While it’s not the first MTG set of 2024, Murders at Karlov Manor is certainly the most exciting so far. Boating new competitive staples to shake up the meta and Commander toys too, this set has it all. There’s even a murder-mystery ARG for players to solve too, a first for an MTG set!
With flavor, fun, and oodles of power, many players can’t wait to get their hands on Murders at Karlov Manor. Unfortunately, however, doing that may be easier said than done. For the first time in a little while, a premier MTG set has suffered a rather significant delay. Affecting players in North America, this delay may understandably temper the excitement around the set’s release somewhat.
Murders at Karlov Manor Bundle Delayed!
Late last night, Wizards of the Coast announced the unfortunate news that Murders at Karlov Manor Bundles had been delayed. Due to this, there will supposedly be “limited availability for Prerelease events” in North America. Unfortunately, there’s no indication of how widespread this issue will be at the moment.
According to Wizards of the Coats, this latest delay is “Due to a logistical issue.” Without any more details, it’s unclear if the covid-19 pandemic has caused this latest delay but it’s nonetheless a possibility. Whatever the case, MTG players hopefully won’t be left waiting for long as Wizards is working “to supply fans and stores as soon as possible.”
Typically, Bundles are typically a great middle-ground between individual packs and a full Booster Box. This is especially true for Murders at Karlov Manor thanks to Play Boosters changing the game. Now including nine Play Boosters, alongside land, a foil promo, and a spindown die the Bundle can be a great deal.
To find out more about whether or not you’ll be affected by this delay, Wizards encourages players to “check with your local game store for details.”
Disappointing, but Not the End of the World
At the end of the day, since only the Bundle is being delayed in North America, this delay is hardly catastrophic. After all, it sounds like Collector Boosters and the new Play Boosters should all be available as normal. While this is good news, many casual players may still feel hard done by, as buying a Booster Box is hardly cheap.
While the Bundle’s additional accessories admittedly aren’t too exciting, Murders at Karlov Manor does have one trick up its sleeves. Thanks to the ARG (Augmented Reality Game), every product in this set is important. According to Wizards, clues about the final meta-puzzle can specifically be found in the Bundle. Thanks to this, clue-hungry players don’t have a choice but to buy this product.
Currently, it’s unclear how many Bundles will need to be opened for all the clues to be found. Potentially, Bundles may only have one or two clues inside, however, there’s no telling for sure right now. If this mystery is truly as massive as hoped, this delay could throw a spanner in the works. Ultimately, we’re just going to have to wait and see how long this delay lasts and how long the massive MTG mystery remains unsolved.
Will It Ever End?
Unfortunately, while delays have become less common recently, it seems they’re still a threat. For better or worse, it seems that, nowadays, production problems are the ones causing issues more than anything else. As much as we would like to see fewer of these, and misprints in general, ultimately, MTG is a physical game, so these mistakes happen. As a result, it may only be a matter of time before we’re reporting on yet another delay.
For the time being, however, we’ll remain optimistic and hope this first delay of 2024 is also the last. Whether or not that will be the case, however, remains to be seen…
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