Why Peek?
Information (and an opponent's lack of information) is powerful. If you have 2 Islands in play and a card in hand, your opponent does have to consider that your card may be Counterspell, or Mana Drain, or any other number of 2-mana counterspells. They may then delay development until they can fight against the suspected Counterspell. If your card in hand is a third Island, then that is a very powerful Island since the threat of Counterspell has disrupted the opponent and bought you time.
In cubes that have cards and combos that can win the game out of nowhere (Splinter Twin, Sneak Attack, etc.), I value having cards available to players that can give information about their opponent's hand. These cards benefit players fighting against unfair strategies, as well as players employing unfair strategies since players can also use these cards to know when it is safe to commit to the combo.
My cube employs a variety of unfair strategies, which I think overall improves the meta of the cube, but I was finding that cards like Vendilion Clique and Thoughtseize were very important not just for their ability to take the most powerful card from an opponent's hand (although, this of course is a key aspect of why those cards are good), but also granting information is powerful in it's own right. These cards were important, but I wanted more, so that more players could have access to the effect. I added Peek to increase the density of this effect.
Who wants Peek?
A draw-go Control deck can make the most of Peek. These decks can generally afford to delay playing key spells for a turn in order to lead with Peek, and Peek makes many of their spells better. Peek can let the player know if now is when they should cast Wrath of God, or if the opponent is keeping creatures in hand expecting the Wrath. Peek can also let them know if an opponent is trying to bait a Counterspell or if it is safe to counter the threat on the stack.
Combo players also appreciate Peek. Knowing if you can go for the turn 4 Splinter Twin, or if you need to wait for Counterspell back-up because the opponent has Swords to Plowshares can be game-winning information.
Who Doesn't want Peek?
A completely proactive deck like Green Ramp splashing blue for Upheaval or Opposition likely has no use for Peek. These decks might like Preordain and Ponder because those cantrips can prevent drawing late-game Llanowar Elves and dig closer to their key spells like Upheaval, but it is important to keep in mind that just because Peek costs a single U and replaces itself, it should not be thought of similarly to those cards. A deck that cannot make use of the information granted by Peek would just be playing Peek as "Cycling U", which is a fine floor, but not really impressive.
I personally opted for the 2nd tier counter magic - my problem is blue decks don't have the consistency for turn 1 cantrip and are often playing a shock (blue life total is more important), manland, bicycle land mana base. So there is some flexibility in some decisions here. Blue cantrips are at their best in Vintage cube as they are often drawing into Ancestral Visions/ Mana Crypt so even Cycling for 1 blue is amazing.
For this card slot, I opted for Stubborn Denial - It is a reasonable piece of interaction in the early game and can protect finishers.
I'm actively maintaining a comprehensive article to help explain to new cube players how some complex vintage level cards work in a cube environment. Vintage Cube Cards Explained
My kneejerk reaction is "yeah, but Gitaxian Probe is just better". But that's not a reason not to play both. I certainly like this better than Opt. Probably even Consider. But I think I like Thought Scour better in the world where gitaxian probe exists. Ponder, Preordain, and Portent are on another level from this card. I could take or leave Serum Visions now that we have so many options.
The other thing is I play Occult Epiphany and bicycle lands so I'm in less of a market for cantrips.
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I'm actively maintaining a comprehensive article to help explain to new cube players how some complex vintage level cards work in a cube environment. Vintage Cube Cards Explained
My kneejerk reaction is "yeah, but Gitaxian Probe is just better". But that's not a reason not to play both. I certainly like this better than Opt. Probably even Consider. But I think I like Thought Scour better in the world where gitaxian probe exists. Ponder, Preordain, and Portent are on another level from this card. I could take or leave Serum Visions now that we have so many options.
I like Opt / Consider much more, I think it's generally better to increase your card selection than know what's in your opponent's hand. Honestly I don't like Peek any more than most 1U Impulse variants, lack of card selection is a big deal.
My kneejerk reaction is "yeah, but Gitaxian Probe is just better". But that's not a reason not to play both. I certainly like this better than Opt. Probably even Consider. But I think I like Thought Scour better in the world where gitaxian probe exists. Ponder, Preordain, and Portent are on another level from this card. I could take or leave Serum Visions now that we have so many options.
I like Opt / Consider much more, I think it's generally better to increase your card selection than know what's in your opponent's hand. Honestly I don't like Peek any more than most 1U Impulse variants, lack of card selection is a big deal.
