Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Set Review

Secrets of Strixhaven releases April 24. It’s a lot of fun to revisit Strixhaven, as we get to check out some interesting takes on how enemy color pairs interact to produce unconventional tactics. 

You can find other recent set reviews here:

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• Lorwyn Eclipsed
• Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar Jumpstart
• Marvel’s Spider-Man
• Edge of Eternities

Card Kingdom’s Set Reviews only really care about broadly powerful and relevant cards, so if you notice something missing? Chances are, it’s quite niche, and not something we’re super into unless we have a very specific deck. For example: Fix What’s Broken might well be a slam dunk in Lurrus Companion decks, but the average deck doesn’t want it quite so much.

In today’s Set Review you’ll discover the most popular and powerful cards from the set, including our roundups of the juiciest Commons and Uncommons. Oh, there goes the bell – class is now in progress. 

SECRETS OF STRIXHAVEN SET REVIEW: WHITE

Erode is going to be an all-timer. It’s an iteration on Path to Exile that plenty of decks will want. Look at it this way – you can turn on your catch-up ramp with it, but also (and more importantly, IMO) you can use it as a ramp spell yourself. I’m very excited to play this one. I need a playset.

Spellslinger decks in white aren’t limited to just Feather, the Redeemed. The most obvious to call out here are Elminster and Final Fantasy partners Alisaie and Alphinaud Leveilleur, but really any Commander that cares about non-creature spells in Orzhov, Boros, Azorius, Esper and Bant can take advantage of making free flyers. A 2/2 Vigilance is a good body, too.

Not my favorite prepared spell, but one that’ll probably do more work than I’m prepared to admit. Played alongside cards that punish draws (or reward you for opponents drawing, like Tataru Taru and Smothering Tithe) this is a neat repeatable draw engine. Not sure I want it outside of mono  white and decks that can synergize with the shared draw, though. 

Restoration Seminar competes with Emeria Shepherd in a lot of ways. If you’ve built your deck with a lot of landfall and recurring lands from the yard then you probably favor the Shepherd. That said, if you’re a ramp deck, you can make this work, so it’s a case of how many top end spells you’re willing to run. A strong card, but needs build considerations to really shine.

Another pickup for spellslinger focused builds, Stirring Hopesinger is ready to pump the team and help you win the game. This kind of perma-pump will likely go under the radar as it’s on a white card, but I think it’s sneaky good. 

White has some cracking Commons and Uncommons. Daydream is a flicker spell with Flashback, which is always nice; Primary Research is reanimation stapled to repeatable card draw, which is nicer still; Shattered Acoltye gives white a disenchant with a relevant creature type and Lifelink, which is sure to be useful. Magda most of it. 

SECRETS OF STRIXHAVEN SET REVIEW: BLUE

I think this might be the splashiest, flashiest Paradigm spell of the lot. Six might seem like a lot, but with Simic ramp or rituals and treasure in Izzet, you’re going to be casting this quite early. At that point, a free token every turn is seriously good value and can lead to some devious routes to victory. 

Is it possible to re-prepare Emeritus of Ideation manually? Yes. Is that gonna be how he’s played in practice? Not at all. This is a huge pickup for flicker decks and decks that make clone tokens of nonlegendary creatures. *slaps roof of Emeritus* Including this guy in your plans is gonna give you so many Ancestral Recalls. 

I don’t usually call out typal pickups, but given we just had a raft of Merfolk support in Lorwyn Eclipsed, it felt right to give Harmonized Trio their fifteen minutes of fame. Just as the Emeritus is going to be huge in clone and flicker decks, Merfolk decks are well set up to be Brainstorming constantly with this one-drop in play. The question remains: how will you take advantage of this?

Mathemagics is one of my favorite designs in recent years when it comes to card draw. Yes, Zaxara and Magus Lucea Kane are the obvious candidates to slam this one. But even still, provided you can make big mana, this card isn’t just for X spell decks. Don & Raph, Hard Science from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is one such deck where this can slot in nicely.

