Cons: I've heard the raw waveforms aren't great, there's only two, expensive, digital interface seems extremely intimidating, seems hard to make patches from scratch, not sure where I would even start with the mod matrix

Reminds me the Andromeda 10 years ago. When it was released, every "analogue prick" hated it, claimed it sounded "thin and digital" and it had bad filters and their vintage X or Z sounded better. At some point you could get an Andromeda sub $1000 because it had a bad reputation and nobody wanted to touch it. Good luck getting an Andromeda at these prices now.

Here is the thing with the DeepMind, it can do everything a Juno 106 can do and more, it can do osc Sync, osc FM and filter FM with the LFO and has a comprehensive mod matrix that is only rivalled by expensive DSI synths. So no, it doesn't only have 2 waveforms, since you can create "exotic" waveforms with FM and Sync.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm6S82QZzM4

As for menu diving, most synth settings are accessible directly via short cuts and key combinations directly on the panel. So the screen is only mandatory when you want to tweak effects and the deepmind has A LOT of them.

The "hate" for the Deepmind isn't justified at all. But ultimately people are scared off buying it because of its reputation online, just like the Andromeda before it. But at its price, there is absolutely nothing like it on the market, period, in fact, there is absolutely nothing like it when it comes to analogue synths, period.

And keep in mind that there is a 6 voice version, and a desktop version that are cheaper. To me, the 6 voice version is a no brainer as a cheap poly for pads, compared to the original Minilogue. The only advantage of the Minilogue OG are the on board polyphonic sequencer and the shiny look.