We're finally returning to Strixhaven, and that means it's time to party... Repartee, my favorite mechanic from the upcoming Secrets of Strixhaven set. For the unfamiliar, Repartee is a new mechanic that shows up on 12 White and Black cards and rewards players for targeting Creatures with Instants and Sorceries.

Notably, this mechanic rewards you for targeting any Creature, regardless of who controls it. That means that your Heartless Act targeting an opposing Creature and your Dual-Sun Technique now provide extra value and reward Orzhov decks for doing what they already do best.

Our playgroup has already taken to dubbing the mechanic "Evil Heroic" for its similar play patterns and we are all excited to see the impact it has on Standard, Limited, and Eternal formats. Let's dive right in.

Repartee in Secrets of Strixhaven

Conciliator's Duelist

Starting off strong with a card that has the Cube community buzzing, Conciliator's Duelist promises to add exciting depth to the Orzhov section of many Cubes. In more powerful Legacy and Modern adjacent Cubes you get access to the best removal ever printed. Path to Exile and Fatal Push are already extremely efficient. When combined with Duelist they open up complex lines of gameplay that allow you to retrigger your most powerful ETB effects, remove blockers, and even save your own Creatures from opposing removal.

All of this is tied to a reasonably sized body that already has a strong ETB effect. If your Cube can overcome the tight mana restriction, Duelist promises to close out games in style.

Forum Necroscribe

A six-mana uncommon is unlikely to make big waves in most Constructed formats, but will likely end up being a reliable finisher in the Secrets of Strixhaven Limited environment. Ward - Discard a card, and a large body already make it a reasonable card to include into your control decks. Having a Reanimate effect tied to Repartee pushes it over the top.

When combined with cards like Masterful Flourish, it is very easy to set up a situation where you can protect your Necroscribe and grab a Creature from the bin that died earlier in the game.

Graduation Day

Graduation Day offers an interesting puzzle. While most Repartee cards are attached to a Creature, and many Repartee cards give you the ability to pump your Creatures, Graduation Day functions at a different speed. Ideally resolving on turn one, this Enchantment won't impact the board as much. In exchange, it dodges most removal and will have a tendency to hang around.

I imagine it will help you win games you were always going to win, but it won't save you when behind. If anything it is the type of card that screams to be the missing piece of an esoteric combo deck in Commander or other formats looking to lean in on +1/+1 counters.

Informed Inkwright

It has been a long time since we saw a Heroic strategy in Standard, but if you longed for those play patterns, Informed Inkwright is likely the closest you'll get. This card is the perfect power level for a rare. It begs to be built around and fits nicely into numerous strategies.

Aggro decks will enjoy its ability to go wide and decks that lean into more of a controlling role can use those same stats to clog up the board with 1/1 fliers that can either block to keep you alive or chip in for evasive damage. This is an absolute slam dunk in Limited and has a decent chance of showing up in fringe decks in Standard and Pioneer.

Inkling Mascot

Back in the day, we played Grizzly Bears and we liked it! Inkling Mascot is the embodiment of power creep and complexity creep all wrapped into one and will be a serious roleplayer in the Secrets of Strixhaven Limited environment. It becomes an evasive threat when its Repartee is triggered. The virtual card advantage provided by its ability to Surveil 1 for each activation pushes its value over the top.

This is not the card you build your deck around, but it is a card you will always be happy to play. When we look back at stats of the SOS draft environment, I imagine that Inkling Mascot surveilling an unwanted Land to the Graveyard will be responsible for many game wins.

Inkshape Demonstrator

Inkshape Demonstrator is the great stabilizer for your Repartee deck and its arrival on the battlefield will usually signal the transition of your role as the defender to the attacker. Putting any number of blockers in front of this Creature is a nightmare. You're just begging to be blown out. Ward 2 makes it hard to interact with, and the ability to gain Lifelink at Instant speed makes combat math particularly challenging.

Given that this card is uncommon and only in one color, I imagine that it will be snapped up by most drafters even if they are not in a dedicated Repartee deck. Think twice before passing it in a Draft because it likely won't come back.

Lecturing Scornmage

Everything wrong with Graduation Day for SOS Limited is everything right with Lecturing Scornmage. While its Repartee ability does not allow you pass out counters to any Creature, it promises to be an impactful uncommon for the decks lucky enough to draft it. Without doing any extra leg work, the Scornmage scales well into the late game and provides an early clock that makes it comparable to cards like Dragon's Rage Channeler.

Melancholic Poet

I'm not sure why Melancholic Poet is so sad, because I think he is going to be the bread and butter card of the dedicated Repartee deck in Secrets of Strixhaven Draft. Two-mana 2/2's are generally always going to have a home in Limited, but this card's ability to add a "Drain 1 life" clause to all your interactive spells will result in many games that feel lopsided. One or two copies of this card in your deck will make you feel like you are starting the game with 23 life while your opponent begins at 17.

Rehearsed Debater

While not a bad card, Rehearsed Debater very much falls into the camp of cards you will play if you have to, but are less excited about. The fact it gives its buff temporarily instead of in the form of a +1/+1 counter is a major setback when compared to other cards in the set. Additionally, 3 toughness is less than desirable when many common forms of removal like Last Gasp cleanly answer it. Despite having a hilarious bit of flavor text, I believe Debater will ride a lot of sideboards at draft night.

Scolding Administrator

Finally, we've reached the signpost uncommon of the Archetype. Scolding Administrator is everything you want in a Repartee card. It has an aggressive casting cost that allows you to resolve it before your removal spells. It scales to the late game and has built in evasion. Most importantly, it allows you to reposition the counters you've earned if it dies. If this card comes to you late in pack one, it is a sign that Repartee is wide open and you need to move in.

Snooping Page

I love cards like Snooping Page that force you to commit to specific gameplay loops for maximum value. While most Repartee cards provide value at any point in the game, the Page really rewards you for casting your spells in your precombat mainphase. In exchange you get an unblockable threat that draws you into more cards. Combined with any number of ways to buff its power and Snooping Page can become a real threat.

Stirring Hopesinger

Last but certainly not least, we have my favorite card from the entire set, Stirring Hopesinger. In Standard you might try to curve Informed Inkwright into the Hopesinger to deploy numerous tokens and help them grow. Particularly, this card shines because it really highlights the gameplay loop that a good Repartee deck wants to achieve.

Rather than having singular explosive turns like similar token decks and spellslinger decks, Stirring Hopesinger encourages you to play the long game and win through incremental advantage. This Creature has a decently high floor and terrifyingly high ceiling, and is my pick for the card that should probably go into any deck that can take advantage of its ability.

Conclusion

Repartee is not the strongest mechanic in a vacuum, but it does seem like the most fun. If you enjoy thoughtful games where you win by inches rather than miles and every decision matters, Repartee is sure to scratch that itch.

From a Limited perspective, it all seems to be very cohesive and will hopefully play out the way you want it to. Beyond that, the three rares have a real chance to make an impact in a variety of Constructed formats. Pick up your copies now, before more players realize that these cards make the best cards in Magic, even better.