Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Decks: Are They Worth It?

Last updated on April 6, 2026

Killian, Decisive Mentor | Illustration by Billy Christian

Secrets of Strixhaven is the first set since Tarkir: Dragonstorm to feature five new Commander precons, one for each of the schools we were introduced to back in 2021’s Strixhaven: School of Mages. The sequel puts us back in school with all the familiar students and professors, and some new mysteries on Arcavios that the cast of characters needs to unlock.

Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck Bundle - Includes All 5 Decks (Silverquill Influence, Prismari Artistry, Witherbloom Pestilence, Lorehold Spirit, Quandrix Unlimited)

• 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)

$249.41

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I’ll uncover some secrets of my own here as I break apart each new precon to see which schools come out on top and which ones need a little extra time in summer school. Let’s talk reprints, value, and new cards from Secrets of Strixhaven Commander.

All About Secrets of Strixhaven

Dina, Essence Brewer | Illustration by Pauline Voss

What Is Secrets of Strixhaven Commander

Secrets of Strixhaven Commander (SOC) is a collection of five Commander precons that releases alongside the main Secrets of Strixhaven set (SOS). Each deck explores one of the major 2-color schools within Strixhaven.

Note that the set code SOC is also used for the promos included in the set’s Codex Bundle, though you can’t open those versions in the Commander precons, and I won’t discuss them here.

Lorehold Spirit

Silverquill Influence

Prismari Artistry

Quandrix Unlimited

Witherbloom Pestilence

Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck - Lorehold Spirit (100-Card Deck, Deck Box + Accessories)

Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck - Silverquill Influence (100-Card Deck, Deck Box + Accessories)

Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck - Prismari Artistry (100-Card Deck, Deck Box + Accessories)

Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck - Quandrix Unlimited (100-Card Deck, Deck Box + Accessories)

Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck - Witherbloom Pestilence (100-Card Deck, Deck Box + Accessories)

$49.99

$49.99

$49.99

$45.99

$49.99

-

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Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

Lorehold Spirit

Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck - Lorehold Spirit (100-Card Deck, Deck Box + Accessories)

$49.99

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Silverquill Influence

Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck - Silverquill Influence (100-Card Deck, Deck Box + Accessories)

$49.99

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Prismari Artistry

Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck - Prismari Artistry (100-Card Deck, Deck Box + Accessories)

$49.99

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Quandrix Unlimited

Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck - Quandrix Unlimited (100-Card Deck, Deck Box + Accessories)

$45.99

-

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Witherbloom Pestilence

Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck - Witherbloom Pestilence (100-Card Deck, Deck Box + Accessories)

$49.99

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Each SOC precon includes the following:

• 1 Ready-to-play 100-card Commander deck
• 2 Borderless foil commanders (one face commander, one alternate featured commander)
• 10 New-to-Magic cards (not counting the commanders)
• 10 Double-sided tokens
• 1 Deck box
• 1 Reference card

Commander precons no longer come with the Sample Collector Booster packs.

How Does Secrets of Strixhaven Compare to Other Commander Products

Secrets of Strixhaven is pretty standard fare for a Commander lineup. It contains five decks total, similar to TDM from 2025, and each deck focuses on one of the 2-color colleges associated with Strixhaven. Other than that, there isn’t anything out of the ordinary.

Should I Buy Secrets of Strixhaven Commander?

Short answer is yes, these decks are worth the purchase, though it’s not the type of all-star precon lineup where I’d feel compelled to buy the entire lot. I suggest picking and choosing one or two decks that really resonate with you.

Plus, if you’re not a Universes Beyond lover, it makes sense to show WotC how much you like their in-universe sets. If you skipped out on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and don’t expect to be wowed by Marvel Super Heroes, these decks are your best shot for the next few months.

Lorehold Spirit

Commander, Theme, and Strategy

Lorehold Spirit is split between two main themes: gravebreak (AKA removing cards from your graveyard), and spirit creatures. That first theme lends itself to a little bit of a reanimator feel. Overall, you’re looking to fill the graveyard and either cast spells from the ‘yard or remove them through other means to pump up a board full of spirits.

