Joined ResearchersJoined Researchers | Art by Ryan Pancoast

Which Secrets of Strixhaven cards are getting slotted into decks by the writers here at EDHREC? As usual, I asked writers here which cards they were most excited for. We'll break up this article by each author's decks, their new additions, and why.

Let's see what your favorite EDHREC writer is including from Secrets of Strixhaven.

Jeremy Rowe

Jeremy started off strong with MathemagicsMathemagics. He's going to include it in his Errant, Street ArtistErrant, Street Artist deck, which wins with BraingeyserBraingeyser effects. If it's a Laboratory ManiacLaboratory Maniac or Jace, Wielder of MysteriesJace, Wielder of Mysteries type of deck, the ability of copying MathemagicsMathemagics repeatedly could go crazy at the high end!

He also wants to include Matterbending MageMatterbending Mage in his Krile BaldesionKrile Baldesion deck. It has a Wizard theme and he said, "it bounces my Wizards that draw on ETB." Being able to recast them for card advantage repeatedly seems really good.

He's thinking about running Traumatic CritiqueTraumatic Critique in both his Niv-Mizzet, SupremeNiv-Mizzet, Supreme and Rootha, Mercurial ArtistRootha, Mercurial Artist decks. The first is a multicolor X-spell Burn deck and the latter can benefit off of the extra damage and draw. I feel like these spells are right at home in those decks.

Harvey McGuinness

Harvey is excited for Exhibition TidecallerExhibition Tidecaller. It's "getting tested out in my go-to cEDH deck, The Master of KeysThe Master of Keys. It's a pretty solid self-mill engine in long games, which fuels the escape fodder and reanimation lines that define The Master of KeysThe Master of Keys."

"Additionally, since it goes infinite with any mana ritual and Underworld BreachUnderworld Breach, I'll be testing out Praetor's GraspPraetor's Grasp along side it, that way I can steal Breach wins in any pod with that has a red deck in it."

The idea that you could mill yourself isn't something I'd thought about with this card. Especially in blue, it might be good in the cEDH decks that might want it. If a deck includes blue and red - which are a lot of them - Underworld BreachUnderworld Breach lines to cast a ritual, mill yourself for the Breach requirements, and then recast the ritual with the mana. It's pretty gas.

And because the meta for cEDH is so strong, you could Praetor's GraspPraetor's Grasp the Breach from another deck to finish your combo.

Josh Nelson

Josh has a Goblin typal Norman OsbornNorman Osborn deck that is itching for new Goblins. Sanar, Unfinished GeniusSanar, Unfinished Genius is great here. They said, "He’s already a solid card without the preparation since more mana is very important for the deck. However, because of the fact that on the noncreature side of things it’s a Wheels deck, his prepared spell is seriously helpful too."

We love Sanar for this. Like Josh said, it's a pretty neat card on it's own for mana, especially with such a tight construction restriction.

Brian Cain

Brian is really excited for the Turbulent MoorTurbulent Moor and the Eclipsed SteppeEclipsed Steppe for his Ratadrabik of UrborgRatadrabik of Urborg deck. Getting some shiny new dual lands from the Silverquill precons is nothing to sneeze at. Eclipsed SteppeEclipsed Steppe is part of a cycle of lands that didn't have an Orzhov slot until this release.

He's also excited for his Volcano themed deck that's going to use "Molten-Core MaestroMolten-Core Maestro, Blazing FiresingerBlazing Firesinger, Rubble RouserRubble Rouser, Tablet of DiscoveryTablet of Discovery, and Furygale FlockingFurygale Flocking...all for the obvious reason of they've got lava or lava adjacent artwork."

He mentioned a "long awaited commander change to Ashling, Flame DancerAshling, Flame Dancer" to "move the deck to a more Spellslinger/Storm playstyle rather than straight Burn." All the arts from this set are spectacular. I'm glad they met the niche of the deck building restrictions.

The Minotaur Reviewer

The Minotaur Reviewer wanted to include Maelstrom ArtisanMaelstrom Artisan for his Minotaur themed deck. "...the land destruction is also really nice, given how underused it is in commander." I agree that a little land destruction is good in a deck to deal with things like Glacial ChasmGlacial Chasm.

He wants to include Emeritus of TruceEmeritus of Truce in his Nazahn, Revered BladesmithNazahn, Revered Bladesmith Cat/Equipment deck. "Having a Swords to PlowsharesSwords to Plowshares activation threat is useful if people try to mess with my Equipment." I guess bargaining might work, but I'm not sure how it threatens people who don't negotiate with terrorists.

It is good to have a Cat in the deck that has a repeatable Swords effect though.

He wants Decorum DissertationDecorum Dissertation in his Kambal, Consul of AllocationKambal, Consul of Allocation deck. "The life he gains counteracts the life lost with this card and gives an incredible amount of card advantage, previously only attainable with NecropotenceNecropotence." I think it's fascinating to have a double Phyrexian ArenaPhyrexian Arena effect for the rest of the game, but I don't know how close to NecropotenceNecropotence's strength this comes. I'm not sure what I'd put in between those two effects to be honest, though. Certainly a cool card that's perfect for a Kambal deck.

Lastly, he also wants Defiling DaemogothDefiling Daemogoth for Kambal. He said, "This Demon dramatically increases the lifeloss he inflicts. What I like about Kambal is how willing people are to pay two life to cast noncreature spells. So with the demon, suddenly everyone will be losing two life when someone casts a noncreature spell. Which adds up very quickly."

I can't agree more. This card is perfect for a deck that gains so much life and is trying to burn out in Orzhov.

