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Premier Draft MKM 15 February 2024

15 February 01:43 - Troubled 7 Wins - 2 Losses
Maindeck
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (11)
2 Extract a Confession image
1 Shock image
2 Slice from the Shadows image
2 Deadly Complication image
1 The Chase Is On image
1 Murder image
1 Outrageous Robbery image
1 Knife image
Creature (13)
1 Repeat Offender image
1 Dog Walker image
1 Fugitive Codebreaker image
1 Rune-Brand Juggler image
1 Pyrotechnic Performer image
3 Unscrupulous Agent image
1 Riftburst Hellion image
1 Leering Onlooker image
1 Person of Interest image
2 Offender at Large image
Land (16)
8 Swamp image
8 Mountain image
Sideboard
1 Festerleech image
1 Offender at Large image
1 Repeat Offender image
1 Agency Coroner image
1 Makeshift Binding image
1 Cerebral Confiscation image
1 Fuss image
2 Felonious Rage image
1 Demand Answers image
1 Toxin Analysis image
1 Cease image
1 Expose the Culprit image
1 Hustle image
1 Fanatical Strength image

Pack 1 Pick 1: Extract a Confession
Leyline of the Guildpact image 0 This effect isn’t worth a card in Limited, we’ve seen that with cards like Prismatic Omen – even if you put this into play for free, more often than not it’s going to feel like you’re mulliganing because the value it delivers is so minimal.
Underground Mortuary image
Cease image 2.5 The Cease side lets you hate on the graveyard while replacing itself which…probably wouldn’t be good enough to make the main deck in this format. The Desist side is more situational, but there are definitely going to be board states in this format where it really impacts the board, and most of the time when you get to 6 mana it has a pretty good chance at destroying something, just…hopefully not your stuff.
Essence of Antiquity image 2.5 A 5-mana 1/10 is…kind of okay. It can block for days, although the lower power will make it unable to kill stuff all that often. The Disguise part is pretty sweet here, though. You’re usually going to play this face down and have it lie in wait as a 2/2, up until you reach a point where transforming it is advantageous. This will most frequently be when you can use it to blank a removal spell, but turning it into a 1/10 can be valuable all on its own, and untapping your whole board can have benefits too.
Aftermath Analyst image 2.5 This is a great early game enabler for Collect Evidence decks that I would already be interested in playing if it just had the ETB. So, the fact it can also snag you some lands out of your graveyard is nice too, especially because lands don’t help you collect evidence anyway.
Benthic Criminologists image 2.5 These are some medium stats, but giving up Clues or other artifacts to draw cards is certainly worthwhile. And this can do it a couple of times in most cases.
Extract a Confession image 3.5 This looks like a great common. Edicts tend to be at their best when your opponent has the fewest creatures. That usually means the early game. But thanks to collevt evidence here, this stays pretty good by the mid to late game, as getting rid of your opponents highest power creature will also mean their best creature loke 80 percent of the time.
Pick Your Poison image 0.5 Even at one mana and with all these modes, this still feels like it won't do enough far too often. I think it's a sideboard card.
Offender at Large image 2 Just playing this face up is going to be the play more often than not, and when you do it has a reasonable shot at giving you an attack you didn’t have before. This is the type of disguise creature you probably only play face down when you’ve got nothing else going on on turn three. Either way, this card looks like it will have trouble making the cut sometimes.
Museum Nightwatch image 2.5 Spending 4 mana to get a 3/2 and a 2/2 is decent, and you can Disguise this to keep your opponent from knowing that it will leave value behind.
Unauthorized Exit image 2 This card is always pretty decent. You go down a card in most cases, but you get some nice tempo, and Surveil 1 can improve your next draw and/or load your graveyard. It is hurt a little bit by the absence of a dedicated spell deck in the format.
Make Your Move image 2 We see this type of removal that only hits big creatures all the time, and it’s usually pretty mediocre, simply because its too narrow. They usually don’t even make the cut in your main deck. But, stapling Disenchant to it is a pretty big upgrade, especially in a set that has a fair number of both, probably makes this into a solid playable, and I think it even has a shot at being better than that.
Pack 1 Pick 2: Makeshift Binding
Reasonable Doubt image 2 This can hit any type of spell, but your opponent can also ignore it with spare mana. As usual, that type of card is never amazing, although it can feel pretty nice in the early game.
The Pride of Hull Clade image 2 This will be easy to cast sometimes, but a 2/15 honestly isn't that impressive, and the ability is only useful when you've got good attacks. Keep in mind that's you have to draw too, it isn't a may trigger.
Cease image 2.5 The Cease side lets you hate on the graveyard while replacing itself which…probably wouldn’t be good enough to make the main deck in this format. The Desist side is more situational, but there are definitely going to be board states in this format where it really impacts the board, and most of the time when you get to 6 mana it has a pretty good chance at destroying something, just…hopefully not your stuff.
Fuss image 3.5 The Fuss mode can be pretty darn strong if you’re going wide and you’re the beat down. Meanwhile, Bother is less efficient, but also less situational. 6-mana for three 1/1 flyers and surveil 2 isn’t amazing, but you’re also fairly unlikely to die after you cast it thanks to those three bodies, and surveil 2 makes it likely you’re going to draw something meaningful.
Sumala Sentry image 4 Two counters is a big deal, and the fact you can turn them face up at instant speed can really make this a beating.
Shock image 3.5 Shock is a 3.5 as it usual is. It’s definitely premium because you can spend only a single mana to kill significantly more expensive creatures – and you can do it at instant speed! Plus, it can even finish off your opponent.
Makeshift Binding image 4 This is an excellent Common. Even if it didn’t gain you 2 life, it’d be premium removal, and once you tack on that life gain we’re talking about arguably the best White Common in the set. Removing something and gaining life a the same time is one of the best ways to get back ahead from behind.
Hotshot Investigators image 1 I’m not very impressed with this overall. It just doesn’t give you enough for 6 mana these days. It seems super clunky, no matter which mode you go with.
Escape Tunnel image 3 This is Evolving Wilds with upside, and that upside can allow you send in an unblockable Disguise creature.
Unscrupulous Agent image 3 We see this card a lot lately, and it’s always pretty nice. Goes after a card in your opponents hand while adding to the board, and then you can sacrifice it or otherwise utilize it for other purposes, sometimes it even feels like you’re getting a 2-for-1.
Riftburst Hellion image 2.5 This isn’t going to feel amazing either way you get the 6/7 with Reach, but the fact that it IS a huge creature with the upside of being castable as a three mana 2/2 Ward 2 makes it worthwhile.
Slime Against Humanity image 0.0 // 3.0 You need at least three of these before they are worth playing, and 4 is better.
Pack 1 Pick 3: Dog Walker
Offender at Large image 2 Just playing this face up is going to be the play more often than not, and when you do it has a reasonable shot at giving you an attack you didn’t have before. This is the type of disguise creature you probably only play face down when you’ve got nothing else going on on turn three. Either way, this card looks like it will have trouble making the cut sometimes.
Presumed Dead image 2.5 This type of trick always performs fairly well, as it does enough to make a creature punch above it’s weight class, yet it still survives. It even works well against removal, and it gets particularly interesting with creatures that have ETB abilities. Suspect won’t always feel like upside, but I think it will more often than not.
Perimeter Enforcer image 3.5 A two mana 1/1 with flying and lifelink is already pretty nice, and a great creature to enhance, and this will often enhance itself in a format with this many detectives.
No More Lies image 2 A harder to cast mana leak, even with exile upside, isn't that good in Limited. It can hit some stuff early, but being able to leave up this mana is far from a guarantee. Then, the longer the game goes on, the less useful it is, because your opponent is more likely to be able to pay the tax.
Cornered Crook image 4 There are no shortage of Clues in the format, and even giving up a full card for the bolt effect is going to be worthwhile a big chunk of the time. This will feel like a 2-for-1 when you can give up a clue, and you’ll still come out ahead most of the time if you have to give up something else.
Vengeful Creeper image 2.5 A 5-mana 5/5 is pretty beefy, and this one has some Disenchant upside. Feels like most Green decks will want one of these. 
Sanitation Automaton image 1.5 This has mediocre stats and a mediocre ETB.
Behind the Mask image 1 This type of card rarely works out in Limited, and I think even at one mana I’m not super interested in this. It’s easy to look at this and see it as a trick with multiple modes – and that is what it is, but reducing a creature to 1/1 or growing a creature to 4/3, or turning a clue into a 4/3, while possibilities is only useful situationally. You need stat-lines to line up just right, and if you’re turning your 2/2 or something into a 4/3 it’s really not worth it. Furthermore, shrinking an opposing creature to a 1/1 is only relevant or useful when your opponent attacks with the right creature that you actually want to remove. Basically, this is too situational to do something worthwhile very often.
Granite Witness image 2.5 A 4-mana 3/2 with Flying and Vigilance is sort of passable, so the Disguise upside here is a nice thing to have around. Tapping or untapping things isn’t always gonna be useful, but when it is, it can be pretty awesome.
Unscrupulous Agent image 3 We see this card a lot lately, and it’s always pretty nice. Goes after a card in your opponents hand while adding to the board, and then you can sacrifice it or otherwise utilize it for other purposes, sometimes it even feels like you’re getting a 2-for-1.
