Lorwyn Eclipsed may have just been officially released, but we’re already being bombarded with information about new sets. Between the TMNT leaks during prerelease events, the Marvel precons appearing early, and now a boatload of official spoilers, it’s truly been nonstop. While this is a lot to process, it’s hard not to get excited, especially since the five face Commanders for the Secrets of Strixhaven precons have just been revealed.
Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Precons
Just like with the original Secrets of Strixhaven, each of the school’s five Colleges is getting its own precon. In a fitting throwback to the original set, each of these new precons is helmed by a student from the original set. While we first saw them as humble uncommons, each of these characters is now a mythic bomb that can seriously pull its own weight.
Lorehold Spirit
Helmed by Quintorius, History Chaser, the Lorehold Spirit Commander precon offers a unique graveyard-focused game plan for a Boros deck. Much like Quintorius, Field Historian before it, this new Quintorius generates Spirits when cards leave the graveyard, while also heavily supporting this self-contained archetype. With a +1 that puts cards into the grave and a -4 that buffs Spirits, this Commander can quickly create quite an army.
Notably, to make Quintorius, History Chaser really work, you’ll need a way to remove cards from your graveyard. Thankfully, MTG has no shortage of these, with cards like Ghost Vacuum and Scrabbling Claws being fantastic options. Hopefully, the rest of the new cards in the Lorehold Spirit precon can provide even more support, making this deck one to be reckoned with.
Prismari Artistry
From the looks of things, the Prismari Artistry precon from Secrets of Strixhaven is all about casting massive spells. The deck’s face Commander, Rootha, Mastering the Moment exemplifies this, as the bigger spells you cast, the bigger Elementals you make. Thankfully, there’s no shortage of powerful and high-cost cards within Izzet colors, such as Magma Opus.
Sadly, since Rootha has only one ability, it’s unclear if the Prismari Artistry precon will go in any other direction upon release. Thankfully, even if it doesn’t, we’ve just seen plenty of Elemental Typal support released in Lorwyn Eclipsed, like Ashling’s Command. Ultimately, since Rootha doesn’t tell us much, we’ll just have to wait for more information during the spoiler season for Secrets of Strixhaven.
Quandrix Unlimited
For fans of Simic, the Quandrix Unlimited deck is led by Zimone, Infinite Analyst, who loves an X-cost spell. Not only can she make these spells cheaper, but she can become a sizable threat herself, thanks to steadily gaining counters. While this is a rather unusual archetype for a precon, thankfully, there’s plenty of existing support to tap into.
Between Hydras, Fractals, and new spells like Mathemagics, there are tons of powerful X-cost spells in MTG. Since these spells are almost always useful, no matter how much mana you put in, this deck should play remarkably smoothly. Whether or not that will be the case, however, remains to be seen, as Secrets of Strixhaven doesn’t release until April 24th.
Witherbloom Pestilence
It shouldn’t be too shocking that Pests are making a return in the Golgari Witherbloom Pestilence precon, featuring Dina, Essence Brewer leading the charge. Even without a Pest theme, though, Dina is simply a generically strong Sacrifice Commander.
While you are limited to only drawing one card each turn, pairing Dina with token producers and free instant speed sacrifice outlets like Ashnod’s Altar makes it trivial to draw tons of cards. The reward Dina’s final ability provides is also decent, especially if you have some beefy creatures like Yargle and Multani to sacrifice. Thanks to this, Dina, Essense Brewer is bound to be a staple in the 99 of any sacrifice-themed Commander deck.
Silverquill Influence
Of all the precons, the most intriguing definitely goes to Silverquill Influence. This Orzhov shell with Killian, Decisive Mentor leading the way perfectly meshes Enchantress and Goad themes together.
For starters, you can easily pull ahead on cards by simply enchanting your creatures and attacking while tapping down opposing blockers. On top of that, though, you’re also rewarded with card advantage when you enchant opposing creatures with Auras and force them to attack. Cards like Vow of Duty further support this game plan, and the new cards in the precon may well follow suit.
Codex Bundle
In addition to the Secrets of Strixhaven Commander precons, a handful of other products for the set have been previewed. Of the bunch, the one that stands out due to its uniqueness is the new Codex Bundle.
Like we are accustomed to seeing with Gift Bundles in the past, the Codex Bundle offers a bit more than a traditional bundle. The first major difference is that instead of featuring nine play boosters, you’ll get six Play Boosters and two Collector Boosters. Players will also receive a pack of 20 foil lands that can add some extra beauty to their decks.
The most interesting addition to the Codex Bundle, however, is the added mini-pack. Each mini-pack comes with two alternate art, foil staple mana rocks. There are six possible foils to open, and while these cards don’t hold much reprint value, these variants could be worth more, provided they are exclusive to the Codex Bundle.
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