Assimilation Aegis
4 This is an Oblivion Ring that comes with the upside of making a creature into a copy of the exiled one. That last part isn't always going to be useful, but because this card's already so efficient, it doesn't reall matter. It's upside on a card that's already very good.
Outcaster Greenblade
3.5 This will provide amazing fixing since it can grab this format's dual lands, so it will often amount to a three mana 2/3 that draws you a very real card. That's amazing, and it has more upside than that.
Blood Hustler
2 This has some serious upside, but I hate the baseline. It's a virtually irrelevant body when it comes down and very easy for your opponent to deal with, even just using incidental damage.
Ferocification
1 These Enchantments that just buff your creature during your turn pretty much never work out. They do nothing on their own, and the buff it offers just isn't enough. I kind of wish they had made this so it could target any creature, because then you could commit crimes with it at least.
Mourner's Surprise
2.5 This will feel close enough to a two-mana 2-for-1 that I'm definitely playing the first copy in most Black decks.
Prickly Pair
3.5 Three mana 2/2s that make 1/1s always perform well in Limited, and these tokens both come with an "Outlaw" creature type.
Spring Splasher
2 Pretty nice on turn two, as there isn't much that can block it in the early game. It isn't terrible in the mid to late game either, as it can really improve an attack for you.
Ankle Biter
2.5 Green one mana 1/1s with Deathtouch tend to be a little better than black ones because of bite effects.
Vault Plunderer
2.5 Trading off for something means you get a 2-for-1, but the presence of Mercenary tokens limits this somewhat.
Wanted Griffin
2.5 4-mana 3/2s can be abyssmal, since there is one mana removal that can deal with it, but this leaves a body behind to make up for that.
Badlands Revival
3 This gives you a 2-for-1, and it even adds to the board. It does need a well-stocked graveyard for you to really get good value, though.
Repulse
3 Drawing and bouncing for three mana at instant speed is a very good rate. You end up with tempo and you break even on cards, but it has blowout potential too.
Pack 1 Pick 2: Getaway Glamer
Lavaspur Boots
1 This buff looks tempting, but if it's anything like other cheap haste-granting Equipment, it isn't going to be worth a card.
Stubborn Burrowfiend
2.5 This'll definitely get big sometimes, but I don't love how conditional the buff is. It's going to be at it's best in a B/G deck, but I'm also not sure how much they want to be saddling.
Getaway Glamer
3 This is nice removal, with some added utility, and if your creature has the highest power, you can blink it to make sure you can still kill your opponent's creature.
Trained Arynx
2.5 This has passable stats, and because it can gain first strike, it has the potential to be relevant all game long.
Freestrider Commando
2 Neither mode on this is much more than a decent vanilla creature. A 4-mana 5/5 might sound amazing, but getting a turn later makes it a lot less impressive.
Failed Fording
2 This style of card is virtually always a 2, even with a little bit of upside. It's nice that you can interact, but the price you pay is often card disadvantage.
Jailbreak Scheme
2 Just the bounce option is a decent card, so the fact you have a whole other option for later in the game is pretty nice.
Discerning Peddler
2 Red doesn't have much of a discard theme in this set. So, this is mostly just a card with a mediocre statline and a mediocre ETB.
Take Up the Shield
3 This was a very strong trick last time, and it will be this time too. It helps a creature win combat, can blank more removal, and leaves behind a permanent buff.
Fake Your Own Death
2.5 This type of trick is always solid. It's good in combat, good against removal, and has the upside of working well with ETB.
Lush Oasis
1 This weak ability isn't worth the hit to your mana base.
Reckless Lackey
3 This is a pretty pushed stat-line, making it a great play on turn one and a great place to put Equipment, counters, and tricks. And if it ever becomes useless you can just cash it in.
Back for More
2.5 The ceiling here is incredibly high. You reanimate something at instant speed, use it to ambush block, and then have it fight something else. If the creature is big enough, it can survive all of that! But setting that up and getting the stats to line up correctly is pretty tough.
Pack 1 Pick 3: Canyon Crab
Bovine Intervention
0 This is awful removal, you practically 2-for-1 yourself in exchange for some efficiency.
Shackle Slinger
3 It's nice that this commits crimes for no additional mana, and stunning and tapping things has some pretty real value, especially if you're curving out, which the Slinger really likes.
Canyon Crab
3 Not a terrible roadblock, and you can loot with it pretty well in this format. It can even go on offense late in the game.
Scalestorm Summoner
4 If you can get even one Dinosaur out of this you're coming out way ahead, and this has the potential to be repeatable.
Razzle-Dazzler
2.5 Growing this will be fairly easy, and even just getting one counter and one swing will make you feel like you are getting there.
