 | |||
| Released | April 23, 2021 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Designers | Mark Rosewater (lead) [1] | ||
| Development code | Fencing [2] | ||
| Expansion code | STX | ||
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Strixhaven: School of Mages is a Magic: The Gathering expansion set. It is not part of a block. The set was released in April 2021.
| | |||
| Released | April 23, 2021 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Designers | Mark Rosewater (lead) [1] | ||
| Development code | Fencing [2] | ||
| Expansion code | STX | ||
| |||
Strixhaven: School of Mages is a Magic: The Gathering expansion set. It is not part of a block. The set was released in April 2021.
The plane of Arcavios and its magical university Strixhaven were "created from scratch by the world-building team" for the 2021 Strixhaven: School of Mages post-block Magic set expansion. [3] Dot Esports highlighted that Wizards of the Coast "made substantial efforts to make the colleges of Strixhaven feel distinct from their Ravnican counterparts. This was accomplished by leaning into the tension between each color pair, leading to conflicts between and within colleges. [...] Within each college are two separate philosophies that students can align with. [...] The team created a magic system that applies specific forms of spellcasting and philosophies to each college". [3]
Strixhaven's colleges were founded by five Elder Dragons. Each college is defined by two color philosophies and "each college has two deans that are aligned with one color". [3] [4]
At the center of the university is the library known as the Biblioplex. [7] [8] This library contains both the Hall of Oracles and the Mystical Archive. This archive "is said to contain a copy of every spell ever created in the Multiverse"; [7] this provides a lore explanation for the Mystical Archive cards where "all the uncommons are reprints of Standard-legal instants and sorceries, while the rares and mythics will continue to exist outside of Standard play. However, regardless of which rarity of spell you open in your draft booster, you’ll be able to draft and play it in Limited". [8]
A number of Planeswalkers appear in the Strixhaven storyline such as Professor Onyx (better known as Liliana Vess), Kasmina (introduced in the War of the Spark ), Lukka (introduced in Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths ) and the twins Rowan and Will Kenrith (last seen in Eldraine). [8] [9]
There are draft archetypes themed around each of Strixhaven's colleges. [10] Polygon reported that Magic is "running with this year’s emphasis on the Commander format — a multiplayer style of Magic that uses 100-card decks — each of Strixhaven’s colleges will have its own unique retail Commander decks". [11]
This set added the Magecraft keyword ability (which provides a bonus to an instant or a sorcery) [11] [12] and the "Learn And Lesson" mechanic (which allows a player to cast spells from outside of the game or in the sideboard that they own). [12] [13] CBR reported that "the keywords and mechanics of the Strixhaven: School of Mages set revolve around the idea of magical students learning and growing over the course of a semester, but there is also the ward ability, which is more defensive in nature. [...] The idea is that these clever students are not yet masters, so they can't totally defend themselves, but they are smart enough to disorient their enemies and force them to decide how to spend their mana more carefully. [...] Players can attend class, and many spells in this set allow the player to learn lessons in the middle of a game". [12]
In June 2021, it was announced that the third Magic: The Gathering campaign setting adapted for Dungeons & Dragons would be Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos (2021); [14] this sourcebook will introduce the Strixhaven setting to Dungeons & Dragons in December 2021. [15] [16] Greg Tito, Dungeons & Dragons Senior Communications Manager, said to IGN that "the D&D guidebooks around Ravnica, and Theros have done amazingly well, and we thought that the Strixhaven storyline would appeal not only to fans of Magic and fans of D&D, but [also a] younger audience. There is a ton of information on how to create a campaign that would appeal to people of all ages... who love that kind of young adult coming-of-age storytelling – and so we thought Strixhaven would be perfect for dramatizing that in a D&D game". [16] CBR reported that "in the world of Magic: The Gathering, Strixhaven is the largest and most powerful magic academy in the multiverse [...]. Due to its relatively recent addition to the Magic: The Gathering universe, it's likely this Dungeons & Dragons adventure will significantly expand on the lore associated with the magic school". [17]
