The prepare mechanic shows up on creatures from all over Strixhaven. When a creature is 'prepared' you can use it to cast an instant or sorcery that's printed on its right hand side. It then becomes 'unprepared', but if you can prepare it again by using another card's effect, then you'll be able to repeat that spell multiple times.

Prepare cards look similar to Adventure cards from Eldraine and Omen cards from Tarkir Dragonstorm, but they function very differently. Make sure that you're prepared by slotting a few of these into your deck.

Paradigm is a mechanic that's designed to show off the final projects that Strixhaven students present to their professors as they graduate.

Paradigm takes inspiration from the mechanic Epic from the original Kamigawa block back in 2005. After a spell with Paradigm resolves, it goes into exile, where it then recasts itself during each of your subsequent main phase 1 for the rest of the game.

Strixhaven's all about casting as many instants and sorceries as you can, so spells with Paradigm guarantee that you'll always have a new spell queued up every turn.

Repartee is Silverquill's signature mechanic. Cards with repartee provide a bonus whenever you target a creature with an instant or a sorcery.

This means that you'll want to run lots of interaction in your black and white decks. Whether you're using removal to destroy your opponent's creatures, or buffing up your own using combat tricks.

Pupils of the college of wit and wisdom can use their mastery over words to both build their allies up and tear their enemies down.

Prismari students are all about the new opus mechanic. A card with opus pays you off for casting any instant or sorcery, but you get a bigger, more impactful bonus when you cast one with mana value five or greater.

As the campus theatre kids, Prismari students know that you need to go big or go home, and you'll be rewarded for casting massive spells if you include them in your deck.

Witherbloom is shaping up to be the lifegain faction of Secrets of Strixhaven, as demonstrated by the new infusion mechanic.

When you cast a card with infusion, it gains an additional beneficial effect if you've gained some life in your turn prior to playing it.

Build up a high life total, and then use infusion cards to create a powerful board state to protect it, that's the Witherbloom way.

Lorehold is the college of history, so it's only appropriate that they get the set's only returning mechanic.

Flashback is an old, but well loved way of recasting spells. A spell with flashback can be played again from the graveyard by paying its flashback cost, it resolves and then heads off into exile.

Flashback is a classic that pops up in many graveyard sets, and it's sure to be a welcome sight here.

Quandrix is the college of mathematics, and this is represented by the increment mechanic.

Creatures with increment gain a +1/+1 counter whenever their controller casts a spell with a mana value greater than their power or toughness. If you're able to add up enough counters over the course of a game, then you can get some pretty massive creatures.

Secrets of Strixhaven is due to release on April 24th, but pre-orders are open now.

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