First Day of Class is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.
Official card text
Whenever a creature you control enters this turn, put a +1/+1 counter on it and it gains haste until end of turn. Learn. (You may reveal a Lesson card you own from outside the game and put it into your hand, or discard a card to draw a card.)
Complete guide
Get your notebooks ready because school is back in session with First Day of Class. This powerful red instant from Strixhaven sets up an explosive turn by buffing every creature that arrives on your side of the battlefield. It also features the Learn mechanic, ensuring you never run out of options in your hand.
Schooling Your Creatures
First Day of Class creates a delayed triggered ability that lasts for the entire turn it is cast. Every time a creature enters the battlefield under your control after this spell resolves, it will trigger an effect to receive a +1/+1 counter and gain haste. This applies to creatures played from your hand, tokens created by spells, or permanents returned from the graveyard.
Mastering the Learn Mechanic
As part of the spell's resolution, you get to Learn. This allows you to either reveal a Lesson card you own from outside the game (your sideboard in tournament play) and put it into your hand, or discard a card to draw a card. You can also choose to do neither. Note that the Learn effect happens immediately as the spell resolves, before any creatures you might play later that turn enter the battlefield.
Timing and Resolution
When you cast First Day of Class, it goes on the stack. Once it resolves, the 'Whenever a creature you control enters' effect is active for the rest of the turn. If a creature is already on the battlefield when you cast this, it does not get a counter; the spell only affects creatures that enter after the spell has finished resolving.
Common Pitfalls
A common mistake is forgetting that the haste and +1/+1 counters are tied to a triggered ability. When a creature enters, the ability goes on the stack and can be responded to. Also, remember that in Constructed formats, you can only fetch Lessons from your sideboard. If your sideboard is empty and you have no cards in hand to discard, the Learn part of the spell will simply do nothing.
Interaction examples
Chaos WarpIf you cast First Day of Class and it resolves, and you then cast Chaos Warp on your own permanent, the new permanent revealed from your library enters the battlefield. Because the First Day of Class effect is active, the new creature will trigger the ability to receive a +1/+1 counter and haste immediately upon entry.
Deflecting SwatFirst Day of Class does not have any targets. If an opponent tries to use Deflecting Swat to change the targets of First Day of Class, they will find there are no targets to choose. However, they could use Deflecting Swat to change the target of a different spell you cast later that turn, but the 'enters the battlefield' triggers from First Day of Class will still belong to you as the controller of the creatures.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : First Day of Class
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
If instructed to learn, you may do nothing. Discarding a card and putting a Lesson card into your hand are both optional.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
If you bring a card into the game from outside the game in a Sealed Deck or Booster Draft event, you may select only a card that is in the card pool that you built your deck from.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
If a card is brought into the game from outside the game, it will stay in the game until it ends or until its owner leaves the game, whichever comes first.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
If you bring a card into the game from outside the game in a Constructed tournament (or a Constructed game played under tournament conditions), you may select only a card from your sideboard. In casual Constructed games, the card comes from your collection.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Goblin Bombardment + First Day of Class
- 1Cast First Day of Class by paying
. - 2Activate Goblin Bombardment by sacrificing the persist creature.
- 3When the persist creature dies, its persist ability triggers, returning it from your graveyard to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it.
- 4When the persist creature enters, First Day of Class triggers, putting a +1/+1 counter on the persist creature.
- 5Resolve the Goblin Bombardment ability.
- 6Repeat from step 2
Murderous Redcap + First Day of Class
- 1Cast First Day of Class by paying .
- 2Cast Murderous Redcap by paying
. - 3When Murderous Redcap enters the battlefield, it and First Day of Class trigger.
- 4Resolve the First Day of Class trigger, putting a +1/+1 counter on Murderous Redcap.
- 5Resolve the Murderous Redcap trigger, dealing an amount of damage to itself equal to its power.
- 6Murderous Redcap dies as a state-based action due to having 0 toughness.
- 7Murderous Redcap's persist ability triggers, returning it from your graveyard to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it.
- 8Repeat from step 3.
Putrid Goblin + First Day of Class + Goblin Bombardment
- 1Cast First Day of Class by paying , causing all creatures that enter the battlefield under your control this turn to get an additional +1/+1 counter put on it.
- 2Activate Goblin Bombardment by sacrificing Putrid Goblin.
- 3Putrid Goblin's persist ability triggers, returning itself from your graveyard to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it.
- 4Putrid Goblin enters the battlefield, triggering First Day of Class, putting a +1/+1 counter on Putrid Goblin.
- 5Resolve the Goblin Bombardment ability from step 2, dealing 1 damage to any target.
- 6Repeat from step 2.
Viscera Seer + First Day of Class
- 1Cast First Day of Class by paying .
- 2Activate Viscera Seer by sacrificing the persist creature.
- 3When the persist creature dies, its persist ability triggers, returning it from your graveyard to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it.
- 4When the persist creature enters, First Day of Class triggers, putting a +1/+1 counter on the persist creature.
- 5Resolve the Viscera Seer ability.
- 6Repeat from step 2
Putrid Goblin + Skirk Prospector + First Day of Class
- 1Activate Skirk Prospector by sacrificing Putrid Goblin, adding .
- 2Putrid Goblin's persist ability triggers, returning it to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it.
- 3First Day of Class triggers, putting a +1/+1 counter on Putrid Goblin and giving it haste.
- 4Repeat.
Ashnod's Altar + First Day of Class
- 1Cast First Day of Class by paying .
- 2Activate Ashnod's Altar by sacrificing the persist creature.
- 3When the persist creature dies, its persist ability triggers, returning it from your graveyard to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it.
- 4When the persist creature enters, First Day of Class triggers, putting a +1/+1 counter on the persist creature.
- 5Repeat from step 2
First Day of Class + Murderous Redcap + Viscera Seer
- 1Cast First Day of School, causing it so that each creature that enters the battlefield under your control this turn gets a +1/+1 counter put on it and gains haste until end of turn.
- 2Activate Viscera Seer, sacrificing Murderous Redcap to scry one.
- 3Murderous Redcap's persist triggers, returning it to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter.
- 4First Day of School triggers, putting a +1/+1 counter on Murderous Redcap.
- 5Murderous Redcap triggers, dealing 2 damage to any target.
- 6Repeat from step 2.
Putrid Goblin + First Day of Class + Viscera Seer
- 1Cast First Day of Class by paying , causing all creatures that enter the battlefield under your control this turn to get an additional +1/+1 counter put on it.
- 2Activate Viscera Seer by sacrificing Putrid Goblin.
- 3Putrid Goblin's persist ability triggers, returning itself from your graveyard to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it.
- 4Putrid Goblin enters the battlefield, triggering First Day of Class, putting a +1/+1 counter on Putrid Goblin.
- 5Resolve the Viscera Seer ability from step 2, causing you to scry 1.
- 6Repeat from step 2.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with First Day of Class
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