Ranking the Secrets of Strixhaven Colleges for Sealed

Last updated on April 17, 2026

Embrace the Paradox | Illustration by Julian Kok Joon Wen

Secrets of Strixhaven prerelease is just around the corner, so let’s consider which college to pick. Before we get into it, I want to highlight two things: Firstly, this is speculative; the set hasn’t come out, so there’s no hard data. It’s just my opinion as an experienced Magic player.

Secondly, the best college in Sealed to choose is the one you want to play the most, regardless of how I or any other player feel about said college—this is the Prerelease, after all!

#5. Silverquill

Silverquill, the Disputant | Illustration by Antonio José Manzanedo

Silverquill decks want to be lean and aggressive, relying on repartee cards to outpace their opponents in combat and win quickly. My main issue with Silverquill is that aggro in Sealed can be tricky. The format is inherently slower than Draft because curves end up a little clunkier. I might be underrating what a seeded pack will do for the mana curve, but it seems very possible that Silverquill decks will end up with too much filler to push for the win. I’m also not wowed by white’s commons and uncommons (though Inkshape Demonstrator has wild stats). That said, black looks extremely solid.

#4. Lorehold

Lorehold, the Historian | Illustration by Joshua Raphael

Lorehold also wants to get aggressive, but its focus on gravebreak and flashback gives it the grind I appreciate in a Sealed deck. Because flashback provides two spells, you have card advantage; since many enablers and payoffs involve rummaging and returning cards to your hand, the archetype sees its best cards more often. I also really like the archetype’s commons and uncommons like Practiced Scrollsmith, Wilt in the Heat, and Owlin Historian more than the Silverquill cards.

#3. Prismari

Prismari, the Inspiration | Illustration by Wayne Reynolds

I’m not sure what to make of Prismari. On the one hand, opus feels great. Because Sealed is slower, you have more time to utilize more expensive instants and sorceries like Rapturous Moment and Visionary's Dance, plus blue has excellent control cards at common like Essence Scatter and Run Behind to reach the late game. On the other, opus could be tricky in Sealed; it’s totally possible that you won’t open the expensive spells you need to make the opus cards work or you won’t find the payoffs. It feels a little more specific than the other archetypes. Still, the card quality seems decent enough to produce a good-stuffs deck that doesn’t care about opus spellslinger. I might be underrating this college.

#2. Quandrix

Quandrix, the Proof | Illustration by Lucas Graciano

I like where blue’s at on the common/uncommon level with cards like Essence Scatter, Quick Study, and Campus Composer providing ample card advantage and interaction; that’s part of why I put Prismari higher up. But I love where green is. Part of this is due to great mana fixing and accelerants at the lower rarities, like Environmental Scientist, Noxious Newt, and Studious First-Year.

The set has lots of great cards to ramp into and splashing often helps get the most from your pool. I also life green creatures like Tenured Concocter and Pestbrood Sloth; in a format full of instants and sorceries, access to good bodies goes far. I have little bad to say about Quandrix, and think it’s extremely close to the top option.

#1. Witherbloom

Witherbloom, the Balancer | Illustration by Chris Rahn

Witherbloom is my college of choice because it has all that good stuff I mentioned about green paired with black’s incredible removal at common and uncommon. While rares and bombs are extremely important in Limited, removal is a close second, and I want as much of it as possible. While blue has good options, they don’t hold up to Last Gasp, Foolish Fate, and Wander Off. Beyond the removal, black also has great commons like Pull from the Grave and Sneering Shadewriter to pair with green’s solid bodies.

I also think Witherbloom has the best splash options. Cards like Abigale, Poet Laureate, Embrace the Paradox, and Social Snub line up very well with what Witherbloom wants to do and the set’s common fixing, with duals for each of the colleges. Since green provides such solid fixing, it might also be the best color to capitalize on converge cards like Archaic's Agony and Sundering Archaic, which look amazing if you can make them work.

It’s too early to make definitive statements about what colors or archetypes are best, and that doesn’t matter at Prerelease anyway; you should pick the college you think is the most fun. But my my money’s on Witherbloom for excellent threats and stellar removal.