Etrata, Deadly Fugitive – Murders at Karlov Manor
Date Reviewed: January 7, 2024
Ratings:
Constructed: 3.75
Casual: 4.75
Limited: 4.75
Multiplayer: 3.75
Commander [EDH]: 4.25
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
I honestly forgot that Etrata was a thing until just this week, but she’s doing something intriguing this time around. The designers have flirted with kindred support for face-down creatures over the years, though this is a notable occasion that goes beyond the standard “everyone gets +1/+1” effect. It helps you both with the likes of manifest (where you don’t always know what you’re getting ahead of time) and in situations where you steal someone else’s face-down creature (perhaps more in open casual formats than in Murders at Karlov Manor). Either way, Etrata does enough to ask to be built around, and I like that she plays well with older face-down card mechanics.
Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 4.5 (she really threatens to run away with a game if she gets going)
Limited: 4.5
Multiplayer: 4
Commander [EDH]: 4.5
Face-down creatures have gotten a new go this time, and Etrata, Deadly Fugitive is a very interesting enabler for both the original versions (morph, megamorph, manifest) and for this set’s new takes on it (cloak, disguise).
First, let’s talk about cloak and disguise. Disguise is the set’s riff on morph: pay 3 mana to cast a creature as a 2/2 body, but with ward 2; cloak is to manifest what disguise is to morph. A cloaked card can be turned up for its own mana cost…if it’s a permanent, which is where Etrata comes in.
Etrata plays pretty well on her own, meant to slip in and stab. A 1/4 with deathtouch is not an attractive target you want to block, and she’s a cheap enough body to get a lot in. And considering she basically makes a 2/2 off the top of the opponent’s library each time she hits (or an Assassin hits), that adds up quickly.
Her other ability is the interesting one, giving a payable “disguise” cost for each card. Notably, if you use it on an instant or sorcery, they can actually be cast from exile, which makes for utility in case a spell gets manifested or cloaked. That’s a pretty fun way to push ahead with face-down shenanigans, and while four mana is certainly not cheap, it is payable enough. Just be warned: the four mana turn-up is an activated ability, not a special action, so be mindful of that.
Etrata, Deadly Fugitive is actually pretty interesting, all in all. I think she’s more cute than anything else, but she’s a creature that can raise an army pretty readily and weaponize that, and that’s going to raise eyebrows. If you already have a couple Assassins, dropping her can create instant chaos, and I like the idea of what she can do.
Constructed: 4 (maybe optimistic, but I like her skillset)
Casual: 5
Limited: 5
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander [EDH]: 4
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