Recently, a trend in the selection of card advantage has been seen : by simply browsing through the web, we see Hieroglyphic Illumination has the go-to card for card advantage. Before that, Glimmer of Genius was considered to be a decent choice, challenging the everlasting Think Twice.
About Glimmer, Gabriel Nassif wrote :
I’ve been liking in a Blue-White Control for a while now and I believe it is good here as well. Glimmer lets you punish opponents trying to play around Cryptic Command and the extra versatility is always nice with Snapcaster Mage
Even Erich Froehlich said on CFB :
Glimmer of Genius tends to be the most powerful as an instant-speed way to see up to four cards, but there are also cheaper options in Supreme Will/Anticipate, Opt, and Chart a Course. Hieroglyphic Illumination has seen some play, but it tends to be in decks that focus on cycling.
On the other hand, Luis-Scott Vargas said on Twitter :
Hieroglyphic Illumination is basically an Opt / Sphinx's Revelation split card.
Christian Calcano said also on Hareruya website :
With Illumination, you can keep slightly riskier hands, as well as be able to Cycle either to find a land, or effectively play 2 spells in 1 turn.
So what do you guys think about the best card advantage spell of the format ? Some contenders here haven't been mentionned such as Esper Charm, so the discussion is really up to you !
There is also Chemister's Insight now which I really took a liking to by playing it in Standard.
I think from these kind of cards Glimmer of Genius is the best one just based on the effect but what sets Hieroglyphic Illumination apart is that's never a dead card. There are games where you just can't afford to pay 4 to draw two cards and in those games you can just cycle Illumination while all the others would be stuck in your hand. And who knows? Sometimes you hit a Terminus of the top with it and blow somebody out with it.
I think that versatility is currently worth it over the other options but obviously if in your local meta all you do is facing mirrors and BG/x decks then run Glimmer instead since you will be able to afford the cost there.
I must note that Supreme Will, Anticipate, and Opt provide card filtering (and tempo in Opt's case in UW Control with Terminus), not card advantage.
Search for Azcanta has been pretty good to me. It's decently easy to sneak it in early-game or wait until it flips next turn, then it's an excellent mana sink that spurts out answer cards. It's a total magnet for land destruction of all kinds, though, which is why I recommend it as a 2-of.
Ancestral Vision is an old standby, but in several controlling decks, I've felt that Snapcaster Mage is the better CA spell. Chaining Tiago into a removal spell has often been more valuable than a third card.
Ral, Izzet Viceroy has felt surprisingly good in URx controlling decks (e.g. Blue Moon), though, as he can also kill threats, and his ult ends games pretty quickly (substantially faster than building up a Jace TMS ult, which is great against Tron).
Recently, a trend in the selection of card advantage has been seen : by simply browsing through the web, we see Hieroglyphic Illumination has the go-to card for card advantage. Before that, Glimmer of Genius was considered to be a decent choice, challenging the everlasting Think Twice.
About Glimmer, Gabriel Nassif wrote : Even Erich Froehlich said on CFB :
On the other hand, Luis-Scott Vargas said on Twitter : Christian Calcano said also on Hareruya website :
So what do you guys think about the best card advantage spell of the format ? Some contenders here haven't been mentionned such as Esper Charm, so the discussion is really up to you !
Aggro: Naya Burn RWG
Combo: Scapeshift RG
Control: Jeskai Control UWR
Legacy
Control: Miracles UW
Aggro: Burn R
In UW, Sphinx's Revelation must surely be considered, as it can be such a dramatic blowout, or just crucial stabilisation.
But most of all, for anything U, and for anything UW in particular, respectively: Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Teferi, Hero of Dominaria are my top picks.
Oh, and Terminus. Perhaps Supreme Verdict as well, even now. Also Anger of the Gods and Settle the Wreckage, of course.
And last but not least, Cryptic Command (when in counter-draw mode, which is common).
I think from these kind of cards Glimmer of Genius is the best one just based on the effect but what sets Hieroglyphic Illumination apart is that's never a dead card. There are games where you just can't afford to pay 4 to draw two cards and in those games you can just cycle Illumination while all the others would be stuck in your hand. And who knows? Sometimes you hit a Terminus of the top with it and blow somebody out with it.
I think that versatility is currently worth it over the other options but obviously if in your local meta all you do is facing mirrors and BG/x decks then run Glimmer instead since you will be able to afford the cost there.
As someone who has spent pretty much their entire Modern life playing Serum Visions and Cryptic Command, this feels more true than ever.
UR ....... WUBR ........... WB ............. RGW ........ UBR ....... WUB .... BGU
Spells / Blink & Combo / Token Grind / Dino Tribal / Draw Cards / Zombies / Reanimate
DECKS:
UB Faeries [Midrange/Tempo]
RWUGB Affinity[Aggro]
FAERIES TOO STRONK!!!1111
- Fae Prophecy, 201
5678Search for Azcanta has been pretty good to me. It's decently easy to sneak it in early-game or wait until it flips next turn, then it's an excellent mana sink that spurts out answer cards. It's a total magnet for land destruction of all kinds, though, which is why I recommend it as a 2-of.
Ancestral Vision is an old standby, but in several controlling decks, I've felt that Snapcaster Mage is the better CA spell. Chaining Tiago into a removal spell has often been more valuable than a third card.
Ral, Izzet Viceroy has felt surprisingly good in URx controlling decks (e.g. Blue Moon), though, as he can also kill threats, and his ult ends games pretty quickly (substantially faster than building up a Jace TMS ult, which is great against Tron).