Alquist Proft, Master Sleuth: Mastering Board Control

Alquist Proft, Master Sleuth: Mastering Board Control

In TCG ·

Alquist Proft, Master Sleuth card art from Murders at Karlov Manor

Image courtesy of Scryfall.com

Alquist Proft, Master Sleuth: Mastering Board Control

When a legendary Human Detective steps onto the battlefield, you know the game just got a little more theatrical. Alquist Proft, Master Sleuth arrives with the elegant poise of a blue-white maestro and the sticky charm of a hands-on puzzle solver. In Murders at Karlov Manor, this card isn't just about stats; it's about shaping the flow of a match. With Vigilance to keep you safely ahead on offense or defense, and an "investigate" trigger that lays down a Clue token as a foothold for deeper board control, Proft is a card that rewards careful tempo and ruthless planning 🧩. And yes, the art and flavor fans adore—the trench coat, the magnifying glass, the aura of a mystery that demands answers 🔎.

Mechanics that sing in harmony

Alquist Proft wears {1}{W}{U} on its sleeve, a mana cost that signals a thoughtful control shell; its mana value sits at 3, a comfortable sweet spot for many building scenarios. The creature itself is a 3/3 with Vigilance, which means Proft keeps the board issue-free while you probe for answers. The ETB ability is where the board-state drama begins: “Investigate.” That means you immediately create a Clue token—a small artifact with big potential. Clues are tiny engines: {2}, Sacrifice this token: Draw a card. In a blue-white combo of prevention and planning, each Clue you generate is a doorway to a fuller hand and a steadier pace of play. 🧙‍♂️

But the real centerpiece is the activated ability: {X}{W}{U}{U}, {T}, Sacrifice a Clue: You draw X cards and gain X life. This is not merely card draw; it’s life-gain insurance for your plans and a way to refuel in the teeth of opposing pressure. You can start modestly to smooth out your turns, or scale up as you accumulate Clues from multiple turns of Investigate, turning Proft into a moving draw engine that also protects you from sweepers and top-decks gone wrong. The requirement to sacrifice a Clue keeps the board friction intact—your Clues are real resources, not tokens to tuck away for later use. This combination of draw and life means you don’t just replace what you’re losing; you outlast and outmaneuver, which is the essence of controlling a table with style 🔷🔥.

Board control in practice

In practice, this card asks you to think in layers. First, deploy early removal and countermagic to keep the early turns clean while you assemble your Clue economy. Proft’s Vigilance ensures your threats or answers stay ready to swing without leaving you tapped out of the crucial next move. The Investigate trigger can snowball; you want at least one Clue on the battlefield to enable the big X draw, but more Clues mean more immediate leverage should you decide to unleash the big draw-and-life swing earlier than expected. The mana cost of the big ability is a reminder that you’re balancing tempo with inevitability: you may not want to cash in all your Clues at once, but the option to do so remains a formidable weapon in your arsenal 🎲.

Think of Proft as the lead investigator in a white-blue courtroom drama. You gather evidence (Clues) to present your case: control the board, protect your life total, and sculpt your hand to find the exact answer you need. You’ll lean on a suite of interaction—stick to efficient permission and targeted removal—and use Proft as a channel for card advantage that doesn’t require you to abandon your defensive posture. The ability to draw and life-gain scales with X, so you have a built-in way to adapt to increase pressure on the table, whether you’re facing states that demand you to top-deck into a refund, or you’re navigating a sticky late-game where card advantage can determine if you push for a win or stall for another turn of inevitability 💎⚔️.

Deck-building notes: how to maximize the Proft shell

To unlock Alquist Proft’s full potential, pair it with a measured control package and supportive Investigate synergies. Include foundational blue and white staples that provide removal, borrower-friendly countermagic, and ways to leverage moments when your Clues accumulate. Your goal is to keep the board well-ordered while you methodically assemble your draw engine. You’ll want ways to produce Clues beyond Proft’s own ETB trigger, ensuring you’re never stuck with a fragile engine in the late game. A few strategic ideas:

  • Combine Proft with reliable removal and key bounce effects to protect your plan while you deploy Investigate toys.
  • Include draw accelerants that synergize with the Clue economy, allowing you to convert clues into decisive card advantage at the moment you need it most.
  • Protect your life total as you push for the X-draw payoff; Proft’s life gain is more than a cushion—it’s a tactical resource against aggressive boards.
  • Maintain a healthy number of Clues on the battlefield; one or two can be sufficient to enable your X-based plays, but multiple Clues give you the option to go big when the window opens.
  • Enjoy the flavor of a cunning detective’s toolkit: control the tempo, reveal the right answer at the right moment, and let the mystery unfold on your terms 🔍🎨.

From a lore perspective, Proft embodies the investigative ethos of Murders at Karlov Manor: patience, observation, and the willingness to spend scarce resources for a bigger payoff. The card’s art, the mechanic text, and the thematic alignment of Clue tokens all reinforce the sense that you’re assembling a case against chaos, with every draw and every life point edging you closer to a courtroom victory. In the grand tapestry of MTG’s set design, that feeling—of a game turning on a well-placed clue and a disciplined plan—remains one of the most enduring pleasures for players who savor strategy with a dash of storytelling 🧭🎭.

“Every clue you collect is a step toward answers—and every answer is a riddle you haven’t yet solved.”

To celebrate that sense of discovery, this legendary detective makes a compelling centerpiece for a control deck that prizes precision over fireworks. The blend of Vigilance, Investigate, and the X-based draw is unusual but highly effective in the right shell, offering both a stable early game and a dramatic late-game crescendo. If you’re chasing a moment where a single draw spell becomes a game-defining swing, Alquist Proft, Master Sleuth is the kind of card that invites you to lean into the mystery and emerge with the last, decisive clue 🧠💥.

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Alquist Proft, Master Sleuth

Alquist Proft, Master Sleuth

{1}{W}{U}
Legendary Creature — Human Detective

Vigilance

When Alquist Proft enters, investigate. (Create a Clue token. It's an artifact with "{2}, Sacrifice this token: Draw a card.")

{X}{W}{U}{U}, {T}, Sacrifice a Clue: You draw X cards and gain X life.

ID: 41129b44-4fa7-473b-b2b7-48c6a58be03c

Oracle ID: dd79a994-7dad-49d4-8d8f-62dbedde4a38

Multiverse IDs: 646742

TCGPlayer ID: 530012

Cardmarket ID: 750669

Colors: U, W

Color Identity: U, W

Keywords: Investigate, Vigilance

Rarity: Mythic

Released: 2024-02-09

Artist: Andreas Zafiratos

Frame: 2015

Border: black

EDHRec Rank: 10443

Penny Rank: 9650

Set: Murders at Karlov Manor (mkm)

Collector #: 185

Legalities

  • Standard — legal
  • Future — legal
  • Historic — legal
  • Timeless — legal
  • Gladiator — legal
  • Pioneer — legal
  • Modern — legal
  • Legacy — legal
  • Pauper — not_legal
  • Vintage — legal
  • Penny — legal
  • Commander — legal
  • Oathbreaker — legal
  • Standardbrawl — legal
  • Brawl — legal
  • Alchemy — not_legal
  • Paupercommander — not_legal
  • Duel — legal
  • Oldschool — not_legal
  • Premodern — not_legal
  • Predh — not_legal

Prices

  • USD: 0.24
  • USD_FOIL: 0.40
  • EUR: 0.20
  • EUR_FOIL: 0.58
  • TIX: 0.30
Last updated: 2025-11-15