Discerning Peddler
2 Red doesn't have much of a discard theme in this set. So, this is mostly just a card with a mediocre statline and a mediocre ETB.
Dance of the Tumbleweeds
2.5 Ramp spells that don't impact the board can hurt, but this provides really nice fixing early and can be a legit win conditoin late.
Steer Clear
2.5 This is conditional but efficient, especially if you have a Mount.
Mourner's Surprise
2.5 This will feel close enough to a two-mana 2-for-1 that I'm definitely playing the first copy in most Black decks.
Oasis Gardener
2 If you need fixing, this can do it. While the stat-line isn't especially good, the life gain helps even that out a tiny bit.
Outlaw Stitcher
4 The baseline is great, and you'll often be able to get the extra large zombie out of the deal.
Pack 1 Pick 4: Vengeful Townsfolk
Plan the Heist
2.5 Not affecting the board can be a liability, but a 4-mana draw 3 is pretty efficient -- and this has some additional upside.
Bovine Intervention
0 This is awful removal, you practically 2-for-1 yourself in exchange for some efficiency.
Kraum, Violent Cacophony
3.5 Playing this and casting something with Plot in the same turn will be a big turn, and that's not even close to far-fetched.
Hardbristle Bandit
3 I wouldn't count on getting a benefit out of untapping this with regularity, but doing it once per game isn't a stretch, and a two mana 1/1 that taps for mana of any color is always playable anyway.
Vengeful Townsfolk
2.5 This is more efficient than most creatures with this ability that we've seen. A 3-mana 3/3 really won't feel terrible, like the two-mana 1/1s and 4-mana 3/3s we usually see.
Trick Shot
2.5 This is a little expensive, but it'll have a token to hit reasonably often and it can kill just about anything at instant speed. You probably don't want more than one of them, though.
Bridled Bighorn
2 This has decent base stats, and spitting out a token is sometimes valuable.
Creosote Heath
1 This weak ability isn't worth the hit to your mana base.
Hindering Light
2 This feels good when you can cast it, but it is a little too narrow to be good.
Pack 1 Pick 5: Nimble Brigand
Resilient Roadrunner
3.5 This is great on turn two, and it's often going to be unblockable in the late game.
Nimble Brigand
3 The stats are bad, but if you get in with this once you'll feel pretty good ,and getting it with it is pretty easy. Get in with it more than once, and the game might just be over.
Stagecoach Security
2.5 Buffing your whole board and giving it Vigilance is great, as it allows you to attack a lot better while not giving anything up on defense.
Highway Robbery
2 Because you can sacrifice lands to this, it's much better in the late game than most Tormenting Voice-like effects.
Failed Fording
2 This style of card is virtually always a 2, even with a little bit of upside. It's nice that you can interact, but the price you pay is often card disadvantage.
Boneyard Desecrator
2 A 4-mana 3/4 with Menace is okay, but this ability is generally too expensive to be worthwhile often enough.
Gold Pan
2 You can equip this right away if you want to, thanks to the treasure. Paying one to Equip for this boost is kind of passable, too.
Savage Smash
3.5 This usually punches through a blocker and lets your creature(s) attack far more effectively.
Commandeer
0 This is too situational and expensive. Casting it for free isn't super easy or worth it in Limited, either.
Pack 1 Pick 6: Inventive Wingsmith
Take for a Ride
2//3.5 Being able to cast this at instant speed will feel insane sometimes, because if the stats line up right, you can make two of your opponents creatures destroy one another. That gives this a higher floor than most versions of this kind of effect, while it still has big sacrifice upside.
Magebane Lizard
1.5 This is a weirdly defensive stat-line on a creature with an aggressive ability. It's also pretty awkward that Red is one of the colors that wants to cast multiple spells in a turn, and the effect is symmetrical.
Inventive Wingsmith
2 Getting this to Fly isn't too challenging, especially in Blue-White.
Explosive Derailment
4 This is a great removal spell. Even if it was always just the first mode, it would be a card that always makes the cut -- and one you take highly. But the added Spree upside means that you can achieve a 2-for-1 sometimes.
Take the Fall
2.5 This looks like it's well-positioned in this format. It's good if you're trying to play two spells a turn in UR, it's good if you're trying to commit crimes in UB, it's good if you're trying to only do stuff on your opponent's turn if you're in Blue-White. It's definitely a small effect, but it replacing itself and having a real effect seems doable.
Fake Your Own Death
2.5 This type of trick is always solid. It's good in combat, good against removal, and has the upside of working well with ETB.
Stagecoach Security
2.5 Buffing your whole board and giving it Vigilance is great, as it allows you to attack a lot better while not giving anything up on defense.
