Murders at Karlov Manor/Puzzles

Murders at Karlov Manor/Puzzles

 

Commander decks

 

Card comparisons

 

Trivia

 

Art Series

 

Puzzles

 

The Case of the Three Blade Knife

 

Across Murders at Karlov Manor cards and products, players can uncover clues to something bigger — with a final reward for the most assiduous of sleuths out there. Each product in the set contains a puzzle to be solved; some puzzle components are only found within the physical products, but others encourage players to continue the discovery online with web-based puzzles added regularly throughout the season.

Description

“	Welcome aboard, agent, and thank you for agreeing to help on such short notice. We have received high praise regarding your consulting detective work, and at present we need all the minds we can get. Perhaps you’ve heard, but a string of high-profile murders across the city has the Agency extremely backed up on its unsolved case files, and some of them are . . . intriguing. Could be nothing, could be something, but we cannot know for sure until you take a look. Think you can handle the task? Be sure to report your findings back to Detective Alquist Proft whenever you make a breakthrough.	”
—Ezrim, Ravnican Agency of Magicological Investigations Chief

There is one overarching puzzle — across all products and online — that gives players who crave a true challenge the opportunity to solve a greater mystery; however, there are still 12 individual puzzles that are self-contained and are just as satisfying cases to crack. Once the final puzzle has been solved, it unlocks information about the future of Magic. As soon as any person anywhere in the world submits the correct solution to the final puzzle to the dedicated website, a bonus Magic Story epilogue will be released that points to the future of the game.

The project was overseen by Mark Gottlieb and Mark Rosewater was also on the puzzle building team. The other members were Matt Tabak and Bella Guo.

Mystery Files

The main ARG puzzles.

Mystery File Headquarters

For two weeks, starting with the prerelease on February 2^nd, a new Mystery File will be released each day on the Mystery Files website. Mystery files are ARG puzzles that are solved using clues and information found in Murders at Karlov Manor products and on the Mystery Files website. Each Mystery File has a Crime Scene that sets the parameters for that particular puzzle. To provide players with additional help, the Mystery Files website also includes an "Ask Alquist" button. Each puzzle has three hits that can be obtained via the button. Participants can click any number of questions, in any order, at any time, or skip them entirely. There’s no penalty in the Mystery Files for using the Ask Alquist function, allowing participants to personalize the difficulty of each Mystery File.

When participants have an answer, they can enter it on Mystery File website to receive confirmation they have solved the puzzle or an indication that they have more sleuthing to do.

The first twelve Mystery Files are designed to be independent of one another. They can be solved in any order and don't have to be solved on the day of their release. The final Mystery File is a meta-puzzle requiring the answers to all of the other puzzles, in addition to some further clues, to solve.

