After a ton of hype, and a packed two-week spoiler season, today is the final day of Secrets of Strixhaven previews. This is one of the most exciting sets we’ve seen in years based on early impressions, and it’s not running out of steam here in the last stretch, either. In addition to a creature that brings what is arguably Magic’s best removal spell to Standard, we got to see some insane tempo and card advantage pieces to boot.
Emeritus Of Truce
Closing out the Emeritus cycle with a bang, Emeritus of Truce is a serious multi-format contender. Though it has a real condition attached, getting Swords to Plowshares as a Prepared spell is massive. Even today, it’s one of the most efficient removal spells in the game, so the juice is very much worth the squeeze there.
Truce’s enters ability is also incredibly flexible, giving you the choice between developing your own board, or developing an opponent’s to make that Prepared trigger more likely. In the former case, it’s a pretty reasonable on-curve play even in constructed. In the latter, it feels like one of the better Ravenous Chupacabra variants we’ve seen. This ability gets a lot better in Commander, too, since you only need a single opponent to be ahead on creatures to trigger it.
While it lacks a built-in way to re-Prepare itself like the other Emeriti, you can easily reset Truce using blink effects since it’s in white. Cards like Ephemerate in Modern and Parting Gust in Standard let you stack up Swords with ease. Throw in a very reasonable mana cost, and I can see this card being tested in all manner of formats.
Decorum Dissertation
While it looks clunky at first glance, Decorum Dissertation is actually one of the better Phyrexian Arena variants we’ve seen in some time. Getting to draw two cards immediately is a big deal, since most of these effects come with some kind of delay. This makes the card a much better top deck than its peers, even at five mana. Dissertation is also significantly harder to interact with than cards like Unholy Annex, since, unless you can counter the initial casting, there’s nothing you can do about it later.
The sheer card advantage Decorum Dissertation offers is also excellent, essentially becoming on-rate once you’ve copied it once. Every copy beyond that is just gravy, and should easily snowball you into a victory. The life loss is very much a valid concern in constructed formats, but it’s worth noting that copying the spell is a may ability.
With all of that said, Decorum Dissertation seems like a long shot in constructed. There aren’t any notable black Control decks at the moment, be it in Standard, Modern, or beyond. In Commander, however, I expect this to be a go-to draw spell for years to come. With 40 life, you can copy it turn after turn with no issues, and the lack of any build-around requirement makes it generic enough for any list.
Informed Inkwright & Stirring Hopesinger
Spellslinger decks aren’t exactly known for building strong board positions, but Informed Inkwright and Stirring Hopesinger address that weakness with aplomb. The former creates Flying tokens every time you target a creature with a spell, while the latter permanently buffs your entire board instead. Together, they form a formidable curve, potentially good enough to see play together in Standard.
While the two obviously play very well in the same deck, and perfectly together, I do think Inkwright is the better card. It compares quite favorably to Young Pyromancer, but exchanges a pickier trigger for better tokens. Being in white is solid for triggering Repartee, however, since you can use removal like Get Lost or the new Erode to do so.
Stirring Hopesinger seems less promising for Standard, but it has more potential in Commander. In Token decks, the card is a solid finisher, turning a couple of cantrips into a permanent Overrun. It’s also pretty strong on its own after just a single Repartee trigger, serving as a bulky Lifelink wall against aggressive opponents.
Scheming Silvertongue
Low-cost card advantage engines in Magic rarely underperform, and Scheming Silvertongue is a great new addition to the category. By itself it’s a great roadblock against aggressive threats, and a reasonable evasive attacker as well. Alongside another source of lifegain, it gives you access to Sign in Blood every single turn.
Dimir Midrange decks in Standard can actually accommodate this condition quite easily, between Deep-Cavern Bat, Dream Beavers, and Spyglass Siren. Scheming Silvertongue’s also provides another cheap evasive body to turn on Enduring Curiosity and Kaito, Bane of Nightmares when needed. Throw in the ability to generate card advantage itself, or burn opponents in a pinch, and this seems like a slam-dunk.
Outside of Standard, Scheming Silvertongue feels more than reasonable in Commander. It’s trivial to Prepare in that format, and the card advantage payoff is more than worth it. The card is ideal in Lifegain and Vampire Typal decks, but really any deck that can gain a little life or buff its creatures should be able to slot this in.
Tragedy Feaster
We’ve seen many creatures that push the limits of vanilla stats over the years, but Tragedy Feaster feels like one of the best yet. This is an absolute beating on board, and very hard to remove advantageously thanks to Ward. Sadly, Tragedy Feaster’s huge stats aren’t hugely impressive in multiplayer Magic. In Standard, however, it could have a shot.
As some players have pointed out already, the card forms a dream curve with Unholy Annex in Demon decks. With both out, you can stack the end step triggers to gain life from Annex first, thus avoiding Feaster’s sacrifice requirement. Powerful as this interaction is, mind you, it may not be enough to bring Demons back into the current cutthroat metagame.
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