Dog Walker image 3.5 Obviously, you get the most value out of just casting it face down and turning it face up – at which point you paid 5 mana for a 3/1 Vigilance and two 1/1s, and paying it in installments will make it feel more efficient than that. But, the fact you can just slam it on turn two if you’re more interested in curving out is pretty nice.
Pack 1 Pick 4: Rune-Brand Juggler
Illicit Masquerade image 2 This is a neat design, but it seems a little too finicky to be great in Limited. You need a few things to line up correctly for this to do its thing: First, you need a board state. Probably the smallest thing it asks you for, but…if you don’t have a couple of creatures in play, this isn’t going to feel very good. After that, you need your creatures to die – something you can certainly manufacture. And third, you need stuff in your graveyard. Now, all of that is fairly doable, at least individually, but you need them all to line up with the right timing for Illicit Masquerade to work. It is nice it has Flash, which makes it easier for you to find that timing, but I think there are going to be too many situations where the Masquerade either does nothing, or is too slow at doing something.
Curious Inquiry image 2.5 Auras that cost one blue and give a creature +1/+1 and the ability to draw you a card when they hit your opponent have a pretty good track record in Limited. This is because it can allow you to ensure that you’re going to at least break even on cards even by hitting your opponent once, and the card advantage can quickly bury your opponent. Getting a clue is a bit worse than drawing a card straight up, even in a format with clue payoffs, but this still looks like a nice card, especially in decks that have cheap evasive creatures.
Agency Outfitter image 2.5 The idea here is that you search up these two cards and use the Glass to equip the Cap, in which case the Outfitter is effectively a 5/5 Flyer. The problem is that you need those cards in your deck to make it happen, and Magnifying Glass is pretty terrible to have in your deck.
Rune-Brand Juggler image 3.5 Suspecting your creature might mean you get a good attack right away, and if nothing else the Juggler can suspect itself. It is nice that it’s a “may” trigger, if you’re in a spot where you need to block. The activated ability is pretty good, especially if you’re making tokens into suspects, something that doesn’t seem particularly far-fetched. It won’t feel quite as good to give up real creatures with that ability, but that’s not a bad fail-case either. If you have a Suspect in play and mana up, your opponent is going to be in a nightmare scenario.
Faerie Snoop image 3 A three mana ¼ flyer isn’t a disaster, and the Disguise upside here is pretty real. Drawing a card is always nice, and there’s plenty of incentive for putting things in the graveyard too. These hybrid Disguise costs also mean these are going to be playable in a wider variety of decks than just Blue-Black.
On the Job image 1.5 // 3.0 As usual with Inspiring Charge effects, this is a build around. Red/White decks look the most well-positioned for this as they can go the widest, but you really need to be all in on curving out and going wide, or this isn’t worth it, even with the clue. It’s probably a D in your typical White deck, but a card you’re usually going to be happy with one of in your more aggressive decks.
Felonious Rage image 2 We've seen this card before, more or less, and it’s a nice trick. The power boost lets your creature take down most stuff, and you come out ahead thanks to the token, and at only one mana it is really priced to move.
Jaded Analyst image 1.5 It feels like every single one of these creatures that has defender but loses defender when X happens has been really unimpressive, and I kind of thing this is too. I get it, you can give up a clue and attack with it, but by the time you can set that up, it isn’t like a 3/2 is going to light the world on fire. Most of the time this type of card is a 3/3, so at least it is a reasonable blocker, but a 3/2 is substantially worse.
Rubblebelt Maverick image 3.5 These days, they give us lots of Common one drops that do a whole bunch of little things, and almost all of them have been impressive in Limited – I think this is another one of those. A one mana 1/1 with Surveil 2 is probably playable to begin with, especially if you’re a graveyard deck. Add to that the ability to put a counter on something, and this card just feels like it will do a ton of work.
Gearbane Orangutan image 1.5 If you can either destroy an opposing artifact, or give up an expendable artifact when you play this, it’ll be fine. Ideally of course, you give up a clue. Still, I think there are going to be enough situations where neither mode is useful and this is a miserable card when that happens.
Pack 1 Pick 5: Unscrupulous Agent
Unscrupulous Agent image 3 We see this card a lot lately, and it’s always pretty nice. Goes after a card in your opponents hand while adding to the board, and then you can sacrifice it or otherwise utilize it for other purposes, sometimes it even feels like you’re getting a 2-for-1.
Krovod Haunch image 2.5 One to play and two to equip for +2/+0 is kind of alright, and when it isn’t meaningful enough for you, this basically becomes 4 mana to make two 1/1 tokens and gain you three life. Neither mode is crazy of course, but the modality this gives you makes it a decent inclusion. I’m giving it a C. 
Sanctuary Wall image 1 The tap effect here isovercosted, even with a stun counter – especially because the wall stuns itself too! Still, if you use it on your opponent’s turn, you’re going to get rid of that stun counter first and the wall will be ready to go by the time your opponent’s stunned creature gets untapped again. Overall, though, I think this is too overcosted for what it is and the baseline isn’t impressive either. I don’t think this makes the cut very often.
Repulsive Mutation image 3 because leaving up mana and hoping your opponent plays into it can be a really serious problem. You have to be careful about using them.
Case of the Gorgon's Kiss image 2.5 If you can solve this the value is insane, and it can certainly set that up for you. On the flip side, it also the potential to do absolutely nothing.
Rubblebelt Maverick image 3.5 These days, they give us lots of Common one drops that do a whole bunch of little things, and almost all of them have been impressive in Limited – I think this is another one of those. A one mana 1/1 with Surveil 2 is probably playable to begin with, especially if you’re a graveyard deck. Add to that the ability to put a counter on something, and this card just feels like it will do a ton of work.
Public Thoroughfare image 2.5 This is another nice source of fixing, even if it does require you to jump through a few hoops. Being able to only tap a Clue or something once when you play it is nice.
Agency Coroner image 2 This is a lot of mana for the usual sacrifice a creature draw a card effect, but the fact you’ll sometimes draw two helps soften that blow.
Demand Answers image 2.5 We’ve come a long way since Tormenting Voice. This is an Instant and you can choose to sacrifice an artifact or discard a card as an additional cost. That’s actually a pretty big deal, because this format has so many Clues.
Pack 1 Pick 6: Leering Onlooker
Demand Answers image 2.5 We’ve come a long way since Tormenting Voice. This is an Instant and you can choose to sacrifice an artifact or discard a card as an additional cost. That’s actually a pretty big deal, because this format has so many Clues.
Leering Onlooker image 3.5 I’m reasonably happy with a two mana ⅓ Flyer, and this one gives you a couple bodies out of the graveyard. This means that if you’re milling yourself it still gives you value, and just casting it normally and getting the bodies back later is a nice feeling too.
Suspicious Detonation image 2.5 If this was always 5 mana, it’d probably be a 1.5. That’s a really clunky Sorcery that usually can’t trade up. But, this will cost two fairly often in Red decks. Sacrificing a Clue is all you need to be able to do, and as we’ve seen there are otherwise to sacrifice artifacts too. It can also go after Disguised creatures since it can’t be countered.
Airtight Alibi image 2 When you can use this correctly, it can be an absolute beating. It can work as a decent trick that leaves the buff behind, and it can blank removal. Turning off Suspect will usually be more upside than downside, too. Still, it's tricky to leave up this much mana.
Reasonable Doubt image 2 This can hit any type of spell, but your opponent can also ignore it with spare mana. As usual, that type of card is never amazing, although it can feel pretty nice in the early game.
Riftburst Hellion image 2.5 This isn’t going to feel amazing either way you get the 6/7 with Reach, but the fact that it IS a huge creature with the upside of being castable as a three mana 2/2 Ward 2 makes it worthwhile.
Agency Coroner image 2 This is a lot of mana for the usual sacrifice a creature draw a card effect, but the fact you’ll sometimes draw two helps soften that blow.
Make Your Move image 2 We see this type of removal that only hits big creatures all the time, and it’s usually pretty mediocre, simply because its too narrow. They usually don’t even make the cut in your main deck. But, stapling Disenchant to it is a pretty big upgrade, especially in a set that has a fair number of both, probably makes this into a solid playable, and I think it even has a shot at being better than that.
Pack 1 Pick 7: Festerleech
Case of the Ransacked Lab image 0 If you don't solve this, it's unplayable. And you're not solving it.
Festerleech image 3 This is going to feel quite nice on turn one, especially because if you’re in Black you’re probably a graveyard deck, and this certainly enables things early. You’re almost guaranteed an attack on turn two, since even if your opponent played their own one drop, they aren’t going to be able to block this when you have two mana up, and a 3/3 can stay relevant pretty much all game long, though it does have somewhat diminishing returns the later the game goes.
Bubble Smuggler image 2 If you need to play a two drop well…it is one. A pretty bad one, but one nonetheless. Then if you need something on three you can disguise it, and then in the late game it can become a big monster. Now, this card isn’t ever going to make you feel like you’re doing something busted, as it’s kind of medium at all three points in the game, but the fact it can do all those things is enough for it to be fine.