Quilled Charger
2 This has a passable baseline, and it's saddle ability means it can attack effectively at most stages of the game.
Pack 1 Pick 7: Eroded Canyon
Thunder Salvo
3 The baseline here is a playable card, and doing three with this seems pretty easy in Red between having a low curve and the Plot mechanic.
Boneyard Desecrator
2 A 4-mana 3/4 with Menace is okay, but this ability is generally too expensive to be worthwhile often enough.
Inventive Wingsmith
2 Getting this to Fly isn't too challenging, especially in Blue-White.
Reach for the Sky
1.5 It's great that this replaces itself, but it's too expensive for it to be a trick/aura that I'm interested in using.
Quilled Charger
2 This has a passable baseline, and it's saddle ability means it can attack effectively at most stages of the game.
Eroded Canyon
1 This weak ability isn't worth the hit to your mana base.
Neutralize the Guards
0.5 As with most cards with this effect, this mostly seems like a sideboard card.
Humiliate
2 This is a reasonable discard spell, as it will usually hit something and add a little to your board.
Pack 1 Pick 8: Mobile Homestead
Gila Courser
3.5 This saddle trigger is super strong, and saddling this is easy. If you get to attack, you're all but guaranteed a 2-for-1.
Mobile Homestead
2 The rate isn't very good, but I think the upside of ramping your mana sometimes makes it playable.
Discerning Peddler
2 Red doesn't have much of a discard theme in this set. So, this is mostly just a card with a mediocre statline and a mediocre ETB.
Fake Your Own Death
2.5 This type of trick is always solid. It's good in combat, good against removal, and has the upside of working well with ETB.
Irascible Wolverine
3 This is a great ETB trigger. Plot allows you to take full advantage, but even without Plot this can help you hit a land drop in the early stages of the game, and if you draw it late you can just cast it right away because you'll be able to use the card either way.
Seize the Secrets
2.5 A two mana draw 2 is pretty serious business, and that mode will be accessible enough.
Ferocification
1 These Enchantments that just buff your creature during your turn pretty much never work out. They do nothing on their own, and the buff it offers just isn't enough. I kind of wish they had made this so it could target any creature, because then you could commit crimes with it at least.
Mourner's Surprise
2.5 This will feel close enough to a two-mana 2-for-1 that I'm definitely playing the first copy in most Black decks.
Spring Splasher
2 Pretty nice on turn two, as there isn't much that can block it in the early game. It isn't terrible in the mid to late game either, as it can really improve an attack for you.
Vault Plunderer
2.5 Trading off for something means you get a 2-for-1, but the presence of Mercenary tokens limits this somewhat.
Badlands Revival
3 This gives you a 2-for-1, and it even adds to the board. It does need a well-stocked graveyard for you to really get good value, though.
Pack 1 Pick 10: Failed Fording
Lavaspur Boots
1 This buff looks tempting, but if it's anything like other cheap haste-granting Equipment, it isn't going to be worth a card.
Failed Fording
2 This style of card is virtually always a 2, even with a little bit of upside. It's nice that you can interact, but the price you pay is often card disadvantage.
Discerning Peddler
2 Red doesn't have much of a discard theme in this set. So, this is mostly just a card with a mediocre statline and a mediocre ETB.
Fake Your Own Death
2.5 This type of trick is always solid. It's good in combat, good against removal, and has the upside of working well with ETB.
Reckless Lackey
3 This is a pretty pushed stat-line, making it a great play on turn one and a great place to put Equipment, counters, and tricks. And if it ever becomes useless you can just cash it in.
Pack 1 Pick 11: Steer Clear
Shackle Slinger
3 It's nice that this commits crimes for no additional mana, and stunning and tapping things has some pretty real value, especially if you're curving out, which the Slinger really likes.
Razzle-Dazzler
2.5 Growing this will be fairly easy, and even just getting one counter and one swing will make you feel like you are getting there.
Discerning Peddler
2 Red doesn't have much of a discard theme in this set. So, this is mostly just a card with a mediocre statline and a mediocre ETB.
Steer Clear
2.5 This is conditional but efficient, especially if you have a Mount.
Pack 1 Pick 12: Bovine Intervention
Bovine Intervention
0 This is awful removal, you practically 2-for-1 yourself in exchange for some efficiency.
Trick Shot
2.5 This is a little expensive, but it'll have a token to hit reasonably often and it can kill just about anything at instant speed. You probably don't want more than one of them, though.
