The original Strixhaven set released five years ago. Since then there have been traumatic invasions and unexpected sparkings and cross-planar field trips. Amidst all this chaos, one axiom holds true on Arcavios: turn in your homework on time, or you’ll be devoured by one of the founder dragons!
Okay, maybe that’s just a tall tale spread by the upperclassmen to scare new students. Still, there’s no denying that there are traditions from the first Strixhaven set that have passed down into Secrets of Strixhaven - as well as new, uh, secrets that throw a new spin on familiar ideas. Let’s take a look!
Mechanics and Themes
In SOS, Strixhaven’s five colleges each feature their own signature mechanic:
Repartee
Silverquill’s Repartee is a familiar mechanic: a keyword that indicates an effect that triggers whenever you cast an instant or sorcery that targets a creature. This effect will often be a simple buff, such as Rehearsed Debater’s temporary +1/+1 increase; but sometimes you’ll see something a bit more unique, such as Melancholic Poet’s lifedrain. Note that Repartee is not quite Heroic or the crime mechanic from Outlaws of Thunder Junction. Key distinctions include:
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Only triggers on an instant or sorcery
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Triggers when you target your creature or an opponent’s creature
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Triggers even if your spell targets more than one creature (although it will only trigger once)
What this boils down to is this: Repartee will trigger a fair amount in Limited.
Opus
It’s not surprising that Blue/Red stars a keyword that triggers whenever you cast an instant or sorcery. Just keep in mind that the Prismari college is performative in nature - and to represent that quality, Opus gives you a base effect when you cast an instant or sorcery, and an additional effect if your love of artistry leads you to spend five or more mana on that spell. Sometimes that five mana bonus is just a buffed version of the base bonus, as with Deluge Virtuoso. Then you have creatures like Expressive Firedancer, where the five mana bonus is completely different. Either way, Opus asks you to load your deck up with instants and sorceries, and the more expensive the better.
Infusion
Infusion gives you a bonus if you’ve gained life this turn. It’s not a complicated keyword, but it will result in some interesting play patterns. Why? Well, a few Infusion permanents are like Ulna Alley Shopkeep: they have an ongoing ability that triggers whenever you gain life. However, the majority of Infusion spells are like Efflorescence: their Infusion bonus only comes into play the turn you cast the spell. So keep in mind that Infusion works best with cheap (or free) sources of lifegain.
Flashback
The college of Lorehold specializes in digging up the past; perhaps it’s fitting that it’s the only college that brings back an old mechanic. A spell with Flashback can be cast from its graveyard for its Flashback cost. That Flashback cost is often (but not always) more expensive than the spell’s base cost, which can lead to players underestimating Flashback as an overcosted mechanic. But as long as that base cost is fair - and the two mana for Tome Blast and one mana for Daydream both seem very fair to me - you can think of Flashback as some incidental additional value that you can dig up when a game goes long.
Increment
A creature with Increment gets a +1/+1 counter whenever you cast a spell spending more mana than the creature’s power or toughness. Sometimes the reward is simply… a bigger creature; good luck attacking through Textbook Tabulator a few turns after it comes out. Other times the increased stats bolster the creature in additional ways; just look at Topiary Lecturer’s mana ramp ability. Keep in mind that Increment can be triggered at instant speed, making it an effective combat trick as well.
There are two additional mechanics in SOS; these step across the colleges’ carefully cultivated boundaries:
Prepared
If a student studies hard enough, they may find that a spell from their chosen field comes naturally to them. The intriguing Prepared mechanic reflects this expertise. Creatures with the capacity to be prepared have an instant or sorcery spell in the lower right of their text box. If they are prepared, they can cast that spell; then they become unprepared - but may become prepared again in the future.
Some creatures come into play prepared (such as Landscape Painter); others require you to jump through some additional hoops to prepare them (such as Spiritcall Enthusiast). You’ll also find cards like Biblioplex Tomekeeper that interact with this mechanic in interesting ways.
Creatures with Prepared are essentially two spells in one: cards with built-in card advantage. That makes them extremely powerful and extremely valuable. Expect to see a lot of these cards played in SOS Limited.
Converge
The five Strixhaven colleges are strictly two color. However the world outside of academia is not nearly so ordered, and the returning Converge mechanic reflects that with spells that grow more powerful with each additional color of mana you use when casting that spell. As a general rule of thumb, I’d say that these cards are slightly below rate if you use two colors to cast them, and slightly above rate if you use three. So if I put a Converge card into my deck, I’d aim to cast it with at least three colors - and hopefully have some incidental splash capabilities that allow me to cast it with four or even five.
