Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Decks: Are They Worth It?

Last updated on April 21, 2024

Koma, Cosmos Serpent | Illustration by Jesper Ejsing

Citizens across Ravnica are going missing. Murder is afoot. Business is booming at the deerstalker hat emporium. That’s right, we’re talking Murders at Karlov Manor. Specifically, it’s time to review the wave of Commander precons from this MTG set, which interestingly is the first time a Ravnica-based set’s been given the precon treatment.

Let’s go deep on these decks to highlight each one’s strategy, reprint value, and new offerings, then give a final thumbs-up/thumbs-down verdict on what they offer.

Pop that Thinking Cap on, and let’s get to the investigation.

Sale

Magic: The Gathering Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck Bundle - Includes All 4 Decks (Deadly Disguise, Revenant Recon, Deep Clue Sea, and Blame Game)

• TRACK THE CLUES. CRACK THE CASE—Play detective as you collect evidence, don disguises, and identify suspects to decipher the deadly murder mystery at the heart of Ravnica
• EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
• INTRODUCING 45 COMMANDER CARDS—Get all 4 Murders at Karlov Manor decks for a total of 45 never-before-seen Magic: The Gathering cards (11 unique to each deck + 1 found in all 4), including 8 foil Legendary Creature cards
• COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck also comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 alt-border cards from the Murders at Karlov Manor set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
• CONTENTS—All 4 Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Decks; each 100-card deck also comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack, 1 Foil-Etched Display Commander, 10 double-sided tokens, 1 life tracker, and 1 deck box

$139.95

Buy on Amazon

What Are the Murders At Karlov Manor Commander Decks?

Duskana, the Rage Mother | Illustration by Samuel Perin

For Value/For Competitive EDH

For Fun

-

-

Magic: The Gathering Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck - Deep Clue Sea (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

Magic: The Gathering Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck - Deadly Disguise (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

Magic: The Gathering Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck - Blame Game (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

Magic: The Gathering Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck - Revenant Recon (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

$33.99

$31.45

$38.49

$43.46

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

For Value/For Competitive EDH

Magic: The Gathering Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck - Deep Clue Sea (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

$33.99

Buy on Amazon

For Fun

Magic: The Gathering Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck - Deadly Disguise (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

$31.45

Buy on Amazon

-

Magic: The Gathering Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck - Blame Game (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

$38.49

Buy on Amazon

-

Magic: The Gathering Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck - Revenant Recon (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

$43.46

Buy on Amazon

Murders at Karlov Manor Commander (MKC) is a set of four preconstructed Commander decks that thematically tie into the main themes and mechanics of the standard-release Murders at Karlov Manor (MKM). This set uses the fan-favorite plane of Ravnica as a backdrop for a murder mystery story that bleeds over into the Commander offerings.

Each MKC precon includes the following:

• 100 total cards
• 12 New-to-Magic cards. Ransom Note appears in all four decks with different art for each one.
• 2 foils – A display commander and an alternate commander
• 1 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack including two cards from MKM (sealed product only)
• 1 non-tournament legal, Foil-Etched Display Commander
• 10 Double-sided tokens
• 1 Life Counter and Deck Box

Deep Clue Sea

Commander, Theme, and Strategy

I see whoever named Veloci-Ramp-Tor in the last wave of precons got their hands on another deck. Deep Clue Sea is a deck centered around investigating and Clue tokens. These Clues are a catalyst that fuses together mini-themes of artifacts-matter, second draw matters, and even tokens-matter. There’s a lot going on, but it all feels cohesive.

The primary commander is Morska, Undersea Sleuth, a reasonable but maybe low-power commander that generates a Clue each turn and gets bigger if you’re able to consistently draw extra cards.

Sophia, Dogged Detective is your back-up commander. With the help of Tiny, Sophia can generate just as many Clues as Morska while also creating Food and providing an artifact sac outlet. It’s a toss-up which commander you prefer, since they’re both fairly tame, but you might switch to Sophia if you prefer the obvious nod to Scooby-Doo.

This is a value deck through-and-through, producing tons of card draw with a few finishers at the top to close out a game. If you’re playing head-to-head against the other precons, you should at the very least be out-drawing your opponents, then it’s up to you how you’re going to convert your Clue generation into a win. It’s also rare for a precon to include an alternate wincon, but Mechanized Production is a valid gameplan for the deck. Stick it on any artifact while you have eight Clues on board and just wait a turn for an instant win.

