So, I’m a little late to the party, but I wanted to at least talk about the latest set in Magic—just in case you somehow haven’t heard about it yet.
The set is Secrets of Strixhaven, and it’s a return to the plane of Arcavios—a magic university run by elder dragons, split into five schools with very different identities.
But I’m gonna gloss past the lore for now, because I really want to talk about experiences… and cardboard.
Prerelease Expectations vs Reality
Going into the prerelease, it wasn’t entirely obvious which school was going to pack the biggest punch.
My money was on Witherbloom. It looked strong, it was popular, and honestly it just felt like the safe bet. I figured Lorehold or Silverquill would be close behind.
I ended up going with Silverquill though—mostly because I liked their style. No deep strategy. Just vibes.
And by the end? I wasn’t very confident in my deck.
…and then I somehow went on a flawless run. Only my second time ever doing that.
Repartee (aka Crime Pays)
The deck I built leaned heavily into this mechanic called repartee, which is basically a more criminal version of heroic.
You can target your own stuff… or your opponent’s.
And it turns out? People don’t like it when you commit crimes and profit from them.
That mechanic made every game feel tense. Like, every spell suddenly mattered way more than it looked like it should.
First Impressions After Packs
After the event, I went home with a new appreciation for Silverquill… but I was still side-eyeing Witherbloom and Prismari.
Because I saw some heavy hitters coming out of those packs.
At that point, I thought I had a decent read on the meta.
Turns out… it’s deeper than I expected.
Commander Deck Curveball
The Silverquill commander deck doesn’t even really focus on repartee the way my prerelease deck did.
Instead, it leans way more into auras and enchantment interaction.
And when I played it in a pod? It did work.
Right up until the table collectively decided I needed to go.
Mechanics & Power Level
There’s also this prepared mechanic—which feels like creatures that can cast a reverse adventure—and I definitely underestimated how impactful that is.
This set is packed with interaction. Like… a lot of it.
And not just interaction—power.
We’re getting effects that start creeping into territory occupied by cards like Ancestral Recall and Vampiric Tutor.
There’s even a card that basically lets you conjure Lightning Bolts.
Like… what are we doing here?
Final Thoughts (For Now)
And here’s the wild part—this is all coming from just a couple of games and opening three packs.
So now I’m sitting here with a full box of play boosters… and a box of collector boosters…
…and I have no idea what kind of chaos is hiding in there.
But I definitely want to find out.
If you do too—stick around for the next video, because that’s exactly what we’re doing.
Until then, follow Idle Handz to find out new ways to Reach out and find your people.