I find one card of scrying to be very little. If I'm flooded or mana-screwed, or I'm digging for an answer, I'd rather have any amount of selection over any amount of information. I'd also prefer selection in the late game. That's a lot of situations.
But if it's relatively early, and I don't have serious mana problems, I'd much rather have the information. Whatever I draw is probably going to help me, and seeing one card I'll probably keep anyway isn't much use. I'm happy to draw a land, or a removal spell, or a creature, or whatever as long as it's decent. But seeing the opponent's secrets can help a lot.
Gitaxian Probe > Consider > Opt >>> Peek in my book. Gitaxian Probe mainly wins because it's free. Consider and Opt are both generally better early game and later game than Peek IMO, especially since they let you keep riskier hands and helps put together mulligans.
There's definitely a difference between Peek and Gitaxian Probe. I wouldn't want to play Peek in a completely proactive deck, but I'd play Gitaxian Probe in any deck. Being able to cast for 2 life changes the card by a lot.
I do understand the comparisons to Opt since it takes up the same slot in a cube, but I don't think of Peek as a Xerox Theory card. I think the strength of the card is in "Look at target player's hand" not "Draw a card." It says draw a card because if you sacrificed card parity for the information, it'd be terrible.
But I do think reactive decks and decks playing powerful but easily disrupted strategies do benefit from having access to Peek.
I'm going to actually take up your suggestion on Peek. I just 7-2 with a Grixis Tempo deck on Arena and I attribute a huge percentage of the success to Thoughtseize and Vendilion Clique providing asymmetrical information which significantly helped to inform my decisions.
There were several key decisions I made that were critical because I knew what was in my opponent's hand:
- I saw what my opponent didn't have a sweeper and their deck was slower than I anticipated and I needed to play a second creature early on to put on pressure
- I saw that my opponent had an Etali, Primal Conqueror and not Inferno Titan and therefore, I should tap out and play a threat and next turn leave up countermagic for Etali
- I saw that my opponent had a good instant/ sorcery as well as a mana dork in play, therefore I decided to escalate Collective Brutality.
- I saw the The Wandering Emperor in my opponent's hand and decided not to attack with my creature.
Maybe this doesn't translate well into cube, but I'm sold that information isn't nothing. It's likely not stronger than Ponder, but I wouldn't be surprised if this is stronger than Consider.
The information isn't nothing, but it's not anywhere close to the value of card selection, IMHO. I think Consider and Opt are both pretty far ahead of Peek.
The information isn't nothing, but it's not anywhere close to the value of card selection, IMHO. I think Consider and Opt are both pretty far ahead of Peek.
I could see that, but I'm planning to give this a try. It really hasn't caught on in constructed because how your opponent would sideboard/ play is 80% very obvious and mulligan decisions/ sequencing have set heuristics. However, I've seen some VERY wacky decks in cube.
Either way, I'm planning to give this card a try. Maybe it works out.
I get it. But I don't care what's in my opponent's hand when I just missed my land drop because my cantrip had no card selection. It's just so important I don't think it's even remotely close. But that's just me.
The information isn't nothing, but it's not anywhere close to the value of card selection, IMHO. I think Consider and Opt are both pretty far ahead of Peek.
Agreed, I'd rather have more say in what I draw than look at my opponent's hand. Playing around my opponent doesn't matter if I don't draw the right cards. On the other hand, I always have a chance to play around my opponent if I have the right cards. An experienced Magic player should be able to make educated guesses and map risk / reward scenarios based on your possible lines of play. It's better in the long run to optimize my hand than it is to optimize my knowledge of what my opponent is doing. There's a reason why Consider sees much more play in constructed than Peek.
Maybe its my lack of experience in a limited environment, but if I was playing constructed, especially with Affinity/ Twin in Legacy I can usually map out what's likely in my opponent's hand and what to play around. But limited has been an entirely different beast - The mana curve isn't as smooth as constructed and deck's aren't as well tuned.
The problem I had with Ponder and Serum Visions in legacy/ modern was in turn 1/ game 1, you had no idea what you're opponent was even on and what to scry to the top.
Highly recommend the secret lair version of the card with the cute riceballs if you're gonna jam it into your cube, the odyssey art is just uncomfortable in so many ways
I wouldn't play it over Gitaxian Probe and I wouldn't want both. I'd rather see some variety in cube. I'd be much happeier to justify my snapcaster mage with Birthday Escape, not with looking at the same hand a second time.
It's been OK for me, but nothing amazing. Having more info to base your plays can be very usefull but sometime you would really rather just dig a bit deeper or have some selection. What I'd prefer varies match to match so I am happy enough to keep the effect for now.
