#strixhaven mystical archive

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Gods Willing

Artist: Dominik Mayer TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[mtg-flavor]

Tedin, Mark. Swords to Plowshares. 2021, Strixhaven: School of Mages - Mystical Archive

“The blademaster turned his fury to his new foes: root rot and cabbage slugs.” —Myths and Miracles, Vol. VII

[favoritemtgcard]

Brainstorm, specifically the japanese cat strixhaven archive one

Brainstorm (Mystical Archive, art by Ayako Ishiguro)

[markrosewater]

Hi Mark, I've been loving the Strixhaven flashback draft on Magic Arena and have done a ton of drafts the last two weeks. The plane, flavor, art design, learn/lesson design, and mystical archive were phenomenal. One complaint I've seen is specifically balancing between the schools, where Lorehold is left noticeably in the dust. I've read some rumors that part of this is the 3/2 spirit-sub theme that seems out of place, like it was nerfed late in production. Is there any truth behind these?

The fundamental problem is Lorehold is playing in space that's not organically where white/red plays. Yes, this is cool because it feels different, but it also means there are less tools available to help make sure the archetype plays as well as it can.

[niuttuc]

MtG Topic: Strixhaven

I'm honestly more interested in Arcavios than I am in Strixhaven. Strixhaven felt... Shallow? Most of the colleges felt more like caricatures and parodies of the fields portrayed rather than reference or homage. They're all important fields of study. And the magic felt too streamlined and one-note within each college for a school with access to all the spells in the Multiverse.

Which is another pain point, I don't like that aspect of the Biblioplex, that kind of statement always feels to me like something that sounds cool but nobody thought of the ramifications of it when worldbuilding, they just went with it.

While we were given some elements about the world outside of Strixhaven... Not enough, in my opinion, to make it feel like a living world. It's just a background poster for the school, which doesn't really add up. As powerful a magic they wield, most people aren't college students. There must be a point to that education, surely?

Then the student stories varied greatly in what they wanted to do. A few focused on the students' struggle, and those were enjoyable. But it strains by suspension of disbelief to have plots like Quintorius's or Zimone's be passed off as "normal student things" when one essentially rediscovers an entire people's Jerusalem/Mecca equivalent and that's barely brought up again or pondered as important outside the one side story. Similarly for Zimone's theorem. Those aren't students' stories.

To build up on this: why are the students the ones to do everything? Why didn't anyone else think of using the Founders' invocation before the Phyrexian Invasion completely overran all the professors? Why is that staff of the "best mages of the multiverse" impotent and reliant on their students whenever something bad happens? I know it's classic tropes of the genre, but there still needs to be a justification for them if the story wants to be taken seriously!

And of course there's the whole "it seems entirely built up on school and college tropes from the US" that makes it fail to resonate any more with me. It just seems fake and foreign.

D for the setting, try harder next time.

As far as the set itself, mystical archives were a good introduction of these bonus sheets we've been getting. Learn/Lesson was interesting, though it not working in commander was a bit awkward. MDFCs in this set had entirely too much text. Yes, that includes the deans, but not only them. DFCs's purpose isn't, and should never be, solely to be able to cram twice as much text onto cards. Magecraft was alright as a glue. The set had elder dragons and I always forget they exist because they aren't notable enough designs in a world of 50 legends a set and a dragon cycle every other set for me to consider them elder dragons.

C+ for the set design. Could be better, but an alright set.

[supraxstcllas]

// foaming at the mouth over the strixhaven mystical archive set, the art is so PRETTY.

[whatsthatmagiccard]

This is a good one to go through my thought process on.

That frame's not one of the normal ones. That's the fancy ones they used for Strixhaven Mystical Archive.

One pip in the cost, so one mana.

Color's too distorted and text box is mostly obscured, so let's search for one-mana cards in STA.

There's 19 of those, that's manageable. Let's find one that matches brightness values with the top of the artwork.

It can only be Village Rites, but the name looks like it's three words. Maybe it's another language?

The French version has three words in the name, and the flavor text lines up with the frame on the bottom. It's gotta be that.

One part recall, two parts recognition, four parts exhaustion.

Try that one out

(French version of [[Village Rites|STA]])

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Urza's Rage by Dominik Mayer

[cardboard-crack]

[commandtower]

Demonic Tutor ~ Strixhaven Japanese Mystical Archive ver. Art by 墨絵師「御歌頭」/ Sumie Okazu

[3scythes]

I can’t remember if they were all foiled but I know that a few of them were the strixhaven mystical archives Japanese alternate art so that’s understandable, I think the Italian one was just a regular card though.

so I’m a new-ish mtg player (especially new to EDH/Commander) and I’ve been going weekly to an open play casual Commander night in my area.

Last time I went (mind you this is like the third or fourth time I’ve participated) my friend and I played these guys who were from out of town, and this fucking white guy sits here and keeps pulling out cards in Japanese, and I’m just sitting there like. He could tell me this card does anything and I’d believe him. I do not read Japanese. He could tell me “I play the card ‘Card Thief’ which allows me to permanently steal any card in your deck and take it home with me” and I’d believe him. At one point he pulled out a card in fucking Italian. This man did not speak Italian. His friend was like “yeah he’s just a weeb don’t worry about it” BUT THAT DOESN’T EXPLAIN THE ITALIAN???

[island-delver-go]

I don't much straight up MtG content these days but I just got these back in from Japan and I am pumped

[the-frizzle-fry]

I’m really diggin a lot of these Japanese alternative arts from the new special cards series. Might have to collect them. There’s a few that remind me of bad anime and I laugh. I really like the ones that look like traditional art or tattoos.

https://mtg-jp.com/strixhaven/?fbclid=IwAR2MrZjnD9-dgmJFpyyjbA9Cj4kYw8uQ4qiN375zii43w_IWq7wbQBCTvJs

That site has all the Mystical Archive arts.

[wiinryrockbell]

I never thought I’d be watching mtg set livestreams but here we are. it’s not even my job to watch these

[violetsystems]

random drop today from a strixhaven collector booster

https://scryfall.com/card/sta/119/ja/regrowth

[markrosewater]

I played a lot of BRO limitted... Still hate MA type slots. I like balance in my environments and for luck/variance to be minimal as it can be it Magic. I get it, the MA slots are to appeal to other types of players, but is there a way to get reprint cards into packs that don't warp limited like the MA slots in BRO and Strixhaven have?

How do others feel about bonus sheets impact on limited? (Things like Mystic Archive and the Retro Artifacts.)