Murders at Karlov Manor Lore & Story Summary

Pedro Furtado (djorso) January 30, 2024 MTG Story

Last updated on February 28, 2024

Assemble the Players | Illustration by Evyn Fong

Here we go guys, another MTG set and another piece of lore. Murders at Karlov Manor is a part of the Omenpath Arc, where planes are dealing with the aftermanth of the Phyrexian Invasion of the Multiverse while planeswalkers are losing their sparks. In particular, this set is very focused around its story, with a bigger story than usual and a whopping 30 story spotlight cards. Is it going to be the standard from now on? We surely don’t know, but if you want to get an update on MTG’s most recent story, we’ve got you covered.

Table of Contents show

What Is Murders at Karlov Manor About?

Teysa, Opulent Oligarch | Illustration by Chris Rallis

The set is focused on the murder investigation of prominent Ravnician citizens, like the Guild leaders Teysa Karlov and Zegana. Recurring main characters are responsible for the investigations, like the planeswalker Kaya and omenpath traveler Kellan, as well as Alquist Proft, a new character from this set.

Murders at Karlov Manor Setting

Murders at Karlov Manor takes place on the plane of Ravnica, shortly after the events of March of the Machine and the Phyrexian Invasion of the Multiverse. The set is a part of the Omenpath story arc, which deals not only with the consequences of the Phyrexian Invasion in planes like Ravnica and Eldraine but also with Planeswalkers losing their sparks.

Shortly after the guilds unite to defeat the Phyrexian Invasion and after suffering many losses, there’s an event at Karlov Manor. During this event, Simic’s former Guild leader Zegana is assassinated. What unfolds is a series of murders and murder attempts across the plane. This sets the tone for further mistrust and possible open conflict between guilds, as usually occurs in Ravnica sets.

Main Characters

Kaya

Kaya is one of the main story characters. She’s dealing with personal losses due to the Phyrexian Invasion, and after returning to Ravnica, Teysa Karlov has taken her place as the Orzhov Guild leader. What’s more, Ravnica as a whole doesn’t trust planeswalkers anymore. After the murders begin, she’ll become one of the lead investigators.

Alquist Proft

Alquist Proft is the main players responsible for investigating and solving the murder mystery. A former member of the Azorius Senate, Proft is now part of the Agency, and the main character responsible for investigating the case.

Kellan

Kellan is the son of the planeswalker Oko; they’ve been traveling through different planes using Omenpaths. He arrives on Ravnica and joins the Ravnician agency. He later joins Kaya and Proft in the murder investigation.

Ezrim, the Archon

Ezrim is the leader of the Ravnician agency, a guild-neutral institute. The agency is investigating the murders, since they are not associated with a guild, and thus are considered neutral.

Etrata

Etrata is a Dimir assassin who murders Zegana, although she doesn’t remember having committed the crime. She’ll work together with Proft in this investigation after he lets her out of jail.

Aurelia, Boros Guild Leader

After the murder of Zegana, Aurelia wants to settle things her way, using the Boros legion to investigate the case, enforce the law, and march to war, if needed. She faces a murder attempt too, but manages to survive.

Judith, Rakdos Guild Leader

Judith sees a big opportunity in this whole event to try and blame the demon Rakdos, leading the main investigators to believe that Rakdos’s power is out of control again, forcing people to commit acts of murder.

Trostani, Selesnya Guild Leader

Trostani is the fusion of the three dryads Oba, Ses, and Cim to the World Tree. They have a very important part to play in this story.

The Plot

Episode 1

Kaya returns to Ravnica, and a big party is going on at Teysa Karlov’s manor – invite only. Just after the Phyrexian invasion of Ravnica, they want to celebrate. Teysa Karlov is now the Orzhov guild leader, having taken this title from Kaya behind her back. Teysa reminds Kaya that she owes the Orzhov a debt, not being on Ravnica when the plane and the guild needed Kaya the most. Teysa also wants to show Kaya as a planeswalker trophy aligned with her guild.

