-Strixhaven is the name of a school on its on a new plane called Arcavios.
-There are 5 colleges which are enemy colored founded by elder dragons.
Tribes that seem to be here and not sure if part of a school:
Burrog (Frogfolk)
Goblins
Archaics (Avatars)
WBSilverquilWB
Silverquills wield the magic of words, from inspiring battle poetry to biting arcane insults. Stylish, intimidating, and tirelessly competitive, these mages are born leaders with a razor-sharp wit and natural charisma that can be used for good or for ill. Their motto is "Sharp style. Sharper wit."
Main Spellcaster Class: Warlocks Magic Type: Word based magic (often spoken) to craft spells. Colors Débats: Are words meant to uplift other and empower society W or are to tear down others and empower yourself B? Majors: literature, writing, speech, foreign languages, communications, marketing/advertising, journalism, law
Prismari are the theatre kids of Strixhaven, and magic is how they express themselves. Their spells can be spectacles of raw creativity or meticulous artistic expressions. All the world's a stage, and whether their art is informed by mind or emotion, Prismari always leave a lasting impression. Their motto is "Express yourself with the elements."
Main Spellcaster Class: Shamans Magic Type: Gesture-based magic having spelling created from movements Colors Débats: Is art meant to be about thinking and form U or feelings and raw R? Mascot: Elementals (can also be students and teachers) Majors: painting, drawing, music, dance, theater, fashion design, interior design, sculpture
Tribes;
Humans
Orcs
Owlins
Dwarfs
Merfolks
Djinns
Effets
Ogres
Sphinxes
Witherblooms are goth bio majors. They draw power from the essence of living beings, whether that means enhancing nature or exploiting it. Witherbloom mages are most at home riding zombie crocs, picking herbs for potions, and hanging out in their swamp making grim jokes. Their motto is "Get your hands dirty."
Main Spellcaster Class: Druids Magic Type: Component-based magic that needs spell ingredients. Colors Débats: Is nature driven by life and something we need to help/leave alone G or is nature driven by death and there for us to use as we need B? Majors: biology, chemistry, anatomy, geology, medicine, agriculture, botany, food science, zoology, meteorology
Loreholds are diligent researchers and daring adventurers. Passionate scholars obsessed with history, they explore the past by pouring over archaeological artifacts and summoning long-dead spirits. For some students, the past is a rich tapestry worthy of disciplined study. While others wear that tapestry like a cape as they jump down into a forgotten tomb. Their motto is "Leave no stone unturned."
Main Spellcaster Class: Clerics Magic type: Written magic forming spells from scrolls or books that are often old ancient texts Colors Débats: Dose People and thus society form from structure and rules W or from peoples bonds and passion R? Mascot: Sprits (can also be student and teachers) Majors: History, political science, political science, psychology, sociology, philosophy, business, theology, archeology
Quandrix mages are ingenious math magicians. They study patterns, fractals, and symmetries to command power over the fundamental forces of nature. They'll solve a Rubik's Cube while contemplating the metaphysical properties of the universe and can recite every number of Pi backwards. Their motto is "Math is magic."
Main Spellcaster Class: Wizards Magic type: Uses forumlas to form spells Colors Débats: Is math natural and already exist G or did humans discover or form math U? Mascot: Fractals (can also be students and teachers) Majors: math, physics, engineering, accounting, economics, astronomy, aviation, meteorology
“There are no weak Jews. I am descended from those who wrestle angels and kill giants. We were chosen by God. You were chosen by a pathetic little man who can't seem to grow a full mustache"
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
-Right off everything looks really pretty? Like the art and such for all of it is so cool and flashy.
-Quazdrix is so fun since, while I hated math, I do remember learning how nature will have math in how it grows and forms in it.
-WILL AND ROWAN YES YES YES (fingers crossed for more Kate Elliot thought I'm open to see how a new author might write them.
-Scroll machine gun is something I never knew I needed.
-I don't think we will see Garruk, I think the Kenrith twins being here is them wanting to do a MDFC planeswalker on each side and the twin are perfect for that as well as being "enemy colored" which fit right in the set. So more a game play reason than a story one.
“There are no weak Jews. I am descended from those who wrestle angels and kill giants. We were chosen by God. You were chosen by a pathetic little man who can't seem to grow a full mustache"
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
which phyrexian praetor will be here and which college will he/she be hiding in and what are they
after? (Ofcoarse logically it should be Jin-Gitaxas and probably the math building)
And if Rowan and will find the phyrexian does that mean they will have to meet and help karn for the battle?
