Secrets of Strixhaven will be upon us soon, releasing on April 17th for prerelease and fully available on April 24th. Personally, I am excited for this set. We were previously introduced to the 5 unique colleges including Lorehold, Prismari, Quandrix, Silverquill, and Witherbloom. Each campus had its own color identity and playstyle which drew players in. I think we all identified with one or more of them and are looking forward to expanding upon this studious plane.

This new Strixhaven set comes with a unique mechanic called "prepared". It allows for creatures to host an instant or sorcery spell which can be cast while the creature is on the battlefield. A creature with this mechanic has a two-part frame: the left side contains the creature's abilities, while the right side contains the prepare spell. When a creature with a prepare spell becomes prepared, a copy of that spell appears in exile. The creature's controller may cast this copy by paying its mana cost and following its timing rules; doing so unprepares the creature, meaning it loses the ability to cast the spell again until it becomes prepared once more. I like to think that it's the creature itself casting the spells, and not the player. Here are some examples.

The prepared mechanic will make for some interesting and fun drafting. They provide both a body and a spell, and in some cases can become prepared multiple times to recast their spell. The value will come from repeated uses of the prepared spell. I think it's difficult to assess the viability of these cards in formats like standard, modern, vintage, etc. at this time. From a commander perspective, I believe that an initial assessment based on the meta of your playgroup can be made. I'm going to discuss 3 cards that might force you to open up a slot for them, and one that appears strong but when considered further shows some weaknesses.

Card 1: Defacing Duskmage

This dog has studied hard. For 3 mana you get a 2/2 with deathtouch. The prepared spell on this card is called "Vandal's Edit" and it allows you to draw 2 cards and drain each player for 2 life for 3 mana. It becomes prepared whenever an opponent draws their second card each turn. Players are always drawing additional cards in some way or another and you only need one of them to do it. It's also an instant spell so you could potentially prepare this creature and cast its spell multiple times as the turns go around the table. At a minimum this card provides solid value but its ceiling can reach sky high.

Card 2: Emeritus of Ideation

I believe that we as a magic community were stunned to see ancestral recall on card. It has been banned for a very long time and for good reason. I believe that this emeritus is powerful, but balanced. For 5 mana you get a 5/5 flying creature with ward 2 that enters prepared, so with just one more mana you immediately have access to the banned spell. Furthermore, you can prepare the spell again by exiling 8 cards from your graveyard on attack. In any kind of spell slinger or graveyard synergy deck this doesn't seem like a big hurdle. This is another example of a card with solid face value but holds the potential to do much more.

Card 3: Grave Researcher

I am a graveyard fanatic at heart but I don't think bias is necessary to demonstrate this cards potential. For 3 mana this creature comes down early with a relevant upkeep trigger of surveil 1. If the card sees just 3 or more creatures in your graveyard it becomes prepared. Having creatures in your graveyard is an advantage in black decks with the sheer amount of interaction it has. Graveyards fill up constantly during an average commander game due to board wipes, targeted removal, wheels, counter spells, mill, etc. Having a repeatable animate is very strong and dare I say, game changing. I know it's early, but I plan on making room for this troll warlock in several of my decks.

Emeritus of Woe

Demonic tutor on a stick, are you nuts?! You may be thinking this but let me explain. To get a single activation of this cards prepared spell you will need to spend a total of 6 mana. One tutor for 6 mana doesn't seem like it should spark excitement, but it does come with a 5/4 body. It can become prepared again if 2 or more creatures die during your turn. In black decks that bodes well. The limiting factor here is that it triggers on your end step, meaning it will be prepared again but you won't be able to cast it until your next turn. Your opponents won't take too kindly knowing you have a second demonic tutor coming on your turn and will potentially fetch out the final missing piece of your combo. Expect all the removal to be coming your way.