Secrets of Strixhaven previews continue, and Card Kingdom is excited to share our two exclusive free preview cards, courtesy of Wizards of the Coast. The cards we’re previewing today are from the Mystical Archive bonus sheet, and are reprints of highly played Commander cards in blue and red decks.
SECRETS OF STRIXHAVEN MYSTICAL ARCHIVE PREVIEW CARD: BIG SCORE
The first card we have to preview is Big Score, an instant speed draw spell in red that also makes two Treasure tokens. It costs four mana to play, and also asks you to discard a card, but it’s well worth it. Big Score is excellent in decks that copy spells, as you’re only required to discard the card as a cost to cast the initial spell. That means any subsequent copies of Big Score you end up with on the stack don’t require you pay mana or discard cards to reap the rewards.
Big Score is a perfect fit in decks like Fire Lord Azula, Stella Lee, Wild Card, and Alania, Divergent Storm. While copying it is the best thing you can be doing with it, you can also just run it as a generic draw spell in decks that care about making tokens or using the graveyard, or decks that ask you to cast multiple spells in a turn.
Casting it as your first spell with Shiko and Narset, Unified lets you use the treasure to cast a follow up and copy it. Quintorius wants you to fill the graveyard, and white decks have ways of doubling token production like Anointed Procession and Elspeth, Storm Slayer. Decks focused on treasure production like Burakos with Guild Artisan use spells like Big Score as their bread and butter.
It’s always great to see popular spells like these with new art. Now, let’s check out our next preview card!
SECRETS OF STRIXHAVEN MYSTICAL ARCHIVE PREVIEW CARD: PONGIFY
Pongify is even more widely played than Big Score, so this is another welcome reprint – with great new art. To be honest, we’re surprised this one hasn’t had new art before now, but now’s a good a time as any. Dominik Mayer’s iconic style is present in this cool Mystical Archive version of a staple removal spell.
Blue decks don’t have always have access to premier removal like Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile and Anguished Unmaking. Instead, they make do with what they have – and what they have are some color-pie bending tools that are a legacy of past design mistakes!
Pongify and Rapid Hybridization give blue decks access to one mana creature removal, which puts them in a great position to keep control of the board in multiplayer games. That 3/3 Ape is a lot less scary than a Serra Ascendant, a Braids, Arisen Nightmare, or a Giada, Font of Hope.
SECRETS OF STRIXHAVEN MYSTICAL ARCHIVE
The Mystical Archive bonus sheet contains reprints of popular instants and sorceries from throughout Magic’s history. They are depicted as the first time these spells were cast, as if we are peering back into the past to learn from those who came before.
Each Play Booster contains one slot for Mystical Archive card, with Collector Boosters giving you the chance to get foil copies.
You can find Secrets of Strixhaven boosters, singles and Commander Precons available for pre-order today.
Kristen is Card Kingdom’s Head Writer and a member of the Commander Format Panel. Formerly a competitive Pokémon TCG grinder, she has been playing Magic since Shadows Over Innistrad, which in her opinion, was a great set to start with. When she’s not taking names with Equipment and Aggro strategies in Commander, she loves to play any form of Limited.