Halt Order

Instant

Counter target artifact spell.

Draw a card.

An artificer's least favorite mind-missive may be "I regret to inform you that the funding for your project has been cut."

Steady Progress

Instant

Proliferate. (You choose any number of permanents and/or players with counters on them, then give each another counter of a kind already there.)

Draw a card.

"More of that strange oil . . . It's probably nothing."

Stoic Rebuttal

Instant

Metalcraft - Stoic Rebuttal costs less to cast if you control three or more artifacts.

Counter target spell.

Obsessed with the pursuit of knowledge above all else, vedalken can appear to be cold and emotionless.

Turn Aside

Instant

Counter target spell that targets a permanent you control.

"It's not my job to ask our leaders about their experiments at the Knowledge Pool. It's my job to make sure they can continue performing them."

Twisted Image

Instant

Switch target creature's power and toughness until end of turn.

Draw a card.

"True strength is in the mind, for the body is too malleable a form."
-Politus, vedalken emisar

Vault Skyward

Instant

Target creature gains flying until end of turn. Untap it.

"The edges of the Quicksilver Sea run dark with the spread of the Mephidross. Two more aerial passes before I can be sure what I'm seeing . . ."
-Lafarius, Neurok sky agent

Grasp of Darkness

Instant

Target creature gets -4/-4 until end of turn.

On a world with five suns, night is compelled to become an aggressive force.

Instill Infection

Instant

Put a -1/-1 counter on target creature.

Draw a card.

"The results of our ninth inoculation were the same. The specimen was, of course, euthanized before the contagion could spread."
-Vedalken research notes

Tainted Strike

Instant

Target creature gets +1/+0 and gains infect until end of turn. (This creature deals damage to creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters and to players in the form of poison counters.)

"Welcome to perfection."
-Sheoldred, Whispering One

Galvanic Blast

Instant

Galvanic Blast deals 2 damage to target creature or player.

Metalcraft - Galvanic Blast deals 4 damage to that creature or player instead if you control three or more artifacts.

Mirrodin has little weather, but it certainly has lightning.

Shatter

Instant

Destroy target artifact.

"I am an artist, a builder, a creator . . . I create the biggest explosions around."
-Krol, goblin furnace-priest

Blunt the Assault

Instant

You gain 1 life for each creature on the battlefield. Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt this turn.

"Much can be gained from the appearance of vulnerability."
-Ezuri, renegade leader

Carrion Call

Instant

Put two 1/1 green Insect creature tokens with infect onto the battlefield. (They deal damage to creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters and to players in the form of poison counters.)

The natural order is out of order.

Slice in Twain

Instant

Destroy target artifact or enchantment.

Draw a card.

"The hypocrisy of these elves is thicker than steel-destroying ‘unnatural metal' with their own enchanted swords."
-Kara Vrist, Neurok agent

Tel-Jilad Defiance

Instant

Target creature gains protection from artifacts until end of turn.

Draw a card.

The Viridian elves had purged their culture of the trolls' traitorous influence. In times of strife, however, the ancestral memories returned.

Untamed Might

Instant

Target creature gets +X/+X until end of turn.

"Beasts kill for their very survival. If you would have their strength, you must know their desperation."
-Konnos, Sylvok sage

Wing Puncture

Instant

Target creature you control deals damage equal to its power to target creature with flying.

"If I were the air, I wouldn't taunt the ground. It has the weight advantage."
-Konnos, Sylvok sage

Withstand Death

Instant

Target creature is indestructible this turn. (Lethal damage and effects that say "destroy" don't destroy it. If its toughness is 0 or less, it's still put into its owner's graveyard.)

On Mirrodin, every conflict ends in either death or darksteel.

Emerge Unscathed

Instant

Target creature you control gains protection from the color of your choice until end of turn.

Rebound (If you cast this spell from your hand, exile it as it resolves. At the beginning of your next upkeep, you may cast this card from exile without paying its mana cost.)

Harmless Assault

Instant

Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt this turn by attacking creatures.

After encasing it in a paralyzing beam of light, the angel studied the Eldrazi as a child would study a bug, curiously and without fear.

