Emeritus of AbundanceEmeritus of Abundance | Art by Justyna Dura

Friendly greetings and welcome to an EDHREC set review for Secrets of Strixhaven. I'm John Sherwood, shaking off my summoning sickness to evaluate new nonlegendary creatures entering battlefields across the Commander format.

This list features the best new nonlegendary creatures in Secrets of Strixhaven (SOS) and Secrets of Strixhaven Commander (SOC).

Be Prepared

Prepare is my favorite new mechanic, and many of the creatures with prepared spells are awesome. However, the scope of this review includes all of Strixhaven's new nonlegendary creatures. The 41 nonlegendary prepare creatures must compete with 97 other creatures for a spot on this dean's list.

Consequently, I'm offering a couple prepare honorable mentions up front.

Yavimaya BloomsageYavimaya Bloomsage

Thanks to Yavimaya BloomsageYavimaya Bloomsage, ChannelChannel is no longer totally restricted to Vintage. I'm thrilled Commander players can legally cast Channel to charge up a FireballFireball for one of the most iconic win conditions in Magic.

Unfortunately, Yavimaya Bloomsage requires a lot of setup to prepare. It needs to be in play at the end of your turn at the same time as a creature with at least six power. Then it has to survive until your next turn for an opportunity to cast ChannelChannel. That is far too conditional for me to consider it one of the best new creatures overall.

Emeritus of IdeationEmeritus of Ideation

If I could choose an emeritus professor as my academic advisor, then my first choice would be Emeritus of IdeationEmeritus of Ideation. Paying for a 5/5 with upside is more than fair. Especially when that upside is a chance to cast the most efficient draw spell ever printed, a card banned in Commander: Ancestral RecallAncestral Recall.

Preparing Emeritus of Ideation a second time requires a little effort, but not too much. Attacking with a flyer is easy enough. The second requirement, exiling eight cards from your own graveyard, is moderately limiting. Many decks rarely have that many cards in the yard, but Spellslinger and Self-Mill decks can easily pull it off.

Since the creature enters prepared, it might be easier to prepare again with cards like Ghostly FlickerGhostly Flicker. That said, Emeritus of Ideation is a poor fit for dedicated Blink decks, which build card advantage engines without spending extra mana.

Truthfully, my excitement for Emeritus of IdeationEmeritus of Ideation is skewed by my disdain for the Reserved List. It's good, but the rest of the creatures featured in this article are even better.

The Best Monocolored Nonlegendary Creatures in Secrets of Strixhaven

Some of the new monocolored creatures major in specific strategies. Others are more general studies, providing foundational support for decks.

Stirring HopesingerStirring Hopesinger

If not for prepare, repartee would be my favorite new mechanic. And yet, it isn't truly new. Repartee is another take on heroic from Theros and Bloomburrow's valiant. It's also the first ability word I needed to Google for a definition. In case you didn't know, it means, "Conversation or speech characterized by quick, witty comments or replies."

Stirring HopesingerStirring Hopesinger has one of the best repartee abilities, putting +1/+1 counters on all your creatures. On one hand, Phalanx LeaderPhalanx Leader might be the victim of some steep power creep. Stirring Hopesinger is easier to cast, easier to trigger, and comes with keywords. It is (almost) strictly better. On the other hand, they go great together in the same deck. Triggering Phalanx Leader with one spell also triggers Stirring Hopesinger, resulting in two +1/+1 counters for your whole board.

Though it must be noted that heroic is triggered by Auras targeting the creature, and repartee is not.

You don't need a heroic deck to get good returns on Stirring Hopesinger. Between removal, protection, and pump spells, white decks incidentally target creatures enough to regularly reap value from this effect.

Pensive ProfessorPensive Professor

Next, we have a new combo piece. Pensive ProfessorPensive Professor's triggered ability draws a card every time it gets a +1/+1 counter. The other half of the combo can be in the command zone, using Lyla, Holographic AssistantLyla, Holographic Assistant, or in the 99 with Wizard ClassWizard Class.

