For everyMagic: The Gatheringplayer, once the dust of each preview season has settled, a difficult question presents itself: which cards from this new set am I going to add to my collection? This question has only grown tougher over time as the quality of new Standard sets has increased, and Murders at Karlov Manor keeps this trend going.
The set is filled to the brim with exciting cards, many of which are destined for fame in one format or another. Some will get you more mileage than others, however, and we’ve gathered the best here today: ten worthy investments from Magic’s latest Ravnican rendezvous.
10Assassin’s Trophy
The Prodigal Spell Returns
New cards are always more flashy and exciting, but it’s often a wise move to invest in tried-and-tested reprints instead. And they don’t come more tried or tested than Assassin’s Trophy: an incredibly flexible removal spell that sees play in all manner of formats, from Pioneer to Modern.
The ability to answer any permanent of any cost for just two mana means that Assassin’s Trophy is never a dead card, all but guaranteeing it consideration in the majority ofcompetitive green/black decks. And with this reprint bringing the price down, there’s never been a better time to add this Trophy to your shelf.
9Aurelia, The Law Above
Somehow Flying Under The Radar
Given how powerful she is in Commander, to say nothing of the potential Standard applications of a five mana 4/4 hasty flier with upside, it’s surprising that Aurelia’s snazzy new form is a rare and not a mythic. It’s doubly surprising that, price-wise, she’s so affordable in the early days of Murders at Karlov Manor’s release.
For this reason, grabbing a copy or two of this aggressive Angel is one of the safest bets in the set. After all, it’s not often that you can pick up a Constructed curve-topper and a Commander all-star in one fell swoop.
8Cryptic Coat
A Creature Disguised As An Equipment
The unusual wording on Cryptic Coat makes it easy to overlook, but once you tally everything up, you’re left with a 3/2 unblockable with ward two for just three mana: an incredible rate for any kind of Tempo-based blue deck.
And that’s before you factor in the upsides of recurring the card to your hand and possibly uncloaking the creature wearing it later on.
All of this combined means the card has a very real shot at Standard play, and may even break into the likes of Pioneer and Commander as well. Take advantage of the fact that its true value is currently concealed and grab your copies now.
7Kaya, Spirit’s Justice
A Bold New Era For Reanimator Decks
Magic’s new ‘One planeswalker per set’ rule means that the ones we do get feel extra-special, and Kaya, Spirit’s Justice feels very special indeed. In a dedicated Tokens deck, she serves as a funkynew Reanimation option, letting you transform your 1/1 Spirits into beefy threats from beyond the grave.
Four mana is a great rate for an effect like this, and while Kaya doesn’t let you re-trigger enters-the-battlefield effects, she does stock your graveyard with the surveil on her +2, making her a fully self-sufficient engine when you factor in her token production capabilities. Reanimator decks are always around in some form or format, so Kaya has plenty of potential going forward.
6Warleader’s Call
A Multi-Format Multi-Tool
A not-so-delicate blend of Glorious Anthem and Impact Tremors, Warleader’s Call is the rare three-mana enchantmentthat Aggro decksmay actually want to play.
Buffing your board is naturally great with low-cost creatures and tokens, while the extra ping damage can help push you over the line in drawn-out matchups.
Thanks to the ‘each opponent’ clause on the ping ability, and the way boards can grow extra-wide in the format, Warleader’s Call will almost certainly be a Boros Commander staple. Factor in the constructed potential, and the card is a more-than-solid bet.
5Sharp-Eyed Rookie
The Second Coming Of Tireless Tracker
Anyone who was playing during Shadows Over Innistrad Standard will remember how ubiquitous Tireless Tracker was at the time.
Sharp-Eyed Rookie seems to be the heir to that card’s Clue-and-counter combo abilities, putting it rightfully on the radar of many players.
Just like its predecessor, Rookie is a scalable threat that can provide card advantage via Clues, making it ideal for any kind of Midrange deck. The fact that it requires creatures of escalating power to grow larger does make it more restrictive than Tracker, but the lower mana cost more than makes up for that.
4No Witnesses
Keeps The Board, And The Streets, Clean
There’s nothing quite like agood old-fashioned board wipe, and No Witnesses is as old-fashioned as they come. In fact, it’s just a few words away from being a straight-up Wrath of God reprint. If the continued popularity of that card in Commander has taught us anything, however, it’s that board wipes, no matter how old-fashioned, never go out of style.
The Clue generation effect here is a minor enough downside to ignore, especially for a four mana unconditional board wipe. It does give the card some extra flavor though, and some potential political applications that all but secure its future Commander playability.
3The Surveil Lands
Gives ‘Property Surveyor’ A Whole New Meaning
Just like in real life, the big money in Magic: The Gathering can often be made in land. More specifically, the cycles of dual-colored lands that adorn each new set like sparkling jewels.
Murders at Karlov Manor gives us one of the best we’ve ever seen in the Surveil Lands, ten tapped duals that let you surveil 1 when they enter play.
Crucially, these lands also come with basic land types, meaning you can grab them via Fetchlands to stack your graveyard at instant speed. This gives them multi-format potential, opening up new avenues that even the mighty Shocklands couldn’t pursue. And, of course, it goes without saying that they’ll see extensive play in Standard. As investments go, they don’t come safer than these ten lands.
2Crime Novelist
Enables Pages And Pages Of Combos
Long-time Magic players are well-versed in spotting the design cracks through which broken combos can slip, and Crime Novelist is definitely one of them.
A card with either Novelist’s counter-stacking ability or his mana generation one would likely be a candidate for instant-win infinite loops, but put the two together and you have a recipe for carnage.
There are enough applications here to give Crime Novelist a serious shot in Standard, Commander, and beyond, meaning he’ll likely be a bestseller before long. verify you pick up your copies while you can: first editions will be pricey soon.
1No More Lies
Mana Leak 2: The Leakening
No More Lies may be a ‘fixed’ Mana Leak thanks to its more restrictive mana cost, but it’s a Mana Leak all the same, and that means it’s atruly fantastic Counterspell. It even has a slight edge over Mana Leak thanks to its exile clause, which helps combat all sorts of graveyard shenanigans, from juicy Reanimator targets to flashback spells.
Blue/white Control decks in both Standard and Pioneer will benefit greatly from the addition of this card, and it may even see Commander play in specific lists.
This is the kind of card that could easily rise to ‘Mythic Uncommon’ status down the line, making it a great pickup in its current, affordable state.
