.
{T}, Sacrifice X Clues: Target opponent reveals the top X cards of their library. You may put a nonland permanent card with mana value X or less from among them onto the battlefield under your control. That player puts the rest on the bottom of their library in a random order.
that can add board presence without investing tons of mana are great too. Throw in
Ethereal Investigator
Ethereal Investigator
Flying
When this creature enters, investigate X times, where X is the number of opponents you have. (To investigate, create a Clue token. It's an artifact with "{2}, Sacrifice this token: Draw a card.")
Whenever you draw your second card each turn, create a 1/1 white Spirit creature token with flying.
to add Creatures to the battlefield when you draw extra cards from your Clues, and you’ve got a gameplan.
Unfortunately, for players hoping to finally play with a solid Bant Merfolk Commander, now is not the time. It’ll be interesting to see what Creature type the Deep Clue Sea Commander ends up being.
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Deadly Disguise
Last but not least, we have a unique Naya deck centered around “disguise cards.” It is quite unclear exactly what this means, as it’s possible that Disguise refers to a mechanic that hasn’t been previewed yet. However, in the WeeklyMTG stream, Blake briefly mentions that this Commander deck may feature lots of face-down cards. This could very well point to new Morph or Manifest cards, which can definitely lead to “big surprises” for the opponent. Cards like
Den Protector
Den Protector
Creatures with power less than this creature's power can't block it.
Megamorph {1}{G} (You may cast this card face down as a 2/2 creature for {3}. Turn it face up any time for its megamorph cost and put a +1/+1 counter on it.)
When this creature is turned face up, return target card from your graveyard to your hand.
would seem like natural fits in that case.
Naya is an interesting color combination choice for a deck focused on face-down Creatures, though. This completely leaves out all-stars like
Ixidron
Ixidron
As this creature enters, turn all other nontoken creatures face down. (They're 2/2 creatures.)
Ixidron's power and toughness are each equal to the number of face-down creatures on the battlefield.
. We look forward to monitoring these Commander decks as more information gets revealed.
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