Rakish Scoundrel image 2 A 4-mana 3/3 death touch is probably a 1.5. It can trade for anything, but that’s really only exciting on cheap death touchers, and this definitely isn’t one. And sure, this can grant indestructibility when it enters, or can do it at instant speed if you have the mana for disguise – which means that it will kill whatever blocks it and survive thanks to death touch and indestructibility, but it seems like you’re just paying too much mana for this no matter how you deploy it.
Offender at Large image 2 Just playing this face up is going to be the play more often than not, and when you do it has a reasonable shot at giving you an attack you didn’t have before. This is the type of disguise creature you probably only play face down when you’ve got nothing else going on on turn three. Either way, this card looks like it will have trouble making the cut sometimes.
Sanitation Automaton image 1.5 This has mediocre stats and a mediocre ETB.
Out Cold image 2 I’m not always a huge fan of cards that just Stun things, as it often doesn’t feel like they do enough to be worth a card. Sure, you can get two creatures out of the way for two attacks and two blocks, but if you don’t have the game in-hand by the time they untap, you’re going to be in trouble.  But because this gives you a Clue, it gives you that card back. I still don’t really think you want more than one, but this looks like a pretty good version of this effect. It can even hit Disguised creatures without you having to worry about Ward.
Pack 1 Pick 8: Cerebral Confiscation
Get a Leg Up image 3 This trick gives +1/+1 as a floor, and it can give a way bigger boost than that. We've seen this card before without the Reach, and it's always a good trick.
Soul Search image 1.5 This hits a wide enough variety of things to not to be an entirely useless discard spell, and the fact that sometimes you can get a token is pretty sweet.
Red Herring image 1.5 This can do some serious work if you play it on turn two, and if you get it later in the game you can give it up to get a card. It’s an artifact and a clue, so it’s got some synergy in the format too, especially in Blue-Red. Still…the card’s fail case doesn’t exactly excite me. Paying 4 to draw a card, even in installments isn’t exactly awesome.
Toxin Analysis image 1.5 This is really cheap, and cheap tricks are often real good for their ability to punch above their weight class – and this one even gives you a clue! But…there’s a problem. It doesn’t offer anything that can help your creature survive combat. Sure, your creature can always trade thanks to this, but it’s still going to feel close enough to a 2-for-1 to sting when you have to use it that way. It does work nicely with Suspect, but I don't think that's enough.
Cerebral Confiscation image 1 So…this is either Mind Rot or Coercion, and neither of those is a great card these days, mostly because they don’t do anything in the late game and don’t add to the board.
Due Diligence image 2 Without the ETB this would be really bad. If you throw the ETB in the mix, it gets more interesting. There are going to be times where you cast this and end up with two great attacks as a result, and the Vigilance makes it so you don’t have to give up on defending yourself either, so chances are better than normal that those attacks are worth taking. Alternatively, making one thing get +4/+4 and Vigilance for a turn doesn’t sound bad either. You do need to be careful about casting this, as you do with most Auras, but this one does enough to be make the cut a decent chunk of the time.
Pack 1 Pick 9: Offender at Large
Pick Your Poison image 0.5 Even at one mana and with all these modes, this still feels like it won't do enough far too often. I think it's a sideboard card.
Cease image 2.5 The Cease side lets you hate on the graveyard while replacing itself which…probably wouldn’t be good enough to make the main deck in this format. The Desist side is more situational, but there are definitely going to be board states in this format where it really impacts the board, and most of the time when you get to 6 mana it has a pretty good chance at destroying something, just…hopefully not your stuff.
Benthic Criminologists image 2.5 These are some medium stats, but giving up Clues or other artifacts to draw cards is certainly worthwhile. And this can do it a couple of times in most cases.
Pick Your Poison image 0.5 Even at one mana and with all these modes, this still feels like it won't do enough far too often. I think it's a sideboard card.
Offender at Large image 2 Just playing this face up is going to be the play more often than not, and when you do it has a reasonable shot at giving you an attack you didn’t have before. This is the type of disguise creature you probably only play face down when you’ve got nothing else going on on turn three. Either way, this card looks like it will have trouble making the cut sometimes.
Pack 1 Pick 10: Fuss
Fuss image 3.5 The Fuss mode can be pretty darn strong if you’re going wide and you’re the beat down. Meanwhile, Bother is less efficient, but also less situational. 6-mana for three 1/1 flyers and surveil 2 isn’t amazing, but you’re also fairly unlikely to die after you cast it thanks to those three bodies, and surveil 2 makes it likely you’re going to draw something meaningful.
Hotshot Investigators image 1 I’m not very impressed with this overall. It just doesn’t give you enough for 6 mana these days. It seems super clunky, no matter which mode you go with.
Riftburst Hellion image 2.5 This isn’t going to feel amazing either way you get the 6/7 with Reach, but the fact that it IS a huge creature with the upside of being castable as a three mana 2/2 Ward 2 makes it worthwhile.
Slime Against Humanity image 0.0 // 3.0 You need at least three of these before they are worth playing, and 4 is better.
Pack 1 Pick 11: Offender at Large
Offender at Large image 2 Just playing this face up is going to be the play more often than not, and when you do it has a reasonable shot at giving you an attack you didn’t have before. This is the type of disguise creature you probably only play face down when you’ve got nothing else going on on turn three. Either way, this card looks like it will have trouble making the cut sometimes.
Vengeful Creeper image 2.5 A 5-mana 5/5 is pretty beefy, and this one has some Disenchant upside. Feels like most Green decks will want one of these. 
Behind the Mask image 1 This type of card rarely works out in Limited, and I think even at one mana I’m not super interested in this. It’s easy to look at this and see it as a trick with multiple modes – and that is what it is, but reducing a creature to 1/1 or growing a creature to 4/3, or turning a clue into a 4/3, while possibilities is only useful situationally. You need stat-lines to line up just right, and if you’re turning your 2/2 or something into a 4/3 it’s really not worth it. Furthermore, shrinking an opposing creature to a 1/1 is only relevant or useful when your opponent attacks with the right creature that you actually want to remove. Basically, this is too situational to do something worthwhile very often.
Pack 1 Pick 12: Felonious Rage
On the Job image 1.5 // 3.0 As usual with Inspiring Charge effects, this is a build around. Red/White decks look the most well-positioned for this as they can go the widest, but you really need to be all in on curving out and going wide, or this isn’t worth it, even with the clue. It’s probably a D in your typical White deck, but a card you’re usually going to be happy with one of in your more aggressive decks.
Felonious Rage image 2 We've seen this card before, more or less, and it’s a nice trick. The power boost lets your creature take down most stuff, and you come out ahead thanks to the token, and at only one mana it is really priced to move.
Pack 1 Pick 13: Demand Answers
Demand Answers image 2.5 We’ve come a long way since Tormenting Voice. This is an Instant and you can choose to sacrifice an artifact or discard a card as an additional cost. That’s actually a pretty big deal, because this format has so many Clues.
Pack 2 Pick 1: Fugitive Codebreaker
Greenbelt Radical image 4 4-mana for a 4/4 is still a decent stat-line, and then this has huge Diguise upside. Sure, you can’t access it until the late game, but having instant speed Overrun in the late game is going to be an absolute beating. Now, don’t expect to reach that stage of the game every time you play the Orator, but because the card has a solid fail-case and insane upside.
Fugitive Codebreaker image 4 A two mana 2/1 with Haste and Prowess is an amazing starting point – and, if you have this turn two that’s what you’re going to be doing. Then, later in the game this can completely reload your hand. In short, this is pretty awesome no matter when you play it.
Aftermath Analyst image 2.5 This is a great early game enabler for Collect Evidence decks that I would already be interested in playing if it just had the ETB. So, the fact it can also snag you some lands out of your graveyard is nice too, especially because lands don’t help you collect evidence anyway.
Torch the Witness image 4 It’s always going to feel like very efficient removal, and it scales all game long and it’s likely to let you investigate in most situations, so you even get a 2-for-1!
Case of the Gorgon's Kiss image 2.5 If you can solve this the value is insane, and it can certainly set that up for you. On the flip side, it also the potential to do absolutely nothing.
Fae Flight image 3 This Aura looks quite good. Obviously, the ideal situation is to cast it in response to removal, in which case you’re left with a buffed evasive creature, and you’ve already taken a card of value away from your opponent. But this also has the upside all Flying auras do, w hich is that you can just…slap it on some big monster and quickly win the game.
Unauthorized Exit image 2 This card is always pretty decent. You go down a card in most cases, but you get some nice tempo, and Surveil 1 can improve your next draw and/or load your graveyard. It is hurt a little bit by the absence of a dedicated spell deck in the format.
Repeat Offender image 2 This has an almost-passable baseline and ability that will make for a good mana sink in the later stages of the game. I like that you can use it at instant speed, so threat of activation will be pretty real. 
Reasonable Doubt image 2 This can hit any type of spell, but your opponent can also ignore it with spare mana. As usual, that type of card is never amazing, although it can feel pretty nice in the early game.
Museum Nightwatch image 2.5 Spending 4 mana to get a 3/2 and a 2/2 is decent, and you can Disguise this to keep your opponent from knowing that it will leave value behind.
