Murders at Karlov Manor introduced several new mechanics with ties to murder mysteries and detective stories alike. Suspect is one such mechanic. A creature can be suspected via several card effects and when a creature is suspected it gains menace but can no longer block. Not the flashiest ability, but in a pinch suspecting a creature can get a crucial attack through by buffing your own creature or keeping a big blocker from getting in your way.

Everyone is a suspect, even the goat!

While Murders at Karlov Manor is a fairly new set in the grand timeline of Magic: The Gathering, it was still surprising to find only 20 or so cards have been printed so far featuring this mechanic. Suspect does feel like a way to spice up a deck, but not necessarily the best thing to build around (unless you pick up the Blame Game Precon). Decks that focus on getting combat damage through or on locking your opponents out of fighting you may look at these cards for ways to single target remove creatures from a fight, just be careful to avoid giving your opponents' an easy swing with a menace creature.

Where to go with Suspect?

Barring a new set of card support, Suspect seems to fall in the category of Goad decks. Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser allows you to goad all suspected creatures when she attacks and gains card draw from opponents attacking each other. Nelly combined with a card like Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant would create a great pair of goad pieces in a Red, White, and Black (Mardu) Commander deck headed by Isshin, Two Heavens as One at the helm. Focusing the Suspect effect on your opponent's creatures can let you double up with Isshin's trigger and keep the board out of your hair despite any wide boards they might be crafting.

All suspects are guilty with these three around!

Outside of a more focused combat deck, Suspect is used in a number of protection or recursion spells that can fit into plenty of decks. Airtight Alibi provides targeted protection for a turn and the bonus that your creature can't become suspected if you need it as a blocker. Incriminating Impetus can do the opposite, providing a way to single target goad a creature on the opponent's board that is causing you problems. It Doesn't Add Up and Presumed Dead both give some form of recursion either when the creature dies or to bring it back from your graveyard with the "downside" being it cannot block and gains menace via Suspect. Then of course Blue has their normal effects of making creatures weaker via Eliminate the Impossible or just countering a win condition with Reasonable Doubt.

Who's the Culprit?

While MKM isn't the most well regarded set of 2024, I do believe Suspect can have a place in Magic: The Gathering with some more help from the designers. Effects like Suspect can bring a new angle to card effects as long as we avoid the game just becoming nesting keywords aka Keyword Soup. I hope it won't just be abandoned as I could see Suspect becoming an accompanying keyword to Goad or other effects like Bolster and Prowess. Would you like to see Suspect return in a later set? Or do you think the true crime was bringing this mechanic into the game? How would you change it to better fit your idea of Magic? Let us know!

Brandon Ashcraft

Twitter (X): Ashen_Works