I've been on 4 Brainstorm, 4 Ponder, 1 Jace for a loooong time and haven't felt the need for additional card draw. Maybe a 2nd Jace at times, but that's a fleeting feeling at best. Like, our bombs are so strong, it's simply a matter of finding them. Also, since alert a bit more reactive with more countermagic than Esper, the cantripping filtering is super important to maximize chances of holding right answers at right moment.

Never tested Elspeth, but the difference between 1/1 tokens and 2/2 tokens is huuuuge. Like, in a world of Golgari Charm, Night of Souls Betrayal, Zealous Persecution, I want the 2/2 all the way. Gideon randomly being a 5/5 by himself matters a ton vs the non-StP decks. She's worth testing, but my gut says Gideon is likely better in more spots.