Murders at Karlov Manor Set Review - Allied & Shards

Rakdos, Patron of Chaos
by Ivan Shavrin

White | Blue | Black | Red | Green | Artifacts & Lands | Allied Colors & Shards | Enemy Colors & Wedges | cEDH | Reprints | Budget/Pauper

A MURDER, YOU SAY?

Uh-oh! Somebody's been murdered! And we have cards about it! Allied gold cards and shards for my review today, so that means Azorius, Dimir, Gruul, Rakdos, Selesnya, Bant, Esper, Grixis (like Nicol Bolas, hmm, why's that important?), Jund, and Naya cards. I don't expect many three-colored cards, but I'll be happy to see 'em if we get any!

Mythics

Alquist Proft, Master Sleuth

Our first mythic of the set is Sherlock Holmes! Or Benoit Blanc for those of us who prefer Daniel Craig in our bumbling genius detective roles.

Alquist Proft was a lot of fun in the story, as you'd expect. He's also pretty splashy as a mythic, with his activated ability calling back to a Standard all-star of old, Sphinx's Revelation

. Proft enters and creates a Clue for you to sacrifice to the activated ability of SphinxRev. He also has vigilance, so if you want your detective to throw hands and still be able to have an epiphany, you have the option.

So what does this mean? Honestly, I don't know! This feels like a control player's dream in 60-card formats, so why wouldn't it be similar in Commander? Putting Proft in a blink deck in these colors to stockpile Clues before strategically packing up your hand while holding Counterspell

s seems like the best place for him. That said, there currently isn't a Clue commander in these colors or beyond, really. Does Proft take the lead here as a Clue control deck leader? What I wouldn't give for an Esper commander that loves Clues so I can have Proft and Eloise, Nephalia Sleuth

work a case together! Maybe Urza, Chief Artificer

or Breya, Etherium Shaper

will do!

Anzrag, the Quake-Mole

If you've been on Twitter at all for this preview season, you've basically watched the community crowd-build this deck in real time. It should come as no surprise that Anzrag is very likely to be the most popular commander from this set.

For starters, Anzrag is a freaking Mole God. I'm sorry, let me say that again. Anzrag, the Quake-Mole

is a freaking Mole God. How great is that!

Now, of course, there are a few things to note about Anzrag and its abilities. For starters, Anzrag only has four toughness, so if you aren't making it indestructible, giving it first/double strike, or making its butt bigger, it's possible you won't get more than a single extra combat step.

Paying the seven mana for Anzrag to be Lure

d for the turn is a lot, but considering that you automatically get an untap out of it means that, if you paid the cost with mana dorks, the activation was free, honey. Even if you just have a board swinging with Grand Warlord Radha

(the deck in which I am most excited to test Anzrag in the 99) or Druids' Repository

, the ability is easy to pay for.

The trouble after securing Anzrag's block requirement and ensuring its safety becomes your opponents having enough creatures to block with. Forbidden Orchard

only goes so far. You won't be able to dupe the table with Tempt with Vengeance

when Anzrag is in the command zone. Cards like Hansk, Slayer Zealot

, Goblin Spymaster

, Hunted Troll

, Hunted Dragon

, and Sylvan Offering

can all help you get some creatures on your opponents' boards.

If they're wide open though, that isn't the worst thing in the world, is it? You've got an 8/4 commander. Give it some counters and happy slamming!

Somebody, give that Mole a Grappling Hook

Duskana, the Rage Mother

A Bear commander in more than one color! Fantastic!

While this isn't necessarily a Bear creature type commander for Bear kindred decks, this is a commander for Bears, meaning 2/2 creatures.

And would you believe that there are many very good base 2/2 creatures in Naya colors? Format staple (or former staple depending who you ask) Solemn Simulacrum

, Oracle of Mul Daya

, Karmic Guide

, Grenzo, Havoc Raiser

, even Storm-Kiln Artist

counts with its static buff!

Bringing those creatures up with a Giant Growth

a piece when they attack is pretty sweet, but a bunch of Hatebears like Grand Abolisher

and Sanctum Prelate

sitting around waiting for you dispatch Mother Duskana to fill your hand up also seems pretty great.

Duskana is meant for the command zone. I don't know of any commanders that would like this in the 99 since it's so specific, unless somehow you've got a Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa

partner deck that wants to close out a game, but even then that'd negate Kondo's second ability!

