I've been jamming this card in quite a few decks since its release. I'm wondering how people rate it vs. other draw staples at the same mana cost, such as Ambition's Cost / Ancient Craving. I like that it lets you dig up to 4 deep at instant speed. The downside is obviously only being able to draw 2 vs. netting 3 cards. Thoughts?
I think at 4 mana in EDH, unless I've managed to cobble together some weird energy deck, I'd rather be casting Fact or Fiction. At three mana, I could be casting Intuition or Forbidden Alchemy if I have a black splash or sticking Rhystic Study on the table. And at half the mana, I can just cast Impulse. In well stocked EDH decks, it's not usually about how much you're drawing as much as it is about WHAT you're drawing.
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Legacy: TES
EDH: Grand Arbiter $tax, Freyalise Stompy, Mimeoplasm Death From the Grave
I'd like to say the card is trash, but the instant speed scry/draw is a fairly rare effect despite the irrelevancy of the energy. Personally, I'd run FoF, Impulse, Preordain, Ponder, Brainstorm, Serum Visions, Rhystic Study, Foresee, or Careful Consideration before I touched it though.
I think at 4 mana in EDH, unless I've managed to cobble together some weird energy deck, I'd rather be casting Fact or Fiction. At three mana, I could be casting Intuition or Forbidden Alchemy if I have a black splash or sticking Rhystic Study on the table. And at half the mana, I can just cast Impulse. In well stocked EDH decks, it's not usually about how much you're drawing as much as it is about WHAT you're drawing.
I think I'm just greedy and like to only run FoF or Intuition in decks where my opponents have no good choices and I functionally get to use all 5/3 cards. At the time of writing this, I was thinking of a deck that has little use for the graveyard and, as such, might value those effects lower than I usually would.
Dig Through Time is really the best Impulse now, though 2 mana to see 7 cards and keep 2. Don't mind if I do...
I'd like to say the card is trash, but the instant speed scry/draw is a fairly rare effect despite the irrelevancy of the energy. Personally, I'd run FoF, Impulse, Preordain, Ponder, Brainstorm, Serum Visions, Rhystic Study, Foresee, or Careful Consideration before I touched it though.
I'm love card filtering/quality cantrips, but Ponder, Preordain, Serum Visions, etc. don't actually give you card advantage. I actually quite like Careful Consideration. I hadn't considered that card carefully enough before
It strikes me as a mediocre outside of an energy deck. It's too bad they didn't give us an energy commander. Read the Bones at instant for four mana ain't bad, but it ain't great either.
It strikes me as a mediocre outside of an energy deck. It's too bad they didn't give us an energy commander. Read the Bones at instant for four mana ain't bad, but it ain't great either.
See, is Read the Bones good, though? 'Cuz I happen to love that card, too. I might just value scry as a mechanic too highly, overall...
Glimmer of Genius is perhaps the best Inspiration variant around. With that said, I still don't think many Commander decks will want it. Maybe draw-go Talrand? Inspiration is just sort of in this awkward space between quality cantrips (Preordain, Ponder) and other card draw spells (Concentrate, Jace's Ingenuity). If card quantity is what you're looking for, you're probably better off casting something like Opportunity at instant speed. If card quality is what you want, something like Impulse is probably more appropriate.
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Fact or Fiction has downsides for both control and combo, especially in edh. The problem is the opponent can choose to dunk your answer or your combo piece. Glimmer of Genius gives you dig and a bit of card advantage, and instant speed if your deck can abuse it. Careful Consideration is good imo but it merely cantrips when cast at instant speed, though you can utilize the graveyard.
Fact or Fiction has downsides for both control and combo, especially in edh. The problem is the opponent can choose to dunk your answer or your combo piece.
How so? At worst, they split it 1/4 with the combo piece you need or the control element that prevents them from winning, turning FoF into a glorified Impulse, but it's still absurdly powerful.
Fact or Fiction has downsides for both control and combo, especially in edh. The problem is the opponent can choose to dunk your answer or your combo piece.
How so? At worst, they split it 1/4 with the combo piece you need or the control element that prevents them from winning, turning FoF into a glorified Impulse, but it's still absurdly powerful.
2 of your key combo pieces show up in the 5. They separate them into separate piles. You have no good way to recur the one you don't get to keep, and someone nukes your graveyard immediately after. I dunno... just spitballing.
