Wizards of the Coast's Secrets of Strixhaven Commander precons arrive with a genuinely interesting design tension baked in — and the Prismari Artistry deck is the one that deserves the most attention from competitive-minded players looking to squeeze value out of a box-price entry point.
The deck's commander, Rootha, Mastering the Moment, flips the Izzet script entirely. Forget the cantrip-chaining, storm-counting, twenty-spells-in-a-turn approach that's defined blue-red Commander builds for years. Rootha wants you casting massive, high-mana-value instants and sorceries — and rewards you with an X/X Elemental token with flying and haste at the start of each combat, where X equals the greatest mana value among instants and sorceries you control or in your graveyard. Cast a Apex of Power for ten mana, and you're swinging with a 10/10 flier before your opponents even blink.
That's a meaningful mechanical identity. The question is whether the out-of-box card selection supports it well enough — and the honest answer is: partially.
Where the Precon Falls Short
The stock list runs into a familiar precon problem: dilution. Wizards has to balance accessibility with power, which means the 99 includes some lower-mana-value filler that actively works against Rootha's scaling mechanic. Cards hovering in the two-to-four mana value range don't move the needle on your Elemental token. You want spells that cost seven, eight, nine mana — the kind of haymakers that turn Rootha's trigger into a legitimate win condition rather than a 4/4 that trades with a random token.
The upgrade path here is unusually clear compared to most precons, which is actually a point in this deck's favor. You're not trying to fix a broken strategy — you're sharpening a focused one.
Priority targets on the secondary market right now include:
- Apex of Power — currently sitting around $1.50 in near-mint, an absurd rate for a card that becomes your best Rootha enabler
- Torment of Hailfire — X-spell with devastating late-game reach, available under $8 in most conditions
- Mizzix's Mastery — overloading this off a stacked graveyard is a near-instant win; copies run $3–$5
- Expropriate — the ceiling for what Rootha can threaten; Near Mint copies hover around $12–$15, a reasonable investment for the effect
- Mana Geyser — underrated ramp that fuels your big spells in multiplayer; under $1 in most formats
The mana base also needs work. The precon ships with a standard mix of basics and a handful of enters-tapped dual lands — functional, but not fast enough for a strategy that needs to hit seven-plus mana reliably. A set of Izzet Signet, Arcane Signet, and Thought Vessel runs under $10 combined and meaningfully accelerates your game plan.
The Market Angle Collectors Should Track
Here's what most upgrade guides miss: Secrets of Strixhaven precons are already showing the price compression pattern that hits Commander product roughly six to nine months post-release. The Prismari Artistry box currently retails between $35–$45 at most local game stores, with secondary market listings on TCGPlayer clustering around $38–$42 for sealed product. That's a thin margin for speculators, but a reasonable entry for players.
The more interesting play is the singles market around Rootha herself. As a new commander with a distinctive ability, she'll attract a dedicated brewing community — and the staples that synergize specifically with high-mana-value spells in Izzet colors are a finite pool. Apex of Power in particular has historically spiked whenever a new big-spell commander enters the format. It happened with Mizzix of the Izmagnus back in 2015, and the pattern is consistent enough to take seriously.
PSA and BGS grading activity on MTG Commander singles remains modest compared to flagship sets, but foil extended-art versions of key Rootha synergy pieces from Strixhaven's main set — think Galazeth Prismari and Solve the Equation — are the kind of low-population targets that tend to reward early submission before a commander finds its audience.
Rootha won't be the flashiest commander in the format. She's not breaking into the top tier of EDHREC's most-built lists anytime soon. But the deck has a coherent identity, an achievable upgrade path under $50, and a mechanical hook that rewards players who commit to the bit. In a precon market increasingly crowded with unfocused 99-card piles, that counts for something.
The big-spell Izzet deck has been waiting for a commander that actually wants the big spells. Rootha is the closest thing we've gotten.