Last updated on April 20, 2026
Archway Commons | Illustration by Piotr Dura
Any set that returns to a plane we’ve visited previously gives us a chance to revisit old friends and explore them in new contexts. I personally enjoy revisiting planes; they have so much history and let us explore characters and the setting in a way we simply can’t when coming to a plane for the first time.
Secrets of Strixhaven reintroduces us to MTG's magic school setting, a university composed of five colleges founded by the Elder Dragons of the plane. Trickery lurks within the university, and major plane shaking discoveries take place off campus. What are the secrets?
Well, for one thing, the special guests roster is stacked:
Secrets of Strixhaven Basic Information
Lorehold, the Historian | Illustration by Joshua Raphael
Set Details
| Set Symbol |  |
| Set Code | SOS, SOC, SOM |
| Hashtag | #MTGStrixhaven |
| Number of Cards | 261 |
| Rarities | 81 Commons, 100 Uncommons, 60 Rares, and 20 Mythic Rares |
| Mechanics | Increment, Infusion, Opus, Paradigm, Prepare, Repartee, Converge, Flashback, Landfall, Miracle |
Important Dates
| Story Starts | March 9, 2026 |
| Debut | March 31, 2026 |
| Full Gallery Available | April 10, 2026 |
| Draftsim Draft Simulator | Right now! |
| Release on MTGA/MTGO | April 21, 2026 |
| Available on Arena Tutor | After MTGA Release |
| Prerelease Week | April 17-23, 2026 |
| Paper Release Date | April 24, 2026 |
| Magic Academy | April 24 – June 18, 2026 |
| Standard Showdown | April 24 – June 18, 2026 |
| MagicCon Las Vegas | May 1-3, 2026 |
| Commander Party | May 1-7, 2026 |
| Magic Spotlight: Secrets in London | May 8-10, 2026 |
| Store Championships | May 8-31, 2026 |
| Codex Bundle Release | May 15, 2026 |
| Magic Spotlight: Secrets in Chiba, Japan | May 29-31, 2026 |
| Commander Party | June 5-11, 2026 |
About the Set: The Story
Abigale, Poet Laureate | Illustration by Olivier Bernard
The last time we were on Strixhaven was during the events of March of the Machine in the side story “Arcavios: A Radiant Heart,” which followed the students of Strixhaven as they sought to foil the Phyrexian invasion by recasting the Invocation of the Founders, the spell the five Elder Dragons used in the founding of Strixhaven. Critically, they fail to complete the casting as Quintorius Kand’s latent spark ignited mid-invocation.
This was Strixhaven’s second major cataclysm. In the original set, Strixhaven: School of Mages, we saw a cult of magic users called the Oriq, led by Extux Narr, Awaken the Blood Avatar for revenge upon the school. This also caused lots of destruction, kept in check by the intervention of Rowan Kenrith as depicted on Crackle with Power.
This time around Chandra and Ajani, and a group of students explore outside the campus, discover ancient and powerful happenings. Among the side stories, Dina, Killian and Zimone are just a few of the characters you follow and each learns valuable life lessons leading us to wonder who the student is. The epic confrontation against an archaic leads to an alternate unknown location, and the lore is dense so catchup with our Secrets of Strixhaven story summary.
Set Mechanics
Ral Zarek, Guest Lecturer | Illustration by Billy Christian
Increment
Increment looks at how much mana you spent, and as long as that is more than the creature's power or toughness, a card like Cuboid Colony will grow with lots of your spells.
Infusion
Infusion cards like Old-Growth Educator check to see if you've gained life this turn, and if so, give you some benefit.
Opus
The opus ability word is triggered by instants or sorceries, but an added effect comes if 5 or more mana was spent. Almost like expend, but with more restriction. On Spectacular Skywhale you get a permanent and toughness boost.
Paradigm
Improvisation Capstone has paradigm that is a spell that goes to exile as it resolves. While it is exiled you get it again on your main phases. Talk about built-in, free copies. This is better than complimentary pizza in the dorm common room.
