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The Strixhaven: School of Mages set was what brought me back to Magic: The Gathering after many years away. Its magical school theme and stunning Japanese Mystical Archive cards immediately pulled me back into the game. Now, in 2026, we’ve returned and the magical school of Arcavios is back in session.
Secrets of Strixhaven is the latest Magic: The Gathering set, and it’s probably the one I’m most excited about personally, as it returns to one of my favourite worlds. As a fan of the Japanese Mystical Archive cards from the previous Strixhaven set, I was keen to collect them again as they’re some of the best display pieces you have unless you want to put them into a deck.
Wizards of the Coast sent us out some Secrets of Strixhaven Play Booster packs to crack open, let’s see some of the pulls we get.
From the 10 Play Booster packs, we managed to pull some incredible cards. One of the cards Emeritus of Ideation is a blue 5/5 Human Wizard. It’s not the super-rare serialized version you can find, but it’s still one of the sought-after cards in the set. It enters the battlefield prepared, one of the new mechanics introduced in this set. The card also lets you cast an iconic spell for an additional mana without having it in your deck, in this case, Ancestral Recall, allowing you to draw three cards.
Unfortunately, I haven’t started my Japanese Mystical Archive chase for this set yet, as I’m still waiting for my Magic: The Gathering Codex to release in May. In the meantime, let’s take a look at some of the variants available in this set, which is honestly one of the best we’ve seen in recent years.
There’s a lot to like about the new Strixhaven: School of Mages. While my expectations were already high, it has easily become one of the best sets so far in 2026. Magic: The Gathering: Strixhaven: School of Mages is now available from retailers.
Press Start Australia was sent a media kit for the purpose of this article.