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There are a variety of enchantment types inMagic: The Gathering:The standard ones that affect the whole battlefield, Auras that attach to a specific creature, land, or artifact, Backgrounds that can be part of your command zone, and Sagas that tell a story, to name a few. Among these enchantments, players might encounter Cases, a subtype of enchantment that progresses when you meet certain criteria. So, how do they work?
Cases might seem like a mystery to some players, but for those willing to investigate, they can be a great tool to add to your favorite deck. So grab your magnifying glass and get ready to crack the case on Cases.
What Are Cases?
Cases are a subtype of enchantmentintroduced in Murders at Karlov Manor. UnlikeSagas, which represent telling stories that already happened, Cases represent you being actively involved in a murder mystery. While each Case has a beneficial ability right off the bat,you’reencouraged to solve the Case to earn another, more useful effect.
The standard ability, on the top of the card, has no special criteria: it’s always active. Most of these abilities only occur when the case enters the battlefield, but they can also be triggered in other ways, such as Case of the Pilfered Proof, which has a triggered ability that adds a +1/+1 counter to your Detectives whenever they enter the battlefield under your control.
The second ability, the “to solve” ability, only has one effect:If you’ve met the criteria to solve the case, the case gains the “solved” status at the beginning of your end step. For Case of the Pilfered Proof, you solve the case as soon as you reach your end step with three Detectives in play.
Effects that end your turn early or cause you to skip your end step will prevent Cases from being solved. If you meet the criteria to solve after the start of your end step, the Case will not be solved until your next end step, assuming the case is still solved.
Once you’ve successfully solved a case, the third and final ability becomes active. Looking back at Case of the Pilfered Proof, when this Case is solved it gains a replacement effect that creates a Clue token whenever a token comes into play under your control. Whether you need more artifacts or more card draw, this is a great way to get more value from your token generation.
The Solved ability can be activated, triggered, or passive, andthe case remains solved and retains that ability until it leaves the battlefield. If it’s an activated ability, you can use that ability at any time as long as the case remains solved.
Effects that remove your Cases from the battlefield and return them afterwards will cause the case to lose its solved status. Remember this before you use a blink effect to protect them!
Solving A Case
Each Case has its own criteria to solve, usually relating to the first ability. For example, if a Case deals damage when it enters the battlefield, it may need you to deal damage with three different sources in one turn to be solved. Since it has already done damage, you would only need two creatures to deal combat damage to solve the case.
Once a Case has been solved, it remains solved for as long as it remains in play. A Case Solved indicator can be placed on the case as a reminder of the solved status, but this marker is only to make it easier to remember and is not removed by effects that affect counters.A solved case cannot be solved againandremains solved even if another player gains control of it.
Removing a Case from the battlefield and returning it to play will reset the solved status. You can use this to reset your opponent’s cases and deny access to the “solved” ability.
What Color Are Cases?
Cases are fairlyevenly distributed between all five colors, but are slightly more common in white and blue. There are three white cases, four blue, two black, two red, two green, and one colorless case.
