Thread by @JasonILTG, One thing I've noticed is that STX draft has a lot of [...]

One thing I& #39;ve noticed is that STX draft has a lot of cards that I think are underrated by both the Arena population and sometimes content creators. So, starting today, I& #39;m going to post a thread each day about an underrated card, in reverse order of 17lands Bo3 ALSA data. 1/x

First up, fittingly: First Day of Class (ALSA 9.4, fifth least drafted card by ALSA). A lot of people talk about this card in terms of "yeah all the learn is great, except First Day is trash." And yes, I will admit it& #39;s the weakest learn card, but that doesn& #39;t make it trash. 2/x

Let& #39;s look at some baselines first: the absolute worst case is 1R learn at instant speed. I think most people agree that learning has turned out to be better than drawing a card (or at least, that you can draft to make it so), so this is better than cycling 1R. 3/x

"But wait!" you might argue, "This can& #39;t cycle into a land, or cycle to find your maindeck outs!" But with Env. Sci. it cycles into an Archway Commons, and there& #39;s always the desparation rummage. 4/x

So, now say you cast this, and follow it up with a creature. Then, this roughly reads "1R Sorcery: Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature that ETB& #39;d this turn. It gains haste. Draw a card+." That& #39;s a card that& #39;s a bit below rate on average, but can steal some games. 5/x

Now say you cast this plus a Summoning. Most commonly (in Lorehold), this will mean either:
- 5 mana 4/3 haste (Scorch Rider?)
- 5 mana 3/2 flying haste (Snare Thopter + 1 mana)
- 7 mana 5/5 haste
Again, these are a bit below rate, but the first two especially aren& #39;t by much. 6/x

Now, factor in learn synergies: you get two magecraft triggers (very relevant with First-Year, Lumimancer, and Pledgemages) and you put an instant and a sorcery in the gy (for Curves and Reconstructs). You can even sometimes copy First Day for two learns and two counters. 7/x

All of these individual things are a bit small and under-rate, but that& #39;s the great thing about modal cards: the sum of these parts makes a pretty good whole. This is especially true when some of those modes sometimes just end games. First Day into Curve turns corners fast. 8/x

So am I saying that this card is busted? No. But to give an idea of how much I like it, I would rank it as tied for third among the mono-red commons with Pillardrop Warden, behind Heated Debate and Enthusiastic Study (though some of that is red commons being meh). 9/x

I& #39;m definitely not taking this card nearly as highly as I like it though. As shown from its ALSA, it almost always wheels. So I& #39;m viewing it as a decent piece of my learn/lesson packages that I can pick up super late, helping me get up to numbers like 7 learn 7 lessons. 10/x

This card is just one of many underrated cards that pull me towards assertive Lorehold learn/lesson decks. It plays perfectly as a flexible tool that allows me to deploy hasty threats to pressure my opponent& #39;s life total while still helping the grindy lesson plan. 11/x

I& #39;m lower on it in Prismari, as those decks tend to be more purely controlling, but as mentioned above it plays very well with Curves. And, as I& #39;ve said before, I& #39;m not afraid to go off-college for a learn/lesson base, and this plays the role of cheap learn card for that. 12/x

In conclusion: First Day of Class is the worst learn card, but the modality of learn is so good that that still leaves it as a good card. I& #39;m not taking it highly because I can wheel it, but I& #39;m happy to put it in most of my Lorehold decks. 13/13

As examples, here are some recent trophies I& #39;ve had with First Day of Class in them, all of which liked having the card as part of their lesson plan. 14/13

https://www.17lands.com/deck/fe8b7a3188a5497c9e5d653cda8ac93e
https://www.17lands.com/deck/fe8b... href=" https://www.17lands.com/deck/aebb4d5c58a24808877ae71c8fd264dd
https://www.17lands.com/deck/aebb... href=" https://www.17lands.com/deck/3656a18d187a4e089e4ce695023656bd
https://www.17lands.com/deck/3656... href=" https://www.17lands.com/deck/76aecff84e6e4ad2bf703a2ce7884f22">https://www.17lands.com/deck/76ae...

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