Those other volatile mechanics like dredge and storm have their own ways to shatter underlying assumptions about the tempo of a match, but none are quite as blatant or as versatile as having a second, cooler mana pool
I give Unctus 4 mechanics eyes out of 5
The key point I want you to see is that you do not need to be a seller during that near-vertical rise
The subtitle of "Mischievous Pals" seems to fit the duo well, particularly with the card's ability, Sleight of Hand
"Replicate [cost]" means "As an additional cost to cast this spell, you may pay [cost] any number of times" and "When you cast this spell, if a replicate cost was paid for it, copy it for each time its replicate cost was paid
I dont know if its enough to make them good, but its exactly what they want