Quintorius, History Chaser pulls everything together with a static ability that creates spirit tokens when something leaves your graveyard. This is the only planeswalker commander of the bunch, and it seems totally reasonable. It’s part enabler, part payoff, and it even has a potent overrun effect for spirits, which you can use the turn it enters.

Excava, the Risen Past is a flying horse that serves as the alternate commander. It reanimates different permanent types when it attacks, returning them to the battlefield as 1/1 flying spirits. Bringing back a Patchwork Banner that then pumps itself is a pretty cool taste of what this can do. I expect either commander to play well for this deck, though Quint has the most well-rounded potential.

Reprints and $$

I’ll explore the reprint value of each deck, ignoring the perceived value of new prints since those have unreliable prerelease prices. I’ll break these down into three categories: $2-5 cards, $5-10 cards, and the big hitters at or above $10. Keep in mind that cards that are currently expensive due to scarcity often drop in price after being reprinted in a Commander deck.

Lorehold Spirit has the following reprint breakdown:

• $2-5: 9 cards
• $5-10: 4 cards
• $10+: 6 cards, including Drumbellower ($12), Wave of Reckoning ($18), Currency Converter ($15), Bitterthorn, Nissa's Animus ($23), Moonshaker Cavalry ($12), and Emeria, the Sky Ruin ($23)

Wow, this deck’s not playing with the reprints. It would cost about $100+ to buy those six big-money reprints right now, and they’re good cards, too. Currency Converter and Bitterthorn, Nissa's Animus are just stellar Commander cards, so you get to add them to your collection even if you just disassemble the deck.

This is also one of the only decks that cares about the mana base in any meaningful way. It’s still lackluster overall, but Emeria and Lotus Field stand out from the crowd of budget Boros lands ().

That’s sort of a theme with these decks, and Commander precons in general, that they have low-effort, low-value mana bases, but at least there’s some value in this one.

New Cards

Aside from the commanders, Lorehold Spirit contains the following new cards:

• Augusta, Order Returned
• Ceaseless Conflict
• Vanguard of the Restless
• Advanced Reconstruction
• Fateful Tempest
• Naktamun Lorespinner
• Relic Retriever
• Spirit of Resilience
• Lorehold Archivist
• Turbulent Steppe

Turbulent Steppe shows off a new cycle of “Turbulent” dual lands that enter untapped if opponents control a collective eight lands or more. Not too far off from Sundown Pass and other slow lands in Commander.

Advanced Reconstruction catches my eye as a slow red card advantage enchantment, which we’ve seen many times before, but the class can level up to offer some serious bonuses.

Vanguard of the Restless is a sweet new tool for spirit decks, as is Ceaseless Conflict, though that one just reads like a strong generic wrath to me.

I’m also a big fan of Fateful Tempest as a council’s dilemma card that should get people talking before it resolves. Worst case, it’s something like a 3-mana draw-4 with cast-from-exile synergy.

It’s also worth noting that each deck has at least one prepared creature that represents a powerful spell from Magic’s history. Wheel of Fortune makes an appearance on Naktamun Lorespinner here.

The Verdict

Yeah, I can totally dig this deck (archaeology joke). It’s got value, it’s got a theme that feels very novel for Boros Lorehold, and it’s got some of the most interesting new cards across the whole lineup. It even has a planeswalker as the commander to distinguish itself from the other decks.

I have a slight concern that sets don’t explore the gravebreak space in these colors basically at all, so I don’t know how much customization there’ll be beyond the precon, but you’ll definitely get something when we revisit Strixhaven once again in 2031. If you’re looking to pick up just one deck, Lorehold Spirit is a solid contender.

Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck - Lorehold Spirit (100-Card Deck, Deck Box + Accessories)

• 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
• HARNESS THE GHOSTS OF THE PAST—Set out on a Lorehold expedition with Quintorius and planeswalk a lethal path across the table. Create Spirits when cards leave your graveyard, then pile on typal Spirit bonuses and buffs to bury your opponents six feet deep!
• 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
• INTRODUCES 12 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

$49.99

Buy on Amazon

Silverquill Influence

Commander, Theme, and Strategy

Silverquill Influence is a WB enchantress deck with a subtheme of auras, and it includes incentives for putting auras on your opponents’ creatures. Basically, a new take on Eriette of the Charmed Apple (which is in the deck). Killian, Decisive Mentor leads the deck, goading creatures with what’s essentially a constellation trigger. It also draws you cards when creatures attack if they’re enchanted with one of your auras, whether that’s something of yours that’s attacking, or an opponent’s creature you buffed and goaded.

