Improvisation CapstoneImprovisation Capstone | Art by Marta Nael

All the cards from Secrets of Strixhaven have been revealed, and that can only mean one thing: set review time! I've been waiting to return to Arcavios for five long years, and at long last I get to take a look at all the Spellslingery goodness this set has in store. The original Strixhaven: School of Mages was a goldmine for instant- and sorcery-matters decks, and I'm expecting no less from this release.

In this article, I'll be showing off my picks for the best instants and sorceries from Secrets of Strixhaven.

White

Erode

Path to ExilePath to Exile just got a new cousin! ErodeErode is the latest in one-mana white removal spell technology, sacrificing the ability to exile a creature for the flexibility to hit planeswalkers. I see Erode making the cut in a lot of white decks going forward, particularly those with ways to capitalize on giving out lands to opponents. There will be decks that want to stop the opponent from searching with the likes of Leonin ArbiterLeonin Arbiter and Aven MindcensorAven Mindcensor and decks that are content adding Erode as another way to enable catch-up effects, like Land TaxLand Tax or Loyal WarhoundLoyal Warhound, in the games where they go first and won't naturally be behind on lands.

Blue

Flow State

Expressive IterationExpressive Iteration is one of the best options for cheap card draw in Izzet decks. Flow StateFlow State provides the same amount of value and is eligible for inclusion in any blue deck. Putting an instant and a sorcery in the graveyard is a fairly trivial task for any Spellslinger deck, and getting to see three cards and draw two for just two mana will be outstanding every time it hits the stack.

Just like Expressive Iteration, the decks that are most likely to want access to this piece of card draw are Spellslinger variants that are looking to fire off lots of cheap spells rather than slam one or two haymakers each turn cycle. Vivi OrnitierVivi Ornitier and Veyran, Voice of DualityVeyran, Voice of Duality will love to receive a second copy of Expressive IterationExpressive Iteration, and decks that can't run Expressive Iteration, like Talrand, Sky SummonerTalrand, Sky Summoner, will be overjoyed to include their first copy of this effect.

Mana Sculpt

All the way back in 1994, Legends introduced Mana DrainMana Drain, a counterspell that was eventually banned in Legacy. That classic card is getting a new coat of paint in Secrets of Strixhaven in Mana SculptMana Sculpt. Mana Sculpt is one more mana and only adds colorless mana equal to the countered spell's mana value if you control a Wizard. The result is a much more fair version of Mana Drain that decks with a Wizard in the command zone will be happy to include.

Mana Sculpt will absolutely be going into my decks that have a robust Step ThroughStep Through package, like Kefka, Court MageKefka, Court Mage and Yorion, Sky NomadYorion, Sky Nomad. One thing that's important to note is that a deck that uses Mana Sculpt well has to be able to play at instant speed well enough that holding up a three-mana counter doesn't come with a devastating drawback if no opponent casts a spell worth countering on that turn cycle, and such a deck should also be able to take advantage of a large influx of colorless mana. Kefka, Court Mage does this perfectly, as sinking the mana into transforming him is a reasonable floor and my version of the deck is keeping mana up to cast instant-speed blink spells most of the time.

Black

Ominous Harvest

Ominous HarvestOminous Harvest is a gorgeous card draw spell for black sacrifice strategies. This sorcery is one of three in Magic's history with gravestorm, a keyword that copies the spell for each time a permanent was put into a graveyard from the battlefield this turn. There are a lot of ways to take advantage of this ability, from casting it to refill the hand after a board wipe like Blasphemous ActBlasphemous Act or sacrificing a bunch of creature tokens to a Carrion FeederCarrion Feeder and drawing a ton of cards.

When searching for a deck to maximize Ominous Harvest's potential, I'd look no further than Super ShredderSuper Shredder or Korvold, Fae-Cursed KingKorvold, Fae-Cursed King. However, I love the idea of slamming Ominous Harvest into a deck that is really removal-heavy or uses a lot of Accursed MarauderAccursed Marauder effects as part of a larger sub-theme.

Pox Plague

Pox PlaguePox Plague is an interesting intersection between the splashy Timmy-/Tammy-style of gameplay and the sadistic nonsense most commonly associated with Tergrid, God of FrightTergrid, God of Fright players. Forcing each player to sacrifice half of all of their most important resources is very strong with any way to break the symmetry of the effect. Tergrid, God of Fright is the easiest example, but there are a lot of less groan-inducing ways to come out on top of the resolution of this spell, like a Virtue of PersistenceVirtue of Persistence or Sheoldred, Whispering OneSheoldred, Whispering One.

Withering Curse

Withering CurseWithering Curse is my new favorite board wipe. For three mana, Withering Curse provides the same value as an = 2 Toxic Deluge, but any deck that has consistent access to life gain can turn it into an unconditional board wipe with relative ease. My vision for the best use case of Withering CurseWithering Curse is in an aristocrats deck that plans on casting this to neutralize opposing boards and profit massively from the death triggers it yields.

