So in a spell-heavy meta, this guy is proving surprisingly useful, especially as that Shugenja trait helps enable Cloud the Mind, which seems to be a nearly vital card these days.

However, fact that you can't play into the conflict is a real pain, as it means the combat math doesn't shift much: it's basically a counterspell that can't be counterspelled, with an extra bonus of a 2/2/1 with a good trait for one turn

That's still worth a copy or two, in my mind.

And sure, there's those that'll argue that you might not see spell events at all in some opponent's decks. To them I'd point out it's just one card, and Scorpion draws faster than any other clan. I wouldn't run a situational conditional card in many clans, but in Scorpion you can afford to do so. 

I'm packing a single copy in my Scorpion deck, as if my opponent isn't running any spells then it is an expensive body compared to our other coflict characters, but as you said can allow us to play CtM in a crunch.

I have found her biggest impact was cancelling Display of Power, as there is nothing my opponent can do about it, other than hope they have another copy and 2 fate to play it...

Still too few spells to go around... pity Cloud the Mind is an attachment, not an event.