Spring is here, which means that it is time for the second Magic: The Gathering set of the year to arrive. Now that Kaldheim's time in the spotlight is coming to an end, MtG players are starting to prepare for the upcoming release of Strixhaven: School of Mages.
The upcoming spring 2021 Magic: The Gathering set will be Standard legal and is set to provide some exciting new cards for Constructed players to tinker with, as well as an engaging set to shake up the Limited scene. The Strixhaven spoiler season is nearly over, which means that the full release of the new set of cards is just weeks away.
By the time April 9 rolls around, the full set spoilers should be available for fans to study and judge, as they begin to predict what archetypes will rule the Limited format and what impact the new cards will have on the Standard metagame. As always, the set will have a pre-release event before the official launch later this month, but that will likely be limited to online events only considering the pandemic restrictions on in-person events and some shipping delays.
Here is the plan for the scheduled rollout at this point...
Previews (Spoiler Season) - March 25 - April 9
Arena and MTGO Launch - April 15
Prerelease - April 16 - 18
Tabletop Release - April 23
The key date for many players is going to be April 15. When that digital release date arrives, players will be able to jump into Strixhaven events on Magic Arena, likely a lot of sealed tournaments, and begin cracking open packs to build Limited decks and take the new cards for a spin.
Obviously, players who prefer the physical Magic: The Gathering experience will probably be a bit more interested in the full paper release on April 23. That is the date when packs should be readily available in game stores and online and players can start picking up all of the new staples that they need to get their Constructed decks ready for any big metagame shakeups that the Strixhaven card pool introduces.
At this point, fans should try to follow along with the spoilers, so that they aren't totally surprised by each card during their first Strixhaven tournament online next week. Spoilers are released across a number of sites, but Wizards of the Coast compiles a full visual spoiler list once all of the exclusive reveals are finished. Fans can also find tons of articles, podcasts, and other resources to hear pros speculating about best strategies for the early days of Strixhaven Limited and Constructed and how to value the new cards.
Magic: The Gathering is available now and the Strixhaven: School of Mages set releases on April 15 for MTGO and Arena and in paper on April 23, 2021.
Source: Wizards of the Coast