Secret Rendezvous – Strixhaven MTG Review

Pojo

4 years ago

Secret Rendezvous – Strixhaven

Date Reviewed: May 17, 2021

Ratings:
Constructed: 1.50
Casual: 2.75
Limited: 1.88
Multiplayer: 2.88
Commander [EDH]: 2.88

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.

Reviews Below:

David
Fanany
Player
since
1995

Let’s get something out of the way: white has never “needed” card drawing to be good. White has abilities that can stand up even in eternal formats, and dominate in the right context – some of its taxing and prison cards are among the most feared in formats like Australian Highlander, and have made an impact even in Legacy. If white’s strengths don’t translate well to Commander, your problem is with the people who make Commander’s rules. If Wizards of the Coast doesn’t want to put cards that push white’s strengths in Standard, your problem is with Wizards of the Coast.

Based on that, you might predict that I’m going to have a problem with Secret Rendezvous. I actually don’t – I think it’s an interesting card that definitely feels white. The fact that it’s super-symmetrical in 1v1 settings and feels political in multiplayer settings probably puts it more in the realm of combo or synergy cards like Howling Mine or Kami of the Crescent Moon. In that company, it’s not quite as efficient as some such options, and a one-shot burst of the effect is often not where you want to go when you’re leveraging a combo or synergy. You can’t even trust such an effect to get you any goodwill; Commander players sometimes have short memories. But if you need another effect of this type, it’s here for you, and I’d keep it in mind going forward: it may, at some point, make a critical mass of this style of card.

Constructed: 2/5
Casual: 3/5 (if you can figure out a way to make an Owling Mine or Underworld Dreams deck with white, it might help)
Limited: 2/5
Multiplayer: 3/5
Commander: 3/5

James H.

White’s dearth of card advantage has generally been a sore spot for a while, and this was apparently an experiment: give white cards, but in a way that isn’t actually going up in cards. This is one of those massive “risk” cards in serious formats, as any opponent should be able to take full advantage of that card draw before you get a chance to do anything with it. But if you have few other options, this can help you play politics and get a bit of extra gas in a pinch. I’m still not a fan, though, as it’s a potentially massive swing for an opponent that might see you wholly unable to make anything of it.

Constructed: 1 (white has trouble making this a net advantage without dipping into other colors)
Casual: 2.5
Limited: 1.75
Multiplayer: 2.75
Commander: 2.75

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