Duplicant is highly dependent on what your opponent plays. It's the worst parts of a clone stapled onto a creature exile effect. That said, in slower more dragony cubes, it can do quite a bit of damage. It's also degenerate with flicker effects.
High powered lists do not have room for this outside something pretty massive I'd guess. Midrangey lower powered rare lists on the other hand should try this card IMO. It's fun and certainly powerful for 6 colorless mana.
Duplicant is a matchup dependent card. Generally not something I am happy to accelerate into turn three. I'd like more expensive artifacts in the Myr Battlesphere/Wurmcoil Engine caliber, Daretti/Welder and every cheat strategy would really like a few more pieces to pay with.
Duplicant is a card that I always see people gush over when I'm watching streams, but I just hate it. Every time I've played with it I've found it incredibly disappointing. Six mana to kill your bear and get a bear? No thanks. And I get what it has going for it. It's colorless, it removes a creature and leaves behind a creature. I get the appeal. Six mana, though. In a world where I can get a Wurmcoil Engine for the same investment, Duplicant leaves little to be desired, IMO. I don't even run it in my low power cube and I had to dig pretty deep in the playable artifact well there.
I'd actually like to see an updated version of Duplicant. Maybe it's a mana cheaper and also gains the imprinted creature's abilities? Maybe it has a Prison Term type clause that lets you give the imprinted creature back and move it to a new creature instead?
I've never run or played this cafd either, but whenever I see it in streams of the MTGO cubes it only ever seems to get played in green ramp decks that are desperate for removal because it's so much mana to cast. I don't think that's enough reason to cube this.
I'd also like to see some colorless aggro critters get printed, something like a colorless Jungle Lion would be awesome. I'm actually pretty optimistic that we may see more aggressive artifact creatures getting printed soon because we've seen both Watchers of the Dead and Snare Thopter printed in the latest Standard legal sets.
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I actually like Duplicant quite a bit, but I wouldn't include it if there weren't ways to make it into repeated removal (Vat/Feldon/Reveillark/Alesha/Welder/Daretti). I would have to be pretty desperate to include it in a ramp shell as a one-shot removal. I view it kind of like Triskelion: fun, but not worth the inclusion without synergies. It's like... a much worse Control Magic that can just be abused way more easily. Triskelion is much better against aggro, though. I might replace Duplicant with Scuttling Doom Engine or somesuch if ends up as an eternal last pick, but I'm keeping it as a pet card for the time being.
More artifacts that do valuable things when they die, please.
I actually like Duplicant quite a bit, but I wouldn't include it if there weren't ways to make it into repeated removal (Vat/Feldon/Reveillark/Alesha/Welder/Daretti). I would have to be pretty desperate to include it in a ramp shell as a one-shot removal. I view it kind of like Triskelion: fun, but not worth the inclusion without synergies. It's like... a much worse Control Magic that can just be abused way more easily. Triskelion is much better against aggro, though. I might replace Duplicant with Scuttling Doom Engine or somesuch if ends up as an eternal last pick, but I'm keeping it as a pet card for the time being.
More artifacts that do valuable things when they die, please.
This is the real key. Obviously 6 Mana to kill a creature is a bad rate, but with all the recursion options available he's good in the decks which can abuse him. That and being colorless is nice. It's no staple, but it's nice when you can go off and even stunt opposing recursion strategies
Serum Visions is solid. 1 mana cantrips are powerful and are even first pickable in certain packs. I'm currently running Ponder, Opt and Brainstorm in my combo list.
Preordain is probably the best one I'm not currently running. Ponder is one of my favorite spells because of how neat and tidy it is. It digs deep and gives you a shuffle option if you don't like what you see (or just need a shuffle effect). In a vacuum, it's better than brainstorm IMO.
Serum Visions is a fine tier-2 cantrip, and I'd expect most unpowered lists 450 or bigger, or 630+ powered cubes to be playing it. I don't currently have room in my 540 list, but powered lists have a lot to offer blue, and real estate in blue is hard to come by.
I play Brainstorm, Ponder and Preordain in my cube, and they're largely untouchable spells. I think the power disparity between those three and the next tier of cantrip spells is pretty steep.
Serum Visions is great at least in large sizes. Very hard not to play this card when you are in blue. I am playing Ponder, Preordain, Brainstorm, Sleight of Hand, Opt and I am not opposed to add more or replace a few if they will ever again print cantrips that are good enough.
I like Serum Visions even though I'm not running it. I nearly added it recently when I was looking for another 1 Mana blue card, but went with Gitaxian Probe instead. Generally, I value these cheap cantrips highly, and will take whichever ones come my way, and am pretty happy with what I get.
