By exploring the powerful and unexpected cards of Murders at Karlov Manor, we discover strategies that exceed expectations.
Whenever players take a look at a new set of cards, there are a few that immediately stand out. “Murders at Karlov Manor,” of course, is no exception.
“Insidious Roots” seems like an immediate choice for Yawgmoth's combo, “Archdruid's Charm” looks amazing in various combo decks, and “No More Lies” fits any Azorius control deck like a glove.
However, the cards that usually surprise players are the ones they don't expect. Which cards in "Murders at Karlov Manor" are good in a slightly hidden way? Let's take a look, starting with the new Surveil lands!
The Surveil Lands
The ten new double Surveil lands will definitely see play, but the question was how much. Early tournament play suggests the answer is something like “a lot more than people expected.”
These Surveil lands are a natural choice for non-cEDH Commander decks. In addition to offering card selection and having basic land types, these Surveil lands are also searchable and work with many different buried synergies, providing card selection. “Under the Thorns,” for example, is the perfect card for one of the new Karlov Manor precons.
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In Standard and Pioneer, Surveil lands will likely see play. Triomes goes a long way toward stabilizing some manabases, which could force them to be replaced, but any deck interested in the Surveil synergies these cards offer probably couldn't ignore them.
In Pioneer, Temples still see play in decks like Lotus Field Combo. Early lands don't have to go to waste in this deck, and the extra card selection is incredibly valuable when you're trying to draw a combo start. However, because the deck wins by dealing with Emergent Ultimatum, you don't necessarily want to move cards to your graveyard. In contrast, "Lier, Disciple of the Drowned" and "Dark Request" love cards in your graveyard.
In Modern, however, while there's certainly potential for these Surveil lands to be important because of the Fetch lands that find them, many wondered if the card selection was worth the trade-off of bringing the land in unmoved. After a weekend of play, that perspective completely changed.
Better Than We Expected
Those who tried out the Surveil lands over the weekend at SCG Hartford were impressed. Based on the testimony of a few different players who performed well this weekend, the new Surveil lands could become a standard in the best current Modern deck.
Many players tried out some Surveil lands in Crashing Footfalls decks this weekend, and they all had the same thing to say about them: they're absolutely devastating.
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“Surveil lands are devastating.” In many scenarios, in a deck like Crashing Footfalls, you don’t have much to do in the first turn. Aside from sighing out Crashing Footfalls, which isn’t ideal anyway, there’s not much this deck is trying to do right from the start. You still have the option to Fetch for a useless land if you need to, but if not, you can better capitalize by fixing your card selection and fueling graveyard synergies like Murktide Regent.
Everyone who tried out Surveil lands this weekend has a lot to say about them. If you're running a deck that doesn't necessarily need a bunch of useless lands on the first few turns all the time, you should consider trying out some Surveil lands!
Cryptic Coat
Cryptic Coat would have had players screaming at the stars a few years ago. Back in the days when Jace, the Mind Sculptor, and Stoneforge Mystic dominated the Modern format, this would have been an obvious frontrunner. While Cryptic Coat still looks powerful, this Living Weapon-style gear may be more powerful than it seems.
Because of its ability to return to its owner's hand, Cryptic Coat can provide a ton of value and be difficult to remove properly. Even if your card guard card falls, you can simply return the coat to your hand and deploy it again. Between being very difficult to remove and providing a lot of value, Cryptic Coat can be surprisingly powerful.
Case of the Stashed Skeleton
Any deck that can use Case of the Stashed Skeleton and can resolve its Case well enough should probably want this card. One existing archetype that seems to want this card is Creativity in Pioneer, and maybe even Modern. Case of the Stashed Skeleton not only creates a token that can be used for Indomitable Creativity, but if the token somehow dies, you can resolve Case of the Stashed Skeleton for a Demonic Tutor.
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This could also be a strong reason for Creativity on Pioneer to continue playing Make Disappear. You can use the Causality reason to get rid of your Skeleton and solve the case. Currently, Pioneer Creativity is not playing white, so No More Lies may be a less natural upgrade.
This could alternatively be a decent option in Rakdos Sacrifice, creating a 'silver bullet' system that the deck can exploit. Between Deadly Dispute and Witch's Oven, getting rid of Suspected Skeleton is a breeze. Using Case of the Stashed Skeleton's "Solved" ability also involves sacrificing it, which has its smaller synergies.
While Case of the Stashed Skeleton can be worth playing, at worst, it's just a 2/1 Skeleton that can't even block. Make sure you can use this Case to its fullest if you play it, as it's quite a blocker if you can't.
Repulsive Mutation
Repulsive Mutation may not be powerful enough to play outside of Standard, but the card could be a fantastic addition to tempo strategies. Repulsive Mutation has the unique application of both boosting your board presence and countering a spell, making it an extremely powerful tempo play.
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An important point with this card is that it doesn't need to counter a spell, allowing Repulsive Mutation to be used simply as a combat trick. This also means that Repulsive Mutation won't be able to counter a spell if you don't have a creature in play, and it can fail from instant speed removal, just like any other combat trick.
However, Repulsive Mutation at its peak is disgustingly powerful. Any Commander deck that cares about +1/+1 counters or X spells is also likely to appreciate this card. If played carefully, Repulsive Mutation can provide a lot of value, creating a powerful, disruptive game plan.
Information source: mtgrocks.com
