Magic: The Gathering returns to an actually worthwhile world of wizardry in “Secrets of Strixhaven.” This in-universe set is a return to the plane of Arcavios, home to Strixhaven University and its five colleges, aligning with five color pairs.
Sophomore return sets can definitely be slumps, but with the high bar of Lorwyn Eclipsed, there is a very high bar to clear. Thanks to a greater focus on the college identity and some excellent reprints, Secrets of Strixhaven clears the bar that Lorwyn and its original set.
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Secrets of Strixhaven’s colleges each have their own unique mechanic
In the original Strixhaven, each two-color collage did have a strong visual identity. For example, the Blue/Red art school Primsari is full of elemental flourish, dances, and poses. But each college’s mechanical expression was through a single mechanic with open-ended outputs: Magecraft. While Magecraft is powerful and simple to grok—something happens anytime an instant or sorcery is cast or copied—within the set boundaries, Magecraft blended the colleges together.
For Secrets of Strixhaven, instead, the colleges each get their own unique mechanic, either as an ability or a keyword. Four of the five are brand new designs that evoke the philosophy and personality of the college, and the fifth is a returning mechanic. So fitting that it’d be weird not to use.
This is more in line with traditional Magic design, and it works for a reason. Imagery only goes so far. Gameplay is what really makes something stick for players long after the images and watermarks fade into the blur of memory.
Molten-Core Maestro | 1 Colorless Mana, 1 Red Mana
Creature — Goblin Bard
Menace
Opus — Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. If five or more mana was spent to cast that spell, add an amount of red mana equal to this creature’s power.
2/2
Of these unique mechanics, the Prismari’s Opus is the closest to the original Magecraft and splashes in well with related colors both in limited and beyond. This might not be a good thing, as even before Secrets of Strixhaven became legal, Blue/Red spell-slinging decks were gearing up to run rampant over Standard yet again.
Even so, the other college’s mechanics push for creative decisions. Silverquill’s Repartee asks players to cast spells that have specific targets rather than wide-ranging effects. Witherbloom’s Infusion rewards life gain with bonuses for doing so. These mechanics push limited games in diverse directions while sharing some synergies, given that instants and sorceries are at the heart of the design.
Foolish Fate | 2 Colorless Mana, 1 Black Mana
Instant
Destroy target creature.
Infusion — If you gained life this turn, that creature’s controller loses 3 life.
Preparation makes all the difference.
Preparation makes all the difference
Despite five big mechanics for the color pairs, Secrets of Strixhaven does still use a unifying mechanic across all colors. Prepared puts an instant or sorcery on the right side of a creature that players can cast after fulfilling requirements to “prepare” to cast the spell. Although, the comprehensive rules suggest future prepared cards could be other permanent types.
On the surface, prepared is a mechanic that looks like a lot of hoops to jump through—even when the castable spells are iconic and powerful. Wizards of the Coast is definitely keeping prepared on the conservative side. However, that actually makes the lower power prepared cards at common and uncommon better than average. The common Studious First-Year may be the best card in draft and sealed, since it enters with its spell ready to go.
Studious First-Year | 1 Green Mana
Creature — Bear Wizard
This creature enters prepared. (While it’s prepared, you may cast a copy of its spell. Doing so unprepares it.)
1/1
Rampant Growth | 1 Colorless Mana, 1 Green Mana
Sorcery
Search your library for a basic land card, put that card onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle.
When in practice, while prepared cards are certainly not as overwhelmingly powerful as they would first seem, they work quite well. The Commander preconstructed decks for Secrets of Strixhaven are a bit more potent and can run away with a game if left unanswered, so WOTC likely made the right choice pulling their punches on this one.
Secrets of Strixhaven gameplay has a lot of information to parse
There is a slight downside to all of these mechanics: complexity. One of the best aspects of sets like Lorwyn Eclipsed (or even smaller sets like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) is that cards are generally clear, and so are their board states.
By comparison, Secrets of Strixhaven gameplay has a lot of information to parse. Three out of the five college effects have different outputs per card, Lorehold’s Flashback focus means more attention is needed on the graveyard, and all the while, players have to check which creatures are prepared.
Complexity never gets truly out of hand. No one should need to figure out opus and repartee triggers at the same time often. Far more complex sets come to mind as well, such as Aetherdrift’s use of the separate but similar Vehicles and Mounts. Compared to the original Strixhaven, with double-faced cards that varied wildly, Secrets is downright simple. Still, these complex environments can be a turn-off for the newer drafter at the game store.
Top-tier reprint slots
Something else the original Strixhaven brought is the current-day bonus sheet system. Magic sets occasionally experimented with a bonus reprint slot in packs before, but Strixhaven’s Mystical Archive kicked off the regular appearances of them, and Secrets of Strixhaven brings it back in force.
Comprising 65 iconic instants and sorceries of Magic’s history, the Archive cards all get a scroll frame and tapestry-esque artwork depicting their first cast. These designs are striking, full of history, and full of flavor. As a sheet of non-permanent spells, opening these in draft does not radically overwhelm the experience. Excellent cards abound, like Commander all-stars Cyclonic Rift and Triumph of the Hordes–the latter of which hasn’t been given a proper reprint since 2011.
Triumph of the Hordes | 2 Colorless Mana, 2 Green Mana
Sorcery
Until end of turn, creatures you control get +1/+1 and gain trample and infect. (Creatures with infect deal damage to creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters and to players in the form of poison counters.)
Uncommon Archive cards are almost all Standard legal cards (sorry, Monstrous Rage), meaning these will find homes as visual upgrades for existing decks with ease. Stock Up, one of Standard’s most absurdly priced cards in comparison to its rarity and only a year old, gets a reprint in the Archive.
A reprint that has already mercifully brought its market price down to a reasonable level. This sounds simple, but with WOTC’s timelines, it can be very hard to get a timely reprint of something so relevant in a rotating format, and there is credit owed for this accomplishment.
Stock Up | 2 Colorless Mana, 2 Blue Mana
Sorcery
Look at the top five cards of your library. Put two of them into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.
Secrets of Strixhaven improves upon the world-building and mechanical identities of its predecessor.
Much has and will continue to be said about the absurd release calendar for Magic: the Gathering this year. Seven sets means technically the cadence hasn’t even crossed the halfway mark. At the same time, in-universe sets like Secrets of Strixhaven are so good that it’s getting difficult to complain.
Secrets of Strixhaven improves upon the world-building and mechanical identities of its predecessor without getting too complex. The set plays its hits without feeling redundant, creating a limited environment that is exciting to open, even if it takes longer for everyone to read the cards. Sure enough, it’s another trophy for WOTC’s case, though the colleges will have to figure out where to display it on their own.
Secrets of Strixhaven is available now everywhere and on MTG Arena.