Really liking the Quandrix, combining maths and biology into one "magic school" is kinda brilliant. The rest of the schools are kinda meh. Worst is Witherbloom which is just Golgari. The only good motto is the Lorehold one.
Also I feel an important information was missing in the OP: The colleges were founded by elder dragons, which apparently named the colleges after themselves. (This would mean the red-white dragon is called Lorehold? )
Really liking the Quandrix, combining maths and biology into one "magic school" is kinda brilliant.
Its already kinda real world thing with Fibonacci numbers and other mathematical patterns that appear in nature.
Also I feel an important information was missing in the OP: The colleges were founded by elder dragons, which apparently named the colleges after themselves. (This would mean the red-white dragon is called Lorehold? )
Ahhh thank you, I missed that in being excited for art and the twins. This set then is really looking to be Dragons of Tarkir but enemy colored (which so far I'm digging).
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“There are no weak Jews. I am descended from those who wrestle angels and kill giants. We were chosen by God. You were chosen by a pathetic little man who can't seem to grow a full mustache"
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
Yeah, concept-wise Quandrix is easily the best faction. It's an interesting creative space for the GU color pair that nicely blends blue's meta magic with green's connection to nature (without overextending into environmental and biologic aspects) - "understanding and researching the very fundamentals of the world". The name and the logo are cool as well. Math has always been my #01 weak point though so I probably wouldn't fit there, haha. I guess I'm more of a Lorehold.
Lorehold, Silverquill and Witherbloom do seem weird as names for dragons ... especially Lorehold. Maybe some of them are going to be named something like "XYZ, the Silver-Quilled?"
I'm pretty happy with my WB Silverquill faction, and I'd even go so far as to argue that 2021-early 2022 is shaping up to be the best WByear in quite some time.
Kaldheim: WB Kaya
Strixhaven: WB Silverquill
Innistrad: WB Sorin (one of the two sets)
Kinda wish that my work-life situation was a little less hectic these days for me to enjoy it.
Edit: Not that he'd be a perfect fit, but I could definitely see Davriel being a lazy, last-minute/temporary faculty hire much like Slughorn was in the HP novels. Not that it would be wise for WotC to associate itself with HP these days.
Davriel has a sharp wit, an even sharper tongue, as well as a great deal of experience in writing demonic contracts. He's a perfect candidate to manage Silverquill for a bit, even if he leans UB rather than WB.
I too am excited to see the Kenriths and Kasmina again.
Really liking the Quandrix, combining maths and biology into one "magic school" is kinda brilliant.
Its already kinda real world thing with Fibonacci numbers and other mathematical patterns that appear in nature.
Yes, that's what I was referencing. Maths is a huge part of biology.
Also, the more I think about the colleges, the weirder it gets and the more they fall apart conceptually. Granted we only have short snippets to go from, but I expect these snippets to be representative as they our introduction into the colleges. Half of silverquill's characterization is that they have style. What. How is that a thing? Isn't that entirely subjective and contextbased? Are they filling the coolkids trope? Can a group of people just declare they are stylish and cool or wouldn't other people have to consider them as such for the trope to work? I'm just really confused what wizards is trying to go for here.
Speaking of tropes, I'm unironically missing some basic school/university tropes. Why is there no "sports" focused college with frat bros and stuff. Give them a unique spin by adding greek olympics style training to it (so they're not just a bunch of dumb jocks but can also read). Missed opportunity and yes I am being serious.
I will reserve final judgement until we get the planeswalker guides, but I don't know. From what I've read so far about Strixhaven I fear another Ikoria. :[
Sports teams are kinda moot unless they had each faction to be another separate school instead of different majors/departments.
I do like its mundane school subjects with a magical twist vs going to school to learn just how to do magic.
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“There are no weak Jews. I am descended from those who wrestle angels and kill giants. We were chosen by God. You were chosen by a pathetic little man who can't seem to grow a full mustache"
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
I do like its mundane school subjects with a magical twist vs going to school to learn just how to do magic.
I mean, personally I'd disagree with that, because it kind of ignores an important bit of Magic's setting, which is: Magic exists. Studying at a school is arguably a lot of time spent not doing anything immediately productive, so people generally do it to acquire skills that will be helpful later in life. In Magic the most consistently powerful entities are great wielders of magic. It stands to reason that teaching magic is an important part of a "magic school". Subverting expectations shouldn't go in the way of telling a good story or building a functioning world.