List of unsolved clues

Product	Clue	Notes
Bundle spindown life counter	Missing the number "16"
Social media	Sets of pawprints across several of the Magic: The Gathering social media channels.	Instagram — 1 pawprint in the bio (🐾). TikTok — 2 pawprints in the bio (🐾). Facebook — 3 pawprints on the banner image. Twitter/X — 6 pawprints on the banner image.
Card art variation	Case of the Gorgon's Kiss: Has two art versions; one with a green cushion in the chair, one with a red cushion.
Card art variation	Clandestine Meddler: Has two art versions; one with a white curtains, one with a red curtains.
Card art variation	Sudden Setback: Has two art versions; one with a black bottle above the Minotaur's head, one with a green bottle.
Card art	Tap-surveil duals: When all extended arts are lined up in a certain order, a hidden message is revealed: "RNA 32 x 5 + 4"	32 x 5 + 4 = 164, the collector number of Cult Guildmage in Ravnica Allegiance.
Card art	Case of the Stashed Skeleton: The art features the same Jace puppet as Cult Guildmage.	Art also contains a Lead Pipe.
Card art variation	There are four art variations of Ransom Note, each with a different ransom note written in Ravi: Ransom Note (Accusations) Ransom Note (Clues) Ransom Note (Morph) Ransom Note (Surveil)	Each Murders at Karlov Manor Commander deck has a different version of the Ransom Note.
Flavor text	Each of the five Clue tokens has Agency memo flavor text: (0014) “Four prints plus one murder weapon equals a case even Juri won’t be able to wriggle out of.” (0015) “With the Gnat Alley mugging case solved, maybe we can finally figure out who’s been leaving shoes all over the Sixth Precinct.” (0016) “As we suspected, someone appears to be targeting Tolsimir specifically.” (0017) “Whatever it is, the smell alone could stun a loxodon. Simic involvement?” (0018) “Confiscated from the twin heirs of the Lusaht family. Will not be easy to unlock.”	This flavor text is not present on the same Clue token in the Murders at Karlov Manor Commander decks.
Card art	Each card has various clues in the art: Coins — with the numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 15 16. Bloodstains — forming the numbers 1, 7, 11, 3. Cracks in tiles — forming the numbers 14, 9, 8, 5, 3. Numbers on objects: The barrier wards have the numbers 6 and 12. The unbroken dagger has the number 7. The purple footprint being magnified has an "11" in the tread. Objects as numbers: The locket with the purple head forms an 8. The hilt of the broken dagger is a 3. The magnifying instrument forms a 7. Ransom Note — a piece of paper has a clue using the symbols in the Ransom Notes.	The five back faces of the Clue tokens each have a borderless full art image depicting part of a crime scene. The images for a panorama.

Unsolved clues gallery

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  Bundle Spindown Life Counter missing #16

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  Pawprints on the MTG Twitter account.

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  Pawprints on the MTG Facebook account.

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  Pawprints on the MTG TikTok account.

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  Pawprints on the MTG Instagram account.

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  A panorama of the borderless surveil dual lands form a clue.

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  The two differently colored curtains in the art of Clandestine Meddler.

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  Ravnican writing on Cryptex.

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  Ravnican Ransom Note #1.

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  Ravnican Ransom Note #2.

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  Ravnican Ransom Note #3.

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  Ravnican Ransom Note #4.

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  Clue token.

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  Clue token.

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  Clue token.

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  Clue token.

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  Clue token.

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  The panorama created by the back face of the five Clue tokens.

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  The Weird Window mystery file found in Play Booster boxes.

Mystery File #1

To be released on February 2nd, 2024.

Mystery File #2

To be released on February 3rd, 2024.

Mystery File #3

To be released on February 4th, 2024.

Mystery File #4

To be released on February 5th, 2024.

Mystery File #5

To be released on February 6th, 2024.

Mystery File #6

To be released on February 7th, 2024.

Mystery File #7

To be released on February 8th, 2024.

Mystery File #8

To be released on February 9th, 2024.

Mystery File #9

To be released on February 10th, 2024.

Mystery File #10

To be released on February 11th, 2024.

Mystery File #11

To be released on February 12th, 2024.

Mystery File #12

To be released on February 13th, 2024.

Mystery File #13

To be released on February 14th, 2024.

Pre-ARG puzzle

Prior to the release of the set, Wizards of the Coast started to provide some clues to participants via their social media channels (Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok). This puzzle was completed in the lead up to the set's pre-release on February 2^nd and isn't considered part of the main ARG.

