This part only works if they're creatures, however: you can't turn up an instant or enchantment
For one black mana you recur two creatures
"We also knew it would be a missed opportunity in this gloriously snowy set not to provide fans with such an iconic and recognizable song card." "This was a difficult card for us to get right," Litzsinger added
Snapdax, Apex of the Hunt Snapdax, Apex of the Hunt is another mutate commander that doesn't require a build-around because it can mutate into any other nonhuman creature
Note that if a spell has targets, those targets are chosen long before any gifts are given, so those gifts (should they happen to be newly created tokens) can't be those targets
While Cryptic Command is only fourth on this list it is probably the second best card overall rather than specifically as a counterspell