While preview season for Secrets of Strixhaven isn’t set to start until next week, Wizards has managed to sneak in a few spoilers already. At PAX East, for instance, MTG players were able to uncover a new cycle of Charms from the set. Past Charm cycles have often been notable for their power and flexibility, and these newcomers look to continue that trend.
Lorehold Charm
Of all the new Secrets of Strixhaven Charms, Lorehold Charm may be the one with the most potential in Commander. That first ability alone is absolutely fantastic in the format, potentially hitting multiple artifacts very early in the game. This is ideal for shutting down Sol Ring starts, but it’s equally good against engines like The One Ring. The ‘nontoken’ clause does a ton of work here, too, preventing Treasures and the like from serving as fodder.
Lorehold Charm’s other two abilities are also stellar in Commander, the reanimation effect in particular being very exciting. The range of targets this can hit is massive, and bringing something back at instant speed lets you pull off some serious surprise plays. The mini-Overrun is also fairly solid, letting the card serve as a potential finisher in go-wide token decks like Baylen, the Haymaker.
While Commander is likely where this card will shine the brightest, Standard play isn’t out of the question here, either. The reanimation mode on this gets back plenty of key aggressive creatures, like Razorkin Needlehead. The anthem effect also plays beautifully with all the token generators in the format, Voice of Victory in particular.
Prismari Charm
Though Lorehold Charm has a fringe chance in the format, Prismari Charm seems much more likely to make an impact in Standard. The final mode, in particular, is a great way to bounce cards like Stormchaser’s Talent for value. By itself, this comes at a worse rate than Boomerang Basics or Into the Flood Maw, but the other modes more than make up for that.
Thanks to the high density of Otter tokens and Llanowar Elves in Standard right now, pinging two targets is surprisingly strong. Similarly, the Surveil cantrip is also fantastic in current Standard, especially alongside Hearth Elemental. Unfortunately, banking on this potential isn’t a sure thing, as Secrets of Strixhaven is already looking like a high-powered set that could reshape the metagame.
While it’s impossible to predict what Standard will look like a month from now, Prismari Charm does have potential in Commander. Its power there, however, will largely depend on what bracket you’re playing in. At higher brackets, nonland bounce effects are great, both for interrupting combos and removing hindrances to your own. The double ping is also excellent against staple creatures like Orcish Bowmasters and Esper Sentinel. Lower down, however, where these elements are less common, the card likely doesn’t warrant a slot.
Witherbloom Charm
Witherbloom Charm is in an odd spot among the Secrets of Strixhaven Charms, having the worst individual mode of them all alongside two bangers. To get it out of the way, you’re pretty much never going to gain five life with this, outside of very dire straits. Whether you’re playing Standard or Commander, such a mode is a waste of a card 99% of the time.
Fortunately, the card’s first mode, a more flexible Costly Plunder, is fantastic. Most of the time, you’ll trade in a cheap creature or token here, but having the option to give up a land instead is great. This opens up nice synergies with Earthbending, or just general Landfall engines like Crucible of Worlds. This mode could’ve probably seen play as a standalone card, which is a fantastic sign.
In a similar vein, the last mode here is surprisingly close to Abrupt Decay, a very playable card in itself. While not hitting the likes of Rhystic Study is unfortunate, this still deals with most mana rocks and early threats very efficiently. With the draw ability bundled in, this feels universally useful enough to see play in pretty much any Golgari Commander deck.
Silverquill Charm
While it’s still interesting, Silverquill Charm does feel like a bit of a step down power-wise compared to the other Charms we’ve discussed so far. The second mode is the obvious highlight here, being a very serviceable removal spell, but it’s still not a sure thing. With the other two modes feeling fairly underwhelming, Standard play seems like a long shot here.
In Commander, Silverquill Charm is in a similar boat playability-wise. It’s fine as a flexible removal spell, but there are generally better options out there to fill your slots. Maybe some niche Aggro strategies built around mechanics like Heroic could make use of it, but for the most part, I don’t see it.
Quandrix Charm
To end on a more positive note, Quandrix Charm, the last of the new Secrets of Strixhaven Charms, actually seems pretty excellent. Getting rid of enchantments is always useful, whether it’s Smothering Tithe in Commander or Stormchaser’s Talent in Standard. Enchantment is one of the trickier card types to find removal coverage for, so having this as a mode here is a great start.
Similarly, it’s hard to go wrong with a slightly worse Mana Leak effect, which the first mode here offers. While this naturally gets less effective later, early on, it’s a well-priced way to deal with crucial threats. It’s also great to see on a modal spell, since it’s the kind of card you’d very rarely run in Commander by itself.
The final mode, setting a creature’s stats to 5/5, feels like the weakest option here, and in Commander it probably is. While this can occasionally bring down a big threat, most of the time it’ll feel like a clunky combat trick. It does have some potentially busted lines, however, like setting Ouroboroid’s power to five and placing five coutners on your whole board.
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