For the most part, Secrets of Strixhaven looks like one of the best MTG sets we’ve had in years. Between the main set and the five new precons, there are tons of fantastic new cards and legends. To top it off, the setting and story are a breath of fresh air amidst the smog of Universes Beyond.
Despite this, Secrets of Strixhaven sadly isn’t perfect. The recently revealed Theme Decks, for instance, are easily the worst product that the set has to offer. While it’s not uncommon for decks like these not to contain many compelling reprints, Secrets of Strixhaven is just mean about it. Thanks to Wizards pointing out easy upgrades for these decks, it feels like these decks have been made bad on purpose.
Unsurprisingly Poor Reprints
Unlike other TCGs, Theme/Structure decks in MTG very rarely ever have good reprints. The new Lifegain deck for Secrets of Strixhaven pushes this to the extreme, however, by only having one decent reprint. In the deck, there are two copies of Haliya, Guided by Light, which sell for around $3 each right now.
Outside of this card, only the new cards from Secrets of Strixhaven provide any form of decent value. Since we only have presale prices for these cards, however, we can expect them to crash upon release. After these cards, Nowhere to Run is the next most expensive card in the deck, which sells for just $0.79.
Realistically, since many local game stores don’t want to deal with bulk, selling cards worth less than $1, or even $2, can be a struggle. Thankfully, the other Secrets of Stixhaven Theme deck, Eerie, is better for this. This deck contains multiple $2+ cards, including Sheltered by Ghosts, Enduring Innocence, and Silent Hallcreeper.
Thanks to containing multiple copies of each of these cards, you get about $32 of sellable cards in this deck. Considering this deck is currently selling for just $18 on TCGplayer, this is one hell of a deal right now. Notably, these are just presale prices right now and will likely equalize over time.
Even when that does happen, the stark difference in the quality of these decks is rather disappointing. Thankfully, however, Wizards of the Coast is here to solve that very problem. In the article announcing the Theme Deck’s contents, Wizards also showcased a bunch of possible upgrades.
Upgrades People, Upgrades
Realistically, it’s no secret that every preconstructed MTG can benefit from upgrades. Whenever a new Commander precon gets announced, for instance, there’s always a rush to pick up missed reprints. Usually, it makes sense why Wizards doesn’t include these, as they’re either too expensive or off-theme additions.
As much as this is a widely understood practice, it’s rare for Wizards of the Coast to point out these upgrades themselves. For whatever reason, though, that’s exactly what they did with the new Secrets of Strixhaven Theme Decks.
In theory, this seems like a nice touch, as it helps guide players and increase the longevity of each deck. While this seems all well and good on the surface, the optics of this get very murky very quickly. Even suggestions for cheap and harmless upgrades like With Great Power . . . can easily end up feeling like a slap in the face.
Costing just $0.61 on TCGplayer, With Great Power . . . is hardly an expensive MTG card. It also makes sense as an upgrade to the Eerie Theme Deck, as it can easily make a massive creature. As Wizards points out, this makes it a fairly solid upgrade for the deck, if you want to pivot its focus slightly.
Out of the eight cards that Wizards mentions as upgrades for the Eerie Theme Deck, only one is somewhat valuable. Even then, this card, Overlord of the Mistmoors, is only worth $2.16, so it could easily have been reprinted. It didn’t even have to appear in the main deck, either, as Wizards could have easily included it as a sideboard option.
It’s Just Insulting
While we can see how upgrade suggestions like this would be helpful, coming from Wizards, it’s an awful look. Wizards is the one who decides what cards to reprint, after all, and deliberately neglected these ones, despite knowing their strength. Thanks to this, it feels like this is just a ploy to get people to buy more cards, which is either frustrating or diabolical.
As if the Secrets of Strixhaven Theme Decks having deliberate upgrades wasn’t bad enough, MTG desperately needs more reprints. Thanks to the removal of Remastered and Masters sets last year, we’ve basically just got bonus sheets and Commander precons left. While these are useful, since they’re tied to Limited and Commander gameplay, there’s a limit on what can be reprinted.
To pile on even more problems, Wizards has also been tipping the scales in these products by changing drop rates. This is especially prevalent in Secrets of Strixahven’s Mystical Archive, where mythics are significantly rarer than before. Thanks to this, prices of cards are often kept high, sometimes even increasing, thanks to the desirable new variants.
Ultimately, as time goes on, it’s becoming more and more clear that something needs to change. While we’re just about getting by and dealing with $500+ Standard decks currently, there is a breaking point. As such, we can only hope that WotC gets this figured out sooner, rather than later.
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