Hindering Light
2 This feels good when you can cast it, but it is a little too narrow to be good.
Pack 1 Pick 13: Highway Robbery
Highway Robbery
2 Because you can sacrifice lands to this, it's much better in the late game than most Tormenting Voice-like effects.
Fortune, Loyal Steed
4 Getting to Scry 2 to repeatedly is surprisingly strong, and blinking your other creature might have value too.
Scorching Shot
3.5 This is efficient, but a little hard to cast, and being Sorcery speed will make it harder to generate 2-for-1s.
Rattleback Apothecary
3 Menace and Lifelink are great keywords in Limited, and it can even grant them to itself.
Jolene, Plundering Pugilist
3 Getting treasure to power out more big stuff is pretty nice, and being able to throw treasure away for pings is great, especially once they outlive their usefuleness in the late game.
Steer Clear
2.5 This is conditional but efficient, especially if you have a Mount.
Phantom Interference
3 This can take care of a spell on turn two, and it has the upside of being a 5-mana 2/2 flyer that counters a spell -- that's a card I would always play.
Hardbristle Bandit
3 I wouldn't count on getting a benefit out of untapping this with regularity, but doing it once per game isn't a stretch, and a two mana 1/1 that taps for mana of any color is always playable anyway.
Mine Raider
2.5 You'll get the treasure a significant percentage of the time, and the fail-case isn't too bad.
Trained Arynx
2.5 This has passable stats, and because it can gain first strike, it has the potential to be relevant all game long.
Eroded Canyon
1 This weak ability isn't worth the hit to your mana base.
Baron Bertram Graywater
3.5 Black/White makes plenty of tokens, so adding more to the board is great, especially when you can sacrifice them for value.
Rise of the Varmints
1 // 4.0 This looks like a legit win condition for Black/Green decks, but pretty mediocre for everyone else.
Vial Smasher, Gleeful Grenadier
3 If you play this on two and he sticks around, he's going to chip in tons and tons of damage. The trigger commits a crime, too!
Gold Rush
2 This is a decent trick that gives you back one mana, and it can even help you splash. There aren't so many treasures in Green that this will often give more than +2/+2.
This Town Ain't Big Enough
2 The best way to use this is to bounce your thing and an opponent's thing, and if you do that in response to removal or something that seems nice. However, it won't always line up that way, and the other options with the card aren't very attractive.
Trick Shot
2.5 This is a little expensive, but it'll have a token to hit reasonably often and it can kill just about anything at instant speed. You probably don't want more than one of them, though.
Phantom Interference
3 This can take care of a spell on turn two, and it has the upside of being a 5-mana 2/2 flyer that counters a spell -- that's a card I would always play.
Savage Smash
3.5 This usually punches through a blocker and lets your creature(s) attack far more effectively.
Pack 2 Pick 3: Archmage's Newt
Treasure Dredger
2 This give Black access to some repeatable fixing, which we don't see every day. Still, the stat-line and ability are both pretty medium.
Scalestorm Summoner
4 If you can get even one Dinosaur out of this you're coming out way ahead, and this has the potential to be repeatable.
Vial Smasher, Gleeful Grenadier
3 If you play this on two and he sticks around, he's going to chip in tons and tons of damage. The trigger commits a crime, too!
Archmage's Newt
2 This has decent stats and an ability that can do some work in the late game. But, actually getting value out of the saddle early is hard, and actually hitting your opponent with it late is hard too.
Wanted Griffin
2.5 4-mana 3/2s can be abyssmal, since there is one mana removal that can deal with it, but this leaves a body behind to make up for that.
Snakeskin Veil
2.5 This is a great trick since it can efficiently blank removal and help your creature win combat.
Mystical Tether
3.5 This is really good even without the Flash upside. With it, it has blow-out potential and some synergy in the UW color pair.
Quick Draw
2 This is a solid trick, but it's only useful in combat, which makes it hard for it to be one you really want to seek out.
Seize the Secrets
2.5 A two mana draw 2 is pretty serious business, and that mode will be accessible enough.
Ambush Gigapede
1.5 It's temping to imagine the 2-for-1s this can give you, but it's super expensive and surprisingly ineffective.
Overzealous Muscle
2 This only working on your turn is kind of sad, but it's a fairly capable attacker thanks to it's ability to gain indestructibility.
Pack 2 Pick 4: Shepherd of the Clouds
Bovine Intervention
0 This is awful removal, you practically 2-for-1 yourself in exchange for some efficiency.
Unfortunate Accident
4 Destroying your opponent's best creature and adding to the board is very powerful, and the fail case here is Murder.
Shepherd of the Clouds
3 This will typically generate 2-for-1s, and when you can consistently reanimate something to the battlefield, this will feel like one of the best cards in your deck.
