Secrets of Strixhaven’s Mystical Archive Bonus Sheet looks absolutely incredible. With multiple massive reprints queued up, this set’s Bonus Sheet can seriously make or break a box opening. Sadly, with these stronger cards come worse open rates, but the changes, more or less, seem positive.
Surprisingly, despite a ton of Mystical Archive spoilers dropping during the WeeklyMTG show on April 7th, that wasn’t everything. Thanks to an unexpected batch of new spoilers, the mythic rare slot for this bonus sheet just got more lucrative. With Jeska’s Will, another MTG Game Changer joining the fray, these final few additions are definitely a welcome surprise.
MTG Jeska’s Will
While Jeska’s Will was just revealed today, many MTG players suspected that this card was coming for quite some time. Early product images for the set revealed Jeska in the Mystical Archive’s signature Japanese style, so it wasn’t hard for players to make the speculative jump.
Considering that Jeska’s Will is currently a $43 card, it’s no wonder players were excited about this reprint. That only made its absence at this past WeeklyMTG more confusing, since that show was supposed to reveal every remaining Mystical Archive card. It turns out, however, that Wizards made a mistake here, as Blake Rasmussen explained following the livestream.
As for the card itself, Jeska’s Will is the perfect refill card for red Commander decks. Adding a ton of mana and Impulse Drawing three cards, this sorcery becomes incredibly scary when copied or recurred. Thanks to this, the card sees tons of play across all of Commander’s variations, and sees a very small amount of Legacy play as a Ritual.
Four Valuable Rares
While the remaining cards are worth a fair bit less, Jeska’s Will isn’t the only notable reprint that’s popped up after Tuesday’s WeeklyMTG show. A fair few notable rares were also revealed today, adding some more value to the Mystical Archive bonus sheet.
One of the best anti-Counterspell cards in all of MTG, Veil of Summer sees tons of play in Commander, Modern, and Legacy. Protecting your cards from all forms of targeted black and blue interaction is already powerful, but this card even replaces itself, to boot. Thanks to this, Veil of Summer goes for $8.65 at its absolute lowest, with some variants costing as much as $18.
While seeing slightly less play, Brain Freeze is also an impressive $7.90 reprint. Due to the Storm mechanic, this card is one of the most powerful win conditions in Commander. Partnering this card with Underworld Breach and Lion’s Eye Diamond results in near-infinite mill, winning the game as early as turn one. Thanks to this speed, Brain Freeze also sees play in Vintage, Legacy, and Premodern.
If these two cards weren’t enough, the combo hits keep on coming. Alongside Ad Nauseum, the $7.36 Angel’s Grace can draw your entire deck. Even without this combo, Angel’s Grace can save you from a lethal attack in a pinch, and can stop ‘win the game’ effects, like Thassa’s Oracle, from ending the game. Thanks to Split Second, backing up Oracle with counterspells won’t work either, making this a great way to stop one of Commander’s most obnoxious win conditions.
While it won’t stop combo wins, Deflecting Palm is a great way to stop a Voltron Commander’s lethal blow. Effectively redirecting one source of damage back at the opponent, this card can make for some amazing gotcha moments. Thanks to this, the $4.26 sees a surprising amount of play in Commander, while making rare appearances in Duel Commander, cEDH, and Modern.
Last-Second Stragglers
While these are the most exciting of the remaining Mystical Archive reprints, there are a few more cards that have appeared after Wizards of the Coast’s spoiler dump this Tuesday. Bring to Light, while being a very on-theme reprint, is one of the worst Mystical Archive rares you can open. Considering that many of the rares in this set are decent reprints, this $0.50 card will be one to avoid at all costs.
Sleight of Hand is another widely played card with no secondary market value, but it only appears at an uncommon. This is actually a great reprint at that rarity, offering Izzet players new artwork for a card that sees tons of Standard, Pioneer, and Commander play. Thanks to Secrets of Strixhaven being so instant and sorcery-focused, this should also make for an interesting Limited card.
While this should round out most of the Mystical Archive reprints in Secrets of Strixhaven, there are still a few cards that have yet to be unveiled. According to the current set numbers, there’s one black card and three multicolor cards that we have not seen yet. Considering that the Secrets of Strixhaven spoiler season wraps up today, we’re bound to see them before the week is out.
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