Etrata, Deadly Fugitive

Etrata's first iteration, Etrata, the Silencer

, did nothing for me, so when Etrata was introduced in the story for Murders at Karlov Manor, I rolled my eyes and thought "what convoluted alt wincon are we about to get?"

Not only do I love her in the story, but I love this new card for her. I'm a big fan of theft effects because I love the variance of the format. What better way to mix things up in your deck than to add your opponents' decks too?

Cloaking cards from the top of your opponents' libraries for each Assassin that hits them means that you'll have blockers for the crackback, and they're not even your cardboard! Plus, you can block and, oops, surprise! You just attacked into your own Emrakul, the Promised End

or Lightning Bolt

and it's time for some medicine!

Clearly, Etrata needs to be protected, so be sure to pack some cards that keep her from being snapped off, and what more fashionable way to is there to do this than to dress her up in a Whispersilk Cloak

. Get the deck a Training Grounds

to make Etrata's ability only cost two mana and slam a Maskwood Nexus

or Conspiracy

to make all your creatures, even the cloaked ones, Assassins.

I think Etrata will find herself helming a lot of decks, but I wouldn't be surprised to see her included in Don Andres, the Renegade

lists. She's going to be an honorary Pirate, I'm certain!

Kaust, Eyes of the Glade

As we've seen with Kadena, Slinking Sorcerer

, folks really want morph and manifest or rather disguise and cloak to work. This is the face commander for the Naya precon and I find it cool that they made it a two-drop.

That said, I think this card is limited and pushed! Sure, it requires a tap to activate its ability, but this is going to make combat a little tricky for your opponents, not to mention that if you've got a Scroll of Fate

or another means of putting a noncreature into play face down, you can attack, bluff it as an attacker you can devour a blocker with or hint at simply wanting card draw. What happens if a player is blocking a creature and it flips over and it's just a land or enchantment? Well, they're removed from combat and the real creature you can spend mana to flip over was a *GASP* Phyrexian Dreadnought

! Yowza! Oh, and it draws you a card.

As much as I dislike Naya and I dislike tracking all the face-down creatures, I do think there are interesting plays to be made with Kaust that all require the combat step so it keeps things moving. I'll be picking up this precon!

In the 99, I don't know what Kaust fits, this is clearly designed for the command zone.

Marvo, Deep Operative

This is a fun one! I love a backup precon commander that gets the gears turning.

Marvo's got a big butt, but there aren't any Dimir "assign damage with toughness" cards like Arcades, the Strategist

, so killing players with Marvo might be more of a "death by a thousand cuts" than you'd think. Pump it up with Equipment and such or have your big spells do the talking.

Clashing means Sensei's Divining Top

and Lantern of Insight

or just believing in yourself!

I think in the 99, Marvo might be a tough sell, but Marvo is going to be an all-star in my The Ever-Changing 'Dane

deck where most of the cards are five or six mana value. I can't wait to jam this Octopus!

Mirko, Obsessive Theorist

Mirko used to care about milling your opponents, now he cares about what goes into your graveyard. If you know me, you know I'm a freak for the graveyard. Give me death shenanigans and Reanimate

constantly.

Mirko, Obsessive Theorist

might be indulging in a strategy I enjoy, but he also brings with him one of the worst innovations in the space: the finality counter. Boo! Everybody boo the finality counter!

Some folks look to Mirko for a Voltron win with Doom Whisperer

, Seer of Stolen Sight

, and Eloise, Nephalia Sleuth

. With flying and vigilance, Mirko is evasive and a buff bod for the crackback, not to mention bringing back something big with the end step trigger like a Massacre Wurm

, for example.

The coolest thing I've seen with Mirko has been what Commander Mechanic pointed out: there are a bunch of creatures in blue and black whose power is 0. Think Activated Sleeper

, Clever Impersonator

, Auton Soldier

, Body Double

: clones! Not to mention stuff like Academy Elite

, Cytoplast Manipulator

, and Embodiment of Agonies

, which enter with counters.

There's a cool deck here. I already have an Araumi of the Dead Tide

deck for Dimir reanimation, but who knows, maybe I can pull something together that makes it fresh again with Mirko at the helm.

Morska, Undersea Sleuth

A Bant Vedalken Fish Detective; we were warned it wouldn't be a Merfolk!

I am unenthused! Yada yada yada, second card draw per turn, yada yada yada, Clue token at your upkeep - you know, the card draw artifact token - yada yada yada, no maximum hand size.