Which brings me to my next point. I know, I know, we know next to nothing about Strixhaven, but from what we've been told so far it just doesn't work well as a setting. Ravnica did the "mundane things but magical" MUCH better. Izzet are engineers, but make use of elemental magic. Boros are police/army but fantasy and Azorius are lawmakers, but have sphinxes and law magic. The core elements of the guilds are relatively mundane. Most are things you find in the real world (Golgari are a tad of a stretch, but they're basically farmers I suppose) but with a magical twist, but you can clearly imagine the daily life of a Boros soldier or a Dimir operative.
But for the Strixhaven factions it starts to get really muddy. The colleges ae kinda subjects, but not really? Witherbloom seems to have a medicine focus but not really, like what are zombie crocodiles for? Prismari focuses on performance art, but also elemental magic? If you want to study elemental magic, do you need to also do performance art? Can you do performance art without studying elemental magic?
Maybe it's the (admittedly rather short) presentation making them much more flat than they are on the cards and in the story, which is why I'll hold my final judgement for now, but to be honest, the "sneak peak" we got is rather disappointing.
I think it would have been a better idea to make the factions be "self found" like frats and affiliations the people decide on themselves, rather than the five pre-determined colleges that people can just join. Each "frat" could still have its own focus of course, but it would make the thing flow a bit better in my opinion.
Sports teams are kinda moot unless they had each faction to be another separate school instead of different majors/departments.
Why can't different sport teams exist inside one school?
Cause this isn't Hogwarts. For real thought I don't know any colleges with multiple sports teams (of the same sport) that only play each other. What more likely is strixhaven has a sport teams but its open to any students similar how really sports teams will have a mix of students with different degrees.
I do like its mundane school subjects with a magical twist vs going to school to learn just how to do magic.
I mean, personally I'd disagree with that, because it kind of ignores an important bit of Magic's setting, which is: Magic exists. Studying at a school is arguably a lot of time spent not doing anything immediately productive, so people generally do it to acquire skills that will be helpful later in life. In Magic the most consistently powerful entities are great wielders of magic. It stands to reason that teaching magic is an important part of a "magic school". Subverting expectations shouldn't go in the way of telling a good story or building a functioning world.
As this is a college, most of the students likely already know how to do magic and are going to Strixhaven to specialize, just instead of "necromancy" its "biology magic".
Which brings me to my next point. I know, I know, we know next to nothing about Strixhaven, but from what we've been told so far it just doesn't work well as a setting. Ravnica did the "mundane things but magical" MUCH better. Izzet are engineers, but make use of elemental magic. Boros are police/army but fantasy and Azorius are lawmakers, but have sphinxes and law magic. The core elements of the guilds are relatively mundane. Most are things you find in the real world (Golgari are a tad of a stretch, but they're basically farmers I suppose) but with a magical twist, but you can clearly imagine the daily life of a Boros soldier or a Dimir operative.
I mean I see Strixhaven doing the same thing, its core is typically school with a magical twist.
But for the Strixhaven factions it starts to get really muddy. The colleges ae kinda subjects, but not really? Witherbloom seems to have a medicine focus but not really, like what are zombie crocodiles for? Prismari focuses on performance art, but also elemental magic? If you want to study elemental magic, do you need to also do performance art? Can you do performance art without studying elemental magic?
They are the different department in a college, having the factions called schools is kinda weird since they are all suppose to be Strixhaven but could be the elder dragons started the schools separately and they came together after a while. And "department" isn't as "cool" sounding as "schools" are.
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“There are no weak Jews. I am descended from those who wrestle angels and kill giants. We were chosen by God. You were chosen by a pathetic little man who can't seem to grow a full mustache"
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
Also I feel an important information was missing in the OP: The colleges were founded by elder dragons, which apparently named the colleges after themselves. (This would mean the red-white dragon is called Lorehold? )
Which likely means we'll get and enemy color cycle to balance the 5 Tarkir elder dragons.
Also I feel an important information was missing in the OP: The colleges were founded by elder dragons, which apparently named the colleges after themselves. (This would mean the red-white dragon is called Lorehold? )
Which likely means we'll get and enemy color cycle to balance the 5 Tarkir elder dragons.
yep they are secretly completing the 2-color elder dragon cycle
oh on further inspection
you Might notice In the blog
It looks like the whole entire campus especially the dragons know the existence of the multiverse
So Kasmina is GU (hopefully the main villain as well) and Liliana is back except as a teacher.
I will be interesting to see if Liliana bonds and becomes friends with the Kenriths and then meeting their "uncle".
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“There are no weak Jews. I am descended from those who wrestle angels and kill giants. We were chosen by God. You were chosen by a pathetic little man who can't seem to grow a full mustache"
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
This collection, housed in what we call our Mystical Archive, contains a litany of spells from simple mind-spells to powerful and deadly spells most shudder to look toward. We house them in our Biblioplex and, lucky us! Professor Onyx happens to be sifting through several tomes right here with students Rowan and Will. Normally, only students get a look, but we'll make an exception for today.
