I’ve got some nice preview action for you today, courtesy of Wizards of the Coast. It’s a double-preview sort of day, and given my natural affinity for Silverquill, I’m definitely showing up to class.

First of all, I have to say that I really like the ability word “magecraft.” It gives players a great tool for lumping cards together and remembering what they do, even if the outputs aren’t always the same. Having cards that key off instants, sorceries and copies is sweet, and I also like that it appears across all the colors. Here’s a look at the newest addition to the magecraft family:

The Sage is a cheap flyer, and in a deck that triggers it easily, can act as a 2/2 flyer itself. It can also pump your other small creatures and could be part of a nice spells-matter draft archetype. It strikes me as likely more for Limited than Constructed, but one-mana flyers are easy to underestimate.

The second card I have for you today is a bit stronger. Reminiscent of Ultimate Price, this is a sick removal spell that’s cheap, flexible and powerful. Take a look at Vanishing Verse.

For just two mana, you get an instant-speed answer to tons of troublesome permanents. Here’s a short list of some of the best targets in Standard:

Vanishing Verse also hits any and all adventure creatures as well, and the list goes on from there. It’s quite a bit stronger than most removal spells as this card isn’t limited to just hitting creatures too. You aren’t paying a premium here, just two mana, and for that you get an answer to tons of extremely strong cards in the format.

Vanishing Verse is also an instant, which is a hallmark of a premium removal spell. You get to play this when and where you want, and keep mana up for other things on the opponent’s turn if need be. If you look at all the best removal spells, they’re overwhelmingly instants, so this checks all the boxes I’d be looking at.

Note that lands are not monocolored – I think most people would figure that out based on how cheap this is, but you can’t go running around blowing up lands on turn two with this (not that it would be a good thing if you could.

Could Vanishing Verse put Esper Yorion back on the map? Some people still swear by Doom Foretold decks and this is a huge get for them, as well as being a potential inclusion in any deck playing these two colors. There are even applications in older formats, as this really is efficient enough to be a contender.

This verse won’t be vanishing from Constructed anytime soon, and I’m looking forward to getting to play a tune for my fallen enemies. Strixhaven looks sweet, and these two cards have gotten me even more excited to take first crack at it!