Magic the Gathering's next set, Strixhaven, is due to officially go on sale on April 23, with pre-releases dropping the week before. Today we've got three new cards to reveal from Lorehold college.
These red and white cards align with the Archaeomancy theme of the Lorehold college itself, which concerns itself with exploring and researching ancient tomes and artifacts to power magic. There's something of a reanimator theme to Lorehold too, and these ideas can be seen in the three cards below. The first also happens to feature Quint from our Lorehold college reveal, Stonebound Mentor:
A 3/3 for three mana isn't a bad starting place for any card (even with the strict mana requirements), and throwing a reusable ability on it isn't going to hurt. Admittedly the scry 1 isn't going to be a game-changer, but it is going to help with the consistency of any deck that uses it. This probably doesn't have enough oomph to make it in standard, but it should make the cut in plenty of draft and sealed decks.
You are of course going to need a way of getting cards out of your graveyard, which brings us to our second reveal. Returned Pastcaller:
A 4/2 flyer for six mana is a lot to ask. That's the kind of mana cost that is usually reserved for game-winning creatures, but don't write this spirit cleric off just yet, as its come into play effect could have some serious ramifications. Getting to return a spirit, instant, or sorcery to your hand when it hits the battlefield adds serious utility.
Returning utility cards like Glass Gasket and Disenchant, straight burn like Frost Bite and Redcap Melee, along with the option of grabbing the likes of Clarion Spirit could cause a serious headache for your opponent. Getting back an artifact would have been a nice addition as well, and definitely in the college's flavour, although that may have pushed it into the realms of broken.
The last card I get to reveal today is Radiant Scrollwielder:
This Dwarven Cleric takes the Lorehold ethos to its logical conclusion, giving you the chance to cast an instant or sorcery from your graveyard not just as a one-off, but every upkeep. If you can protect this 2/4 for long enough, it could turn a well-stocked graveyard into a terrifying arsenal. Radiant Scrollwielder looks like a card that will do particularly well in a red and white burn deck, although the utility angle certainly works as well.
You still have to pay for the spell you get back. And it's random. But just as with the Returned Pastcaller, this can make for some impressive utility and burn options. There's no option for getting a spirit back here, but giving the instants and sorceries you play this way lifelink is a sweet touch and could make for some serious swings in life totals.
It's worth noting that these last two cards are both clerics, which could be interesting for tribal decks, although the shift into red (clerics have tended to be white and black for the most part) could scupper that idea unless they are accompanied by more clerical friends.
Standard is in a fairly healthy place right now, with a good mix of viable decks, covering everything from pure aggro (mono-white and mono-red decks) through to the utter nightmare that is Sultai Control (UBG), with plenty of mid-range in-between. Arne Huschenbeth's expert piloting of Dimir Rogues to win the Kaldheim Championship will probably see that deck's popularity rise as well.
There are no obvious Boros (RW) decks for these Lorehold cards to easily slide into, although Dimir Rogue decks filling your graveyard could make for some perfect timing. Alternatively, Jeskai cycling (RWU) is a viable option, but these cards don't obviously sit with the cycling theme, although replaying instants and sorceries could be useful.
Strixhaven release drafts and sealed events will be hitting MTG Arena and Magic Online on April 15.
