For better or worse, Murders at Karlov Manor is changing a whole lot of things. This is all thanks to the introduction of Play Boosters. Replacing both Draft and Set Boosters, this brand-new pack supposedly offers the best of both worlds. While this sounds all well and good, multiple major changes are being made.
Much to the delight of many MTG players, one of the biggest changes is happening to The List. Rather than being a bloated assortment of reprints new and old, this Set Booster feature is being dramatically cut down. Slashed from 300 cards down to just 50, The List is now a refined collection of reprints. Found within Play Boosters, The List cards are legal in Draft, should you find one.
As if this wasn’t enough of a shake-up already, the introduction of Play Boosters means The List is coming to MTG Arena. Delivering new reprints to the game with each MTG set, this feature could be a massive boon. That will be the case, at least, provided Wizards doesn’t change things around too much…
While this is a disheartening possibility, there’s good news for Murders at Karlov Manor. Not only is MTG Arena getting some surprise much-needed reprints, but the Special Guests are coming too. This new sub-set of cards features new art, stunning flavor, and value galore, once again exciting fans!
To put it lightly, The List is looking absolutely spectacular Murders at Karlov Manor!
The List 2.0
Following swiftly on from Murders at Karlov Manor’s debut livestream, Wizards has revealed the latest version of The List. Thankfully, this reveal isn’t nearly as daunting as before, thanks to it being significantly cut down. That being said, however, there’s still an awful lot to cover thanks to the scale of the changes.
As was expected upon Wizards’ initial announcement, a lot of the chaff from The List has mercifully been cut. While this sounds like good news, Wizards hasn’t left all the best bombs alone, as they’ve been cut too. Replacing these cards, The List is now full of Ravnica and murder-mystery-themed reprints.
Since cards on The List can now be found within Play Boosters, this flavorful move is undeniably a positive. The question remains, however, how is The List’s value looking after being struck down in size? Thankfully, still pretty good!
At the new top end for The List, we now have
Ranger-Captain of Eos
Ranger-Captain of Eos
When this creature enters, you may search your library for a creature card with mana value 1 or less, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.
Sacrifice this creature: Your opponents can't cast noncreature spells this turn.
, at $32. Having never been reprinted before, this new variant could be a godsend to bring the price down. Taking a large step down,
Mass Hysteria
Mass Hysteria
All creatures have haste.
and
Worldspine Wurm
Worldspine Wurm
Trample
When this creature dies, create three 5/5 green Wurm creature tokens with trample.
When Worldspine Wurm is put into a graveyard from anywhere, shuffle it into its owner's library.
are only worth around $9. Below this, only a few cards like
Molten Psyche
Molten Psyche
Each player shuffles the cards from their hand into their library, then draws that many cards.
Metalcraft — If you control three or more artifacts, Molten Psyche deals damage to each opponent equal to the number of cards that player has drawn this turn.
are worth $5 ish before prices plummet.
Ultimately, only a handful of cards are capable of paying for a pack, so there’s no shortage of Draft chaff. While this may seem rather dire, it’s worth remembering that the list is considerably smaller now. As a result, the lack of bombs may seem disappointing, but there is still a good percentage of them. At current prices, 15% of The List’s cards are worth around the $5 mark.
Special Guests Are Spectacular
To date, we may have only seen 28 Special Guests, however, there’s no denying how good they look. This was true for The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, and it’s certainly true for Murders at Karlov Manor. With each card playing into the set’s aesthetics and themes, these cards are an utter joy to behold.
On their own, this detail is sure to make these cards desirable, especially since many of them see consistent play.
Gamble
Gamble
Search your library for a card, put that card into your hand, discard a card at random, then shuffle.
and
Fabricate
Fabricate
Search your library for an artifact card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.
, for instance, are both fan-favorite tutors in Commander. Alongside this,
Crashing Footfalls
Crashing Footfalls
Suspend 4—{G} (Rather than cast this card from your hand, pay {G} and exile it with four time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter. When the last is removed, you may cast it without paying its mana cost.)
Create two 4/4 green Rhino creature tokens with trample.
is a true competitive staple within Modern.
