The Strixhaven setting from Magic: The Gathering is coming to D&D this year! The setting book was announced this past week along with a related Unearthed Arcana article.

This UA introduces five subclasses related to the five colleges of Strixhaven. These subclasses break the mold by being available to more than one class. Let’s dive in and see what’s up with these new playtest options!

Subclass mechanics

The subclasses are named after the colleges of Strixhaven: Lorehold, Prismari, Quandrix, Silverquill, and Witherbloom. They are compatible with some of the full spellcasting classes, with different classes being eligible to take different subclasses, as follows:

  • Bards have access to the Lorehold and Silverquill subclasses
  • Druids have access to the Prismari and Witherbloom subclasses
  • Sorcerers have access to the Prismari and Quandrix subclasses
  • Warlocks have access to the Lorehold, Silverquill, and Witherbloom subclasses
  • Wizards have access to the Lorehold, Prismari, Quandrix, and Silverquill subclasses

These subclasses are not available for clerics, artificers, or the half casters (such as paladins and rangers).

When you take one of these subclasses, you’ll get new subclass features as normal for your level progression. Every subclass feature has a level prerequisite, and you can only gain one new subclass feature at a time unless otherwise noted. Let’s get into the subclass features!

Lorehold

The Mage of Lorehold subclass is available to bards, warlocks, and wizards. These mages draw on their knowledge of history and the power of ancient spirits.

Lorehold Spells: Level 1+ feature

This feature grants you additional spells: the sacred flame cantrip and comprehend languages spell at first, and then more spells as you level up. These spells include ways of gathering information, like speak with dead and legend lore, along with some other useful stuff like destructive wave or arcane eye. These spells don’t count against the number of spells you can know. If you’re a wizard, you can put these spells in your spellbook without expending the usual resources.

Ancient Companion: Level 1+ feature

You get this feature along with Lorehold Spells when you take the subclass.

This feature allows you to summon a spirit to inhabit a nearby statue. This works similar to the other summoning type features where you select a type that customizes a special stat block for the summoned creature. Here, you select whether the spirit has the Healer, Sage, or Warrior type.

I like the idea of summoning a spirit to help you and your party in battle or in other encounters. I suspect the stone shape spell you get from the Lorehold Spells feature is meant to help you shape a statue out of a stone if an existing statue isn’t nearby?

Lessons of the Past: Level 6+ feature

This feature gives you a benefit depending on the type of ancient spirit you are bonded with. The Healer type increases healing you gain from spells and increases your hit point maximum. The Sage type grants advantage on certain checks and extra force damage from your spells. The Warrior type allows you to make a weapon attack with bonus damage after casting a cantrip.

Each of these benefits seem pretty good to me. This increases the incentive to use different types depending on the situation!

War Echoes: Level 10+ feature

With this feature, you can use your reaction to give an enemy vulnerability to a certain type of damage. You use the reaction when a creature you can see successfully hits the target with an attack roll. The target then has to make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. If the target fails, the target is vulnerable to one of the attack’s damage types until the end of its next turn. This vulnerability also applies to the attack that triggered your reaction. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest.

This feature seems really helpful for making sure an attack really makes a dent in the enemy’s HP. Vulnerability is no joke! If I understand correctly, this could even temporarily flip an enemy’s resistance into a vulnerability.

History’s Whims: Level 14+ feature

This feature allows you to use a bonus action to “enter a state of chronal chaos,” allowing you to choose one of three benefits (Luck, Resistance, or Swiftness) when you start and when you start your turn for the next minute.

The Luck benefit gives you a d6 to add to any saving throws against effects that deal damage. The Resistance benefit grants resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage. The Swiftness benefit increases your movement speed by 15 feet and allows you to avoid incurring opportunity attacks when you move. You can’t choose the same benefit two times in a row, and the effects end early if you’re incapacitated. You can use this feature once per long rest, though you can also expend a 4th level or higher spell slot to get another use of it.

