Set Prospective
Murders at Karlov Manor
This article is part of our community-sourced Set Prospective series. We survey Cube designers before the set’s official release to document their first impressions of new cards.
There’s a new center of gravity in this town. It’s almost palpable, like a fog settling over a cold sunrise. A week ago, my biggest problems were fairy tales and dinosaur bones. Today, so many folks have kicked the bucket that the coroner nearly drowned, and anybody honest is scared stiff. There’s only three kinds of people out on a night like this one: gravediggers, murderers, and Cube curators.
A little thieving doesn’t scare me, but two hundred Cube fanatics in my city… that’s a mystery worth investigating.
OPEN CASEFILE: Murders at Karlov Manor
Results
In the court of public opinion, Murders at Karlov Manor is as contentious as they come. With 219 respondents submitting a median of 9 cards, MKM has even less consensus than March of the Machine of last year, and much less than standout 2023 releases like Wilds of Eldraine. The average rating assigned MKM cards was 6.1/10, however (similar to the other Standard-legal releases of this year), and qualitative comments from our respondents often praised the flavor and theme of MKM.
| Card | Testers▼ | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Demand Answers | 33.3% | 7.0 |
| Novice Inspector | 23.7% | 7.6 |
| Sharp-Eyed Rookie | 23.3% | 5.9 |
| Underground Mortuary | 21.9% | 8.2 |
| Undercity Sewers | 21.5% | 7.9 |
| Thundering Falls | 20.5% | 8.1 |
| Hedge Maze | 20.5% | 8.1 |
| Snarling Gorehound | 20.5% | 6.9 |
| Shadowy Backstreet | 19.6% | 8.0 |
| Escape Tunnel | 19.6% | 8.4 |
| Deduce | 19.2% | 5.9 |
| Elegant Parlor | 19.2% | 8.0 |
| Aftermath Analyst | 18.3% | 6.8 |
| Commercial District | 18.3% | 8.0 |
| Meticulous Archive | 17.8% | 8.0 |
| Cryptic Coat | 17.4% | 6.1 |
| Raucous Theater | 17.4% | 8.1 |
| Lush Portico | 17.4% | 8.0 |
| Forensic Gadgeteer | 16.4% | 7.0 |
| Pick Your Poison | 16.0% | 6.4 |
| Warleader's Call | 13.7% | 6.2 |
| Delney, Streetwise Lookout | 13.2% | 6.7 |
| Archdruid's Charm | 13.2% | 6.0 |
| Rubblebelt Maverick | 13.2% | 5.5 |
| Long Goodbye | 12.8% | 6.5 |
| Gleaming Geardrake | 11.9% | 6.5 |
| Homicide Investigator | 11.9% | 5.9 |
| Trostani, Three Whispers | 11.9% | 6.6 |
| Call a Surprise Witness | 11.9% | 6.0 |
| Proft's Eidetic Memory | 11.4% | 5.6 |
| No More Lies | 11.0% | 6.4 |
| Intrude on the Mind | 10.5% | 5.8 |
| Insidious Roots | 10.5% | 6.1 |
| Hard-Hitting Question | 10.5% | 6.3 |
| Steamcore Scholar | 10.0% | 6.5 |
| Festerleech | 9.6% | 6.2 |
| Leering Onlooker | 9.1% | 5.7 |
| Push // Pull | 9.1% | 6.9 |
| Case of the Stashed Skeleton | 9.1% | 5.5 |
| Gearbane Orangutan | 8.7% | 6.3 |
| Doorkeeper Thrull | 8.7% | 4.4 |
| Krenko, Baron of Tin Street | 8.7% | 5.8 |
| Massacre Girl, Known Killer | 8.7% | 5.6 |
| Scene of the Crime | 8.7% | 6.7 |
| Kellan, Inquisitive Prodigy // Tail the Suspect | 8.7% | 5.9 |
| Flotsam // Jetsam | 8.2% | 6.3 |