Prepare
Creatures can be prepared, and when they are, they can cast a copy of the inset spell. Once they cast it, they become unprepared and need to prepare again in order to recast the spell. For example, Lluwen, Exchange Student enters prepared so it can also cast Pest Friend that same main phase. Skycoach Waypoint is a land that costs and prepares a creature. Biblioplex Tomekeeper ETBs to do one or the other and slow down opponents or speed up your plans.
Repartee
The repartee keyword that looks at instants and sorceries you cast that target creatures so it has similarities to committing crimes, and heroic, but it really is it's own thing. If you control Inkling Mascot and cast a pump spell on it, you get a nice evasive bonus.
Converge
Converge returns on brand new cards like Rancorous ArchaicMagmablood Archaic, and Transcendent Archaic. The mechanic is the same in that it cares about the number of colors of mana you spent to cast it. Mana fixing becomes more of a strength than just a solution with these cards.
Flashback
Remember to go over your Molten Note. You get to send cards from your graveyard back to the stack for one more use with flashback.
Cameo Mechanics
These are the mechanics that we've seen before that only show up on one or two cards. The Elder Dragon cards from Secrets of Strixhaven each have a powerful older ability. Many players will recognize affinity, cascade, casualty, grandeur, miracle, and storm.
Full Card Gallery
White
Blue
Black
Red
Green
Multicolored
Colorless
Lands
Notable Cards
Emeritus of Ideation is the set's one serialized card and it comes prepared to let you cast Ancestral Recall. There are only 500 of these full Mark Poole art cards, so extra credit to any of you that pull this from a collector booster.
Deathcap Glade, Dreamroot Cascade, Shattered Sanctum, Stormcarved Coast, and Sundown Pass return to Standard for the first time since the Innistrad pair of Crimson Vow and Midnight Hunt. The slow lands are solid dual lands and we get the five enemy colors in Secrets of Strixhaven.
Secrets of Strixhaven introduces us to Professor Dellian Fel and the first monoblack Ral in Ral Zarek, Guest Lecturer, the clean abilities line up with the early planeswalkers in Magic's history.
Your class of 2026 precon commanders are:
- Dina, Essence Brewer
- Killian, Decisive Mentor
- Quintorius, History Chaser
- Rootha, Mastering the Moment
- Zimone, Infinite Analyst
Available Products
The Codex bundle and Draft Night are fresh products, and as a Standard set we see the normal array of Play boosters, Collector boosters, Bundles, and Commander precons. This set has five Commander decks, one for each school, and the MSRPs for individual items are listed below.
Play Booster — $5.49
A box of Secrets of Strixhaven play boosters brings back the multiple arts on the packaging. Does that really change the outcome of what you open? Only in the heart-of-the-cards sense. These are your Limited play essentials and classic pack cracking boosters, now with the assurance of an instant or sorcery with Mystical Archive treatment.
- FACE YOUR GREATEST TEST YET—The hallowed halls of Strixhaven welcome you back to school! Choose your college of magical study and expand your education in the greater world of Arcavios as you stand against mysterious threats plaguing the plane
- BEST BOOSTERS FOR PLAYING WITH FRIENDS—Play Boosters are the best way to discover what Magic: The Gathering has to offer; they're perfect for building decks, playing Limited games with friends, and are tons of fun to open
- MYSTICAL ARCHIVE CARD IN EVERY PACK!—Strixhaven University’s famous library houses spells from throughout the ages; check out 1 Instant or Sorcery spell with striking new art and a showcase frame with every Play Booster
- RARE AND FOIL IN EVERY PACK—Each booster contains 1–5 cards of rarity Rare or higher and at least 1 shining Traditional Foil card of any rarity; in 20% of packs you’ll also find a Traditional Foil Land card
- PLAY BOOSTER BOX CONTENTS—30 Secrets of Strixhaven Play Boosters, each containing 14 MTG cards
Collector Booster — $26.99
Go into deep study mode with the Secrets of Strixhaven Collector booster boxes and reveal the answers that everyone is chasing in the set. The best, brightest and most valuable cards come in these packs, including a potential serialized card and 3 guaranteed Mystical Archive cards. The 15 cards in these collector boosters are ones you'll want to frame and display to show your school pride.
