Magic's Secrets of Strixhaven Study Guide: All of the Set's New Mechanics, Explained

Magic: The Gathering is leaving New York City down (again), arsenic it moves from Turtles to wizarding schools (no, not that one) with its instrumentality to Strixhaven.

The caller acceptable is packed with caller cards and 5 Commander precons, but it besides includes a clump of caller mechanics. Here’s our rundown of each one, including each College’s ain trademark keyword.

Prepare

Prepare is the large caller mechanic successful this set, due to the fact that it fundamentally gives players entree to almighty cards similar Ancestral Recall oregon Swords to Plowshares by tying them to a creature.

Once a carnal is ‘prepared’ (which requires a assortment of conditions to beryllium met), you’ll beryllium capable to occurrence disconnected an instant oregon sorcery that’s tied to 1 of these carnal cards, similar Emeritus of Ideation being capable to usage Ancestral Recall, oregon Stensian Sanguinist having the enactment to usage Exsanguinate.

College Keywords

Repartee (Silverquill) - Repartee triggers further effects erstwhile you play instants oregon sorceries, similar Conciliator’s Duelist being capable to exile a creature.

Opus (Prismari) - Cards similar Colorstorm Stallion with the Opus keyword volition summation +1/+1 counters until extremity of crook erstwhile instant and sorcery cards are played, with further effects for larger spells.

Infusion (Witherbloom) - If you’ve gained beingness successful a turn, you’ll trigger the Infusion keyword. On thing similar Old-Growth Educator, it’ll summation 2 +1/+1 counters.

Flashback (Lorehold) - Cards with Flashback tin beryllium played from the graveyard for its Flashback outgo alternatively than its mana cost, similar Molten Note. Once this happens, the paper is exiled.

Increment (Quandrix) - If a paper has Increment, similar Cuboid Colony, you enactment a +1/+1 antagonistic connected a carnal if the mana worth of a spell you formed is greater than it.

Converge

If you formed a carnal with Converge, it’ll get with further effects based connected the fig of colored mana utilized to formed it.

Rancorous Archaic, for example, is simply a five-cost card. Cast it with each reddish mana, and it’ll participate arsenic a modular 3/3 with Trample and Reach acknowledgment to a azygous +1/+1 counter. Spend each 5 colors, however, and it’ll participate arsenic a 7/7 acknowledgment to 5 of those counters;

Book

Books, similar Diary of Dreams, are a caller Artifact benignant that gains leafage counters which tin past beryllium spent to trigger different effects.

Paradigm

Still with us? It’s a engaged set, keyword-wise, but Paradigm is truly neat. It’s recovered connected sorceries similar Improvisation Capstone, triggering them erstwhile once initially played. Paradigm spells are past exiled and disposable connected your archetypal main signifier arsenic a transcript that tin beryllium played without its mana cost.

Expect these to beryllium successful demand, fixed the powerfulness they could perchance springiness you. Even if your archetypal spell is countered, your Paradigm persists!

Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer successful tech, gaming and fittingness seen astatine Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and galore more. He's a large instrumentality of Magic: The Gathering and different collectible paper games, overmuch to his wife's dismay.