So it does look like the twins and Liliana will be teaming up and looking up something in the big multiverse liberty.
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“There are no weak Jews. I am descended from those who wrestle angels and kill giants. We were chosen by God. You were chosen by a pathetic little man who can't seem to grow a full mustache"
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
So exactly how long ago was the transformation of Mirrodin into New Phyrexia. Because before then, the Phyrexians were considered gone right?
Kasmina's story makes no sense to me.
An ANCIENT cabal, (yet we, nor any other planeswalker has mentioned this?)
Is this ancient like older than the Mending?
A shadowy cabal that find pre-spark walkers and brainwashes them into her organization?
This seems so sketchy. Where did this come from and what are they preparing for? Are they the good guys? Sounds more bad guys (like the Syndicate)?
We need a lot more information
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Resigned up after getting lost in the Twitch/MTGS whatever crossover
Been on this forum for about 10 years
Playing since '94
Yes, it's doubtful they're specifically targetting Phyrexia unless we're talking about multiple phyrexian remnants (we know this to be the case with Elspeth's homeworld).
They're clearly antagonistic, it's hard to imagine Wizards (which already preffers one dimmensional villains) trying to portray ancient child abusers as good.
This collection, housed in what we call our Mystical Archive, contains a litany of spells from simple mind-spells to powerful and deadly spells most shudder to look toward. We house them in our Biblioplex and, lucky us! Professor Onyx happens to be sifting through several tomes right here with students Rowan and Will. Normally, only students get a look, but we'll make an exception for today.
So it does look like the twins and Liliana will be teaming up and looking up something in the big multiverse liberty.
I do agree but will garruk be able to accept this since he has huge spite at liliana for that curse and that he promosied Algenus and linden Kenrith he would protect them so clearly he may see liliana again.
but then again they could set aside their differences
but anyway I feel like the three of them and possibly garruk as well if there (not necessary a card) could find the phyrexian praetor thats hiding in strixhaven trying to find what their looking for there
Creative-wise I like what we've seen of Strixhaven until now, apart from the plane being called Arcavios (because it pigeonholes the entire world into a gimmick - might've as well called the plane Strixhaven at that point). But it's par for the course so far. I tend to like the initial idea & setup but the details anf the actual story always turn out to either be disappointing or fail to hold my attention.
I'm hoping for Kasmina to be a nuanced villain (if she is one).
We got some info on the signature students (the ones they show with the schools), was waiting for all 5 but figured I'll update when it comes in updated with the last one;
All of those features can be found in Killian Lu, a human mage-student in his second year at the Silverquill College of Eloquence. Handsome features, a sharp jaw and his immaculate midnight black hair might immediately draw the eye - not to mention the always-dashing monotone suit - but his implacable determination and work ethic have engendered him to both his peers and Strixhaven’s faculty.
Some might say that pressure is a direct result of having the Silverquill dean as a father - the master poet is reportedly a stern man who drives his son to graduate at the top of his class. Rigid discipline and an ever-watchful eye catches any of Killian’s mistakes, and his father is quick to remind him of the lineage of inkmasters that comprise the Lu ancestry. Killian’s failures are his father’s failures - and that of the family, by extension. Weakness in any pursuit is simply not an option.
Rootha Squallheart is a female orc and mage student of Prismari. She is a unique and distinct individual with long vibrant coloured hair and skin tinted with red and blue hues. Her clothes are expressive and dramatic, often consisting of scarlet fire and aqua-blue water elements. The clothes mix as though she were a painted ocean of lava. Rootha is unsurprisingly artistic, but can sometimes be hot-tempered, matching the flames she wears. Rootha has trouble completing her work and handing it in on time for critique, most of her professors have little choice but to chase her down on campus to warrant a glimpse. She claims that her work is never ready – forever conscious that it isn’t quite right. In true self-critic style, Rootha commonly becomes infatuated with a great visionary idea which she spends weeks working on…only to decide she hates it causing her to destroy her creation in mere moments. With her mother, Samara Squallheart, being a famous, talented caster, Rootha is under pressure to live up to the achievements of the rest of her family line – Rootha being the fifth generation of Prismari student in her family. She carries a heavy weight on her artistic shoulders and the constant link and expectations caused by her family can be frustrating, sometimes anger inducing. She wishes to break free from her family association and follow her own style. Her mother could wave intricate sculptures made from ice and water, but Rootha has wild magic; she is able to flash freeze water in one magnificent burst. She is learning to embrace her wild magic to push herself beyond her limits to seek recognition and fame for her own creations rather than those of her ancestors.
