To kick off 2024, Wizards of the Coast is turning MTG’s story up to eleven. For Murders at Karlov Manor, Wizards is running a full-on murder mystery. Rather than this all being spelled out in the set’s story, players will actually have to solve this case themselves!
After being announced by Wizards earlier this week, it’s safe to say that many MTG players were excited. Pouring over the set’s initial story chapter, players have already begun trying to solve the case. In their eagerness to do this, no stone is being left unturned, with every bizarre, potentially accidental, detail being scrutinized.
Just hours after the set’s First Look, MTG players may have already found the first clue in the puzzle. Either that or players are just looking too deep into a production mistake.
A Very Suspicious Spindown
Currently, the murder mystery at the heart of Murders at Karlov Manor is only in its opening stages. While it has been confirmed that the set will feature multiple murders and even more attempts, none have happened so far. Well, not on screen, at least, as the first story chapter ends before we can get to that juicy reveal.
Since nothing has happened yet, technically, MTG players are early to both the murders and mystery of the murder mystery. This doesn’t mean, however, that there aren’t potential clues floating about already. Eager to sniff them out, some MTG players have been inspecting every potential detail for a revelatory hint.
Miraculously, despite the lack of action, MTG players may have already found something. Within the product images for Murders at Karlov Manor on the Wizards Play Network website, there’s a curious detail missing. Specifically, the Spindown from the set’s Bundle Box appears to be miraculously missing the number 16… Coincidence? Many players don’t seem to think so.
Taking their discovery and theory to Reddit, u/skyteddy pointed out this unusual production oddity. Asking the community if this could be a clue, it wasn’t long before the suggestions and speculation came flooding in. Unfortunately, the majority of these suggestions weren’t all too helpful.
Across Reddit, players were quick to meme this situation into the ground. To do this, some players highlighted Wizards often troubled quality control, while others joked about the identity of the murderer. If you took these suggestions seriously, the current main suspect is the 16/16 behemoth of Impervious Greatwurm.
Alternatively, and a little more sensibly, players like u/Fyller theorized that “card no. 0016 in the set is the killer!” While this is one possibility, this detail being revealed so early would be an unusual choice.
A Mystery Wrapped in Fifteen Enigmas
Currently, while the missing 16 on the Murders at Karlov Manor Bundle spindown is certainly interesting, there’s no guarantee it means anything. As players half-jokingly pointed out, this could be a genuine production mistake, after all. Personally, this being the case seems unlikely, as Wizards is usually quick to fix this kind of thing.
As a recent example, earlier this week, Wizards accidentally revealed most of the Ravnica: Clue Edition cards. These were leaked through a promotional image which was a little too readable, even with half the cards being covered. Shortly after the mistake was spotted, the image was replaced with the current image, which doesn’t feature the unannounced cards.
Considering the product images still contain the spindown with the missing 16, it doesn’t seem like a mistake. As a result, this 16 may genuinely be a clue about the mystery of Murders at Karlov Manor. Either that or this curious detail could be part of one of the many smaller puzzles from the set.
According to WeeklyMTG host Blake Rasmussen, Murders at Karlov Manor features “a series of puzzles that you are going to solve.” These will be found across social media, throughout the set, and within products. These puzzles will begin during the set’s Prerelease, starting on February 2nd. Overall there will be 15 puzzles for players to solve, alongside the overarching major “meta” mystery.
With 15, technically 16, puzzles to solve, it seems like this missing spindown number is pointing toward something. Whether it’s just a reference to the number of puzzles or something larger, however, remains to be seen. Right now, we’re likely too far away from the set’s release to be putting the pieces together. Still, it’ll be worth keeping this oddity in mind, especially if the physical dice have this missing number too.
I Actually Can’t Wait
For better or worse, it seems that it’s currently far too early to make any real mystery-solving deductions. Sure, it may look like Teysa Karlov is dead on the Collector Booster packaging, but this could easily be a red herring. Ultimately, we’re just going to have to wait and see what happens throughout the set’s story and spoiler seasons.
While there’s no telling how it will go, we can’t deny that we’re incredibly excited about Murders at Karlov Manor’s mysteries. If we can genuinely solve the murder mystery plot ourselves, this set is going to be one to remember. We can only hope that Wizards doesn’t make things too obvious and spoil what could be an incredible occasion.
Outside of the overarching major mystery, the 15 other puzzles should hopefully be a delight for players to enjoy. Right now, we don’t know what the gameplay of these puzzles will be, but we’ve nevertheless got high hopes. Considering how fun prerelease events used to be, Murders at Karlov Manor could herald an incredible return to form.
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