One fringe perk of Careful Consideration is that you can force opponents to draw and thus deck them. That's why I have it in my no-creatures, no-damage Kruphix deck over Fact or Fiction. I don't know if that mode will ever come up, but I like the option. (It's a downside against Misdirection and friends, of course.)
Wait, why? Does the 1 more mana of Glimmer of Genius really make that big of a difference (negatively) vs. the sorcery speed of Read the Bones? I must just over-value instant speed.
Wait, why? Does the 1 more mana of Glimmer of Genius really make that big of a difference (negatively) vs. the sorcery speed of Read the Bones? I must just over-value instant speed.
For me, it makes more of a difference. For some people it won't. I'd probably chart out what I minimally expect in EDH at different mana costs to be something like:
It strikes me as a mediocre outside of an energy deck. It's too bad they didn't give us an energy commander. Read the Bones at instant for four mana ain't bad, but it ain't great either.
"As an instant" does help with one thing in blue, though. Namely, you're mostly playing on opponents' turns.
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Card advantage is not the same thing as card draw. Something for 2B cannot be strictly worse than something for BBB or 3BB. If you're taking out Swords to Plowshares for Plummet, you're a fool. Stop doing these things!
While not quite the same, if you routinely play in four player pods, Manifold Insights is typically 2U draw three spells, and not necessarily the worst three revealed spells either.
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While not quite the same, if you routinely play in four player pods, Manifold Insights is typically 2U draw three spells, and not necessarily the worst three revealed spells either.
Manifold Insights is terrible. Steam Augury is better because you at least get to influence the decisions. Manifold Insights just gets you the worst cards 99% of the time. Sometimes, an opponent will give you the answer to another opponent's card.
Manifold Insights is terrible. Steam Augury is better because you at least get to influence the decisions. Manifold Insights just gets you the worst cards 99% of the time. Sometimes, an opponent will give you the answer to another opponent's card.
I respectfully disagree. No matter how you slice it, three cards is still three cards, and spells at that. Your opponents may have a say in what those three spells are, but the player casting Manifold Insights will be drawing three spells. That's an extremely impressive rate, and there are very few cards that can live up to it.
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Manifold Insights is terrible. Steam Augury is better because you at least get to influence the decisions. Manifold Insights just gets you the worst cards 99% of the time. Sometimes, an opponent will give you the answer to another opponent's card.
I respectfully disagree. No matter how you slice it, three cards is still three cards, and spells at that. Your opponents may have a say in what those three spells are, but the player casting Manifold Insights will be drawing three spells. That's an extremely impressive rate, and there are very few cards that can live up to it.
I understand what you're saying, but in my experience, in the late game, I get ramp spells and low-impact spells. I would rather cast anything else in the late game.
In the early game, 3 cards of any variety seem decent. I just tend to judge cards by their worth if I were top-decking with an empty hand.
Glimmer has a tough time competing in a world Mystic Confluence and Think Twice exist. Jace's Ingenuity has been largely pushed out of the format, but I would take it over Glimmer in a vacuum, since 1 more mana for 1 more card is more efficient. Unfortunately AER didn't do much to push energy into EDH, so Glimmer is just too far down the chain of medium cost draw spells to justify much play.
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I've been jamming this card in quite a few decks since its release. I'm wondering how people rate it vs. other draw staples at the same mana cost, such as Ambition's Cost / Ancient Craving. I like that it lets you dig up to 4 deep at instant speed. The downside is obviously only being able to draw 2 vs. netting 3 cards. Thoughts?
R.I.P. Sundering Titan (6/20/12) and Braids, Cabal Minion (9/12/14)
EDH: Grand Arbiter $tax, Freyalise Stompy, Mimeoplasm Death From the Grave
I think I'm just greedy and like to only run FoF or Intuition in decks where my opponents have no good choices and I functionally get to use all 5/3 cards. At the time of writing this, I was thinking of a deck that has little use for the graveyard and, as such, might value those effects lower than I usually would.