Some Ravnician guild leaders are present, like Judith from the Rakdos, Lavinia from the Azorius, and Aurelia from the Boros, with other guilds sending important representatives like Trostani from the Selesnya. Golgari and Dimir are notably absent, as is Ral Zarek, Izzet‘s guild leader. , Ezrim the Archon, a very prominent figure and leader of the Ravnican Agency of Magicological Investigations – or simply agency – is present, and many consider him to be the hero of Ravnica after the invasion. Kellan, now a member of the agency, is also honored, thanks for helping capture Anzag, the great Gruul god, before it could wreak havoc on the ninth district. Another key figure present is Krenko, the goblin mob boss, who allegedly owes Karlov a lot of money, and Teysa sees him as an ally.

Teysa Karlov insists that she and Kaya have a private conversation, one that’s very important and no one should hear. Just as Teysa and Kaya are alone on the balcony and ready to chat…. Screams were heard.

Episode 2

Kaya and Teysa rush to the source of the screams, but the door to the room is locked. It would be easy to get into the room, especially for Kaya, but Karlov Manor is very well warded, even against ghosts. Ezrim breaks the door using his massive strength. Kaya checks the room and returns, pale and scared. Zegana of the Simic was dead inside the room, murdered. There weren’t many signs of violence and struggle, so it was a professional assassination. Ezrim calls for the Agency’s detectives. Teysa calls out for Vannifar, Simic representative. She also locks the building so no one gets in or out.

Vannifar’s informed of Zegana’s murder when she arrives. Information spreads out and people are in utter shock; the crowd gets electric. The Azorius representatives start to question everyone at the party using Verity Circles. Kaya wonders how the Azorius and Boros were so well prepared to investigate the crime scene, to which Aurelia replies that eight guilds gathered in a single place is a synonym for trouble.

After everyone‘s been cleared of the accusations, Detective Alquist Proft enters the scene. When he examines Zegana’s body, he sees that there’s a pattern. Zegana’s body had been arranged over several coats, with nine of the 10 guild symbols appearing in plain sight. Except the Dimir one, which was being covered by Zegana’s body. Proft also says that there’s a Dimir agent in disguise in the house. There’s a woman with Selesnya clothes but without the Selesnya sigil at the party, which makes Proft get suspicious of her. The woman is Etrata, a known Dimir vampire assassin, who, after being discovered, tries to flee the scene. With the combined efforts of Proft, Kaya, and Kellan, Etrata is arrested and sent to an Azorius prison.

Episode 3

Many of the Azorius lawmaji leave Karlov Manor after Etrata’s exit. Vaniffar is in absolute rage, and there’s no telling what the Simic guild can do after this event. In this setting of absolute tension, Kaya and Teysa are chatting as old friends. Teysa gives Kaya three days to tell her precious information, and Kaya struggles in her mind about staying in Ravnica or leaving. After all, she can planeswalk at any time.

The assassination was a political disaster too. In an event that should show the union of the guilds against a common enemy, they failed to protect one of the guild leaders. In these three days, Kaya wandered on the streets of Ravnica, hearing every sort of rumor from the townsfolk. She also discovers that planeswalkers are not being held in high esteem, since they failed to prevent the invasion.

Three days have passed, and not Teysa, but Kellan reaches out to Kaya. Kellan explains that the Agency wants to talk to her, and Kellan in particular wants to know about his father, the planeswalker Oko. Kaya agrees to go to Ezrim, shortly after telling Kellan that she doesn’t know any Oko planeswalker.

Ezrim offers Kaya an opportunity to clear her bad blood by leading the investigation and discovering the reasons behind the killing. He says that she as a planeswalker and former guild leader could be a neutral investigator and that would be good for her. She declines.

Meanwhile Proft is trying to extract information from Etrata. She doesn’t recall committing this murder at all – and she remembers all the assassinations she’d done. Proft asks Etrata to help him in the investigation as a way to clear her name in this particular crime, and lets Etrata leave the prison.

Kaya returns to Karlov Manor, after receiving a note calling her. She arrives only to get in and find the manor empty, with Teysa’s dead body on the floor.