Notable Cards: Reprints and $$

One word about the reprints in these Commander decks: wow. They didn’t hold back on reprint value here, and since the decks aren’t being advertised as premium products or anything like that, you should absolutely get your money’s worth.

Quick caveats about monetary value for these decks. I’m ignoring new-to-Magic cards since their pre-order prices are usually heavily inflated, and it’s hard to gauge where they’ll settle. Second, note that reprinting a high-value card in these products likely means that card’s price will drop, so just because I shout out a $20 card here doesn’t mean it’ll still be $20 two weeks from now.

At the time of writing, Deep Clue Sea includes eight cards in the $2-$5 range, four in the $5-$10 range, and another four cards at or above $10. I don’t know who at Wizards has been pushing for more high-value reprints in Commander precons, but I’m here for it.

Notably, this is the first time that cards like Bennie Bracks, Zoologist and Adrix and Nev, Twincasters are being reprinted, and one of the high-ticket cards is Koma, Cosmos Serpent, an absolutely deranged card to put in a precon.

Unfortunately, virtually none of the value is present in the lands and mana rocks, which is going to be true of all the decks featured in this set. Let’s shape up those precon mana bases, Wizards!

Notable newcomers include On the Trail, a valuable new ramp tool for decks that draw a lot of cards, as well as Serene Sleuth, a card that combats all the goad effects being added to Commander lately.

Erdwal Illuminator received new art in this deck, and Ulvenwald Mysteries uses the art that was included in the Arena-only Shadows Over Innistrad Remastered set.

The Verdict

Clues are great, balanced, and fun to play with, bridging a number of different mini-archetypes that all feel like they belong together. The two new commanders for this deck don’t strike me as all that powerful, but the deck as a whole feels cohesive and should ensure its pilot always has cards to work with. MKM didn’t introduce any new spins on investigating, so this feels like territory that’s been around for a while, but it’s hard to argue with the incredible reprint value on display here. If you like cracking Clues and drawing cards, pick this one up.

Sale

Magic: The Gathering Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck - Deep Clue Sea (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

• LAUNCH A FULL-SCALE INVESTIGATION—Generate Clue tokens and draw your own conclusions (with extra cards) with this Green-White-Blue deck that’s ready-to-play right out of the box
• EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
• INTRODUCES 12 COMMANDER CARDS—This deck introduces 12 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering, including 2 foil Legendary Creature cards
• COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck also comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 alt-border cards from the Murders at Karlov Manor set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
• CONTENTS—1 ready-to-play Deep Clue Sea Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck, a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack, 1 Foil-Etched Display Commander, 10 double-sided tokens, 1 life tracker, and 1 deck box

$33.99

Buy on Amazon

Deadly Disguise

Commander, Theme, and Strategy

As the name suggests, Deadly Disguise shows off the “new” disguise mechanic from MKM, though disguise is basically the patch notes version of morph, and not that groundbreaking. But hey, not everything needs to be, and there’s still plenty to love. It mixes in all the other morph-adjacent abilities in Magic, using hidden-information 2/2s that flip up and catch your opponents off guard with their abilities.

Kaust, Eyes of the Glade is the lead commander, though it seems like a step down from Commander 2019’s Kadena, Slinking Sorcerer, which has been and will probably continue to be the go-to morph/disguise commander. Like Kadena, Kaust cheats on mana and draws cards, though it’s a bit more limited in comparison. Kadena basically guarantees an extra draw each turn and Kaust’s card draw is contingent on creatures dealing combat damage the same turn they turn face-up.

You’ve also got Duskana, the Rage Mother as an alternative commander, and a clever one at that. It’s a legendary bear that cares about bears – the 2/2 kind, not the fuzzy ferocious kind. It seems strange until you realize face-down creatures are treated as 2/2s, and honestly, it might be a better payoff for going wide with face-down creatures than Kaust. Pick whichever one suits your fancy.

As far as strategy, we’ve seen this before with Kadena’s precon. Disguise creatures play the same sneaky game as morphs, though moving the strategy into makes it a more aggressive beat-down version than its more controlling counterpart. You’ve got some big creatures and some sneaky lines of play to work with, but I’d say this lands firmly in novel/gimmick territory instead of being inherently powerful.

