Arcane Encyclopedia or Arcane Signet?
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on Sept. 21, 2019, 2:18 p.m. by DemonDragonJ
Nearly every one of my EDH decks contains a copy of Mirari , but I have decided that that card is too situational to be useful in every game, so I plan to replace it, but the question is with which card I should replace it.
I have narrowed my choices down to one of two cards: Arcane Encyclopedia and Arcane Signet , both of which have a lower mana cost than do Mirari , which shall help to lower the overall mana curve of each of my decks. Having an additional source of mana is always good, but having a repeatable source of card advantage is also a good thing.
What does everyone else say about this? Which card should replace Mirari in my EDH decks?
DemonDragonJ says... #3
DrukenReaps, I definitely appreciate your feedback, but, outside of the color blue, what could be better than Arcane Encyclopedia ? I know that black has great card drawing, but I am seeking a source of card drawing that can be used repeatedly, is colorless, and can be used at instant speed, and there are very few cards that satisfy all three of those criteria.
September 21, 2019 3:24 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #5
saluma, I do like that card, but it is very situational; its condition may be difficult to satisfy in a format that allows only one copy of each card other than a basic land.
September 21, 2019 3:36 p.m.
Last_Laugh says... #6
Rhystic Study and/or Mystic Remora are both better options in blue.
September 21, 2019 4:12 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #7
Last_Laugh, several of my decks do contain Rhystic Study , but the upkeep cost of Mystic Remora is more than what I would like to pay in most games.
September 21, 2019 4:19 p.m.
GhostChieftain says... #8
Remora is the best. Get like 3 or so turns worth of use and then let it die. There is a reason nearly all blue cEDH decks use it. Unless you are doing mono white, red, or boros, it is 99% of the time better to use a specific black, blue, or green draw than artifact based draw. You are actively making your decks worse by forcing the inclusion of Arcane Encyclopedia . If you are trying to keep yourself weaker, that is fine, but if not don't run encyclopedia in all decks.
September 21, 2019 5:03 p.m.
I see your point DemonDragonJ but in my humble opinion its much easier to have 3 of the same basic and keeping 2 mana open then to have 3 mana open. You can cast a lot of spells for 3 mana, many whom do more then simply draw a card. And the total mana investment is 6 mana for the first card... Would you play a 6 mana instant with "draw a card"? Or a 9 mana instant with "draw 2 cards"? I dont think so... And yeah I know the mana is over several turns but for that mana investment you should get more value. So I recomend the use of a color specific card to draw cards or use the new signet.
September 22, 2019 3:23 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #10
I have decided that I shall evaluate each deck based upon its individual needs; for example, all of my decks that contain both red and white shall have Arcane Encyclopedia , because those two colors have the least emphasis on gaining card advantage in this game, and card advantage is of vital importance in EDH, whereas my five-colored deck (with Progenitus as its general) will have Arcane Signet , because the high mana curve of that deck makes that card a necessity.
September 22, 2019 10:13 a.m.
GhostChieftain says... #11
DemonDragonJ says... "I have decided that I shall evaluate each deck based upon its individual needs"
This is important for any card in any deck. No single card is an auto include in every single deck, not even sol ring. There are decks in which some things that are amazing in most decks become a liability.
September 22, 2019 11:52 a.m.
Mirari is generally a slow, overcosted artifact mainly used to sink extra mana into and it does not gain you card advantage in any meaningful way. Arcane Encyclopedia is similar in that it is mainly useful if you happen to have a bunch of generic mana sitting around, but even then it is not repeatable unless you have a Voltaic Key etcc. Arcane Signet is nothing at all like the other two cards you are considering in its place. It is a 2 CMC colour producing rock. If you're asking which of these is "best" it almost certainly the signet.
In reading some of your comments, the encyclopedia's "repeated use" is certainly outmatched by Rhystic Study , Mystic Remora , Necropotence , Sylvan Library , Phyrexian Arena , Dark Confidant etc. You're right in that it is colourless and can be activated at instant speed, though I would say that Sensei's Divining Top does this much better.
The upkeep cost of Mystic Remora is pennies compared to its taxing effect on your opponents. Also, you have multiple turns before it costs even the same amount as the encyclopedia.
September 22, 2019 10:19 p.m.
bushido_man96 says... #13
Book of Rass is better than Arcane Encyclopedia . Arcane Encyclopedia is probably only decent card draw in a Boros deck. And even then, Book of Rass is still better, even at 6 CMC.
September 24, 2019 12:45 a.m.
triproberts12 says... #14
Yeah, J, I'm also on the Arcane Encyclopedia sucks train. For 1 more mana, you can have those two first cards with Mind's Eye . A lot of white decks will have incidental life gain, at which point Well of Lost Dreams is way better on rate. If the deck is more aggressive or equipment-based, Mask of Memory , Rogue's Gloves , Skullclamp , and Sword of Fire and Ice get the job done better, and in any mono white or red deck running 20+ basics, Endless Atlas will be almost strictly better. That's just the list of artifacts that are better.
The point I'm trying to ultimately make, though, is that there are far more powerful options for most decks if you spend some time looking for accidental subthemes and punching those keywords into Scryfall, since you'll often find insane cards for one deck or theme that don't really have a home elsewhere.
DrukenReaps says... #2
Signet. Unless you are desperate for card draw but even then most decks can run something better than encyclopedia.
September 21, 2019 3:19 p.m.