Mystical Archive Bonus Sheet
Recent sets had bonus sheets that I neglected to mention simply because the bonus sheet cards rarely appeared in draftable booster packs. SOS bucks this trend by guaranteeing a card from its Mystical Archive bonus sheet in every pack. As a result you can expect an extra infusion of instants and sorceries - and chaos - in SOS Limited.
Archetypes
SOS focuses on five archetypes, corresponding to the five enemy color pairs that correspond to the five colleges of Strixhaven. Each of these colleges has roughly - a billion? - “signature” commons and uncommons; we’ll focus on a student, a mascot, and a key card for the archetype.
White/Black: Silverquill (Repartee)
What does a Silverquill deck want? The answer may feel obvious: you want to trigger Repartee with lots of instants and sorceries that target creatures, and Abigale, Poet Laureate is a nice repeatable source of exactly that. But it’s not easy to cast your instants and sorceries and build a threatening board. In order to do so, you’ll want creatures like Inkling Mascot: cheap and (conditionally) evasive so it can push damage even if your opponent plays bigger and bulkier creatures of their own. Snooping Page is an even better payoff, (conditionally) unblockable with a card draw ability that allows you to replace the spells you used to trigger Repartee.
Blue/Red: Prismari (Opus)
The issue with big mana archetypes is that they either do too little in the early game and get run over by aggressive decks; or the set allows them to do much in the early game (ramp, remove all creatures), which eliminates midrange decks as a viable strategy. Opus is a mechanic that splits the difference, with cards like Elemental Mascot granting a decent effect when a player casts cheap instants and sorceries while also giving them an incentive to dream bigger. And make no mistake: those big dreams are where the Prismari truly shine. Sanar, Unfinished Genius is great for this game plan: a cheap early wall that also allows you to ramp that also comes with a built-in five mana sorcery that lets you fetch more instants and sorceries. And if you grab Rapturous Moment, you’ll be able to go off with your Opus triggers and (hopefully) end the game with one orchestral flourish.
Black/Green: Witherbloom (Infusion)
On the face of it, a lifegain strategy isn’t that complicated; all you have to do is… gain life, and Pest Mascot will explode into a gargantuan threat. But not all forms of lifegain are created equal; if you spend mana to gain life, then you may find yourself unable to cast the Infusion spells that benefit. Fortunately Witherbloom is full of mana-free methods of lifegain, such as the Pests that Lluwen, Exchange Student creates. Setup your lifegain engines early, and your midgame spells like Old-Growth Educator can pressure your opponents past the point of recovery.
Red/White: Lorehold (Flashback)
The first step to becoming a successful Lorehold graduate is to fill your graveyard, and that’s what Kirol, History Buff allows you to (repeatedly) do. The next step is to take things out, and a Flashback spell such as Pursue the Past will let you do that. Finally, reap the rewards: a buffed Spirit Mascot or a re-prepared Kirol, History Buff, ready to start the cycle all over again. This archetype may not be as flashy as some of the other ones in SOS. But it does feel steadier, and reliability is a key quality in an effective Limited deck.
Green/Blue: Quandrix (Increment)
Increment runs similar to past +1/+1 counters strategies. The difference is that Quandrix never wants to stop growing in terms of mana cost; there’s a reason that Fractal Mascot is six mana, and no other mascot costs more than three. Similarly, Tam, Observant Sequencer does not directly play into the school’s mechanic; rather, she’s simply a slow and steady source of card advantage in the late game. If you play this archetype, you’ll likely be scrambling to keep parity in the early turns with weak creatures such as Cuboid Colony. But grind through the early turns, and your creatures will equal - and eventually surpass - the less dynamic creatures your opponents play.
Key Commons and Uncommons
White
Creatures
Inkshape Demonstrator: On the face of it this creature belongs to Silverquill. But Strixhaven is chock full of instants and sorceries, so this creature will often be a 4/4 with Lifelink in Lorehold as well.
Owlin Historian: Fliers win games, especially ones that are bigger than they look.
Non-Creatures
Dig Site Inventory: This is an excellent enabler for both Silverquill and Lorehold decks.
Primary Research: Okay, maybe this card is best in Lorehold. But at a minimum this enchantment is still very likely a 2-for-1, and a non-Lorehold deck should be able to find enough incidental synergies to draw a couple of cards past that.
Blue
Creatures
Matterbending Mage: A creature that bounces other creatures is always a nice tempo play - and remember, this straight up murders token creatures.