Puncturing Light

Instant

Destroy target attacking or blocking creature with power 3 or less.

"The vampires knew what was coming. I know it. And they did nothing. They deserve to feel the same agony they've caused all of us."
-Anitan, Ondu cleric

Repel the Darkness

Instant

Tap up to two target creatures.

Draw a card.

A boon to those who cannot see in the dark. A bane to those who live in it.

Smite

Instant

Destroy target blocked creature.

"The mighty rely solely on their strength. They are shocked when we do the same."
-Tars Olan, kor world-gift

Aura Finesse

Instant

Attach target Aura you control to target creature.

Draw a card.

"Although armor and auras can be similar, the brains required to use them are worlds apart."
-Zilan, Makindi auramancer

Deprive

Instant

As an additional cost to cast Deprive, return a land you control to its owner's hand.

Counter target spell.

"That would have brought shame to you as a mage. Tell you what-I'll keep your secret."
-Noyan Dar, Tazeem lullmage

Lay Bare

Instant

Counter target spell. Look at its controller's hand.

"It's good to learn from your failures, but I prefer to learn from the failures of others."
-Jace Beleren

Reality Spasm

Instant

Choose one - Tap X target permanents; or untap X target permanents.

From the moment the first Eldrazi spawn squirmed free, everything on Zendikar took on an adjusted meaning, a new slant toward or away from the waking giants.

Regress

Instant

Return target permanent to its owner's hand.

"Never look too deep, where the waters turn dark. What the sea has hidden there may not stay down forever."
-Jaby, Silundi Sea nomad

Unified Will

Instant

Counter target spell if you control more creatures than that spell's controller.

"We're glad to be of service-to be an audience to your failure."
-Maizah Shere, Tazeem lullmage

Consume the Meek

Instant

Destroy each creature with converted mana cost 3 or less. They can't be regenerated.

"Why does it destroy? It does, and to talk of reasons wastes time and breath."
-Nirthu, lone missionary

Induce Despair

Instant

As an additional cost to cast Induce Despair, reveal a creature card from your hand.

Target creature gets -X/-X until end of turn, where X is the revealed card's converted mana cost.

All the angel saw was her doom.

Last Kiss

Instant

Last Kiss deals 2 damage to target creature and you gain 2 life.

"Romanticize it, glamorize it, call it what you will. To me, it will always be carnal, bloody murder."
-Ayli, Kamsa cleric

Suffer the Past

Instant

Exile X target cards from target player's graveyard. For each card exiled this way, that player loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.

Ulamog's tentacles, their touch like burning ice, rummaged through his soul and stung his memories one by one.

Vendetta

Instant

Destroy target nonblack creature. It can't be regenerated. You lose life equal to that creature's toughness.

"Consider my debt to your kin paid in full."
-Idrol, Guul Draz assassin

Virulent Swipe

Instant

Target creature gets +2/+0 and gains deathtouch until end of turn.

Rebound (If you cast this spell from your hand, exile it as it resolves. At the beginning of your next upkeep, you may cast this card from exile without paying its mana cost.)

Heat Ray

Instant

Heat Ray deals X damage to target creature.

"There was clearly a scream. I'm not sure if there was a mouth."
-Sachir, Akoum Expeditionary House

Spawning Breath

Instant

Spawning Breath deals 1 damage to target creature or player. Put a 0/1 colorless Eldrazi Spawn creature token onto the battlefield. It has "Sacrifice this creature: Add to your mana pool."

Death by death, Kozilek's lineage spread.

Staggershock

Instant

Staggershock deals 2 damage to target creature or player.

Rebound (If you cast this spell from your hand, exile it as it resolves. At the beginning of your next upkeep, you may cast this card from exile without paying its mana cost.)

Leaf Arrow

Instant

Leaf Arrow deals 3 damage to target creature with flying.

"Those who think the trees shall remain bystanders throughout this conflict shall be sorely mistaken."
-Sutina, Speaker of the Tajuru

Living Destiny

Instant

As an additional cost to cast Living Destiny, reveal a creature card from your hand.

You gain life equal to the revealed card's converted mana cost.

"That our enemies are great only brings us greater hope."