Pensive Professor is some nice repeatable card draw. While Increment might be a built-in way to give this crunchy looking fella the boost he needs to draw you a card, it’s in dedicated counters decks that he’ll more consistently shine.

Skycoach Conductor is sweet. It comes in at flash speed as a trick, and can synergize well with flicker-based decks to provide repeatable extra bang for your buck. Firing off Eerie Interlude, Ghostly Flicker or Ghostway gives you another All Aboard.

Blues Commons and Uncommons feature some fun designs, like Encouraging Aviator; some solid card selection, in Flow State; and a Merfolk that draws two cards that also happens to be a great “two drop” for flicker decks. Man, flicker decks are getting some nice tech lately. 

SECRETS OF STRIXHAVEN SET REVIEW: BLACK

Decorum Dissertation might not look like the flashiest Paradigm spell, but I think it’s sorely underrated. A double Phyrexian Arena every turn that also triggers Magecraft, double spells, and life loss? That’ll put the miles in. 

I’m not usually one for repeatable tutoring, as I find it a little dull – but I can’t ignore the power behind Emeritus of Woe. She’s a curve topper in aristocrats decks that helps you find the pieces you need to win. As far as fixing aristocrats in Commander (by accelerating them to a win) I like this card a lot. 

One of my favorite designs in the set, Grave Researcher is also probably gonna be the most-played Prepare spell in Commander – people love Reanimator. Well, that and it’s arguably one of the easier cards to re-prepare. Can’t wait to cast this.

Moseo, Vein’s New Dean is such a sick looking character. Did you know they shed the flesh in order to survive Phyrexian invasion? That’s so metal. 

Design wise, I think it’s a solid one. Three mana for a flyer that can give you reanimation based on lifegain each turn is good value for three mana. You even get a pest to Skullclamp. 

Wow, is that a new win condition for mono-black? Pox Plague is, well, a giant Pox. A Pox on all your houses, you might say. All I see is a way to cause each opponent to lose half their life, therefore setting up Wound Reflection, Bloodletter of Aclazotz, Archfiend of Despair, Astarion the Decadent, or Warlock Class to end the table. 

Scheming Silvertongue is some nice repeatable draw for Vampire decks. Rather than sacrificing your board every time to draw, you can instead Sign in Blood each turn, as long as you’ve gained some life. I think this is a pretty reasonable trade off. 

Withering Curse is a sweet board wipe. We’re seeing more wraths at lower mana costs, which makes them ideal for Commander where you don’t love to take a whole turn off to deal with the board. This is good early to remove cheap Commanders, mana dorks and engine creatures, and good late, when you’re set up to trigger the lifegain element. Don’t miss that you can run the color fixing taplands that gain 1 life, and the Streets of New Capenna cycle of slow fetches that gain 1 life, to trigger this. 

Black has some decent Uncommons and Commons too. Arnyn, Deathbloom Botanist is one of the better ones, giving another strong drain effect for when you small creatures die off. This one is ideal in tokens decks that tend to buff power rather than putting counters on. It’s also a good board wipe deterrent in a Walls/Defender deck – think of it as a cheaper Vein Ripper than can trade with most attackers. Forum Necroscribe is fun, and Rabid Attack provides another massive card draw tool for tokens and go wide decks: you just need a sac outlet to win big for two mana. 

SECRETS OF STRIXHAVEN SET REVIEW: RED

I do love a good red spell that messes with spells on the stack, and despite being a hard Return the Favor fan for the longest time, I think there are a few decks now where Choreographed Sparks has me interested instead. While it won’t Bolt Bend or Redirect Lightning, it will copy your spells, including creature spells. This is sweet in flicker decks, let’s be honest, but also in any deck that likes to slam impactful creatures. Sure, it’s good in Izzet decks, but I’m thinking further outside the box.

Flashback is a good, clean design. A one-off flashback effect like this is essentially a one mana Snapcaster Mage but without the body. That’s a great rate, and especially good for decks that want to be casting multiple spells to trigger certain effects. 