Episode 4

Kaya is frightened at the idea that Teysa has been assassinated. Karlov Manor was very well guarded, and Teysa wouldn’t be assassinated that easily. Kaya tries to talk to Teysa’s Ghost, attempting to summon it, to no avail. Kaya also discovers that Teysa is still the Orzhov guild leader even after death and that the spirits hold no grudges against her. So, Kaya has a ghost alibi after all. She decides to return to Ezrim to accept the former proposal because now it’s personal for her.

When Kaya gets there, the agency is in an uprising because Etrata escaped the prison. What’s more, kaya tells Ezrim that Teysa is dead. So there are now two high-profile assassinations and the main suspect on the loose. Ezrim accepts and makes Kellan help her in the investigation. They must go to question Judith of the Rakdos. They’re joined by the ghost of Agrus Kos, a former Boros Investigator who now works for the Agency.

After arriving in Rakdos territory, they meet with Judith. Judith said she’d argued with Teysa over interest rates, but that wasn’t a reason to kill a Simic guild leader or Teysa herself. Judith also says that although Etrata is the killer, they need to go to Vitu-Ghazi in Selesnya territory to read the original Guildpact. There, they might find worthy clues.

Episode 5

Here we have Proft walking side-by-side with Etrata right into Dimir territory. He wants her to show him the last place where she remembers being. She arrives at a secret wall, taps a combination into the bricks, and reveals a secret passage. Both get in the secret passage, and the door slams shut hard after them, clearly the work of Izzet inventors.

Etrata tells Proft that the place is filled with traps allowing her to dispose of unwanted company. They get into Etrata’s room, clearly the home of a killer, filled with tools, poisons, weapons and the like. However, she really doesn’t remember killing Zegana, but she admits to having killed a lot of people for money. So Proft concludes that there’s a puppet master manipulating people into killing.

Proft manages to find a strange powder, a yellow-gray dust which Etrata doesn’t have the faintest memory of. Upon leaving to investigate the powder elsewhere, Proft is suddenly attacked by Massacre Girl, who was sent to kill him. For a little while, Etrata considers letting Proft be killed, but then she realizes he’s a powerful ally. She then proceeds to negotiate with Massacre Girl, seen as they are “professional colleagues and former friends”.

Here we see an ironic and unexpected dialogue between Etrata and Massacre Girl. Massacre Girl accepted the job to kill Proft, and she was just passing by to pick up a few things, considering that Etrata was detained.

Kaya and Kellan go to Vitu-Ghazi and are received by Tolsimir and his huge wolf Voja. They’re received by Trostani, which is represented by three dryads: Cin, Ses, and Oba. While Cin and Ses are inviting and courteous, Oba nails Kaya for the consequences of the invasion. After all, many lives were lost while she wasn’t here. Kaya finds it odd and strange but proceeds to read the Guildpact. Here’s a curious excerpt of the pact:
“'It is the hope of the founders that, by binding the demon Rakdos to a people of his own, we can prevent his continuing to instill murderous rage in the citizens of Ravnica. This disruptive pastime has resulted in random slaughter and rampages, with even the meekest of people turning on their kin without warning or due cause”.

Suddenly, the demon Rakdos becomes a suspect.

Episode 6

Proft and Etrata are going to see Kylox to get the mysterious powder analyzed. They can’t go to the Agency and risk ruining Etrata’s escape. Kylox’s house a hiding place, similar to Etrata’s. The place is wrecked up, with glass broken all over. It’s a mess. Proft finds out that there’s a bookshelf out of place, which Etrata moves, revealing a passage underneath it. Etrata can open the passage as she does with her hiding place. This leads them through an underground passage that they follow until they get to Kylox.

Kylox is very anxious and paranoid and asks them to see Ezrim. Kylox is kidnapped by Krenko, so Proft and Etrata follow them.

Meanwhile, Kaya and Kellan are leaving Vitu-Ghazi when they’re ambushed by six robed people, one of them carrying a heavy hammer. Although they triumph over the aggressors with ease, they notice some worthy things. First, after being defeated, the aggressors ate a kind of plant that made their body dissolve. Next, they found white fur on one the aggressor’s clothes. These clues point towards Trostani and Voja.