Scriv, the Obligator is a bit wordy, but it just slaps auras on opposing creatures and rewards your opponents for sending those enchanted creatures at other players. Cool political concept, but the goad and card draw from Killian feels way too important to run Scriv as the commander.

Reprints and $$

Silverquill Influence has the following reprint breakdown:

• $2-5: 11 cards
• $5-10: 11 cards
• $10+: 3 cards, including Land Tax ($27), Inkshield ($12), and Songbirds' Blessing ($11).

Another clear winner as far as reprint value goes. I don’t really expect much from the new cards in this deck, but the designers dredged up a lot of interesting reprints here, and they even stuck a Land Tax in there! I would’ve been happy without it, but that’s such an incredible pick-up from a Commander precon. I don’t know what kind of pens these Silverquill mages use but they can color me impressed.

New Cards

New prints in this precon include:

• Eiganjo Dynastorian
• Forum Filibuster
• Herald of Amity
• Changing Loyalty
• Coercive Impetus
• Intermediate Chirography
• Defacing Duskmage
• Eclipsed Steppe
• Turbulent Moor
• Umbral Expanse

A little annoying that three of the 10 new card slots are used on dual lands, but at least these all fill out unfinished land cycles.

Not too much I’m enthused by otherwise. Eiganjo Dynastorian has Replenish as its prepared spell, and Defacing Duskmage offers some easy-to-use Orzhov card draw (), but everything else is pretty narrow.

The Verdict

If I’m being honest (and I never lie), this deck doesn’t excite me much. Aura strategies are just so narrow, even with a different spin on them, and the payoff provided by Killian isn’t that enticing. I like the political aspect, but we’ve seen a number of goad commanders in the past that sort of backfire after you get down to a 1v1 situation, so they have a hard time closing out the game. I don’t think Silverquill Influence does anything to mitigate that. I’m also not blown away by the new card selection, especially since three of them are just dual lands.

Silverquill Influence goes really hard on reprints though, so it’s a good value pick-up, but I’d be looking to scrap it for parts immediately.

Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck - Silverquill Influence (100-Card Deck, Deck Box + Accessories)

• 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
• INSTIGATE A WAR OF WORDS—Weaponize your words with Silverquill standout Killian, who encourages the rest of the table to attack targets that aren’t you. Tap, goad, and control creatures with every enchantment you cast while you sit back, draw cards, and savor the mayhem
• 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
• INTRODUCES 12 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

$49.99

Buy on Amazon

Quandrix Unlimited

Commander, Theme, and Strategy

Quandrix Unlimited gives us a GU X-spell deck with a focus on +1/+1 counters. A typical “hydra” deck, if you will. That makes it Simic () ramp by default, but Quandrix gets to play around with some fun and interesting themes due to the “mathematical” nature of the Strixhaven school.

Zimone, Infinite Analyst isn’t super inventive, but it seems strong enough. X-spells put +1/+1 counters on it, which then make subsequent X-spells cheaper, and so on, plus you can find other sources of counters to grant steep discounts to your best spells.

Primo, the Unbounded is the cooler of the two commanders. It plays well with 0-power creatures that pick up +1/+1 counters and rewards you with fractals that keep the chain going. Zimone is almost certainly stronger, but I wouldn’t mind experimenting with Primo out of the box.

Reprints and $$

Quandrix Unlimited has the following reprint breakdown:

• $2-5: 8 cards
• $5-10: 5 cards
• $10+: 3 cards, including Benevolent Hydra ($12), Ozolith, the Shattered Spire ($14), and Unbound Flourishing ($17)

This deck doesn’t have the sheer quantity of value cards as the others so far, but don’t let that distract from the good reprints on display here. The only problem is that the double-digit reprints are kind of archetype-specific, so you might not get as much use out of them when you take this precon apart.

There are still some solid staples here, like Guardian Augmenter, Three Visits, and Nature's Claim.