Notable Cards: Reprints and $$

Deadly Disguise currently includes five cards in the $2-$5 range, four in the $5-$10 range, and two reprints pushing around $20 or above, namely the heavily-played Commander staples Seedborn Muse and Jeska's Will. That’s an awesome value spread for reprints, with the two big-ticket cards nearly covering the cost of the entire deck.

Most of the new prints here are parasitic with morph/disguise strategies, though shout out to Unexplained Absence as a sort of mass Reality Shift for each player, and Tesak, Judith's Hellhound as an intriguing dog/counters payoff. Plus, I just appreciate the “unleashing dogs” flavor here.

Broodhatch Nantuko appears to be the only card in the deck that received new art. For some reason.

The Verdict

This is the only deck in the bunch that I’m a little low on, simply because disguise isn’t different enough from morph to make it feel that distinct from the superior Kadena, Slinking Sorcerer precon. That said, it’s nice to have a different direction for a morph deck, though I’m not sure cards like Krosan Colossus are the incentive I’m looking for in this archetype. You could justify buying this for the reprint value alone, or if you just want to scrap it for playables for other decks. Otherwise, it seems a little narrow and gimmicky in my estimation.

Sale

Magic: The Gathering Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck - Deadly Disguise (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

• MYSTERY & MAYHEM—Don disguises and spring on your opponents with a surprise victory with this Red-Green-White deck that’s ready-to-play right out of the box
• EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
• INTRODUCES 12 COMMANDER CARDS—This deck introduces 12 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering, including 2 foil Legendary Creature cards
• COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck also comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 alt-border cards from the Murders at Karlov Manor set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
• CONTENTS—1 ready-to-play Deadly Disguise Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck, a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack, 1 Foil-Etched Display Commander, 10 double-sided tokens, 1 life tracker, and 1 deck box

$31.45

Buy on Amazon

Blame Game

Commander, Theme, and Strategy

Blame Game is a deck with the supposed strategy of “making accusations.” That’s code for goading creatures and using the new suspect mechanic from MKM to make them harder to deal with in combat. The deck can play its own aggro game, but it really is focused on political trickery and pitting your opponents’ creatures against one another.

Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser is the detective on the case, pointing fingers and suspecting creatures left and right. It seems like a fun twist on a political aggro deck, though I’m a little worried Nelly drops off once you’re down to a 1v1 game.

Feather, Radiant Arbiter is the backup commander, thought as cool as the card is, it doesn’t really match the theme of the deck. Feather can do some strong things with the Impetus auras and some other single-target spells, but it’s best to stick with Nelly out of the box.

You’re trying to kill almost exclusively through combat damage, though that damage won’t always come from you. Goad is a very effective way to make life totals plummet in Commander, and suspecting creatures means different threats will connect in combat.

You just want to be the one pulling the strings, holding up a Comeuppance or Deflecting Palm if someone decides to come your way instead.

Notable Cards: Reprints and $$

Blame Game offers 10 cards in the $2-$5 range, another three in the $5-$10 range, and two cards coming in at over $10. The big standout is the Game Knight 2019 exclusive Fiendish Duo, which is currently over $35 with a single printing! Don’t expect that price to remain that high.

Comeuppance has always been a good card and apparently the price has been creeping up, so I’m glad to see it’s getting some exposure here.

There’s a lot of cool new cards worth mentioning too. Take the Bait is a great way to make an opponent kill off your other adversaries, Prisoner's Dilemma is a perfect top-down design, and Otherworldly Escort as a YuYu Hakusho reference is much appreciated. Trouble in Pairs caught a lot of buzz when it was previewed, and it’s likely the new standout staple from the entire precon line-up.

Comeuppance, Brash Taunter, and Vengeful Ancestor all received new art in this deck.

The Verdict

As someone who loves the political side of Commander, Blame Game definitely speaks to me. Goad is the perfect way to make sure action is happening in your games, and it combines well with the new suspect mechanic perfectly. The precon has maybe a few too many defensive punisher cards, but it plays the role of the aggro deck well enough. It also has some of the more interesting new prints and features the most valuable reprint across all four decks (for now), so there’s a lot working in its favor. The strategic elements may not be for everyone though.

