If you love when a Magic: The Gathering deck constantly interacts with the graveyard, then Lorehold might be Strixhaven College for you. Thanks to the return of the Flashback mechanic, there are many ways to give cards a second chance to influence during a game.
We've picked out some of the best Lorehold cards from Secrets of Strixhaven so far, based on the impact we feel they can have in either Standard or Commander decks.
Honorable mentions
Here are some of the cards that aren't quite in the top five right now, but still have every chance to make a big impact when the set launches and the meta begins to evolve.
- Flashback
- Borrowed knowledge
- Colossus of the Blood Age
- Kirol, history buff
- The Ark of Hunger
Magic: The Gathering Secrets Of Strixhaven – Lorehold Spirit Commander Deck Breakdown
Join us for a more detailed look at the Lorehold Spirit Commander pre-con deck from Secrets of Strixhaven, including some exciting upgrades.
5
Aziza, the Mage Tower Captain
Standard & Commander
Only this legendary Djinn wizard costs one white and one red manaand if taken at face value, it's a pretty unremarkable 2/2 legendary creature.
However, its ability is one that comes in very useful. Whenever you cast an instant or a spell, you can tap three untapped creatures you control. Doing so allows you to choose new targets for the spell.
In a circular fashion, this effectively gives you access to an expensive form of Stormbut in clutch situations it can be well worth taking the hit on the dropped creatures to double a spell.
4
Restoration seminar
Standard & Commander
This seven mana spell may seem costly initiallybut the reason and why this value is quite feasible will soon become clear.
Basically, restoration seminar permanently returns a non-land target from your graveyard to the battlefield. This can be a creature, artifact, or enchantment.
Where this spell really proves its worth is with the introduction of Paradigm. This new Strixhaven mechanic lets you cast a free copy of the spell at the start of each first main phase for the rest of the game, assuming the first instance was resolved. These future copies can still be countered, and they don't have to be played, but the option is there, and the cost is removed.
The initial cost is a disadvantage; there is no avoiding this. But if you can solve it, The Restoration Seminar is definitely a game changer.
3
Emeritus Of Conflict
Standard & Commander
While there's certainly an argument for this being a Prismari card as well, Emeritus of Conflict comes with first strike, which is a common mechanic among Lorehold/Boros creatures. This 2/2 creature only costs two manaand also uses the preparation mechanic to cast Lightning Bolt for one manadeals three damage to any target.
To prepare Emeritus of Conflict, you must must cast three spells in one turn. It also doesn't come in prepared, which is probably what keeps the card from being too over the top.
We can see that this is a card that becomes useful in Prismari and Lorehold tireswhich is the beauty of how the Strixhaven College system works, provided that single color cards don't have specific keywords on them that limit their utility and customizability.
2
Antiquities On Loose
Standard & Commander
This three mana spell just screams Lorehold, and if you get a chance to use it either via its normal casting cost or via Flashback, it's guaranteed to get a groan from your opponent.
This spell creates two 2/2 spirit tokensand if it was cast from anywhere other than your hand (meaning via Flashback), then place a +1/+1 counter on each spirit you control, token and nontoken.
The Flashback cost is increased to six manawhich is understandable given the extra trigger to add +1/+1 counters to sprites, but it's well worth the outlay if you've managed to get some sprites on the board and want to finish the game quickly.
Finding ways to reduce the cost of this card or trigger additional copies (looking at you, Aziza) will offer an even bigger boost to your governing state; you just have to hope your opponent doesn't run any napkins.
1
Lorehold, the Historian
Standard & Commander
The Elder Dragon and namesake of Lorehold College is Lorehold the Historian, and this legendary 5/5 flying creature with haste is not to be messed with.
Given the card's raw power, five mana is fair as a casting costbut if you can keep it on the battlefield beyond your turn, it pays five more mana than itself.
This dragon too gives every instant and sorcery card in your hand “Miracle 2”meaning you can discard a card for two mana when you draw a card, provided it's the first card you've drawn that turn.
This pairs incredibly well with its secondary passive, which allows you to choose to discard a card during each opponent's upkeep, and if you do, you may draw a cardwhich opens the Miracle window again (if you haven't already drawn a card that time).
We can see this card get more use in Standard initiallybecause the cost is a little high to be the commander of a deck, although it is a great mid-to-late game card that can turn the tide of battle.
Magic: The Gathering – The Five Colleges of Strixhaven, Explained
With a return to this magical school in Secrets of Strixhaven, it's time for a refresher on the five magical colleges and what they stand for.
