Pointed Discussion

1rd

I wonder if this was the original Mythic of the set and clique got a promotion later

this is an amazing counterspell effect, that isn't necessarily even a counter, wish I had one for EDH

4.5/5 Stars

Best instant in Modern? Maybe. This card does almost everything. Resolving it generally means you win the game.

Jace, the Mind Sculptor is essentially Cryptic Command on a Jace Beleren Stick. o.o

more like an obscene command.

Blue blue blue. Quite possibly the bluest card ever. And I love it.

Blue card remains blue.

super versatile card. and not too much mana to cast it. It really should be 5 or 6 mana for all it does.

as blue as exquisite blood is black.

flexibility isn't always a benefit but here it is perfect. 4.5/5

Should have been or even fairly; at , it's a table flipper.

Holyturdballsbatman!

Probably the only counterspell that will still work when you pull it with Epic Experiment.

Powerhouse of a card. Without considering color intensity, its strictly better then both dismiss and into the roil. That thought it scary, and it still has the sleep option. (And yes I realize you can cast into the roil for , but you get the point).

I am not sure whether I should rate it 5/5 or .5/5 for being overpowered.

I happen to love that there's the occasional incentive to monocolor. As others have pointed out, this is the chief of medium-cost blue spells.

Despite the "expense", it's so horribly versatile. It can bounce resurrected monsters, stop hoards of unblockable and hexproof monsters in their tracks, counter spells and on-tap abilities and give card advantage and trigger on-draw effects all at instant speed.

As if I wasn't already automatically suspicious whenever anyone kept that much blue mana untapped at their end step.

Usually modal spells are a bit overcosted for what they actually do. They are usable because of the added flexibility that they give you. For example Assault // Battery gives you a sorcery shock or a green hill giant. Neither option is great on its own but the choice to vary between removal or threat makes it playable.

Here any combination of the two abilities is already worth four mana. When you consider that there are six different possibilities for its casting mode, all of which are on curve, the flexibility that this gives you is insane.

The fact that in Modern three color decks often run four copies of this card despite how difficult it is to cast is a testament to just how powerful it is.

It is one of the reasons that controlling decks manage to remain competitive at all in Modern, a format dominated by midrange and combo and where Lightning Bolt is the most-played card.

Totally brilliant, as most people know. Four entirely useful modes, at instant speed, for a fair cost. While UUU makes it sometimes-awkward in decks, in 2 color decks it oft isn't a problem, and is worth the value.

Personally, I love UG, and Cryptic Command is totally at home alongside Eternal Witness. And if you get up to 7 mana - which is totally doable with green's early ramp, as you'll often start with a turn 1 Noble Hierarch - then you can set up a vice-grip on your opponent's combat abilities, by choosing tap + bounce targetting your own E-Wit. Of course, removal can mess with that plan, but the fact is that you're forcing them to burn removal on a 3 mana 2/1, and simply because of a synergy between two cards which are perfectly fine on their own.

And of course, with blue's dig you'll probably find another E-Wit... >:-3

Despite the reprint, this card actually doubled in $ cost :(

I'm glad I picked up one of these guys when it was $25. Now I need 3 more :(.