Thinking Cap image 2 If this were always 1 to Equip, it would probably be a 2.5, just because that’s a fairly efficient boost – one that’s easy to move around. Detectives are plentiful enough in this format that this still looks solid.
Loxodon Eavesdropper image 2.5 5 mana for three 1/1s isn't great, but you can attack with all three tokens the next turn and really give your opponent a headache. At that point, you are definitely getting your mana's worth.
Suspicious Detonation image 2.5 If this was always 5 mana, it’d probably be a 1.5. That’s a really clunky Sorcery that usually can’t trade up. But, this will cost two fairly often in Red decks. Sacrificing a Clue is all you need to be able to do, and as we’ve seen there are otherwise to sacrifice artifacts too. It can also go after Disguised creatures since it can’t be countered.
Pack 2 Pick 2: Shock
Karlov Watchdog image 3 This is a pretty nice Battalion trigger. Red/White in the format should be able to get this going pretty effectively, and obviously the boost it gives is at its best when you have a bunch of creatures anyway. The stats boost also makes it very likely that you’ll keep enough stuff alive to do it all over again the next turn. The card’s big downside is being a 4-mana card with 2-toughness that can be killed by almost every removal spell in the format, many of which cost one mana or are stapled to creatures, and that’s a miserable feeling.
Warleader's Call image 3.5 Anthems are good when you have lots of creatures and the incidental damage this can chip in can really turn up the heat on your opponent. But still, it’s not the kind of card that does much unless you've already got at least a decent board.
Chalk Outline image 0.0 / 3.5 The idea here is to play cards with Collect Evidence alongside this, and if you have enough of that going on – and enough creatures in your deck – this has the potential to be a fairly absurd engine, since it effectively gives you 2 cards every time you Collect Evidence. The problem is that this does absolutely nothing up front. Still, the upside is kind of insane, and I think accessible enough in some decks for this to get a buildaround grade. 
Candlestick image 2.5 The Cluequipments in Blue and Red might just be the best since the Blue-Red deck is so into sacrificing artifacts, but lots of decks in the format like Clues too, and this one can help set up collect evidence.
Private Eye image 3.5 The set has plenty of detectives to buff, and plenty of clues that will help you make detectives unblockable. If yo’ure in Blue-White, it’s going to be hard for this not to buff a huge chunk of your deck.
Make Your Move image 2 We see this type of removal that only hits big creatures all the time, and it’s usually pretty mediocre, simply because its too narrow. They usually don’t even make the cut in your main deck. But, stapling Disenchant to it is a pretty big upgrade, especially in a set that has a fair number of both, probably makes this into a solid playable, and I think it even has a shot at being better than that.
The Chase Is On image 2 This is expensive for a trick, but your creature is likely to win combat and you even get a 2-for-1 in the long run.
Shock image 3.5 Shock is a 3.5 as it usual is. It’s definitely premium because you can spend only a single mana to kill significantly more expensive creatures – and you can do it at instant speed! Plus, it can even finish off your opponent.
Seasoned Consultant image 2 This will feel pretty nice attacking as a 3/3, but it probably won’t be doing that until turn 4 at the earliest, so it isn’t going to be lighting the world on fire either.
Projektor Inspector image 2.5 A three mana 3/2 that loots on ETB is decent, and looting with this more than once isn’t impossible.
Shady Informant image 2.5 If you could only play this face up, it would be a pretty nice card. It has high enough power to trade with a whole lot of stuff, and the death trigger is likely to let you kill something else too – and that’s a 2-for-1. So, the fact you can get it on the board earlier in the game without your opponent knowing it’s lurking there makes it even nicer.
Airtight Alibi image 2 When you can use this correctly, it can be an absolute beating. It can work as a decent trick that leaves the buff behind, and it can blank removal. Turning off Suspect will usually be more upside than downside, too. Still, it's tricky to leave up this much mana.
Pack 2 Pick 3: Slice from the Shadows
Cold Case Cracker image 3 A 4-mana 3/3 Flyer isn’t what it once was, but it’s not a bad stat-line, and this one replaces itself with a valuable Clue and it has a useful creature type.
Case of the Ransacked Lab image 0 If you don't solve this, it's unplayable. And you're not solving it.
Cease image 2.5 The Cease side lets you hate on the graveyard while replacing itself which…probably wouldn’t be good enough to make the main deck in this format. The Desist side is more situational, but there are definitely going to be board states in this format where it really impacts the board, and most of the time when you get to 6 mana it has a pretty good chance at destroying something, just…hopefully not your stuff.
Rope image 1.5 I think this is the worst card in this cycle. The buffs it offers are underwhelming, especially when you’re paying 3 to equip.
Slice from the Shadows image 3.5 Uncounterability actually matters in this set because of all the Disguise creatures with Ward. –X/-X is never going to feel super efficient, but it’s an instant and it scales all game, so I think it’s premium.
Escape Tunnel image 3 This is Evolving Wilds with upside, and that upside can allow you send in an unblockable Disguise creature.
Gearbane Orangutan image 1.5 If you can either destroy an opposing artifact, or give up an expendable artifact when you play this, it’ll be fine. Ideally of course, you give up a clue. Still, I think there are going to be enough situations where neither mode is useful and this is a miserable card when that happens.
Airtight Alibi image 2 When you can use this correctly, it can be an absolute beating. It can work as a decent trick that leaves the buff behind, and it can blank removal. Turning off Suspect will usually be more upside than downside, too. Still, it's tricky to leave up this much mana.
Jaded Analyst image 1.5 It feels like every single one of these creatures that has defender but loses defender when X happens has been really unimpressive, and I kind of thing this is too. I get it, you can give up a clue and attack with it, but by the time you can set that up, it isn’t like a 3/2 is going to light the world on fire. Most of the time this type of card is a 3/3, so at least it is a reasonable blocker, but a 3/2 is substantially worse.
Cerebral Confiscation image 1 So…this is either Mind Rot or Coercion, and neither of those is a great card these days, mostly because they don’t do anything in the late game and don’t add to the board.
Crowd-Control Warden image 3 It’ll be at least a 5/5 in most cases, and other times it will be absolutely massive! The whole Disguise thing is a big deal too, when the creature has the potential of being this big.
Pack 2 Pick 4: Unscrupulous Agent
Benthic Criminologists image 2.5 These are some medium stats, but giving up Clues or other artifacts to draw cards is certainly worthwhile. And this can do it a couple of times in most cases.
Burden of Proof image 2.5 This is a very interesting version of this “Frogify”-type effect. Lately it seems like they are doing their darnedest to design one that’s actually solid in Limited, and they’ve had some success with that lately. I think they’ve done it again here. The usual problem with this type of card is that you don’t really entirely remove a creature when you turn it into a 1/1, so you’re often coming out behind. However, this adds a couple of important wrinkles. First, it has Flash – so you can turn something into a 1/1 at instant speed, which all-but-guarantees that it’s going down. Second, if your creature is a detective, this is a powerful combat trick. It’s also really nice that they made it only buff detectives you control, otherwise this card would be super frustrating.
Festerleech image 3 This is going to feel quite nice on turn one, especially because if you’re in Black you’re probably a graveyard deck, and this certainly enables things early. You’re almost guaranteed an attack on turn two, since even if your opponent played their own one drop, they aren’t going to be able to block this when you have two mana up, and a 3/3 can stay relevant pretty much all game long, though it does have somewhat diminishing returns the later the game goes.
Expose the Culprit image 0 This is too narrow, and the effect it typically gives you won't be worth a card.
Deduce image 2.5 This is a nice little card draw spell, because it ultimately gives you a 2-for-1, and there’s lots of additional upside for making Clue tokens in the format. You probably don’t want too many of these because they don’t really add to the board.
Red Herring image 1.5 This can do some serious work if you play it on turn two, and if you get it later in the game you can give it up to get a card. It’s an artifact and a clue, so it’s got some synergy in the format too, especially in Blue-Red. Still…the card’s fail case doesn’t exactly excite me. Paying 4 to draw a card, even in installments isn’t exactly awesome.
Marketwatch Phantom image 3 This feels like a very important common for aggressive White decks. That type of deck will have tons of cards that trigger this. It doesn't seem like it will be rare for this to crack in as a flyer on turns 3 and 4.
Unscrupulous Agent image 3 We see this card a lot lately, and it’s always pretty nice. Goes after a card in your opponents hand while adding to the board, and then you can sacrifice it or otherwise utilize it for other purposes, sometimes it even feels like you’re getting a 2-for-1.
Snarling Gorehound image 2.5 A one mana 1/1 Menace feels pretty nice on turn one, and this is likely to give you some card selection and graveyard synergy throughout the game. Seems like nice value for one mana.
Undercover Crocodelf image 2 So…without Disguise this wouldn’t be very good. A 6-mana 5/5 just doesn’t move the needle, especially one that can only do something if it hits your opponent. Disguise does enough to make this playable, though, because you can get it on the board much earlier of course, but you can also find a way to sneak it in and get that clue more easily.
