Thread by @JasonILTG

Today, I'm going to talk briefly about three cards that all have their best home in the same kind of deck: Thrilling Discovery, Teach By Example, and Curate. ALSAs of 9.39, 8.57, and 8.18. Not exactly sure whether they're "underrated", but definitely worth talking about. 1/x

The best home for these cards is Serpentine Curve control decks. Disclaimer: I don't have the most experience with these decks myself; probably the expert here is @SamuelHBlack, both in his recent podcast episode about Dimir and his excellent stream. But I'll try my best. 2/x

Thrilling Discovery is the worst of these in a vaccuum, as reflected by it being the 6th least-drafted card, barely above First Day. It looks like just another Cathartic Reunion, which is historically bad. But it does have some good synergies that can make it worth playing. 3/x

First of all, the 2 life does matter. When you're casting a card that doesn't affect the board, getting some life out of it helps you fall behind less. Not needing to discard as a cost is also important, as it doesn't get blown out by counters and can be cast just for 2 life. 4/x

The biggest combo with Thrill is Pilgrim of the Ages. Pilgrim both gets you extra lands to discard with Thrill, and can be discarded itself and returned later. And Pilgrim is one of the best tools for controlling white decks too, as a way to hit lands trade off repeatedly. 5/x

Another combo with Thrill is Reconstruct History (which I'll probably be talking about tomorrow), as it helps fill the gy. You can, for example, discard an irrelevant Campus Guide to Thrill early, get it back with Reconstruct, and discard it again to another Thrill late. 6/x

And finally, Thrill, like Curate, is another way to power out big Serpentine Curves early. All of this adds up to a card I don't often play, as my white decks are often assertive. But if you open an Approach, it's good to know that you can pick up late Thrills. 7/x

Speaking of Curate, this is the card out of these three that I'm most confident in calling underrated. Its best home is wwhen it's helping to fill the gy for early Curves, but it's also just a serviceable cantrip. Deliberate was bad in ZNR, but here spells matter a lot more. 8/x

I'm pretty happy to play Curate in basically all of my blue decks, as a cheap way to trigger magecraft, get value off of Rootha, and fill the graveyard for Curves and Reconstructs. And being able to have it up along with Bury, Subtraction, Test, or Divide is great. 9/x

Finally, there's Teach By Example. This one is weird, since it's very good with specific cards, but I wouldn't necessarily play it just to copy random removal spells. I don't think it's necessarily underrated, since most decks won't want it, but it's good to keep in mind. 10/x

One of the best cards to copy is Serpentine Curve. Curve can be very large pretty early, and only costing 4 means you can get two 5/5+s as early as turn 6. It's also worth noting that Teach goes into the graveyard before Curve, and so makes both Curves bigger too. 11/x

The thing is, two curves is just so much better than one. When you're trying to stabilize behind a big creature, getting two instead lets you not be as vulnerable to removal. And having two large creatures lets you turn the corner so much faster. 12/x

Generally, I only like playing Teach By Example with relatively cheap spells that have a high impact. Heated Debate and Bury in Books are fine, but I'd like something better. Serpentine Curve, Igneous Inspiration, and quite a few great rares are spells to look out for. 13/13

(Too lazy to write a conclusion) Trophy decks that I've played Teach in recently (Curate goes in most of my blue decks and I haven't played many Thrills recently):

17lands.com/deck/1ca6291b5…
17lands.com/deck/99ac2dc9e…

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