Emeritus of Ideation | Illustration by Mark Poole
Secrets of Strixhaven boosters are filled to the brim with secrets, so to speak. It’s one of the most exciting sets of the last two years or so, with so many cards to get people excited. Today, we check out the most valuable cards from this set. You can check out the set's best cards elsewhere; here we care about the most expensive cards just before launch.
Secrets of Strixhaven has four main sets:
- Secrets of Strixhaven (SOS), which is the Standard-legal set
- Secrets of Strixhaven Commander (SOC), the new cards and reprints available in Commander precons.
- Secrets of Strixhaven Mystical Archive (SOA), the set’s bonus sheet
- Special Guests (SPG) are special reprints that appear in about 2% of Play Boosters and 5-6% of Collector Boosters.
I’m including cards worth $10 and above. These prices were taken from TCGplayer in April 2026 and are subject to significant changes after the set fully releases. Also, I’m only referencing the cheapest version of a card, in case there are two or more versions or special treatments.
#32. [SOS] Withering Curse – $10.00
Withering Curse has the makings of a multiformat staple card, depending on how easy it is to gain life before casting this spell. In some situations, -2/-2 for 3 mana is fine. But getting a full Damnation effect for just 3 mana is really broken, especially if the life you’ve gained didn’t cost you any mana – Pristine Talisman will generate mana and gain you life, for example.
#31. [SOS] Emeritus of Abundance – $10.00
Emeritus of Abundance comes prepared with a Regrowth, so for 5 mana, you can get anything back from your graveyard. Outside of some loops where you’ll blink and untap some lands to do it again, the coolest thing to do with this creature is to cast a Time Warp, attack, prepare your Emeritus, and get the Time Warp back so you get infinite turns.
#30. [SOS] Improvisation Capstone – $10.00
Paradigm is a new mechanic and a new take on the old epic ability. If you cast Improvisation Capstone once, you’ll cast it for free every turn for the rest of the game. Kind of like a rebound effect, but much better. And look at what you’re getting: spells from the top of your library you can cast for free. It’s really worth ramping into this card to reap the benefits later.
#29. [SOS] Germination Practicum – $10.50
Another paradigm spell, Germination Practicum is much easier to understand. You just get two free +1/+1 counters on every creature you control. That’s really strong, and it pairs very well with effects that draw you some cards whenever you put counters on creatures. I can see EDH decks playing a version of this card that does the same effect for one turn only, let alone all of them.
#28. [SOC] Gyome, Master Chef – $10.50
Our first reprint, Gyome, Master Chef is a staple in decks that want to produce Food tokens or get some lifegain. This was a $18-20 card before the reprint, so people should be able to get it much cheaper. Since it's being reprinted for the first time in 5 years, its value could go up in a year or two.
#27. [SOS] The Dawning Archaic – $11.00
The Dawning Archaic is a card that you can effectively cast for free in any spellslinging deck, not only blue or Izzet () ones. Let’s say it costs effectively 3 or 4 mana; you’re already underpaying for a 7/7 reach creature by a lot. Plus, each time it attacks, you can cast an instant or sorcery from your graveyard for free. It’s nuts in any draw and discard heavy deck, and I’m sure many folks will develop a way to cheat very expensive spells with this guy.
#26. [SOS] Petrified Hamlet – $11.00
Petrified Hamlet is a land that hates other lands that have powerful abilities not related to mana. This card shuts down problems like Karakas or The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale, so it’ll probably see some sideboard play across many formats or be a staple in 1- or 2-color cEDH decks.
#25. [SOC] Ozolith, the Shattered Spire – $11.50
Ozolith, the Shattered Spire is a simple, 2-mana artifact that goes into every +1/+1 counter deck out there. The Hardened Scales effect is very good to have in multiples, and a card that puts +1/+1 counters somewhere gets twice as good in this scenario. Not only that, but this card can also place +1/+1 counters itself. This is Ozolith’s first reprint, so the price is still steep; get one or more while it’s still fresh.
#24. [SOC] Currency Converter – $12.00
Many decks these days are designed around some mechanic of drawing and discarding, or conniving. Cards like Currency Converter allow us to stash those discarded cards temporarily to use later. It’s actually a $15 card printed for the first time in New Capenna Commander, and a reprint is most welcome since it should help its price to go down.