This is a really cool capstone feature for this subclass!

Prismari

The Mage of Prismari subclass is available for druids, sorcerers, and wizards. This subclass express their creativity through displays of powerful elemental magic. I’m not the only one to say this, but I’m surprised that bards aren’t included in this subclass.

Creative Skills: Level 1+ feature

This feature grants proficiency in two skills of your choice in the following list: Acrobatics, Athletics, Nature, and Performance.

Kinetic Artistry: Level 1+ feature

You gain this feature along with Creative Skills when you select this subclass.

With this feature, you can Dash as a bonus action. This Dash has an additional effect—Boreal Sweep, Scorching Whirl, or Thunderlight Jaunt—that each have their own unique benefits according to their elemental flavor. You can use this bonus action a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest.

Dash as a bonus action is great for mobility, and the elemental effects are a very cool way to tie in the subclass’s flavor.

Favored Medium: Level 6+ feature

When you gain this feature, and anytime you finish a long rest, you pick one of three elemental damage types: cold, fire, or lightning. Your choice grants you resistance to that type. When you cast a spell that deals that type of damage, you can emit an aura that extends 5 feet around you until your next turn ends. Creatures of your choice within the aura have resistance to your chosen damage type.

This reminds me of the Evocation wizard subclass’s ability; this can help you use your big spells without putting your party out too badly.

Focused Expression: Level 10+ feature

This feature builds on your chosen damage type from Favored Medium. You can deal additional damage plus an effect depending on your choice that can debuff your target or help your allies.

I like the extra boost this gives depending on what you select. I can definitely see characters who only stick with one element or those who switch it up.

Impeccable Physicality: Level 14+ feature

This feature grants proficiency in Dexterity saving throws if you don’t already have it. When you make a Dexterity saving throw, you can treat any roll lower than 10 as a 10.

This feature isn’t as flashy as others, but it still seems pretty useful. For example, there’s a decent amount of spells like fireball that call for Dexterity saving throws. You might be evading enemy spells… or your own, whatever the case may be.

Quandrix

The Mage of Quandrix subclass is available for sorcerers and wizards. Quandrix mages break the world down to formulae and numbers, warping reality with their power.

Quandrix Spells: Level 1+ feature

This feature gives you additional spells: the guidance cantrip and the guiding bolt spell initially and more spells as you level up. If you’re a wizard, you can add the spells to your spellbook without expending the usual resources. These added spells include utility like haste, enlarge/reduce, and freedom of movement.

Functions of Probability: Level 1+ feature

You gain access to this feature at the same time as Quandrix Spells, when you select this subclass.

This feature allows you to give a friend a boost or debuff an enemy after you cast a spell targeting at least one creature (the chosen creature for Functions of Probability doesn’t have to also be the target of the spell). This effect lasts until the start of your next turn.

Velocity Shift: Level 6+ feature

With this feature, you can use your reaction to teleport a creature. The reaction can take effect after a creature starts its turn or moves near you. The target makes a Charisma saving throw, resisting the teleportation on a success (they can choose to fail as well). On a failed save, you can teleport them to a space within 30 feet of you. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest.

Teleportation is always fun, and this can be a great way to control your enemy’s position or help your allies.

Null Equation: Level 10+ feature

This feature allows you to further debilitate your target when you do damage to them once per turn. The creature must make a Constitution saving throw. If they fail, until the start of your next turn, they have disadvantage on Strength and Dexterity saving throws, and their weapon attacks only deal half damage. The uses of this feature depend on your proficiency bonus, and you regain uses on a long rest.

Quantum Tunneling: Level 14+ feature

With this feature, you have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage. This feature also allows you to move through creatures and objects like they’re difficult terrain. You take 1d10 damage for every 5 feet you spend moving inside another creature or object.

This feature is a cool capstone to the subclass, and I’d definitely be interested in playing a Quandrix mage!

