Legacy: Secrets of Strixhaven Review

Greetings, Legacy community! We've already reviewed a few new cards in Secrets of Strixhaven, but now it's time to go through this entire set.

Lately, sets inspired by the actual MTG universe have been giving us more cards for Legacy than Universes Beyond sets. The only exception was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set, which surprisingly brought us Sewer-veillance Cam, Super Shredder, Skateboard, and Raph & Mikey, Troublemakers, for instance, and these cards were pretty impactful.

Secrets of Strixhaven seems to have lots of great things for Legacy, maybe just as much as Edge of Eternities, a recent set that also brought a lot to this format (it even redesigned the old 8-Cast, which is now called Affinity).

As usual, we covered the new mechanics and rule changes in this set in this article. Check it out if you'd like to see more of this set's mechanics.

The main global mechanics are Prepare and Paradigm.

Creatures with Prepare come with an extra effect in the form of a spell. When these creatures are Prepared (some already come into play this way, others force you to meet some conditions), you can use these extra effects, respecting each spell speed (at sorcery speed if that's the case), and then the creature becomes "unprepared".

As for Paradigm, it is similar to Epic, as the original spell is "re-cast" every turn. The difference is that you can still play other spells, and only the first copy is "re-cast" every turn.

Each Strixhaven college also got new mechanics: Repartee (Silverquill), Flashback (Lorehold), Opus (Prismari), Increment (Quandrix), and Infusin (Whiterbloom). Finally, Converge and some mechanics that only show up once in the Commander set, like Constellation, Proliferate, and Council's Dilemma, have also returned.

Let's move on to the actual cards.

Emeritus of Truce

When the first Emeritus was revealed alongside the name Ancestral Recall, the joke online was that White's Prepared spell would be Healing Salve.

Fortunately that wasn't the case, as Swords to Plowshares is the most iconic white spell and the best removal in Legacy.

Unfortunately, Emeritus of Truce is not as great as its Prepared spell: we need to meet many conditions to use it just once, and that's too much work for a format as efficient as Legacy.

Erode

Path to Exile occasionally shows up as the 5th copy of Swords to Plowshares. Erode is basically a "better" Path, and that, at the very least, means it will see some play. On top of it all, the meta could evolve and we might also end up using it to deal with planeswalkers.

So, if things like Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Karn, the Great Creator, and Tezzeret, Cruel Captain start seeing more play, Erode might also start showing up in some main decks.

Shattered Acolyte

This is another white creature that can deal with artifacts/enchantments. It could compete with Loran of the Third Path for a spot in decks that use these types of effects. It is worse when you actually need to use this ability and much more relevant as a body when you don't.

Divergent Equation

A long time ago, Recall was considered good enough to be restricted in a banlist update, and this card is better than Recall in every way... Which doesn't mean it will see any play. But I think it could find space in High Tide decks.

Emeritus of Ideation

When this card was revealed, the MTG community was very excited: Ancestral Recall!! Perhaps one of the most powerful cards in MTG. Just hearing its name brings back powerful plays, and just the thought of being able to use it again made many players restless.

Once that initial excitement wore off, we realized that, in practice, what we have is a 6-mana creature with a strong ability that activates when it enters play and when it attacks - like Primeval Titan. These "Titans" are very strong in other formats, but, right now, none of them see play in Legacy, and I believe that should be the case for this Emeritus as well.

Flow State

Flow State was also pretty exciting when it was revealed, mostly because we have some real examples to compare it to, in particular the now-banned Expressive Iteration.

Blue spells that cost 2 mana and can draw 2 cards are very relevant in Legacy, and Flow State's conditions aren't that difficult to meet. We could already see some tempo decks using Stock Up to refill, and Flow State is a lot more efficient. Because it isn't multicolored, it also fits Dimir lists pretty well and could even see play in other archetypes.

For now, I believe this is the most important Secrets of Strixhaven card for Legacy.

Fractal Anomaly

Straightaway, when we look at this card, we can imagine it being cool with Brainstorm. But think of everything you'll have to do to make sure it isn't dead in your hand if you don't have Brainstorm...

Mana Sculpt

Personally, I believe Mana Drain should return to Legacy because I don't think it's too powerful for this format, and it could create new possibilities for control decks. I'm sorry, Mana Sculpt, you're not Mana Drain, and you probably won't see any play in Legacy.

Mathemagics

This card will work both as a card draw engine and as a win condition in Big Mana lists (Blue Post) and High Tide lists.

Muse Seeker

This card can fill your graveyard quickly while you draw cards. It could be somewhat useful to what's left of Dimir Reanimator now that Entomb is no more.

