Solemn Simulacrum is a card that offers solid value for slower decks. I imagine back when cube was young this card was a very high pick because this sort of value was not a standard bar that your typical cube card was clearing. Things have changed a lot since then. These days this card is still good obviously but it's mostly going to be filler in your average deck. You are very happy to pick it up on the wheel but you are probably not passing many things to grab it early.
It's a very good value card. If you have ways to recur it, it's money. If not, it's just a value card that is a bit undersized for it's cost. But stoic Jens is still good.
For the first few years of my cube, Solemn was great. It is still good today, but slow and given the competition in the four drop slot, it makes less maindecks than in the past.
Mystic Confluence is super powerful and probably better than Cryptic Command. That's how good it is. Versatile, all modes are powerful, and combined it's a really good deal for the mana. One of blue's most powerful cards. I can't think of many blue decks (if any) where this card doesn't automatically make the 23.
Favorite counter is probably old school Counterspell.
Favorite bounce would probably be old school Man-o'-war.
Favorite draw spell is harder. Time spiral? It's probably the least likely draw spell for me to pass early in a draft. I also love Frantic Search and run it in nearly any deck that can cast it. I also think Compulsive Research is just a really solid card and I'm never unhappy running it.
I believe WoTC's new policy is to make sure that every color can enjoy the exciting gameplay mechanic of making undercosted dudes and then turning them sideways. Clearly the future of magic.
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Yeah, I asked a similar bonus question for Cryptic Command about 6 months ago, but this is the first time Mystic Confluence has come up. I'm not gonna lie, though, I am starting to run out of ideas for bonus questions, as well as relevant cards to bring up for discussion.
I don't know if Mystic Confluence plays better than Cryptic Command in other formats, but I agree that it's definitely a better cube card than CC not only because of the easier color requirements, but also because of the potential for more card advantage. Control players who get the chance to play Mystic Confluence for the first time in my cube pretty much always fall in love, and that doesn't seem to happen with most Commander cards.
Ponder is OK. It's certainly playable everywhere from powered cubes to pauper lists, but in any 40-card deck it's going to be at a fraction of its constructed power level (banned in modern, legacy staple, restricted in vintage, etc).
If you have something like 20 total fetchlands in a 450-card cube, then it becomes very actively good. Otherwise, it suffers from the same problem as Brainstorm -- when you're casting it to generally smooth out your draws (hit land drops / have a good curve)... you'll often see, say, one land that you need and two spells that you don't, but not be able to take JUST the land.
I still like the effect and almost never cut it from a blue deck (and certainly won't take it out of the cube any time in the foreseeable future), but it's generally a more mid-pack pick while Preordain is the absolute king of cantrips for us. Impulse is probably second aside from some rare settings where you really value 1cmc over 2cmc. Then there's a scrum of next-tier option that includes Ponder, Serum Visions, and Brainstorm, maybe even Anticipate in that mix.
Ponder is a premioum cantrip, and is probably my favorite one in the cube. Singleton formats are going to be fundamentally inconsistent by nature, and the ability to dig a 4th card deep when you're looking for a specific out is big game. Can't imagine ever not playing it.
Sleight and thereafter Probe/Serum are probably the weakest and might be cut some time in the future. I do however like having access to them for the Jeskai/UR spells deck.
And by the way, there does not have to be a bonus question for every card in my opinion. You do already put a lot of work into this thread, Spike, and the main focus should be the daily card itself and not some extra "random" question . I greatly apprieciate the time you (and all participants) put into this as it helps me making decisions for my own cube. So thanks everyone!
I love Ponder. I play it alongside Preordain, Brainstorm, Impulse, and Gitaxian Probe.
Which are does everyone prefer? I'll never run textless cards in my cube, so the Argyle is out. I usually prefer first printing of things, but I think the Dan Scott art is so much better than the Mark Tedin, so I play that.
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I can't say I'm pleased to see you and must warn you I may have to do something about it.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: URDelver
Modern: UGRDelver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
Hold on, are people saying Ponder is a better cantrip spell than Brainstorm?? This is the first I'm hearing of it, and I'm not in agreement. Obviously, it's still a great card.
I play Brainstorm, Ponder, Portent, Whispers of the Muse, and Thought Scour (which I count as a cantrip, as it's basically only ever used as pseudo card advantage in decks that like the graveyard).
