Scholars of spellcraft and sorcery will face off at Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven, and only one player will walk away with the title of Pro Tour champion. Unravel the Mystical Archive in the Limited rounds, then follow the ever-evolving metagame in the Standard rounds. We'll be covering the action live, so tune in on May 1–3 to see who will take home the trophy!
What Is the Pro Tour?
The Pro Tour is the culmination of many paths—all competitive—to one of Magic's most prestigious tournaments, with a $500,000 prize pool (and a trophy), invitations, and points to qualify for the annual Magic World Championship all up for grabs. The invite list is available online (and subject to change).
Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven will feature Secrets of Strixhaven Draft and Standard Constructed. Each 2026 Pro Tour competitor will receive a non-foil Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student promo card featuring art by Ampreh. The Top 32 players at Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven will also receive traditional foil copies of this promo.
Competitors who finish Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven with 30 or more match points will be invited to Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering® | Marvel Super Heroes at MagicCon: Amsterdam from July 17–19, 2026. All players compete for their share of $500,000 in prizes, with the Pro Tour Champion winning $50,000. All competitors will receive at least $500 regardless of their final placement. A full prize table will be published the week of April 27.
Where and When Can I Watch the Pro Tour?
Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, on May 1–3 as part of MagicCon: Las Vegas. MagicCon attendees can watch the action on the show floor. If you can't make it to the event, don't worry! You can stay up to date on all the action with our coverage, which will be streamed all three days of the event at twitch.tv/magic and youtube.com/@Play_MTG. Follow the players, their fans, and all the coverage at @Play_MTG or with the hashtag #PTSOS.
On Friday and Saturday—May 1 and 2—the stream starts at 11 a.m. PT (1 p.m. CT/3 a.m. JST on May 2 and 3) with three rounds of Secrets of Strixhaven Draft followed by five rounds of Standard Constructed.
On Sunday, May 3, the stream starts at 10 a.m. PT (12 p.m. CEST/2 a.m. JST on February 4) with all four quarterfinals matches, followed by the semifinals matches, and concluding with the finals of Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven.
Setting the Stage for Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven
The structure of Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven is the same as past Pro Tours: three rounds of Draft followed by five rounds of Constructed (in this case Standard). Players will need twelve match points on Day One (most likely comprised of four three-point wins) to come back on Day Two. Once there, it's a repeat performance, with another three rounds of Draft and five rounds of Standard Constructed. That brings us to the big cut, where we go all the way from the over 200 players who started Day Two to just the elite Top 8 who will fight for the title on Sunday.
There, it's Standard all the way, with each round featuring straight elimination in best three-out-of-five matches. Sideboarding—such an important part of the Standard puzzle—kicks in after the first two games, so those critical matchup-changers get to shine in Game 3 and beyond. Four quarterfinal, two semifinal, and the title match itself will give us a second Pro Tour champion in 2026.
What Are the Key Teams and Players of Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven?
What stories might we see play out on the big stage? There's no escaping the fact that teams have become a vital part of the Pro Tour landscape. It's possible for an individual to simply come up with the perfect Standard deck all on their own, put in enough reps, assemble enough data, and dominate in Draft. But having five, ten, or twenty fellow travelers who all share your goal sure helps. I'm not quite ready to say that the time of the lone wolf player is over, but the sheer volume and professionalism of Pro Tour testing teams makes it very hard to come out on top as a solo player..
Looking at the teams coming into the season, there were a clear big four: TCGplayer, Handshake Moxfield, Moriyama Japan, and Cosmos Heavy Play. How did they fare at Pro Tour Lorwyn Eclipsed in Richmond? There's no escaping the fact that TCGplayer had a bit of a shocker. Six members of their sixteen-person roster didn't make it out of Day One, only three hit the requalification mark of 10-6, and their best player finished in 28th. For a team that won two of the four major events last year, that was a grim start, and they'll want to amend that.
Handshake Moxfield had a poor Day One, a very solid Day Two, and got representation into Day Three. Five of their fourteen players couldn't get out of Day One unscathed. That's the bad news. Five managed ten wins or better, which is really good. Arne Huschenbeth and Simon Nielsen were both just one win away from the Top 8 mark at 11-5, and Guglielmo Lupi reached the Top 8 before losing in the quarterfinals. That's a solid start to the season.
Moriyama Japan only lost two of their fourteen on Day One. Four got to 10-6 or better, but only Ken Yukuhiro got within one match win of the Top 8 at 11-5. With half their complement finishing at either 9-7 or 8-8, they performed above average for the field, but not an above-average performance for a team that expects so much of themselves. They will expect more in Vegas, and you should probably expect more from them, too.
