Strixhaven Analysis – Part 4
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We’ve already covered Silverquill, Prismari and Witherbloom in our previous Strixhaven Analysis and now we’re going to cover Red cards and the Lorehold College using, as always, a 0-5 scale, taking a look, from time to time, on how a card can be used in Constructed formats.
RED
ACADEMIC DISPUTE: this card can be both, very strong and quite terrible. The Learn ability is not an insignificant plus that will make us play this card.
LIMITED 2.5
ARDENT DUSTSPEAKER: a bit slow and with not the best cost/body ratio, but I think it’s playable for its ability that can generate good value.
LIMITED 2
BLOOD AGE GENERAL: I usually play 2/2s for 2, especially if I need them in my curve. This one has a very marginal ability that might come in handy sometimes.
LIMITED 1.5
CONSPIRACY THEORIST: the ability of this one, especially in early game can give us a big advantage. I can think of it more as a card for draft, maybe in a deck with a lot of low drops, but I don’t think there are any spots where we don’t want to have it in our deck anyway.
I don’t think it is strong enough to be played instead of Robber of the Rich, but maybe post rotation it has some chances.
LIMITED 3 CONSTRUCTED 2.5
CRAKLE WITH POWER: I think it’s pretty hard card to judge. I think you’ll play it all the time as it’s still a 5-mana 5 damage removal, but I’m not sure if I’ll ever pick it in draft. At 8 mana it starts to become interesting but I don’t know how many times we’ll get there. We have to wait to see how fast the format will be before judging this card properly.
LIMITED 1.5/2
DRACONIC INTERVENTION: good mass removal, especially if played late in the game. The fact that it says “non-dragon creature” could be used as a disadvantage and advantage. We’re likely going to play this card every time.
LIMITED 3
DRAGON’S APPROACH: I will vote “no” on this one. If you’re playing an aggressive deck you can consider to play it, but 3 mana for 3 damage is not too strong.
LIMITED 0.5/1
EFREET FLAMEPAINTER: a really good ability in a creature with a really small power. In a deck with a lot of removal and draw spells it could work, but I don’t think of this card as an exceptional one.
LIMITED 1.5
ENTHUSIASTIC STUDY: comparing this card with Run Amok is merciless. One more mana to get +3/+1 instead of +3/+3. Does the Learn ability make this changes worth? I honestly don’t think so.
LIMITED 1
EXPLOSIVE WELCOME: 8 mana are a lot. For this cost I neeed to win the game. Sure, you get 3 mana back, but that doesn’t seem enough to me.
LIMITED 0.5
FERVENT MASTERY: a really bad rare, unplayable at 5 and even worse at 4.
LIMITED 0.5
FIRST DAY OF CLASS: how many creature could you possibly cast after this 3-mana spell? I’d rather been playing something else.
LIMITED 0.5
FUMING EFFIGY: with abilities like Delve in the format this card would have been something. Sure, still a 4-mana 4/3 (that is also a spirit, which could do something).
LIMITED 1
GRINNING IGNUS: basically it gives two colorless mana (on a later turn), not exactly a good card but not to throw away either.
LIMITED 1.5
HALL MONITOR: a 1-drop for aggressive draft decks that has also an ability that can come in handy, at some point.
LIMITED 1.5
HEATED DEBATED: a good removal spell that we will play 100% of the time that can’t be countered by the Ward ability. Great!
LIMITED 3
IGNEOUS INSPIRATION: a great removal that compensate the fact of being sorcery with Learn. We will play it all the time without any doubt.
LIMITED 3
ILLUMINATE HISTORY: another pretty bad rare. I don’t think I would have played it even if it was instant, but at least we could have talked about it. Nothing to discuss here.
LIMITED 0.5
ILLUSTRIOUS HISTORIAN: a decent filler we can play with no problem. The fact that we can also use its ability as an instant makes it better than it seems, although 5 mana is a lot.
LIMITED 1.5
MASCOT INTERCEPTION: a great card if targets a creature token, not that much otherwise. It’s still a card we can keep in our side to face token decks.
LIMITED 1
PIGMENT STORM: not an exceptional removal but definitely playable. The fact that it does excess damage to the player worth a half of a point more.
LIMITED 2
PILLARDROP WARDEN: 4 mana for a 1/5 is too little, the fact that it has reach and a nice ability does not help me to give it a good evaluation.
LIMITED 0.5
RETRIEVER PHOENIX: a very interesting rare. Nothing exceptional in limited but still worth to be played. It might have its role in constructed if cards with Learn will ever see any play.
LIMITED 2 CONSTRUCTED 3
START FROM SCRATCH: the card itself is terrible however, the fact that it is a lesson allows us to keep it in our sideboard and, if necessary, take it to break an artifact or, more rarely, deal damage to something.
LIMITED 1
STORM-KILN ARTIST: a 4-mana 2/2 without any evasive ability and with a fairly marginal Magecraft ability, not exactly the 4-drop we desire.
LIMITED 1
SUDDEN BREAKTHROUGH: a nice combat trick that creates a treasure token that can be useful that we will always play.
LIMITED 2.5
TOME SHREDDER: a filler that gets a lot nicer if you have a lot of instants and sorceries in your deck. Maybe there will exist a version of Blue Red Magecraft that will make a use of this card. I don’t feel like ruling it out.
LIMITED 1.5/2.5
TWINSCROLL SHAMAN: the concept behind this card never appealed to me. Cards like this one work better with some nice equipment to support it, but this doesn’t seem the case.