Pack 2 Pick 5: Deadly Complication
Branch of Vitu-Ghazi image 2.5 If you just need the mana right away, you can play it, but this has two other really nice functions. First, it's flood insurance. The last thing you want to do in the late game is draw a land - but thud one can be a creature when that's the case. And in the mid-game, when you might need the fixing, you can turn it face up. Remember you can do weird stuff like assign this to block and turn it face up, at which point you get the mana and the creature it blocked is still considered blocked, but you don't lose the land.
Knife image 2 +1/+0 and first strike does make almost any creature into a decent attacker, but the fact this is irrelevant on your opponent's turn is a bummer. There are definitely payoffs for sacrificing artifacts though, and this triggers those while always doing something by drawing you a card. D138
Deadly Complication image 3.5 Three mana to destroy any creature at sorcery speed is already premium removal, so the fact that you can also sometimes put a counter on one of your creatures is some serious business.
Not on My Watch image 3 If you’re in the market for this kind of effect, it’s super efficient. The problem is, lots of decks aren’t really in on this kind of effect. If you’re an aggro deck, this isn’t very good, because you want removal that lets you get blockers out of the way. If you’re not aggressive, though, this ends up feeling like premium removal.
Extract a Confession image 3.5 This looks like a great common. Edicts tend to be at their best when your opponent has the fewest creatures. That usually means the early game. But thanks to collevt evidence here, this stays pretty good by the mid to late game, as getting rid of your opponents highest power creature will also mean their best creature loke 80 percent of the time.
Vitu-Ghazi Inspector image 2.5 You're not usually going to be able to unlock this cards full power on turn two, and while a ⅓ with reach isn't a disaster for two mana, it isn't remotely close to good either. The good news is that the ETB is useful pretty much all game long.
Crimestopper Sprite image 2.5 A three mana 2/2 flyer isn’t too bad, and one that stuns something on ETB is probably a 3.0, it’s just a great tempo play to add to the board while getting a creature out of the way. This won’t always stun stuff, and isn’t that likely to do it on turn three, but I think it will do it often enough.
Gravestone Strider image 2.5 When one mana filtering is attached to a creature, it has performed pretty well, and this even comes with the addition of graveyard hate, something that certainly matters in the format.
Innocent Bystander image 1.5 A two mana 2/1 that always gives you a clue when it dies is probably a C, but obviously enough this doesn’t always do it. In fact, in a lot of situations where it takes three, your opponent’s creature probably survives. That means this will often just be trading with another two drop or, worse – a 1/1 token.
Pack 2 Pick 6: Riftburst Hellion
Evidence Examiner image 2.5 So, if you’ve got some spare stuff in your graveyard, this can turn it into cards, and it gives you a repeatable way to collect evidence, something that seems particularly useful for payoffs that give you something when cards leave your graveyard. Still, I do wish this was both an enabler and a payoff for collecting evidence. As is, it doesn’t feel strong enough to pull me into the color pair.
Private Eye image 3.5 The set has plenty of detectives to buff, and plenty of clues that will help you make detectives unblockable. If yo’ure in Blue-White, it’s going to be hard for this not to buff a huge chunk of your deck.
Scene of the Crime image 3 This looks like a pretty solid source of fixing. You’re not always gonna want to tap your creatures to make mana, as that can be a very real cost, but at least this can also produce colorless mana normally, it has useful typing as both an artifact and a clue, and you can of course throw it away for a card. This means all your eggs aren’t in that mana-fixing basket, so it will almost never feel terrible, while still having the upside of shoring up your mana.
Riftburst Hellion image 2.5 This isn’t going to feel amazing either way you get the 6/7 with Reach, but the fact that it IS a huge creature with the upside of being castable as a three mana 2/2 Ward 2 makes it worthwhile.
Unauthorized Exit image 2 This card is always pretty decent. You go down a card in most cases, but you get some nice tempo, and Surveil 1 can improve your next draw and/or load your graveyard. It is hurt a little bit by the absence of a dedicated spell deck in the format.
Rot Farm Mortipede image 3 The boost that the Mortipede gets is legit, as a 4/4 menace lifelinker is far better than a ¾. Getting stuff to leave your graveyard isn’t a huge ask in the format either, as the entire “Collect Evidence” mechanic is all about doing that. Putting cards from your graveyard to your hand and all of that will trigger this too. I think most Black decks will realistically be able to trigger this once or twice a game, and that’s really all you need for this to pull its weight.
Magnifying Glass image 1 This is a bad mana rock that is way too slow at making Clues.
Due Diligence image 2 Without the ETB this would be really bad. If you throw the ETB in the mix, it gets more interesting. There are going to be times where you cast this and end up with two great attacks as a result, and the Vigilance makes it so you don’t have to give up on defending yourself either, so chances are better than normal that those attacks are worth taking. Alternatively, making one thing get +4/+4 and Vigilance for a turn doesn’t sound bad either. You do need to be careful about casting this, as you do with most Auras, but this one does enough to be make the cut a decent chunk of the time.
Pack 2 Pick 7: Extract a Confession
Call a Surprise Witness image 2.5 We’ve seen two mana spells that reanimate small creatures and give them a little buff work out reasonably well of late, and I think this is another one of those. It does take set up, and a deck made up of the right composition, but I don’t think it will be hard to feel like you’re getting a good deal when you can cast this.
Culvert Ambusher image 2 This kind of effect doesn’t always play well. There just aren’t always situations where it matters. Still, when it does matter, it feels a bit like situational removal, and it’s stapled to a creature with okayish stats, not to mention Disguise upside.
Slime Against Humanity image 0.0 // 3.0 You need at least three of these before they are worth playing, and 4 is better.
Haazda Vigilante image 2.5 If you can get a counter of this, the rate on this will feel fine. Doing so doesn’t seem like a big stretch with all the Disguise creatures, either. It’s nice he does it on attacks too, so getting two counters of him is a real possibility.
The Chase Is On image 2 This is expensive for a trick, but your creature is likely to win combat and you even get a 2-for-1 in the long run.
On the Job image 1.5 // 3.0 As usual with Inspiring Charge effects, this is a build around. Red/White decks look the most well-positioned for this as they can go the widest, but you really need to be all in on curving out and going wide, or this isn’t worth it, even with the clue. It’s probably a D in your typical White deck, but a card you’re usually going to be happy with one of in your more aggressive decks.
Extract a Confession image 3.5 This looks like a great common. Edicts tend to be at their best when your opponent has the fewest creatures. That usually means the early game. But thanks to collevt evidence here, this stays pretty good by the mid to late game, as getting rid of your opponents highest power creature will also mean their best creature loke 80 percent of the time.
Pack 2 Pick 8: Toxin Analysis
Candlestick image 2.5 The Cluequipments in Blue and Red might just be the best since the Blue-Red deck is so into sacrificing artifacts, but lots of decks in the format like Clues too, and this one can help set up collect evidence.
It Doesn't Add Up image 2 This lets you reanimated something at instant speed. Of course…because you are forces to suspect the creature, it can't ambush block stuff, and that’s a big part of what would make this sweet. As is, it's an expensive removal spell with an effect that has just as mich downside as upside, and this kind of thing even with upside isn't always useful. That doesn't add up to a very good grade.
Toxin Analysis image 1.5 This is really cheap, and cheap tricks are often real good for their ability to punch above their weight class – and this one even gives you a clue! But…there’s a problem. It doesn’t offer anything that can help your creature survive combat. Sure, your creature can always trade thanks to this, but it’s still going to feel close enough to a 2-for-1 to sting when you have to use it that way. It does work nicely with Suspect, but I don't think that's enough.
Jaded Analyst image 1.5 It feels like every single one of these creatures that has defender but loses defender when X happens has been really unimpressive, and I kind of thing this is too. I get it, you can give up a clue and attack with it, but by the time you can set that up, it isn’t like a 3/2 is going to light the world on fire. Most of the time this type of card is a 3/3, so at least it is a reasonable blocker, but a 3/2 is substantially worse.
Fanatical Strength image 3 We’ve seen Run Amok in the past, and it has a strictly worse text box because it can only target attacking creatures, and Run Amok was an absolute beating in aggro decks. I think this will be too. The stats boost + trample can just wreck combat in so many ways, and make damage lethal out of nowhere. The boost is enough to save a creature from some removal spells in a pinch too.  You’re going to want to keep this card in the back of your mind any time you’re playing someone who is in Green.
Offender at Large image 2 Just playing this face up is going to be the play more often than not, and when you do it has a reasonable shot at giving you an attack you didn’t have before. This is the type of disguise creature you probably only play face down when you’ve got nothing else going on on turn three. Either way, this card looks like it will have trouble making the cut sometimes.
Pack 2 Pick 9: Repeat Offender
Case of the Gorgon's Kiss image 2.5 If you can solve this the value is insane, and it can certainly set that up for you. On the flip side, it also the potential to do absolutely nothing.
Unauthorized Exit image 2 This card is always pretty decent. You go down a card in most cases, but you get some nice tempo, and Surveil 1 can improve your next draw and/or load your graveyard. It is hurt a little bit by the absence of a dedicated spell deck in the format.
Repeat Offender image 2 This has an almost-passable baseline and ability that will make for a good mana sink in the later stages of the game. I like that you can use it at instant speed, so threat of activation will be pretty real. 