They arrive at the Agency, and are greeted by Ezrim and some dire news. First, they’ve caught Teysa’s killer who confessed but doesn't remember anything. Next, Aurelia was attacked by Massacre Girl. 10 of their guards are killed, although Aurelia survived. She says Kaya has 24 hours to discover what’s going on around Ravnica, or the Boros Legion will march on the Rakdos.

Proft and Etrata follow Kylox’s raptors, only to find that they took Kylox to Krenko. Krenko wants information from Kylox about the murders at all costs. Then, a huge fight breaks out between Etrata, Krenko’s minions, and a third manipulated assassin. Etrata manages to save the day and immobilize the aggressor, making Proft see with his own eyes that the assassin was manipulated and doesn’t remember anything.

Episode 7

After the 24-hour ultimatum, Kaya and Kellan are discussing the possible suspects. Kaya dismisses Rakdos as a possible influence on the killers, because one – Rakdos would like to turn the whole city into chaos and two – she suspects Judith is too keen on raising suspects over her Parun for personal gain. As soon as they start talking about Trostani, there’s a huge ruckus caused by Anzrag, the Gruul God. It’s a giant mole twice the size of an adult troll that was contained earlier but managed to escape. A huge fight takes place involving Kaya, Kellan, and Ezrim, in an attempt to contain Anzrag, and they manage to capture him back in the Evidence Chamber.

After the conflict, Agrus Kos asks Kaya to go somewhere alone to investigate. She reluctantly agrees. Agrus Kos arrives at Rix Maadi, determined to find the truth about Rakdos’s involvement, only to find out that Rakdos is in a deep sleep state, captured by Judith inside a magical skull. She claims that she really wants to frame Rakdos for the killings, in the hope that the other guilds decide to bind him permanently.

During that time Etrata and Proft go to the Sixth precinct under Golgari territory. Etrata’s a little uncomfortable going there, but Proft says it’s ok. There they’re received by Izoni, the Golgari guild leader. She took the vial containing the mysterious powder to analyze and said that it was natural and biological but not from Ravnica. It’s something she had never seen before. Maybe the Phyrexians have something to do with this.

Upon leaving the Golgari district, Proft notices a hooded figure, follows it, thentakes a blow to the head, falling to the floor unconscious. In his mind or dreams, he has a small conflict with a mysterious hooded figure that looks very much like Jace Beleren. The hooded figure needs something from his mind, which it catches and leaves. Proft is awake again, and they leave the Golgari district.

Aurelia arrives at the Agency, even angrier that Agrus Kos didn’t return from the Rakdos part of town. Finally, Proft and Kaya share facts and compare notes from their investigations. After Kaya tells him what she knows, he says he knows who did this and he’s going to prove it.

Episode 8

Proft gathers a lot of people in Vitu-Ghazi for the final reveal, under the eyes of Trostani, including Judith, Lavinia, Aurelia, and Kaya. Ezrim and Yarus shortly arrive there too. Krenko’s there, as is Massacre Girl, chained by Aurelia. Vannifar arrives shortly thereafter. Of course, with the mistrust among guilds and guild leaders, they start to argue over a lot of stuff, and the arguing only gets worse when Proft shows up there with Etrata, the murder culprit. He finally reveals that this gathering is happening because the culprit is there. With Ral Zarek and Izoni arriving, as well as Etrata representing House Dimir, there’s a representative of each guild and the guildpact allows the gathering to happen.

He proceeds to talk to each one of the suspects individually, starting with Kaya. Shortly thereafter, they’re all attacked by the mysterious powder, as Proft suspected would happen. The killer would take this opportunity to manipulate Kaya to kill Proft. It doesn’t work, of course. Proft and Kaya manage to capture the final evidence, the powder and the flower it came from. The revelation is about to begin. What follows now is a series of conclusions reached by Proft in the investigation:

Etrata was only able to be manipulated once, so the poweder doesn’t work twice.
The killers don’t recall their motives, so they can’t be guilty.
The powder is not natural or Phyrexian according to Izoni, but it may have been developed in Ravnica as a natural exposure to other life forms.
Only one guild has the means to create a natural plant of this matter: the Selesnya Conclave.

