Welcome to the Daily Dose of Strixhaven. Today I’ll be talking about a few more cards with the new Learn mechanic. I’ve talked a little bit about the Learn mechanic before, but since then they’ve revealed some powerful cards that also allow you to Learn. Whenever I look at a new card, I always look for the value in that it removes something, is more powerful than anything else on the battlefield, or if it replaces itself. With cards with learn they always replace themselves if you have a Lesson in your sideboard to search for. If you can get more value on top of that then the card reaches new heights.
First up is an Equipment that helps you Learn and gain some life. Here is Poet’s Quill.
Poet's Quill
Sometimes when you cast an Equipment spell you can’t get any value from it immediately as you might not have the mana to also Equip it to a creature in the same turn. With Poet’s Quill though you can Learn and search for a Lesson from your sideboard. This replaces the card like a cantrip, and you feel a little better about possibly not equipping onto a creature right away. When you finally do get to equip Poet’s Quill you get to add 1 power and toughness as well as giving the creature lifelink. This can help you trade better, get through blockers and consistently gain life by equipping your creatures. I think there is enough overall value with this card that it could see some play. I look forward to using this in Limited play for sure.
If you like to bring back creatures repeatedly, nothing does that better than a learning Phoenix. Here is Retriever Phoenix.
Retriever Phoenix
This Phoenix is best played in a deck that is ready to constantly Learn. To start off you get to Learn when you cast it from your hand allowing you to gain a Lesson spell from your sideboard into your hand. It can then attack for two haste damage and continue to deliver some damage through the air. When it dies you have the option of changing future Lessons into a Phoenix instead. This is a great use of the Learn keyword if you either don’t have a Lesson you want to get, or you’ve run out of Lessons in your sideboard. Note that since you need to exchange each Learn for bringing back Retriever Phoenix, you can’t bring back multiple with one spell with Learn.
Finally, I have a simple creature that is large enough that it can provide a quick clock. Here is Gnarled Professor.
Gnarled Professor
This Treefolk professor helps you learn when it enters the battlefield, allowing you to search for your best Lesson to cast most likely the following turn. What you're left with though is one of the most powerful creatures in the set with the new Learn keyword. A 5/4 creature with trample is hard for your opponent to block and puts a four-turn clock on your opponent unless they can find a way to deal with it. Even if they can put a blocker in front, you might have got a Lesson that can help you deal with it or make your creature larger than their blocker. I think this card will see play for the versatile value of searching for a Lesson plus its pure power as an attacker.
With all these cards with Learn, you need a strong Lesson to search for. Here's Mascot Exhibition.
Mascot Exhibition
There are many great things about this card, but one of the most important things is that it can be searched for by all the three different coloured cards I talked about above. Being a cost of seven generic mana means you can have a strong late-game push thanks to this card. What do you get from this card you ask, nine power! This could combine with some synergies in the set or just help you with a go-wide strategy to overwhelm your opponent.
Three ways to learn and one important lesson from Strixhaven. One thing I know for sure is that I still have a lot to learn from this new set. Thanks again for reading the Daily Dose of Strixhaven. Join me again tomorrow to see what I learn next!