Silverquill

The Mage of Silverquill subclass is available for bards, warlocks, and wizards. Silverquill mages use the power of words in their arcane magic.

Eloquent Apprentice: Level 1+ feature

This feature grants you either the vicious mockery or sacred flame cantrip. Additionally, you gain proficiency in two of these skills: Deception, Performance, Persuasion, Insight, and Intimidation.

Silvery Barbs: Level 1+ feature

You get this feature at the same time as Eloquent Apprentice (when you choose the subclass).

Silvery Barbs allows you to use your reaction to potentially turn a foe’s success into a failure and buff yourself or an ally in the process. When a creature succeeds on an attack roll, saving throw, or ability check, you use the reaction to force them to roll a d20 and use the lower roll. If that causes the check to fail, you choose a creature to be empowered. The empowered creature can reroll an attack roll, saving throw, or ability check and use the higher result in the next minute. The use of this feature is only expended once it works (once you cause a creature to fail a check). You can use the feature once per long rest, but you can expend a spell slot to get another use of it.

This feature is reminiscent of some other bard subclass features, which makes sense because this subclass uses the power of words!

Inky Shroud: Level 6+ feature

This feature gives you the darkness spell. You can cast it using spell slots as normal, but you can also cast it without using a spell slot once per long rest. When you cast the spell in that way, you can see through the darkness, and you can deal psychic damage to creatures starting their turn in that darkness.

This feature fits right in with the theme of this subclass and is pretty cool!

Infusion of Eloquence: Level 10+ feature

You can use this feature to change the damage type of a spell you cast to psychic or radiant. If you change it to psychic, creatures damaged by the spell are frightened of you until the start of your next turn. If you change it to radiant, creatures damaged by the spell are charmed by you until the start of your next turn. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest.

Word of Power: Level 14+ feature

This feature allows you to use Deadly Despair and Selfless Invocation.

Deadly Despair boosts your Silvery Barbs. When your target fails their check because of Silvery Barbs, you can cause them to have vulnerability to a damage type of your choice until your next turn starts.

Selfless Invocation allows you to grant a creature resistance to oncoming damage, and you take psychic damage equal to the damage the creature takes.

I think this subclass might be my favorite of the bunch!

Witherbloom

The Mage of Witherbloom subclass is available to druids and warlocks. These mages work with the power of vitality and mortality, the flow of life to death.

Witherbloom Spells: Level 1+ feature

This feature grants you additional spells: the spare the dying cantrip, the cure wounds spell, and the inflict wounds spell. You gain more spells as you level up, including healing and damage spells such as revivify, vampiric touch, and mass cure wounds.

Essence Trap: Level 1+ feature

You can use a bonus action to give yourself one of two benefits for a minute (or until you use the feature again). The Overgrowth benefit allows you to regain some hit points every turn.  The Withering Strike benefit allows you to change damage you do to necrotic damage, ignoring resistance to necrotic damage. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest.

Witherbloom Brew: Level 6+ feature

This feature gives you proficiency in the herbalism kit if you don’t have it already. You can use an herbalism kit plus a pot or cauldron to make magical brews when you finish a long rest. These remain magical for 24 hours after they’re created. They can give resistance to certain damage types, heal hit points and cure conditions, or help you deal extra damage or poison your targets.

Witherbloom Adept: Level 10+ feature

This feature empowers your healing and necrotic damage spells. Once per turn, you can increase the healing a target receives or the necrotic damage you deal with a spell.

These kind of features encourage you to lean into your subclass’s niche.

Withering Vortex: Level 14+ feature

With this feature, when you deal necrotic damage to non-Undead and non-Construct creatures, you can drain hit points equal to half the damage you deal to one creature. You can then grant the drained hit points to a nearby creature. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest.

Witherbloom seems like a cool nature-necromancy take on magic!

Which Strixhaven college are you most interested in? Which class would you match these subclasses with? Let me know in the comments! Thanks for reading.