Dina is a Witherbloom mage-student, a female dryad with a wicked sense of humor that more than often edges on the darker side. She doesn’t worry or watch what she says and speaks the thoughts in her mind as they come, never giving a moment to consider whether she might be out of place with her words. Even though she is quick-witted and confident, she is attentive, making her an excellent tutor to other students. However, her teaching methods can sometimes be a little out there, like her. She spends her time at Sedgemoor, the swampy marshlands on the college campus. She wears clothing mainly colored black, green, and brown. This is all fitting for a dryad, mind you. She relies on her professors for guidance, as Dina has no family. She carries a salamander-like creature with her and uses its essence to channel her magic.
As for Quint, he spends most of his time inside the grand Biblioplex, digging through old books for the purpose of his research. "His mind is piled high with facts and knowledge that might become useful. Being a Lorehold student, his magic usually comes from scrolls or a tome; blasting out like bladed sharp paper golden energy. He views the accuracy of historical accounts as extremely important—the truth is also a priority to him as it enables the preservation of facts rather than myths. He is at Strixhaven University on a scholarship but supplements his remaining tuition fees through working on a dig site with a team of researchers. Quint wishes to learn about the history and past of the loxodon race through uncovering great unknowns. He studies hard with the aim to make a name for himself and his family. While being a committed student, he suffers from wanderlust, always feeling the need and desire to travel and explore. He wants to find out who he really is and believes he can do so through his expeditions of significant historical places.
Zimone Wola is a female mage-student of Quandrix College, she is a brilliant and bright prodigy who entered Strixhaven at a younger age than most. Due to her high level of intellect, she flew through her studies in school, passing endless tests of magical study that were way beyond her years. She has recently chosen her college, now becoming a second year Quandrix mage-student much to the delight of her professors, who are keen for the talented whizz to attend their classes. While part of Quandrix, she remains friends with two girls she met in first year; one who has chosen Prismari and the other who will be attending Silverquill. Zimone wears patterned uniforms like the rest of Quandrix; it is layered and complex, reflecting what she loves. Her goal is to crack the Vorzani Conjecture; a famous and unsolved magical theorem that students and professors at Quandrix have been trying to figure out for decades. Zimone can often be found inside the great Biblioplex – finding books to help solve the theorem. Her mind is her most powerful weapon which enables her intellectual expansion. Her physical magic is shown as fractals and mathematical interpretations of natures. Intellect runs in her family – her grandmother was once a Quandrix professor but due to unclear circumstances, she has not been seen at Strixhaven University for many years. Even though Zimone is smart, sometimes she can feel uncertain. She struggles to deal with unknown mysteries, particularly ones relating to her own family. Her time at Strixhaven will help her figure out who she is, but it will be the challenges she faces that will allow her to decide who she wants to be.
“There are no weak Jews. I am descended from those who wrestle angels and kill giants. We were chosen by God. You were chosen by a pathetic little man who can't seem to grow a full mustache"
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
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https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/first-lesson-introduction-strixhaven-2021-02-18 (first look)
Face student links;
https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/magic-the-gathering-strixhaven/news/mtg-strixhaven-killian-lu-reveal
https://www.forbes.com/sites/joeparlock/2021/03/24/meet-rootha-squallheart-in-the-latest-magic-the-gathering-set-strixhaven-school-of-mages/?sh=18eacf7b64d6
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/magic-the-gathering-strixhaven-reveal-dina-of-witherbloom-college/1100-6489226/
https://mashable.com/article/magic-the-gathering-strixhaven-zimone-reveal/?europe=true
https://www.pcgamer.com/magic-the-gathering-strixhaven-reveal-quintorius-of-lorehold-college/
Other links;
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/planeswalkers-guide-strixhaven-2021-04-01 - Planeswalkers guide to strixhaven
https://twitter.com/rhineville/status/1375132531515875336 - Nassari info
World building;
-Strixhaven is the name of a school on its on a new plane called Arcavios.
-There are 5 colleges which are enemy colored founded by elder dragons.
Tribes that seem to be here and not sure if part of a school:
Burrog (Frogfolk)
Goblins
Archaics (Avatars)
WB Silverquil WB
Main Spellcaster Class: Warlocks
Magic Type: Word based magic (often spoken) to craft spells.
Colors Débats: Are words meant to uplift other and empower society W or are to tear down others and empower yourself B?