This all feels familiar and frankly a little boring to me. Powerful? Yes, Morska will get big really quickly. Cool that this is in the two colors that care about tokens most? Yeah, but that's not enough to pull me in. Lots of people are probably going to see this and go "that's my guy", I'm sure of it. Others are going to say Tuvasa the Sunlit

is more my speed, or maybe they'll want to give Rafiq of the Many

a go in today's meta.

I'm not seeing where Morska stands out much. If you're making an underwater mystery theme deck, congratulations on literally the most perfect commander you'll ever get, but if you're not, this is a little generic and good-stuffy to me.

In the 99, though? Pop Morska in Tuvasa as another beater, or in Storvald, Frost Giant Jarl

since it'll be getting +1/+1 counters at base 2/3 which becomes 7/7 for a big swing. Why not with all those counters then slam this in Falco Spara, Pactweaver

or with those Clue tokens coming down so reliably, Amareth, the Lustrous

artifacts would love to see Morska. But to me? Underwhelmed!

Rakdos, Patron of Chaos

Ah, Rakdos! The namesake of my favorite guild. Let's take a look at this massive Demon. Of course, a 6/6 flying Demon with trample, yes, that makes sense. So how does he force sacrifice?

Huh. Okay.

Rakdos, Patron of Chaos oddly reads more like a blue card than a Rakdos card the way it'll more likely draw you two cards at your end step. Let's be real, you can target an opponent who doesn't have many permanents and make the decision easy on them to let you have cards, but sometimes, you'll force a real decision and that's going to matter. Two cards is great, but getting them at your end step is less so. The upside is the optional sacrifice requires two nonland and nontoken permanents. The offering must be something you've spent resources on in some way which makes this interesting.

As I mentioned above, I foresee this being a draw two at end step most of the time before eating removal. I'm not particularly interested in Rakdos even for my Lyzolda, the Blood Witch

signature deck. But you know who is? Be'lakor, the Dark Master

players. This could very well be a card that I'm more impressed with when I see it in play and definitely will be impressive in limited, but for now, I'm not too shaken by the Patron.

Sophia, Dogged Detective

This is the closest we get to Scooby-Doo in a regular Magic set.

Look, I understand that Magic players love their Cats and Dogs decks, but something about sending them into combat and war doesn't make me all that gung-ho about playing those kindred decks. Rin and Seri, Inseparable

have been the de facto pairing since their release even earning a Secret Lair Commander deck, but Sophia (and by extension Tiny) swap red for blue so another color combination to fiddle with for a Dog deck.

I can't deny that a Dog creating a Food and Clue token on combat damage is amazing especially if you've got Arcane Adaptation

or Maskwood Nexus

out. Most importantly, though, these Dogs get huge, costing only a single mana to sacrifice an artifact token you'll probably get back as combat wraps up. There's no limitation like "one or more Dogs deal combat damage" or "do this once each turn" or "activate only as a sorcery". This is powerful! Two Detectives for the price of one, too!

I don't know, I think I'm putting Sophia in the command zone over Morska when I play the precon! Sorry, Vedalken Fish Detective!

In the 99, truly, with the Dog theme and maybe some counter synergies, hear me out: evil pups with Atraxa, Praetors' Voice

. Otherwise, a five-color deck to celebrate the animal kingdom will want this too, but let's face it, this is a command zone card, no doubt about it!

Trostani, Three Whispers

Selesnya's mythic offering this set is Trostani, Three Whispers

, which is a very clean card considering it's got so much going on. It's clean and simple-looking while also being very complex. Let's start with the fact that there's a hybrid mana in its cost, it's a 4/4 for three mana, and none of their abilities require the target to be a creature "you control".

This is interesting space for Selesnya. It's combat-focused, as you might expect from these colors, but it's also capable of being really political. Your opponent sending a creature at another opponent? Why not give it double strike! Is that creature one that you'd like to remove but can't because it has hexproof? Instead of gifting it with double strike (which you can't: hexproof), give its blocker deathtouch! They don't even have to be attacking you to be scared of losing creatures. Vigilance allows you to play puppeteer, keeping your attacking creatures as blockers and offering blockers as a surprise to some opponents. It might even mess with some players' gameplans. If I play against this when using my The Ninth Doctor

deck, giving Eccleston vigilance might be enough to wreck my plans!

I'm personally not into Selesnya or Trostani, if I'm being honest. But I do appreciate this sleek design! Pop this into your Marisi, Breaker of the Coil

decks, why don't ya!

