Now that Wizards of the Coast has returned from their well-deserved holiday break, we’ve already shifted back into high gear. It has literally only been two days and we’ve already had announcements, apologies, and teasers galore! As if that wasn’t enough, we’re just days away from an entire set launching!
While Ravnica Remastered is definitely an enticing set that’s jam-packed with reprints, another set is already stealing the limelight. Scheduled to release on February 9th, Murders at Karlov Manor is already stealing the show. With story chapters beginning to release, players have already witnessed the death of two classic MTG characters.
As impactful as the aforementioned deaths are, curiously, they’re not the most important reveal from Wizards recently. That honor, instead, goes to an adorable mole who seems to have kicked off the biggest mystery surrounding this murder mystery set.
A Mystery Wrapped in an Enigma
Playing into the theme of Murders at Karlov Manor, Wizards is making this set rather special. Rather than having everything play out during the set’s story, there are also mysteries that players can solve as well. For the most part, these will occur during the prerelease weekend, however, there is a grander mystery too.
Spanning the entire set’s spoiler, story, and prerelease season, Murders at Karlov Manor is one big whodunnit. Well, that’s the expectation, at least, as Wizards is keeping their cards close to their chest. What we do know is that this mystery is big, spanning all products and online information too.
While we may not know what we’re solving yet, it seems this major mystery’s first clue has been revealed already. Kicking things off on Twitter, it seems the first piece of the puzzle is being held by a rather adorable mole. As you can see above, the Mole, which I’m calling Terrance, appears to be holding a map. More than just being a regular ol’ map, this map of Ravnica has curious writing on it.
From the looks of things, it appears there are definitely more pieces of this map to be revealed. Thankfully, when they do arrive they shouldn’t be too hard to spot as they’re quite obviously added in. Once all together, hopefully, the letters on the map will actually mean something, as right now they’re gibberish.
Ultimately, considering how spiced in this map fragment looks, it’s certainly a clue to the larger mystery. What it means, however, is anyone’s guess, as this is the first concrete clue we have. While it doesn’t mean anything in isolation, hopefully, it’ll all make sense once more is revealed.
A Real Murder Mystery
We’re getting into some major story spoilers from here on out. If you haven’t read chapters two and three of Murders at Karlov Manor and care about spoilers, we recommend doing so before proceeding.
While the larger mystery is an enticing prospect, it’s rather nebulous right now. The same cannot be said, however, for the Murders at Karlov Manor story chapters which are very much real. Having resumed on Monday, this set’s story certainly isn’t waiting around. In just two days, two classic characters from Ravnica have been killed!
Kicking things off, in the first story chapter of 2024, Wizards didn’t hesitate to kill off Zegana. Formerly the Merfolk Guildmaster of the Simic Combine, this rarely-seen character was left in quite a state. Rather than being pulverized, however, Zegana’s body was purposefully presented, presumably by the killer.
Surrounded by coats of different quality, black flower petals, and no visible wounds, this death is certainly a mystery. For better or worse, however, the murderer behind this act surprisingly isn’t. In the next story chapter, it was revealed that Etrata, the Silencer did the deed.
While this may seem like an open and shut case, Etrata was mind-controlled while they did a bit of murder. As a result, according to master detective Alquist Proft, Etrata “was no more culpable than a knife.” Thanks to this major detail the hunt for the real killer behind all this remains ongoing.
Unfortunately for the named characters of Ravnica, it seems their spree is far from over. In the same chapter, another familiar face, Teysa Karlov turned up dead. Found alongside a broken statue and a piece of paper, it was revealed that Teysa might have been working with the Phyrexians.
While this tidbit is distressing, Teysa did have it coming somewhat after revealing they had vital information. Just like being a few days away from retirement, it’s best to keep that to yourself lest the killer get any ideas.
The Mystery Is Just Beginning
Ultimately, while there has already been a lot of goings-on, we’re just at the start of Murders at Karlov Manor’s story. Running until the 18th of January, players can expect to see a lot more ups, downs, and deaths. Exactly what will happen, however, remains a mystery that we’ll have to keep our peepers peeled for.
Alongside the story chapters, which we’ll hopefully be getting daily, more mysterious MTG ARG elements are sure to be revealed. Just like the first, there’s no guarantee these will mean anything right away, however, they’ll all lead to something. Just like what’s to come in the story, what this mystery even is is still a mystery. As such, we’re just going to have to wait and see what the future brings.
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