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Ravnica, the setting for upcoming Magic: The Gathering set Murders at Karlov Manor, is undoubtedly one of the game’s most beloved worlds. It's appeared in multiple releases, has spawned its own D&D sourcebook, and has been around for almost 20 years. But why's it so popular?
To give you a primer on why Ravnica is still going strong a couple of decades after it launched, here’s a whistlestop tour of the what, where, and when of the setting – including how it ties into Murders at Karlov Manor.
What is Ravnica?
- Ravnica is a planet-wide city
- Run by guilds
- Gives off steampunk vibes
Ravnica is an eastern-European inspired plane that takes the form of an ecumenopolis – a world-sized city – with architectural notes from Prague. The plane's real-world slavic ties have all but completely receded over its nearly 20-year lifespan (specific, located terms like 'Moroii', taken from Romanian superstition, have morphed into culturally ambiguous ones like 'Nightveil Predator'), replaced by guilds as Ravnica’s defining characteristic.
Even if you’ve never played a Ravnica set, you’ve most likely heard of the guilds. This group of businesses and ne'er do wells – each aligned with a different two-color combination – have become so well-known that their names are synonymous with the color combinations across Magic in general. They also enjoyed the spotlight in one of the older Dungeons and Dragons books, Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica.
Ravnica guilds
- There are 10 guilds in total
- Each one focuses on a different 'job'
- They're all deeply flawed
Each guild performs a different role in the running of Ravnica as a city. The Golgari work in waste management, for example, while the Dimir moonlight as spies while maintaining careers as reporters and journalists. (Which reflects rather poorly on your correspondent.)
Here are the guilds, and what they do:
Guilds are prevented from all-out war by the Guildpact, an ancient peacekeeping spell that currently exists within the body of Niv-Mizzet, former Izzet guildmaster and the plane’s only extant dragon. Additionally, there’s variously explored hints at a pre-Guild Ravnica – old, animal gods like Ilharg the Raze-Boar and cultists that worship them exist in the mossy gloaming of the plane’s Undercity, praying for the fall of the Guilds.
Because that's the thing about Ravnica; beneath the community love and the dazzling architecture and the what-guild-are-you quizzes, the plane is actually surprisingly dark. The Azorius round up innocent civilians and even children in mass arrests. The Simic turn areas of the plane into scorched earth with bio-engineered plagues. The Selesnya incorporate inductees into a hivemindish cult. No one’s elected; the plane’s governance has essentially been divided into unelected syndicates who self-govern through ruthless manoeuvring and brutal cunning. It’s a political landscape whose destruction stands to enrich many.
It’s no wonder, then, that some unnamed assailant wants not just to kill one guildmaster – but to spark the flame of infighting and topple Ravnica’s ruling elite.
The story
- A party is being thrown...
- ...but is interrupted by murder
- The culprits must be caught before they strike again
So, how does this all tie into Murders at Karlov Manor? Following the events of the Phyrexian invasion from the last few sets (where cyborg aliens tried to assimilate the multiverse and were only just defeated), everyone's picking up the pieces. The leader of the Orzohv Syndicate is throwing a lavish party as a result… but suddenly, someone from another guild turns up dead within the house. And before long, they're not the only ones.
A classic character – Kaya, who has been involved in many MTG sets – serves as the hero of this story, but these events draw in hard-boiled investigators as well. Namely, famed detective Alquist Proft (who is essentially Sherlock Holmes, but a lot more arrogant) gets involved to help solve the mystery.
You can catch up with the official narrative here, but if you want to go in blind, there are plenty of potential culprits. An initial thought is that the obvious suspects are just that – too obvious. Magic's story isn’t necessarily trying to be awards-bait, but having Murders at Karlov Manor character ‘Massacre Girl’ be behind the killing spree seems perhaps a little too on the nose.
Stay tuned at home, folks; this set will be to die for
Former poster boy of MTG, Jace, is my own personal prime suspect. We’ve seen nothing from him since he was converted by the Phyrexians during the aforementioned invasion, he’s involved with Ravnican politics, and definitely has the capacity for a surprise heel turn. Plus, he's got a magical skillset (telepathy and illusion) that’s a recipe for the perfect crime.
Other suspects include Azor, the spurned Azorius guildmaster who exiled himself to Ixalan (and was then himself exiled to a smaller, more inconsequential bit of Ixalan) looking for a way back to the top of Ravnica’s political morass, or perhaps Storrev, leader of an archaic progenitor society of elves known as the Erstwhile, who may benefit from the collapse of the guilds’ hegemony.
Either way, here’s our setting – a celebratory party at Karlov Manor with spirits high and tensions higher. Who lives? Who dies? And seriously, what happened to Jace? Stay tuned at home, folks; this set will be to die for.
For something to play between your MTG sessions, be sure to check out our guides to the best card games and the best board games.
