EX variants of these stage 2 Pokemon also pack strong offensive power
Serum Visions, Opt, Sleight of Hand and Cling to Dust have all made the deck at some point, but none of the Modern cantrips are quite strong enough to match the consistency of something like Ponder
These custom made cards weren't really a thing people talked about back when, but on the other hand, if Richard Garfield himself brings a deck with home-made cards to an old school tournament, who would ever decline playing against it
Additionally, one content creator got a chance to preview a card before the full spoiler was published - the YouTube channel ZiggyD Gaming
However, if you have aspirations of playing in tournaments, I recommend playing with tournament mulligan rules, even when you're just practicing
Not to mention that you can share in the excitement of finding a new rare Pokmon together