Elite Arcanist, Creature - Human Wizard, 3U
When ~ enters the battlefield, you may exile an instant card from your hand.
X, T:Copy the exiled card. You may play the copy without paying its casting cost. X is the converted mana cost of the exiled card.
So, Panoptic Mirror and Isochron Scepter just got a new little buddy. The question I'd like to pose is whether this duder does anything better than these two artifacts. I think that is the key to deciding whether he is any good.
Mirror is more expensive than Arcanist, particularly when you factor in the fact you have to pay the imprinted spell's casting cost up front. It also only casts the imprinted spell once per upkeep. On the other hand, you don't have to pay for the copy, and it can copy sorceries. Since all of the time walk effects except Seed Time and Final Fortune are sorceries, the "I-win" combo with Mirror is way more obvious than with Arcanist.
Scepter is closer to what Arcanist does. Both are limited to Instants, and both tap to cast them with you effectively paying the casting cost of the card. Arcanist is able to "imprint" cards that cost more than 2, however, and it's a creature as opposed to an artifact.
Is there something Arcanist does that warrants any experimentation? So far, I've cobbled together the following:
Arcanist (imprinted with Hidden Strings) = You can tap / untap as many permanents as you like each turn for 2 each. Add on a Sol land (preferably City of Traitors) and you can generate as many tap / untaps of the Arcanist and the Sol land as you want. Put a Wild Growth effect on the land and you get infinite mana. Put Illusionist's Bracers on the Arcanist for the same result. Other than the interaction with Bracers, though, Scepter does this better.
Arcanist (imprinted with Final Fortune) + Sundial of the Infinite = You win. And it only required you to play with three cards that are all terrible on their own, huzzah! Also Scepter does this better.
Arcanist (imprinted with Cerulean Wisps) = You now have "U: Draw a card." That's not too shabby, but I suspect it might not have been worth playing with two terrible cards. On the other hand, at least Wisps can cycle away if you don't want it.
Arcanist (imprinted with Dark Ritual) = Arcanist becomes a Sol Ring...? Scepter does it better.
I dunno, I'm having a hard time finding something that really works well with Arcanist that Scepter doesn't do better. The Wisps card drawing engine is all I can think of. Thoughts?