Highly recommend the secret lair version of the card with the cute riceballs if you're gonna jam it into your cube, the odyssey art is just uncomfortable in so many ways
Uncomfortable how? I think it's nice; nothing standout but just classic MTG art. The rice ball art I would avoid putting in because it's too cutsie for me and doesn't feel like Magic art.
Personal taste varies wildly so you do you though.
Maybe I should add a disclaimer - Midrange traditionally my worst suite. I've had more successes with Aggro, Tempo, Combo, Control etc.
I've always struggled with Green based midrange decks, which may explain why I value a card like Peek a lot higher, both because of the type of decks I play and that I'm not really that proficient with midrange.
I wouldn't play it over Gitaxian Probe and I wouldn't want both. I'd rather see some variety in cube. I'd be much happeier to justify my snapcaster mage with Birthday Escape, not with looking at the same hand a second time.
Probe has just been insane, especially for decks that can better utilize the free spell - i.e. Mentor/ Storm
Yah the Ring tempts you isn't nothing, especially Ranger's Firebrand to improve your aggro 1-drop's evasion has been incredible in limited/ arena. There's is no worse feeling that attacking your smaller red 1-2 drops into your opponent's creatures. I might give it a try some day.
Call of the Ring has just become a 2 CMC Phyrexian Arena that also loots you. I wanted to avoid this mechanic for as long as possible, but it fits too well into black's aggro/ stax/ creature combo archetype that I feel I just have to play it.
I feel for every game 2-3 games Opt in limited hit a land, I have 1 game where I wasn't able to even cast the opt because I had a Triome (or shock) or no blue source in my opening hand.
The difference between Opt and playing a Temple is that you can play the Opt at any point in your curve where it doesn't interrupt your plays. You can hold up Force Spike and elect to Opt when you don't need it. Temple doesn't offer that flexibility.
But having nonland cards that can replace themselves with the right type of card off the top is important for smoothing out draws/curves. The format is so volatile and so feast/famine that anything you can play to increase the consistency and dig deeper to hit the best cards and the appropriate answers helps a ton.
I love free information, but the card selection is paramount in this format.
- Consider / Opt actually draws cards where Temples merely scry and are awful topdecks.
- Consider / Opt are instants and let you be flexible with your mana.
- Like other cantrips, Consider / Opt contribute to critical mass synergies for things like spells matters and filling up the graveyard for things like delve / escape / etc.
- I think most people would agree that Consider / Opt's position in the cantrip totem pole is much higher than the temple's position on the 2-color land totem pole.
I feel for every game 2-3 games Opt in limited hit a land, I have 1 game where I wasn't able to even cast the opt because I had a Triome (or shock) or no blue source in my opening hand.
This is an awful argument against Opt, it's not Opt's fault that you're mana screwed. Put any 1-cmc cantrip not named Gitaxian Probe in this scenario and it's just as bad. Even then, Opt is still technically really good in these types of hands and is often the reason you'd keep it over taking a mulligan.
I have some more data and I believe neither Peek or Opt are the cards we are looking for.
I would argue the cards we should have in this slot should be Chromatic Star / Chromatic Sphere. They weren't as good 2-3 years ago, but they are becoming more and more important these days given the increasing number of "must play" cards that are miles ahead of the competition.
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Peek
Why Peek?
Information (and an opponent's lack of information) is powerful. If you have 2 Islands in play and a card in hand, your opponent does have to consider that your card may be Counterspell, or Mana Drain, or any other number of 2-mana counterspells. They may then delay development until they can fight against the suspected Counterspell. If your card in hand is a third Island, then that is a very powerful Island since the threat of Counterspell has disrupted the opponent and bought you time.
In cubes that have cards and combos that can win the game out of nowhere (Splinter Twin, Sneak Attack, etc.), I value having cards available to players that can give information about their opponent's hand. These cards benefit players fighting against unfair strategies, as well as players employing unfair strategies since players can also use these cards to know when it is safe to commit to the combo.
My cube employs a variety of unfair strategies, which I think overall improves the meta of the cube, but I was finding that cards like Vendilion Clique and Thoughtseize were very important not just for their ability to take the most powerful card from an opponent's hand (although, this of course is a key aspect of why those cards are good), but also granting information is powerful in it's own right. These cards were important, but I wanted more, so that more players could have access to the effect. I added Peek to increase the density of this effect.
