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Magic: The Gathering – Murders At Karlov Manor’s Product Architect Interview
Magic: The Gathering’s latest collectable card game expansion returns to the multi-coloured plane of Ravnica, but with a murder mystery twist!
Taking pages from mystery whodunit analog games like Clue or Cluedo, the newest expansion Murders at Karlov Manor introduces new thematic mechanics like Disguise, Suspected, Collect Evidence, and Cases to spice things up. New win mechanics involving solving the on-board case mean more fun multiplayer opportunities, especially in games involving more than two spellslingers.
How did this come to be? Why the sudden combination with whodunnits? We talk to the expansion’s Product Architect Mike Turian about balancing accessibility and the needs of long-time players, as well as bringing back old mechanics to a new audience.
The murder mystery element of the set has existed since the original concept of the set. When the team plans out our set releases, very early on it starts with just a word or two to describe the set. For Polo (Murder at Karlov Manor’s codename), that was always Murder Mystery. Teams typically start working on sets about three years before that set’s actual release. While MKM was always known to be a murder mystery set, the idea to bring the setting to Ravnica only came about after around six months of planning and work on the set.
The game design team had the idea to bring the fun of Magic and Clue together. The main set of MKM already had five of the six weapons that the Clue board game has, so from there we partnered with the amazing Hasbro team and went about designing a fun experience that was inspired by both games.
A top-down set is one where you start with a big idea at the “top” and let everything else come out of that idea. With Murders at Karlov Manor we knew that we were starting with the idea of a murder mystery set. Some questions immediately come to mind like, “Okay, if this set is a whodunit, then who is murdered? One person? Many? Who killed them? Why?” And as you continue down that path, the details of what cards and ideas make sense for the feel of being in a murder mystery set—such as having detectives, mysterious envelopes, magnifying glasses, red herrings and so many more—fall into place.
One step the game design team always takes is that they have a look back at older mechanics that were both beloved by players and would probably fit well with the current theme of the set. If they find those two elements, that typically results in bringing back an older mechanic.
For new mechanics, there is always the desire to find new ways to express Magic cards in a way that is fun and resonant. New mechanics can bring both fun and resonance by offering new ways to think about Magic cards and draw you into the setting. For Murders at Karlov Manor, I love the moment where you reveal who was really wearing the disguise and then you get to reveal a sweet creature!
We have so many players (myself included) who have been playing Magic since it came into existence. We also know that there are people out there who are picking up the game for the first time ever with Murders at Karlov Manor. With such a diverse range of experience, we want to make cards that appeal to a range of players. To me, it is about making cards that people love! I want a new player to fall in love with a card for whatever reason strikes them as awesome.
And then for an established player who already has dozens of decks built, we want to create a card or card combo that inspires them to build another deck. One thing that works in our favour is that Magic, as a game, grows with you as you learn. The possibility of what you can do gets bigger with every new card you come across, so in a sense, we will keep trying to make cards that players, no matter what their experience level will fall in love with.
Oh, so many cards to choose from! I was tempted to pick “Lead Pipe” because growing up I loved playing Clue so bringing to life one of my favourite games growing up with my favourite all-time game is so appealing. In the end though, I will give the nod to Krenko, Baron of Tin Street.
I’ve always had a love of Goblins in Magic and to be able to make a new Krenko that is both inspired by the original and is a powerhouse in his own right, that is too awesome!
The impacts of the Phyrexian invasion will continue to appear in individual cards and the storyline. Murders at Karlov Manor takes place around a year after the events of March of the Machine and even though Ravnica was able to fend off the Phyrexian Invasion, things aren’t 100% well on Ravnica. Each of the guilds has been left impacted by the invasion. Some guilds, like Dimir, used the invasion as cover to advance their own agenda while others ended up worse off. For instance, Golgari was shunned due to their part in helping the Phyrexians.
As the Product Architect for Murders at Karlov Manor (MKM), I’m involved with all aspects of the set. While I won’t give away the secrets within the cards and products, I can say that the team has gone above and beyond making an awesome experience for players who want to go beyond the cards and solve mysteries for themselves. We created the RavnicaDetectiveAgency.com website to guide players through the experience and offer puzzles of all ranges of difficulties.
Magic: The Gathering – Murders at Karlov Manor is out now.
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