Dig Through Time is really the best Impulse now, though
I'm love card filtering/quality cantrips, but Ponder, Preordain, Serum Visions, etc. don't actually give you card advantage. I actually quite like Careful Consideration. I hadn't considered that card carefully enough before
R.I.P. Sundering Titan (6/20/12) and Braids, Cabal Minion (9/12/14)
See, is Read the Bones good, though? 'Cuz I happen to love that card, too. I might just value scry as a mechanic too highly, overall...
R.I.P. Sundering Titan (6/20/12) and Braids, Cabal Minion (9/12/14)
Trap your friends in an endless game with this 23-card combo!
WUBRGReaper KingGRBUW 5c Blink [Less Competitive]
WBEvershrikeBW Orzhov Enchantments [Less Competitive]
GIwamori of the Open FistG Green Smash [Less Competitive]
RGWUInk-Treader NephilimUWGR Draw Too Many Cards [More Competitive]
URJhoira of the GhituRU Izzet Stax [More Competitive]
URGRiku of Two ReflectionsGRU Ceta Dredge [More Competitive]
Modern
RUGBNightshiftBGUR Like Scapeshift but bad
How so? At worst, they split it 1/4 with the combo piece you need or the control element that prevents them from winning, turning FoF into a glorified Impulse, but it's still absurdly powerful.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
HONK HONK
2 of your key combo pieces show up in the 5. They separate them into separate piles. You have no good way to recur the one you don't get to keep, and someone nukes your graveyard immediately after. I dunno... just spitballing.
R.I.P. Sundering Titan (6/20/12) and Braids, Cabal Minion (9/12/14)
As for the card at hand, I enjoy both the scry mechanic and novel cards, so I would run it over more commonly seen cards.
Cheers!
Krichaiushii on PucaTrade.
Wait, why? Does the 1 more mana of Glimmer of Genius really make that big of a difference (negatively) vs. the sorcery speed of Read the Bones? I must just over-value instant speed.
R.I.P. Sundering Titan (6/20/12) and Braids, Cabal Minion (9/12/14)
For me, it makes more of a difference. For some people it won't. I'd probably chart out what I minimally expect in EDH at different mana costs to be something like:
Serum Visions
Night's Whisper
Happy Day UU
Sorcery
Draw two cards.
Thirst for Knowledge
Print this, Wizards! UUU
Sorcery
Draw three cards.
"As an instant" does help with one thing in blue, though. Namely, you're mostly playing on opponents' turns.
On phasing:
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While not quite the same, if you routinely play in four player pods, Manifold Insights is typically 2U draw three spells, and not necessarily the worst three revealed spells either.
Trap your friends in an endless game with this 23-card combo!
Manifold Insights is terrible. Steam Augury is better because you at least get to influence the decisions. Manifold Insights just gets you the worst cards 99% of the time. Sometimes, an opponent will give you the answer to another opponent's card.
8.RG Green Devotion Ramp/Combo 9.UR Draw Triggers 10.WUR Group stalling 11.WUR Voltron Spellslinger 12.WB Sacrificial Shenanigans
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Building: The Gitrog Monster lands, Glissa the Traitor stax, Muldrotha, the Gravetide Planeswalker Combo, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix + Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa Clues, and Tribal Scarecrow Planeswalkers
I respectfully disagree. No matter how you slice it, three cards is still three cards, and spells at that. Your opponents may have a say in what those three spells are, but the player casting Manifold Insights will be drawing three spells. That's an extremely impressive rate, and there are very few cards that can live up to it.
Trap your friends in an endless game with this 23-card combo!
I understand what you're saying, but in my experience, in the late game, I get ramp spells and low-impact spells. I would rather cast anything else in the late game.
In the early game, 3 cards of any variety seem decent. I just tend to judge cards by their worth if I were top-decking with an empty hand.
8.RG Green Devotion Ramp/Combo 9.UR Draw Triggers 10.WUR Group stalling 11.WUR Voltron Spellslinger 12.WB Sacrificial Shenanigans
13.BR Creatureless Panharmonicon 14.BR Pingers and Eldrazi 15.URG Untapped Cascading
16.Reyhan, last of the Abzan's WUBG +1/+1 Counter Craziness 17.WUBRG Dragons aka Why did I make this?
Building: The Gitrog Monster lands, Glissa the Traitor stax, Muldrotha, the Gravetide Planeswalker Combo, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix + Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa Clues, and Tribal Scarecrow Planeswalkers