Magic: The Gathering is back in Strixhaven, and the newest set might be the best of 2026 so far (yes, even better than Lorwyn Eclipsed in this humble writer’s opinion).
It also includes five new preconstructed Commander decks for anyone playing Magic’s most popular format, each tied to one of the in-game colleges.
Still, not all are built equally; some of these decks are better than others, although I’d say these are some of the best precons in a while, even for our ‘last’ pick.
It’s worth stressing that the contents of each of these precons are identical insofar as you’re getting a deck, a cardboard deckbox, and a strategy insert. You’re not getting the Collector Booster sample anymore, so don’t expect those as a cherry on top.
We’re also not touching too heavily on financial analysis here because as soon as these decks are in the wild, cards will drop in price significantly.
With all that out of the way, here’s our ranking of the Commander precons for Secrets of Strixhaven.
5. Prismari Artistry
Notable reprints: Faerie Mastermind, Harmonic Prodigy, Goldspan Dragon
A Red/Blue spellslinger deck? How original! Sarcasm aside, Prismari Artistry offers a slight tweak on the theme of throwing as many spells per turn by turning your biggest spells into heavy-hitting Elemental token creatures.
Sadly, it’s just not as imaginative as others on this list, but there are some cards here I’m tempted to buy the deck for. If the Commander, Rootha, is taken out, though, it’ll struggle to get going.
4. Quandrix Unlimited
Notable reprints: Ozolith, the Shattered Spire, Benevolent Hydra, Primordial Hydra, Three Visits
I love this deck. Maybe it’s because my prerelease box was Green/Blue, so I’ve come to love that pairing for this set, but this deck is an awful lot of fun to play because its Commander, Zimone, Infinite Analyst, is an excellent engine.
Zimone powers up when you cast a spell with X in the mana value, and then reduces the cost of X spells later by the number of counters on her. That makes her potentially very scary, just half a dozen turns in — and there are 27 ‘X’ spells in the deck!
3. Lorehold Spirit
Notable reprints: Emeria, the Sky Ruin, Bitterthorn, Nissa’s Animus, Moonshaker Cavalry, Drumbellower, Currency Converter
It says something that on another day, the top three decks on this list could be placed in another order, but Lorehold Spirit takes up third place here. It’s helmed by a Planeswalker, Quintorius, History Chaser.
This Red/White deck is all about making Spirit tokens by getting cards out of your graveyard, and it’s really successful in doing so. The reprints are also very, very welcome.
2. Witherbloom Pestilence
Notable reprints: Ohran Frostfang, Nether Traitor, Toxic Deluge
This Green/Black deck leans on token creatures that you can then sacrifice to power up other creatures. It’s nothing revolutionary, but the fact that there are 39 creatures to sacrifice at any time, plus a really solid mana base, mean this is a cut above the majority of token-focused decks.
Out of the box, Witherbloom Pestilence is very, very cohesive – but doesn’t beat the top pick of our list.
1. Silverquill Influence
Notable reprints: Land Tax, Inkshield, Breena, the Demagogue
Silverquill Influence is a really fun deck that leans into a goading theme that we don’t see in Black/White all that often. You’ll get players scrapping against each other when you play and Enchantment, and you’ll have a ton of those to play with.
The idea is to use Auras and Enchantments to get your foes fighting anyone but you, while still having some solid creatures to attack or defend when you need to.
There’s a good reason why it’s out of stock everywhere but notable resale sites like TCGplayer. Market price for this deck is already running up to $85+, so I’d snap it up fast if you spot it at MSRP anytime soon.
Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He’s a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife’s dismay.
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