For better or worse, while each of the new Special Guests looks utterly gorgeous, unfortunately, they’re not all super expensive. The majority of Special Guests aren’t worth even $5, however, there are some exceptions. Typically selling for $21 each,
Show and Tell
Show and Tell
Each player may put an artifact, creature, enchantment, or land card from their hand onto the battlefield.
and
Field of the Dead
Field of the Dead
This land enters tapped.
{T}: Add {C}.
Whenever this land or another land you control enters, if you control seven or more lands with different names, create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token.
are true value bombs!
While these cards may be what many players are hunting for, as reprints, these cards may be rather naff. As Special Guests, these cards are going to appear within 1.56% of Murders at Karlov Manor Play Boosters. Should all things be created equal, this means there’s a 0.078% chance of finding any specific card.
Technically, since countless Murders at Karlov Manor Play Boosters should be opened, these reprints could still work. Chances are, however, that past precedent will continue. Looking back the Special Guests from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan’s barely moved the average pricing needle. In fact, the new variants of these cards are actually more expensive in most cases!
Ultimately, while Special Guests may not be the best reprints for MTG, there’s no denying they’re a great addition to The List. Hopefully, every set’s cards can continue to impress.
MTG Arena Get It All! Almost…
As mentioned previously, for the first time, The List is coming to MTG Arena. Delivering a bounty of new reprints, there’s definitely a lot for Arena players to look forward to. Unfortunately, however, not every card is new to Arena, and some cards are being swapped out. This means that Murders at Karlov Manor Limited isn’t exactly 1:1 between MTG Arena and paper.
While the digital discrepancy is a concern, The List for Murders at Karlov Manor still brings a lot of good. On The List itself, 17 of the 40 reprints are brand-new additions to MTG Arena. For the most part, these won’t see play, however, there are some great cards in here too. Brawl players, for instance, should be delighted to see
Monologue Tax
Monologue Tax
Whenever an opponent casts their second spell each turn, you create a Treasure token.
is finally coming to Arena.
Alongside this Commander favorite,
Mass Hysteria
Mass Hysteria
All creatures have haste.
,
Kuldotha Rebirth
Kuldotha Rebirth
As an additional cost to cast this spell, sacrifice an artifact.
Create three 1/1 red Goblin creature tokens.
and
Ixidor, Reality Sculptor
Ixidor, Reality Sculptor
Face-down creatures get +1/+1.
{2}{U}: Turn target face-down creature face up.
are all great additions. As interesting as these cards are, however, they’re nothing compared to the real prize draws that MTG Arena is getting. Bizarrely, MTG Arena is unexpectedly getting a major Pioneer staple!
Thanks to the opportunity The List now provides, on MTG Arena, three cards are being swapped out. Rather than getting
Death Cloud
Death Cloud
Each player loses X life, discards X cards, sacrifices X creatures of their choice, then sacrifices X lands of their choice.
and two needless reprints, Arena players are getting three brand-new cards. Within this trio is the hugely requested addition of
Smuggler’s Copter
Smuggler’s Copter
Flying
Whenever this Vehicle attacks or blocks, you may draw a card. If you do, discard a card.
Crew 1 (Tap any number of creatures you control with total power 1 or more: This Vehicle becomes an artifact creature until end of turn.)
.
Following the recent bans in Pioneer, the popularity of Smuggler’s Copter has absolutely exploded. In fact, right now Smuggler’s Copter is used in the format’s second most popular and powerful deck. Since Explorer is meant to be parallel to Pioneer, the omission of this card was quite a glaring fault. Thankfully, it has now been fixed.
Long Live The List
For both MTG Arena and paper players, The List for Murders at Karlov Manor looks seriously strong. Hopefully, this trend will continue long into the future, with The List providing plenty of fun, flavor, and value. For MTG Arena players, hopefully, The List can be an alternative to future Anthology sets, however, that might be wishful thinking.
At the end of the day, it’s important to remember that The List is part of Play Boosters now. As a result, Wizards of the Coast will have to balance The List’s cards around Limited. Alongside this, the refined version of The List is meant to be more flavorful, with fewer random and unexplained inclusions. For better or worse, due to this, players might not have all their hopes and dreams come true.
Even with this in mind, it seems that The List is a great addition to Play Boosters. Whether or not these supplemental cards will play nice, however, remains to be seen. For that, we’re just going to have to wait for the set’s official launch, which isn’t until February.
Read More: Murders at Karlov Manor Debut Reveals Four New MTG Mechanics