Last updated on March 27, 2026
Quandrix Charm | Illustration by Matheus Graef
Wizards had a booth at PAX East that gave con-goers a quiz to discover what Strixhaven college they belonged to—accompanied with a preview of that college’s charm. The charms follow the same template as those associated with the guilds of Ravnica: 2-mana multicolor instants with three modes. Let’s see how they stack up to their Ravnican counterparts.
Silverquill Charm vs. Orzhov Charm
Source: reddit.com
Silverquill Charm costs , with the modes putting two +1/+1 counters on a creature; exiling a creature with power 2 or less; or draining an opponent for 3.
Silverquill Charm is perfectly meh. It’s solid in Limited, but the removal is super narrow and the drain 3 option verges on unplayable. The counters are decent—a permanent combat trick has utility, and white has counter payoffs, but it doesn’t redeem the other modes’ faults.
Orzhov Charm is the superior of the two, if only because it hits any creature. The other modes aren’t as ubiquitously powerful but offer enough value on top of, again, a clean removal spell.
Lorehold Charm vs. Boros Charm
Source: reddit.com
Lorehold Charm costs , with the modes of a nontoken artifact edict; reanimating an artifact or creature with mana value 2 or less; or giving your creatures +1/+1 and trample.
The edict stands out for Commander as it affects each opponent, making this a three-for-one. Artifacts fiddle with trinkets like Soul-Guide Lantern and Aether Spellbomb that sacrifice themselves—not that creatures can’t do the same—so the reanimation is solid. The last mode feels estranged from the others, but the whole looks pretty decent, if only as a sideboard answer.
That said, it doesn’t hold a candle to Boros Charm. There’s something to be said for them being fundamental different, as Lorehold Charm doesn’t read like an aggro card, but still. Four damage for 2 mana? Board-wide indestructible? Lorehold Charm can’t keep up.
Quandrix Charm vs. Simic Charm
Source: reddit.com
Quandrix Charm costs , with the modes of Quench; destroy an enchantment; or make a creature into a base 5/5.
This card has potential in Standard; Quench with upside has seen varying amounts of play. Letting your sideboard enchantment hate double as a counter could also be pretty strong. I would never expect the combat trick to be the default, but it could win a game somewhere—it looks pretty nice with a Wan Shi Tong, Librarian.
The comparison with Simic Charm is tricky. Simic has a stronger combat trick (+3/+3 is always +3/+3, while the base power trick varies), but the trick is the weakest mode on both cards. Bouncing a creature is powerful, but so is countermagic and permanently removing an enchantment. The hexproof mode is weaker than Quandrix Charm’s interaction, and that leads me to deem Quandrix Charm slightly better than the Simic.
Witherbloom Charm vs. Golgari Charm
Source: reddit.com
Witherbloom Charm costs , with the modes sacrificing a permanent to draw two cards; gaining 5 life; or destroying a nonland permanent with mana value 2 or less.
It was bold of Wizards to print a charm with only two modes, but they’re good enough to overcome it. The mini Abrupt Decay is leagues better than Silverquill Charm’s limited removal, and the first mode is interesting. I planned to write it off as a Village Rites, but any deck can have too many lands. It’s best with cards like Ichor Wellspring, but there’s something special about a removal spell that becomes card draw.
Golgari Charm looks absurd when it’s a 2-mana board wipe, but that situation doesn’t come up super often. It’s mostly used as a budget protection spell or extremely flexible enchantment hate. While this isn’t a bad card by any stretch, Witherbloom Charm looks like a clear winner with its more impactful modes.
Prismari Charm vs. Izzet Charm
Source: reddit.com
Prismari Charm costs , with the modes surveil 2, then draw a card; deal 1 damage to one or two targets; or bounce a permanent.
Prismari Charm is easily the strongest charm previewed. The two interactive modes cover each other; anything the burn can’t kill, the bounce handles. And Curate is far from useless. That’s three looks at an answer, plus three cards in the graveyard. It has no bad modes.
As for how it stacks up against Izzet Charm… neither is clearly better than the other. There are certainly situations where one lines up better, but they’re both very flexible cards with two ways to answer your opponent and the option to see more cards if they can’t.
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2 Comments
“It was bold of Wizards to make a charm with only two modes.” I mean, they didn’t, there are clearly three bullet-pointed modes there.
It’s a joke, Bob. Writer’s just pointing out that the lifegain mode is something you’ll almost never use.
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