Thinking Cap image 2 If this were always 1 to Equip, it would probably be a 2.5, just because that’s a fairly efficient boost – one that’s easy to move around. Detectives are plentiful enough in this format that this still looks solid.
Suspicious Detonation image 2.5 If this was always 5 mana, it’d probably be a 1.5. That’s a really clunky Sorcery that usually can’t trade up. But, this will cost two fairly often in Red decks. Sacrificing a Clue is all you need to be able to do, and as we’ve seen there are otherwise to sacrifice artifacts too. It can also go after Disguised creatures since it can’t be countered.
Pack 2 Pick 10: The Chase Is On
Candlestick image 2.5 The Cluequipments in Blue and Red might just be the best since the Blue-Red deck is so into sacrificing artifacts, but lots of decks in the format like Clues too, and this one can help set up collect evidence.
Make Your Move image 2 We see this type of removal that only hits big creatures all the time, and it’s usually pretty mediocre, simply because its too narrow. They usually don’t even make the cut in your main deck. But, stapling Disenchant to it is a pretty big upgrade, especially in a set that has a fair number of both, probably makes this into a solid playable, and I think it even has a shot at being better than that.
The Chase Is On image 2 This is expensive for a trick, but your creature is likely to win combat and you even get a 2-for-1 in the long run.
Airtight Alibi image 2 When you can use this correctly, it can be an absolute beating. It can work as a decent trick that leaves the buff behind, and it can blank removal. Turning off Suspect will usually be more upside than downside, too. Still, it's tricky to leave up this much mana.
Pack 2 Pick 11: Cease
Cease image 2.5 The Cease side lets you hate on the graveyard while replacing itself which…probably wouldn’t be good enough to make the main deck in this format. The Desist side is more situational, but there are definitely going to be board states in this format where it really impacts the board, and most of the time when you get to 6 mana it has a pretty good chance at destroying something, just…hopefully not your stuff.
Rope image 1.5 I think this is the worst card in this cycle. The buffs it offers are underwhelming, especially when you’re paying 3 to equip.
Airtight Alibi image 2 When you can use this correctly, it can be an absolute beating. It can work as a decent trick that leaves the buff behind, and it can blank removal. Turning off Suspect will usually be more upside than downside, too. Still, it's tricky to leave up this much mana.
Pack 2 Pick 12: Expose the Culprit
Expose the Culprit image 0 This is too narrow, and the effect it typically gives you won't be worth a card.
Deduce image 2.5 This is a nice little card draw spell, because it ultimately gives you a 2-for-1, and there’s lots of additional upside for making Clue tokens in the format. You probably don’t want too many of these because they don’t really add to the board.
Pack 2 Pick 13: Knife
Knife image 2 +1/+0 and first strike does make almost any creature into a decent attacker, but the fact this is irrelevant on your opponent's turn is a bummer. There are definitely payoffs for sacrificing artifacts though, and this triggers those while always doing something by drawing you a card. D138
Pack 3 Pick 1: Pyrotechnic Performer
Museum Nightwatch image 2.5 Spending 4 mana to get a 3/2 and a 2/2 is decent, and you can Disguise this to keep your opponent from knowing that it will leave value behind.
Doppelgang image 3 5 mana to make a token copy of a permanent isn’t that great. Obviously, it’s highly dependent on what you copy, but when you’re evaluating a card like this you have to think about how often you’re getting that 5 mana worth of value and, there will probably be more times where you don’t get your mana’s worth. Still, when you cast this you’re going to get a copy of whatever the best permanent on the battlefield is – most of the time you’ll be going after creature, and that means you either have a copy of your best creature, or a copy of your opponent’s best creature.
Pyrotechnic Performer image 4 So, you can just play this on curve if you’re trying to finish your opponent off as quickly as possible, or you can disguise it, and end up paying 4 mana for a 3/2 that does 3 to your opponent – which is a card you’d probably play, and obviously it’s way better than that, both because you pay in installments and it makes your other face down creatures do the same thing!
Sumala Sentry image 4 Two counters is a big deal, and the fact you can turn them face up at instant speed can really make this a beating.
Mistway Spy image 3.5 Playing this on turn one is pretty acceptable, because it has evasion and a useful creature type – but the Disguise ability here is pretty impressive too. It counts every creature that hits your opponent, so you can get more than one clue. Obviously enough, because the Spy has evasion itself, you can turn it face up, crack in with it and get that Clue, which seems like a pretty normal play pattern.
Lumbering Laundry image 2 We’ve seen in past sets with Morph that being able to look at your opponent’s face-down cards isn’t really worth spending mana. Sure, the information is nice, and there’s worse things you could sink your mana into, but until you reach a point where you have literally nothing else you can do, you’re not going to be using this ability. So, what you’re left with is a pretty medium creature with a bit of Disguise upside.
They Went This Way image 2 I like that this can ultimately give you a 2-for-1. I don’t like that it’s a Sorcery that doesn’t add to the board in any meaningful way. It definitely fixes your mana, and in games that go long enough that Clue is gonna feel pretty nice, but not doing anything to add to the board on turn three has been a liability in most formats of late. I kind of hope this is a format where you can do stuff like this, but I’m going to err on the side of caution.
Cold Case Cracker image 3 A 4-mana 3/3 Flyer isn’t what it once was, but it’s not a bad stat-line, and this one replaces itself with a valuable Clue and it has a useful creature type.
Make Your Move image 2 We see this type of removal that only hits big creatures all the time, and it’s usually pretty mediocre, simply because its too narrow. They usually don’t even make the cut in your main deck. But, stapling Disenchant to it is a pretty big upgrade, especially in a set that has a fair number of both, probably makes this into a solid playable, and I think it even has a shot at being better than that.
Unscrupulous Agent image 3 We see this card a lot lately, and it’s always pretty nice. Goes after a card in your opponents hand while adding to the board, and then you can sacrifice it or otherwise utilize it for other purposes, sometimes it even feels like you’re getting a 2-for-1.
Offender at Large image 2 Just playing this face up is going to be the play more often than not, and when you do it has a reasonable shot at giving you an attack you didn’t have before. This is the type of disguise creature you probably only play face down when you’ve got nothing else going on on turn three. Either way, this card looks like it will have trouble making the cut sometimes.
Reasonable Doubt image 2 This can hit any type of spell, but your opponent can also ignore it with spare mana. As usual, that type of card is never amazing, although it can feel pretty nice in the early game.
Bite Down on Crime image 3.5 If you aren't collecting evidence, this is pretty darn clunky. And clunky is dangerous on a removal spell like this, since your opponent interacting can 2-for-1 you. Still, if you choose your spot carefully, this is likely to kill most opposing stuff, and the stats boost might also really improve your attacks. Combine that with the Evidence upside and I think this manages to just sneak into “premium removal” range.
Pack 3 Pick 2: Murder
Lightning Helix image 4 This is a pretty sweet reprint, and an incredibly powerful removal spell. Don’t underestimate just how good it is to simultaneously remove a creature and gain life. That can alter a game in your favor in a big way, and it can even go after the opponent. It’s certainly premium removal.
Leyline of the Guildpact image 0 This effect isn’t worth a card in Limited, we’ve seen that with cards like Prismatic Omen – even if you put this into play for free, more often than not it’s going to feel like you’re mulliganing because the value it delivers is so minimal.
Connecting the Dots image 1 This is a win-more card. If you can draw a lot of cards with this, you're probably winning. And, if you're behind, it doesn't do much.
Hustle image 3 Individually, each side of this is a little too situational to be particularly good on its own, but when you have two modes on one card, it’s different. The Hustle side is narrow, but the times when it lines up right, it will feel like removal. Bustle is also situational, but it’s also a game ender, as Overrun effects often are. Chances are pretty good you’ll get sufficient value out of one side of this card to make it worth playing.
Living Conundrum image 2.5 A 5-mana ⅖ with Hexproof is pretty interesting, especially at Uncommon. As usual, pairing hexproof with Auras and other enhancements can be a real beating for your opponent. The rest of the card’s effect isn’t going to come up a ton in Limited, but Blue does have enough graveyard stuff going on that turning this into a 10/10 isn’t impossible, and obviously the hexproof keeps you from really getting punished for milling your whole library.
Murder image 3.5 Murder is still a pretty good Magic card in Limited. The double black can be a pain, but this is still premium.
Unauthorized Exit image 2 This card is always pretty decent. You go down a card in most cases, but you get some nice tempo, and Surveil 1 can improve your next draw and/or load your graveyard. It is hurt a little bit by the absence of a dedicated spell deck in the format.
On the Job image 1.5 // 3.0 As usual with Inspiring Charge effects, this is a build around. Red/White decks look the most well-positioned for this as they can go the widest, but you really need to be all in on curving out and going wide, or this isn’t worth it, even with the clue. It’s probably a D in your typical White deck, but a card you’re usually going to be happy with one of in your more aggressive decks.
Riftburst Hellion image 2.5 This isn’t going to feel amazing either way you get the 6/7 with Reach, but the fact that it IS a huge creature with the upside of being castable as a three mana 2/2 Ward 2 makes it worthwhile.