- FACE YOUR GREATEST TEST YET—The hallowed halls of Strixhaven welcome you back to school! Choose your college of magical study and expand your education in the greater world of Arcavios as you stand against mysterious threats plaguing the plane
- MYSTICAL ARCHIVE CARDS IN EVERY PACK—The greatest library in the Multiverse has opened its doors once again! Check out 3–4 Instant or Sorcery spells from throughout the ages with striking new art and showcase frames in each Collector Booster
- MAKE A STUNNING ACADEMIC DISCOVERY—The ultimate way to add unique card styles to your spellbook, each Collector Booster contains multiple Rares and/or Mythics, tons of foils, and a Full-Art basic land card
- COLLECTOR BOOSTER-EXCLUSIVES—You could discover additional delights in the back of the stacks. Each pack may contain Collector Booster-exclusive card styles, including special foil treatments or the ultimate find, a Serialized Headliner card
- COLLECTOR BOOSTER BOX CONTENTS—12 Secrets of Strixhaven Collector Boosters, with 15 MTG cards in each pack
Draft Night — $89.99
You don't need to pull all-night study sessions to enjoy a Secrets of Strixhaven draft night. This box puts together 12 play boosters and one collector booster plus 90 lands to make one group project distraction a lot of fun. It's designed for Pick-Two Draft, so remember to pick two cards before you pass the pack.
- FACE YOUR GREATEST TEST YET—The hallowed halls of Strixhaven welcome you back to school! Choose your college of magical study and expand your education in the greater world of Arcavios as you stand against mysterious threats plaguing the plane
- EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO DRAFT WITH FOUR PLAYERS—It's a draft party in a box! Draft Night has everything you need to host a Pick-Two Draft with just four players! Bring Secrets of Strixhaven to the table for an unforgettable game night.
- DRAFT—Start with three Play Boosters each. Open the first pack, pick two cards, and pass. Repeat with the remaining cards and packs.
- BUILD—Construct a 40-card deck with your draft selections, adding any number of Basic Lands (we recommend 17!)
- PLAY—Pair off and play. Winners face off for fun and the grand prize: a Collector Booster full of Rare and/or Mythic Rare cards, shiny foils, and special alt-border cards
Bundle — $57.99
A bundle of Secrets of Strixhaven packs is a bit like that 101 textbook you need to pick up to form the basis of your semester's class. These include 9 play boosters, 30 lands, a storage box and exclusive promo.
- FACE YOUR GREATEST TEST YET—The hallowed halls of Strixhaven welcome you back to school! Choose your college of magical study and expand your education in the greater world of Arcavios as you stand against mysterious threats plaguing the plane
- A BUNDLE OF MAGICAL SCHOOL SUPPLIES—Return to school kitted out with a Bundle full of cards and exclusive play accessories
- ALTERNATE-ART PROMO CARD—Every Bundle comes with 1 promo card featuring Bundle-exclusive alternate art and a shiny Traditional Foil treatment
- 9 BOOSTERS FOR PLAYING WITH FRIENDS—Perfect for building decks, playing Limited games, and tons of fun to open, this Bundle includes 9 Play Boosters, with at least 1 Traditional Foil card and the possibility of multiple Rares in every pack
- FULL-ART LAND CARDS—Cast the spells you’ve learned with 15 Traditional Foil and 15 nonfoil Basic Land cards, including 10 Full-Art Lands (5 foil, 5 nonfoil)
Codex Bundle — $89.99
Keen students will find the Secrets of Strixhaven Codex bundle on your bookshelf and hopefully share some secrets with you. The uniquely designed packaging lets you surprise people with Magic cards, though I don't recommend trusting them with the two collector boosters, 6 play boosters or even the foil lands. Whether you shelve this with the fiction or reference books says something about you as a Magic player.
The Codex bundle does not release until May 15, 2026, and includes 2 borderless foil promos from a Sol Ring to a talisman that are exclusive to this bundle.