Arnaud Gompertz

Arnaud is really excited for the following cards:

• "Borrowed KnowledgeBorrowed Knowledge: Straight into my Akroma, Vision of IxidorAkroma, Vision of Ixidor/Rograkh, Son of RohgahhRograkh, Son of Rohgahh deck, and probably any other Boros build I have. It's versatile, and it replenishes your hand quicker than you can say 'Blue Mage.'"
  • Borrowed KnowledgeBorrowed Knowledge is an interesting one. I think it's okay draw. I wish it were three mana and instant speed so If I draw cards equal to the Rhystic StudyRhystic Study player, I don't have to discard in my end step. Also having three open mana a turn cycle is doable. Four is a lot, but maybe I'm too greedy.
• "Conciliator's DuelistConciliator's Duelist: Wernog, Rider's ChaplainWernog, Rider's Chaplain and Hargilde, Kindly RunechanterHargilde, Kindly Runechanter, say hello to your new best friend! Either blink anything of value, or draw a card and ping. I see no downsides."
  • Conciliator's DuelistConciliator's Duelist is great in an Orzhov Blink deck. Needing the two white and two black to cast it is a little steep, but worth it with the card draw attached. It is also itself blink-able with its effect.

• "Harmonized TrioHarmonized Trio: Into to my Saint Traft and Rem KarolusSaint Traft and Rem Karolus build. It's a repeatable BrainstormBrainstorm, and in that deck it's going to be prepared quite a lot."
  • Harmonized TrioHarmonized Trio is great in Token decks and Saint Traft and Rem KarolusSaint Traft and Rem Karolus is just that Token deck. Repeatable BrainstormBrainstorms in this deck is really great for fixing your top deck.
• "Vicious RivalryVicious Rivalry: All of my Golgari decks are going to play this. The life lost is trivial. I see this as the infamous son of Pernicious Deed and Toxic Deluge."
  • Vicious RivalryVicious Rivalry is an interesting card at zero life to get rid of tokens and Treasures. Four mana for an effect like this is very interesting.

• "Lattice LibraryLattice Library: My new best friend in Zaxara, the ExemplaryZaxara, the Exemplary, where I cast all X as zero and swamp the table Aristocrats-style. This is, for all intents and purposes, a second copy of my commander."
  • I was planning on building Zaxara as well with all the support to X spells that came out of this set. This is no exception. I agree completely with how versatile this can be.

Mike Carrozza

Mike said, "Moseo, Vein's New DeanMoseo, Vein's New Dean is black Celestine, the Living SaintCelestine, the Living Saint, and that makes me very happy. I’m a big Reanimator player and another way to bring something back with a passive trigger is great for me and Betor, Ancestor's VoiceBetor, Ancestor's Voice."

I thought the same thing when I saw this card. It'll be very strong in a Betor deck.

Owain Roberts

Owain is looking to add a few cards to his Dreadmaw deck. This is an O-Kagachi, Vengeful KamiO-Kagachi, Vengeful Kami deck.

• "Moment of ReckoningMoment of Reckoning: Remove or reanimate, and get to be flexible about it? Seems sweet to me."
• "Fix What's BrokenFix What's Broken: Pay six life to bring back a big creature seems good."
• "Quandrix, the ProofQuandrix, the Proof: It seems like it could have potential. He cascades on cast, but the jury's out on whether the other ability will have any impact there."

Tyler Bucks

Tyler is adding a few cards to his decks as well!

• "Muse SeekerMuse Seeker is going to be added to my Norman OsbornNorman Osborn list! This little Elf's cheap mana cost makes it perfect for getting out early, in order to help with drawing through my deck when I'm ready to pop off."
  • I agree, this is such a strong discard outlet. I think in a Norman OsbornNorman Osborn list it'll definitely put in the work.
• "Borrowed KnowledgeBorrowed Knowledge is most likely going into every deck I can run it in. We've seen self-wheel effects like this before, but the twist of being able to draw cards equal to someone else's hand size is what makes this such a wild uncommon."
  • Drawing that many cards is definitely great at its highest potential, but wheeling your own hand and not disrupting other players for four mana seems steep.
• "Joined ResearchersJoined Researchers is not only one of the cutest cards in the set, but it's also landing a spot with my favorite commander, Shadrix SilverquillShadrix Silverquill. Secret RendezvousSecret Rendezvous is an incredible political tool, and attaching that to a creature that can hold counters makes it perfect for my list."
  • I'm familiar with Tyler's Shadrix deck and this slots in perfectly. Everything is a mini mind manipulation or potential politicking point. Drawing three cards repeatedly with how this deck runs is a great addition.

Kyle Massa

Kyle wants to add Decorum DissertationDecorum Dissertation to his Mister NegativeMister Negative deck. "It helps you aggressively lower your life total in exchange for cards, then lets you lower an opponent’s life total after you’ve already lowered it by exchanging yours for theirs. Plus, Mister NegativeMister Negative reminds me of some teachers I’ve had, so the flavor fits."

I love this idea. It's also a way to get a player's life total low and then use the upkeep trigger to get rid of the last bit of life. Sign in BloodSign in Blood effects are great for finishing off a player.

Conclusion

There are a lot of really cool cards from this set, that I'm having a hard time limiting myself to only five. I loved hearing how our writers' decks are going to change with these adjustments. FlashbackFlashback and ErodeErode are definitely new staples to their respective colors and I'm excited for those.

But those are just my thoughts. What are you putting in your decks? Tell us! I'm @strixhavendropout on everything!