Desert's Due
3 Two mana for -2/-2 is passable enough, and this will give -3/-3 in the mid to late game pretty consistently.
Deadeye Duelist
2 This lets you repeat crimes repeatedly, but the stat-line isn't great.
Take the Fall
2.5 This looks like it's well-positioned in this format. It's good if you're trying to play two spells a turn in UR, it's good if you're trying to commit crimes in UB, it's good if you're trying to only do stuff on your opponent's turn if you're in Blue-White. It's definitely a small effect, but it replacing itself and having a real effect seems doable.
Quilled Charger
2 This has a passable baseline, and it's saddle ability means it can attack effectively at most stages of the game.
Drover Grizzly
2.5 The stat-line is passable, and don't forget it grants itself trample too.
Bridled Bighorn
2 This has decent base stats, and spitting out a token is sometimes valuable.
Bristling Backwoods
2 This is a solid source of fixing, though you're probably hoping to get one of the other deserts that fixes your mana.
Congregation Gryff
3.5 This can become a 2/5 with lifelink even if it's your only mount, and it's not going to be your only mount.
Pack 2 Pick 5: Bucolic Ranch
Rambling Possum
3 The saddle is really easy here, but don't put too much value into the bounce part of the card.
Redrock Sentinel
1.5 This is pretty good late, but kind of meanginless the rest of the game.
Razzle-Dazzler
2.5 Growing this will be fairly easy, and even just getting one counter and one swing will make you feel like you are getting there.
Rodeo Pyromancers
2.5 In a format with Plot, this looks pretty good. It helps you have the mana to plot things, and casting something with Plot for free on your next turn and netting two red mana is sweet too. You won't always be able to use it, but I think you'll be able to often enough.
Consuming Ashes
2.5 There was a time when this would have been great removal, but once you're paying 4+ mana on removal it needs to do something extra to be premium. Surveil is extra, but not extra enough.
Reach for the Sky
1.5 It's great that this replaces itself, but it's too expensive for it to be a trick/aura that I'm interested in using.
Silver Deputy
2 Grabbing a dual desert is pretty good, and it has a useful creature type and a relevant ability.
Bridled Bighorn
2 This has decent base stats, and spitting out a token is sometimes valuable.
Bucolic Ranch
0.0 // 2.5 If you have like 10 Mounts, this is worth it. Even just having 5 or so probably isn't enough to make it worth playing.
Pack 2 Pick 6: Holy Cow
Sandstorm Verge
1.0 This isn't worth the hit to your mana base. The effect just doesn't do enough, even in a format with crimes.
Highway Robbery
2 Because you can sacrifice lands to this, it's much better in the late game than most Tormenting Voice-like effects.
Holy Cow
3.5 This delivers a ton of value for the cost, and the fact it has Flash is extra good in UW.
Skulduggery
3 Generating a two-for-one with this is surprisingly easy, and even when you can't it makes for a good combat trick that efficiently commits crime.
Eriette's Lullaby
2.5 This is efficient, but having to take a hit before you can use it isn't ideal. The life gain makes up for that a little.
Peerless Ropemaster
1.5 It's a decent body, but bounce effects have been getting worse lately with all the ETB abilities and the like. Plus, not being able to bounce a creature that can block is a big problem.
Forlorn Flats
1 This weak ability isn't worth the hit to your mana base.
Fling
1 It's very hard to make Fling work in Limited. Maybe in a format with a bunch of mercenaries it will fair better?
Pack 2 Pick 7: Bounding Felidar
Luxurious Locomotive
2 This is super easy to crew and pretty big, and sometimes the treasure will be nice, but I have a feeling this'll only really be worth in the Mount/Vehicle decks.
Bounding Felidar
2.5 This is a huge payoff for Saddling, as the counters and life are sure to alter a race in your favor.
Harrier Strix
2.5 This is a nice turn one play, and in the later game it's ETB can do some work -- especially if you need to commit some crimes.
Bridled Bighorn
2 This has decent base stats, and spitting out a token is sometimes valuable.
Highway Robbery
2 Because you can sacrifice lands to this, it's much better in the late game than most Tormenting Voice-like effects.
Freestrider Commando
2 Neither mode on this is much more than a decent vanilla creature. A 4-mana 5/5 might sound amazing, but getting a turn later makes it a lot less impressive.
Silver Deputy
2 Grabbing a dual desert is pretty good, and it has a useful creature type and a relevant ability.
Pack 2 Pick 8: Plan the Heist
Plan the Heist
2.5 Not affecting the board can be a liability, but a 4-mana draw 3 is pretty efficient -- and this has some additional upside.
Take for a Ride
2//3.5 Being able to cast this at instant speed will feel insane sometimes, because if the stats line up right, you can make two of your opponents creatures destroy one another. That gives this a higher floor than most versions of this kind of effect, while it still has big sacrifice upside.
Slickshot Vault-Buster
1.5 A 4-mana 3/4 with Vigilance 100% of the time is a 2.5 at the very best, and this isn't pretty far from having those stats all the time.
