Exclusive MTG Murders at Karlov Manor Spoilers (Card Reveals)

As we return to Ravnica for a most unusual set, TechRaptor is happy to have the opportunity to reveal two new spoiler cards from Murders at Karlov Manor.

Wizards has provided us two Rare spoiler cards from the upcoming set, including extended art. Check them out below!

MTG: Murders at Karlov Manor Spoiler Card - Leyline of the Guildpact

Our first card is a call back to the original visit to Ravnica back in 2005-2006, only a couple years after I started playing Magic: The Gathering. Ravnica came right after the under powered Kamigawa block, and quickly became a fan favorite, which the setting has remained for the nearly 20 years since, with several past returns already behind us.

Here is Leyline of the Guildpact:

While best known for establishing the guilds, Ravnica block also had several weird cycles throughout it showing parts of the world. One of those, the Leylines, appeared in the second set of the block, Guildpact, and quickly cemented itself in Magic lore.

Their unique ability to be played for free if they were in your starting hand made them a favorite of casual and competitive players alike. They've proven to be popular enough for Wizards to revisit several times, and with this visit to Ravnica they are doing so again, albeit with a single card.

With this Leyline, we see a focus on the casual side of play, unlike with say Leyline of the Void, which has seen most of its play in competitive events. In Commander, Leyline of the Guildpact can essentially turn all of your creatures into Transguild Couriers, and makes all your lands all basic land types.

There is an important limitation on this effect: it doesn’t apply to cards outside of the battlefield, so you’ll have to watch out for non-synergies like Aragorn the Uniter that care about the colors of a card when you are casting it.

That doesn't mean there aren't a number of interesting things you can do with it, and there are some cards that play particularly well with this five color leyline. Here's a few that came to mind quickly:

• Jared Carthalion (As your commander perhaps)
• Iridian Maelstrom
• Knight of New Alara
• Bloom Tender
• Last Stand

Outside of Commander another card screams out due to its synergy with Leyline of the Guildpact: Coalition Victory (which is still banned in Commander). It loves Leyline of the Guildpact as a quick and easy way to make sure any creature and land meet its conditions for you to win.

MTG: Murders at Karlov Manor Spoiler Card - Lamplight Phoenix

That’s only the first card we had to show you though – our second is perhaps less bombastic but more likely to see competitive play. Not being five colors also helps it be usable to more folks, and it showcases a new mechanic in the set. Without further ado let me introduce you to Lamplight Phoenix, or as I like to call him Lampy

Lamplight Phoenix is one of the many red phoenix's with the ability to fly, and resurrect itself. In fact, as a a 3/3 Flying for 3 with no mana cost on his resurrection, he is one of the most efficient. While he could find a home in aggressive decks, it seems more likely he'll be at home in midrange decks where he can accrue value by being a difficult to handle threat.

With Rakdos Midrange being a player in Standard, which is seeing relevance for the first time in a while with the current Regional Qualifiers, he might see some play there as he can work well with that deck’s plan.

Lampy will also probably pop up in commander decks where he can wear some equipment and keep going after opponents. He also fills a key point in Pheonix typal decks, where cheaper creatures are always at a premium.

What is Collect Evidence in Magic: The Gathering?

One of the new mechanics in Murders at Karlov Manor is Collect Evidence, and Lamplight Phoenix uses it for the phoenix’s resurrection ability.

Collect Evidence (Number) has you exile cards from your graveyard with a combined mana value equal to or greater than the number to trigger the effect. For Lamplight Phoenix, that means you need to exile cards with a total mana value of 4 or more when it dies to return it to the battlefield.

Throughout Murders at Karlov Manor, Collect Evidence is used in a variety of ways. We see in different preview cards it is used as a Ward cost (your opponent needs to collect some evidence to target your creature), as essentially a kicker cost (collect evidence for this bonus effect), an activated ability cost, and more.

While other mechanics have played in the area of exiling from the graveyard for effects, Collect Evidence seems to be one of the more versatile, but also lacking some of the brokenness of things like Delve.

Murders at Karlov Manor is a fascinating set, and both of the preview cards that Wizards of the Coast was kind enough to supply us with are interesting fits in their own way. I look forward to seeing the rest of the set revealed in the coming days – and tell me what you think about these cards in the comments below!