Last updated on May 19, 2026
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 players 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.
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 include cards worth $15 and above. These prices were taken from TCGplayer in May 2026 and are subject to changes as the market adjusts. Also, I only reference the cheapest version of a card, in case there are two or more versions or special treatments.
If you'd prefer an early video version of this article, go check it out over on our YouTube channel, The Daily Upkeep!
#4. [SOS] Improvisation Capstone – $15.10
Paradigm is a mechanic introduced with Secrets of Strixhaven and a different 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 get: 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.
#3. [SOS] Emeritus of Ideation – $15.15
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?
#2. [SPG] Sylvan Library – $22.05
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 blue-black 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.
#1. [SOS] Emeritus of Woe – $22.71
The black card from the Emeritus 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.
Cards Between $5-10
Cards Between $10-15
Mystical Archive Bonus Sheet Veil of Summer
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:
- Culling the Weak – $104
- Brain Freeze – $103
- Veil of Summer – $95
- Pyretic Ritual – $87
- Preordain – $74
- Crackle with Power – $73
All of these are solid cards in EDH or cards that don’t see many reprints (like Pyretic Ritual).
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, so it remains difficult to land on a market price. 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, a TCGplayer singles listing of a Force of Will silver scroll foil goes for about $1,122.
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 draft well and open a lot of value.
Which cards are you chasing? Let me know in the comments section. 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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