Table of Contents
Arise, my pretties, do my bidding. Wait, we aren’t in black. This is Boros, and we aren’t an Equipment deck. Are we in Reality Fracture already? No, this is Secrets of Strixhaven. That must mean we’re in Lorehold, where dusty relics are uncovered and ancient spirits rise once again.
Lorehold is for passionate scholars and explorers, dedicating their studies to adventure and discovery. Their motto is “Leave no stone unturned.”
In case you’re a freshly awakened spirit with no money, I have the upgrades for you. This blog is going to make 10 changes to the Lorehold Spirit Commander deck, all for less than £10.
product::magic-the-gathering-secrets-of-strixhaven-lorehold-spirit-commander-deck
The Commanders
The Face Commander
The face commander for Lorehold Spirit is [[Quintorius, History Chaser]].
https://scryfall.com/card/soc/7/quintorius-history-chaser
We are back to having a Planeswalker commander, and the main reason to use Quintorius is that static ability. Every time a creature leaves your graveyard, you get a 3/2 red and white Spirit creature token. Both of Quintorius’s abilities help fuel that plan.
The +1 puts two cards into your graveyard while also netting you cards. Super looting. Then, once you have enough of a board, you can give your Spirits double strike. It also gives them vigilance, so you don’t need to worry as much about your opponents attacking back.
The Alt Commander
The alternative commander is [[Excava, the Risen Past]].
https://scryfall.com/card/soc/2/excava-the-risen-past
If you built [[Excava, the Risen Past]] fully from the ground up, you could have a very unique Boros reanimator-style deck. A very “cheap” way to do this would be to use [[Hare Apparent]], sacrifice them for value, then keep returning them with Excava to get the enters trigger again.
In the current build, Excava works to trigger [[Quintorius, History Chaser]] and bring back random value pieces. Bringing back [[Bitterthorn, Nissa's Animus]] has some funny interactions, because creatures cannot be “equipped” or “enchanted”. They can’t be the Aura doing the enchanting, or in this case the Equipment being equipped.
So, if Bitterthorn comes back as a creature, the living weapon part does nothing. There is a reason the Neon Dynasty Equipment creatures had a unique mechanic.
Speaking of which, let’s look at the upgrades.
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Budget Upgrades
Upgrade 1
IN: Lion Sash
https://scryfall.com/card/neo/26/lion-sash
[[Lion Sash]] is my first upgrade. This is one of the Neon Dynasty Equipment creatures I was just talking about. It uses reconfigure instead of equip, as it needs to stop being a creature before it can be attached.
But that isn’t the main reason I want it here. It’s because it’s basically a white version of [[Scavenging Ooze]]. [[Quintorius, History Chaser]] really wants repeatable ways to remove cards from your graveyard, and the easiest way to do that is by exiling them. That’s exactly what [[Lion Sash]] does.
For {W}, you get to exile a card and make a Spirit via Quintorius. If the exiled card was a permanent, Lion Sash also gets a buff, and most of the cards in this deck are permanents anyway. So it’s also not unreasonable to reconfigure Lion Sash onto a flying creature and start hitting hard.
OUT: Mountain
https://scryfall.com/card/sos/278/mountain
Coming out is a [[Mountain]]. While 37 lands is a reasonable number, I needed to make a cut, and since [[Quintorius, History Chaser]] lets you rummage, discarding then drawing, dropping a land is probably fine.
Don’t blame me if you get mana screwed, though. Totally not my fault.
Upgrade 2/3
IN: Scrabbling Claws + Unlicensed Hearse
https://scryfall.com/card/rna/238/scrabbling-claws
https://scryfall.com/card/snc/246/unlicensed-hearse
My next two upgrades follow on from the first: [[Scrabbling Claws]] and [[Unlicensed Hearse]]. Both of these have a simple tap to exile a card from a graveyard effect, which is a clean and repeatable way to trigger [[Quintorius, History Chaser]].
[[Scrabbling Claws]] is the simpler of the two, only exiling a single card at a time. But it does have the option to cycle itself away, letting you draw a card in an emergency, or in response to someone trying to remove it.
[[Unlicensed Hearse]] is slightly different. It exiles up to two cards from a single graveyard, so you can just remove one if you want. It is also a Vehicle, meaning it can become a creature if you pay the crew cost. In this case, that means tapping at least two power worth of creatures, which is something you should have from all the Spirits Quintorius is making.
OUT: Perpetual Timepiece + Spirit of Resilience
https://scryfall.com/card/soc/354/perpetual-timepiece
https://scryfall.com/card/soc/37/spirit-of-resilience
I am cutting [[Perpetual Timepiece]]. This is just a worse way to remove cards, because it only does it as a one-time effect. While it does have the mill ability to help fill your graveyard, I don’t think that will be much of an issue here.
Any time you really want to be removing cards is when you already have [[Quintorius, History Chaser]] on the battlefield, and his +1 will already be putting cards into the graveyard for you. So why do we need [[Perpetual Timepiece]]?