Benthic Criminologists image 2.5 These are some medium stats, but giving up Clues or other artifacts to draw cards is certainly worthwhile. And this can do it a couple of times in most cases.
Loxodon Eavesdropper image 2.5 5 mana for three 1/1s isn't great, but you can attack with all three tokens the next turn and really give your opponent a headache. At that point, you are definitely getting your mana's worth.
Magnifying Glass image 1 This is a bad mana rock that is way too slow at making Clues.
Pack 3 Pick 3: Outrageous Robbery
Sanitation Automaton image 1.5 This has mediocre stats and a mediocre ETB.
Outrageous Robbery image 4 So, this is effectively an X draw spell, except you get to steal your opponents stuff instead. I wouldn’t count on milling your opponent out with it, but there is a chance of it. Because it’s an Instant you can exile a bunch of stuff and then start playing it on your turn. Obviously it doesn’t add to the board and its expensive to really get there with it, but I think it’s powerful enough to be a 4.0
Sudden Setback image 3.5 We’ve seen a lot of 4 mana blue cards lately that let you get rid of a nonland permanent by giving your opponent the option of put it on top or bottom of the library, and they’ve fared pretty well. None of them have been amazing, but they let you trade 1-for-1 and you can do it at instant speed. So, add in the ability to also do this with spells on the stack, and I think we’re talking about a fairly high quality card.
Insidious Roots image 0.0 // 3.0 You’re likely to have a few tokens around sometimes in Black-Green, but you’re really going to need to be able to get the Plant stuff going on Insidious Roots for it to be worthwhile. The good news is, Black-Green has a critical mass of “Collect Evidence” cards which will trigger Insidious Roots, but this still kind of asks a lot of you. You need a stocked graveyard, you need the things in your graveyard to be creatures, and you need to collect evidence. I think that’s doable, but still hard enough that this probably needs a build around grade.
Eliminate the Impossible image 1.5 I’m not the biggest fan of this type of effect – but when they tack card draw on to it, it starts to get more interesting. The usual problem is that this is only useful in fairly narrow situations, and getting a trade to happen is hard. It can sort of function as a bad fog, or a bad combat trick, but obviously…neither of those are things you want to be going after. But, because it Investigates – and it’s relatively cheap – those problems are more acceptable.
Slice from the Shadows image 3.5 Uncounterability actually matters in this set because of all the Disguise creatures with Ward. –X/-X is never going to feel super efficient, but it’s an instant and it scales all game, so I think it’s premium.
Person of Interest image 3.5 4-mana for a 2/2 and a 2/2 Menace that can’t block is a pretty amazing rate. Not much more to say there, but this is a really good Common.
Dramatic Accusation image 2.5 Three mana Blue Auras that tap a creature down usually aren’t anything special. The problem is that they don’t entirely remove the creature in all situations, so abilities are still relevant, and if your opponent has a way to sacrifice or otherwise utilize the tapped down creature you end up feeling like you’re really far behind. The Accusation’s activated ability adds an interesting wrinkle to this, since now you can get rid of the creature if it has problematic abilities and everything. The downside is your opponent might draw it again later.
Shady Informant image 2.5 If you could only play this face up, it would be a pretty nice card. It has high enough power to trade with a whole lot of stuff, and the death trigger is likely to let you kill something else too – and that’s a 2-for-1. So, the fact you can get it on the board earlier in the game without your opponent knowing it’s lurking there makes it even nicer.
Red Herring image 1.5 This can do some serious work if you play it on turn two, and if you get it later in the game you can give it up to get a card. It’s an artifact and a clue, so it’s got some synergy in the format too, especially in Blue-Red. Still…the card’s fail case doesn’t exactly excite me. Paying 4 to draw a card, even in installments isn’t exactly awesome.
Vengeful Creeper image 2.5 A 5-mana 5/5 is pretty beefy, and this one has some Disenchant upside. Feels like most Green decks will want one of these. 
Pack 3 Pick 4: Deadly Complication
Get a Leg Up image 3 This trick gives +1/+1 as a floor, and it can give a way bigger boost than that. We've seen this card before without the Reach, and it's always a good trick.
Expose the Culprit image 0 This is too narrow, and the effect it typically gives you won't be worth a card.
Agency Outfitter image 2.5 The idea here is that you search up these two cards and use the Glass to equip the Cap, in which case the Outfitter is effectively a 5/5 Flyer. The problem is that you need those cards in your deck to make it happen, and Magnifying Glass is pretty terrible to have in your deck.
Deadly Complication image 3.5 Three mana to destroy any creature at sorcery speed is already premium removal, so the fact that you can also sometimes put a counter on one of your creatures is some serious business.
Maverick Thopterist image
Projektor Inspector image 2.5 A three mana 3/2 that loots on ETB is decent, and looting with this more than once isn’t impossible.
The Chase Is On image 2 This is expensive for a trick, but your creature is likely to win combat and you even get a 2-for-1 in the long run.
Rubblebelt Maverick image 3.5 These days, they give us lots of Common one drops that do a whole bunch of little things, and almost all of them have been impressive in Limited – I think this is another one of those. A one mana 1/1 with Surveil 2 is probably playable to begin with, especially if you’re a graveyard deck. Add to that the ability to put a counter on something, and this card just feels like it will do a ton of work.
Magnifying Glass image 1 This is a bad mana rock that is way too slow at making Clues.
Agency Coroner image 2 This is a lot of mana for the usual sacrifice a creature draw a card effect, but the fact you’ll sometimes draw two helps soften that blow.
Pack 3 Pick 5: Offender at Large
Case of the Filched Falcon image 3 It’s nice you get a clue up front, and if your deck has enough artifacts in it, you can definitely end up animating that clue or something else into a 4/4 flyer. Blue is adept enough at making clues that I don’t think this needs a build around grade.
Convenient Target image 1.5 One red for +1/+1 and Menace isn't the worst, and because you can get this back it isn't going to 2-for-1 you. You can also use it to get a blocker out of the way in a pinch.
Crowd-Control Warden image 3 It’ll be at least a 5/5 in most cases, and other times it will be absolutely massive! The whole Disguise thing is a big deal too, when the creature has the potential of being this big.
Projektor Inspector image 2.5 A three mana 3/2 that loots on ETB is decent, and looting with this more than once isn’t impossible.
Offender at Large image 2 Just playing this face up is going to be the play more often than not, and when you do it has a reasonable shot at giving you an attack you didn’t have before. This is the type of disguise creature you probably only play face down when you’ve got nothing else going on on turn three. Either way, this card looks like it will have trouble making the cut sometimes.
Fanatical Strength image 3 We’ve seen Run Amok in the past, and it has a strictly worse text box because it can only target attacking creatures, and Run Amok was an absolute beating in aggro decks. I think this will be too. The stats boost + trample can just wreck combat in so many ways, and make damage lethal out of nowhere. The boost is enough to save a creature from some removal spells in a pinch too.  You’re going to want to keep this card in the back of your mind any time you’re playing someone who is in Green.
Macabre Reconstruction image 2.5 Paying two for this is very doable, and when you do that it feels great. You probably don't want more than one, though.
Griffnaut Tracker image 2 4-mana 3/2 flyers aren’t what they once were, but hating on the graveyard has value, and the stat-line isn’t a complete disaster. I’m giving this a C. 
Public Thoroughfare image 2.5 This is another nice source of fixing, even if it does require you to jump through a few hoops. Being able to only tap a Clue or something once when you play it is nice.
Pack 3 Pick 6: Repeat Offender
Flotsam image 2.5 The Flotsam side helps you set up graveyard shenanigans and replaces itself, and the Jetsam side gives you a free spell. Neither are going to feel like the most efficient thing in the world in most cases – You have to pay 4 total mana to mill three and draw a card with Flotsam, and Jetsam isn’t usually going to give you back the mana you spent, and if either of this card was only one or the other it would be too narrow and mediocre. But, having both makes a big difference – that’s what is great about split cards. Both plays might be kind of meh, but the fact remains you have a card that does something useful and something early late, and most cards don’t have that kind of flexibility.
It Doesn't Add Up image 2 This lets you reanimated something at instant speed. Of course…because you are forces to suspect the creature, it can't ambush block stuff, and that’s a big part of what would make this sweet. As is, it's an expensive removal spell with an effect that has just as mich downside as upside, and this kind of thing even with upside isn't always useful. That doesn't add up to a very good grade.
Jaded Analyst image 1.5 It feels like every single one of these creatures that has defender but loses defender when X happens has been really unimpressive, and I kind of thing this is too. I get it, you can give up a clue and attack with it, but by the time you can set that up, it isn’t like a 3/2 is going to light the world on fire. Most of the time this type of card is a 3/3, so at least it is a reasonable blocker, but a 3/2 is substantially worse.
Goblin Maskmaker image 2 So, if you get this on exactly turn one and you have some Disguise creatures in your hand, this can feel pretty good – as dropping a 2/2 Ward 2 on turn two – one that will have all kinds of upside – is pretty awesome. The problem is that this has diminishing returns as the game goes on, especially because it has to attack to give you that discount.
Repeat Offender image 2 This has an almost-passable baseline and ability that will make for a good mana sink in the later stages of the game. I like that you can use it at instant speed, so threat of activation will be pretty real. 