Majors: literature, writing, speech, foreign languages, communications, marketing/advertising, journalism, law
Student and Teacher Tribes;
Humans
Kors
Owlins (Avens)
Vampires
Leonins
Shades
Archons
Notable Members;
Shadrix Silverquill- Elder dragon founder
Killian, Ink Duelist- The face student, human warlock
Shaile, Dean of Radiance An owlin cleric and dean of the white side of Silverquil
Embrose, Dean of Shadow - A human warlock and dean of the black side of Sliverquil. Killians father.
Commander deck legends;
Breena the Demagogue- An owlin warlock teacher who is a talented spokeswoman and the teacher commander for this school
Felisa, Fang of Silverquill
Nils, Discipline Enforcer
Fain, the Broker
UR Prismari UR
Main Spellcaster Class: Shamans
Magic Type: Gesture-based magic having spelling created from movements
Colors Débats: Is art meant to be about thinking and form U or feelings and raw R?
Mascot: Elementals (can also be students and teachers)
Majors: painting, drawing, music, dance, theater, fashion design, interior design, sculpture
Tribes;
Humans
Orcs
Owlins
Dwarfs
Merfolks
Djinns
Effets
Ogres
Sphinxes
Notable Members;
Galazeth Prismari- Elder dragon founder
Rootha, Mercurial Artist-the face student, an orc shaman
Uvilda, Dean of Perfection- A djinn wizard, dean of the blue side of Prismari
Nassari, Dean of Expression- An effete shaman, dean of the red Side of Prismari
Will Kenrith
Rowan Kenrith
Commander deck legends;
Zaffai, Thunder Conductor -a magical maestro who runs the "Orchestra of Arcane" and the teacher commander for this school
Veyran, Voice of Duality
Octavia, Living Thesis
Rionya, Fire Dancer
BG Witherbloom BG
Main Spellcaster Class: Druids
Magic Type: Component-based magic that needs spell ingredients.
Colors Débats: Is nature driven by life and something we need to help/leave alone G or is nature driven by death and there for us to use as we need B?
Majors: biology, chemistry, anatomy, geology, medicine, agriculture, botany, food science, zoology, meteorology
Student and Teacher Tribes;
Humans
Dryads
Bearfolk
Vampires
Elves
Trolls
Treefolk
Demons
Notable Members;
Beledros Witherbloom- Elder dragon founder
Dina, Soul Steeper- the Face student, dryad druid
Valentin, Dean of the Vein- A vampire warlock, dean of the black side of Witherbloom
Lisette, Sean of the Root- A human druid, dean of the green side of Witherbloom
Liliana Vess
Blex, Vexing Pet*- An overgrown esacped pest
Commander decks legends;
Willowdusk Essence Seer-a drayd who joined the school after saying a few students lost in detention bog and the teacher commander for this school.
Gyome, Master Chef
Tivash, Gloom Summoner
Yedora, Grave Gardener
RW Lorehold RW
Main Spellcaster Class: Clerics
Magic type: Written magic forming spells from scrolls or books that are often old ancient texts
Colors Débats: Dose People and thus society form from structure and rules W or from peoples bonds and passion R?
Mascot: Sprits (can also be student and teachers)
Majors: History, political science, political science, psychology, sociology, philosophy, business, theology, archeology
Student and Teacher Tribes;
Humans
Owlins (Avens)
Loxodons
Dwarfs
Giants
Kors
Orcs
Lizardfolk
Minotaurs
Golem
Construct
Angels
Notable Members;
Velomachus Lorehold- Elder dragon founder
Quintorius, Field Historian- Face student, a loxodon cleric
Plargg, Dean of Chaos- An orc shaman, dean of the red side of Lorehold
Augusta, Dean of Order A human cleric, dean of the white side of Lorehold
Hofri Ghostforge
Commader deck legends:
Osgir, the Constructor- a former student, now teacher who can remake artifacts from the tiniest scraps and the teacher commander for this school
Alibou, Ancient Witness
Losheel, Clockwork Scholar
Laelia the Blade Reforged
GU Quazdrix GU
Main Spellcaster Class: Wizards
Magic type: Uses forumlas to form spells
Colors Débats: Is math natural and already exist G or did humans discover or form math U?
Mascot: Fractals (can also be students and teachers)
Majors: math, physics, engineering, accounting, economics, astronomy, aviation, meteorology
Student and Teacher Tribes;
Humans
Owlins (Aven)
Merfolk
Elves
Rhoxs
Turtlefolk
Trolls
Bearfolk
Notable Members;
Tanazir Quandrix- Elder dragon founder
Zimone, Quandrix Prodigy- Face student, human wizard
Kianne, Dean of Substance- An elf druid, dean of the green side of Quandrix
Imbraham, Dean of Theory- An owlin wizard, dean of the blue side of Quandrix
Commander deck legends;
Adrix and Nev, Twincasters- twin merfolk and the teacher commander for this school.
