Many many years ago, when I was still young and the sun burned slightly less red, I was tasked with hosting a great banquet to celebrate the lord of the house's return from war. It was to be a grand celebration full of festivities, laughter, and joy. All of our lord's family and friends from near and far were slated to attend and no expense was to be spared. Dancers from Milan, singers from Venice, chefs all the way from Syracuse came for this momentous occasion. We had magicians, fire eaters, and acrobats, lion tamers and sword-swallowers too! We shipped in wines, cheeses, ales, meats, cakes, fruits, vegetables, and other foods from all around Europe and beyond. But when the day for the banquet finally came, we still weren't prepared.
The new Prepared mechanic in Magic the Gathering's Secrets of Strixhaven (SOS) is one of the most exciting and fresh innovations in card design in recent memory. Reminiscent to mechanics like Omen and Adventure, the prepared ability gives a player more options and more spells per card in their deck. To celebrate SOS and to explore these new Prepared cards, I felt like it would be fun to sort them into a tier list.
Metrics for Determining Good vs Bad
There are four questions to ask when ranking Prepared spells:
- How good is the creature?
- How good is the prepared spell?
- How easy is it to prepare the spell?
- How hard is it to re-prepare the spell?
Depending on how well a card ranks in those four categories will determine how good the card actually is. I personally view these cards from a commander player's perspective and this is, of course, my opinion. So if you have any cards you think are better or worse than I ranked them, please let me know in the comments below. This ranking list includes all of the prepared creatures in both the main set and the commander decks for Secrets of Strixhaven.
Now, without further ado, let's commence with the ranking from worst to best!
F Tier
Cards like Cheerful Osteomancer, Adventurous Eater, and Honorbound Page are cards that fall into the draft chaff category. They are under-statted creatures, with weak cantrips, and can only be re-prepared by flickering them. The only plus side is they are prepared when they enter, but in this case their one use spells might only be useful in draft or maybe pauper.
Landscape Painter and Strife Scholar fall into this category for similar reasons but might be even worse than the previous two because their prepared spells cost so much mana.
D Tier
Infirmary Healer almost made it into F tier, but it passes the stat test and Stream of Life can be useful late-game. It's not great, but could have some use in a low power deck. It could even be an alright addition to a cat deck if one is looking for half decent cats. Similarly, Spellbook Seeker could function alright in a bird deck. Having the option to loot two cards for one mana is a good one to have.
Scathing Shadelock barely passes the stat test and its ability to re-prepare easily is nice, however, if this were a 7/6 with deathtouch for six mana, one wouldn't have to keep paying every turn to buff it. Further, if Venomous Words was an instant, the card would be much more nuanced and useful. There can be some niches where this card is good but it isn't quite strong enough to be in C tier.
Campus Composer costs too much mana for what you get and so does its sorcery Aqueous Aria.
The final D tier card is Maelstrom Artisan. It's a weak creature with haste that immediately puts a target on you in commander. If you want to commit land destruction, there are more effective cards out there, and in casual commander this mines too much salt to be worth it.
C Tier
This is the tier for cards that are still not great, but still not terrible.
First up, Elite Interceptor is low enough mana, for an overstated body, that has an ok tap/card draw spell. Probably not fantastic in commander but it could be ok in some human decks. It's a somewhat better version of Thraben Inspector too so any deck that runs that card might like this card as well.
Blazing Firesinger is not a good creature, and in spite of it not being able to be re-prepared, it has a really good spell stapled to it. Seething Song is a fantastic impulse ramp spell in a color that doesn't have great options for ramp. Six mana total to get a 2/3 and five mana back isn't too bad. Plus, if you find a way to copy Seething Song, suddenly this becomes absolutely worth it.
Goblin Glasswright is here for similar reasons as Blazing Firesinger. Red ramp is good. The creature isn't terrible. If it were any better it'd be in a higher tier.
Pigment Wrangler has a good spell stapled to it, especially in a spell-slinger set. Plus a 4/4 with flying for five mana isn't terrible either. This could be alright in some commander decks. I would rank this one higher but it takes too much mana to get this to do something cool. If Pigment Wrangler cost less mana for a slightly worse creature, the card would be much better.
Encouraging Aviator is easy to re-prepare and granting evasion can be useful. This might go well in a Choco, Seeker of Paradise deck, because it could give chocobos flying. It just isn't very powerful though.
Leech Collector is also easy to re-prepare, and slowly draining the board for one mana isn't terrible either. This card isn't strong but it seems somewhat usable.
