In recent years, Wizards of the Coast has consistently knocked it out of the park for MTG’s Q1 premier set. Between Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty and Phyrexia: All Will Be One, it seems Wizards just doesn’t miss. Loaded with stellar staples, fantastic flavor, and supplemental delights too, these sets have had it all. Thankfully, Murders at Karlov Manor continues this trend as the latest Q1 Standard-legal MTG set.
On top of having plenty of fantastic cards to spice up most MTG formats, Wizards has gone above and beyond. Not only is there the murder-mystery ARG, but there’s also a Clue crossover product; Ravnica: Clue Edition. On their own, each of these elements would make Murders at Karlov Manor a beloved set yet there’s still even more.
Playing into Murders at Karlov Manor’s fantastic murder-mystery theme, there’s now an entire MTG board game.
Murders at Karlov Manor: The Case of the Three Blade Knife
Created by Beadle & Grimm’s, Murders at Karlov Manor: The Case of the Three Blade Knife is a rather unusual MTG-based game. For starters, unlike Ravnica: Clue Edition, this product doesn’t include any MTG cards. Instead, this board game is a regular ol’ board game where “no previous knowledge of Magic: The Gathering is needed.”
Thankfully, while you don’t need to know how to play MTG, this board game is still very much MTG-related. Considering Murders at Karlov Manor is in the name, that really shouldn’t be a surprise at all. Through this obvious connection, the game offers another look into the world of Ravnica that MTG players should relish.
As for the game itself, The Case of the Three Blade Knife is aptly a murder mystery game with ARG elements. Centered around the “Ravnican Agency of Magicological Investigations” pin from Pinfinity, this collectible charm does it all. Providing a decoder, audio translator, hints, and the means to solve the game, you can’t get by without it.
Beyond this pin, within the game’s box, players will find 23 documents to actually solve the case with. Speaking of, this case has been provided to players by Tam Sennic, a virtually unseen character within the detective agency. The most we’ve seen and heard from Sennic so far is the flavor text on Griffnaut Tracker.
Unfortunately, as we alluded to before, Tam Sennic isn’t getting a card in this supplemental MTG product. Instead, hope for their appearance rests on Alchemy’s shoulders at this point. While this may be disappointing for some players, the game still looks like a great deal of fun.
It’s All Fun and Games
Unsurprisingly, to not ruin the fun, Beadle & Grimm’s hasn’t given away every detail about this murder mystery. From the sounds of things, however, this board game appears to be a great time all around. If you’re a fan of detective games, puzzle solving, escape rooms, and MTG too, this is definitely the product for you.
According to Beadle & Grimms, The Case of the Three Blade Knife will take around 60 to 120 minutes to complete. Suitable for between one and six players, it’s up to you how many people you share this experience with. As with most puzzle-solving board games, you’ll only be able to play this game for the first time once. Thanks to this, you’ll want to choose your teammates wisely, especially since this puzzle is “Medium/Difficult.”
Currently, thanks to an ongoing sale, you can pick up The Case of the Three Blade Knife for $39.99. While this might not seem too cheap, for comparison, a Murders at Karlov Manor Bundle is $45. Above this, a box of Raniva: Clue Edition will set you back $59.60 on Amazon at the moment.
Notably, when you purchase The Case of the Three Blade Knife, your order should be shipped to you immediately. This is a stark change to past Beadle & Grimm’s MTG products which have been plagued by production problems. Hopefully, this won’t happen again this time around, or ever again in the future for that matter.
Not The Only MTG ARG
Surprisingly, The Case of the Three Blade Knife isn’t the only ARG in MTG right now. Within the main Murders at Karlov Manor set Wizards is running their own Augmented Reality Game. Hosted through the Ravnica Detective Agency website, this unique MTG mystery is completely separate from Beadle & Grimm’s board game.
Not costing anything to play, Wizards ARG primarily takes place following Prerelease weekend. Once this kicks off, players will have new mysteries to solve each day before one final meta-mystery. When solved, this final piece of the puzzle will unlock a brand new epilogue story chapter.
Right now, MTG players who are on the case don’t know what they’re solving just yet. Within the main story chapters, Alquist Proft already solved the murder mystery, so that’s out of the question. Despite this mystery within a mystery, clues are already steadily being released and solved by players online.
With both these ARGs available for players to solve, Murders at Karlov Manor is definitely pushing flavor to new extremes. While we’d love to see this happen again in the future, it’s unlikely we’ll get another murder mystery set anytime soon. Hopefully, future MTG sets will be able to do their own thing, potentially with beloved Prerelease minigames. Ultimately, however, that may just be wishful thinking, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens.
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