Sale

Magic: The Gathering Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck - Blame Game (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

• EVERYONE’S A SUSPECT—Goad your foes and identify the suspects at the center of Ravnica’s deadly mystery with this Red-White deck that’s ready-to-play right out of the box
• EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
• INTRODUCES 12 COMMANDER CARDS—This deck introduces 12 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering, including 2 foil Legendary Creature cards
• COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck also comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 alt-border cards from the Murders at Karlov Manor set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
• CONTENTS—1 ready-to-play Blame Game Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck, a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack, 1 Foil-Etched Display Commander, 10 double-sided tokens, 1 life tracker, and 1 deck box

$38.49

Buy on Amazon

Revenant Recon

Commander, Theme, and Strategy

Revenant Recon is a reanimator deck hidden beneath the guise of a “surveil deck.” While surveil’s front and center here, that’s not actually a headlining mechanic from MKM, but it’s put to good use as a way to fill your graveyard for reanimation spells. If nothing else, it’s the perfect shell for all the surveil payoffs and enablers that came out in Guilds of Ravnica.

Mirko, Obsessive Theorist is doing its best impression of Dimir Spybug (also in the deck), though I’m getting strong Meren of Clan Nel Toth vibes here. It shouldn’t be hard to dump some +1/+1 counters on Mirko, then reanimate creatures from your graveyard for no additional cost. Sure, the finality counters are a bummer, but we love a good balancing act, and you can’t complain too much about free reanimation.

If Mirko’s not cutting it, you’re probably not interested in this deck in the first place. However, you could run Marvo, Deep Operative as the commander instead. I like the card well enough, but it’s definitely pulling you in a different direction than what this precon’s trying to do, so I’m pretty firmly on Team Mirko here.

The deck’s full of underpowered cards like Sinister Starfish and Nightveil Sprite, though they all serve the purpose of powering out haymakers like Grave Titan and Sphinx of the Second Sun via the handful of reanimation effects present in the deck. I’m skeptical that surveil payoffs like Thoughtbound Phantasm and Whispering Snitch really matter all that much, but that’s what Draftsim’s upgrade guides are for!

Notable Cards: Reprints and $$

We’ve got a clean sweep on precons worth their weight in reprint value. Revenant Recon includes three cards in the $2-$5 range, five in the $5-$10 range, and a whopping four cards at or above $10.

There are even some widely-played staples in those top-dollar cards, including Reanimate, Necromancy, and Rise of the Dark Realms. Please keep this sort of reprint value coming before they lock up whoever’s in charge of Commander precon reprints!

Surveil is a useful enough ability to work in just about any deck, but surveil payoffs need a lot of support to function, so there are a number of new cards here that won’t have a home outside the precon. Case of the Shifting Visage looks like it has potential in decks with a strong self-mill component, but nothing else really catches my eye here.

Twilight Prophet and Necromancy received new art in this deck.

The Verdict

Revenant Recon has a slightly more open-ended theme than Deadly Disguise’s morph agenda, though it’s less flexible than something like Deep Clue Sea’s investigate theme. It still works as a self-contained deck and provides a home for surveil cards that have yet to make it into Commander decks. Mirko, Obsessive Theorist seems quite strong to me, and if you do nothing but dismantle this deck for pieces, you’ll at least walk away with a handful of top-tier reanimator spells. This looks like a tight-knit deck out of the box that might gain new pieces over time now that surveil is evergreen, but I’d expect most players’ decks to look very similar post-upgrades.

Sale

Magic: The Gathering Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck - Revenant Recon (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

• WATCH YOUR BACK—Investigate Ravnica’s deadly mysteries with the surveil mechanic, then bring the dead back for revenge with this Blue-Black deck that’s ready-to-play right out of the box
• EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
• INTRODUCES 12 COMMANDER CARDS—This deck introduces 12 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering, including 2 foil Legendary Creature cards
• COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck also comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 alt-border cards from the Murders at Karlov Manor set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
• CONTENTS—1 ready-to-play Revenant Recon Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck, a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack, 1 Foil-Etched Display Commander, 10 double-sided tokens, 1 life tracker, and 1 deck box

$43.46

Buy on Amazon

The Best Murder at Karlov Manor Commander Deck

For Value

This is a tight race between Deep Clue Sea and Revenant Recon, but I’m awarding this category to the former. Deep Clue Sea features a number of valuable staples as well as desirable first-time reprints, whereas most of the value in Revenant Recon is tied up in a package of reanimator spells. Honestly, you’re getting your money’s worth on any of these decks, but the Clue deck comes out ever-so-slightly on top.