#23. [SOC] Moonshaker Cavalry – $12.00
Moonshaker Cavalry is the white version of Craterhoof Behemoth, and while white decks don’t snowball that hard like green elf decks do, this card sees its fair share of Commander play. Whether it’s a white deck that produces tokens or that can double the enter triggers, this card will probably be there. And don’t forget the creature types, which are well-supported: knight and spirit.
#22. [SOS] Emeritus of Truce – $12.50
Swords to Plowshares is a staple removal spell, so we can expect a creature that comes with this spell attached to it to be powerful. You can think of Emeritus of Truce as a white Ravenous Chupacabra or a 3/3 that makes a 1/1 token, and in EDH games, there’s bound to be someone with more creatures than you to prepare this creature.
#21. [SOS] Erode – $12.50
Speaking of powerful white removal spells, WotC gave us Erode, which reminds us of Path to Exile. And it’s a Standard-legal card! Erode destroys, so it’s a little worse, but it can get planeswalkers. This card has a high chance to become a Standard and Pioneer staple and see plenty of play in EDH. I expect its price to rise a lot in a couple months, especially if a white deck in Standard starts to play four copies.
#20. [SOC] The Turbulent Lands – $13.00
The Turbulent lands are a new cycle that appears in the Commander precons that are selling for about $13 each. It’s a fetchable cycle of slow lands that enter untapped depending on the number of lands your opponents have as a whole. Interestingly, WotC gave us a land that’s more likely to enter untapped depending on your turn order, so players 3 and 4 have a slight advantage. These can go much higher than $13 if WotC doesn’t reprint them often in the future.
#19. [SOC] Harmonic Prodigy – $13.00
Harmonic Prodigy is important because it doubles wizard triggers (yes, and shamans, which are far less useful). Many wizard decks thrive on noncreature spell triggers, and commanders like Kuja, Genome Sorcerer or Inalla, Archmage Ritualist appreciate all the doubling, so this card will have a stable market for the years to come. Like many cards in this list, also a first-time reprint.
#18. [SOC] Naktamun Lorespinner – $13.00
Commander precons are also using prepared creatures with classic MTG spells; here's Naktamun Lorespinner, a card that can cast the powerful Wheel of Fortune. The condition is simple: Someone needs to have one card in hand, and that will probably be you. Fortunately, this is usually when you want to fire a wheel effect so that you can recharge.
#17. [SOS] Ral Zarek, Guest Lecturer – $14.00
Ral Zarek, Guest Lecturer is the first of two planeswalkers on this list, and it’s a very interesting card. Three-mana planeswalkers tend to see a lot of play, and I guess that Ral will follow this trend, at least as a discard staple. Alternating between making your opponent discard, surveilling 2, and Unearthing something is a nice play pattern, and in Standard, I can envision it seeing play in discard decks, or seeing sideboard play at the very least.
#16. [SOC] Eiganjo Dynastorian – $14.00
An interesting aspect of Eiganjo Dynastorian is that Replenish is a very powerful combo card, and a very expensive card as well, because it’s part of the Reserved List. It’s better to pay $14 for this card than, say, $100+ for the original. And it's easy to prepare: You just need to attack with two creatures. And if they’re enchantment creatures, you’re not even sad if they die in the attack, right?
#15. [SOC] Yavimaya Bloomsage – $14.00
Yavimaya Bloomsage has Channel attached to it, one of the most unfair ways to generate a lot of mana. The thing is, it’s hard to prepare this creature; you need to use its end step trigger to put a +1/+1 counter onto a 6+ power creature. It’s definitely a build-around card, but you can pile counters in it, use auras, or cast a combat trick, and your reward is a spell you can’t even cast in most formats.
#14. [SOS] Quandrix, the Proof – $15.00
This list has many of the new mythic dragons, and Quandrix, the Proof is here for a reason. It’s an excellent ramp target and cascading spells is powerful. It’s easy to slot this into an existing ramp deck. Getting cascade when playing extra turn spells is pretty powerful, or when ramping into a big green sorcery.