| Connecting the Dots | 8.2% | 6.1 |
| Red Herring | 8.2% | 4.8 |
| Galvanize | 7.8% | 5.7 |
| Crime Novelist | 7.8% | 4.8 |
| Fugitive Codebreaker | 7.8% | 5.8 |
| Krovod Haunch | 7.8% | 5.6 |
| Cease // Desist | 7.3% | 6.3 |
| Lazav, Wearer of Faces | 7.3% | 5.8 |
| Reckless Detective | 7.3% | 6.6 |
| Teysa, Opulent Oligarch | 7.3% | 6.0 |
| Candlestick | 6.8% | 5.6 |
| Undergrowth Recon | 6.8% | 4.5 |
| Drag the Canal | 6.8% | 5.3 |
| Case of the Filched Falcon | 6.8% | 6.9 |
| Soul Enervation | 6.8% | 5.7 |
| Assemble the Players | 6.8% | 6.4 |
| Frantic Scapegoat | 6.4% | 5.9 |
| Tenth District Hero | 6.4% | 4.7 |
| Analyze the Pollen | 6.4% | 5.5 |
| Neighborhood Guardian | 5.9% | 6.5 |
| Reasonable Doubt | 5.9% | 5.0 |
| Worldsoul's Rage | 5.5% | 6.1 |
| Repulsive Mutation | 5.5% | 5.7 |
| Fuss // Bother | 5.5% | 5.5 |
| Kylox's Voltstrider | 5.5% | 5.1 |
| Break Out | 5.5% | 5.5 |
| Axebane Ferox | 5.5% | 5.0 |
| Case of the Gateway Express | 5.0% | 6.1 |
| Torch the Witness | 5.0% | 5.3 |
| Wojek Investigator | 5.0% | 5.4 |
| Anzrag, the Quake-Mole | 5.0% | 4.6 |
| Case of the Crimson Pulse | 5.0% | 6.8 |
| Tomik, Wielder of Law | 5.0% | 6.4 |
| Toxin Analysis | 4.6% | 5.3 |
| Alquist Proft, Master Sleuth | 4.6% | 5.4 |
| Outrageous Robbery | 4.6% | 5.5 |
| Kaya, Spirits' Justice | 4.6% | 5.5 |
| Aurelia's Vindicator | 4.6% | 5.0 |
| Unyielding Gatekeeper | 4.6% | 5.4 |
| Blood Spatter Analysis | 4.6% | 5.3 |
| Curious Inquiry | 4.1% | 4.9 |
| Case of the Trampled Garden | 4.1% | 5.5 |
| Ill-Timed Explosion | 4.1% | 6.1 |
| Urgent Necropsy | 4.1% | 4.9 |
| Buried in the Garden | 3.7% | 6.3 |
| Hedge Whisperer | 3.7% | 5.6 |
| Lead Pipe | 3.7% | 4.9 |
| Topiary Panther | 3.7% | 4.8 |
| Wrench | 3.7% | 5.4 |
| Knife | 3.7% | 5.2 |
| Case of the Locked Hothouse | 3.7% | 5.6 |
| Lost in the Maze | 3.7% | 4.7 |
| Treacherous Greed | 3.7% | 5.2 |
| Vannifar, Evolved Enigma | 3.7% | 5.7 |
| Illicit Masquerade | 3.7% | 6.2 |
| Make Your Move | 3.7% | 6.5 |
| Harried Dronesmith | 3.7% | 5.2 |
| Living Conundrum | 3.2% | 6.3 |
| Public Thoroughfare | 3.2% | 6.6 |
| They Went This Way | 3.2% | 4.2 |
| Sanitation Automaton | 3.2% | 4.1 |
| Judith, Carnage Connoisseur | 3.2% | 5.8 |
| Barbed Servitor | 3.2% | 4.6 |
| Aurelia, the Law Above | 3.2% | 6.7 |
| Lamplight Phoenix | 3.2% | 5.5 |
| Convenient Target | 3.2% | 4.9 |
| Extract a Confession | 3.2% | 5.2 |
| Hustle // Bustle | 2.7% | 5.4 |
| Undercity Eliminator | 2.7% | 3.5 |
| Behind the Mask | 2.7% | 4.4 |
| Gravestone Strider | 2.7% | 7.0 |
| Makeshift Binding | 2.7% | 6.5 |
| Reenact the Crime | 2.7% | 7.8 |
| Case of the Gorgon's Kiss | 2.7% | 4.4 |
| Not on My Watch | 2.7% | 5.3 |
| Case of the Burning Masks | 2.7% | 4.1 |
| Ezrim, Agency Chief | 2.7% | 5.8 |
| Hide in Plain Sight | 2.7% | 4.6 |
| Krenko's Buzzcrusher | 2.7% | 5.9 |
| Evidence Examiner | 2.7% | 4.9 |
| Chalk Outline | 2.7% | 5.1 |
| Macabre Reconstruction | 2.7% | 6.0 |
Single Card Discussion
The Primary Suspect
