The Silverquill Influence Commander deck contains the following:

• 1 Ready-to-play 100-card Commander deck
• 1 Traditional foil face commander with borderless art
• 1 Traditional foil featured commander with borderless art
• 98 Non-foil cards, including 10 new-to-Magic cards
• 10 Double-sided tokens
• 1 Reference card
• 1 Deck box

Killian, Decisive MentorKillian, Decisive Mentor

Killian is back, and the character's come a long way from appearing as an uncommonappearing as an uncommon in the first go-round at Strixhaven.

Killian, Decisive Mentor's gone all-in in the Aura game. For each enchantment you drop, Killian provides a free goad trigger. This strategy can be offensive or defensive, as the creature you target for the goad effect becomes tapped to clear the way for an attack, or ensures the scariest creature on the board won't be coming your way during its combat step.

And remember: Killian doesn't have to target the creature receiving the Aura. You can slap a Shielded by FaithShielded by Faith onto Killian itself, and still tap/goad an opponent's creature.

But that's only half the text on new Killian. Whenever one or more creatures enchanted by one of your Auras attacks - be they your creatures or your opponents' - you draw a card.

Will Killian supplant Eriette of the Charmed AppleEriette of the Charmed Apple (a card in the 99 of this deck) as the premier Aura-centric black/white commander? It's got a shot.

Scriv, the ObligatorScriv, the Obligator

Joining Killian is Scriv, the Obligator, a 2/3 Inkling Bird with flying and deathtouch for four mana. Scriv's also centered around Auras, supplying you with a steady stream of them.

Whenever Scriv enters or attacks, you create one such Aura, in this case a white one called "Contract" that attaches itself to an opponent's creature. A creature enchanted by Contract receives +2/+0 until end of turn if it's attacking anyone but you - and if it does attack you, its controller loses two life.

On its own, a Contract isn't too disincentivizing to opponents should they really want to attack you, but remember you're getting at least one per turn in a perfect world, and there's nothing on Scriv that says one particular creature can't get loaded up with all the Contracts.

Scriv's less powerful than Killian as the leader of a deck, but arguably more interesting as the leader of a deck built specifically for the inky Bird.

Here's the deck list for Silverquill Influence:

Defacing DuskmageDefacing Duskmage

Our first new card in the 99 of Silverquill Influence is Defacing Duskmage, a 2/2 Dog Warlock for two mana that gives us a segue to discuss the prepared mechanic.

Creatures with the prepared mechanic bring their own spell with them, some of which are new, and some of which are returning from Magic's past (we'll get to the latter in a bit). Defacing Duskmage's spell is Vandal's Edit, a white-splashing, instant-speed Risky ShortcutRisky Shortcut.

But how do you cast Vandal's Edit? Thematically, you don't; the creature does, if it's prepared. Each creature with prepared has different methods of becoming so. In Defacing Duskmage's case, whenever an opponent draws a second card on any turn, it becomes prepared, unlocking your ability to cast Vandal's Edit.

Once you cast a prepared creature's spell, that creature becomes unprepared and needs to be re-prepared in order to cast its spell again.

So, in essence, whenever any opponent draws two cards, you can also draw two cards, and drain the table for two (including yourself).

Prepared creatures are going to be extremely powerful in Commander, and this Dog is no different.

Herald of AmityHerald of Amity

Defacing Duskmage, while very good, didn't have anything to do with Auras, a central theme of Silverquill Influence. Herald of Amity corrects that.

A 2/2 flying Griffin for four mana, Herald of Amity first allows you to cast a free Aura out of the top eight cards of your library. That's just for entering the battlefield, which, we should note, is much better than being triggered on cast in a color that has cards like CloudshiftCloudshift.

Second, whenever Herald of Amity attacks, it gets a turn-long buff of +X/+X, where X is the number of Auras you control. So, for four mana you get a good chance at a free Aura off the top, and are left with an evasive attacker that could be hitting pretty hard, depending on the board state.

Forum FilibusterForum Filibuster

The main problem with Auras, as a strategy, is that they're inherently card disadvantage. If you put a helpful Aura on your creature, then any opponent can spend one card to get rid of two of your cards.

Forum Filibuster, an enchantment for five mana, helps alleviate that issue by providing you both with a steady stream of creatures and a way to reuse fallen Auras. While it's obviously pretty good in this Aura precon, look for Forum Filibuster to really make hay in both white/green Enchantress decks as well as white/red Equipment decks, since it brings those back, too.