Quick Draw
2 This is a solid trick, but it's only useful in combat, which makes it hard for it to be one you really want to seek out.
Boneyard Desecrator
2 A 4-mana 3/4 with Menace is okay, but this ability is generally too expensive to be worthwhile often enough.
Irascible Wolverine
3 This is a great ETB trigger. Plot allows you to take full advantage, but even without Plot this can help you hit a land drop in the early stages of the game, and if you draw it late you can just cast it right away because you'll be able to use the card either way.
Steer Clear
2.5 This is conditional but efficient, especially if you have a Mount.
Phantom Interference
3 This can take care of a spell on turn two, and it has the upside of being a 5-mana 2/2 flyer that counters a spell -- that's a card I would always play.
Mine Raider
2.5 You'll get the treasure a significant percentage of the time, and the fail-case isn't too bad.
Baron Bertram Graywater
3.5 Black/White makes plenty of tokens, so adding more to the board is great, especially when you can sacrifice them for value.
Pack 2 Pick 10: Phantom Interference
Gold Rush
2 This is a decent trick that gives you back one mana, and it can even help you splash. There aren't so many treasures in Green that this will often give more than +2/+2.
Trick Shot
2.5 This is a little expensive, but it'll have a token to hit reasonably often and it can kill just about anything at instant speed. You probably don't want more than one of them, though.
Phantom Interference
3 This can take care of a spell on turn two, and it has the upside of being a 5-mana 2/2 flyer that counters a spell -- that's a card I would always play.
Nezumi Linkbreaker
3 One mana for two 1/1s is a good deal, even when you don't get them at the same time. It makes this good sacrifice fodder too.
Overzealous Muscle
2 This only working on your turn is kind of sad, but it's a fairly capable attacker thanks to it's ability to gain indestructibility.
Pack 2 Pick 12: Take the Fall
Desert's Due
3 Two mana for -2/-2 is passable enough, and this will give -3/-3 in the mid to late game pretty consistently.
Take the Fall
2.5 This looks like it's well-positioned in this format. It's good if you're trying to play two spells a turn in UR, it's good if you're trying to commit crimes in UB, it's good if you're trying to only do stuff on your opponent's turn if you're in Blue-White. It's definitely a small effect, but it replacing itself and having a real effect seems doable.
Quilled Charger
2 This has a passable baseline, and it's saddle ability means it can attack effectively at most stages of the game.
Pack 2 Pick 13: Reach for the Sky
Reach for the Sky
1.5 It's great that this replaces itself, but it's too expensive for it to be a trick/aura that I'm interested in using.
Peerless Ropemaster
1.5 It's a decent body, but bounce effects have been getting worse lately with all the ETB abilities and the like. Plus, not being able to bounce a creature that can block is a big problem.
Pack 3 Pick 1: Bonny Pall, Clearcutter
Bonny Pall, Clearcutter
5 This is 6 mana for a 6/5 and a 6/6 that will get bigger and she draws you cards. She's an insane bomb.
Rakish Crew
2 This drain life trigger can feel pretty good, but setting combat up just right to take advantage of them is surprisingly difficult.
Intrepid Stablemaster
3.5 This is a great two drop that can attack and block pretty well, and it's ability to ramp your mana is great, even if you 0 Mounts or Vehicles.
Magebane Lizard
1.5 This is a weirdly defensive stat-line on a creature with an aggressive ability. It's also pretty awkward that Red is one of the colors that wants to cast multiple spells in a turn, and the effect is symmetrical.
Nurturing Pixie
3 This is a fine play on turn one, and later in the game it can give itself a more relevant body, and maybe even rebuy an ETB.
Ambush Gigapede
1.5 It's temping to imagine the 2-for-1s this can give you, but it's super expensive and surprisingly ineffective.
Quilled Charger
2 This has a passable baseline, and it's saddle ability means it can attack effectively at most stages of the game.
Phantom Interference
3 This can take care of a spell on turn two, and it has the upside of being a 5-mana 2/2 flyer that counters a spell -- that's a card I would always play.
Reach for the Sky
1.5 It's great that this replaces itself, but it's too expensive for it to be a trick/aura that I'm interested in using.
Eriette's Lullaby
2.5 This is efficient, but having to take a hit before you can use it isn't ideal. The life gain makes up for that a little.
Deadeye Duelist
2 This lets you repeat crimes repeatedly, but the stat-line isn't great.
Abraded Bluffs
3 They provide awesome fixing, give you extra value in the form of a ping, commit crimes, and there's even deserts-matter cards in the set. These might just be better than the rare cycle in the format.