LIMITED 1
LOREHOLD
BLADE HISTORIAN: a mediocre card which we’ll probably play if we’re in an aggressive Red/White deck, but it definitely doesn’t represent the rare we’d want to open.
LIMITED 2
HOFRI GHOSTFORGE: this is a bomb, and there will be very few games we will lose after playing this one. All of our creatures will come back into play as spirit tokens that will have +1/+1, trample and haste. What more could we possibly want? 5 mana for a 4/5 creature is also a very honest deal.
LIMITED 4
LOREHOLD APPRENTICE: in a stucked board situation, this one can be the turning card if we have a lot of spirits and some few spells, but overall I don’t find it very strong.
LIMITED 1.5
LOREHOLD COMMAND: another super bomb in these colors. Four options and all of them are strong. Put a creature in and give everything +1/+0 and indestructible can win you games. As Lighting Helix it’s a bit expensive but still good in limited for sure. It also can make you draw some cards when you’re little on resources. Fantastic.
LIMITED 4
LOREHOLD EXCAVATION: pretty bad card. Mill myself in limited never appealed to me especially for a very little resoult. I don’t think that create a token at 5 mana makes it playable anyway.
LIMITED 1
LOREHOLD PLEDGEMAGE: another filler for Red White Magecraft archetype, a playable card without any doubt, especially if we have a 3-curve not that heavy.
LIMITED 1.5
MAKE YOUR MARK: one of my favorite commons, a 1-mana spell that triggers Magecraft to start. It gives +1/+0 and allows us to create a 3/2 token by making creatures trade properly. A key common if you’re drafting for Magecraft archetype.
LIMITED 3
QUINTORIOUS, FIELD HISTORIAN: card that I don’t mind if you build your deck around it. There are quite a few cards that make us move cards from the graveyard to other areas so I think it can come out a good archetype as well.
LIMITED 2/3.5
RADIANT SCROLLWIELDER: I really like this card. We’ll always play it in Limited as it provides for a significant advantage.
LIMITED 3
RECONSTRUCT HISTORY: I’ve never liked these cards that much, however, I think this card is playable if we really don’t have anything better. In the end it will probably always get us back an instant and a sorcery at least.
LIMITED 1
RELIC SLOTH: a filler that we can play in a particularly slow deck, I’ve seen many 5 drop worse than this one.
LIMITED 1
RETURNED PASTCALLER: with a higher constitution this card would’ve been nice, but this way it seems a bit too weak to be played in our deck. A really slow format could change my mind, but at the moment I don’t feel like recommend it.
LIMITED 1
RIP APART: another excellent removal that can also works as a Disenchant, if needed.
LIMITED 2.5
SPIRIT SUMMONING: without any card with Learn in our deck, it could work as a filler in our main deck. Otherwise, we can keep one this in our sideboard to take value from it at the right time.
LIMITED 1.5
STONEBOUND MENTOR: another filler that we can safely play in some “cards that leave graveyard” archetype. 3 mana for a 3/3 is a very acceptable body.
LIMITED 2
THRILLING DISCOVERY: I like this card a lot, not so much for limited where it’s not bad anyway as we can easily play it to trigger Magecraft while making card quality, but especially for constructed formats where I am fully convinced that this card will be played.
LIMITED 2.5 CONSTRUCTED 3
VELOMACHUS LOREHOLD: the Lorehold college founder is definitely the mythic rare we’d always want to open. Needless to say, this card basically win the game by itself: a flying, vigilance, haste that when attacks it makes you cast an instant or a sorcery for free that you can pick from the top 7 cards of your library. Very strong.
LIMITED 4.5
VENERABLE WARSINGER: as mentioned in a previous article, this is one of the cards that caught my interest the most as soon as I saw it from the spoilers. I think it will shine in both, limited and constructed formats.
LIMITED 3 CONSTRUCTED 3.5
FLAMESCROLL CELEBRANT // REVEL IN SILENCE: both sides seem mediocre to me. If the Flamescroll Celebrant could perhaps be a playable card, the new Silence doesn’t seem currently playable anywhere. In limited, the creature could still be a filler, the instant is basically unplayable.
LIMITED 0.5/1.5
MILA, CRAFTY COMPANION // LUKKA, WAYWARD BONDER: the planeswalker side is able to generate a not inconsiderable value by discarding creatures. He also can bring our pieces back from our graveyard and the emblem the game is over.
The creature side is decent, it can make us take advantage but not quiet as the other side. In short, a very strong card that we’ll always be happy to play.
I’m not sure how played this cards will be in constructed formats, but if I had to take a pick, I would put my money on Mila.
LIMITED 2.5/4 CONSTRUCTED 2.5/2
PLARGG, DEAN OF CHAOS // AUGUSTA, DEAN OF ORDER:
Augusta seems nice to me, easily playable in decks that want to attack as well as slower decks that tend to stall the game, although Plargg is the one I prefer: 2 mana for a 2/2 with a looting ability is a card we’ll play 100% of the time and this one also has a 5 mana ability that makes us play cards from the top of our deck.
Limited 2.5/3
Overall, both red and Lorehold cards look very good to me. Packed with removal and playable cards, I’m sure they’ll be one of the most common choices for the early days of draft.
Only a few days left before the Strixhaven release and I can’t wait!
I’ll see you next week for another article but you should stay around to not miss the last parts of our Strixhaven Analysis, always here on 95mtg.com!
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