It does have other options, which might be quite handy later in the game, so those options make it quite strong
Notably, you get this trigger on the cast, so if you happen to have open mana and you manage to draw a counterspell or perhaps dont have open mana and draw one of the most valuable cards from Prophecy , Foil you can immediately cast it in response to the spell thats targeting you or your stuff
Like most Magic: The Gathering cards, the value of Naban, Dean of Iteration depends on a few consistent factors: its rarity, the printing and finish (regular or foil), its physical condition, and the set it was printed in (Foundations Jumpstart)
It is effective card quality and very good mana efficiency whenever you can usefully use more than one mode
There have been several cards in the past that produce extra mana but restrict it to 'spells/costs containing X,' but none of them have been particularly impressive
What I mean by this is I would rather my opponent go for it only to be hit by Surgical than for my opponent to see the Leyline , then craft a plan to remove it and quickly take over the game