Either way, you can make Pensive Professor huge, and draw any number of cards.

Blue didn't really need another enabler for Laboratory ManiacLaboratory Maniac, but there it is. Even without a combo, Pensive Professor is a reliable card advantage engine in thousands of +1/+1 Counters decks.

Grave ResearcherGrave Researcher

Necromancy is a core subject in black, and ReanimateReanimate is Necro 101. Even decks splashing can make good use of Reanimate.

Grave ResearcherGrave Researcher trades the freedom to cast Reanimate directly for reliable card selection. Surveil 1 on your upkeep is a great way to smooth out your draws and feed resources to the graveyard for later use. In the right deck, Grave Researcher could be casting Reanimate once per round.

With a baseline of three creatures in your yard, the combined graveyards of the entire table are open to this Troll's research project.

Merchant of VenomMerchant of Venom

Do you own one of the 153k decks running Fleshbag MarauderFleshbag Marauder? Do you want an upgrade? Merchant of VenomMerchant of Venom gets my nomination for best-in-class edict on a stick.

For one more mana than Fleshbag Marauder or Merciless ExecutionerMerciless Executioner, Merchant of Venom incidentally becomes a bigger threat. Even after this enters, it gets pumped with every subsequent sacrifice. Your opponents will quickly realize their own fetch lands and Treasures are a poison pill when they see Merchant of Venom pack on the power and toughness.

Magmablood ArchaicMagmablood Archaic

Converge is an unlikely contender for the best of anything. Many previous converge cards live in the shadow of cards with similar benefits for less effort. Magmablood ArchaicMagmablood Archaic is not another brick in that wall. If you cast it for , or satisfy the third "two-brid" with one other color, the creature will have power on rate. Spending three or more colors can result in power ahead of curve, and we haven't even touched the keywords or the last ability yet.

Although trample and reach are relevant, Magmablood Archaic's triggered ability is the heat source. Once this thing is in play, every instant and sorcery you cast is also a pump spell. It's like a hybrid of prowess and FirebreathingFirebreathing. Ultimately, this is the reason I rank Magmablood Archaic so high.

Two other creatures give prowess to the whole board: Bria, Riptide RogueBria, Riptide Rogue and Narset, Enlightened ExileNarset, Enlightened Exile. Both of which lead about 10k decks, and reside in the 99 of thousands more. This is a solid payoff in existing prowess and magecraft decks.

Ribtruss RoasterRibtruss Roaster

Any time a card counts a quantity of counters, you can bet it's going to get out of hand. Ribtruss RoasterRibtruss Roaster makes Pests equal to its own +1/+1 counters at the end of your turn. Even without help from additive or multiplicative effects (gives Doubling SeasonDoubling Season the side-eye) Ribtruss Roaster is board presence in a can. It's bonkers in all sorts of decks.

The one living rent-free in my head at the moment is Jaheira, Friend of the ForestJaheira, Friend of the Forest, but I know there will be others. Many others.

The Best Multicolored Nonlegendary Creatures in Secrets of Strixhaven

As an enemy color set, Secrets of Strixhaven focuses on five of Magic's ten color pairs. Here's my top pick for each Strixhaven college.

Scolding AdministratorScolding Administrator

Many of the new Silverquill creatures are tempting me to build a commander from Strixhaven: School of Mages. Killian, Ink DuelistKillian, Ink Duelist is the perfect leader for a repartee deck, and Scolding AdministratorScolding Administrator would be one of my first adds to the 99.

This stern professor might be a Dwarf, but it's also my pick for the best new 2/2 for two mana (bear) with set's mechanic. It gleans extra value from spells that was going to cast anyway, pressures life totals, and leaves something behind if it dies.