Muse Seeker: This creature would be great even if it simply looted.
Non-Creatures
Banishing Betrayal: In some sets this bounce spell would not be great; in SOS it’s Blue’s best interaction spell.
Divergent Equation: This is a great deal as long as X is 2 or greater. Don’t overlook the fact that it’s an instant.
Black
Creatures
Forum Necroscribe: Your opponent will need to kill this creature on the spot, immediately putting them down a card because of its Ward cost. And if they don’t…
Scathing Shadelock: Do not underestimate the power of having a cheap sorcery spell in your hands during each and every one of your turns.
Non-Creatures
Foolish Fate: It’s nice if you get the Infusion bonus, but will you really complain if you don’t?
Wander Off: I mean, yeah.
Red
Creatures
Pigment Wrangler: A five mana 4/4 creature with flying is no joke. Copying a powerful instant or sorcery is unlikely to make your opponent laugh either.
Thunderdrum Soloist: Kinda feels like this drummer is going to end up finishing a lot of games.
Non-Creatures
Duel Tactics: You can pick off small creatures, finish off blockers that only have one life left, clear the way for a lethal strike, trigger small Opus bonuses, trigger Lorehold “leaves the graveyard” abilities…
Unsubtle Mockery: Four damage will kill most things in SOS Limited.
Green
Creatures
Emil, Vastlands Roamer: Find some +1/+1 counters (or diversify your lands), and this creature will win you the game in short order.
Thornfist Striker: Admittedly, Infusion is harder to activate in Quandrix than in Witherbloom. But if I saw this card in draft, I’d pick it up and do my best to find a way.
Non-Creatures
Additive Evolution: It’s not the 3/3 token for five mana that’s impressive; it’s the inevitability granted by the rest of the enchantment’s text.
Burrog Barrage: Sure, it’s better if you cast another instant or sorcery first. But if you’re playing Green, then this instant will likely take out whatever creature you want even if you don’t.
There are also a tremendous number of multicolored cards in SOS; here are some of the best:
Multicolored
Creatures
Essenceknit Scholar: Just because your creature dies doesn’t mean you have to be sad about it.
Fractal Tender: Shouldn’t be too hard to get a couple of free 3/3 tokens out of this. Note that this activates on any end step.
Spectacular Skywhale: It won’t take many instants and sorceries for this creature to win you the game.
Startled Relic Sloth: A 4/4 creature with trample and lifelink is an excellent way to win any race. Oh, and it’s a great way to activate any Lorehold triggers you may have (or to snipe any Flashback cards in your opponent’s graveyard).
Stirring Honormancer: Creatures that draw you a card when they come into play are good, and this creature’s ability is even better than that.
Non-Creatures
Embrace the Paradox: Who doesn’t like to draw - and ramp! - at instant speed?
Killian’s Confidence: A combat trick that replaces itself early; a repeatable card advantage engine late.
Root Manipulation: I mean, all it’ll do is win you the game.
Stress Dream: Removal spells that net you a card are generally very good.
Wilt in the Heat: It’s great if you can cast it for two mana, but don’t sweat too hard if you have to cast it for four.
Other Cards to Know
Mana Fixing
SOS has a cycle of five enemy dual lands that also have a very useful Surveil ability:
There are a few additional pieces of colorless mana fixing, two of which have additional utility.:
And then there are the Green (and Quandrix) options:
All of this is a step up compared to the mana fixing options in Lorwyn Eclipsed. You’ll have to prioritize these cards if you want to comfortably splash a third color - but it’s definitely something you can do if you want.
Creatures with Reach
Summation
So what should you keep in mind when playing Secrets of Strixhaven?
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Like Lorwyn Eclipsed, SOS is primarily a five archetype set. Unlike Lorwyn Eclipsed, the five archetypes are not tightly constrained. There are both ample opportunities to splash a third color - and ample reasons you might want to do so.
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Each college mechanic has at least some support outside of their two colors. Opus and Increment are almost trivially easy to trigger, while Repartee meshes well with any removal suite. Infusion and “remove from graveyard” are a little more particular - but you’ll find some support outside of their primary colors.
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There is a lot of built-in card advantage in SOS. Creatures with Prepared are the obvious example; beyond that there’s also the Flashback mechanic, as well as the copious number of cards with keywords that have the potential to add additional value if their conditions are met (removal or tokens or card draw). Meeting those conditions will be the key to maximizing your chances of overcoming your opponent.
Good luck!