Esix, Fractal Bloom
Deekah, Fractal Theorist
Ruxa, Patient Professor
Unaligned Staff;
Mavinda, Student's Advocate
Lore:
Main story by Adana Washington;
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-story/episode-1-class-session-2021-03-25
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-story/episode-2-lessons-2021-03-31
World building Stories:
Rootha story by Aysha U. Farah
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-story/cry-magic-2021-03-26
-From the packaging Will and Rowan Kenrith are in the set.
-Story will be through web fiction.
-Kasmina (now UG) and Liliana are on plane.
-Liliana seems to be a teacher and under alies Professor Onyx
-Lukka is on plane
Will update as we know more.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
-Right off everything looks really pretty? Like the art and such for all of it is so cool and flashy.
-Quazdrix is so fun since, while I hated math, I do remember learning how nature will have math in how it grows and forms in it.
-WILL AND ROWAN YES YES YES (fingers crossed for more Kate Elliot thought I'm open to see how a new author might write them.
-Scroll machine gun is something I never knew I needed.
-I don't think we will see Garruk, I think the Kenrith twins being here is them wanting to do a MDFC planeswalker on each side and the twin are perfect for that as well as being "enemy colored" which fit right in the set. So more a game play reason than a story one.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
which phyrexian praetor will be here and which college will he/she be hiding in and what are they
after? (Ofcoarse logically it should be Jin-Gitaxas and probably the math building)
And if Rowan and will find the phyrexian does that mean they will have to meet and help karn for the battle?
Also I feel an important information was missing in the OP: The colleges were founded by elder dragons, which apparently named the colleges after themselves. (This would mean the red-white dragon is called Lorehold?
Its already kinda real world thing with Fibonacci numbers and other mathematical patterns that appear in nature.
Ahhh thank you, I missed that in being excited for art and the twins. This set then is really looking to be Dragons of Tarkir but enemy colored (which so far I'm digging).
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
Been on this forum for about 10 years
Playing since '94
Lorehold, Silverquill and Witherbloom do seem weird as names for dragons ... especially Lorehold. Maybe some of them are going to be named something like "XYZ, the Silver-Quilled?"
Kaldheim: WB Kaya
Strixhaven: WB Silverquill
Innistrad: WB Sorin (one of the two sets)
Kinda wish that my work-life situation was a little less hectic these days for me to enjoy it.
Edit: Not that he'd be a perfect fit, but I could definitely see Davriel being a lazy, last-minute/temporary faculty hire much like Slughorn was in the HP novels. Not that it would be wise for WotC to associate itself with HP these days.
Davriel has a sharp wit, an even sharper tongue, as well as a great deal of experience in writing demonic contracts. He's a perfect candidate to manage Silverquill for a bit, even if he leans UB rather than WB.
I too am excited to see the Kenriths and Kasmina again.
The Vorthos community will await the consequences of the Eldrazi Titans' deaths/sealing. We will keep the watch.
“The wind whispers, ‘come home,’ but I cannot.”
— Teferi
Lorehold
Prismari
Quandrix
Goth houses:
Witherbloom
Poser houses:
Silverquill
Yes, that's what I was referencing. Maths is a huge part of biology.
Also, the more I think about the colleges, the weirder it gets and the more they fall apart conceptually. Granted we only have short snippets to go from, but I expect these snippets to be representative as they our introduction into the colleges. Half of silverquill's characterization is that they have style. What. How is that a thing? Isn't that entirely subjective and contextbased? Are they filling the coolkids trope? Can a group of people just declare they are stylish and cool or wouldn't other people have to consider them as such for the trope to work? I'm just really confused what wizards is trying to go for here.
Speaking of tropes, I'm unironically missing some basic school/university tropes. Why is there no "sports" focused college with frat bros and stuff. Give them a unique spin by adding greek olympics style training to it (so they're not just a bunch of dumb jocks but can also read). Missed opportunity and yes I am being serious.
I will reserve final judgement until we get the planeswalker guides, but I don't know. From what I've read so far about Strixhaven I fear another Ikoria. :[
I do like its mundane school subjects with a magical twist vs going to school to learn just how to do magic.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
Why can't different sport teams exist inside one school?