[[Spirit of Resilience]] is the other card I’m removing. It is a new and unique effect, being able to copy a creature when that creature gets removed. That could be cool in something like a Rakdos reanimator deck where you are repeatedly bringing back [[Archon of Cruelty]].
But in this deck, you don’t really want a one-time version of a creature. You are looking for longer-term value, where the creature stays on the battlefield for multiple turns and keeps accruing that value.
Upgrade 4
IN: Summoner's Sending
https://scryfall.com/card/fic/29/summoners-sending
My next upgrade also exiles cards, but it does it for free: [[Summoner's Sending]]. While this can only exile creatures, that is about a third of the deck, so it is a pretty safe inclusion.
We also get the added benefit of making a 1/1 flying Spirit. That works nicely with all the Kindred Spirit cards already in the deck.
If this card had a slightly different name, I feel like it would have made it into the precon already. I’m not sure how much Wizards cares about names fitting a deck’s lore, but I have to assume it matters at least a little, based on some of the choices they have made in previous decks. [[Summoner's Sending]] just fits too cleanly otherwise.
OUT: Monologue Tax
https://scryfall.com/card/soc/157/monologue-tax
[[Monologue Tax]] is such an awesome card, tying the flavour into the mechanics. If your opponents are casting too many spells, you get a Treasure. It is also a nice callback to the original Strixhaven decks where it first came from.
I just find minimal use for it in Lorehold Spirit. In lower brackets, your opponents casting multiple spells in a turn is a lot rarer. I tend to see people tapping out to cast the biggest spell they can on curve.
By the time players do have the mana to cast two spells in a turn, we should already have enough mana that the Treasure doesn’t matter much anyway.
Upgrade 5
IN: Wondrous Crucible
https://scryfall.com/card/brc/20/wondrous-crucible
While [[Wondrous Crucible]] is an expensive card, it does everything this deck wants. It has built-in protection with ward 2, and it also grants ward 2 to all of your permanents.
Then it just gives you free value. It mills and then exiles, triggering [[Quintorius, History Chaser]] while also giving you a free copy of whatever you exile. Seven mana is a lot to pay, but you get a huge effect for it.
On each of your end steps, you get a 3/2 Spirit from Quintorius and then a random nonland card as well. That is a lot of value from one card.
OUT: Laelia, the Blade Reforged
https://scryfall.com/card/soc/246/laelia-the-blade-reforged
[[Laelia, the Blade Reforged]] is a little out of place in this deck. She is an absolute powerhouse in Cube draft and even sees some occasional play in Legacy, but I don’t quite think she hits the mark in Lorehold Spirit.
While Laelia does have some synergy with exiling your cards, all you are really doing is buffing Laelia herself. She doesn’t even have evasion to help push through the damage.
She is very much an aggressive card, and that just isn’t really in keeping with the go-wide exile theme this deck wants.
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Upgrade 6
IN: On Wings of Gold
https://scryfall.com/card/drc/5/on-wings-of-gold
[[On Wings of Gold]] is a card I thought would already have been in the deck. Like [[Summoner's Sending]], I think the name is probably what held it back. It fits far too well otherwise, which is exactly why I’m adding it.
All of your Spirit tokens can now fly, while also getting a +1/+1 buff. Not only that, but you also make Zombie tokens whenever cards leave your graveyard. That basically doubles up on the [[Quintorius, History Chaser]] effect.
Now, instead of just making a 3/2 Spirit, you also get a 1/1 Zombie. With [[On Wings of Gold]] in play, those become a flying 4/3 and a 2/2. Not bad for a three-mana enchantment.
OUT: Naktamun Lorespinner // Wheel of Fortune
https://scryfall.com/card/soc/33/naktamun-lorespinner-wheel-of-fortune
[[Naktamun Lorespinner // Wheel of Fortune]] is a new card that I’m cutting. While [[Wheel of Fortune]] is obviously a powerful effect, I don’t think this deck really needs it.
I can see the appeal, especially as a way to help fill the graveyard, but it just isn’t all that reliable to get [[Naktamun Lorespinner]] set up and ready in the first place.
Upgrade 7
IN: Banon, the Returners' Leader
https://scryfall.com/card/fic/78/banon-the-returners-leader
[[Banon, the Returners' Leader]] has a more limited use case, as it needs the creature to have gone into the graveyard this turn from somewhere other than the battlefield. Even so, it still gives us extra value.
Not only does Banon help fill the graveyard itself with the rummage trigger on attack, but we can also use the +1 from [[Quintorius, History Chaser]] to do the same. [[Banon, the Returners' Leader]] doesn’t care how the creature got there, so we can freely discard the creature we wanted to cast anyway, then bring it back and get a 3/2 Spirit as well.
That’s just added value on top of what the deck is already trying to do.
OUT: White Orchid Phantom
https://scryfall.com/card/soc/184/white-orchid-phantom
I’m pretty sure [[White Orchid Phantom]] only made it into this deck because it was a Spirit. I’m not really sure what else it is doing for us here.
Yes, the land hate can be useful, but it isn’t even a [[Stone Rain]] because it replaces the land it removes. That kind of effect is much more relevant in higher brackets, where players are leaning on more busted lands.
