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Hello, everyone! I'm Levi from The Thought Vessel Show, and today, we're looking back at the legendary creatures from one of this year's more polarizing sets: Murders at Karlov Manor. Released in February, this set, like every Magic: The Gathering release, brought a fresh batch of legendary creatures ripe for commander decks. However, many in the community found the set underwhelming, arguing that it focused too heavily on weaker mechanics like Disguises and Clue tokens. Is that criticism fair? Let's investigate these legends through a tier list.
As with most tier lists, we'll rank from E (the worst) to S (the best). To make it into S tier, a commander must be interesting and have staying power--ideally, more than three years in the Commander format. E-tier legends, on the other hand, are lackluster, often failing to inspire even as part of the 99. Let's dive in, starting with the E-tier commanders.
E Tier: Barely Usable in Commander
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Dimir colors offer much better commanders for stealing from opponents, and there are stronger face-down commanders with more useful color combinations. This one feels unnecessary.
Every time we return to Ravnica, we get a new Lazav, and this is probably the weakest. While its effect is decent, you also need to dedicate deck slots to Clue generation, adding an extra layer of hassle.
Preventing creatures from blocking can help aggro strategies, but Agrus Kos doesn't do enough to justify its place in the command zone.
At best, this gives you a 5/5 Wolf that can pseudo-fight opponents' creatures in Selesnya colors for five mana. There are simply better things you could be doing, although it has some potential in a legendary token deck like Jodah.
D Tier: Decent, But Nothing Special
The sacrifice outlet and token creation are nice, but six mana for a commander with limited protection is steep. Still, it might see some play in the 99.
A unique storm commander with some protection, but requiring you to sacrifice your own creatures and costing seven mana makes it a hard sell.
Tomik brings interesting pillow fort potential and could find a home in decks that prioritize defense, but there are better options in these colors.
C Tier: Cool, But With Drawbacks
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Melek offers a big discount on your first spell, making huge spells like Time Stretch and Epic Experiment more viable. Unfortunately, we already have better Izzet commanders doing similar things at a higher level.
Similar to Azor, the Lawbringer, but requiring a Treasure sacrifice. Alquist is cheaper to cast at three mana, but it's still a downgrade from Azor.
Teysa excels at token generation, as long as opponents are losing life. However, this is the weakest version of Teysa to date, following a recent trend of underwhelming versions of familiar characters.
This is probably a 99 card for face-down decks. It has potential, but recent disguise/cloak/manifest commanders overshadow it.
In most games, this six-mana flying, trample 6/6 demon provides solid card draw. It's not outstanding in any one area, but it's an all-around decent commander.
B Tier: Solid, But Missing Something
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Every Krenko iteration brings something different to the table, and this one is no exception. It's versatile and even capable of combo plays.
This deck rewards you for building around Ravnica's many color pairs. It's fun, though the payoff could be a little better.
A new Treefolk commander! While Arcades is likely the better option, a 2/15 body for just one Green mana is pretty exciting.
Simic "do-stuff" is back! Sending Kellan on an adventure before casting him later is a luxury, and this color pair gives you plenty to work with.
Azorius doesn't have many strong artifact commanders, but Ezrim is an intriguing Voltron option with a built-in sacrifice outlet.
A Tier: Fun, Interesting Designs
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Extra combat is always enticing! While Anzrag was the most hyped commander at release, the excitement has waned due to the less enjoyable play patterns.
The Game Knights Live winner! Aurelia provides much-needed card advantage for Boros aggro decks.
I've faced this deck more than any other commander on this list, and it's thrilling to see it pop off with face-down cards. You never know what's coming!
Assigning three powerful keywords to creatures at instant speed in a Selesnya aggro deck is exciting.
Another Massacre Girl reprint! This deck turns -1/-1 counters into value in no time.
S Tier: Trendsetters in Their Archetypes
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Probably the strongest commander in the set. So strong, in fact, it sparked discussions about Ward on impactful creatures.
From blink strategies to small-creature decks, Delney has a lot of utility and even sees cEDH play in the 99.
This commander feels like a Rakdos burn/lifegain hybrid we haven't seen much of since Firesong and Sunspeaker in Boros. It's efficient at clearing boards and closing out games.
And that wraps up our tier list of every legendary creature from Murders at Karlov Manor. While opinions on the set's overall quality may differ, I think Wizards of the Coast knocked it out of the park! Until next time, happy gaming!
