Strixhaven: School of Mages, the 87th Magic: The Gathering expansion, will arrive in Magic: The Gathering Arena tomorrow, April 15, 2021, so players will finally have a chance to represent one of the five colleges of the Strixhaven University (Lorehold, Silverquill, Witherbloom, Quandrix, and Prismari) and test out the brand new cards from the magical school-themed set.
In addition to the 275 cards in the main set, Strixhaven: School of Mages will also feature 63 Mystical Archive cards, which are alternate-art reprints of Magic’s most iconic sorceries and instants. Similar to the Masterpiece series, these card have a specially designed showcase frames, and are at all rarities. Players will be able to find one of these cards in every Strixhaven Booster Pack, including the ones you crack open and draft on MTG Arena!
However, due to the power level of some of these cards, Wizards of the Coast has already banned some of them in Historic and Historic Brawl formats. Today, the company has announced that it’s banning four more Mystical Archives in Historic Brawl, the eternal Commander-style singleton format in MTG Arena. In addition to Counterspell, Dark Ritual, Lightning Bolt, and Swords to Plowshares, here are the four other Mystical Archive cards banned in Historic Brawl:
Channel
Demonic Tutor
Natural Order
Tainted Pact
I can see how powerful these cards are in Historic Brawl, which is one of the game’s fan-favorite formats. It would still be fun to be able to use these cards in Strixhaven Booster Drafts and Sealed. Don’t forget to check out our Strixhaven spoiler section if you want to know the cards before getting to play them on Arena.
Related:
Wizards Seem To Be Removing Early Access Events In MTG Arena
Strixhaven: School of Mages is schedule to release for tabletop on April 23, and it will be released on Magic: The Gathering Arena and Magic Online on April 15. Check out the important dates here.
