Five new Magic: The Gathering Commander pre-con decks are arriving in Secrets of Strixhaven, and we’re going to break down each one so you can decide which one is best for you and how you like to play.
If you love strategies built around pulling cards from your graveyard and creating an army of tokens, or just hold a special place in your heart for the Lorehold Strixahven College, this spirit deck is a great pick for your next Commander game. We’ll also be looking at potential upgrades for this deck, to which there are many in the white and red mana pools.
Lorehold Spirit Deck List
Very little is known about the full Lorehold Spirit deck list right now, unlike the Prismari Artistry deck which suffered from some leaks, but we expect to learn a lot more when spoiler season really kicks off.
|
Card Name |
Card Type |
Card Cost |
|---|---|---|
|
Quintorius, History Chaser |
Planeswalker |
1 Red, 1 White + 2 Colorless |
|
Arcane Signet |
Artifact |
2 Colorless |
|
Sol Ring |
Artifact |
2 Colorless |
|
Talisman of Conviction |
Artifact |
2 Colorless |
We’re expecting the full Secrets of Strixhaven Commander deck lists in late-March or early-April.
Magic: The Gathering Secrets Of Strixhaven – Prismari Artistry Commander Deck Breakdown
We’re taking a closer look at the Prismari Artistry MTG Commander Deck to break down its themes and potential upgrades.
Commander Breakdown
Quintorius, History Chaser is the Commander of this deck, and it’s a planeswalker rather than a legendary creature, which is the typical pick for most Commander pre-cons. Planeswalkers can be Commanders, but only if the card explicitly states that it’s possible. They’re quite rare, but can be especially useful when placed in the right deck.
In the case of Quintorius, it’s very clear to see what the strategy is based on their abilities. Whenever one or more cards leave your graveyard, you may create a 3/2 white and red spirit token.
With the +1 ability, you may discard a card, draw two cards, then mill a card. This is great for populating your graveyard, but also getting more cards into your hand that may interact with your graveyard to start recalling creatures and spells to activate Quintorius.
The only other ability is a -4, which gives all your spirit tokens vigilance and double strike.
Deck Theme & Strategy
From both the choice of Commander and details on the packaging, we can tell that the Lorehold Spirit deck is going to revolve around two key themes: casting cards from your graveyard and creating token spirits.
This means we can expect mechanics such as flashback, unearth, dredge, or delve to feature, as they all allow you to interact with your graveyard in some capacity.
Given that the deck will revolve around cards leaving your graveyard, that doesn’t necessarily need to be creatures. However, creatures that can be put back on the battlefield time and time again will be super frustrating for your opponents, forcing your opponents to deal with them once and for all.
As the perfect pairing alongside the spirit token generation, we also expect there to be plenty of ways to boost the power of creatures, or even just spirits, either through instant spells or enchantments.
Upgrades
While we can’t speak about which cards need to be removed from this deck until the full deck list is available, we can look at which existing Commander-legal cars would make a good addition based on what we know so far.
Some of our picks may end up as selected reprints for this deck, so we’ll swap them out for new picks if this is the case when the full deck list is revealed.
Sacred Fire
This flashback spell deals two damage to any target while also letting you recover two life. It’s initial two mana cost makes it a great early spell for removing low power creatures.
Its flashback cost is considerably higher at six mana, the fact that it can get you out of a pinch if your life is low, while also acting as creature or player damage, all while creating another spirit token provided that Quintorius is on the battlefield, makes it worth the added cost.
Quintorius, Field Historian
Why settle for one Quint card when you could have two! This version is a legendary creature that carries the same base ability as Quintorius, History Chaser, meaning it creates a 3/2 red and white spirit any time one or more cards leave your graveyard.
Given that these Quintorious cards don’t share a card type or name, they can both be on the battlefield at the same time.
This means you’ll create two spirit tokens each time you interact with your graveyard.
Better still, this card also gives all spirits +1/0, which will make your spirit army all the more threatening.
Firemane Angel
This powerful 4/3 creature has flying and first strike, and if it is either on the battlefield or in your graveyard at the start of your upkeep, you gain one life.
For a massive ten mana, you can recast Firemane Angel from your graveyard, but this can only be done during your upkeep.
This is a great way to activate the Quintorius ability if you have no other options, but the worse case scenario is that you’re earning one life per turn, which will build up over time if your opponents leave it unchecked.
Rally The Peasants
If you’re taking the token spirit army approach seriously, this is a great instant spell to have in your arsenal, as it gives all creature +2/0 until the end of your turn.
It also has a flashback cost that isn’t more expensive than its base cost (but it changes from one white + two colorless to one red + two colorless), meaning you cast it twice during a match.
Magic: The Gathering – Secrets Of Strixhaven Commander Deck Guide
The mystical colleges of Magic: The Gathering return in five new Commander decks, each with its own unique play style and stylish leader.