Polygon reported that "on the surface, Magic: The Gathering’s new set, Strixhaven: School of Mages, looks like a simple pastiche of Harry Potter’s Hogwarts. That’s definitely part of its charm. But the intricacies of this new set — and the promise of its accompanying lore — could make it the biggest release of the year. [...] Fledgling mages who apply to Strixhaven must narrow their field of study during their first year of schooling. To represent that, developers have remixed the game’s classic multi-color deck combinations" which are represented in the various colleges. [11] Ash Parrish, for Kotaku , highlighted that "Strixhaven is a school for mages founded by five powerful dragons, each with their own disciplines and personalities. [...] Strixhaven sounds very much like a real university with math, science, history, and literature departments, each with their unique magical flair. [...] With Strixhaven, I’m really excited to get to know more about the world. It seems like so much fun—a stark contrast to Magic’s usual stories of war or surviving in monster-infested environments. Strixhaven seems like it’s just kids learning and having a good time, and that’s a nice change of pace". [5] Dot Esports also commented that "mage schools are a common fantasy trope and often appear in popular fiction, from Harry Potter to the College of Winterhold in Skyrim. [...] Strixhaven subverted these expectations by creating a world that was all Magic, with little to no references to other popular media". [3]
Ash Parrish, for Kotaku , also highlighted that many fans have "spoken out against Magic’s characterization" of the student character Killian Lu due to "the use of tired Asian stereotypes like the hyperfocus on honor and the model minority myth. It’s upsetting to see this story crop up during a nationwide spike in anti-Asian hate crimes and so soon after the killings in Atlanta. It’s especially upsetting considering Magic already has other Asian characters whose stories center their identities as Asian people but don’t revolve around stereotypes". [18]
CBR highlighted that "the magecraft ability is arguably Strixhaven's most exciting and flexible keyword of all, and it typically appears on creatures of all colors. With all of these cards, casting or copying an instant or sorcery will trigger magecraft, which encourages the player to have plenty of instants and sorceries in their deck. [...] Players should note that while Wizards of the Coast is no longer making blocks of Magic sets, it is still possible to make unofficial "blocks." The Zendikar Rising, Kaldheim and Strixhaven: School of Mages sets form a very loose three-set block, with the common theme being +1/+1 counters and modal double-faced cards". [12] Screen Rant highlighted that "in every Strixhaven booster pack, there is a Mystical Archive card that repurposes a powerful spell from a past set. In the physical trading card game, this is simply a nice bonus for certain formats. In MTG Arena , the Archive is introducing a pile of new power into its evergreen format, Historic. [...] New players cracking into Magic: The Gathering packs will find a lot to like about these spotlight spells, and veteran players will find some old and famously powerful cards to utilize again. [...] With reprints like the Mystical Archive and other new sets like the Historical Anthology series, though, MTG Arena's Historic format gets closer and closer to a version of Magic: The Gathering that all players can recognize". [19]
In March, 2021, it was discovered that the artwork for the card Crux of Fate drawn by freelance artist Jason Felix had been plagiarized. The art in the card of the dragon Nicol Bolas had been lifted from fan artwork by Kitt Lapeña published in 2016 on DeviantArt. Also, the depiction of Ugin, the Spirit Dragon in the card appears to have also been copied from fan artwork by Raymond Swanland. Wizards of the Coast said in a statement "It has come to our attention that the card Crux of Fate from the Strixhaven: School of Mages Mystical Archive may overtly feature Magic: The Gathering fan art and the contracted artist did not receive permission for this incorporation, [...] These actions do not reflect the values of Wizards, and, as a result, we will be suspending future work with Jason Felix until we have been able to bring this matter to successful conclusion." Felix would later apologize on his Twitter claiming that reason for his actions was due to being "overworked". [20]
Magic: The Gathering is a tabletop and digital collectible card game created by Richard Garfield. Released in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast, Magic was the first trading card game and had approximately fifty million players as of February 2023. Over twenty billion Magic cards were produced in the period from 2008 to 2016, during which time it grew in popularity. As of the 2022 fiscal year, Magic generates over $1 billion in revenue annually.
Wizards of the Coast LLC or Wizards) is an American publisher of games, most of which are based on fantasy and science-fiction themes, and formerly an operator of games retail stores. In 1999, toy manufacturer Hasbro acquired the company and currently operates it as a subsidiary. During a February 2021 reorganization of Hasbro, WotC became the lead part of a new division called "Wizards & Digital".