Finally, Detective Alquist Proft takes a good look at Trostani, and to the surprise and awe of everybody, accuses them of being the murderers.

Episode 9

Alquist Proft starts to explain why Trostani did it. He tells people that although he discovered the culprit, he doesn’t know the motives behind the crimes. Finally, Oba, one of the three dryads confesses – to the surprise of the other two dryads. She states that the murdered people deserved it, and that they are traitors to Ravnica. Zegana was experimenting with the Phyrexian Oil on living Ravnican beings, while Krenko was profiting from the war by selling stuff at a more expensive rate. Teysa had supposedly been in league with the Phyrexians aiming to obtain an advantage in case they were successful, and so on. Oba also tells them that through the roots of Vitu-Ghazi, she felt the invasion and the corruption more than anyone. She saw and heard everyone. It was the same roots that allowed them to control the murderers at nearly any place in Ravnica, no matter how guarded.

Aurelia wants to arrest Oba for the murders, but Oba defends herself, saying that by the law nothing can be done, because her sisters didn’t commit crimes, and they are together one being. Oba makes her sisters sleep while taking full control of Vitu-Ghazi, and a battle begins. She’s furious and in control of many thorny vines, ready to hit anyone crazy enough to stand in her way.

The first ones to be caught by the vines are Aurelia and Lavinia. Ral puts up a fight, while Krenko is captured. Kaya’s trying to cut people loose but she’s not quick enough. Etrata takes a spear shot originally intended at Yarus, the Gruul centaur. Kellan is hurled away from the fight but attempts to slow his fall down just before seeing Judith and Massacre Girl fleeing the scene.

Kaya realizes that Oba is really the main culprit as the wound on Etrata is fairly similar to the one on Teysa. Oba calls Kaya the deserter, and the fight narrows to just the two of them. Oba is very powerful, but Kaya is agile and hard to hit due to her ethereal powers.

Episode 10

So here it is, the final showdown. Kaya tries to defeat Oba by disconnecting her from the Worldsoul, from which she’s drawing her extra power. After a while, Kaya finds all the guild leaders covered in vines and roots. Trostani is winning and she has to make a move. To have a fighting chance she makes a plea to the plane of Ravnica to realize that Trostani is using it the same way the Phyrexians would. The plane then recedes, enough for Kaya to take ghost form and get an advantage.

Kaya and Etrata manage to use an Agency Capsule and bind Oba, while leaving her sisters intact, winning the fight once and for all.

After the conflict, Oba is imprisoned in the Agency Capsule. Trostani’s other dryads, Ses and Cim are innocent but retire from guilt. At Teysa Karlov’s funeral, she finally appears to Kaya as a ghost, saying that she’s very thankful. She’ll continue to run the Orzhov as a spirit and plots to obtain massive financial compensation from the Selesnya guild for her assassination. Kaya says farewell to Teysa and Kellan and planeswalks to Kaldheim.

Story Spotlight Cards

Auspicious Arrival

Auspicious Arrival shows Proft arriving at the crime scene, right after Zegana’s body had been found.

Murder

Here we see Zegana’s dead body being found in a room in Karlov Manor.

Officious Interrogation

Here we have the Azorius using verity circles to interrogate every single person in the event, shortly after Zegana’s body has been found.

Expose the Culprit

This scene shows Proft finding Etrata under disguise at the Karlov Manor party. She’s disguised as a Selesnyan, with the guild clothes. But what caught Proft’s eye was the lack of the Selesnya guild symbol.

The Chase Is On

After Etrata’s disguise has been broken, she runs away from the crime scene. She’s later caught up to by Kaya, thanks to Proft’s illusion magic.

Deadly Complication

The card depicts Kaya finding Teysa Karlov’s dead body on the floor of Karlov Manor. Interestingly, Etrata was already locked up for the murder of Zegana, so it must have been somebody else.