Skulduggery
3 Generating a two-for-one with this is surprisingly easy, and even when you can't it makes for a good combat trick that efficiently commits crime.
Tyrant's Scorn
3 Neither mode is incredible for the cost, but if you can't kill a small creature with it, at least you can bounce it.
Pack 3 Pick 2: Mystical Tether
Shepherd of the Clouds
3 This will typically generate 2-for-1s, and when you can consistently reanimate something to the battlefield, this will feel like one of the best cards in your deck.
Ertha Jo, Frontier Mentor
3.5 I'd be happy just getting a 2/4 and a 1/1 for this cost, but doubling abilities -- including the mercenary token tap abilty, can really alter combat.
Binding Negotiation
2 It's nice that this can go after Plotted cards. When you do that it will almost feel like Time Walk. It still has the downside of most discard spells of course -- it doesn't impact the board and has dimnishing returns the later games get, but it's efficient enough to be solid.
Hardbristle Bandit
3 I wouldn't count on getting a benefit out of untapping this with regularity, but doing it once per game isn't a stretch, and a two mana 1/1 that taps for mana of any color is always playable anyway.
Irascible Wolverine
3 This is a great ETB trigger. Plot allows you to take full advantage, but even without Plot this can help you hit a land drop in the early stages of the game, and if you draw it late you can just cast it right away because you'll be able to use the card either way.
Mystical Tether
3.5 This is really good even without the Flash upside. With it, it has blow-out potential and some synergy in the UW color pair.
Outlaw Medic
2.5 This has solid stats that are good for augmenting, and it's good sacrifie fodder.
Corrupted Conviction
2 If you have lots of Mercenary tokens, this isn't a bad way to cash them in.
Discerning Peddler
2 Red doesn't have much of a discard theme in this set. So, this is mostly just a card with a mediocre statline and a mediocre ETB.
Failed Fording
2 This style of card is virtually always a 2, even with a little bit of upside. It's nice that you can interact, but the price you pay is often card disadvantage.
Jagged Barrens
1 This weak ability isn't worth the hit to your mana base.
Sterling Keykeeper
2 These "Master Decoy"-type creatures have been a lot worse as of late, and I don't really see that changing here. This does have passable stats and an ability that is good sometimes, though.
Sheriff of Safe Passage
2 The floor is pretty bad here, and the ceiling is just a big vanilla creature.
Slick Sequence
3.5 Two mana to deal two to anything is probably a 2.0, but you're going to draw with this a huge chunk of the time.
Rattleback Apothecary
3 Menace and Lifelink are great keywords in Limited, and it can even grant them to itself.
Marauding Sphinx
3.5 This is a very real body that is good whether you're ahead or behind, and the Surveil trigger is plenty accessible.
Rodeo Pyromancers
2.5 In a format with Plot, this looks pretty good. It helps you have the mana to plot things, and casting something with Plot for free on your next turn and netting two red mana is sweet too. You won't always be able to use it, but I think you'll be able to often enough.
Peerless Ropemaster
1.5 It's a decent body, but bounce effects have been getting worse lately with all the ETB abilities and the like. Plus, not being able to bounce a creature that can block is a big problem.
Drover Grizzly
2.5 The stat-line is passable, and don't forget it grants itself trample too.
Bridled Bighorn
2 This has decent base stats, and spitting out a token is sometimes valuable.
Outlaws' Fury
2.5 A mass board pump that draws you a card tends to play pretty well, and Red is quite good at going wide in this format.
Consuming Ashes
2.5 There was a time when this would have been great removal, but once you're paying 4+ mana on removal it needs to do something extra to be premium. Surveil is extra, but not extra enough.
Thornado
0.5 Even with a cycling mode, Plummet just isn't worth it in the main deck.
Pack 3 Pick 4: Stop Cold
Kraum, Violent Cacophony
3.5 Playing this and casting something with Plot in the same turn will be a big turn, and that's not even close to far-fetched.
Intimidation Campaign
2.5 I really want this to be good, and it has the potential. But if this is like other formats of late, paying three mana over and over again for this effect might be too slow.
At Knifepoint
2 I don't like that this doesn't do anything on it's own in many cases, nor do I like that it's effect largely only matters on your turn. It can definitely churn out some tokens, but I'm skeptical paying three mana for a do-nothing enchantment to set that up is worth it.
Trained Arynx
2.5 This has passable stats, and because it can gain first strike, it has the potential to be relevant all game long.
Drover Grizzly
2.5 The stat-line is passable, and don't forget it grants itself trample too.
Phantom Interference
3 This can take care of a spell on turn two, and it has the upside of being a 5-mana 2/2 flyer that counters a spell -- that's a card I would always play.