I mean, personally I'd disagree with that, because it kind of ignores an important bit of Magic's setting, which is: Magic exists. Studying at a school is arguably a lot of time spent not doing anything immediately productive, so people generally do it to acquire skills that will be helpful later in life. In Magic the most consistently powerful entities are great wielders of magic. It stands to reason that teaching magic is an important part of a "magic school". Subverting expectations shouldn't go in the way of telling a good story or building a functioning world.
Which brings me to my next point. I know, I know, we know next to nothing about Strixhaven, but from what we've been told so far it just doesn't work well as a setting. Ravnica did the "mundane things but magical" MUCH better. Izzet are engineers, but make use of elemental magic. Boros are police/army but fantasy and Azorius are lawmakers, but have sphinxes and law magic. The core elements of the guilds are relatively mundane. Most are things you find in the real world (Golgari are a tad of a stretch, but they're basically farmers I suppose) but with a magical twist, but you can clearly imagine the daily life of a Boros soldier or a Dimir operative.
But for the Strixhaven factions it starts to get really muddy. The colleges ae kinda subjects, but not really? Witherbloom seems to have a medicine focus but not really, like what are zombie crocodiles for? Prismari focuses on performance art, but also elemental magic? If you want to study elemental magic, do you need to also do performance art? Can you do performance art without studying elemental magic?
Maybe it's the (admittedly rather short) presentation making them much more flat than they are on the cards and in the story, which is why I'll hold my final judgement for now, but to be honest, the "sneak peak" we got is rather disappointing.
I think it would have been a better idea to make the factions be "self found" like frats and affiliations the people decide on themselves, rather than the five pre-determined colleges that people can just join. Each "frat" could still have its own focus of course, but it would make the thing flow a bit better in my opinion.
Cause this isn't Hogwarts. For real thought I don't know any colleges with multiple sports teams (of the same sport) that only play each other. What more likely is strixhaven has a sport teams but its open to any students similar how really sports teams will have a mix of students with different degrees.
As this is a college, most of the students likely already know how to do magic and are going to Strixhaven to specialize, just instead of "necromancy" its "biology magic".
I mean I see Strixhaven doing the same thing, its core is typically school with a magical twist.
They are the different department in a college, having the factions called schools is kinda weird since they are all suppose to be Strixhaven but could be the elder dragons started the schools separately and they came together after a while. And "department" isn't as "cool" sounding as "schools" are.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
Which likely means we'll get and enemy color cycle to balance the 5 Tarkir elder dragons.
yep they are secretly completing the 2-color elder dragon cycle
oh on further inspection
you Might notice In the blog
It looks like the whole entire campus especially the dragons know the existence of the multiverse
I will be interesting to see if Liliana bonds and becomes friends with the Kenriths and then meeting their "uncle".
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
that “uncle” will likely try to get back to where he left off with liliana.
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/first-lesson-introduction-strixhaven-2021-02-18
So it does look like the twins and Liliana will be teaming up and looking up something in the big multiverse liberty.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
Kasmina's story makes no sense to me.
An ANCIENT cabal, (yet we, nor any other planeswalker has mentioned this?)
Is this ancient like older than the Mending?
A shadowy cabal that find pre-spark walkers and brainwashes them into her organization?
This seems so sketchy. Where did this come from and what are they preparing for? Are they the good guys? Sounds more bad guys (like the Syndicate)?
We need a lot more information
Been on this forum for about 10 years
Playing since '94
They're clearly antagonistic, it's hard to imagine Wizards (which already preffers one dimmensional villains) trying to portray ancient child abusers as good.
I do agree but will garruk be able to accept this since he has huge spite at liliana for that curse and that he promosied Algenus and linden Kenrith he would protect them so clearly he may see liliana again.
but then again they could set aside their differences
but anyway I feel like the three of them and possibly garruk as well if there (not necessary a card) could find the phyrexian praetor thats hiding in strixhaven trying to find what their looking for there
I'm hoping for Kasmina to be a nuanced villain (if she is one).
was waiting for all 5 but figured I'll update when it comes inupdated with the last one;WB Killian Lu
https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/magic-the-gathering-strixhaven/news/mtg-strixhaven-killian-lu-reveal
UR Rootha Squallheart
https://www.forbes.com/sites/joeparlock/2021/03/24/meet-rootha-squallheart-in-the-latest-magic-the-gathering-set-strixhaven-school-of-mages/?sh=18eacf7b64d6
BG Dina
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/magic-the-gathering-strixhaven-reveal-dina-of-witherbloom-college/1100-6489226/
RW Quintorius
https://www.pcgamer.com/magic-the-gathering-strixhaven-reveal-quintorius-of-lorehold-college/
GU Simone Wola
https://mashable.com/article/magic-the-gathering-strixhaven-zimone-reveal/?europe=true
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"