Abigale, Poet Laureate can be prepared easily but her spell isn't great for what you pay for it. This could be interesting to build around but I don't think it is very strong. Two mana for her prepared spell is a bit too steep for what it gives. The final C tier card on this list is Tam, Observant Sequencer. Like the previous three, Tam can be easily re-prepared. She also has an alright spell. This seems like a fun pauper commander but in traditional commander, there are so many more explosive cards in Simic.
B Tier
Sanar, Unfinished Genius is a two mana Izzet commander that can easily make treasure tokens. If there's one thing that commander players learn quickly, it's that you can't trust an Izzet player with mana. Sanar also has a tutor attached to him. This card is a functional commander on its own and it could also work well in the 99 of a spell-slinger deck.
Kirol, History Buff is over-statted, easy to prepare, and has a spell that works well for a voltron strat. This card seems like it could be a fun and unique commander to build around as well. It's not the best commander but it looks like an enjoyable commander that most people probably won't run.
Lluwen, Exchange Student is primarily in B tier because of the ability to exile a card from your graveyard. This ability has a healthy amount of combo potential. Commanders like Tormod, the Desecrator and Teval, the Balanced Scale love cards like this. Lluwen's spell is passable but the ability to exile as many selective cards from your graveyard at sorcery speed is superb in the right deck.
Spiritcall Enthusiast is perfect for a cat deck. It's easy to prepare if you make tokens and its spell is good for strategies that just want to hit people in the faces. Overall a good card for the 99 with passable stats.
Dirgur Focusmage has a great passive ability of reducing the cost of instants and sorceries. It has a good spell attached to it. Plus, it's not too hard to prepare. This is a solid card to slot into any spellslinger deck that can fit it.
Striding Shotcaller is great for counters decks. The opportunity to grant repeated evasion for your big creatures can be very strong in decks that care about counters. The biggest downside to this card is it is quite dependent on you having a board state to make use of it. This might enable wins but it doesn't win on its own.
Joined Researchers shine particularly in pods of three or more. Having Secret Rendezvous on a stick can be a solid way to politic your way into having friends at the commander table. Plus a 2/2 for two with first strike isn't bad at all.
Stensian Sanguinist might be a little tricky at times to prepare but the ability to just give deathtouch to a creature can be very strong. The Exsanguinate stapled to it is definitely a late game option so it can be awkward getting this out turn two but it is a solid spell if you have the mana for it.
Grave Researcher would be higher on this list if it entered prepared. The fact that you have to wait until your upkeep to prepare such a powerful spell means this will be a target. If you get the ability to cast Reanimate, it will likely be worth it, but you might be better off just running spells like Zombify in certain games. Grave Researcher is still really good, just not quite A tier.
Lorehold Archivist is not hard to prepare and re-prepare, it has good stats for a first striker, and its spell is super cool. For a Boros deck that has any graveyard focus, this card is superb. This is in B tier for the same reasons the previous card is. Admittedly, Grave Researcher is better than Lorehold Archivist, but it might not be the removal magnet that Grave Researcher is simply because of how powerful Reanimate is.
Emeritus of Abundance is unfortunately not in A tier because Regrowth isn't super useful and having to attack while having many lands already basically means this card is only good mid to late game, depending on how well you've ramped. It has good stats and can be re-prepared but doesn't seem super great. Honestly, this one might be closer to B tier but it can be strong in certain situations. If this card even had a spell like Giant Growth, it would have been so much more.
A Tier
This is the most populated tier in this list. So many wonderful and versatile cards were created to debut the Prepared mechanic in Secrets of Strixhaven.
First up, Emeritus of Conflict and Emeritus of Truce are all good cards with good stats and classic spells. If Emeritus of Conflict was easier to prepare, it would be ranked higher. This goes in a spell slinger deck but it seems more niche than any of the other emeriti. Emeritus of Truce comes with one of the best removal spells in the game. If it was easier to re-prepare other than by flickering it, then this would be ranked higher as well.
Skycoach Conductor is perfect for flicker decks. It cannot flicker itself, but anything that flickers creatures when it enters will immediately re-prepare this. Plus, always being able to flicker a creature at instant speed can be a very powerful option to have. Because this one specially goes in flicker decks, this is the only one that enters prepared that I would classify as easy to re-prepare.
Inspired Skypainter is a 2/2 for two mana with flying. Its spell is a solid way to copy creatures and is easy to re-prepare. Also, because it can target itself, if you find a way to get infinite mana in Izzet, you could make infinite copies of itself with haste. Overall a stellar card.