Voja, Jaws of the Conclave

This prerelease exclusive legend is the most popular of the three, beating out Tomik and Melek for not only being three colors (I assume) but also for being extremely powerful. Unfortunately, Naya is not my wheelhouse, so I'll be leaning on what people are saying online.

Firstly, I think the confusion around why Voja cares about Elves is very funny and here's the reason: Tolsimir was an Elf! Every Tolsimir card has created Voja in some iteration and had text about Wolves. The new Tolsimir card we'll get to later, surprising no one, also cares about Wolves.

Secondly, on its own, Voja is a 5/5 vigilant trampler with ward 3 that draws a card on attack. That's literally just for playing Voja, passing the turn, and then attacking at the next turn when you've got no Elves or Wolves.

Thirdly, if you're running a healthy dork package that would make Raggadragga, Goreguts Boss

proud, you'll probably find yourself slamming Voja on turn three with at minimum a two +1/+1 counter boost for your whole board at the next combat. Not to mention packing Hollowhenge Overlord

s and Tovolar's Huntmaster

in the deck means you can easily keep your hand stacked and not have to worry about their high casting costs since you've got the Elves working their mana for you. Pack an Aggravated Assault

and everybody just gets bigger and bigger, just like your hand!

Notice how I'm only speaking of Voja, Jaws of the Conclave

as a commander. I don't foresee Voja being in the 99 of any decks except heavy theme decks or Changeling/Kindred decks. I also anticipate Voja to be very popular much like the Big Mole.

Rares

Blood Spatter Analysis

I've been rewatching Dexter lately so I thought it was pretty funny for this card to be previewed for this set.

Unfortunately, that's where the novelty ends for me on this one. Two-mana Lightning Bolt

on a permanent isn't the worst if you can flicker, copy, or reanimate it somehow, but this is an enchantment we're talking about. Ghen, Arcanum Weaver

, did you ask for this? It's a slow one, but milling a card whenever one or more creatures die can be an upside especially for the free Raise Dead

after five bloodstain counters. All in all, this isn't all that impressive for our format. Lurrus of the Dream-Den

might be able to squeeze more value out of this, but I can't.

Counterpoint

This is a Reinterpret

with some more restrictions, but it might see more play. Don't get me wrong, Reinterpret

is a solid counterspell, but it sees play mainly in the precon decks it was made for Zaffai, Thunder Conductor

/Veyran, Voice of Duality

. It's limited by the casting cost of the spell it's countering, like Counterpoint

, but its only other limitation is that you'll be casting what's in your hand.

With Counterpoint

, you can't cast an artifact or enchantment from your graveyard, but in the right deck, your graveyard is probably way bigger than your hand. What's also fun is that Counterpoint

and the spell it casts don't exile themselves so you can have fun flashing back Counterpoint

and doing it all over again.

As someone who rarely touches Counterspell

s, I think this one is real fun! I like it for self-mill strategies, like Muldrotha, the Gravetide

and Araumi of the Dead Tide

and whatever other legendary creature with Tide in its name that likes the graveyard!

Drag the Canal

This is a really weird card, and I feel dumb for not quite seeing what I can do with it. It's a Dimir card that makes a blue and white creature token? Okay, fine. At instant speed is very nice! Surprise, it's a blocker and it's got a hunch!

The pseudo-Morbid trigger on it is really cool, though. I assume this is going in decks like Nymris, Oona's Trickster

or Alela, Cunning Conqueror

, but personally, as someone who's been toying with Rassilon, the War President

, finding noncreature ways to create tokens in both colors isn't easy and it just got a little easier. Double surveil and Clue tokens for the War President? I feel like it's already in the deck!

Ezrim, Agency Chief

A big ol' womp womp from me.

Ezrim in the story is a big imposing figure who deploys his agents to investigate across the city. Massive Archon and mount pairing that would rather direct than get in conflict. This card does not feel in any way representative of the character I read. If you see it, I'm happy for you, but frankly, I'm not into it.

The ETB double investigate is fantastic for decks that want that, but if you don't want the artifact tokens or a beater, Mulldrifter

is right there.

This is a card I am so excited to see in drafts and prereleases, but unless you're doing some sort of Azorius Voltron strategy with Ezrim in the command zone, this isn't super exciting. I'm really disappointed.

Judith, Carnage Connoisseur

Finally, another Rakdos legend! Let's go!