Cards that grant information that I run at 360:
Elite Spellbinder, Vendilion Clique, Peek, Frogkin Kidnapper, Dread Fugue, Inquisition of Kozilek, Thoughtseize, Collective Brutality, Gitaxian Probe
Also worth noting are cards that give-away information for some sort of other advantage, such as Courser of Kruphix, Oracle of Mul Daya, and Dark Confidant.
Who wants Peek?
A draw-go Control deck can make the most of Peek. These decks can generally afford to delay playing key spells for a turn in order to lead with Peek, and Peek makes many of their spells better. Peek can let the player know if now is when they should cast Wrath of God, or if the opponent is keeping creatures in hand expecting the Wrath. Peek can also let them know if an opponent is trying to bait a Counterspell or if it is safe to counter the threat on the stack.
Combo players also appreciate Peek. Knowing if you can go for the turn 4 Splinter Twin, or if you need to wait for Counterspell back-up because the opponent has Swords to Plowshares can be game-winning information.
Who Doesn't want Peek?
A completely proactive deck like Green Ramp splashing blue for Upheaval or Opposition likely has no use for Peek. These decks might like Preordain and Ponder because those cantrips can prevent drawing late-game Llanowar Elves and dig closer to their key spells like Upheaval, but it is important to keep in mind that just because Peek costs a single U and replaces itself, it should not be thought of similarly to those cards. A deck that cannot make use of the information granted by Peek would just be playing Peek as "Cycling U", which is a fine floor, but not really impressive.
[180 classic cube]
1. 2nd Tier Countermagic
2. 2nd Tier Cantrips
3. 2nd Tier Creatures
I personally opted for the 2nd tier counter magic - my problem is blue decks don't have the consistency for turn 1 cantrip and are often playing a shock (blue life total is more important), manland, bicycle land mana base. So there is some flexibility in some decisions here. Blue cantrips are at their best in Vintage cube as they are often drawing into Ancestral Visions/ Mana Crypt so even Cycling for 1 blue is amazing.
For this card slot, I opted for Stubborn Denial - It is a reasonable piece of interaction in the early game and can protect finishers.
Vintage Cube Cards Explained
Here are some other articles I've written about fine tuning your cube:
1. Minimum Archetype Support
2. Improving Green Archetypes
3. Improving White Archetypes
4. Matchup Analysis
5. Cube Combos (Work in Progress)
Draft my Cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/d8i
Low-power cube enthusiast!
My 1570 card cube (no longer updated)
My 415 Peasant+ Artifact and Enchantment Cube
Ever-Expanding "Just throw it in" cube.
Vintage Cube Cards Explained
Here are some other articles I've written about fine tuning your cube:
1. Minimum Archetype Support
2. Improving Green Archetypes
3. Improving White Archetypes
4. Matchup Analysis
5. Cube Combos (Work in Progress)
Draft my Cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/d8i
I like Opt / Consider much more, I think it's generally better to increase your card selection than know what's in your opponent's hand. Honestly I don't like Peek any more than most 1U Impulse variants, lack of card selection is a big deal.
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
How do you feel about Gitaxian Probe vs. Opt/Consider?
I find one card of scrying to be very little. If I'm flooded or mana-screwed, or I'm digging for an answer, I'd rather have any amount of selection over any amount of information. I'd also prefer selection in the late game. That's a lot of situations.
But if it's relatively early, and I don't have serious mana problems, I'd much rather have the information. Whatever I draw is probably going to help me, and seeing one card I'll probably keep anyway isn't much use. I'm happy to draw a land, or a removal spell, or a creature, or whatever as long as it's decent. But seeing the opponent's secrets can help a lot.
Low-power cube enthusiast!
My 1570 card cube (no longer updated)
My 415 Peasant+ Artifact and Enchantment Cube
Ever-Expanding "Just throw it in" cube.
Gitaxian Probe > Consider > Opt >>> Peek in my book. Gitaxian Probe mainly wins because it's free. Consider and Opt are both generally better early game and later game than Peek IMO, especially since they let you keep riskier hands and helps put together mulligans.
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
I do understand the comparisons to Opt since it takes up the same slot in a cube, but I don't think of Peek as a Xerox Theory card. I think the strength of the card is in "Look at target player's hand" not "Draw a card." It says draw a card because if you sacrificed card parity for the information, it'd be terrible.
But I do think reactive decks and decks playing powerful but easily disrupted strategies do benefit from having access to Peek.