Improvisation Capstone is gonna be a lot of fun in red decks. You can absolutely take advantage of this trigger with suspend spells and zero mana artifacts, sure, but really you’re just happy to cast this and get a free spell or two, giving you a storm count of at least two or three before you’ve even properly started your turn. Just bear in mind the exiled cards stay exiled forever. 

Molten-Core Maestro is a very strong two-drop. It’s a menace creature which attacks well, especially as it’ll grow as the game continues. Eventually, it’ll give you a big burst of mana for casting expensive instants and sorceries, allowing you to chain big spells late in the game. This kind of two drop is why y’all should play more board wipes. 

Does red get the best Uncommons and Commons in the set? It’s a maybe. Blazing Firesinger is gonna be sweet in many formats thanks to the ability to re-prepare it. Mica, Reader of Ruins is the himbo that Sami, Wildcat Captain dreams of – and will be amazing in many more decks than this. Thunderdrum Soloist is a pinger that starts to bolt people if you cast big enough spells. All are really good!

SECRETS OF STRIXHAVEN SET REVIEW: GREEN

I’m not sure how I feel about Emeritus of Abundance. It’s a solid card, sure. Would I play it in Elves? Yeah, probably. It’s not super exciting, though, so maybe I’m underrating it slightly. 

Planar Engineering is your regularly scheduled new card for Hearthhull decks. Come and get it! 

All jokes aside, a solid ramp spell for a good number of builds that make judicious use of the graveyard. Or should that be judicious?

Green’s Uncommons and Commons don’t blow me away, but there’s some worth a look. Glorious Decay is a Return to Nature variant that works well if you have a lot of flyers in your meta and can otherwise deal with enchantments. Studious First-Year is good in Bears decks? Zimone’s Experiment is the one I like the most, and it provides a reasonable amount of card advantage.

SECRETS OF STRIXHAVEN SET REVIEW: MULTICOLOR, COLORLESS AND LANDS

So, you want to clone a Planeswalker? You best have a first in Mathemagics. Applied Geometry obviously does more than just this, but this is the use case folks are going to get behind. If you do clone a ‘walker with this, it’s going to be a 6/6 creature that can kill things that attack it, but also is now weak to more removal than usual. How do you square the circle?

Ark of Hunger – or as we call it in my house, the snack box – is a really interesting design for RW decks. It’s card advantage of a specific flavor, and it’s coupled with filling the yard and pinging. I like it a lot, and so do a myriad of decks that do non-combat oriented RW things, which is more than you think. 

Cauldron of Essence – or as we call it in my house, the air fryer – if a sweet repeatable reanimation card for Golgari builds. I’m not sure I like it more than Altar of Bhaal if you can produce a good amount of tokens, but if you can’t? Cauldron is a solid option, especially if you have powerful EtBs to cycle through. 

Conciliator’s Duelist speaks to the ever increasing focus on EtB creatures as the dominant way to play Magic. However, don’t miss that it can also flicker out opponent’s blockers, which helps you get more damage through. At WWBB it’s a hard one to cast reliably, but it’s certainly an interesting card. 

Dina’s Guidance rolls Eladamri’s Call and Entomb into one card, costed at 1BG. I’d say that’s more than fair, given the sheer flexibility of where to put your tutored card. Very playable. 

Lorehold, the Historian is one of the most interesting new designs of the set. Giving Miracle {2} to your instant and sorcery spells is sick, but you need to decide how much of a sicko you are, because a lot of the big spells in RW tend to be oriented toward mass land destruction and other forms of obliteration. Personally, I’d lean into doing some reanimation using white’s four and five mana spells (and discarding your creatures to Lorehold’s trigger). 

Mind into Matter is sweet. It’s like Electrodominance, except probably quite a bit better? You’re exchanging sniping a creature  with refilling your hand at sorcery speed, which is gonna be better in a lot of decks that have the choice. You could refill and get a Rapid Hybridization, right? All while dumping a four or five drop into play. 

