The most iconic MTG blue spells include Counterspell , Brainstorm , and Force of Will all of which appear regularly in competitive formats
This ability uses an intervening if clause, which states that it only triggers if the creature fits the requirements when the ability wants to trigger and when it goes to resolve
Saurons Ransom Ill get to Atris in a moment, but thats usually the preferred card over Sauron's Ransom if youre going for the opponent-agency card draw effect
In this sense, switching to Ardent Plea comes at a more significant cost than for Crashing Footfalls decks
But a decade later, Wizards would print Protean Hulk, which turned Flash into a Turn 1 win thanks to a convoluted loop of creatures that you can tutor up by using Flash to not just cheat the Protean Hulk into play but immediately sacrifice it, which was oddly an upside due to Protean Hulk's death trigger
Especially Genesis