EDIT: Arggh! Apparently Preordain isn't on my list. Now I'll have to go through my whole cube to find it, then if it isn't there I'll have to go through my whole collection to find one. This keeps happening with this thread.
I have always found brainstorm to be better: it allows me to stack my hand and deck better than any other, is instant speed, and even works with "draws matter". I've never even considered it a competition. I guess it's a matter of opinion, but I rarely see three cards with brainstorm, and wish I could shuffle them away. I often see cards with Ponder/Preordain, and wish I could swap more than one of them for lands in my hand like I can with brainstorm.
As to Ponder's art, I like the Mark Tedin. "Yo, Bill, is this the cloud you wanted?!"
Ponder is sweet. I like that it comes with a built in shuffle effect. I like it more than preordain.
Brainstorm is better as it has a much higher ceiling. It's weaker in a vacuum I suppose but I don't think it makes sense to look at cards that way. You really don't need a lot for brainstorm to be better. Any sort of TOL effect. Shuffle effects. Works great with miracles. It's awesome with Tinker/Natural Order. It's great against targeted discard if you need to hide an important spell. The list of uses goes on and on. Ponder is excellent. Brainstorm was a mistake, that's how much better it is.
It's certain;y not 100% of the story, but a huge reason why blue cantrips are powerful is that they hedge against the 10-20-30% of games where you lose simply because the top ten cards of your library are way too many lands, way too few lands, or the wrong color of lands-to-spells.
Preordain (and, to a lesser degree, Serum Visions) are amazing at fixing that. Without a shuffle effect, both Ponder and Brainstorm are far worse -- the latter has a leg up since it can itself be a shuffle effect followed by a random draw, but if we're talking about a one-land, six-card hand on the draw I'm vastly happier keeping it with Preordain than with Ponder (and with Brainstorm, you basically just get to know how screwed you are with your 1-land hand two turns earlier).
Ponder isn't always great, but it's always okay. Im happy with its inclusion in my cube, but I wouldn't doubt anybody's judgement if they chose to cut it.
I play brainstorm, ancestral vision, treasure cruise, thirst for knowledge (who unlike compulsive research usually doesn't generate card advantage), nimble obstructionist, ponder and preordain for cantrips and 1 mana blue card draw.
Ponder doesn't look like the most exciting card at first glance, but having one in your deck can help you dig for land early, and for action later making your decks and games run smoother. Ponder, Preordain, and Impulse are the only pure card-selection cantrips I run, and although I feel like I should make room for more, cuts in blue are hard to find.
I'm actually fortunate enough to have 2 alters of Ponder, one for each cube. One is a signed alter of the Dan Scott art, and my wife did a border extension of the nipple Ponder. I prefer the original Lorwyn art.
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465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
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http://riptidelab.com/forum/threads/modular-cube-5-colors.800/
Retro combo cube thread
http://riptidelab.com/forum/threads/retro-combo-cube.1454/
I still have Kastle, Finkel, Jens, Bob, Tiago. Ruel just left my cube.
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
BONUS QUESTION
Choose three. You may choose the same question more than once:
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Favorite counter is probably old school Counterspell.
Favorite bounce would probably be old school Man-o'-war.
Favorite draw spell is harder. Time spiral? It's probably the least likely draw spell for me to pass early in a draft. I also love Frantic Search and run it in nearly any deck that can cast it. I also think Compulsive Research is just a really solid card and I'm never unhappy running it.
http://riptidelab.com/forum/threads/modular-cube-5-colors.800/
Retro combo cube thread
http://riptidelab.com/forum/threads/retro-combo-cube.1454/
Wasn't it for Cryptic Command?
I thought so too, but maybe it was for Cryptic.
Mystic Confluence is such a good card. One of the best cube cards that's been released in the past 5 years.
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 don't know if Mystic Confluence plays better than Cryptic Command in other formats, but I agree that it's definitely a better cube card than CC not only because of the easier color requirements, but also because of the potential for more card advantage. Control players who get the chance to play Mystic Confluence for the first time in my cube pretty much always fall in love, and that doesn't seem to happen with most Commander cards.
My 3 favorite bounce spells are Man-o'-War, Reflector Mage, and Crystal Shard.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Ponder
BONUS QUESTION
How many purely card-selection cantrips are you running in your blue section?