- COZY UP WITH A GOOD BOOK—Paging all bookworms! This spell-bound bundle is studiously stuffed with all the extra credit any honors student could want. Buried in its pages you’ll find Collector Boosters, Play Boosters, Foil promo cards, a special Spindown, and more!
- FACE YOUR GREATEST TEST YET—The hallowed halls of Strixhaven welcome you back to school! Choose your college of magical study and expand your education in the greater world of Arcavios as you stand against mysterious threats plaguing the plane
- 2 FOIL BORDERLESS PROMO CARDS—Open 1 Codex Booster containing 2 of 6 possible promo cards featuring Borderless art and a gleaming Traditional Foil treatment
- MYSTICAL ARCHIVE CARD IN EVERY BOOSTER—Check out Instant or Sorcery spells from throughout the ages with striking new art and showcase frames; you’ll find 1 in every Play Booster and 3–4 in each Collector Booster
- 2 BOOSTERS FULL OF RARE ACADEMIC DISCOVERIES—Discover additional delights in the back of the stacks with 2 Collector Boosters. Each pack may contain exclusive card styles, including special foil treatments or even a Serialized Headliner card
Commander Decks — $49.99 each
Opt in to the Secrets of Strixhaven commander deck bundle for a full set of five precons. The deckbuilding part of the test is done, all you need to do is shuffle up and play for your school's honor. Don't be afraid to use a sorting hat to determine who gets what deck.
- Lorehold Spirit is based on cards that want to leave the graveyard and pump up spirits. Quintorius, History Chaser is a planeswalker commander that brings you cards as it discards them.
- Prismari Artistry represents with instants and sorceries and aggro elementals. Rootha, Mastering the Moment supports your spell strategy with sizable tokens.
- Silverquil Influence puts Killian, Decisive Mentor in the lead of the deck with auras. It plays a political game that pits opponents against each other.
- Quandrix Unlimited goes , brings in X spells and +1/+1 counters in a powerful pair of colors. Zimone, Infinite Analyst works on big math card, and subtraction in the best way possible, from your X spells.
- Witherbloom Pestilence and Dina, Essence Brewer want to strategically sacrifice stuff, and kind of turns your creatures into food/mutagen and card draw.
- GET ALL 5 SECRETS OF STRIXHAVEN COMMANDER DECKS—Silverquill Influence, Prismari Artistry, Witherbloom Pestilence, Lorehold Spirit, Quandrix Unlimited
- FACE YOUR GREATEST TEST YET—The hallowed halls of Strixhaven welcome you back to school! Choose your college of magical study and expand your education in the greater world of Arcavios as you stand against mysterious threats plaguing the plane
- 2 FOIL BORDERLESS COMMANDERS—Every Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck includes 2 Traditional Foil Mythic Rare Legendary Creature cards featuring Borderless art that can be played as your commander
- NEW COMMANDER CARDS—Each deck introduces 12 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering
- THRILLING MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue (best with 3–5 players)
Standard Theme Decks — $23.99
Two Standard precon decks that cover two cool archetypes ship at the same time as Secrets of Strixhaven.
Go for the Eerie Theme Deck if you like enchantments and rooms through the eerie mechanic. On the other hand the colors are hands down the best for a Lifegain Theme Deck. This fan-favorite archetype on gaining life is fun to pilot and surprisingly versatile. Of course anyone that wants some balanced 1v1 Magic will order a pair.
Wrap Up
Together as One | Illustration by Nestor Ossandon Leal
Though I can't guarantee the power of converge in all context, I think the secrets are the archaics, but there are more secrets to uncover.
Let's cram hard for the Secrets of Strixhaven draft. I like spellslinging, and this plane encourages that. I love playing in the schools of Strixhaven rather than the guilds of Ravnica for a while.
Which legendary do you want as your professor from Secrets of Strixhaven? What's the next spell that should available with prepare? Let me know in the comments or view your #1 Magic resource on YouTube with The Daily Upkeep.
Stay safe, study hard, and thank you for keeping up with your reading!
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