Loxodon Eavesdropper image 2.5 5 mana for three 1/1s isn't great, but you can attack with all three tokens the next turn and really give your opponent a headache. At that point, you are definitely getting your mana's worth.
On the Job image 1.5 // 3.0 As usual with Inspiring Charge effects, this is a build around. Red/White decks look the most well-positioned for this as they can go the widest, but you really need to be all in on curving out and going wide, or this isn’t worth it, even with the clue. It’s probably a D in your typical White deck, but a card you’re usually going to be happy with one of in your more aggressive decks.
Snarling Gorehound image 2.5 A one mana 1/1 Menace feels pretty nice on turn one, and this is likely to give you some card selection and graveyard synergy throughout the game. Seems like nice value for one mana.
Pack 3 Pick 7: Slice from the Shadows
Forum Familiar image 2.5 This is a Disguise creature that you’re going to want to play face down about 99% of the time., since if you don’t, it’s just a vanilla one mana 1/1 and those tend to get irrelevant quickly. However, if you play this face down it’s going to be pretty darn relevant thanks to its ability to bounce your permanents. You can do this to rebuy ETBs or help a creature dodge removal and stuff like that, but you can even just return a land if you just want the Familiar to be a 2/2. Obviously that’s not optimal, but it’s something. I think this will lie in wait and have big impacts on many games. This also gives us back-to-back white Disguise creatures who can turn face up and blank removal, so that’s something your’e going to have to keep in mind.
Get a Leg Up image 3 This trick gives +1/+1 as a floor, and it can give a way bigger boost than that. We've seen this card before without the Reach, and it's always a good trick.
Vengeful Creeper image 2.5 A 5-mana 5/5 is pretty beefy, and this one has some Disenchant upside. Feels like most Green decks will want one of these. 
Gearbane Orangutan image 1.5 If you can either destroy an opposing artifact, or give up an expendable artifact when you play this, it’ll be fine. Ideally of course, you give up a clue. Still, I think there are going to be enough situations where neither mode is useful and this is a miserable card when that happens.
Slime Against Humanity image 0.0 // 3.0 You need at least three of these before they are worth playing, and 4 is better.
Slice from the Shadows image 3.5 Uncounterability actually matters in this set because of all the Disguise creatures with Ward. –X/-X is never going to feel super efficient, but it’s an instant and it scales all game, so I think it’s premium.
Tunnel Tipster image 4 A two mana 1/1 that can tap for green is already a C-level card, and this has legitimate potential to grow throughout the game, which means it can stay more relevant than most mana dorks. Of course, if you draw it late it isn’t the most impressive thing ever, but playing this on turn two and playing a couple of Disguise creatures seems like a super common play pattern. This Common looks quite good.
Pack 3 Pick 8: Felonious Rage
Wrench image 2.5 All of these Cluequipments are solid or better, because they offer a decent effect, while also having the ability to be thrown away for something else when the Equipment doesn’t do enough. The stats boost here isn’t the most efficient thing ever, and the tap effect is expensive, but it certainly isn’t a bad mana sink – and the fact you can swing with something, keep it untapped, and leave mana up for the effect is nice.
Expose the Culprit image 0 This is too narrow, and the effect it typically gives you won't be worth a card.
Burden of Proof image 2.5 This is a very interesting version of this “Frogify”-type effect. Lately it seems like they are doing their darnedest to design one that’s actually solid in Limited, and they’ve had some success with that lately. I think they’ve done it again here. The usual problem with this type of card is that you don’t really entirely remove a creature when you turn it into a 1/1, so you’re often coming out behind. However, this adds a couple of important wrinkles. First, it has Flash – so you can turn something into a 1/1 at instant speed, which all-but-guarantees that it’s going down. Second, if your creature is a detective, this is a powerful combat trick. It’s also really nice that they made it only buff detectives you control, otherwise this card would be super frustrating.
Branch of Vitu-Ghazi image 2.5 If you just need the mana right away, you can play it, but this has two other really nice functions. First, it's flood insurance. The last thing you want to do in the late game is draw a land - but thud one can be a creature when that's the case. And in the mid-game, when you might need the fixing, you can turn it face up. Remember you can do weird stuff like assign this to block and turn it face up, at which point you get the mana and the creature it blocked is still considered blocked, but you don't lose the land.
Toxin Analysis image 1.5 This is really cheap, and cheap tricks are often real good for their ability to punch above their weight class – and this one even gives you a clue! But…there’s a problem. It doesn’t offer anything that can help your creature survive combat. Sure, your creature can always trade thanks to this, but it’s still going to feel close enough to a 2-for-1 to sting when you have to use it that way. It does work nicely with Suspect, but I don't think that's enough.
Felonious Rage image 2 We've seen this card before, more or less, and it’s a nice trick. The power boost lets your creature take down most stuff, and you come out ahead thanks to the token, and at only one mana it is really priced to move.
Pack 3 Pick 9: Unscrupulous Agent
Lumbering Laundry image 2 We’ve seen in past sets with Morph that being able to look at your opponent’s face-down cards isn’t really worth spending mana. Sure, the information is nice, and there’s worse things you could sink your mana into, but until you reach a point where you have literally nothing else you can do, you’re not going to be using this ability. So, what you’re left with is a pretty medium creature with a bit of Disguise upside.
They Went This Way image 2 I like that this can ultimately give you a 2-for-1. I don’t like that it’s a Sorcery that doesn’t add to the board in any meaningful way. It definitely fixes your mana, and in games that go long enough that Clue is gonna feel pretty nice, but not doing anything to add to the board on turn three has been a liability in most formats of late. I kind of hope this is a format where you can do stuff like this, but I’m going to err on the side of caution.
Make Your Move image 2 We see this type of removal that only hits big creatures all the time, and it’s usually pretty mediocre, simply because its too narrow. They usually don’t even make the cut in your main deck. But, stapling Disenchant to it is a pretty big upgrade, especially in a set that has a fair number of both, probably makes this into a solid playable, and I think it even has a shot at being better than that.
Unscrupulous Agent image 3 We see this card a lot lately, and it’s always pretty nice. Goes after a card in your opponents hand while adding to the board, and then you can sacrifice it or otherwise utilize it for other purposes, sometimes it even feels like you’re getting a 2-for-1.
Bite Down on Crime image 3.5 If you aren't collecting evidence, this is pretty darn clunky. And clunky is dangerous on a removal spell like this, since your opponent interacting can 2-for-1 you. Still, if you choose your spot carefully, this is likely to kill most opposing stuff, and the stats boost might also really improve your attacks. Combine that with the Evidence upside and I think this manages to just sneak into “premium removal” range.
Pack 3 Pick 10: Hustle
Hustle image 3 Individually, each side of this is a little too situational to be particularly good on its own, but when you have two modes on one card, it’s different. The Hustle side is narrow, but the times when it lines up right, it will feel like removal. Bustle is also situational, but it’s also a game ender, as Overrun effects often are. Chances are pretty good you’ll get sufficient value out of one side of this card to make it worth playing.
Living Conundrum image 2.5 A 5-mana ⅖ with Hexproof is pretty interesting, especially at Uncommon. As usual, pairing hexproof with Auras and other enhancements can be a real beating for your opponent. The rest of the card’s effect isn’t going to come up a ton in Limited, but Blue does have enough graveyard stuff going on that turning this into a 10/10 isn’t impossible, and obviously the hexproof keeps you from really getting punished for milling your whole library.
Benthic Criminologists image 2.5 These are some medium stats, but giving up Clues or other artifacts to draw cards is certainly worthwhile. And this can do it a couple of times in most cases.
Magnifying Glass image 1 This is a bad mana rock that is way too slow at making Clues.
Pack 3 Pick 11: Person of Interest
Sanitation Automaton image 1.5 This has mediocre stats and a mediocre ETB.
Person of Interest image 3.5 4-mana for a 2/2 and a 2/2 Menace that can’t block is a pretty amazing rate. Not much more to say there, but this is a really good Common.
Shady Informant image 2.5 If you could only play this face up, it would be a pretty nice card. It has high enough power to trade with a whole lot of stuff, and the death trigger is likely to let you kill something else too – and that’s a 2-for-1. So, the fact you can get it on the board earlier in the game without your opponent knowing it’s lurking there makes it even nicer.
Pack 3 Pick 12: Agency Coroner
Get a Leg Up image 3 This trick gives +1/+1 as a floor, and it can give a way bigger boost than that. We've seen this card before without the Reach, and it's always a good trick.
Agency Coroner image 2 This is a lot of mana for the usual sacrifice a creature draw a card effect, but the fact you’ll sometimes draw two helps soften that blow.
Pack 3 Pick 13: Fanatical Strength
Fanatical Strength image 3 We’ve seen Run Amok in the past, and it has a strictly worse text box because it can only target attacking creatures, and Run Amok was an absolute beating in aggro decks. I think this will be too. The stats boost + trample can just wreck combat in so many ways, and make damage lethal out of nowhere. The boost is enough to save a creature from some removal spells in a pinch too.  You’re going to want to keep this card in the back of your mind any time you’re playing someone who is in Green.
Draft Pick Overview