Courtesy of Wizards of the Coast (WotC) and Andre Manenti, get your No. 2 pencils ready for a new blue spell with plenty of options from Strixhaven: School of Mages — Multiple Choice!
For this blue sorcery, you get to fill in what answer you need in any given situation. Let’s look at the possibilities.
If X is 1, scry 1, then draw a card.
For two mana, you get to scry 1 then draw a card. Not too impressive, as Opt does this at instant-speed for only a single blue mana, but Multiple Choice gives you more options so you’re paying for flexibility.
If X is 2, you may choose a player. They return a creature they control to its owner’s hand.
For three mana, you get to return a creature to its owner hand, but the chosen player gets to choose which creature they control. This will work well on a battlefield with only a single creature or when trying to generate value from bouncing your own creature with an enters-the-battlefield trigger.
If X is 3, create a 4/4 blue and red Elemental creature token.
For four mana you get a 4/4 Elemental token. Not the worst rate, but not that earth shattering.
If X is 4 or more, do all the above.
Finally, for five or more mana, you get the real payoff of all the choices on the card. When you combine all the abilities for five mana and one card, Multiple Choice becomes a great spell, particularly in Sealed or Draft. Even by bouncing the least threatening creature an opponent controls, you still get a 4/4 and to scry and draw a card.
What do you think of Multiple Choice? Is the spell good enough if you can’t get all the modes? Can the card cut it in any constructed format?
Strixhaven: School of Mages releases April 23. Check out our official preview gallery.