New Cards

The new Magic cards from Quandrix Unlimited are:

• Expansion Algorithm
• Lattice Library
• Brass Infiniscope
• Owlin Spiralmancer
• Nexus Mentality
• Kinetic Ooze
• Nev, the Practical Dean
• Striding Shotcaller
• Yavimaya Bloomsage
• Turbulent Wilderness

Gotta shout out Yavimaya Bloomsage for stapling Channel to a prepared creature. Channel is banned in Commander for a reason, and this feels like an imminently fair way to sneak it into the format.

We’ve seen the power of copying X-spells with Magus Lucea Kane, and Owlin Spiralmancer does it as well. Lattice Library covers one of the weaknesses of X-spell decks by producing board presence as you filter your mana into bigger, splashier spells.

Expansion Algorithm is surely busted somewhere. Maybe in this deck, maybe elsewhere? It’s a clean textbox, but not one to be underestimated.

The Verdict

I’m indifferent about the theme here. X-spells is worth revisiting every once in a while, but combining it with a +1/+1 counter theme doesn’t sway me. I bet the deck is plenty powerful, but it just has the most milquetoast face commander of the lot. At least Primo seems like an intriguing alternative.

It’s got similar reprint value to Silverquill Influence, but Quandrix Unlimited at least has a wider spread of interesting new cards for Commander, including a juiced up proliferate card. I can give this deck one thumb up, but a Simic ramp deck disguised as another theme is never going to keep my attention for long. This one’s for the Timmys.

Sale

Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck - Quandrix Unlimited (100-Card Deck, Deck Box + Accessories)

• 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
• RUN THE NUMBERS—Formulate the equation for victory with Zimone as your constant variable. Cast X-spells for +1/+1 counters and ever-increasing discounts, supercharging your brainy brawling to towering new tiers!
• 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
• INTRODUCES 12 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

$45.99

Buy on Amazon

Prismari Artistry

Commander, Theme, and Strategy

It’s Izzet () spells, folks. You know the drill. Technically it’s “Prismari big spells”, but Prismari Artistry is just a typical Izzet deck masquerading under a different name. A rose is a rose is a rose. The theme for Prismari Artistry really is as simple as just casting instants and sorceries, though there’s a subtheme of token creation, and it plays into the opus mechanic of SOS by offering greater rewards for spells with mana value 5 or greater.

Rootha, Mastering the Moment is sort of like a once-per-turn Young Pyromancer, except it can make a large hasty flying token if you’ve cast a high mana value spell before combat. That means your delve spells like Dig Through Time and Treasure Cruise pull a lot of weight here. Totally solid.

The back-up commander asks the question: Why Muddle the Mixture when you can instead Muddle, the Ever-Changing? Okay not-Lutri, you’ve got my attention. Adding myriad to a cost reduction creature or something with a good saboteur effect sounds like a good time to me. Rootha feels like the choice if you want a straightforward game plan, though Muddle seems like a fun alternative.

Reprints and $$

Prismari Artistry has the following reprint breakdown:

• $2-5: 13 cards
• $5-10: 5 cards
• $10+: 4 cards

The big-money cards are Faerie Mastermind ($27), Harmonic Prodigy ($10), Goldspan Dragon ($10), and Determined Iteration ($11). Rionya, Fire Dancer was also valued at $9.99 at the time of writing, so that might as well be another $10 hit, putting us up to roughly $68 off those five cards alone. Another 13 cards in the lowest price range is also quite a bit of extra reprint value.

This is a first-time reprint for a lot of these cards, including Mastermind, Prodigy, and Iteration, plus some of the cheaper cards like Dance with Calamity and Galazeth Prismari.

New Cards

The new additions from Prismari Artistry are:

• Abstract Performance
• Dirgur Focusmage
• Furygale Flocking
• Inspired Skypainter
• Leitmotif Composer
• Prismari Pianist
• Renegade Bull
• Turbulent Springs
• Coastal Peak
• Scorched Geyser

Another deck with too many new slots dedicated to duals, unfortunately, though I like a lot of the other newcomers.

Dirgur Focusmage lets you cast nonstop Braingeysers, Prismari Pianist is a pumped up Young Peezy, and Renegade Bull can cheat some big spells out of the graveyard while bashing in with trample.