#13. [SOS] Professor Dellian Fel – $15.00
Professor Dellian Fel is our second planeswalker, and it has the classic framework. You can get creature removal and card draw, or you can go the loyalty way by upticking up and gaining some life. It’s good against aggro and excellent to enable infusion, and you can easily emblem Dellian in two turns, which is a win condition in itself. I can see this card being at least a Standard contender and a staple in lifegain-matter decks.
#12. [SPG] Library of Leng – $15.00
Library of Leng is this expensive because it’s a reprint from Special Guests, and it was last reprinted in the ‘90’s. It’s a bad card by itself, but it can be a powerful enabler of strategies where you can discard a card to the top of your library to set up effects like miracle or Counterbalance. Besides, if you’re drawing a lot of cards, it’s another way to hold them in your hand.
#11. [SOC] Bitterthorn, Nissa’s Animus – $15.50
By itself, Bitterthorn, Nissa's Animus is already an interesting creature that attacks and ramps, triggering landfall and much more. But then, you can equip this card to any creature you control and give it this ability, and that’s why this card is so strong. It’s not green, so any deck can effectively use it. Ramp effects usually cost 2-3 mana, so paying 3 and equipping to get ramp isn’t that far-fetched.
#10. [SOC] Unbound Flourishing – $15.50
Unbound Flourishing is a X-spells matter Commander build-around card, and it’s basically WotC’s preferred way to push a theme: Just double the effect. Aside from seeing play in decks that have many X-spells, like Rosheen, Roaring Prophet or Zaxara, the Exemplary, some players will like this card for synergy cubes, too.
#9. [SOS] Silverquill, the Disputant – $18.00
Silverquill, the Disputant makes it easy to copy instants and sorceries, and it’s a great sacrifice outlet. You can sacrifice some tokens to double up your removal spells, card drawing, and much more. This card will be a very interesting commander to add to Orzhov () control decks, tokens, aristocrats, and more, plus it’s a possible Standard player.
#8. [SOS] Prismari, the Inspiration – $20.00
The best thing to do with Prismari, the Inspiration is to use a lot of instants and sorceries, like rituals, to put this big dragon into play. Once it arrives, you simply cast an Opt or Lightning Bolt and take advantage of the storm you’ve built. But seriously, casting this card can end the game in a turn or two. And if your opponent aims removal at it, they take 5.
#7. [SOC] Faerie Mastermind – $21.00
Faerie Mastermind is a card that saw consistent Standard play, and some Pioneer play, too. It’s excellent in a draw-go deck where you flash this in whenever your opponent would draw cards, and you can also draw more cards with its activated ability. Many Dimir commanders () are faeries and have this preferred play style, like Maralen, Fae Ascendant or Alela, Cunning Conqueror, and this card sees play there as well.
#6. [SOS] Emeritus of Woe – $23.00
The black card from this cycle, Emeritus of Woe, has none other than a Demonic Tutor attached to it. It’s very good already as a 6-mana 5/4 with a free tutor attached, and some decks will be able to sacrifice two creatures each turn so that you can tutor again. Value or combo, you choose your own route.
#5. [SOS] Lorehold, the Historian – $24.00
Miracle on instants and sorceries, you say? Lorehold, the Historian is already awesome as a 5/5 hasty flying dragon that can discard and draw on your opponents’ turns. I imagine the new paradigm mechanic goes very well with miracles. Or big red cards, like Call Forth the Tempest.
#4. [SOC] Land Tax – $25.00
A classic white staple, Land Tax helps you to get back into a game if you’re low on lands and another player has more lands than you. Take that, pesky ramp player. It’s been reprinted here and there in bonus sheets and the like, but not nearly enough to lower its price from the $20-30 range.
#3. [SOS] Witherbloom, the Balancer – $25.00
Witherbloom, the Balancer is the most anticipated of these elder dragons for Commander. Giving all your instants and sorceries affinity for creatures can be broken and really go infinite, so competitive players will love this card for the combos. And Timmy players will just enjoy casting crazy, expensive spells, like Plague Wind or Genesis Wave for a reduced cost.