There's been a huge uptick in decks lead by Sorin of House MarkovSorin of House Markov decks in my area as of late, and it is the first commander that came to mind when I first read Withering Curse. However, I'm most excited to give this fancy new board wipe to the Dina, Soul SteeperDina, Soul Steeper deck I've been working at for the last four years.

Red

Fateful Tempest

One of my favorite archetypes in recent months is decks that can weaponize the converted mana cost of its cards. Fateful TempestFateful Tempest is another in a long line of Combustible GearhulkCombustible Gearhulk style cards that threaten the opponent with a bad time unless they give you card advantage. I can see Fateful Tempest igniting a lot of interesting table discussions as just one or two players voting for past can dome the table for a lot of damage.

Any deck that touches red and has an incentive to play large spells can consider Fateful Tempest. I'm thrilled to see it in decks like the Sami, Wildcat CaptainSami, Wildcat Captain I did a deck tech of during Edge of Eternities spoiler season, where the table could very easily take 10 or more damage from milling an Eldrazi or gift Sami with more huge colorless spells to cast for free.

Flashback

FlashbackFlashback is one of the cleanest card designs I've seen in a long time. One mana to give an instant or sorcery flashback at instant speed is incredibly powerful, and gets added to the list of mechanics that have cards named after them, like Manifest DreadManifest Dread.

Flashback's applications at higher power levels is the thing that most interests me. Casting a tutor to find one half of a combo, then using Flashback to recast the tutor seems very compelling. In more casual settings, how good Flashback is will be dependent on how many high impact instants and sorceries a deck contains and how quickly a deck is able to put a lot of instants and sorceries into its graveyard. Eris, Roar of the StormEris, Roar of the Storm is an ideal example of a deck that should be able to maximize Flashback's potential due to the commander demanding a large graveyard.

Green

Zimone's Experiment

Zimone's ExperimentZimone's Experiment, much like Planar GenesisPlanar Genesis, is both ramp and card draw. This four-mana ramp spell can be either an Explosive VegetationExplosive Vegetation in the early game when it's time to ramp while being a passable late game top deck that can find more gas to keep putting material on the board. Any green deck that's looking to cast a two-mana ramp spell, like Nature's LoreNature's Lore or Radha, Heir to KeldRadha, Heir to Keld, into a four-mana ramp spell, like Explosive Vegetation or Skyshroud ClaimSkyshroud Claim, will be happy to slot Zimone's Experiment into their suite of four-mana ramp spells.

Multicolor

Suspend Aggression

Suspend AggressionSuspend Aggression is one of the most flexible pieces of interaction I've seen given to red white in a while. It's a versatile removal spell that can hit any nonland permanent, a source of impulse draw, and can be pointed at one's own creatures to reuse a powerful enters trigger or dodge a removal spell. Three mana is a lot to ask most Boros decks to hold up, but I'd put this removal spell on par with or even better than the likes of Anguished UnmakingAnguished Unmaking in decks that can justify its mana cost.

Decks that profit from casting spells from exile, like Pia Nalaar, Consul of RevivalPia Nalaar, Consul of Revival will love casting Suspend Aggression, as will Jeskai Blink decks, like Shiko, Paragon of the WayShiko, Paragon of the Way. All I want out of this card is to cast it targeting an Experimental SynthesizerExperimental Synthesizer!

Dina's Guidance

Speaking of flexibility, Dina's GuidanceDina's Guidance is a brilliant tutor with a lot of flexibility. Dina's Guidance can search for any creature at instant speed and it gives the option of putting that creature into hand or directly into the graveyard. This allows Dina's Guidance to reliably set up any component of any graveyard deck's engine. My elevator pitch for this card is an EntombEntomb that can also just put a Hermit DruidHermit Druid into hand!

Any Bracket 3 or above graveyard deck should be heavily considering Dina's Judgement, it's impossible to go wrong with it. Jarad, Golgari Lich LordJarad, Golgari Lich Lord and The MimeoplasmThe Mimeoplasm are my top picks, but I can't stress how universal this tutor's applications are.

The Charms

I won't go in-depth on each new Charm here, but I'll say that I'm thoroughly impressed by this cycle. Four out of the five new Charms deliver as far as I'm concerned, Silverquill CharmSilverquill Charm being the one I'm still skeptical of. They're all versatile enough that someone looking to compress the space dedicated to certain card categories in their deck, like removal and draw in Witherbloom CharmWitherbloom Charm's case, could make a compelling argument for their inclusion at just about any power level.

Conclusion

There were so many cards I wanted to cover in this review that I could've matched the length of The Lord of the Rings writing this review. There's a home in my collection of decks for an insane percentage of the new cards, and it has made me more excited about this release than any other I've gotten to write about so far. I look forward to reading about the sleeper picks I left out in the comments!

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