Murders at Karlov Manor has only a single card with anything approaching wide interest: Demand Answers. Despite its common rarity, Aurelia’s ultimatum has the same modus operandi as a well-known Thrill of Possibility, which is all the evidence many Cube sleuths need.
Public Enemy Number… Thirteen
A much more diverse array of cards falls between 20-25% popularity. Sharp-Eyed Rookie is first on the trail, with an Evolve-like trigger and the fan-favorite Clue token. Similarly, a functional reprint to Thraben Inspector and a Weave Fate upgrade both create Clues, suggesting how popular this mechanic is in Magic broadly and in MKM in particular.
“Some good bits and pieces for a graveyard-themed cube!”
However, the highest-rated cards on this survey are the crime scene lands. This full cycle of fetchable dual lands will surely be more affordable than powerful alternatives, while still offering more power than the perfectly-functional Temple cycle from the Theros block. This is a happy medium that earns average ratings of 7+ from nearly a fifth of our respondents, many of whom are testing all 10 lands at once.
Accessories to the Crime
In most sets we’ve studied before their release, there are usually 5-10 cards to fall between 25-50% popularity, but MKM has only one.
It should be no surprise, therefore, that most of MKM’s new mechanics are laying low on this prospective survey. Cryptic Coat, the most popular card to create facedown cards, is tested by fewer than 1 in 7 respondents, and the leaders for the new Case subtype, hybrid split card cycle, and Suspected mechanic all fall below that! Prior to MKM’s release, folks are trepidacious about this batch of mechanics.
“I hate how much I love most of the new cards! I don't think we will see these mechanics again, but I love their flavor.”
There’s also a possible flavor disconnect with Murders at Karlov Manor. It’s obvious, in hindsight, that MKM could not help but take a lighthearted approach to homicide. Even though Magic has always been a game of violence abstracted through cardboard, you can’t say that part out loud and still sell your game to tweens. Instead, you abstract “combat” and “life total” into numbers on the cards, and ensure 90% of your artwork just depicts harmless 'lil guys. In the rare case your card does need to depict interpersonal violence, add irony, magic, or dehumanization to make it mass-marketable. Santizing the violence of Murders at Karlov Manor gives it a pulpy, kitsch flavor — Thinking Cap’s silliness takes the edge off of Homicide Investigator — but when the entire cardfile is kitsch, it has the unintended effect of breaking immersion in Magic’s fantasy violence.
Couldn’t get enough criminally good writing for MKM? Well, you’re in luck: Lucky Paper is proud to welcome Usman Jamil, veteran Cube author and curator, for his personal set review of MKM, a close look at how playtest experience informs card evaluation.
Thanks, as always, for contributing to our community survey — and remember, kids, violence isn’t cool in real life!
Community Reviews and Discussion
More from Lucky Paper