The 23 Best Secrets of Strixhaven Cards for Standard

Tragedy Feaster | Illustration by Raph Lomotan

Hello planeswalkers! It's that wonderful time again! We’re going to dive into a new set and a whole new battlefront of MTG games. While I hope you have a great prerelease and Limited events, we also need to plan for what’s coming for the longer-lasting formats. So today, let’s take a look at how the release of Secrets of Strixhaven will affect the Standard format.

Whether you’re a dedicated collector and physical builder or an MTG Arena/MTGO nut like myself, Standard always changes with the release of a new set. We’re going to look at the cards that may boost metagame-defining Standard decks, disrupt the Standard status quo, or start new and powerful decks.

Which Secrets of Strixhaven Cards Are Standard-Legal?

Great Hall of the Biblioplex | Illustration by Constantin Marin

The cards that will be released in the Secrets of Strixhaven (SOS) set will be instantly Standard legal when the set releases on April 23, 2026. We won’t look at cards released in the Secrets of Strixhaven Commander (SOC) set, as these cards are Eternal and Commander legal, but not legal in Standard.

Additionally, the only Special Guests or Mystical Archives cards that will be legal in Standard are the ones that were already legal before being reprinted on these bonus sheets.

#23. Blech, Loafing Pest

Blech, Loafing Pest is a great addition to some niche creature types in many formats, and one specifically in Standard at the moment. I mostly see this card supporting some great bat creatures. The lifegain synergies of Standard bats alongside cards like Sheltered by Ghosts could benefit from a fun addition like Blech.

#22. Postmortem Professor

And black rages on with its Standard aristocrat and life siphon themes. Postmortem Professor is a nice, small creature that has everything these kinds of decks want. You can attack early, ping opponents, and return this card from the graveyard relatively easily. I see this card working well with decks like Orzhov Midrange and Mono-Black Aristocrats.

#21. Lorehold Charm

Of all the charms in the SoS release, I believe that Lorehold Charm provides the best modes to choose from. The artifact hate is nice, reanimating a cheap creature fits well into Boros (), and I’m excited to see some mass attacks with the trample and pump modal.

All the charms will be great in Limited, and I think you may see Prismari Charm in more Standard decks, but Lorehold Charm is a banger in certain Standard aggro builds.

#20. Together as One

Together as One is a great colorless card to fit into the several control decks in Standard at the moment. With plenty of different sources of colors, great early-draw like Stock Up, and cheap removal, control is a prime target in Standard matches. This works as card draw, removal, and lifegain all rolled into one solid late-game play.

#19. Sanar, Unfinished Genius

Sanar, Unfinished Genius is a great Izzet card () to play early for mana ramp. I think this card is mostly going to find its way into some Standard decks like Izzet Prowess and Spellementals because of its Treasure-creating ability. Simply cast a card like Stock Up, and also tap this card for a Treasure token. This ramp will be key to staying ahead of aggro and keeping up with Badgermole Cub. And, if you have nothing better in your hand, you can search your library for the instant/sorcery you need.

#18. Mana Sculpt

Mana Sculpt is going to be a top-tier counterspell in decks that include a wizard. Similar to Mana Drain, Mana Sculpt converts the mana cost of the countered card into mana for your next turn, albeit with stipulations. This can fit well with Standard Wizards like Dark Confidant, Ashling, Rimebound, and even Slickshot Show-Off if you’re willing to wait a turn to be aggressive.

#17. Wildgrowth Archaic

Green and +1/+1 counters have gotten a ton of new firepower from this set. Wildgrowth Archaic adds to this by turning different mana used for casting into counters. It's at its best outside mono-green shells, and it can be an awesome support card with mana fixing lands like Starting Town and even cards like Gene Pollinator.

#16. Tragedy Feaster

Tragedy Feaster is going to be a nice addition to aggro or creature-heavy black decks. A 7/6 for 4 mana is awesome, and the tax that comes with it is worth paying for the upside you get. If you gain life, no problem, and if you don’t, sac a land or creature like Greedy Freebooter to keep this big body pressuring your opponents.

#15. The Dawning Archaic

I may be way off base here, but I think The Dawning Archaic is going to take some already powerful decks to another level. This 10-mana avatar gets a casting cost reduction for every instant/sorcery in your graveyard, and it lets you recast one of them for free when it attacks.

I’m envisioning Izzet Lessons and Dimir Excruciator/mill having a field day with this card. Izzet Lessons fills the graveyard with lesson cards to make The Dawning Archaic free and get those lessons again. With the right play, Dimir Excruciator plays Doomsday Excruciator and then The Dawning Archaic for free to ensure opponents have no comeback before their inevitable mill.