Aggressive Abzan () and Mardu () commanders like Felothar, Dawn of the AbzanFelothar, Dawn of the Abzan and Fire Lord ZukoFire Lord Zuko can easily leverage Scolding Administrator's death trigger for an extra edge.

Inspired SkypainterInspired Skypainter

Inspired SkypainterInspired Skypainter is one of those durdly self-contained engines that would make a great commander if it were legendary. The trifecta of tokens, cloning, and combat damage are almost beautiful enough for me to forgive its offensive color palette.

Galazeth PrismariGalazeth Prismari said it best in the flavor text of Traumatic CritiqueTraumatic Critique, "The artist should suffer for their craft, not the audience!" The illustration of Inspired Skypainter puts the pain in paint, and I'm hoping the pain isn't affecting my judgment.

This is one of the best prepare designs, because it can easily prepare itself. Then resolving Maestro's Gift supports future preparations.

Since it isn't legendary, this Lizard Wizard would be a great fit in existing Clone decks, like Brudiclad, Telchor EngineerBrudiclad, Telchor Engineer and Saheeli, the Sun's BrillianceSaheeli, the Sun's Brilliance.

Essenceknit ScholarEssenceknit Scholar

Out of the six new creatures, none of them immediately stood out to me as "best" material. I was going to force myself to pick one because I'm a completionist, not because I actually believed any of the Witherbloom creatures earned the grade. I almost gave this obligatory nod to Bogwater LumaretBogwater Lumaret just for being cute. However, I'm not convinced many black and green commander decks want Soul WardenSoul Warden's Frog Prince.

Just as I was about to move on, I realized Essenceknit ScholarEssenceknit Scholar is Deathreap RitualDeathreap Ritual on a stick, costs one less mana, and makes a token. I almost dismissed Essenceknit Scholar as just another signpost uncommon, but I'm glad I didn't. Deathreap Ritual is in 70k decks, and I'm positive this signpost uncommon is a worthy upgrade.

Colossus of the Blood AgeColossus of the Blood Age

When Colossus of the Blood AgeColossus of the Blood Age enters, watch the life totals shift. When it dies, you get some card advantage for your trouble. Exile it and blink it back with spells like CloudshiftCloudshift to spread the life margins even wider. Better yet, make token copies of it with to exploit both of its abilities.

This relic from the past of Arcavios is future fodder for cards like Choreographed SparksChoreographed Sparks and Determined IterationDetermined Iteration. Use it to devastate your opponents as the target for Devastating OnslaughtDevastating Onslaught.

Fractal TenderFractal Tender

I know there were Elves at Strixhaven before the Omenpaths, but in my head cannon, Fractal TenderFractal Tender is an exchange student from Kaldheim. Riddle me this: what creature creates a creature token every turn and protects itself? Pat yourself on the back if you guessed Koma, Cosmos SerpentKoma, Cosmos Serpent.

Fractal Tender doesn't have Koma's ability to control the board, but the other similarities are real. Koma's Coils are 3/3's and Fractal Tender's Fractals get three +1/+1 counters. The Fractal in the art even looks like a Serpent! That had to be intentional.

Fractal Tender has one hoop to jump through to make that Fractal, whereas Koma makes its coils for free. However, that hoop is putting a counter on the creature, in the color identity that sneezes +1/+1 counters. Check the ingredients for artificial sweeteners; Fractal Tender is diet Koma.

Saved by the Bell

It's been fun, but I have to get to class. Truthfully, I procrastinated my math homework to finish this article. Despite going back to school in my middle-aged years, this Strixhaven set isn't resonating with me any more than the last one. Even though the visual design of Strixhaven is like sandpaper on my eyeballs, I must admit Secrets of Strixhaven reads like a masterclass in set design. If you can enjoy, or at least tolerate, the imagery, then this set has so much to offer.

Tell us about your top nonlegendary creature picks in the comments below, and don't forget to mention the decks those nonlegends will find homes in. If you haven't read it yet, check out The 10 Best Prepared Cards by Zoe.

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