Timeless: 5 Decks with Secrets of Strixhaven

This afternoon, Secrets of Strixhaven arrives on digital platforms, including Magic Arena. The Mystical Archives series from this expansion brought some of the most important staples that Timeless—MTGArena's eternal format—needed: Force of Will and Daze arrive to keep combos in check, while those combo decks gained Vampiric Tutor for more consistency.

With these new additions, it's inevitable to consider how the format might change and which decks deserve attention. In this article, we present five decklists that received upgrades and could take the first steps toward adapting to the new Metagame starting this week!

Mono Black Necro

Vampiric Tutor, apparently, is legal: Monday's Magic Arena announcement didn't make any changes to Timeless. Interestingly, Necropotence isn't an archetype that would want four copies of the new tutor, since it can't sequence it with the restricted enchantment in the same turn it casts it, unlike what players are now trying to do with Beseech the Mirror.

The most important addition is possibly Culling the Weak. The new spell replaces Sacrifice with much more consistency in generating four mana, and it enables using Boggart Trawler while also having more efficient interactions with cheaply activated manlands like Blinkmoth Nexus / Mutavault, where we pay to get four black mana.

Dimir Reanimator

On the other hand, with Force of Will, Daze, and Vampiric Tutor, Dimir Reanimator becomes a recognizable threat. The archetype in Timeless has the full package banned from Legacy: Psychic Frog — which interacts with Vampiric Tutor —, Troll of Khazad-dûm as a cheap target that adds mana consistency, and Reanimate.

Many variants of this strategy could emerge next week. In this list, we're betting on consistency, with a full set of the new disruptive spells, combined with Atraxa, Grand Unifier as a payoff that also pitches to Force of Will, plus Entomb / Vampiric Tutor alongside various cheap cantrips to quickly assemble the pieces.

Izzet Tempo

I intended to build a Delver of Secrets list, but one of Magic's most iconic threats already seems dated by eternal format standards, and Hydroponics Architect offers an interaction with Daze that turns the cost of returning an Island to your hand into another card advantage mechanism.

Our plan involves maximizing mana and interaction while pressuring the opponent with cheap threats. Cori-Steel Cutter guarantees a threat almost every turn, and we have no trouble sequencing spells to stack Prowess triggers and dominate the game, while Dragon's Rage Channeler filters the top of the library and also amplifies the clock.

Beanstalk Control

The interaction between Up the Beanstalk and Force of Will created one of the most effective Control decks in Legacy today, and this one gained even better synergies with Quantum Riddler and Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd. Control could face severe difficulties in Timeless if the Metagame remains too combo-oriented, but if Tempo decks can keep the Metagame's speed in check, this seems like a good starting point for those wanting a more "fair," late-game-oriented line.

This is also one of the first archetypes where I would consider running Library of Alexandria as an additional card advantage source: Beanstalk and Riddler make it easier to keep a full hand frequently, and a land that guarantees extra draws every turn could, in the right Metagame, be a defining factor in Control mirrors.

Ruby Storm

Pyretic Ritual adds to the mana sources for Ruby Storm, and while the deck still lacks other staples like Rite of Flame or Desperate Ritual, the extra source of red mana increases the consistency with which we get maximum value from Ral, Monsoon Mage and Ruby Medallion.

For the Wish toolbox, Brain Freeze provides another win condition slot. Just like the white splash for Orim's Chant and removal, adding a blue card to the Sideboard has a relatively low cost with Fetch Lands and Steam Vents, not to mention Manamorphose to filter red mana.

That's all for today!

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!

Thanks for reading!