But in lower brackets, playing a 2 mana 2/2 just to blow up a random land really isn’t worth it.
Upgrade 8
IN: Court of Ardenvale
https://scryfall.com/card/woc/21/court-of-ardenvale
[[Court of Ardenvale]] is one of my pricier upgrades. It does a pretty good impression of [[Excava, the Risen Past]], but as an enchantment.
Normally, I don’t like introducing the Monarch into a game because it is very easy to lose it and never get it back. But here, I’m hoping that an army of Spirits can keep other players off it, or at least help us take it back.
That gives us the extra card draw from the Monarch, alongside the reanimation effect from [[Court of Ardenvale]]. That is a lot of value from one card.
OUT: Secret Rendezvous
https://scryfall.com/card/soc/166/secret-rendezvous
I cut [[Secret Rendezvous]] from the Silverquill Influence deck as well. I don’t really want to be handing resources to other players, which is also why I don’t always love the Monarch mechanic.
That said, the value from [[Court of Ardenvale]] is just so much better than [[Secret Rendezvous]] that I think it is worth it here.
Upgrade 9
IN: Deification
https://scryfall.com/card/mat/2/deification
Part of the problem with using a Planeswalker commander is that it becomes a very easy target for the rest of the table. [[Deification]] helps fix that.
It gives [[Quintorius, History Chaser]] hexproof, so he can’t just be removed outright, and it also stops him from dying to combat damage. While you probably won’t get to fire off the “ultimate”, you can still keep gaining value from the rummage ability.
Really, this is about preserving Quintorius and saving yourself from having to cast him over and over again.
OUT: Remorseful Cleric
https://scryfall.com/card/soc/164/remorseful-cleric
Again, this feels like another card that only made it into the deck because it is a Spirit. [[Remorseful Cleric]] does have some value, as it can exile a graveyard, but it does it all in one go.
That means you would only get one token from [[Quintorius, History Chaser]], because Quintorius is worded as “one or more”. Worse still, you need to sacrifice [[Remorseful Cleric]] to do it, which means it isn’t a repeatable effect.
Upgrade 10
IN: Drogskol Reinforcements
https://scryfall.com/card/voc/5/drogskol-reinforcements
[[Drogskol Reinforcements]] is a much more synergistic Spirit for this deck, giving all Spirits melee. That will often mean something like a +3/+3 buff across the team.
Because this is a go-wide deck, and because we have plenty of disposable tokens, we can just send them in. That makes the melee bonus a very real anthem effect for the board.
It also gives you extra protection by preventing all non-combat damage dealt to Spirits. That means cards like [[Wave of Reckoning]] will only kill your opponents’ creatures, while all of your Spirits survive because they can’t damage themselves.
OUT: Atsushi, the Blazing Sky
https://scryfall.com/card/soc/236/atsushi-the-blazing-sky
My final cut is [[Atsushi, the Blazing Sky]]. While Atsushi is a good card, Lorehold Spirit is just the wrong deck for it.
This deck doesn’t have a good way to sacrifice it on demand, so you are left hoping to block with it or hoping your opponents block it. That means the timing for getting either of its effects is much more limited.
In the right deck, you get control over that timing, which lets you maximise the value by choosing whether you need the Treasure for acceleration or the cards for digging. Here, we have a much harder time controlling that, so I’m cutting it.
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Non-budget Upgrades
These cards were outside the budget for this article, but they fit the deck extremely well and are worth considering if you’re happy to spend a little more:
https://scryfall.com/card/woe/242/agathas-soul-cauldron
https://scryfall.com/card/ema/231/relic-of-progenitus
https://scryfall.com/card/ema/231/relic-of-progenitus
https://scryfall.com/card/tdm/11/elspeth-storm-slayer
https://scryfall.com/card/sos/194/hardened-academic
https://scryfall.com/card/tdc/120/hour-of-reckoning
https://scryfall.com/card/sos/173/ark-of-hunger
https://scryfall.com/card/dft/237/monument-to-endurance
https://scryfall.com/card/drc/7/renewed-solidarity
https://scryfall.com/card/blb/6/caretakers-talent
Final Thoughts
Lorehold Spirit has some of the best value in reprints. It’s great to see some big cards making their way into precons. All five of the decks got at least one, but Lorehold Spirit gets six cards over £5:
- [[Drumbellower]]
- [[Moonshaker Cavalry]]
- [[Wave of Reckoning]]
- [[Bitterthorn, Nissa's Animus]]
- [[Currency Converter]]
- [[Emeria, the Sky Ruin]]
Each of these is a solid card and one that was in need of a reprint, so it’s good to see them included here.
The deck also looks like it supports a bit of a Spirit typal theme. Cards like [[Patchwork Banner]] can help fix your mana while also buffing your Spirits. The deck could lean much harder into that direction, but it doesn’t have to.
I guess it’s up to you how you want to build it from here.
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PS. All the card prices were under budget at the time of writing, but the dynamic price may have changed since then.
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