#14. Mathemagics

Oh yeah, my favorite! Let’s dive into some math with Mathemagics. This blue card draw can have an expensive cost, but it follows an exponential curve. The more mana you put in, the far greater return you can get.

As you can see from the reminder text, this card takes a decent amount of mana before it starts to pay off, but then it really does. In Standard, I can see this card making it into Azorius/Dimir control decks, or decks that have the aid of a few Badgermole Cubs.

#13. Lorehold, the Historian

Not surprisingly, the elder dragons of Strixhaven are all quite powerful and supercharge your spells. Representing each of the five colleges at Strixhaven, each dragon has their own strengths, but the commonality is that they make your instants/sorceries easier to cast or more powerful.

As for Standard, I believe Lorehold, the Historian will be the only one to make an outsized impact. This card will turn some large spells like Rise of the Dark Realms, Jeskai Revelation, and Moment of Reckoning into potential cheap casts, and the miracle ability can skirt timing rules.

Note: All of these dragons are going to be incredible in many Constructed decks, but here are the reasons I don’t think they’ll be as powerful in Standard.

• Witherbloom, the Balancer: Golgari isn’t the most popular color pair in Standard at the moment, and it tends to be heavy on creatures and cheap removal.
• Quandrix, the Proof: Cascade has a ton of upside; however, Simic often just tries to sneak Omniscience onto the field.
• Prismari, the Inspiration: This card will win if you can reliably cast it. I’ve just seen spellslingers and discard decks play much faster, and they don’t need a 7-mana dead weight in their hand.
• Silverquill, the Disputant: Casualty can fit into aristocrat decks, but apart from removal, you won’t need many instants/sorceries.

#12. Berta, Wise Extrapolator

Berta, Wise Extrapolator just seems like one of the most abusable cards in this set. Giving this creature +1/+1 counters (the increment mechanic is a built-in way to do this) turns into extra mana. I’m not even sure which decks will include this card, but I do know that it’ll be absurd! I’d love to see it with Mutagen Man, Living Ooze for a ridiculous amount of mana!

I was also quite close to including Pensive Professor for a similar counters effect, but card draw. I’ll just leave it here as a consolation.

#11. Withering Curse

Withering Curse is a nice, cheap black removal spell that gives you options for which kind of removal you need. To get rid of pesky small creatures in Standard like Badgermole Cub or tokens from Stormchaser's Talent, all you need is the -2/-2 offered from this 3-mana card. If you need a bit more removal, pair it with some lifegain to wipe the board clean. Cheap board wipes are at a premium in Standard.

#10. Molten-Core Maestro

Molten-Core Maestro is going to be a stellar addition to mono-red aggro, or any spellslinger variations. This card gets pumped with +1/+1 counters when casting instants/sorceries, and the opus ability keeps bringing the value! If you spend 5 or more mana on one of these spells, you get red mana back to play with. With the speed necessary for most competitive Standard decks, you can build your counters with cheap spells like Burst Lightning and Opt.

#9. Ral Zarek, Guest Lecturer

Planeswalkers don’t always make a splash in Standard, but cheap ones often do. Ral Zarek, Guest Lecturer is a 3-drop planeswalker that works with many different strategies. This planeswalker’s loyalty abilities kind of run the gamut of some good black strategies. Graveyard-filling, discard, small reanimation, and a bomb final ability to boot. The -7 loyalty ability cost is steep, but at 3 mana, this planeswalker should have a ton of utility in Standard.

I don’t love Professor Dellian Fel as much because I don’t feel that the current Golgari pool is set up well for life drain. That said, there can always be a use for a 4-drop planeswalker in certain decks.

#8. Great Hall of the Biblioplex

Great Hall of the Biblioplex will work as a mana fixer for spellcasting decks. One life is a low price to pay to get the exact instants and sorceries you need played on time. This will be a similar land roster to Multiversal Passage and Starting Town in many 2+ colored Standard decks now. On top of the mana fixing, you can get a creature for an expensive 5 mana, but this can be well worth it after board wipes.

#7. Vicious Rivalry

I’m all in on the Golgari power of Secrets of Strixhaven! We have a new mono-black board wipe, and now a Golgari creature/artifact board wipe. Vicious Rivalry is a great way to convert some of your life points into much-needed removal. An easy price to stop aggro, Simulacrum Synthesizer artifacts, or Mutagen Man, Living Ooze tokens.

#6. Dina’s Guidance

It’s no surprise that Golgari will get a bit of a boost in Standard, as the Witherbloom College is important to Strixhaven. The biggest addition here is Dina's Guidance. This instant will be an awesome card to fetch a creature you need either to your hand or your graveyard. The speed and the cost will allow this instant to be utilized at the best time to swing into cards like Superior Spider-Man, Deceit, or Quantum Riddler.