It Doesn’t Add Up

This scene refers to Etrata not remembering killing Zegana. This makes Proft suspect that Etrata could have committed the crime under some sort of mind control effect or magic.

Coerced to Kill

After Proft realized Etrata didn’t kill Zegana willingly, he decides to go after the mastermind. He’s willing to let Etrata out of the prison since she’s a valuable asset for his investigation.

Unauthorized Exit

Here, Proft is letting Etrata walk away from the Azorius Prison, clearly against the law.

Slice from the Shadows

In this scene, Proft and Etrata are investigating her secret hideout. Massacre Girl strikes Proft, but he is saved with Etrata’s help.

Convenient Target

This card shows the moment in which Kaya, Kellan, and Proft receive the information from Judith that they should analyze the original guildpact. Judith does that in an attempt to induce the detectives to consider Rakdos’s malign influence.

Anzrag’s Rampage

Anzrag, the Gruul God, breaks free from its Azorius Prison and starts rampaging. It’s later revealed that the murderer had a hand in allowing it to escape. Anzrag’s imprisoned again thanks to the collective efforts of Kaya, Kellan and Ezrim.

Soul Enervation

This card depicts the moment where Agrus Kos, taking advantage of his ethereal form, wants to investigate the demon Rakdos, deep inside Rix Maadi. Judith surprises Agrus, catching him inside a spell.

Fanatical Strength

Here we see Kellan and Kaya being attacked by six hooded figures sent by Trostani, one of them carrying a hefty hammer.

Reenact the Crime

This card shows Etrata and Proft trailing Kylox at his office/workshop. He tries to reconstruct what’s happened to find the secret passage.

Not on My Watch

Here we see Etrata protecting Proft when they follow Kylox’s kidnappers to Krenko.

Demand Answers

This card depicts the moment in which, after some Rakdos cultists try to murder Aurelia without success, she declares that if the murders are not solved in 24 hours, the Boros Legion will march over the Rakdos Cult.

Audience with Trostani

After visiting Judith, the investigator team sought an audience in Vitu-Ghazi, to get access to the original Guildpact’s contents.

On the Job

Kellan, Kaya and Agrus Kos set out to investigate Judith and the Rakdos.

Warleader’s Call

After Judith leads the investigators to believe Rakdos is the main culprit, and Agrus Kos is trapped by her, Aurelia decides to rally the Boros Legion and declare war on the Cult of Rakdos.

Analyze the Pollen

This scene shows Izoni, Golgari Guildleader, analyzing the strange pollen that might be responsible for the mind control effects. She tells the investigators that it’s natural, but she isn’t acquainted with it, so it’s probably not from Ravnica.

Intrude on the Mind

A cloaked figure that looks a little bit like Jace Beleren talks to Proft in his mind.

Assemble the Players

After every person of interest in the story gathers in Vitu-Ghazi, Alquist Proft is ready to tell them which one committed the murders.

Deduce

Proft shows the proof obtained after the flower attack in Vitu-Ghazi.

Dramatic Accusation

Proft accuses Oba, one of the three dryads that compose Trostani, of being responsible for the murders.

Worldsoul’s Rage

This card shows why Trostani, or Oba, committed all these acts of murder. They passed judgment on every creature that profited from the Phyrexian Invasion in some way, or that were interested in the Phyrexians, like Teysa or Zegana. They were deemed traitors and as such, deserve to die.

Insidious Roots

Insidious Roots depicts how Oba can reach almost everywhere and everyone in the city through Vitu-Ghazi’s roots.

Fae Flight

Kellan, after being hurled away by Oba, manages to stabilize before hitting the ground.

Makeshift Binding

This card shows the use of an Agency barrier ward capsule to bind Trostani/Oba in place, thanks to the collective efforts of Etrata, Kaya, and Ghost Teysa.

Call a Surprise Witness

Teysa Karlov finally appears before Kaya after the fight with Trostani/Oba. She’ll continue to run the Orzhov as a ghost, and she thinks it’s better this way since having a physical body had a series of downsides after all.