Judith, the Scourge Diva

is a beloved aristocrats staple that I love to see. Judith, Carnage Connoisseur

is a spellslinger commander reminiscent of Tor Wauki the Younger

and Pestilent Spirit

, which just proves to all the naysayers out there that Rakdos knows how to keep things fresh and interesting!

For years, people have been asking for a legendary Pestilent Spirit

, and while I expected a Firesong and Sunspeaker

-esque Mardu legend for Brash Taunter

-type shenanigans, it's rather fitting that Rakdos is the Cult to take up that role.

Blasphemous Act

a board while Judith wears a gorgeous Darksteel Plate

to bring your life total to "it doesn't even matter anymore" levels. Slam a Bolas's Citadel

and go off. Keep Tor Wauki the Younger

in the 99 as even a potential modal commander. Flip a coin at the beginning of the match: heads for Judith, tails for Tor. You can use Tor's EDHREC page for some inspiration.

Tectonic Hazard

and End the Festivities

can be straight-up board wipes when played right. Your Dark Ritual

s become Imps that Shock

each opponent when they die. Judith seems like a lot of fun and a big step in a still new direction for Rakdos.

Knowledge Is Power

This card is so fun in cool ways and also uncool ways.

Every turn, you at least get a +1/+1 buff for your board from your draw step. That's nothing to sniff at even if you've got a hefty bunch of Thopters in the air waiting to swing. Okay, now what if you played Teferi's Puzzle Box

. Okiedokie, now that's a beating in the air!

This is also pretty fun if you've got Rhystic Study

out, a card I no longer really play anymore. If a player wants to play a spell but "needs their mana" and lets you draw a card, whoopsie! They just made your blockers stronger!

Better still, play this with Wedding Ring

and Psychic Possession

with Font of Mythos

, Howling Mine

, and, oh boy, am I brewing Heliod, the Radiant Dawn

But in which deck should I play Knowledge Is Power

? Maybe in the deck of a legend who values knowledge very highly: Alquist Proft, Master Sleuth

! Maybe this is the ultimate pillow fort setup for Isperia, Supreme Judge

! Turn a Kwain, Itinerant Meddler

activation into a temporary anthem!

Lazav, Wearer of Faces

He lives!

Lazav is one of the legends I'm most interested in from the set. While no iteration of Lazav has come close to capturing the power of Lazav, Dimir Mastermind

, Lazav, Wearer of Faces

definitely returns to form.

While I lament the fact that the cards exiled with Lazav are not exiled with a cage or takeover counter, like with Mairsil, the Pretender

and The Master, Formed Anew

, respectively, Lazav, Wearer of Faces

can assemble an impressive toolbox as long as the Clues stay stacked and he sticks around, especially through a board wipe.

The Ever-Changing 'Dane

could be interested in this to find a way to impersonate a creature from an opponent's graveyard. As usual, a mill deck in these colors would be happy to see Lazav (any Lazav, really) in the 99 or at the head of the deck.

The more we get to interact and play with Lazav, the better we'll understand him. How fitting for a man in the shadows!

Leyline of the Guildpact

This card gives me a headache. I think it's a cool design, having hybrid mana for each color pip is great, but did this really have to be able to be cast for GGGG?

What a strange card! Yes, we have Dryad of the Ilysian Grove

and Prismatic Omen

for all you Domain-heads and Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle

-nuts, so this isn't necessarily a new space for lands decks that want all basic land types. It's five colors, so Leyline will only be able to make appearances in the smallest possible number of decks color-wise. What does this do that's different? I can start in play from turn zero and it turns all of your permanents into five-color game pieces. Don't go and buy Mana Cannons

just yet, Leyline of the Guildpact

only makes nonland permanents you control five colors, not spells: that cast trigger ain't it!

I guess stuff like Spirit of Resistance

, Earnest Fellowship

, and a bunch of cards from the Painbow precon from Dominaria United get better. I'd say Bloom Tender

, but that's already going to see the Leyline as a permanent you control and tap for five anyway, so... I guess it starting in play on turn zero is pretty huge.

Niv-Mizzet, Guildpact

Five-color Niv number three follows the trend of requiring particular deckbuilding around the ten guilds of Ravnica. This one requires permanents to get a chunky combat trigger. With protection and evasion baked in, Niv needs to be surrounded by guild permanents to maximize on the trigger for a top end of 10 cards and 10 life. Pretty nuts when you consider that every guild's got cheap permanents! Figure of Destiny

is one mana!