The design of Furygale Flocking is really cool and fits the “big spells” theme well. I could totally see just casting Abstract Performance for the fun of it. It’s way more expensive than most divvy spells, but there’s a dream.

The Verdict

Sensing some repetition here, because I just don’t vibe with the theme of this deck. Izzet spellslinging? That’s what you’ve got? Yes, there are some subthemes here with tokens and 5-MV spells, but at the end of the day this is just the billionth blue-red spells deck. I also got the sense that a lot of this deck was just a rehash of the Prismari deck from Commander 2021, but I might be imagining that.

Once again, the reprint value is great, so that’s a point in this deck’s favor. Plus, there are some inspired new card designs for spellslingers of all sorts. Look, spellslinger is done to death, but it’s also wildly popular, so I can’t be too dismissive. I’ll pass on Prismari Artistry, but I can recommend it for anyone trying to cast some big instants or sorceries.

Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck - Prismari Artistry (100-Card Deck, Deck Box + Accessories)

• 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
• MAKE BOLD, VIOLENT CHOICES—Let your creativity run wild with Rootha as your artist-in-residence and cast expensive, bombastic spells. Bigger spells let you generate bigger Elementals poised to attack, so pull out all the stops and go for broke!
• 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
• INTRODUCES 12 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

$49.99

Buy on Amazon

Witherbloom Pestilence

Commander, Theme, and Strategy

Aristocrats has been done many times before, but usually not with such a pronounced emphasis on the lifegain part of the archetype. That’s the twist for Witherbloom Pestilence, a BG precon that tries to marry the lifegain and sacrifice themes that make Witherbloom feel so disjointed. Pest tokens help to bridge that gap as sacrificial material that also trigger all your lifegain payoffs.

Dina, Essence Brewer has all the right words on it. It covers the basics of gaining life and providing a sac outlet, but it also passively draws cards and pumps up creatures with +1/+1 counters. As far as commanders go, Dina’s got it downa.

Gorma, the Gullet (nickname in high school, etc.) is the guest commander. I’m not really buying it, though. I’m not sure why I’d care much about growing my creatures in a sacrifice deck (commander damage, maybe?), and it’s missing both the sac outlet and card draw offered by Dina. This feels like something to brew around for another 99, not the commander to play for this deck.

Reprints and $$

Witherbloom Pestilence has the following reprint breakdown:

• $2-5: 9 cards
• $5-10: 3 cards
• $10+: 3 cards, including Gyome, Master Chef ($18), Nether Traitor ($11), and Ohran Frostfang ($10)

Like Quandrix Unlimited, this deck fails to deliver the sheer number of valuable reprints as its colleagues, but it still does fine in a vacuum. You’re looking at $40ish across just the three most expensive cards, plus a nice mix of aristocrats staples, both on the sac outlets and payoff side. The mana base is a whole lot of nothing though.

New Cards

Here are the new cards to expect from Witherbloom Pestilence:

• Defiling Daemogoth
• Eccentric Pestfinder
• Feral Appetite
• Immoral Bargain
• Merchant of Venom
• Ominous Harvest
• Pest Rescuer
• Ribtruss Roaster
• Stensian Sanguinist
• Turbulent Fen

This deck has a nice smattering of interesting designs. I really like the idea of repeated Exsanguinates with Stensian Sanguinist, as well as the mass removal possibilities with Immoral Bargain.

Feral Appetite reminds me of the perpetually underrated Night Soil, and how can you not get excited about seeing gravestorm on Ominous Harvest?

Defiling Daemogoth provides a non-infinite alternative to Sanguine Bond, and Pest Rescuer mimics the effect of Ophiomancer, who also appears in the deck.

Only complaint is Merchant of Venom. C’mon, the Spider-Man set was last year!

The Verdict

Good value, fine theme, neat new cards. These decks are really consistent across the board. That said, this is the one I’m most skeptical of out of the box; it feels like an aristocrats deck from 5+ years ago, using tons of sac outlets and token generators that slipped out of the top tiers of Commander quite a while ago. The lifegain angle at least adds another layer to the deck, but not enough that this should play out much differently than your typical sacrifice deck.