#2. [SOS] Emeritus of Ideation – $30.00
Emeritus of Ideation is the flashiest card in this set; it’s already a good 5/5 flier that comes with Ancestral Recall prepared. It’s a card that can draw three cards on a “kicker“, and you can blink it or just “delve” eight cards from your graveyard to do it again. Loot, the Pathfinder exists, but it also costs three different colors of mana, and it doesn’t fly, does it?
#1. [SPG] Sylvan Library – $30.60
Sylvan Library is a green staple across many formats, and it’s really weird when you think about a green card that can give you card selection and card draw at the cost of life. It looks like a UB card if we think about it. It has seen a few reprints in Masters sets and now in Special Guests, so maybe you’ll be lucky enough to find one of these.
Mystical Archive Bonus Sheet
We can get cards from the Secrets of Strixhaven: Mystical Archive in Play Boosters and Collector Boosters, and some of these are excellent and classic reprints for Eternal formats. These are the most expensive ones in their most basic card treatment, so be sure to keep an eye on these:
- Berserk – $17.50
- Triumph of the Hordes – $17.50
- Ad Nauseam – $18.00
- Akroma's Will – $19.00
- Jeska's Will – $30.00
- Cyclonic Rift – $34.00
- Vampiric Tutor – $58.00
- Force of Will – $77.00
All of these are close to auto-include staples in EDH or cards that don’t see many reprints (like Triumph of the Hordes). I imagine the players' surprise at their prereleases when they’re suddenly alpha-striked by an infect attack.
Promos, Alternate Art, and More
Secrets of Strixhaven is packed with alternate art and special card treatments, so let’s see these in greater detail.
Headliner: Double Rainbow Foil Emeritus of Ideation
Emeritus of Ideation is the Headliner for this set. There are only 500 of these, and they have a double rainbow foil treatment. This version’s art is from Mark Poole, the original Ancestral Recall artist, and this card’s art pays homage to the original. You can only get one of these in Collector Boosters, and there’s no telling how much the card will cost. Serialized cards usually sell for a couple thousand bucks.
Borderless Field Notes Cards
Strixhaven students are surely taking notes while wandering across Arcavios and even Omenpaths. There are six rare and six mythics total with the Borderless Field Notes art treatment, and almost all of these will see some Constructed play, at least in the casual realm. You can find them in nonfoil and foil treatments in Play Boosters and Collector Boosters.
Mystical Archive Cards
We’ve talked a lot about these cards, and there are 65 different instants and sorceries in the Mystical Archive (SOA). Each booster will have at least one of these, so you’re definitely going to see the gorgeous art on these reprints.
Japanese Mystical Archive Cards and Silver Scroll Foil Cards
All cards in the Mystical Archive (SOA) can be found with alternative Japanese-style art and text. You can find the regular Japanese Mystical Archive cards in Japanese Play Boosters and Japanese and non-Japanese Collector Boosters, and the silver scroll foil Japanese Mystical Archive cards, which can only be found in Collector Boosters. If you want to upgrade the visuals of some instants and sorceries in your Commander decks and cubes, here’s an excellent opportunity to do so. For just an idea of what these special foil cards can cost, TCGplayer lists a Force of Will silver scroll foil for about $1250.00
Full-Art Spellcraft Lands
Most sets have full-art lands these days, and this set delivers. These basic lands are very beautiful, and they depict the MTG basic mana symbols being cast as powerful spells. And we can get them in traditional foil, too, in any kind of booster, with each Collector Booster guaranteed to have one.
Wrap Up
Withering Curse | Illustration by Tuan Duong Chu
And that’s about it for Secrets of Strixhaven and its most valuable cards. One thing that caught my attention right away is that a good chunk of the value in this set is in the Standard-legal rares and mythic rares, while most sets have their most valuable cards in the Commander offerings. The mythics in this set are juiced, regardless of whether we’re talking about the elder dragons, the prepared mythics, the planeswalkers, and more. And we have additional value from the Mystical Archive cards in Play Boosters, let alone in the Collector Boosters. I hope you have a fantastic prerelease and that you open a lot of value.
Which cards are you most eager to open? Let me know in the comments section below. And for more on these special, juiced-up cards, our YouTube Channel The Daily Upkeep has much more information and content you might want to check out.
Until next time, happy hunting!
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