List of clues

Clue	Message	Date	Notes
	Hey little guy, what'cha got there? #MTGKarlov 🐾	2024-01-08	Illustration for Tunnel Tipster with a map fragment superimposed into the Molefolk's hand.
	Key clues can be found in places often overlooked. #MTGKarlov 🐾➕ 1️⃣	2024-01-10	Illustration for Jaded Analyst with a map fragment superimposed into the human's dossier.
	So many clues to keep track of, and so little time to solve them. #MTGKarlov 🐾🐾	2024-01-12	Illustration for Case File Auditor with a map fragment superimposed onto the human's scroll.
File:MKM Clue map fragment4.mp4	Hint: watch this all the way through, our little friend may have found another clue. #MTGKarlov 🐾	2024-01-15	The end of a video depicts a map fragment hanging as decoration in the background of the illustration for Case of the Filched Falcon.
File:MKM Clue map fragment5.mp4	To a great mind, nothing is little! #MTGKarlov 🐾🐾🐾	2024-01-18	Video depicting a map fragment in amongst Alquist Proft's notes on the main story case.
	Maybe the number of episodes is a clue? 👀 Read the latest #MTGKarlov episode "Roots of Decay" here: https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/magic-story/episode-10-roots-of-decay	2024-01-19	Tweet promoting the final chapter of the main story.
	Until you have all the clues, it's difficult to see the whole picture. #MTGKarlov ✅	2024-01-20	Key art depicting a map fragment alongside a portrait of Teysa Karlov.
	Oh look! Our Tunnel Tipster friend has made one last discovery. Can you connect the dots? #MTGKarlov The strings are NOW in place! #MTGKarlov	2024-01-20	Cards containing clues pinned up on a corkboard with string connecting them. In order, starting at the Tunnel Tipster card preview: An eight-sided dice with the 2 and 3 sides visible. The illustration of Pack Leader (Core Set 2021). A chess pawn capturing a king. "PRW2", , the pen symbol that appears next to a card artist's name, "Y-H.H." An illustration of four bees. "ROOTS OF DECAY" "LIKE A (drawing of an areoplane)" surrounded by music notes, "F.A.M" in the bottom right corner. "ZNC 130 SUBTYPE:" An illustration of four waves. "FATE" "FNM 01/01/2016"

Map fragments

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  Map fragment #1.

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  Map fragment #2.

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  Map fragment #3.

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  Map fragment #4.

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  Map fragment #5.

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  Map fragment #6.

• The completed map.

  The completed map.

Solutions

Each clue on the cork-board corresponded to a set of coordinates on the completed map.

Coordinate	Character	Explanation
D8	4	In D&D terminology, an eight-sided dice is truncated as "D8".
K9	7	Pack Leader has the Dog subtype. Dogs are a type of Caninae and a popular homophone of canine is "K9".
M8	5	A game of chess ends when the opponent's king is in check, and there is no legal way to get it out of check (checkmate). The prefix "check" can be removed from the clue as a king can be in check without being in checkmate, leaving just "mate". M8 can be used as a homophone of "mate".
B10	q	The illustration initials refer to artist Yeong-Hao Han. "PRW2" is the expansion code used by Scryfall to catalogue the Ravnica Weekend promotional lands from the Ravnica Allegiance release. The only card in that collection illustrated by Yeong-Hao Han was Island, which has the collector number "B10".
B4	1	The illustration has four bees, which is a homophone for "4B".
E10	- (hyphen)	The tenth episode of main story for Murders at Karlov Manor is titled "Murders at Karlov Manor Episode 10: Roots of Decay". A common way to refer to stories with multiple episodes is to use a truncated episode number — "E10".
G6	w (lower case)	The clue refers to the 2010 song Like a G6 by Far East Movement.
G8	Y	"ZNC 130" is the set and collector code for Gruul Guildgate (Zendikar Rising Commander, #130). The card's subtype — Gate — can be broken into "G" and "ate", with "ate" being a homophone for "8".
C4	L	The illustration has four waves, indicating an ocean or sea. Using "sea", this clue is a homophone for "4C".
F8	C	The illustration shows the "F" in "fate" is underlined separately from "ate". Because "ate" is a homophone "8", the solution becomes "F8".
F16	o (lower case)	"FNM" is shorthand for Friday Night Magic and the date is a reference to the FNM card for January 2016. On Scryfall, this card is catalogued with the set code "F16". It is also possible to use the first letter and last two digits of this clue to arrive at the same result.
Result: When all the characters are combined in the order of the clue cards, they produce the string "475q1-wYLCo". If added to the end of a standard YouTube URL ("https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=") they lead to an unlisted video on the Magic: The Gathering channel that previews the card for Anzrag, the Quake-Mole.

External links

• Mystery File Headquarters website.