Magic: The Gathering's upcoming expansion set is Strixhaven: School of Mages, and earlier previews unveiled the names of the five sub-schools of magic taught in the elite university of Strixhaven. In particular, the five two-color Commands showcased the names Silverquill, Quandrix, Prismari, Witherbloom and Lorehold -- but who teaches at these schools?
The answer is now clear. While five double-faced deans command these schools, a five-card cycle of gold multicolored professors has arrived, with each being a legendary creature that embodies its respective school of magic. What kind of lesson plans do these professors have in store?
Each school of magic has a dedicated legendary professor whose colors, creature types and effects represent what their respective school is all about. Breena, the Demagogue is the first one, a small 1/3 flier with a rather aggressive ability that even works in multiplayer. Anytime a player attacks an opponent (even if Breena's controller isn't involved), if the attacking player has more life than an opponent, then the attacking player draws a card and can put two +1/+1 counters on a chosen creature. In games of booster draft Limited, there are only two players, so these effects will always apply to Breena's own side. If Breena is in a multiplayer game, these effects can make for some interesting multiplayer politics.
Zaffai, Thunder Conductor isn't much of an attacker, but its magecraft ability is a tricky one. Casting an instant or sorcery spell allows Zaffai's controller to scry 1. Then, if the spell's converted mana cost or mana value is 5+, the player makes a 4/4 blue and red Elemental creature token. If that spell's CMC/mana value was 10+, Zaffai will roll up his sleeves and deal a whopping 10 damage to an opponent chosen at random. In many cases, this can end games in a hurry, especially if the Prismari player is using a lot of burn spells or attacking with high-power creatures. In a two-player game, there's only one opponent to target with that "10 damage at random" effect, and that may prove deadly.
Willowdusk, Essence Seer is an efficient 3/3 body for just {1}BG -- but this isn't a dedicated aggro creature. Instead, Willowdusk is prized for its activated ability, which costs {1} and tap. Another target creature is chosen, and that creature gets +1/+1 counters according to either that player's lifegain or life loss that turn (whichever number is bigger). All this is at sorcery speed, meaning the player is encouraged to use lifegan or life loss effects on their own turn, then pump up a friendly creature and attack with it. Perhaps the Willowdusk has many black spells that involve paying life for effects, which would be typical for black mana. These colors support a lot of lifegain as well.
The Lorehold school of magic has Osgir, the Reconstructor as its legendary mythic rare professor, and this Giant Artificer makes it clear that this school loves to tinker with machines and relics. It's a large 4/4 beater with vigilance that can melt down artifacts for cheap and give another creature +2/+0, reshaping a piece of junk into a sharp blade for combat. For example, unneeded Treasure tokens can be melted down for this effect.
Or, the player can pay X, tap Osgir and exile an artifact from the graveyard for an even bigger effect. Osgir will make two copies of the exiled artifact card at sorcery speed, meaning non-token artifacts are especially useful to the students of Lorehold. Scrapping a Treasure token for the first ability is an option, but sacrificing a regular artifact card can fuel the second ability. Then, the player can either use those artifact token copies or fuel the first ability some more. It's likely that Lorehold decks will be persistently aggressive in games of booster draft Limited, especially with enough artifacts on hand.
Adrix and Nev, Twincasters is the Quandrix entry to the staff roster, showcasing the Ward ability. It can counter spells or abilities that target it if the opponent can't pay {2}, and that's just the start. The second ability is the real payoff here, being a partial Doubling Season that can make double the regular number of friendly tokens (whether those tokens are creatures or not). Other previewed cards, such as the new Kasmina planeswalker, suggest that the Quandrix school likes to make 0/0 Fractal creature tokens with +1/+1 counters, and Adrix and Kev will make sure that many more Fractals are invited to the party.
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