[STX] Strixhaven Pioneer Discussion

[motleyslayer]

the alternate casting cost on that seems absurd, letting an opponent draw a card in exchange for exiling their walker or best creature is really good

[The Fluff]

If I commit to this format I gotta say, turn 1 Clever Lumimancer into turn 2 Arrester's Zeal + some other 1 cost card is hilarious enough to make me want to try a Magecraft-Addendum build.

that combination does look strong. Maybe there will be cards similar to clever lumimancer as more cards get spoiled.

[robertleva]

Finally! This a 3cc mana rock I am interested in.




Pioneer has Balefule Strix lookalike.



Rampant Growth but the land is vulnerable....fair.

[The Fluff]

alternate win con, stadium looks quite playable in certain decks. Glad they did not make it mythic.

any chance to see an english version of the gu flyer?

[The Fluff]

this looks amazing for Orzhov decks. I'm getting a playset for pioneer.

why wotc good at making me bring out the wallet?

[robertleva]

So I heard you want answers in Pioneer and Modern? Big daddy Orzhov's got you baby!


This card hits a ton and is in control colors. Just go ahead and get your playsets.



Fracture destroys target Enchantment, Artifact or Planeswalker. Playsets required here too.

[robertleva]

Great beater here. In fact this is the most under costed 2 drop beater I can think of. Green ramp / beatdown strategies will love this. This set is PUSSSSSHHHED!

[The Fluff]

a lot of great options for Orzhov.

what's the english text for the undercosted 5/4?

[BeneTleilax]

a lot of great options for Orzhov.

what's the english text for the undercosted 5/4?

Sacrifice a creature or pay 3 as an additional cost to cast.

[robertleva]

REgarding Bayou Bandit: You are nearly always going to just pay a simple 3 life, but the option to ditch a mana dork when you rip this thing late game and save your life pool is nice too. We got some nice spoilers already today:




The black half of this card is bonkers. You dig 5 deep and fill your hand with what you can afford, for 4cc. It's not just blind drawing either, this is card selection in black. You can opt to pay 0 life here so it's completely safe on a whiff. Putting all the unused cards as fuel in your graveyard is great too.



This half seems more niche but it's a double card so this is just extra text on the black spell really.



This gal seems combo-licious but I'm honestly no expert on combo.



Golgari has a nice removal card too in this set too. Text reads: Sorcery. Each player sacrifices a creature or planeswalker. If you sacrifice a permanent this way, you may return another permanent card from your graveyard to your hand. So we get a 2 for 1 and they lose a permanent, nice.



Black Young Pyromancer? Neat.

[The Fluff]

finally, the long awaited spider lord. Gives hope for my pioneer Ishkanah deck.

[robertleva]

Orzhov is going to be really strong when this set drops. Get what ever staples you need now. Thoughtseize, Gideon of the Trials, Orzhov etc.

I've already got a deck outlined in my mind that I am excited about.

[The Fluff]

a lot of great options for Orzhov.

what's the english text for the undercosted 5/4?

Sacrifice a creature or pay 3 as an additional cost to cast.

thanks for that.

[motleyslayer]

Orzhov is going to be really strong when this set drops. Get what ever staples you need now. Thoughtseize, Gideon of the Trials, Orzhov etc.

I've already got a deck outlined in my mind that I am excited about.

I've been low key hoping Orzhov would be good for like a year now. Those 2 drop removal spells i Strixhaven have me super excited

[The Fluff]

this looks like a strong removal. Thankfully, it's uncommon, so the price won't be too high.

[motleyslayer]

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this looks like a strong removal. Thankfully, it's uncommon, so the price won't be too high.

I don't know how common lifegain is in GB but I can see this being good if lifegain is common. Only issue is that Abrupt Decay and Assassin's Trophy are both in the format. Those both have downside though. But this one hits anything with no downside other than being cheaper when you gained life

[The Fluff]

I plan to test it in my abzan deck that has Vraska, Golgari Queen, she has a lifegain option. The deck also has Nethroi, Apex of Death in it. Will be replacing Vraska's Contempt.. although I'm a bit worried because Mortality Spear cannot remove Rhonas and the theros gods.

[The Fluff]

Strixhaven First Impressions: Pioneer

https://articles.starcitygames.com/2021 ... s-pioneer/
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Top 5 Overrated and Underrated Strixhaven Cards

https://mtgazone.com/top-5-overrated-an ... ven-cards/

[The Fluff]

Strixhaven: Top 10 Pioneer Cards by SaffronOlive

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/articles/st ... neer-cards

[The Fluff]

Top ten cards from Strixhaven by Abe Sargent

https://www.coolstuffinc.com/a/abesarge ... strixhaven

[Arkmer]

Top ten cards from Strixhaven by Abe Sargent

https://www.coolstuffinc.com/a/abesarge ... strixhaven

I don't read MtG articles very often, are they all so... marginal?

My Review of the same cards.

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Tanazir Quandrix: I plan on playing this is some silly nonsense that involves Master Biomancer and Thassa, Deep-Dwelling and probably just some other dumb token machines. Naturally, I don't think the card is good; maybe it finds a x1 in something.