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
If you have something like 20 total fetchlands in a 450-card cube, then it becomes very actively good. Otherwise, it suffers from the same problem as Brainstorm -- when you're casting it to generally smooth out your draws (hit land drops / have a good curve)... you'll often see, say, one land that you need and two spells that you don't, but not be able to take JUST the land.
I still like the effect and almost never cut it from a blue deck (and certainly won't take it out of the cube any time in the foreseeable future), but it's generally a more mid-pack pick while Preordain is the absolute king of cantrips for us. Impulse is probably second aside from some rare settings where you really value 1cmc over 2cmc. Then there's a scrum of next-tier option that includes Ponder, Serum Visions, and Brainstorm, maybe even Anticipate in that mix.
I play Ponder, Brainstorm, Preordain and Impulse.
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 play more one mana cantrips (draw spells) than most, even at my size (720):
Ancestral Recall
Ancestral Vision
Brainstorm
Gitaxian Probe
Ponder
Preordain
Serum Visions
Sleight of Hand
Sleight and thereafter Probe/Serum are probably the weakest and might be cut some time in the future. I do however like having access to them for the Jeskai/UR spells deck.
And by the way, there does not have to be a bonus question for every card in my opinion. You do already put a lot of work into this thread, Spike, and the main focus should be the daily card itself and not some extra "random" question . I greatly apprieciate the time you (and all participants) put into this as it helps me making decisions for my own cube. So thanks everyone!
Which are does everyone prefer? I'll never run textless cards in my cube, so the Argyle is out. I usually prefer first printing of things, but I think the Dan Scott art is so much better than the Mark Tedin, so I play that.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: UR Delver
Modern: UGR Delver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
(I have an altered core set one, but will eventually get LRW foil )
I play Brainstorm, Ponder, Portent, Whispers of the Muse, and Thought Scour (which I count as a cantrip, as it's basically only ever used as pseudo card advantage in decks that like the graveyard).
EDIT: Arggh! Apparently Preordain isn't on my list. Now I'll have to go through my whole cube to find it, then if it isn't there I'll have to go through my whole collection to find one. This keeps happening with this thread.
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.
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!
As to Ponder's art, I like the Mark Tedin. "Yo, Bill, is this the cloud you wanted?!"
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.
Brainstorm is better as it has a much higher ceiling. It's weaker in a vacuum I suppose but I don't think it makes sense to look at cards that way. You really don't need a lot for brainstorm to be better. Any sort of TOL effect. Shuffle effects. Works great with miracles. It's awesome with Tinker/Natural Order. It's great against targeted discard if you need to hide an important spell. The list of uses goes on and on. Ponder is excellent. Brainstorm was a mistake, that's how much better it is.
http://riptidelab.com/forum/threads/modular-cube-5-colors.800/
Retro combo cube thread
http://riptidelab.com/forum/threads/retro-combo-cube.1454/
Preordain (and, to a lesser degree, Serum Visions) are amazing at fixing that. Without a shuffle effect, both Ponder and Brainstorm are far worse -- the latter has a leg up since it can itself be a shuffle effect followed by a random draw, but if we're talking about a one-land, six-card hand on the draw I'm vastly happier keeping it with Preordain than with Ponder (and with Brainstorm, you basically just get to know how screwed you are with your 1-land hand two turns earlier).
--
Amusingly, I often think of Brainstorm as an honorary Simic card in cube -- green provides by far the most shuffle effects from Rampant Growth, Cultivate, etc, and allows further Brainstorm combos with Courser of Kruphix and Oracle of Mul Daya. In a Dimir or Izzet deck, though, it's more often "fetchland or bust".
I play Ponder, Preordain, Brainstorm, Gitaxian Probe, Opt, Serum Visions, Sleight of Hand, Impulse, Anticipate
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
I play brainstorm, ancestral vision, treasure cruise, thirst for knowledge (who unlike compulsive research usually doesn't generate card advantage), nimble obstructionist, ponder and preordain for cantrips and 1 mana blue card draw.
I'm actually fortunate enough to have 2 alters of Ponder, one for each cube. One is a signed alter of the Dan Scott art, and my wife did a border extension of the nipple Ponder. I prefer the original Lorwyn art.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.