Single Card Discussion:Telling Time

[Chill79]

Telling Time   1U
Instant   Uncommon
Look at the top three cards of your library. Put one of those cards into your hand, one on top of your library, and one on the bottom of your library.

From Ravnica we get this little "gem",will it find it it's ways or not  ??

[49 Cents]

I bet Not. Why play this when both Brainstorm and Thirst are better?

[Polynomial P]

An effect closer to this is impulse, which digs one deeper and hardly sees any play at all. Telling time also forces you to get 2 of the 3 cards, and chances are that only 1 of the 3 cards will help you.

[forests failed you]

For sure, this card is clearly worse than both Brainstorm and Impulse.  I don't see it getting played at all in Vintage.  However, I am really excited to see it printed.  With Brainstorm out of extended it is a farily good replacement (though less powerful in scope).  Also, how cool will it be to actually have a good fast blue instant in Standard?  How good! 

[AnarchyB52]

i have been testing mono blue control out lately and i think this card will be far better than impulse in my deck seeing how i cant play brainstorm due to chalice

how often dos impulse put AMAZING cards on the bottom of your deck???? for me quite ofton

i think this card is good and might see play

[Machinus]

This card is good for Type 2, bad for everything else. However, I think Remand is a powerful card. I think it is going to see play in all formats.

[Necrologia]

The difference between Remand and Memory Lapse doesn't seem large enough for me to believe it's going to see play everywhere. Fish/Gro will like it as a tempo card that cantrips but I just don't see it being that amazing.

Telling Time is terrible in Type 1 just because Impluse exists. Impluse is used when you need a given card badly, be it a land, counter, or combo component. Telling Time doesn't dig as deep, so it's pretty much useless.

[Arvid]

Telling Time could be useful i Gro. However, Gro is not really a viable deck type at the moment, or is it? I think not. If it could make a comeback maybe this card could see play in that type of deck.

[Skynyrd]

I imagine one, maybe two people have actually tested with Telling Time, yet so many people already declare it's worse than both Brainstorm and Impulse. I know Brainstorm is better, but I'm not sold on Impulse's superiority. I've only gotten to goldfish with Telling Time so far, but it's proved to be quite interesting so far. It removes the two cards you place on top with Brainstorm, while allowing you to get rid of one, or keep both of the Brainstorm cards. I could actually see this replacing Accumulated Knowledge in some decks, since it actually digs deeper more consistently. I'll have to keep plugging away with it to be sure.

I can't see Remand being good in any format. I have not, however, played with it yet. In Vintage or Legacy I'd rather use Arcane Denial over it. Or in the most likely scenario, neither.

[verduran]

This card is good for Type 2, bad for everything else. However, I think Remand is a powerful card. I think it is going to see play in all formats.

How about remand as an early counter which can later on serve as a brain freeze or tendrils returner? A counter in storm combo that's not entirely dead when going off, think about it.

Play a few spells, play your finisher (not quite lethal yet) counter it (leaving the storm copies intact obviously) and replay it lethally. (cantripping along the way)

Just something you combo gurus might wanna consider. Just like countering your own spells with Arcane Denial

[Machinus]

The reason I think it has potential is because it can generate tempo, something which control decks have a hard time doing in the early game. This doesn't apply to Vintage since every control deck is basically a combo deck.

For example, playing a control deck, if your opponent taps out on turn 2/3 for a creature, and you Remand it, you have basically played a time walk. You are one land drop closer to casting Wrath of God and stabilizing.

Against control, it can still be useful. Remanding a FoF or Gifts will not get rid of it, but it will generate two "mana" worth of tempo. In an aggro-control deck, this can buy time to get more board control or find an actual answer.

Against storm, this card is terrible. But it is still good against other combo, as often a particular piece of the combo is useless without other pieces, or the mana to play them. Combo decks often rely on limited mana producers such as Cabal Ritual, Tendo Ice Bridge, Seething Song, Pentad Prism, etc.

Basically, in formats without the proper selection of countermagic, this can be a good replacement.

[verduran]

Against storm, this card is terrible. But it is still good against other combo, as often a particular piece of the combo is useless without other pieces, or the mana to play them. Combo decks often rely on limited mana producers such as Cabal Ritual, Tendo Ice Bridge, Seething Song, Pentad Prism, etc.

.

Did you read my post? How about IN storm decks...

[PipOC]

This card is good for Type 2, bad for everything else. However, I think Remand is a powerful card. I think it is going to see play in all formats.

Gro could certainly use it as they only need to temporarily abate threats, but then again, who plays gro?

[War]

Did you read my post? How about IN storm decks...

I don't really see Vintage combo being willing to drop another 2UU or 3UBB to cast a second  kill spell when simply casting the first should be enough.  I've never wanted to see Tendrils #2 in my hand (if I even run it).  Could be worthwhile in Legacy, though - it turns Brain Freeze into an instant-speed almost-Tendrils.

[vartemis]

Did you read my post? How about IN storm decks...

I don't really see Vintage combo being willing to drop another 2UU or 3UBB to cast a second  kill spell when simply casting the first should be enough.  I've never wanted to see Tendrils #2 in my hand (if I even run it).  Could be worthwhile in Legacy, though - it turns Brain Freeze into an instant-speed almost-Tendrils.

But if you dont have enough for a lethal tendrils, you could cast this and counter the original spell, put it back in your hand and gain some life to buy you some time.  Vs memory lapse it would depend on your metagame.  This gives you a cantrip, but memory lapse puts it safely on top of your library.  Since memory lapse isnt played, I dont really see this being played.  But I havent tried it, so i can see it going either way.

j

[rakso]

The reason I think it has potential is because it can generate tempo, something which control decks have a hard time doing in the early game. This doesn't apply to Vintage since every control deck is basically a combo deck.

It's tougher in Type I, though, since a lot of the spells you want to counter are 2 mana or less. Even against Stax, countering a 4-mana spell isn't really a tempo gain since he's using Workshop to make his 4-mana play about equivalent to your 2-mana foil.