That said, building this deck feels like more of a balancing act than Niv-Mizzet Reborn

. Play this in that 99 or in Jodah, the Unifier

if Jodah's got a Ravnican guilds sub-theme and watch Niv do lots of work.

Officious Interrogation

Hey, look, a non-Strive Strive card! This is Call the Coppercoats

that makes Clue tokens instead of Human Soldiers. Instant speed, two mana, target the player with a huge board or everybody at the table if you need to. Follow up with Rise and Shine

or Cyberdrive Awakener

for a build-your-own Craterhoof Behemoth

experience in Azorius. Although, if you've got it, you can always Moonshaker Cavalry

after that, too.

Officious Interrogation

is a cool card. It's cheap, it's splashy, it's an instant. It's also only as strong as the board is, which means that some metas won't care for it and others will absolutely need this. Altogether, interesting card, but unsure where I'll be trying it out. Any WUx artifact decks are going to give this a go, I'm sure of it. Right, Breya, Etherium Shaper

Relive the Past

What the heck is happening here! Seven mana for 15/15 worth of stats across a reanimated land, artifact, and non-Aura enchantment? And they don't all need to be reanimated for this to work? No finality counter? No exiling the spell? This is great for decks that can pop this off for full value and at seven mana, it better. Altar of Dementia

can fuel this.

Get this in Samwise Gamgee

decks to get three creatures in play, three Food tokens, and likely the ability to Regrowth

a historic card. Omnath, Locus of Creation

Elemental kindred decks are going to appreciate this at the top end to bring back a Roaming Throne

, Retreat to Coralhelm

, and Field of the Dead

or whatever else you can think off!

Tolsimir, Midnight's Light

I never know what to think about Tolsimir cards.

Wolf decks in Selesnya are confusing to me because Tolsimir is the only one doing this. There are just two Wolves in white: Tundra Wolves

and Watchwolf

. The other white cards that even mention Wolves positively are other Tolsimir cards.

This Tolsimir makes a 5/5 Voja and has lifelink. The final ability is some sort of Lure

or fight that only happens when Tolsimir and a Wolf attack together. Meanwhile, Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves

allows your Wolves to fight upon ETB and gain you three life. I think that one is better, but I guess the new Tolsimir, Midnight's Light

allows you to use the same Wolf as removal a few times. I just don't understand this character or its cards.

In the 99, I'm guessing Tolsimir would be great in a Wolf kindred Naya deck, like Voja, Jaws of the Conclave

, but besides Voja, what reason do you have for Wolves in Selesnya if not just because you like Tolsimir and want to run him.

Worldsoul's Rage

Landfall decks didn't need a new finisher, but here we are!

Omnath, Locus of Rage

gets to take out a player and gets a stack of Elementals after sacrificing a bunch to Greater Good

. Sure, it feels like a real game-ender, but what if you just wheeled into a new hand and have four lands in hand? Five mana to plop three lands down (four after just playing a land for turn) and Lightning Bolt

ing something seems pretty nice.

This doesn't have to be earth-shatteringly high to be worth it. X spells are strange in that people tend to forget that you can pay one into X sometimes and it'll still be alright. I'd say two X might be the floor on this one for me and, sure, you need the lands in your hand to put them down, but that's the interesting thing about this card: you get to decide what's worth it. There's a lot of card draw in green. I think this card is good and interesting and might be a new staple for the color pair. I'll be trying this in Grand Warlord Radha

for sure.

Yarus, Roar of the Old Gods

What a new twist on Gruul!

Haste for the rest of your board is great and useful, but with Yarus in the command zone, you'll get to cheat stuff into play and this becomes an interesting reanimation and aristocrats deck. Scroll of Fate

and Whisperwood Elemental

feel perfect for this deck! Given that the dying face-down creatures return to play face-down before flipping up, we can't rely on ETB effects. But we can enjoy the flipping up triggers. Get your morph, manifest, disguise, and cloak cards ready.

This notably goes infinite with a sacrifice outlet and Ashcloud Phoenix

, which was reprinted in the Naya precon deck in this set, the perfect 99 for Yarus to join.

A MURDER MOST F...FUN!

Another return to Ravnica and they've managed to make it feel super fresh and cool! I am really impressed by the design of this set and I'm hoping to slot a bunch of cards in my decks. Maybe I'll even build a commander from the set; looking at you Etrata, Deadly Fugitive

. What do you think? Are there any cards that you're stoked for? What about cards you'll be scared to see played against you? Sound off! Thanks

Rakdos, Patron of Chaos by Ivan Shavrin