The flexibility of the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) game rules means that Dungeon Masters (DM) are free to create their own fantasy campaign settings. For those who wanted a pre-packaged setting in which to play, TSR, Wizards of the Coast (WotC), and other publishers have created many settings in which D&D games can be based; of these, the Forgotten Realms, an epic fantasy world, has been one of the most successful and critically acclaimed settings. Many campaign settings include standard sword and sorcery environments, while others borrow Asian, Central American, swashbuckling, horror and even space-travel themes.
Magic: The Gathering formats are various ways in which the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game can be played. Each format provides rules for deck construction and gameplay, with many confining the pool of permitted cards to those released in a specified group of Magic card sets. The Wizards Play Network, the governing body that oversees official Magic competitive play, categorizes its tournament formats into Constructed and Limited. Additionally, there are many casual formats with the Commander format being one of the most popular formats of the game.
Ravnica is a Magic: The Gathering block that consists of three expert-level expansion sets: Ravnica: City of Guilds, Guildpact, and Dissension. Following in the tradition of other Magic blocks, Ravnica takes place in a plane of the multiverse that was previously unexplored in the game's backstory. The world of Ravnica is an ecumenopolis, a vast city that covers the entire surface of its planet, and is home to a diverse assortment of sentient races. Much power in Ravnica is held by the ten "guilds", political factions that each represent a combination of two of Magic's five colors. The mythology of Ravnica is loosely derived from Slavic folklore, and the character names reflect this. This plane was revisited in the Return to Ravnica block, and the Guilds of Ravnica,Ravnica Allegiance, War of the Spark, and Murders at Karlov Manor sets.
The rules of Magic: The Gathering were originally developed by the game's creator, Richard Garfield, and accompanied the first version of the game in 1993. The rules of Magic have been changed frequently over the years by the manufacturer, Wizards of the Coast, mostly in minor ways. However, major rules overhauls have also been done a few times.
The Book of Magecraft is an accessory for the 2nd edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published in 1996.
Commander is a series of supplemental Magic: the Gathering card game products. Its mechanics are derived from a fan-created format known as "Elder Dragon Highlander (EDH)". The official Commander format is "the only sanctioned format maintained by an outside entity" other than Wizards of the Coast.
Magali Villeneuve is a French illustrator, freelance fantasy artist, and fantasy author. Her art has been used for official games and products set in many large fantasy universes and franchises, including Magic: The Gathering, A Song of Ice and Fire, Star Wars, Warhammer, The Lord of the Rings, and Call of Cthulhu.
Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica is a sourcebook that details the Ravnica campaign setting for the 5th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game published in November 2018. The world of Ravnica was originally created for the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game and first appeared in the card set Ravnica: City of Guilds, which was released in 2005. It is a high-magic world with a loose Slavic flavor, and features a single city which spans the entire planet that is controlled by ten competing guilds of different ideologies.
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Theros Beyond Death is a Magic: The Gathering expansion set. It is not part of a block. It was released on January 24, 2020. The set's development codename is "Baseball", and its expansion code is THB.
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Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos is a sourcebook, published in December 2021, that details the Strixhaven campaign setting for the 5th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The plane of Arcavios and its magical university Strixhaven were originally created for the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game and first appeared in the card set Strixhaven: School of Mages, which was released in April of the same year. The book is centered on the most powerful magic university in the multiverse and focuses on the lives of the player characters who attend its various colleges.
Guilds of Ravnica is the 79th Magic: The Gathering expansion; while it is not part of a block, this set is functionally the first part of a Ravnica focused storyline set on the plane of Ravnica. It was released on October 5, 2018.
Zendikar Rising is the 85th Magic: The Gathering expansion and is not part of a block. It is set on the plane of Zendikar. It was released on September 25, 2020. The sets development codename is "Diving", and its expansion code is ZNR.
Ravnica Allegiance is the 80th Magic: The Gathering expansion; while it is not part of a block, this set is functionally the second part of a Ravnica focused storyline set on the plane of Ravnica. It was released on January 25, 2019.
War of the Spark is the 81st Magic: The Gathering expansion; while it is not part of a block, this set is functionally the third part of a Ravnica-focused storyline set on the plane of Ravnica. It was released on May 3, 2019. It also became available in MTG Arena on April 25, 2019.
Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms is an expansion set for Magic: The Gathering (Magic) released in July 2021. The world of the Forgotten Realms was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a paracosm for his childhood stories and premiered as a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (1987). This expansion set is the third collaboration between Magic and D&D; both teams are part of Wizards of the Coast.