#5. Paradigm Cards

The top of these rankings is full of cycles or groups of cards that could be quite interesting in Standard. I think paradigm is going to just be too good a mechanic for many Standard players to pass up. They’re often very expensive spells, but paradigm allows the caster to cast a copy of the card on each of their first main phases if the original spell resolves. If you can reliably get to the casting costs of these cards and they don’t get countered, there’ll be a paradigm shift without a doubt. Here are some of the Standard highlights and decks they can fit into:

• Improvisation Capstone can mix into tempo decks that cast cheap removal and control games. Possibly Izzet Lessons.
• Decorum Dissertation adds to what I’m expecting to be a new Standard trend of black outdrawing opponents.
• Echocasting Symposium will be ridiculous if you can copy creatures like Sunderflock or Marang River Regent.
• Germination Practicum is going to fit quite well with Badgermole Cub and Ouroboroid.
• Restoration Seminar is the least likely Standard candidate, but a powerful reanimation tool nonetheless.

#4. Mythic/Rare Prepared Cards

The prepared mechanic is going to be quite fun in Limited, and I believe it’ll have some staying power in Standard. If a creature is prepared, you may cast its instant or sorcery. Similar to the adventure mechanic, you get a spell and a creature in one card, but prepared can let you cast spells repeatedly more easily.

So which ones should you pay attention to for Standard? I believe the uncommon and even some rare versions will be great in Limited, but for Standard, here are a few I think will make big waves:

• Emeritus of Conflict has the ultra competitive Lightning Bolt as its spell. This’ll be huge for removal and direct damage in any aggressive Standard decks.
• Emeritus of Abundance brings a repeatable Regrowth to Standard green endgames.
• Emeritus of Ideation and its Ancestral Recall will be a great way for Azorius Momo and Jeskai Control to get card draw in the midgame to dominate.
• Grave Researcher with a repeatable Reanimate is terrifying to me, and great for all the reanimator decks in Standard.
• Emeritus of Truce brings along Swords to Plowshares. I mean come on!
• Scheming Silvertongue and Sign in Blood is a wonderful addition to any Standard black deck that can gain some life.

#3. Planar Engineering

Planar Engineering is going to be a new must-have in green landfall decks. For 4 mana, right in the sweet spot of some landfall curves, you sac two lands to instantly bring four onto the battlefield. This is going to be huge for Sazh's Chocobo, Mossborn Hydra, and Mightform Harmonizer. This sorcery makes green landfall even more competitive, especially with Icetill Explorer.

#2. Erode

Oh, baby! White just got a new fantastic removal spell that’ll be in Standard just as much as Get Lost. Erode is a 1-drop instant removal spell that should help white control and aggro decks alike. Who cares if you give an opponent a land when you can reliably remove Ouroboroid, Cosmogrand Zenith, and Kona, Rescue Beastie?

I’d be remiss not to mention Harsh Annotation, which I believe will make its way into white Standard decks as well.

#1. SoS Dual Lands

They may never be the flashiest or most interesting additions in new sets, but new, useful lands are always in demand. SoS gives us reprints of the dual lands that enter tapped unless you control two or more lands from Midnight Hunt/Crimson Vow. This should help any Standard deck to round out their mana needs.

Bonus: Orzhov Enchantments in Standard

Sheltered by Ghosts | Illustration by Mirko Failoni

I’m so surprised not to see some form of the aggro enchantment builds in Standard, but I'm betting this one is here to stay. Whether it's mono-white, Azorius, or like I’ve chosen, Orzhov, the aggressive enchantments put a lot of pressure on opponents.

It centers around cheap creatures like Optimistic Scavenger and Wonderweave Aerialist that build or benefit from playing enchantments. You can then play cheap enchantments like Sheltered by Ghosts and Ethereal Armor to swing aggressively. From SoS, I’ve added Erode as the new cheap white super removal spell, and Grave Researcher as some reanimation to beef this already bomb deck up!

Shattered Sanctum can slot into the mana base too.

Wrap Up

Erode | Illustration by Florian Herold

Well, now I know I’m excited! I believe that the Secrets of Strixhaven set will have a large impact on Standard going forward. There are too many great new mechanics and cards for Standard players to pass up. I’m not quite sure if any new card will be “broken”, but be prepared to see Erode a lot. Enjoy collecting the new cards and playing in your prerelease events, I know I will!

As always, make sure to check out all the other great articles on Draftsim.com, especially all the content around SOS/SOC. If you’re not already, you should be checking out Draftsim’s newsletter and YouTube channel, both named The Daily Upkeep.

Stay safe, and may your prerelease and Standard games go fantastically!