Coercive ImpetusCoercive Impetus

We're getting more entries into the Impetus subtheme of Auras. Coercive is the eighth such Aura (half of which are in this deck), with each providing a small buff to a creature's stats in addition to goading it. They're tailor-made to be played on opponents' creatures, though can usually be placed on your own in a pinch.

Coercive provides you with the same card draw whether it's on your creature or an opponent's, as long as that creature is attacking, and for three mana you could do worse.

Changing LoyaltyChanging Loyalty

Changing Loyalty has the potential to be game-changing, if your timing's right.

It's technically an Aura so it'll trigger any abilities that care about Auras, but in practice it'll feel more like an instant. We've seen plenty in a similar vein, like Debt of LoyaltyDebt of Loyalty, a card of which Changing Loyalty is likely a reference.

The thing about Debt of Loyalty is it's an extremely effective card, and Changing Loyalty is miles better. Even at its base cost of two mana, you're still swiping the best creature on the board post-board wipe, and for every additional two generic mana you sink into it, you're just that much farther ahead.

Intermediate ChirographyIntermediate Chirography

Each of the precons from this set includes one Class, an enchantment subtype previously seen in Bloomburrow and Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate. Essentially, you level up to gain increasingly powerful abilities, as if you're "learning" from the class depicted on the card.

You can look at it in stages: for Intermediate Chirography, you get a 2/1 black Inkling token for two mana, then for two more mana, the ability giving you a +1/+1 counter to put on a creature when you lose life for the first time each turn.

For seven total mana, you get the previous two rewards, plus the real prize: at the beginning of any end step, if a modified creature you controlled died that turn, you make another Inkling token.

Seven mana's a lot, but Level 3 of this card will likely find itself as the centerpiece to Aristocrats decks that want to make sure they always have creatures on hand.

Eiganjo DynastorianEiganjo Dynastorian

While Defacing Duskmage brought its own custom spell to prepare for, Eiganjo Dynastorian joins the fray with an old classic. If you have any experience with Enchantress decks, you've likely seen ReplenishReplenish before.

It's outrageously powerful for its cost, which (plus its Reserved List status) is why Replenish is firmly in the three-digit price range. So why buy a Replenish when you can just borrow this Fox Advisor's copy? And truth be told, Eiganjo Dynastorian is one of the easier creatures to prepare, asking you simply to attack with two or more creatures. It's not unrealistic to expect to cast Replenish every turn if needed.

Turbulent MoorTurbulent Moor

Lastly, we've got a couple new lands to see, starting with Turbulent Moor. Each of the five Secrets of Strixhaven decks have their own color-relevant "Turbulent" land, with Silverquill receiving the black/white Moor.

It's got basic land types, which is always nice to see on a new land, and the condition for entering untapped - if opponents have eight or more lands collectively - isn't hard to achieve. With no ramp, that'll happen on turn three if you didn't go first or second in the game, or turn four if you did.

As far as dual lands go, they aren't immediate must-haves, but they're still pretty good. And interestingly, they get better as the quality of opponents' decks increases.

Eclipsed SteppeEclipsed Steppe

The next new two-color land is much more familiar in style to Magic players.

Eclipsed Steppe is a new member of the Battle Lands, like Prairie StreamPrairie Stream, named so because the cycle debuted in Battle for Zendikar more than a decade ago. We're finally seeing the closing of that loop.

There isn't much to say about Eclipsed Steppe that most people don't already know - Battle Lands are a mainstay as a more budget-friendly option for your mana base. They reward playing plenty of basics, and they're fetchable. There are much worse dual-color land cycles out there.

With Silverquill Influence, it's all about Aura farming.

The deck contains a whopping 22 Auras, with some designed to help out your creatures and others meant to harm opponents'.

First, let's look at the ones you'll want to put onto your own creatures:

• Angelic DestinyAngelic Destiny
• Eldrazi ConscriptionEldrazi Conscription
• Gift of ImmortalityGift of Immortality

And there are plenty more where those came from. With the entire deck tuned to Auras, every one you play will get you the benefit of the card itself, but hopefully trigger a number of abilities as well - Killian's own included.

As for Auras you want to use to ruin your opponents' day, here are some highlights:

• Darksteel MutationDarksteel Mutation
• Screams from WithinScreams from Within
• Redemption ArcRedemption Arc

There's something satisfying about playing Auras, despite their inherent issues with card advantage and tempo, and it's surprising that the classic PacifismPacifism has been omitted.

