Follow the Clues in Magic: The Gathering: Murders at Karlov Manor

Wizards of the Coast

One of the neat things about Magic: The Gathering is that it’s been around for over 30 years. That’s a long time for the pioneer of the trading card game industry, and as with any long-running entertainment franchise, Magic has had to continually reinvent itself in order to stay relevant.

That means that sets and themes once considered off-limits for Magic 20, 15, and even 10 years ago are now not only on the table but slated for release in the near future. Outlaws of Thunder Junction introduces a cowboy world, while Bloomburrow introduces a talking animal world that’s hopefully more rat-positive than early Magic (a card named Disease Carriers is not even the worst example). Video game fans are getting crossovers this year with Fallout and Assassin’s Creed, and at some point in 2025, Final Fantasy.

But if you’re a Vorthos (Magic lore fan) like me, you’re probably more interested in the releases taking place within the game’s own fictional Multiverse. Sets like the recently released Ravnica Remastered, a reprint set packed with favorites from every past expansion that’s taken place on Ravnica, regarded by many as the coolest Magic setting: imagine Coruscant with Eastern European architecture. The city-plane of Ravnica is also host to a murder mystery in the upcoming set, Murders at Karlov Manor.

Vorthoses aren’t the only ones who might recognize the name Karlov—Teysa Karlov is a beloved character who’s been represented multiple times on cards. Teysa’s fans might be worried what’s going to happen to the guildmaster of the Orzhov Syndicate, objectively the best of Ravnica’s 10 guilds, in a murder set that takes place at her house. You don’t have to wait for the answer to that question, or the question of who is behind the murders, as Wizards of the Coast is releasing the story ahead of the spoiler season. All 10 episodes are up on the main website. If you’re a fast reader or are careful about using social media, you can enjoy the set’s storyline spoiler free and then sign up for a prerelease event on the weekend of February 2–4 at a game store near you. You can look forward to the kickoff of some sort of alternate-reality murder mystery event that the team at Wizards is quite mum about. The full release will take place on the following Friday, February 9.

Wizards of the Coast

Wizards is owned by toy juggernaut Hasbro, and while that fact has proven to be a double-edged sword, to say the least, it does mean Magic‘s designers have access to licensing for some of the most famous toy brands in the world. During The Brothers’ War, for example—a set that was released in the last quarter of 2022 and featured the titular brothers, Urza and Mishra, duking it out with titanic metal war machines—you could open a pack and be surprised to find Optimus Prime or Starscream, as Transformers-themed cards were included as a promotional tie-in. Now, alongside the Murders at Karlov Manor product lineup, we’re also getting Ravnica: Clue Edition, a standalone product that draws elements from the board game Clue (known outside the US as Cluedo).

You’ll be playing an out-of-the-box, multiplayer game of Magic, but along the way you’ll progress gathering clues as to the murder suspect. Unmasking that character will not only serve as an alternate win condition but will allow you to claim the included box topper: one of the 10 famous “shock land” cards, with alternate art depicting locations you might find in a murder mansion. For example, the art on Steam Vents depicts the dreaded furnace room. Of course, that card will most likely leave the table with whoever purchased the box of Ravnica: Clue Edition, but with a bevy of reprints driving down the prices on these once-pricey lands, stakes are low and it might be fun to actually award that prize to the winner.

Ravnica‘s “shock lands” remain among the most popular dual lands in Magic. Wizards of the Coast

Despite Wizards’ and Hasbro’s many PR hiccups in the past several years, Magic remains one of the most popular games on the market, and when it comes to new ideas and Universes Beyond crossovers, we fans have a lot to look forward to beyond Murders at Karlov Manor if the product overload doesn’t murder us first.