Magic: The Gathering is back in Strixhaven, and the newest set might be the best of 2026 so far (yes, even better than Lorwyn Eclipsed in this humble writer’s opinion).

It also includes five new preconstructed Commander decks for anyone playing Magic’s most popular format, each tied to one of the in-game colleges.

Still, not all are built equally; some of these decks are better than others, although I’d say these are some of the best precons in a while, even for our ‘last’ pick.

It’s worth stressing that the contents of each of these precons are identical insofar as you’re getting a deck, a cardboard deckbox, and a strategy insert. You’re not getting the Collector Booster sample anymore, so don’t expect those as a cherry on top.

We’re also not touching too heavily on financial analysis here because as soon as these decks are in the wild, cards will drop in price significantly.

With all that out of the way, here’s our ranking of the Commander precons for Secrets of Strixhaven.

Notable reprints: Faerie Mastermind, Harmonic Prodigy, Goldspan Dragon

A Red/Blue spellslinger deck? How original! Sarcasm aside, Prismari Artistry offers a slight tweak on the theme of throwing as many spells per turn by turning your biggest spells into heavy-hitting Elemental token creatures.

Sadly, it’s just not as imaginative as others on this list, but there are some cards here I’m tempted to buy the deck for. If the Commander, Rootha, is taken out, though, it’ll struggle to get going.

Notable reprints: Ozolith, the Shattered Spire, Benevolent Hydra, Primordial Hydra, Three Visits

I love this deck. Maybe it’s because my prerelease box was Green/Blue, so I’ve come to love that pairing for this set, but this deck is an awful lot of fun to play because its Commander, Zimone, Infinite Analyst, is an excellent engine.

Zimone powers up when you cast a spell with X in the mana value, and then reduces the cost of X spells later by the number of counters on her. That makes her potentially very scary, just half a dozen turns in — and there are 27 ‘X’ spells in the deck!

Notable reprints: Emeria, the Sky Ruin, Bitterthorn, Nissa’s Animus, Moonshaker Cavalry, Drumbellower, Currency Converter

It says something that on another day, the top three decks on this list could be placed in another order, but Lorehold Spirit takes up third place here. It’s helmed by a Planeswalker, Quintorius, History Chaser.

This Red/White deck is all about making Spirit tokens by getting cards out of your graveyard, and it’s really successful in doing so. The reprints are also very, very welcome.

Notable reprints: Ohran Frostfang, Nether Traitor, Toxic Deluge

This Green/Black deck leans on token creatures that you can then sacrifice to power up other creatures. It’s nothing revolutionary, but the fact that there are 39 creatures to sacrifice at any time, plus a really solid mana base, mean this is a cut above the majority of token-focused decks.

Out of the box, Witherbloom Pestilence is very, very cohesive - but doesn’t beat the top pick of our list.

Notable reprints: Land Tax, Inkshield, Breena, the Demagogue

Silverquill Influence is a really fun deck that leans into a goading theme that we don’t see in Black/White all that often. You’ll get players scrapping against each other when you play and Enchantment, and you’ll have a ton of those to play with.

The idea is to use Auras and Enchantments to get your foes fighting anyone but you, while still having some solid creatures to attack or defend when you need to.

There's a good reason why it's out of stock everywhere but notable resale sites like TCGplayer. Market price for this deck is already running up to $85+, so I'd snap it up fast if you spot it at MSRP anytime soon.

Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He's a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife's dismay.

Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced, Ubisoft's long-awaited pirate game remake, will feature major changes when it launches on July 9 — with the addition of new story quests and characters, but the removal of several key features.

In a detailed presentation on the game attended by IGN, Ubisoft explained that it had decided to focus solely on the single-player story of Black Flag's pirate-turned-Assassin Edward Kenway, meaning that the game's Freedom Cry DLC has not been integrated, its original multiplayer mode has been ditched, and its previous playable modern day sections have been excised.

