2 New Magic: The Gathering Planeswalkers From Strixhaven: School of Mages Revealed

The official previews for Strixhaven: School of Mages don't officially start until later this week, but Magic: The Gathering fans are getting an early sneak peek of new cards today.

Wizards of the Coast has revealed two Planeswalker cards from the upcoming magical school-themed set, and they are Professor Onyx (a.k.a. Liliana) and Kasmina, Enigma Sage. One of them introduces a new keyword called "Magecraft", which is a triggered ability that happens when you cast or copy an Instant or Sorcery spell; in this case, "each opponent loses 2 life, and you gain 2 life."

Check out the two new Planeswalkers from Strixhaven:

Professor Onyx

Magecraft — Whenever you cast or copy an instant or sorcery spell, each opponent loses 2 life and you gain 2 life.

+1: You lose 1 life. Look at the top three cards of your library. Put one of them into your hand and the rest into your graveyard.

−3: Each opponent sacrifices a creature with the greatest power among creatures that player controls.

−8: Each opponent may discard a card. If they don't, they lose 3 life. Repeat this process six more times.

Loyalty: 5

Professor Onyx's +1 can give you great card advantage if you can protect it, but for its expensive mana cost, it might be tough to protect against fast aggressive creatures. It's probably on the same power level as Liliana, Dreadhorde General.

Kasmina, Enigma Sage

Credit: Wizards of the Coast

Legendary Planeswalker — Kasmina

Each other planeswalker you control has the loyalty abilities of Kasmina, Enigma Sage.

+2: Scry 1.

−X: Create a 0/0 green and blue Fractal creature token. Put X +1/+1 counters on it.

−8: Search your library for an instant or sorcery card that shares a color with this planeswalker, exile that card, then shuffle. You may cast that card without paying its mana cost.

Loyalty: 2

For a three-mana Planeswalker card, the new Kasmina seems a bit underwhelming; I think the card is playable in Standard, and it's not as overpowered as Oko, Thief of Crowns from Throne of Eldraine. The card seems to fit in "Super Friends" archetypes that run various Planeswalker cards. Her second ability can create a creature that could protect herself, but with two starting Loyalty, you may need to use its +2 ability a few times before you can make a decent-sized creature token. Its ultimate ability is one of the most innovative we've seen yet. Since Kasmina shares her abilities to other Planewalkers you control, you're not just limited to blue/green when searching for that instant or sorcery card.

More details for Strixhaven: School of Mages are expected to be revealed when previews begin on March 25, 2021 at 9 AM PT, and tune in to Twitch.tv/magic or the official MTG YouTube channel to check out the latest previews. Don't forget to check out the latest Strixhaven spoilers here.

Strixhaven is set to release for tabletop on April 23, and it will be released on Magic: The Gathering Arena and Magic Online on April 15. Check out the important dates here.