Ok, so bear with me on this. Thoughtseize is a super good card that does not see much play anymore, and the primary reason for this is because of Mental Misstep. It is not that people do not want a targeted discard 1, it is just that MM has turned it into a bit of a liability. This card has a lot of benefits over thoughseize which in any other format no one would care about because it costs 2 and 2 is more that 1, but Vintage is a strange animal.
CONS over TS:
- costs double the colored mana of Thoughseize
- can be hit by Pyroblast
- costs 1 more life from Dark Confidant reveal
PROS over TS:
- Not missteppable
- Pitchable to Force
- No life expenditure needed
- Surveil 1 can be really good (I assume). I think it is likely better than Scry 1 for most decks, and while I do not think it quite reaches a cards worth of value, I think the decks that will play this will certainly be running other cards that can capitalize on this like Yawgs will, Snapcaster, Treasure Cruise, etc.