Then there's Cosmos Heavy Play. When you end the tournament holding the trophy, your story becomes, "We won the trophy." So, hey, Cosmos Heavy Play won the trophy. Christoffer Larsen held his nerve through a magnificent match against Toni Portolan to take Game 5, a situation he was used to, having won Game 5s throughout Sunday. Larsen has always been popular amongst his fellow players—he tends to make sure you have a good time, even if you're losing to him—and his Dimir Excruciator deck provided so many great moments.
Sure, Cosmos had a great weekend because they won the whole thing. But go deeper and there's a lot more to like. Luis Salvatto gave them two shots at the title on Sunday, using the same Excruciator deck as Larsen. Two more (Jack Potter and Alejandro Mora) requalified. Only two of their sixteen players missed out on Day Two.
But the real winning by Cosmos came after Pro Tour Lorwyn Eclipsed.
As the team rosters have come in, it's clear that Cosmos have been working hard in what we might call "free agency." Their roster for Richmond was really good. Any list that includes former Player of the Year Salvatto and a two-time World Champion in Javier Dominguez is going to be good. But these four additions for Vegas are, to use a technical term, bananas:
- Eli Kassis: Champion, Neon Dynasty Championship; Finalist, World Championship XXVIII
- Michael Plummer: Champion, Arena Championship 10; Champion, Pro Tour Edge of Eternities
- Jake Beardsley: Champion, Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings
- Nathan Steuer: Champion, Magic Online Champions Showcase Season 3 2021; Champion, Magic World Championship XXVIII; Champion, Magic Online Champions Showcase Season 2 2022; Champion, Pro Tour March of the Machine
That's an absurd level of firepower to add to a team that already boasts Salvatto, Dominguez, and the newly crowned champion Larsen. Can other teams compete?
Two that might are The Boulder and Little Italy. The Boulder had, by a country mile, the best record in Richmond. Every last one of them believed that Izzet Spellementals could be the deck of the tournament, and every last one of them was right. They dominated Constructed, and it's just one of the quirks of tournament play that their "failure" to put someone into the Top 8 meant some casual observers didn't spot their epic success, especially as a newly formed team. Now, they have to try to repeat the trick and find the right answer again. As for the Italians, they were the third-best performing team, only a fraction behind Cosmos. Whether they can keep that pace is debatable, as they had a large team in Richmond and are only bringing four players to Vegas.
In total, there are close to twenty teams in action in Vegas. Watch out for Team Main Phase, who have one of their largest rosters, with nine taking the starting line; Team Undying Baguette, the French team led by Jean-Emmanuel Depraz; and Team Pluto, the Spanish team led by Pro Tour Edge of Eternities finalist Francisco Sánchez.
There's much to look forward to: a new set to draft, the latest iteration of Standard, teams old and new looking to make their move, a Danish Champion looking to repeat, and a pivotal three days in the story of the 2026 season. Make sure you join us for all the action!
Secrets of Strixhaven Draft Overview
But there's more to Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven than just teams. There are also five colleges, each aligned with one of Secrets of Strixhaven's two-color draft archetypes. These archetypes will define the Limited rounds that kick off Friday and Saturday, so it's important to study up on what to expect from Magic's latest set.
Muse's Encouragement
Dissection Practice
Tome Blast
Wild Hypothesis
Secrets of Strixhaven resembles past factionalized sets like Tarkir: Dragonstorm, as each archetype has its own mechanic and specialized strategy. Drafters will need to identify what's open or risk falling behind their classmates. Cards that bridge the gap between strategies are fundamental. For example,
Deduce [YKAkKN3kbJgJa186Xfmuf]
Bitter Triumph [2XIj1ylhDjePEBFlVqt6Rm]
Burst Lightning [4gOTtSFZwshmCjCiUQq1y]
Giant Growth [45A7LQpFfNJHaZ2AZi27qy]
But there's a not-so-secret twist in this set that could change how players draft. Each Play Booster contains a Mystical Archive card, ranging from Standard staples like
Meet the Casters of Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven
Our coverage team of esteemed Magic scholars is prepared for Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven. They'll educate you on all the action, from the top cards from Secret of Strixhaven to the key Standard decks that will define the metagame. Attend their lectures and watch their coverage live on twitch.tv/magic and youtube.com/@Play_MTG! If you prefer written coursework, we'll also recap the action right here on Magic.gg.
When Will Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven Decklists Be Published?
Standard Constructed decklists for the tournament will be published on the Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven event page on Friday, May 1, at the beginning of Round 4 gameplay. All Secrets of Strixhaven Draft decklists will not be published.
You can watch coverage for Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven each day here at Magic.gg, twitch.tv/magic, and youtube.com/@Play_MTG.
Can I Co-Stream the Event?
Following Twitch's Content Sharing Guidelines, you can co-stream the broadcast from twitch.tv/magic using OBS or XSplit. This allows anyone on Twitch to cover the event in their voice and with their community. To be clear, co-streamed content is not endorsed by Wizards, and we expect anyone who participates in co-streaming to follow Wizards's Fan Content Policy.