actions must be performed in the order that they are written. so no, you can't choose which to do first.
Posted By:
PolskiSuzeren
(6/8/2010 2:13:21 AM)
There are a number of subtle use differences between this and Preordain. Serum visions can be more effective if you already know what you're going to draw, as it reaches a little bit farther if you see things you like. Preordain is better for a first look, as you can send the two cards to the bottom and then draw blindly.
Both are very, very good one mana filters, and either should work fine for any deck that could use them. Arguments are moot.
Posted By:
DoragonShinzui
(10/1/2012 1:08:02 PM)
Scrying after a draw instead of before can work out to be better in some cases with abilities likeCoiling Oracle.
Turn 1: Serum, draw, scry 2 and put a land back as 2nd from top.
Turn 2: draw. Now we know the next card is a land, so we now play coiling oracle.
For this to work with Preordain, you need to have enough mana to play both preordain and oracle on the same turn.
Posted By:
edster
(12/29/2011 2:41:01 PM)
Still don't know which card I prefer, this or Ponder.
I do wish the effects were the other way around; I'd like to scry first please ;)
Posted By:
bloodyspasm
(2/27/2009 5:56:44 AM)
If the effects were reversed (scry first, then draw), I think this card would be better than Ponder.
Posted By:
Vinifera7
(7/8/2009 10:05:45 PM)
Serum Visions is actually better than Preordain if your deck does a lot of top-card fixing. Say you've played Long-Term Plans and you know the card is on top. You can play either this (draw the planned card, scry 2) or Preordain (scry 2, leave planned card on top because you wanted it, draw planned card). The former option gives you more scrying power. The same thing will happen in any situation where you know the top card and want it to stay there.
Posted By:
LordRandomness
(5/26/2013 4:27:15 AM)
Serum Visions as it is (with drawing first then Scry) leaves you with more information (because when you are scrying, you already have the extra card in your hand). Mind you, this is not effective with jank, 75-card semi-highlander decks, but more suited for more consistent 60-card decks. With such a deck, it is uncommon to not want at least one of the top two cards of you library. (Not to suggest that 60-card, consistent decks are better than any other deck building methods)
If the deck you are thinking about is more than, say, 65 cards, has lots of singletons, never plays the same game twice, is your first/only deck in Magic, etc. then you don't need one mana card filtering because your deck doesn't "curve out" (Turn 1- one mana spell; Turn 2- two mana spell; so on). For a deck like that, you can afford more expensive (yet more powerful) card filtering such as Foresee or plain card draw.
Posted By:
Enchantment_Removal
(6/28/2010 8:03:04 AM)
best draw-card ever
they should remake this
Posted By:
Guntz1092
(2/27/2010 7:25:05 PM)
Preordain is clearly a better card.
Serum Visions clearly works out the abs daily
Posted By:
AngusMcSillyWilly
(7/11/2011 12:05:16 PM)
With Preordain banned in Modern, I guess I'm stuck with Serum visions, which isn't that bad of a trade off actually...
Posted By:
sincleanser
(7/22/2013 12:20:00 AM)