So there are 20+ Auras in the deck; how convenient, then, when nearly all of the 25 creatures in the 99 also love Auras? Let's look at them in two groups: creatures that want to see Auras enter, and creatures that want to be enchanted.

• Ajani's ChosenAjani's Chosen
• Archon of Sun's GraceArchon of Sun's Grace
• Doomwake GiantDoomwake Giant
• Eriette of the Charmed AppleEriette of the Charmed Apple
• Pearl-Ear, Imperial AdvisorPearl-Ear, Imperial Advisor
• Sram, Senior EdificerSram, Senior Edificer

This cadre of creatures want to be around to witness all the Auras coming and going, giving you back the card advantage that Auras by themselves lack. Sure, this deck, like most precons, is weak to board wipes, but that's the name of the game for Auras - they generally need creatures to be alive.

And speaking of creatures that want to wear an Aura or two, here are a few:

• Eidolon of Countless BattlesEidolon of Countless Battles
• Hateful EidolonHateful Eidolon
• Kor SpiritdancerKor Spiritdancer

So we've covered the Auras, and the creatures that love them. Surrounding that package, we've got a number of removal spells and interaction that allow us to continue flipping through our Aura catalog:

• Anguished UnmakingAnguished Unmaking
• FractureFracture
• Vanishing VerseVanishing Verse
• Winds of RathWinds of Rath

Yes, there aren't that many ways to control the board outside of Auras - however, there are a few Auras in that category we didn't even mention, like Chains of CustodyChains of Custody or Sheltered by GhostsSheltered by Ghosts.

Winds of Rath is the obvious all-star here, wiping away anything with the disgrace of being Aura-less. In a deck that wants to win through incremental advantages, Winds of Rath is a cheat code.

Thanks to our friends at Commander Spellbook and their Find My Combo tool, we can see that Silverquill Influence has no combos in the deck as-is.

However, it wouldn't take much to add a few.

If we wanted to add Secret Arcade // Dusty ParlorSecret Arcade // Dusty Parlor to the deck, it would join Archon of Sun's GraceArchon of Sun's Grace to create a two-card, infinite token-making combo. However, once it gets going, it can't stop on its own, so you better have a plan.

We could also dig through our collections for a Viscera SeerViscera Seer. Viscera Seer is no stranger to being involved in combos, and in this deck, it combines with Screams from WithinScreams from Within and Ajani's ChosenAjani's Chosen:

With the three of those cards together, you get a number of infinite conditions, including infinite scry, infinite enters-the-battlefield triggers for both creatures and Auras, and infinite death triggers. Not too bad.

Silverquill Influence boasts 37 lands in the 99, with eight Plains and eight Swamps. The rest of them are primarily dual-color lands of various stripe, though there are a few utility lands to be aware of:

• Arcane LighthouseArcane Lighthouse
• Bojuka BogBojuka Bog
• War RoomWar Room

Arcane Lighthouse in particular is an interesting inclusion, as it allows for opponents' creatures with hexproof to be targetable with your Auras.

As for mana rocks, we've got the bare minimum set that you've come to expect from a precon deck these days:

• Arcane SignetArcane Signet
• Fellwar StoneFellwar Stone
• Sol RingSol Ring
• Talisman of HierarchyTalisman of Hierarchy

The MSRP of Silverquill Influence, as with all Secrets of Strixhaven preconstructed decks, is $49.99.

But what's the real value of the 100 cards contained within?

As is true with all precons upon release, prices of individual cards are subject to change, especially for the 10 new cards. As of April 1, the day of the deck's reveal, it's estimated that to purchase all cards inside as singles would cost roughly $318. If we subtract the 10 new cards, the prices of which are inflated due to preorders, we're left with $198.

That's a pretty good deal just for the reprints, of which there are some very solid ones. The five highest-value reprints are:

• Land TaxLand Tax
• InkshieldInkshield
• Songbirds' BlessingSongbirds' Blessing
• Breena, the DemagogueBreena, the Demagogue
• Arcane LighthouseArcane Lighthouse

Land tax alone is nearly $30 for the cheapest version, from Battlebond. 

Silverquill Influence is a far cry from the "pile of stuff" decks that we saw when Wizards of the Coast first started printing Commander decks.

Every card feels deliberate and intentional in its inclusion, and the result is a highly tuned, synergistic deck that can hang at most Bracket 3 tables. Its reprints are excellent, its 10 new cards are interesting, and, perhaps most importantly, it'll be a fun experience to pilot.

For all that, it's safe to rate the deck an A-.