That encourages you to stay active, rewarding consistent play with combat disruption
It has great colors for interaction, so swap in what works best for you, and maybe that's more removal for potential blockers or more bounce spells
More importantly, banning Monstrous Rage and Up the Beanstalk does call for This Town Ain't Big Enough to get banned as well in order not to make Pixie decks too oppressive, so it makes sense to see it gone
Decklist: 1998 World Championship Draw, Go Whispers of the Muse | Illustration by Quinton Hoover Creature (1) Instant (29) Counterspell x4 Dismiss x4 Dissipate x2 Forbid x3 Force Spike x4 Impulse x4 Mana Leak x3 Memory Lapse Whispers of the Muse x4 Artifact (4) Land (26) Island x18 Quicksand x4 Stalking Stones x4 Sideboard (15) Capsize x2 Grindstone Hydroblast x4 Sea Sprite x4 Wasteland x4 Magic Hall of Famer Randy Buehlers 1998 World Championship deck leveraged Whispers of the Muse as a draw engine along with a sideboard Capsize to use late-game mana and card advantage
The other Gearhulk cards are also pretty valuable out of the gate: Riptide Gearhulk and Oildeep Gearhulk are also in the $9-$10 range
They list Hurloon Minotaur and Serra Angel as two of the first, given as an attendance bonus to Wizards of the Coast Caravan Tour attendees back in 1995 and 1996