[180 classic cube]
There were several key decisions I made that were critical because I knew what was in my opponent's hand:
- I saw what my opponent didn't have a sweeper and their deck was slower than I anticipated and I needed to play a second creature early on to put on pressure
- I saw that my opponent had an Etali, Primal Conqueror and not Inferno Titan and therefore, I should tap out and play a threat and next turn leave up countermagic for Etali
- I saw that my opponent had a good instant/ sorcery as well as a mana dork in play, therefore I decided to escalate Collective Brutality.
- I saw the The Wandering Emperor in my opponent's hand and decided not to attack with my creature.
Maybe this doesn't translate well into cube, but I'm sold that information isn't nothing. It's likely not stronger than Ponder, but I wouldn't be surprised if this is stronger than Consider.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
I could see that, but I'm planning to give this a try. It really hasn't caught on in constructed because how your opponent would sideboard/ play is 80% very obvious and mulligan decisions/ sequencing have set heuristics. However, I've seen some VERY wacky decks in cube.
Either way, I'm planning to give this card a try. Maybe it works out.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
I can just come up with a few examples:
- Endurance / Restoration Angel / HullBreacher (Flash Creatures) lose quite a bit of their impact if you know they're coming
- Wrath of God / Toxic Deluge (Sweepers) can be played around more easily
- Ledger Shredder (Looters) are significantly better as you know what you should discard
etc.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
Agreed, I'd rather have more say in what I draw than look at my opponent's hand. Playing around my opponent doesn't matter if I don't draw the right cards. On the other hand, I always have a chance to play around my opponent if I have the right cards. An experienced Magic player should be able to make educated guesses and map risk / reward scenarios based on your possible lines of play. It's better in the long run to optimize my hand than it is to optimize my knowledge of what my opponent is doing. There's a reason why Consider sees much more play in constructed than Peek.
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
The problem I had with Ponder and Serum Visions in legacy/ modern was in turn 1/ game 1, you had no idea what you're opponent was even on and what to scry to the top.
Which is why it's fundamentally more important to reduce variance in your own deck by having more card selection.
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
I wouldn't play it over Gitaxian Probe and I wouldn't want both. I'd rather see some variety in cube. I'd be much happeier to justify my snapcaster mage with Birthday Escape, not with looking at the same hand a second time.
Uncomfortable how? I think it's nice; nothing standout but just classic MTG art. The rice ball art I would avoid putting in because it's too cutsie for me and doesn't feel like Magic art.
Personal taste varies wildly so you do you though.
100% this.
I'm not suggesting that Peek isn't worth playing. It's a fine cantrip. I just wouldn't remove a card selection cantrip to get access to it.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
I've always struggled with Green based midrange decks, which may explain why I value a card like Peek a lot higher, both because of the type of decks I play and that I'm not really that proficient with midrange.
Probe has just been insane, especially for decks that can better utilize the free spell - i.e. Mentor/ Storm
Yah the Ring tempts you isn't nothing, especially Ranger's Firebrand to improve your aggro 1-drop's evasion has been incredible in limited/ arena. There's is no worse feeling that attacking your smaller red 1-2 drops into your opponent's creatures. I might give it a try some day.
Call of the Ring has just become a 2 CMC Phyrexian Arena that also loots you. I wanted to avoid this mechanic for as long as possible, but it fits too well into black's aggro/ stax/ creature combo archetype that I feel I just have to play it.
I feel for every game 2-3 games Opt in limited hit a land, I have 1 game where I wasn't able to even cast the opt because I had a Triome (or shock) or no blue source in my opening hand.
But having nonland cards that can replace themselves with the right type of card off the top is important for smoothing out draws/curves. The format is so volatile and so feast/famine that anything you can play to increase the consistency and dig deeper to hit the best cards and the appropriate answers helps a ton.
I love free information, but the card selection is paramount in this format.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
- Consider / Opt actually draws cards where Temples merely scry and are awful topdecks.
- Consider / Opt are instants and let you be flexible with your mana.
- Like other cantrips, Consider / Opt contribute to critical mass synergies for things like spells matters and filling up the graveyard for things like delve / escape / etc.
- I think most people would agree that Consider / Opt's position in the cantrip totem pole is much higher than the temple's position on the 2-color land totem pole.
This is an awful argument against Opt, it's not Opt's fault that you're mana screwed. Put any 1-cmc cantrip not named Gitaxian Probe in this scenario and it's just as bad. Even then, Opt is still technically really good in these types of hands and is often the reason you'd keep it over taking a mulligan.
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
I would argue the cards we should have in this slot should be Chromatic Star / Chromatic Sphere. They weren't as good 2-3 years ago, but they are becoming more and more important these days given the increasing number of "must play" cards that are miles ahead of the competition.