Jadzi, Oracle of Arcavios / Journey to the Oracle: Throw away your T4 for some ramp that you might not have? Pass. Drop an 8mv creature with no protection? Also pass. The cards seem cool, but even preempting it with Nylea's Intervention feels weak.

Beledros Witherbloom: Not sure the 7mv is justifiable unless you somehow immediately win with the untap ability.

Body of Research: Only playable in Temur for Fling? Otherwise ya, it makes a huge thing that dies to Fatal Push and Bounce effects.

Velomachus Lorehold: There's a lot of nuance as to why I don't like this card. It's asking to do things that just don't feel like they go together in one deck.

Quandrix Command: I really wish this was destroy and not counter. Otherwise, I think this is a pretty good card that fits quite a few niche spots while not being overbearing or an auto include.

Reconstruct History: Possibly Niv to Light? Maybe there is a Jeskai deck that can benefit from this as well. Finding a spot for this is probably pretty hard and requires a very specific deck type.

Prismari Command: Look! A good card! I don't think it's a home run, but removal + effect seems decent.

The Mastery Cycle: Really only the Black and White ones seem worthwhile; in a pinch you can cut the cost on Baleful, and Devastating is still a nice tempo swing at 4mv. The Red one might fit Phoenix?... Maybe. The Blue one is marginal and could bite you, and the Green one feels like it has no actual text.

Secret Rendezvous: Opponent draws 3 for 0 cost, you draw 3 for 1 card and 3 mana. Is there actually a deck that wants this?

Environmental Sciences: This is not Solemn Simulacrum. I think this 100% needs Learn to even hit someone's radar and even then, if you're hitting this on T3+ off a T2 learn, then your opponent is probably doing nothing or you're sliding this into a turn that under used the available mana.

Maybe these all get different ratings in other formats, but in Pioneer? Probably not.

What I think is good from the set.

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The Art: I think there are some really nice looking cards in this set, I especially like the art style of the Mystical Archive and Japanese cards. Very tasteful, just the right amount of abstract and geometric for me.

Symmetry Sage: For a 1mv uncommon, this card could help some foundations. Specifically, making your Dreadhorde Arcanist a 2/3 then using it to recast something and turn Symmetry Sage into a 2/2.

Magma Opus: I have a feeling this is going to end a few games off Torrential Gearhulk. I think it's just the biggest spell that fits the bill and pushes the game closer to ending. Bonus points as it can be pitched to ramp into the Gearhulk.

Culling Ritual: This one could be really interesting. Setting up a deck to abuse this seems pretty easy, finding an opponent's deck who suffers against this doesn't seem too difficult either. If you manage to use it to ramp into something, then you're all the better for it. Hitting 2mv feels like a nice line to walk between too restrictive and being too effective.

Go Blank: Literally just adds exile to Mind Rot, but the difference means it could cripple Phoenix and possibly Lurrus decks.

Prismari Command / Quandrix Command / Witherbloom Command: None of them are going to be all stars, but they all seem to have a nice set of options that will keep them around in some number.

Galazeth Prismari: Probably the only dragon that will see competitive play. I tried writing up a Grixis Dragon control list like I had in Modern, but the loss of Nameless Inversion is just too much for the deck to bear, lol.

As a joke Professor Onyx: We're reaching interesting territory with Magecraft and this is more about Sedgemoor Witch than the weird story Liliana. The primary method for making infinite copy effects is still Expansion // Explosion but now with Dual Strike we have a cheaper way to get the first copy effect going with a small investment. While Onyx herself likely isn't about to blow some games out, infinite Pests on T4 might not be a realm too far for Grixis or even strange Rakos lists. While the combo is not a likely include, it's interesting to note that it's still expanding and changing.

[The Fluff]

@Arkmer

thanks for the input. Actually, I was simply gathering various opinions on which are the best cards in Strixhhaven. Surprised that people have totally different opinions on certain cards.
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so far, the cards I've ordered are humiliate and bayou groff. Humiliate for my semi-competitive Nethroi deck, and the groff for a casual tribal plants deck. lol

[robertleva]

Vanishing Verse is solid all around. Fracture and Rip Apart are sideboard material for decks in those colors. Bayou Groff was spoiled incorrectly, and is actually unplayable since you pay 3 mana not 3 life as the spoiler said.

[The Fluff]

yeah, the groff is unplayable in a competitive environment. I only use it in a casual deck with Nissa, Voice of Zendikar. and Slitherhead. Plant tokens from Nissa, and the slitherhead make good sac fodder for it.

[Arkmer]

After hitting post I read the rest of the articles you posted (and watched the one video from Olive). I was relieved to see that no one else was pushing 7mv dragons with no actual places to easily slot into. There's some real room for debate on stuff but I often doubt just about anything above 4mv that can't be played at instant speed. The cards I pointed out were mostly just immediately recognizable from my preorder manifest, I'm sure there's more but that's at least a variety of opinion about some odd things. As Robert mentions, Vanishing Verse is making me itch for some Esper action and was definitely a x4 preorder for me.

I do like the set overall but not all cards can be good, etc. That's why I build a lot of nonsense decks though as well. The shop that I (miss dearly and) play at regularly often has a smattering of kids between 8 and 18 who have questionable decks. If things go back to normal then I'll have no issue trying to flicker Quandrix a few turns in a row to make stupid big Biomancers and then spam Pest tokens or something.