Some small modern day story offering will still be included, it sounded like, though the exact details of this are unclear. One things for sure, though, you won't be wandering around the offices of Abstergo Entertainment as you once did — something that leaves unanswered implications for the game's bloodline-related story.

"With Resynced, we made a clear choice," Resynced creative director Paul Fu said. "It is a pure, story-driven adventure, and we are fully focused on Edward's adventures in the Caribbean. As a result of this focus, we have elected to not have the multiplayer, or the DLC. Resynced is a 2026 take on the original legend, and for those of us who are curious, the original will still be available."

Black Flag's previous modern day let you wander around the offices of Abstergo Entertainment, which looked suspiciously like the offices of the game's real-world developer Ubisoft Montreal. Gameplay here was limited, but players were able to access computers and gather lore, as a parallel story unfolded that focused on franchise baddie Juno and her husband. To be fair, it would be more difficult now, more than a decade later, to put all of this into context — but it remains to be seen how Black Flag's full story is told without its inclusion, and fans have previously expressed disappointment after word leaked regarding the change.

"Back then in 2013, the present day reflected where the franchise was at," said Assassin's Creed franchise veteran Jean Guesdon, creative director of the original Black Flag and now Head of Content for the overall series. "It was a transition moment especially with Desmond's story and what it meant at the time. But now with Resynced, I think there were some changes needed."

"Today, the modern day has evolved," Fu agreed. "For Resynced, we have approached it in a way that focuses on Edward's journey, while still connecting his memories to the Animus. The modern day rifts in Resynced will feature new moments that focus on Edward's internal struggles."

While some content has been removed, Ubisoft is keen to emphasize the new additions it has been working on, including three new crewmates for Edward to befriend and install on his beloved Jackdaw. These fresh additions are original characters (introduced as Lucy Baldwin, "The Padre", and "Dead Man Smith") and each come with their own individual story quests to follow.

Additional scenes have been recorded with Edward himself (once again played by returning actor Matt Ryan), with other new story moments for two of the original game's best characters, Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet. (No mention was made of more for Mary Read, though, alas.) In particular, Ubisoft called out a fresh scene featuring Edward and his wife Caroline, and stated that this had been penned by Darby McDevitt, the prolific Assassin's Creed scribe who wrote the original Black Flag (and also Revelations, Valhalla and the upcoming Hexe, among others).

Alongside additions to the game's story, Ubisoft has of course been tinkering with its gameplay mechanics. Combat has been rebuilt to resemble the parry-focused system seen in more recent entries, though without the addition of fancy special attacks that would have seemed out of place. Rather than a desire to make the game's systems play exactly like the series' recent RPGs, the developer is keen to impress that the original Black Flag still lies underneath.

"Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced matters deeply to us, and to you," said game director Richard Knight. "That's why we took the time to rebuild it with the care it deserves. This remains a solo adventure and character-driven experience. It is not an RPG. The focus stays on how you play, and how you explore the world."

Familiar parkour options are also now available, including free jumps, side ejects and back ejects. You can toggle crouch, too, all of which should feel familiar to Shadows players. The original game's fiddly eavesdrop missions will no longer auto-fail if you get detected, and there's fresh alternate fire upgrades for the Jackdaw's cannons.

Speaking of the Jackdaw, Resynced's three additional crew members will add their own all-new upgrades. You can also now add a pet (either a cat or monkey) who'll hang out with you next to the ship's wheel. And — perhaps most importantly — sea shanties are also back, with more added.

While the game doesn't look quite as detailed as current-gen console entry Shadows, it's not far off. Particularly impressive are the towering waves seen while at sea, and the addition of the franchise's recent dynamic weather system, allowing for clear blue skies to suddenly turn into stormy waters.

Much remains to be seen of how well these new additions will be integrated into Black Flag's original content, and how the game's existing missions may have been tweaked, too. After years of leaks, though, we now at least have a better idea what to expect — and that July 9 release date on the horizon, which is now just three months' away. Earlier today, details of the game's $200 Collector's Edition also arrived — including the same Edward Kenway statue that popped up on Vinted earlier this year.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social