Strixhaven is here, and I have to say I've been very impressed by the set so far. The flavor is on point, the mechanics are interesting and the Limited format is great (I'm learning). Plus it has actual Elder Dragons - what could be better?

That said, the elder Dragons - as cool as they are (especially Velomachus Lorehold) - they aren't the cards from the Strixhaven / Commander 2021 duo I'm most looking forward to sleeving up. This year's spring set of releases has surprisingly added a nice amount to the format, starting with the complete reimagining of what Red-White could do in Commander via Lorehold. But in addition to Elder Dragons, some interesting new political effects via Silverquill, there's also just some pretty powerful cards that have fun uses. With the way some of these cards will impact my own Commander decks, here's what I'm most hyped to play from the set!

5. Rushed Rebirth

I've always been a massive fan of Eldritch Evolution and include it in pretty much every Modern or Pioneer brew I can. There's just so much value tied up in both the sacrifice half and the tutoring half of the card. I have a beloved Karador, Ghost Chieftain deck and I run the gamut of persist creatures including everyone's favorite Ouphe Kitchen Finks.

Rushed Rebirth is in the same vein, except with some pros and cons attached. The downside, of course, is that you're limited on the mana value; instead of trading your creature up into a more expensive one, Rebirth turns it into a smaller creature. While that's certainly a downside, the reality is that in Commander that's less of a drawback. I'm much more likely to just want to turn a Solemn Simulacrum into a Reclamation Sage in Commander than I am to want to turn a four-drop into a 3-drop in something like Modern.

So, with a downside that really isn't all that bad for a utility card, the upside stands out to me - instant-speed tutoring is incredibly powerful, but more than that making this an instant means that it can be used to generate value off an opponent's removal spell or Wrath of God. Obviously, we'll run it most of the time alongside a plethora of sac outlets like Viscera Seer or Altar of Dementia, but it doesn't just have to combo with Persist/Undying creatures, it can help you pull ahead on cards (and the board) against opposing removal. Big win here.

On the other hand, Harness Infinity I don't love. I've spent a lot of time praising Lorehold for reimagining Red-White as a combination, but Witherbloom doesn't quite accomplish the same feat with Black-Green. I thought the lifegain/Pest token engine had potential, but I didn't quite understand putting a card in the same mythic cycle as Body of Research (which showcases the Quandrix Fractal token mechanic) that basically checks the "big Golgari graveyard recursion spell" variant we get every couple of sets. And since through no fault of its own Eerie Ultimatum exists and is almost always game-ending, it's hard for Harness Infinity to excite me at seven mana. That said, being an instant is huge for the card and I could be underestimating it.

4. Practical Research

The Compulsive Research / Thirst for Knowledge / Thirst for Meaning line continues! And as the proud purveyor of a Keranos, God of Storms deck, I'm pretty excited for an instant-speed draw-four that comes with a downside that can be turned into an upside, whether that's from delve cards like Dig Through Time or discarding something like Increasing Vengeance.

3. The Campus Cycle

Common, cheap duals are always welcomed in Commander, and I think I'm actually more excited about Silverquill Campus than Shineshadow Snarl. Not that completing the cycle that began in Shadows Over Innistrad with Fortified Village and friends isn't nice, but I've known a lot of newer players over the years who aren't tricking out their decks with fetchlands and every fetchable dual from Shocks on down - I've played against plenty of Dimir Guildgates and there's a real place for easy fixing like that.

That's exactly where the Campus cycle falls, but attaching scry to your Guildgate is a huge upgrade. It helps to keep the card selection flowing, and adds some consistency to the decks that will need it most.

Enter Professor Onyx and friends. I hope to never have Chain of Smog cast against me.

2. Battlemage's Bracers

Ever activated a Mayael the Anima? I have a few thousand times (it's one of my favorite decks), and whiffed on that activating hundreds of times (Mayael giveth and Mayael taketh).

Battlemage's Bracers changes all that. I don't play Illusionist's Bracers in Mayael because it's only good in a situation that's theoretically already good for me (activating Mayael), and there's not many other creatures in the deck I'd want to attach it to. Plus dumping more mana into a creature that's already a must-kill is just asking for trouble.

But I do run Lightning Greaves and Swiftfoot Boots. Battlemage's Bracers is a slightly worse version of those when it comes to buffing up a creature, but it's pretty nuts in any deck that is in the market for a haste enabler plus Illusionist's Bracers. It's a niche card, but one that fits perfectly into a classic commander - that's the kind of additions to the format I enjoy the most.

1. Archmage Emeritus

Remember Keranos? Well, Archmage Emeritus is always welcome here.

There's actually a neat little subsection of instants-matter cards that fly under the radar but find a nice home in your Blue-Red Spellslinger-type decks (or Chaos decks for those into that style). My Keranos brew takes more of a Blue Moon approach, playing lots of instants and keeping opponents off-guard with cards like Reality Shift or Domineering Will before building up to multiple copied instances of Price of Progress or a turn spell. Keranos is an amazing value engine in itself, giving you a near-invincible piece of interaction that keeps things moving.

I've not seen many people playing Trail of Evidence or Wavebreak Hippocamp, but I've loved them in my games. Archmage Emeritus fits into the mold perfectly. And speaking of Trail of Evidence...

I think Galazeth Prismari probably fits into an artifact-heavy deck more than a spell-heavy deck, I do like the idea of giving my Clues the ability to tap for mana.

On the subject of Blue-Red, I'm honestly not even sure what to make of Uvilda, Dean of Perfection. The front side is a slightly-less-busted Jhoira of the Ghitu, while the Nassari backside is a sweet card advantage engine itself but also one that sits at the same five-mana spot as Keranos and probably hits the board around the same turn the first board wipe gets cast. I'd love to hear what everyone else thinks about the card!

There's definitely more in Strixhaven and Commander 2021 to touch on, but these are the cards catching my eye. I like this Commander release much more than the Fierce Guardianship type power cards from previous iterations, so I'm excited to see what makes its way into my Commander games!

Thanks for reading,

Corbin Hosler

@Chosler