Murders at Karlov Manor is coming up on us awfully fast, and there are some really cool themes going on. Unsurprisingly, one of these themes focuses on the Investigate mechanic. When trying to solve cases in a murder-mystery environment, it makes perfect sense that a lot of the cards in the set would lead to specific Clues about the murder(s) in question.
From a new functional reprint (outside of Creature type) of
Thraben Inspector
Thraben Inspector
When this creature enters, investigate. (Create a Clue token. It's an artifact with "{2}, Sacrifice this token: Draw a card.")
to a unique Creature that can do a solid
Sphinx’s Revelation
Sphinx’s Revelation
You gain X life and draw X cards.
impression, some of the spoilers showcased thus far make Clues a priority. Today, we’re going to focus on an excellent newly spoiled Commander that takes Clue generation to the next level. This card is none other than Teysa, Opulent Oligarch.
Teysa has the ability to generate a ton of Clues in multiplayer games every turn cycle, while also rewarding you for sacrificing those Clues. Let’s take a closer look at the powerful legend and how best to maximize the resources it generates.
Maximizing Clue Production in Multiplayer Games
Teysa is a rather efficient Commander that has the ability to provide something Orzhov Commander decks sometimes lack: card advantage. On your end step, you get to generate a Clue token for each opponent who lost life this turn. In a multiplayer game, this can get out of control rather quickly. The key is to make use of cards that can repeatedly drain EACH opponent. Fortunately, there are a number of synergistic cards to pair with Teysa.
One of the absolute easiest ways to make sure that each opponent loses life, even the turn you cast Teysa, is with Extort cards.
Blind Obedience
Blind Obedience
Extort (Whenever you cast a spell, you may pay {W/B}. If you do, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain that much life.)
Artifacts and creatures your opponents control enter tapped.
and even Tithe Drinker provide efficient ways to drain every opponent of life at once. For instance, with access to four mana and either of these cards in play, you can cast Teysa, pay one mana for Extort, and on your end step, you will end up with a Clue token for each opponent in your Commander game.
There are also a handful of cards that can convert those Clues into a way to force each opponent to lose life. Cards like Lobelia, Defender of Bag End let you sacrifice Clues to drain each opponent, thereby netting you even more Clues thanks to Teysa.
Mirkwood Bats
Mirkwood Bats
Flying
Whenever you create or sacrifice a token, each opponent loses 1 life.
is especially strong here, as you get to make each opponent lose life whether you are generating Clues, sacrificing them, or creating Spirit tokens.
Each time you sacrifice one of these Clues, you end up with a 1/1 Spirit token with Flying. This ability does only trigger once each turn, but in a multiplayer game, you may be able to crack a Clue on each opponent’s turn, thereby netting additional tokens. What’s nice is that, even if you run out of Extort cards or cards like Mirkwood Bats to make things easy, if your opponents don’t have Fliers, the Spirits Teysa creates can simply attack your opponents, forcing them to lose life that way.
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Converting Clues into Important Resources
The one downside with Clues, however, is cracking them in the traditional fashion can be a bit slow. Given how many Clue tokens Teysa is capable of creating over the course of the game, it’s nice to have a way to make sure that your Clue generation reaps you rewards beyond just inefficient card advantage. Perhaps the strongest card in tandem with Teysa’s Clue production is Academy Manufactor. For each Clue token you make, you also net that many Food tokens and Treasure tokens.
The Treasure tokens are especially important, as they provide extra mana to either crack Clues or cast cards you draw off of them. Add Mirkwood Bats or Marionette Master into the mix, and your opponents will start losing life rapidly.
It’s also important to be able to make use of your excess Clue tokens in a way that doesn’t require extra mana input. For instance, to help cast bigger spells,
Inspiring Statuary
Inspiring Statuary
Nonartifact spells you cast have improvise. (Your artifacts can help cast those spells. Each artifact you tap after you're done activating mana abilities pays for {1}.)
plays a nice role in allowing you to use your extra Clues to build a bigger board.
Thorough Investigation
Thorough Investigation
Whenever you attack, investigate. (Create a Clue token. It's an artifact with "{2}, Sacrifice this token: Draw a card.")
Whenever you sacrifice a Clue, venture into the dungeon. (Enter the first room or advance to the next room.)
allows you to go to Venture into the Dungeon whenever you sacrifice a Clue, which works nicely in conjunction with cards like
Krark-Clan Ironworks
Krark-Clan Ironworks
Sacrifice an artifact: Add {C}{C}.
or Tamiyo’s Journal that allow you to sacrifice Clues without spending mana to crack them.
Speaking of which, Tamiyo’s Journal allows you to take three Clue tokens and essentially exchange them for any card in your deck. This is an excellent luxury to have access to, especially given how impactful specific cards like Academy Manufactor can be on the game. You can even use it to set up multi-card combos, such as the infinite card draw and colorless mana combo achieved with Manufactor,
Krark-Clan Ironworks
Krark-Clan Ironworks
Sacrifice an artifact: Add {C}{C}.
, and the soon to be released
Nuka-Cola Vending Machine
Nuka-Cola Vending Machine
{1}, {T}: Create a Food token. (It's an artifact with "{2}, {T}, Sacrifice this token: You gain 3 life.")
Whenever you sacrifice a Food, create a tapped Treasure token. (It's an artifact with "{T}, Sacrifice this token: Add one mana of any color.")
.
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Absurd Token Generation
If you really want to kick things into high gear, you can also use cards that double the number of tokens you create. For example,
Anointed Procession
Anointed Procession
If an effect would create one or more tokens under your control, it creates twice that many of those tokens instead.
lets you create double the number of Clue tokens and Spirit tokens from Teysa. In a four-player Commander game, that means you can generate up to six Clues on each of your end steps, which can really get out of hand.
Mondrak, Glory Dominus
Mondrak, Glory Dominus
If one or more tokens would be created under your control, twice that many of those tokens are created instead.
{1}{W/P}{W/P}, Sacrifice two other artifacts and/or creatures: Put an indestructible counter on Mondrak. ({W/P} can be paid with either {W} or 2 life.)
works the same way, except you can also use those tokens to give Mondrak Indestructible at will, making it rather difficult to remove. Given the massive number of Clue tokens you can create, even cards like
All that Glitters
All that Glitters
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 for each artifact and/or enchantment you control.
become appealing. Getting to make one of the Flying tokens created by Teysa into a massive threat on its own is nice.
In a multiplayer EDH setting, the world really is your oyster with Teysa in the Command Zone. Murders at Karlov Manor looks like a super cool set, and we are just getting started!
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