Cheap blue cantrips I'm currently running are: Preordain, Ponder, Brainstorm, Gitaxian Probe, and Impulse. If I were to add another, it would probably be Anticipate just because it sits better at the curve in my cube, but my eye would also be on Serum Visions, Sleight of Hand, and Opt. I think those last 3 are all around the same in terms of quality.
Edit: actually, this got me thinking, and I decided to replace Delver of Secrets with Serum Visions.
I never see it mentioned, but is Portent worth adding? I had forgotten about it and came across it in a box. The slow-trip aspect of it is a definite downside because it wont draw your answer, but manipulating your opponents library or forcing a shuffle is a unique effect with a lot of implications.
Portent has been playtested and discussed a lot on these boards over the years. Not immediately drawing the card hurts way too much. Particularly on a sorcery.
I run Serum Visions, but it's a bottom 5 card in blue for me, and somewhat redundant. With Brainstorm, Ponder, and Preordain, I think I'm all set at 450, if there were some great reason to cut Serum Visions. Just haven't seen it yet.
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I can't find room for Serum Visions in my blue section right now, it's edged out by Preordain, Ponder and Impulse. I agree that all of these are better options because they let you choose the card before you draw it in the same turn. However, it's certainly not a bad card, and I don't blame anyone who wants to go a bit deeper on card selection effects.
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I'm not a fan of Prey Upon, though I've never tried it. If it was ever passed to me, I'm sure I passed it right along, so maybe I haven't given it its fair try.
My main issue with Prey Upon was how long it took to get active, and even then it wasn't guaranteed. Like, it's awful to 2 for 1 yourself, and while green is the most equipped to avoid that it's not 100% that it won't happen.
By the time the setup is ideal to use it, it's too late to deal with problematic early threats that demand removal. I don't think this card is good enough.
Cube needs more fight cards. I like Ulvenwald Tracker much more than this and it's been years since I've cubed it. I'd kill for a Fight-Tongue Kavu or a bigger Ulvenwald Tracker or something. Foe-Razer Regent would have been cool at 6 mana.
I'm a fan of Ulvenwald Tracker as well, but I don't run Prey Upon. For monogreen creature removal, I'd rather just keep to Beast Within and Song of the Dryads, and the aforementioned Tracker, considering that green's normal response to creatures is being bigger, meaner, and faster.
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High powered lists do not have room for this outside something pretty massive I'd guess. Midrangey lower powered rare lists on the other hand should try this card IMO. It's fun and certainly powerful for 6 colorless mana.
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I'd actually like to see an updated version of Duplicant. Maybe it's a mana cheaper and also gains the imprinted creature's abilities? Maybe it has a Prison Term type clause that lets you give the imprinted creature back and move it to a new creature instead?
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I'd also like to see some colorless aggro critters get printed, something like a colorless Jungle Lion would be awesome. I'm actually pretty optimistic that we may see more aggressive artifact creatures getting printed soon because we've seen both Watchers of the Dead and Snare Thopter printed in the latest Standard legal sets.
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More artifacts that do valuable things when they die, please.
This is the real key. Obviously 6 Mana to kill a creature is a bad rate, but with all the recursion options available he's good in the decks which can abuse him. That and being colorless is nice. It's no staple, but it's nice when you can go off and even stunt opposing recursion strategies
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Preordain is probably the best one I'm not currently running. Ponder is one of my favorite spells because of how neat and tidy it is. It digs deep and gives you a shuffle option if you don't like what you see (or just need a shuffle effect). In a vacuum, it's better than brainstorm IMO.
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I play Brainstorm, Ponder and Preordain in my cube, and they're largely untouchable spells. I think the power disparity between those three and the next tier of cantrip spells is pretty steep.
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Cheap blue cantrips I'm currently running are: Preordain, Ponder, Brainstorm, Gitaxian Probe, and Impulse. If I were to add another, it would probably be Anticipate just because it sits better at the curve in my cube, but my eye would also be on Serum Visions, Sleight of Hand, and Opt. I think those last 3 are all around the same in terms of quality.
Edit: actually, this got me thinking, and I decided to replace Delver of Secrets with Serum Visions.
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I run ponder,preordain, serum visions, sleight of hand and brainstorm. Of the ones I don't run, I'm on the lookout for a Gitaxian Probe and I'm not a fan of opt.
I never see it mentioned, but is Portent worth adding? I had forgotten about it and came across it in a box. The slow-trip aspect of it is a definite downside because it wont draw your answer, but manipulating your opponents library or forcing a shuffle is a unique effect with a lot of implications.
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Prey Upon
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My green creature removal consists of Song of the Dryads, Master of the Wild Hunt, and Garruk Relentless, not counting deathtouch creatures. Green usually needs to bring in another color for creature removal.
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I was running Beast Within and Song of the Dryads, but recently cut beast within, so now it's just Song.
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