The world of Magic: The Gathering is fast-moving, that’s for sure.
Despite being barely a few weeks old, Wizards of the Coast has already accomplished its promotional commitments for Kaldheim and has now refocused its attention on what’s to come, namely the second Standard expansion of 2021, Strixhaven: School of Mages. Due for release in both digital and physical formats next month, Strixhaven trades the snow-covered plane of its predecessor for a more hospitable climate conducive to learning. Indeed, whether you show allegiance to red/black, blue/white or green/blue, followers of every allied and enemy archetype are headed back to school in the spring with the aim of learning some powerful new sorceries.
Some of these, as revealed last week, take the form of Instant spells (playable on yours and the opponent’s turn if you have untapped lands to spare) called Commands and come in several different flavors. And you can check them out for yourself down below:
Somewhat reminiscent of popular Throne of Eldraine creature Rankle, Master of Pranks, Commands allow their users to choose from a variety of different effects when played, making them incredibly flexible tools in any deck. All of those shown so far provide four different options, with removal, direct damage, card draw and token generation being just some of the abilities present. To keep their power level in check, only two commands can be activated at any one time, though it’s tough to imagine a scenario where any of the above would be unwanted.
Folks who like what they see can expect more Strixhaven reveals to surface in the weeks leading up to launch, but until then, be sure to share your initial impressions on Magic: The Gathering‘s next big release in the usual place below!
