Whoooooo let's get to it! The official gallery is here (though I still think it's cluttered and the fact that an "Available In" button is needed confirms what a mess Magic product is like these days) but for those of you who would like a cleaner layout, I've got you covered. Twice even.
This set is interesting to me and it might be because MKM is the first set where I've noticed how damn many mechanics are being stuffed into sets now. Yes, the base mechanics are there and more prominent but WotC is clearly not worried about using any mechanic they want at higher rarities.
And while I understand why, I sympathize for any newer player trying to get a grip on things. Magic sets are always stuffed with information and I wonder when they'll hit a saturation point. Clearly, they think they haven't hit it yet. Let's dig in.
Mechanics!
I appreciate the way they have upgraded Morph with Disguise and Cloak. Vanilla 2/2s for three mana were never amazing, and getting a chance to play with the toys you bring to the game is important. Good job.
Investigate is a solid limited mechanic, a proven contender and thematically great with this set.
Collect Evidence, I'm realizing, is fixing Delve. Took me long enough! Hopefully this will allow for strong but not broken cards, instead of Delve's "this is trash" vs "this destroys games" power variance. A little wait and see here but positive curiosity.
Finally, Cases, which I find to be worded very awkwardly. It's the reminder text, honestly, that is throwing me. That they want the solution to trigger at the end step makes sense for a couple reasons: first, thematically that perfect and second, controlling when the resolution can happen allows them to make powerful cards that don't ruin the game. However, something about the way the reminder text goes throws me off; do I have to solve the case if I can? Once it's solved does it stay solved (it does, according to the article but that isn't intuitive for me). Since Cases don't automatically get sacrificed like Sagas do, there's a bit of memory upkeep. A minor thing but still a thing.
It's still interesting and I'm really glad to see WotC use enchantments in unique ways that other card types just won't support. Now let's talk colors.
White
There might be a deck to build around 2/x creatures. White has always had a subtheme here but with Disguise and Detective themes, there might be an interesting skeleton, starting with Delany, Streetwise Lookout and Assemble the Players.
Not much else catching my eye here.
Blue
I appreciate the opportunity that a card like Behind the Mask offers, since it can be aggressive early but defensive later. Similarly, Burden of Proof give both a Blue player or a detective oriented deck some room.
Coveted Falcon is a very weird creature; I suppose there's a high risk, high reward potential but the list of things to Donate is slim. Still, there's the card for the combo players, right?
Here's where I start to realize that mana is going to be a very important resource during MKM Limited matches. There are quite a few mana hungry cards in the set and it's going to be wise to be judicious about mana use and timing.
The Blue cards here could be incredible tempo swings, returning permanents to hand.
Black
So far, Black has my favorite art from the set: Unscrupulous Agent, Outrageous Robbery, Macabre Reconstruction, Long Goodbye, Toxin Analysis (the flavor text helps with that one too!). A whole lot I enjoy!
I appreciate the choice that Barbed Servitor offers the opponent; that should make for some interesting matchups. But the rest of the color seems fine.
Red
I wonder if the artist for Concealed Weapon knows what the word 'concealed' means.
There is a combo deck involving Crime Novelist, I just don't know what it is yet. But I already know there are infinite sacrifice outlets; so there must be a benefit for generating infinite red mana. A ready-made partner is the new Krenko.
Speaking of, Krenko's Buzzcrusher is giving me more of that nonbasic land hate I love. Keep it coming.
Vengeful Tracker could be an all star in Limited. Whoa. It might even be a neat counter to Goblin Bombardiers for a turn.
Green
Jeeze Analyze the Pollen is expensive for what it does. A card for Commander, I suppose. Speaking of: Pride of Hull Clade seems to be that kind of silly fun.
Will Slime Against Humanity finally let us make the kindred ooze deck we've been thinking about for decades? What? Just me?
Multicolor
Typically, Ravnica sets are where multicolored cards are meant to shine. There's some interesting, powerful cards, for sure. What interests me though is the split cards playing out in wedge colors; I wonder if the next set will be a three color wedge set, a la Khans. It's been awhile since a three color set joined the fray and these cards might help bridge some gaps.
Artifacts and Lands
Not much in the way of artifacts here; Cryptex seems especially terrible but the rest are fine. The Surveil lands-which don't have a nickname yet that I know of-are quite good. I was someone who downplayed the Temples from Theros back in the day, only to play with the cards and find out they were very good at what they were doing.
These have basic land types and allow for players to add to the graveyard. That makes them significantly better and without any other drawbacks that I am aware of. If you're not sure about them, I say get them.
My feelings about Murders at Markov Manor as a set are that: this seems like a pretty neat Limited set, but an underwhelming constructed one. I could be wrong; with ward 2, it could be that Disguise becomes strong enough for constructed decks. But as a limited set, I think it'll be fun!