Wisdom of Ages

This is a more brutal, less flexible version of Divergent Equation. It can see play in the same decks that can use Equation.

Arnyn, Deathbloom Botanist

Arnyn might just be a funny idea, but it could be quite destructive in a Mardu Energy list with Goblin Bombardment.

Moseo, Vein’s New Dean

This card also has potential in Mardu Energy lists, particularly next to Guide of Souls and Ocelot Pride. It will constantly bring back creatures from the graveyard. It is a bit small for a format in which Orcish Bowmasters is a thing, but it offers you a lot in return.

Ral Zarek, Guest Lecturer

Ral is interesting. Its abilities fit Monoblack lists really well, as it can come into play and already bring back a Barrowgoyf. You can use it to "work" your opponent's hand as well and eventually hoard counters as you filter cards and potentially grow your Lhurgoyfs and Moonshadows.

Emeritus of Conflict

This card could allow us to play several Lightning Bolts in a row, which is decent, but we'll need to invest a lot in this idea to make it work, and it will take a long time to work as well. Prowess decks come around from time to time, but I don't think this Emeritus is the glue we need to make these lists cohesive.

Flashback

This is a Snapcaster Mage without the Mage part, but it's quite cheap. In a deck like Sneak and Show, it could represent a second Show and Tell or a new Stock Up to refill.

Maelstrom Artisan

Attacking the opponent's mana base occasionally yields some victories, but I believe this card will be too expensive in the end, even though it represents board presence and disruption.

Molten-Core Maestro

This card can also get huge in Prowess lists because it doesn't shrink at the end of the turn.

Spirit of Resilience

I just want to mention that you can exile a Phage the Untouchable with this card and kill the opponent with a single attack.

Emeritus of Abundance

There is no reason to consider this card because Eternal Witness is much better and barely sees play.

Glorious Decay

This card is both versatile and will never be dead in your hand, considering you can simply draw another card when you don't need it. This is quite relevant and could give Glorious Decay a chance in Legacy.

Dina’s Guidance

Entomb was broken because you played it on turn 1 and reanimated a monster on turn 2. This is not Entomb. On the other side, it tutors a card straight into your hand and is an instant spell.

Fix What’s Broken

Returning all creatures and/or artifacts into play (at the cost of a good amount of HP) is a powerful strategy. With the right setup, it could end the game on the spot. This card smells like combo.

Lorehold Charm

We discussed this Charm in this article. It could be quite interesting in decks that fill the board, like Energy lists.

Prismari Charm

We've also discussed this card when we talked about Charms. Prismari Charm seems to be the strongest Charm in this set and should find space in decks like Sneak and Show.

Quandrix, the Proof

Mississippi River lists take advantage of cards with Cascade to create value with Creative Technique and Tibalt's Trickery. Depending on the list, we can defintiely use Quandrix.

Vicious Rivalry

This is a Toxic Deluge that also hits artifacts. It does cost more, but it can be great against decks without creatures, like Forge Combo. This by itself could help this card find space in Legacy.

Witherbloom Charm

This Charm is also quite useful and can see play in decks like Cradle Control.

The Dawning Archaic

We discussed this card in this article. It can come in for a lot less mana than it should, even for free, and, once in play, it is impossible to ignore. It is quite big and creates value whenever it attacks. It should see play.

Diary of Dreams

I can see decks that are ready for battles of attrition using this card. Activating it for free is relatively easy, and drawing 2 cards per turn can give you enough resources to "unlock" certain game states.

Petrified Hamlet

Big mana lists (Cloudpost, Planar Nexus]) and Lands lists already play cards like Pithing Needle and Disruptor Flute to make Wasteland less impactful. Now, they'll have this option, which Crop Rotation and Expedition Map can tutor.

This card can also answer that Karakas that is in your way when you want to put Marit Lage in play. Playing it as your land that turn can be a big investment, but we must admit it is very useful in Legacy.

Please note that, unlike other similar cards, its "naming" ability is a triggered ability, not a static ability, so the opponent can answer it before you "name" something, which is particularly relevant when somebody has a fetch land in play.

Skycoach Waypoint

The idea was to Prepare Emeritus of Ideation to play an Ancestral Recall every turn, but this seems too unrealistic for Legacy.

Secrets of Strixhaven should be quite relevant for Legacy, which I personally enjoy, considering this is a Standard-centered set. Flow State could fill the space left by Expressive Iteration, and it is the most anticipated card, but the Charms, The Dawning Archaic, Erode, and Petrified Hamlet should also see some play.

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!