Sale

Magic: The Gathering Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck - Deep Clue Sea (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

• LAUNCH A FULL-SCALE INVESTIGATION—Generate Clue tokens and draw your own conclusions (with extra cards) with this Green-White-Blue deck that’s ready-to-play right out of the box
• EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
• INTRODUCES 12 COMMANDER CARDS—This deck introduces 12 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering, including 2 foil Legendary Creature cards
• COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck also comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 alt-border cards from the Murders at Karlov Manor set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
• CONTENTS—1 ready-to-play Deep Clue Sea Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck, a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack, 1 Foil-Etched Display Commander, 10 double-sided tokens, 1 life tracker, and 1 deck box

$33.99

Buy on Amazon

For Competitive EDH

I’m not the best at judging this category, especially since precons are rarely tuned for cEDH without a serious overhaul, but I’ll award this category to Deep Clue Sea if for no other reason than it just draws a ton of cards. To be fair, none of these decks are even close to competitive, but cards like Koma, Cosmos Serpent, Academy Manufactor, and Chulane, Teller of Tales are certainly in a league above what you usually expect from a precon (yes I know Chulane was the commander of its own precon).

Sale

Magic: The Gathering Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck - Deep Clue Sea (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

• LAUNCH A FULL-SCALE INVESTIGATION—Generate Clue tokens and draw your own conclusions (with extra cards) with this Green-White-Blue deck that’s ready-to-play right out of the box
• EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
• INTRODUCES 12 COMMANDER CARDS—This deck introduces 12 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering, including 2 foil Legendary Creature cards
• COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck also comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 alt-border cards from the Murders at Karlov Manor set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
• CONTENTS—1 ready-to-play Deep Clue Sea Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck, a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack, 1 Foil-Etched Display Commander, 10 double-sided tokens, 1 life tracker, and 1 deck box

$33.99

Buy on Amazon

For Fun

I said I’m a little skeptical of Deadly Disguise in terms of strategic viability, but a deck full of “morphs” is as fun as it’s ever been for the person piloting the deck. I wish disguise was just a little more interesting than morph + ward, but I appreciate that this precon gives an alternative to the Kadena, Slinking Sorcerer decks that monopolized the morph archetype in Commander.

Sale

Magic: The Gathering Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck - Deadly Disguise (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

• MYSTERY & MAYHEM—Don disguises and spring on your opponents with a surprise victory with this Red-Green-White deck that’s ready-to-play right out of the box
• EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
• INTRODUCES 12 COMMANDER CARDS—This deck introduces 12 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering, including 2 foil Legendary Creature cards
• COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck also comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 alt-border cards from the Murders at Karlov Manor set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
• CONTENTS—1 ready-to-play Deadly Disguise Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck, a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack, 1 Foil-Etched Display Commander, 10 double-sided tokens, 1 life tracker, and 1 deck box

$31.45

Buy on Amazon

Commanding Conclusion

Sophia, Dogged Detective | Illustration by Campbell White

New Commander precons are some of my favorite products to evaluate. Between the new(ish) strategies, twists on old mechanics, and clever new-to-Magic designs in each deck, there’s always something interesting in these precon line-ups.

Honestly, this line-up isn’t as novel as some previous ones; Clues, morph, and goading have all existed as Commander archetypes for a while now, but at least there’s a new spin on most of these strategies, and surveil is altogether new territory for a precon. If nothing else, the incredible reprint value carries these decks, even if they don’t go down as all-timers.

For Value/For Competitive EDH

For Fun

-

-

Magic: The Gathering Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck - Deep Clue Sea (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

Magic: The Gathering Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck - Deadly Disguise (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

Magic: The Gathering Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck - Blame Game (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

Magic: The Gathering Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck - Revenant Recon (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

$33.99

$31.45

$38.49

$43.46

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

For Value/For Competitive EDH

Magic: The Gathering Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck - Deep Clue Sea (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

$33.99

Buy on Amazon

For Fun

Magic: The Gathering Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck - Deadly Disguise (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

$31.45

Buy on Amazon

-

Magic: The Gathering Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck - Blame Game (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

$38.49

Buy on Amazon

-

Magic: The Gathering Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Deck - Revenant Recon (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

$43.46

Buy on Amazon

Of course, I’m evaluating everything before I even get a chance to play with the decks, so you’ll have to report back and tell me how they do! Are you excited about any of them, and if you’ve had a chance to play with them, how’d they perform? Let me know in the comments below or over in the Draftsim Discord.

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