Strixhaven release day saw a lot of fun experimentation on the ladder. Probably it was due to the cancellation of the traditional pre-release Early Access Streamer event that this time Day 1 was filled with fun off-beat brews more than ever before.
Another peculiar thing about this set release is that because the classic powerhouse cards were fused into Historic through the Mystical Archive part of the Strixhaven, the attention to that format among streamers and content creators was much higher than to Standard.
In Historic, Izzet Arclight Phoenix deck of old was boosted by Faithless Looting, Time Warp and Brainstorm formed the core of the deck that gives many painful flashbacks of Nexus of Fate dominance, and Inquisition of Kozliek fit Rakdos Arcanist’s bill perfect (but also, any black deck really).
Also, Lutri, Tainted Pact, and Thassa’s Oracle created a foundation for new type of combo archetype in Historic. Despite its natural singleton limitation, it looked scary consistent on day 1. And that’s just a few examples – the format has blown wide open by Mystical Archive.
In Standard, things weren’t looking as exciting so far, as Strixhaven is overall probably the least powerful set we’ve had in a while. And, well, we have to remember that Eldraine is still in the mix and governs many aspects of the format.
Orzhov Aggro decks that feature the new Magecraft mechanic look the most promising so far. Prismari received some great payoffs for new spell-matter decks, and Quandrix’s Body of Research seems to be a powerful mythic. Other than that, the new ideas in Standard are few and far between – but experimentation has only begun!
On this page, we have collected various lists brewed by content creators and high-level players that we’ve seen today on the Ranked ladder. Remember that it’s too early to know which of these decks and ideas are worth investing your wildcards into – so if you’re on a budget, think twice about making any commitments.
Enjoy the first day of school, and we hope you’ll have fun in whatever format you choose!
