MTG Secrets of Strixhaven Elder Dragons Tier List: Ranking All Five Founder Dragons
Magic: The Gathering's Secrets of Strixhaven reintroduced Arcavios' Elder Dragons, the founders of each Strixhaven college. This new cycle of Elder Dragons gives your instants and sorceries an existing MTG keyword. In this article, we rank all five Elder Dragons to see which one stands out the most.
5. Lorehold, the Historian
Lorehold, the Historian ranks fifth in this MTG Secrets of Strixhaven Elder Dragon tier list. The Lorehold founder has flying, haste, and a solid 5/5 body for its mana cost.
Lorehold, the Historian gives each instant and sorcery in your hand miracle 2. This lets you cast them for two mana if it's the first card you drew that turn. As a result, you can cast expensive spells at a significant discount. Additionally, Lorehold lets you discard a card at the beginning of each opponent's upkeep to draw a card. This effect lets you filter your hand and enables casting spells for miracle 2 on opponents' turns.
Lorehold, the Historian is a strong card with high potential payoffs from casting spells for miracle 2. However, it ranks fifth on my list because its colors hold it back. Unfortunately for the Lorehold founder, the other Elder Dragons in Secrets of Strixhaven have more impactful effects.
4. Prismari, the Inspiration
Prismari, the Inspiration ranks fourth in this MTG Secrets of Strixhaven Elder Dragon tier list. The Prismari founder has an expensive mana cost but has a ward ability that requires opponents to pay 5 life.
Prismari, the Inspiration gives instant and sorcery spells you cast storm. This mechanic lets you copy them for each spell cast before it this turn. Storm counts both your own and your opponents' spells cast, which can quickly get out of hand. As a result, it's one of the most overpowered mechanics introduced in Magic.
Prismari, the Inspiration granting your instants and sorceries storm is the most powerful effect among Secrets of Strixhaven's Elder Dragons. However, it only ranks fourth because of its expensive mana cost in a color pair not known for ramping up. Additionally, its ward cost is negligible in most cases, making this dragon prone to removal.
3. Quandrix, the Proof
Quandrix, the Proof ranks third in this MTG Secrets of Strixhaven Elder Dragon tier list. The Quandrix founder notably has Cascade, a mechanic that lets you cast a nonland card that costs less for free.
Quandrix, the Proof gives cascade to instant and sorcery spells you cast from your hand. This nets you additional payoffs when you're slinging spells from your hand. These payoffs can become more impactful as you cast more expensive instants and sorceries.
Quandrix, the Proof's inherent cascade provides immediate value when it's cast. However, the mechanic's randomness limits its consistency. As a result, it sits in the middle in this ranking.
2. Silverquill, the Disputant
Silverquill, the Disputant ranks second in this MTG Secrets of Strixhaven Elder Dragon tier list. The Silverquill founder has the lowest mana value among this cycle of Elder Dragons.
Silverquill, the Disputant gives Casualty 1 to each instant and sorcery spell you cast. This mechanic lets you sacrifice a creature with power 1 or greater when you cast an instant or sorcery. If you do, you can copy that spell and choose new targets for the copy.
Silverquill, the Disputant lets you get additional value from your instants and sorceries if you can pay its casualty cost. It combines spellslinging with Aristocrats, a popular White/Black archetype. This introduces a novel but synergistic take at an archetype its colors are known for. As a result of its low mana value and synergistic effects, it ranks second on my list.
1. Witherbloom, the Balancer
Witherbloom, the Balancer ranks first in this MTG Secrets of Strixhaven Elder Dragon tier list. The Witherbloom founder has the highest converted mana cost among this cycle of Elder Dragons. However, Witherbloom has affinity for creatures, which reduces its cost by 1 per creature you control.
Witherbloom, the Balancer gives instants and sorceries you cast affinity for creatures. This gives your instants and sorceries a discount that scales with how many creatures you have.
Witherbloom, the Balancer lets you cast big, splashy spells at a low cost as your creature count increases. Its color identity is also particularly strong at creating creature tokens and ramping, making this cost reduction easy to enable. As a result, Witherbloom takes the top spot on this tier list.
That wraps up our ranking of all five Elder Dragons from Magic: The Gathering's Secrets of Strixhaven. Each founder brings a different keyword mechanic that modifies instants and sorceries. While some have stronger payoffs than others, each one meaningfully enhances your spells.
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This story was originally published April 28, 2026 at 12:04 PM.