Defacing Duskmage is a good boy who makes for a great blocker. The fact that his spell hurts everyone and draws you cards all while being fairly easy to prepare solidifies this dapper doggo as an A tier friend!
Eccentric Pestfinder is a 5/5 with trample for four mana. His spell isn't the best but it is a nice option. It's also a spell that becomes prepared whenever you gain life, so it's not really hard to prepare in Golgari colors. It's basically an S tier creature with a B tier spell so this one averages out to A tier.
Harmonized Trio is nice to have in any deck that makes tokens and runs blue. It's also a merfolk so putting this in a merfolk specific deck could also work really well. Being able to recast Brainstorm is a nice little card draw engine. Further, any deck that cares about card draw triggers would love to include this card in the 99.
Jadzi, Steward of Fate would make for an alright commander if you could get the mana to make her Oracle's Gift really pop off. Jadzi is hard to re-prepare but if you cast her prepared spell for a lot of mana, she alone could build you a huge army. I prefer her in the 99 but she would be an interesting commander to build around. Her ETB looting is also nice but I don't think it matters too much in the strategies that would build around Jadzi. If I were to build around her, the deck would be about ramping to afford a big version of Jadzi's spell.
Quill-Blade Laureate is a more humble spell than Jadzi. Honestly, a creature with doublestrike that can give another creature doublestrike is great to have. If it could be re-prepared it would likely rank higher but overall, for the mana you pay, it is a good card.
Scheming Silvertongue is fantastic. The fact that it can contribute to its own preparing is wonderful. Sign in Blood is a classic spell and it goes in any deck that runs a healthy amount of swamps. Being able to recur Sign in Blood is so good and all you really have to do is keep gaining that two life back.
Yavimaya Bloomsage has Channel stapled to it. The only reason this isn't in S tier is because preparing it might take some effort and mana. If this came in prepared it would be a different story. Channel is very strong and could easily make this creature a target for removal. The free +1/+1 counter at your end step is a nice bonus though. I'm glad this exists but it likely won't be breaking games because of how much effort and time it takes to get Channel online.
Vastlands Scavenger is over-statted for what you pay for it plus it has a green reanimation spell attached to it. The only reason this isn't in S tier is it is hard to re-prepare but beyond that it has everything you want in a prepared card.
The final A tier prepared creature is quite obviously, Studious First-Year. Does it have good stats? Not really. Can it be re-prepared? Not easily. But is it a bear that can ramp? Yes. Now by my own metrics this should be closer to C or B tier but I love this bear and this is my list so Studious First-Year is clearly A tier. The only reason it isn't in S tier is it isn't a 2/2 bear... but I guess you can't win 'em all.
S Tier
Naturally, this is where the best of the best reside. Everything about these cards just work.
Our first S tier selection is Eiganjo Dynastorian. As a creature itself, it is nothing super special, but having a Replenish that can also be recurred is just so strong. It is not hard to prepare and re-prepare and any enchantment heavy deck would love to slot this in.
Naktamun Lorespinner is a reusable Wheel of Fortune on a 3/3 Jackal Wizard. If you burn through cards quickly, this is very easy to keep re-preparing too. This goes in decks with a lot of low CMC spells and wants to cast all of them fast.
Emeritus of Woe enters prepared and isn't hard to re-prepare. Getting the ability to recur Demonic Tutor of all things will likely get this thing killed but it is just so strong if you get it to work. Also the creature is only four mana for a 5/4 so that's fairly solid.
Our final S tier pick among prepared cards is Emeritus of Ideation. This one was spoiled early because one of the Power Nine is printed on it. Ancestral Recall is an outstanding draw spell. Because this creature enters prepared and can be re-prepared by exiling cards from your graveyard, this Emeritus is just so strong. All of that and it is a flying 5/5 with ward two, of course it is S tier. It's not as good as just Ancestral Recall but I do love the creativity and the work around to get one of the Power Nine back into current Magic. This card doesn't seem strong enough to need to be banned, all while being fantastic in commander.
The Full Tier List
S
A
B
C
D
F
If you made it this far, thank you for your continued support of ManyTCG. We really appreciate you being here. If you have any thoughts on this list, please share them in the comments. Did I rank something too harshly or too leniently? Do you now feel more prepared to build decks around Secrets of Strixhaven cards? Do the trolls in Strixhaven have a hard time eating with those obnoxious tusks in the way? Please tell me; I need to know.