It’s also last place in terms of value, though it’s still got solid reprints worth reselling if you’re buying this for other reasons. Decent, but far from spectacular.

Plus no Pestilence in the Witherbloom Pestilence deck? Tragic.

Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck - Witherbloom Pestilence (100-Card Deck, Deck Box + Accessories)

• 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
• POWER IS WORTH THE PRICE—There’s trouble brewing when Dina leads your Witherbloom forces, so prepare the Pests for sacrifice! Sacrifices grant life, cards, and stackable counters that prepare your next victim for gainful harvesting or pump your attackers for a deadly push.
• 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
• INTRODUCES 12 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

$49.99

Buy on Amazon

The Best Secrets of Strixhaven Deck

For Value

A tight category for sure, since all five decks pass the value test. Six $10+ reprints in the Lorehold Spirit deck is just great though, even if the WB and UR decks are right there with it. I also expect the Lorehold deck to have better newcomers with a couple spirit typal cards, an excellent wrath effect, and a solid red card draw spell, so the long-term value is also likely better.

For Competitive EDH

Assuming we mean “Bracket 4” and not literal Bracket 5/cEDH, my money’s on Prismari Artistry as the deck with the highest “competitive” potential. Spellslinging is heavily supported in Magic, and there are all flavors of upgrades that can take a deck like this to the next level, whether you lean into the token-making or the big mana value theme.

For Fun

I hate to award the same deck two awards in a 5-deck line-up, but Lorehold Spirit sticks out once again. It’s just the most novel deck of the bunch. Not that gravebreak strategies haven’t been explored before, but it’s such an interesting way to build a Boros deck.

Silverquill Influence is probably great for precon battles, and Quandrix Unlimited lets you cast big dumb hydras, which is always a blast. The UR and BG decks really don’t appeal to me much, but that’s mostly because they’re not representing new themes, so it’s sort of already understood how they’ll play out.

Commanding Conclusion

Quintorius, History Chaser | Illustration by Darren Tan

I’m split on the Secrets of Strixhaven Commander decks. They’re almost universally worth it from a value perspective, but few of them break away from the standard strategies we’re used to seeing with these color pairs. The RW and WB decks have the most interesting ideas, whereas the other three feel like they’re treading on all-too-familiar territory.

This certainly isn’t a bad lineup at all. You get your money’s worth, plus there are tons of new cards to be excited about, so overall I’m satisfied with the decks, just not overly impressed. That makes it a good set for selectively choosing which decks you want, rather than rushing out to grab the entire set. Whichever Strixhaven college speaks to you most, that’s probably a good enough justification to pick up their precon.

Lorehold Spirit

Silverquill Influence

Prismari Artistry

Quandrix Unlimited

Witherbloom Pestilence

Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck - Lorehold Spirit (100-Card Deck, Deck Box + Accessories)

Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck - Silverquill Influence (100-Card Deck, Deck Box + Accessories)

Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck - Prismari Artistry (100-Card Deck, Deck Box + Accessories)

Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck - Quandrix Unlimited (100-Card Deck, Deck Box + Accessories)

Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck - Witherbloom Pestilence (100-Card Deck, Deck Box + Accessories)

$49.99

$49.99

$49.99

$45.99

$49.99

-

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

Lorehold Spirit

Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck - Lorehold Spirit (100-Card Deck, Deck Box + Accessories)

$49.99

Buy on Amazon

Silverquill Influence

Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck - Silverquill Influence (100-Card Deck, Deck Box + Accessories)

$49.99

Buy on Amazon

Prismari Artistry

Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck - Prismari Artistry (100-Card Deck, Deck Box + Accessories)

$49.99

Buy on Amazon

Quandrix Unlimited

Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck - Quandrix Unlimited (100-Card Deck, Deck Box + Accessories)

$45.99

-

Buy on Amazon

Witherbloom Pestilence

Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck - Witherbloom Pestilence (100-Card Deck, Deck Box + Accessories)

$49.99

Buy on Amazon

What do you think about these decks? How many will you be buying, and which new cards are you most excited to play with? Let us know in the comments down below or in the Draftsim Discord, and check out The Daily Upkeep newsletter to stay up to date on all the latest MTG news.

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