Legacy Review: Murders at Karlov Manor

Greetings to all Legacy detectives! The Murders at Karlov Manor spoilers have been completely revealed, so it's time to get our magnifying glass, and investigate what the shadows in this Ravnica story have for us!

Murders at Karlov Manor brings back some traditional mechanics from old Ravnica blocks, such as gold split cards and hybrid mana cards, besides references to previous cards, such as Leyline of the Guildpact and Hunted Bonebrute. The new mechanics introduced int his set are Disguise and Cloak - variations of Morph and Manifest - Suspect, Collect Evidence and Cases, apart from the return of the Investigate mechanic and basic landcycling.

Disguise

Disguise is, for all things considered, just like Morph, but the face-down creature played through Disguise gets Ward 2, which makes it harder to answer than the older 2/2 creatures. But, in general, this ability is too slow for Legacy.

Cloak

Similarly, Cloak is a Manifest upgrade; it creates face-down creatures with Ward 2. Otherwise, the same rules apply: creatures entering play through Cloak can be turned face up if you pay their mana cost, creatures with Morph, Megamorph or Disguise can pay this cost instead of the original cost, and cards that aren't creature cards can't be turned up, unless they already have the Morph, Megamorph or Disguise ability originally (Whetwheel, for instance).

Suspect

Several cards in this set grant or remove the Suspect status on target creatures. Suspect creatures can't block and get the Menace ability.

Collect Evidence

This new mechanic adds an optional cost to summon cards or activate abilities, and, if you pay this cost, the card in question gets a bonus. There are also cards whose Ward cost is Collect Evidence. In this case, the opponent must pay this cost to go over the defense.

Collect Evidence's cost requires you to exile any number of cards in your graveyard with a total value equal or bigger than the number value described next to the ability. If you don't have enough cards to pay for the cost of this ability, you can't exile anything. As this ability is just paying a cost, as soon as you declare your exiling cards, your opponent can't exile cards from your graveyard as an answer.

Cases

Cases are a new type of enchantment with a different frame, just like Sagas or Classes. Cases have a regular ability and two conditions: To Solve and Solved.

The To Solve condition creates a triggered ability that checks, at the end of its controller's turn, if one of its requirements was met (not having any cards in hand, controlling 3 or more Detectives, 3 or more creatures were placed in graveyards this turn, etc). If this condition is valid when the To Solve triggered ability resolves, this enchantment is considered Solved. This can create a static ability, which is only active as soon as this enchantment gains this status; one triggered ability, which can only be activated when this card is Solved; or a triggered ability, whose condition only starts going into the stacj after the To Solve ability is concluded.

After gaining the Solved status, this enchantment keeps this status until it leaves play.

Assemble the Players

White card advantage? This enchantment isn't something common for this color, and offers a way to recharge for more aggressive white decks. We might need to include fetch lands to reset your top deck. I think it is a consideration for sideboards.

Delney, Streetwise Lookout

Decks that access Recruiter of the Guard will want to recruit Dalney's services. Besides granting pseudo-evasion to their little buddies, these decks tend to be a true festival of triggered abilities. Therefore, you end up creating double value.

Doorkeeper Thrull

Recently, I wrote an article about this Thrull. I believe this ability, at instant speed, is very useful in Legacy, and this is one of the most relevant Karlov cards for this format.

Case of the Ransacked Lab

Mana reduction is a reasonably strong ability, and, even though there isn't a home for this enchantment yet, I believe a Galvanic Relay base can both take advantage of its basic ability and Solve and take advantage of this Case's extra cards.

Case of the Shifting Visage

Sylvan Library is an excellent option for Control x Control games because it creates resources and filters cards in a battle of friction. I see this Case as an alternative that has the advantage of serving as fuel to Force of Will. As the game goes on, it ends up creating extra pressure by copying things like Orcish Bowmasters, Baleful Strix or Snapcaster Mage.

Conspiracy Unraveler

Paying 0 mana to summon cards is an incredibly powerful ability, as Omniscience proved. Obviously, you don't want to pay 7 mana for this card: the idea is that this Sphinx will go into play from an already full graveyard.

I imagine that, if one day Thassa's Oracle is no longer valid in this format, Unraveler can be the win condition in decks that throw their entire deck in the graveyard.

Forensic Gadgeteer

In a deck full of Lotus Petal, Mishra's Bauble and Mox Opal, this Detective can create a true pile of Clue. We already have decks like this in this format that would benefit from the extra number of artifacts, particularly when they can draw cards for just one mana.

Now, add Basalt Monolith to this mix and you have an engine for infinite mana. It is interesting enough to deserve more tests.

Reenact the Crime

It's interesting I just discussed Omniscience, because we can now play it at the end of our opponent's turn, be it through Entomb or through some other way of placing this card in the graveyard - Surveil, Consider, Thought Scour.

Reenact the Crime offers instant speed to decks that place big things on the board before their proper time.

Long Goodbye

This card is a pseudo-Abrupt Decay for decks that can't access Green. Decks like Dimir Shadow, Dimir Scam and Rakdos Scam (a new competitor whose popularity in this format grew lately, and I'll soon write an article about) might be interested in an uncounterable removal.

Crime Novelist

An engine waiting for a deck, this small Goblin basically doubles Lotus Petal's potential, and can be the card that will finally bring Krark-Clan Ironworks to this format.

Aftermath Analyst

Returning all lands in the graveyard to the game is quite an ability. Lands can definitely consider this Detective.

Archdruid’s Charm

Cradle Control may very well consider this card: its main role is to find Gaea's Cradle at the end of the turn, but, besides this, it is also useful to tutor key-creatures, useful to remove creatures, artifacts or enchantments. This card brings a lot of versatility, and is useful for the several paths you might want to go with your deck.

Pick your Poison

Speaking of versatility, we have a removal that hits many things in this format for just one mana.

Undergrowth Recon

This enchantment also fits into Lands, which I mentioned above. It acts as an Exploration (places an extra land per turn) and Life from the Loam (recycles graveyard effects). It's worth a shot.

Agrus Kos, Spirit of Justice

Boros Initiative has already tested a few gold creatures in its flexible slots. The most successful one was Éowyn, Fearless Knight, which offers a combination of removal and pressure.

Agrus Kos offers us a few interesting options: it removes a blocker from the equation, making it Suspect; it hits hard with Double Strike; it can turn one of your creatures Suspect so it gains Menace, and, most important of all, it is great to be imprinted with Chrome Mox.

Break out

This card is a mini-Collected Company for 2 mana. When it hits a 2-mana creature, the investment of the original mana returns to the player, and, even if you don't hit one, you'll draw a card. I considered it a very interesting card, but I still don't know where to put it.

There's the solution to the mystery! Will Murders at Karlov Manor revolutionize Legacy? It doesn't seem to be the case, but it is a set that offers 2 cards that can create new archetypes: one is Forensic Gadgeteer, combined with Basalt Monolith, and the other is Reenact the Crime, which enables a combo like Show and Tell, but at instant speed.

There are several support cards for existing decks, such as Archdruid's Charm, Delney, Streetwise Lookout and, for me, the most important one, Doorkeeper Thrull. There's always the possibility we missed some sleeper card, as it happened with Stalactite Stalker in Lost Caverns of Ixalan.

Which of these cards besides these do you think will see play?

See you next time!