A new Magic: The Gathering set is less than two weeks away and Secrets of Strixhaven is proving to be a massive entry in the popular TCG.  It looks to be a full-sized set with a Mystical Archives bonus sheet as well as the inclusion of some Special Guests.  Still, it gets even bigger when you consider that this return to the classroom also comes with an unprecedented five precon Commander decks.  We recently did a deep dive into all the new cards coming to the Prismari Artistry deck but today, we’ll look at the Orzhov colored Silverquill Influence deck.

The Commanders

As with each Commander deck being printed for Secrets of Strixhaven, the Silverquill Influence deck has two options for its commander — a character from the story or the college’s mascot.  Killian, Decisive Mentor is a 2/3 Legendary Creature with Human Warlock subtypes.  He costs 1WB to cast and has this card text: “Whenever an enchantment you control enters, tap up to one target creature and goad it. (Until your next turn, that creature attacks each combat if able and attacks a player other than you if able.)

Whenever one or more creatures that are enchanted by an Aura you control attack, draw a card.”

The mascot for Silverquill is the Inkling.  For Silverquil’s precon Commander deck, Killian is the intended commander but Scriv, the Obligator is also an option to consider. Scriv is a 2/3 Legendary Creature with Inkling Bird subtypes.  Scriv has flying and deathtouch and this card text: “Whenever Scriv enters or attacks, create a white Aura enchantment token named Contract attached to target creature an opponent controls. The token has enchant creature and ‘Whenever enchanted creature attacks, it gets +2/+0 until end of turn if it’s attacking one of your opponents. Otherwise, its controller loses 2 life.’”

Lands

Three new Orzhov lands are being printed for the Silverquill Influence deck. All three cards tap for B or W. All three lands also include subtypes of Plains and Swamp unlike most nonbasic lands. Turbulent Moor is part of a new cycle of Turbulent lands that enter tapped unless you control eight or more lands.

The Tango Land Cycle is finishing in Secrets of Strixhaven. In the Silverquill Influence deck, we see that with Eclipsed Steppe which enters tapped unless you control two or more basic lands.  

Bi-Cycle lands are named for their ability to produce two colors of mana but also can use the Cycle mechanic for card draw.  This cycle of lands also finishes in Secrets of Strixhaven and Umbral Expanse is the piece included in the Silverquill Influence deck.

A Special Visitor

Each Commander deck will include a special visitor from another plane.  That visitor will use the Prepare mechanic that allows them to cast a sorcery any time that they are prepared. In the Silverquill Influence deck that visitor comes from Kamigawa.  There to teach the history of Kamigawa to students is Eiganjo Dynastorian.  This guest lecturer is a 2/3 Fox Advisor with vigilance. It costs 2W to cast.  Its card text reads: “Whenever you attack with two or more creatures, this creature becomes prepared.” Whenever Eiganjo Dynastorian is prepared you can cast the sorcery, Replenish for 3W which returns all enchantments from the graveyard to the battlefield.

Creatures

In addition to Eiganjo Dynastorian, are two other creatures new to Magic: The Gathering.  Herald of Amity is a 2/2 Griffin with flying.  It costs 3W to cast and has this card text: “When this creature enters, exile the top eight cards of your library. You may cast an Aura spell from among them without paying its mana cost. Then put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. Whenever this creature attacks, it gets +X/+X until end of turn, where X is the number of Auras you control.”

Also included is another creature that uses the set’s Prepare mechanic. Defacing Duskmage is a 2/2 Dog Warlock with deathtouch.  Its card text reads: “Whenever an opponent draws their second card each turn, this creature becomes prepared.” When Defacing Duskmage is prepared, you can also cast the instant spell, Vandals Edit for 1WB which allows you to draw two cards and each player loses two life. 

Enchantments

The last two new-to-Magic cards are enchantments.  That’s not surprising considering the heavy interaction Silverquill Influence has with enchantments throughout the deck. In fact, the deck has 14 enchantments in it compared to only four instants and three sorceries.  

The first new enchantment is Forum Filibuster.  It’s a powerful token engine that states: “At the beginning of your upkeep, create a 2/1 white and black Inkling creature token with flying. When you do, return up to one target Aura or Equipment card from your graveyard to the battlefield attached to that token.”

The other new enchantment is an aura called Changing Loyalty.  This aura has the enchantment card type but because it has flash, can be played at instant speed.  It also has Replicate 2 which allows you to pay an additional 2 when you cast it to create a copy of the spell for as many times as you paid that Replicate cost. So for instance, if I wanted it three times, I could pay its casting cost of 1B and then pay 4 to get two additional copies at the time that I cast it.  I can’t retroactively add copies though. This ability only works at the time of casting. Changing Loyalty is a protection spell that states: “When enchanted creature dies, return it to the battlefield under your control.” 

In addition to being a great way to protect your own creatures, Changing Loyalty, as the name suggests, can allow you to steal your opponents creatures by paying the cost plus Replicate costs to enchant other creatures on the battlefield before a timely board wipe.

The Silverquill Influence Commander deck will release on April 24th alongside the main set for Secrets of Strixhaven.