Superfriends doesn’t receive regular support these days – mostly because the game focuses a lot less on Planeswalkers than it used to. Moment of Reckoning is finally some sweet PWer support, offering four presses of a button that either blows something up or returns a nonland permanent (read, Planeswalker) from your yard to play. I’m not sure it’s quite so effective in regular creature based decks.

Prismari, the Inspiration is what we all kinda expected from the Prismari Elder Dragon, right? Giving all of your instants and sorceries storm is wild. If you want this, you’ve likely already pre-ordered one. I’m not fully convinced this is better in the 99 or the CZ – what do you think?

Normally I don’t rate generic ‘walkers like this very highly, but Professor Dellian Fel is gifted with an ultimate that is very, very achievable – and powerful, once you get the emblem. His other modes are just solid value. Sometimes the ingredients speak for themselves, and simplicity makes the perfect dish.

Quandrix, the Proof rather gladly only gives the spells in your hand Cascade, otherwise we’d have the most busted Commander printed for quite some time. Still, given Quandrix also has Cascade, and UG has a lot of support for it, this is a powerful Commander, and a great add to decks like Imoti and Maelstrom Wanderer. 

“Lute of Alexandria” is built for nonsense. It’s a mana doubler for spellslinger decks, which is an immediate snap include – but it also adds on a sneaky bit of conditional card draw. This is how you pull off those big spells in Prismari with panache. 

Silverquill the Disputant has thus far been the card in the set that I can’t quite imagine how it plays out. Sure, it’s ostensibly a tokens deck, with a mild aristocrat theme, but I can’t imagine keeping Silverquill in play will be very easy. It being four mana is crucial for allowing the deck to function, but it’s also the sweet spot on the curve where people tend to fire off removal. If they’re staring down a double Call the Coppercoats into a double Exsanguinate, I’m convinced you’re going to run into issues. Still, don’t let that stop you – just pack plenty of protection spells. You need them. 

Splatter Technique is awesome. It’s a combination board wipe/card draw modal spell, for five mana. It’s everything you could want in a sweeper, and considering there are dozens of decks in which you can copy this spell, you’re regularly getting 8 cards or doing 8 damage, which is an even better modal spell to have. 

Vicious Rivalry is going to cost less life, on average, than a Toxic Deluge, to get rid of the board. It also gets rid of artifacts, which is a huge plus. Deluge is still great at sweeping mana dorks and such, but as the game hits the midgame, Vicious Rivalry starts to look a lot better. 

One of the most powerful cards in the set, Witherbloom, the Balancer is currently one of the most brewed around cards in the set. There are combos to be had, sure – Sprout Swarm being one of them – but all in all it’s just a really attractive looking Commander for Golgari fans, offering something a little different in the space. Similar to Lorehold, in many ways. 

Petrified Hamlet is gonna be a house in 1v1 formats, but it’s still a useful land to be able to search up in Commander if you want to shut down a problem without losing a land yourself. 

As far as the top Commons and Uncommons, I quite like Killian’s Confidence, a repeatable cantrip; Vibrant Outburst, which is a great tempo play; Witherbloom Charm, which offers some relevant modes in Commander. 

Lorehold arguably benefits most from the lower rarity slots this set, as it gets more access to effects it has struggled with in the past. Borrowed Knowledge and Pursue the Past are both excellent draw spells, and Lorehold Charm might well be the best Charm in the set.

END STEP

And there you have it – your curriculum for this semester. Should you enroll with Secrets of Strixhaven, you’ll find an exciting limited environment, and some great pickups for Commander. 

You can check out our Precon Upgrades and rundown of the best new cards from the precons for more coverage:

• Quandrix Unlimited Precon Upgrade
• Lorehold Spirit Precon Upgrade
• Witherbloom Pestilence Precon Upgrade
• Silverquill Influence Precon Upgrade
• Prismari Artistry Precon Upgrade