Deeper Look at Strixhaven

Last week, I had some thoughts on some of the newly revealed cards. While the full spoiler isn't out as I'm writing this, it will be by the time you're reading it. Regardless, I found some more spicy cards to talk about. Let's dig in.

Emeritus of Abundance

Emeritus of Abundance is yet another prepared creature with an iconic spell attached. While I've loved Regrowth since I first started playing Magic, this card doesn't give me that Regrowth feeling. It feels more like Den Protector, but it's substantially worse in most cases.

Den Protector's evasive ability wasn't irrelevant, but its most important part was the ability to unmorph at instant speed. This allowed for sequences like playing it on five mana, passing the turn with a removal spell or counterspell, and using unspent mana at the end step, then spending it during the following turn if necessary.

We lose this line with Emeritus. Contextually, Standard's green decks are far from interactive, and this kind of card is better with cheap interaction and in grinding-focused games. The best green decks in Standard at the moment are Landfall and Cub decks, both of which are more about explosive starts.

For all these reasons, I'm lower on Emeritus of Abundance, but it still has a nice-sized body for turn three or to play off of an Elf, so you don't immediately die to removal. It also attacks and blocks, which is fairly big.

I'll test this card and think it has potential, even if we only see it in Nature's Rhythm decks.

Emeritus of Conflict

Before the set's release, I made a prediction on which iconic spells we were going to see, which Mark Rosewater spoiled. I nailed every one of them, including this Lightning Bolt. This creature is interesting because it becomes prepared.

It's not easy to cast three spells in a turn, and it likely won't happen often. However, if I understand this correctly, prepared spells will count towards this number, including the spell itself. While it's not easy to get rolling, once you get it prepared, you may be able to do something like cast Lightning Bolt, two more spells, then cast a second Lightning Bolt when it becomes prepared again, even on the same turn.

The downside is that this is a mediocre creature to start the game. It's likely best in a deck like Prowess with multiple cantrips, such as Opt and Sleight of Hand, to keep the spells flowing.

I suspect this card is too much work for the payoff and that it will have no life in Standard. This is the kind of card that will likely get most of its shine in Cube or something as a filler two-drop that has some cool, albeit unspectacular, moments.

Germination Practicum

Here is another cycle of mythic rares with the new mechanic paradigm. We get to cast this spell every turn as long as it resolves initially. This is a massive payoff for decks with a lot of mana creatures and Cubs, but it's also slow. The current Cub deck can consistently put a Craterhoof in play by turn four or, at the least, an Ouroboroid on turn three, and this is worse than both of those plays.

Paradigm is awesome conceptually, and this may not be the best showcase for it. That it's a lesson means this or another one from the cycle may see some play in a format like Pioneer with the learn mechanic. Regardless, this card is too slow for modern Standard, while it would have been strong in the past.

The paradigm mechanic looks like a lot of fun. Even if nothing jumps out as notably strong, they will likely have places as sideboard bullets in any deck that plays learn cards. It's also important to keep these kinds of bullets in mind if they ever revisit the learn mechanic.

Erode

There was a time when this card would have been printed in Standard, and people would have gone nuts about reprinting Path to Exile.

While that may no longer be the case, I suspect this card will see some play. The biggest issue with a card like this, compared to a card like Get Lost, is that it's horrible to play in the early game. Spending mana early to crack map tokens is not advancing the state of your board in a meaningful way, so the maps sit there for a bit. Erode, however, will let your opponents develop mana too early and pull ahead on the board.

Mana spent in 2026 is more powerful than mana spent in 2010, so the downside is more massive. That doesn't mean we won't see a few copies of Erode in white decks, but we likely won't see full play sets of Erode. I like having cards like this in rotation to keep deck building in check and force people to play some basic lands. Despite that, we won't see much of this card because of its brutal cost to cast it early, and Standard is faster than ever, making it important to cast cards like this early, especially if you're playing a control deck.

It's cool to see an homage to Path to Exile that can also hit planeswalkers, but the secret is out that Path to Exile is not what it used to be.

Flow State

Flow State is interesting, reminiscent of Explosive Iteration, and with a little work, it will net you a two-mana Divination. I've seen a lot of people high on this card, but I'm not as convinced yet. We already have Accumulate Wisdom in Standard. At full capacity, this card is not as good, but you get to play it in other decks. Specifically, I could see it in Spellementals or Izzet Prowess.

As far as Izzet Prowess is concerned, this has a shot at replacing Stock Up. It doesn't mean that you're casting spells on the first few turns rather than creatures, so I'm not so sure. It looks better in a deck like Spellementals, but it could likely find a home in either.

One thing about Flow State is that you need a nice mix of sorceries and instants. Redundant copies of Flow State help fuel each other, so you can go lighter on sorceries. Regardless, this card should see a good amount of play as a piece of advantage and selection, with a fail state of being a sorcery-speed Anticipate.

Impractical Joke

Impractical Joke is a new, cheap removal spell that should work well in Izzet decks along with Flow State. Playable cheap sorceries are harder to come by, so this one does the trick. This is an awesome, efficient removal spell for hitting that third point of toughness to kill something like a Surrak or Ashling for a single mana. I'm hesitant to play a card like this in a format where Slickshot Show-Off is in the most popular deck. It's also inconvenient when you're on the play to have this in your hand against a mana elf if you plan to spend two mana on turn two.

There's a downside to having too many sorceries in place of instants, but I still suspect we'll see many copies of Impractical Joke in red decks moving forward, in both the main deck and sideboard.

I'll be back next week with some more previews. So far, it looks like Izzet gets even more goodies. I already have my Steam Vents playset packed in my suitcase for the PT. Hopefully, the team and I find something even better to play, though.

See you next week when the full set is available.