Fake Your Own Death
2.5 This type of trick is always solid. It's good in combat, good against removal, and has the upside of working well with ETB.
Prickly Pair
3.5 Three mana 2/2s that make 1/1s always perform well in Limited, and these tokens both come with an "Outlaw" creature type.
Stop Cold
2 Blue's usual passable removal spell that you kind of hope you don't have to use, but it's fine if you do.
Skewer the Critics
3.5 This is fine if you pay three for it, and paying one is awesome and very attainable.
Pack 3 Pick 5: Geyser Drake
Intimidation Campaign
2.5 I really want this to be good, and it has the potential. But if this is like other formats of late, paying three mana over and over again for this effect might be too slow.
Luxurious Locomotive
2 This is super easy to crew and pretty big, and sometimes the treasure will be nice, but I have a feeling this'll only really be worth in the Mount/Vehicle decks.
Cactarantula
2.5 This has decent stats and it's hard for your opponent to interact with it outside of combat without giving you some serious value.
Mine Raider
2.5 You'll get the treasure a significant percentage of the time, and the fail-case isn't too bad.
Geyser Drake
3 This looks like a very nice Common. It has decent enough stats, and it's ability at a minimum makes your Instants easier to cast, but the set also has a ton of Flash that Geyser Drake can help you with.
Quilled Charger
2 This has a passable baseline, and it's saddle ability means it can attack effectively at most stages of the game.
Consuming Ashes
2.5 There was a time when this would have been great removal, but once you're paying 4+ mana on removal it needs to do something extra to be premium. Surveil is extra, but not extra enough.
Loan Shark
3 When you draw a card with this it will feel like a 4.0, when you don't, it will feel like a 1.0. I think it will be easy enough to draw with to get up to a 3.
Stagecoach Security
2.5 Buffing your whole board and giving it Vigilance is great, as it allows you to attack a lot better while not giving anything up on defense.
Pack 3 Pick 6: Marauding Sphinx
Marauding Sphinx
3.5 This is a very real body that is good whether you're ahead or behind, and the Surveil trigger is plenty accessible.
Demonic Ruckus
2.5 This Aura seems pretty pushed. It offers a stats-boost that makes just about any creature into a legit threat, it replaces itself, and it's really efficient.
Return the Favor
3 This is situational of course, but if you can cast it with both Spree effects, it's kind of insane. If you can copy an opposing removal spell and then change the target of another, you get a 3-for-1.
Rodeo Pyromancers
2.5 In a format with Plot, this looks pretty good. It helps you have the mana to plot things, and casting something with Plot for free on your next turn and netting two red mana is sweet too. You won't always be able to use it, but I think you'll be able to often enough.
Vengeful Townsfolk
2.5 This is more efficient than most creatures with this ability that we've seen. A 3-mana 3/3 really won't feel terrible, like the two-mana 1/1s and 4-mana 3/3s we usually see.
Daring Thunder-Thief
2 This is a fairly beefy creature, and the fact it has flash should work nicely in UW decks.
Oasis Gardener
2 If you need fixing, this can do it. While the stat-line isn't especially good, the life gain helps even that out a tiny bit.
Festering Gulch
1 This weak ability isn't worth the hit to your mana base.
Terminal Agony
2.5 The base mode of this card is pretty mediocre, but if you have a few ways to discard it -- and this format has them -- it gets a lot better.
Pack 3 Pick 7: Wanted Griffin
Wanted Griffin
2.5 4-mana 3/2s can be abyssmal, since there is one mana removal that can deal with it, but this leaves a body behind to make up for that.
Quilled Charger
2 This has a passable baseline, and it's saddle ability means it can attack effectively at most stages of the game.
Desert's Due
3 Two mana for -2/-2 is passable enough, and this will give -3/-3 in the mid to late game pretty consistently.
Armored Armadillo
1 A one mana 0/4 is largely irrelevant, and the ability is too expensive.
Betrayal at the Vault
2.5 This has huge blowout potential, but it's too expensive to be something you really prioritize.
Lavaspur Boots
1 This buff looks tempting, but if it's anything like other cheap haste-granting Equipment, it isn't going to be worth a card.
Thunder Lasso
2 The turn you play this will feel pretty great, as it can really upgrade your attacks. The problem is how clunky it is when you have to Equip it thereafter.
Ambush Gigapede
1.5 It's temping to imagine the 2-for-1s this can give you, but it's super expensive and surprisingly ineffective.
Rodeo Pyromancers
2.5 In a format with Plot, this looks pretty good. It helps you have the mana to plot things, and casting something with Plot for free on your next turn and netting two red mana is sweet too. You won't always be able to use it, but I think you'll be able to often enough.
Failed Fording
2 This style of card is virtually always a 2, even with a little bit of upside. It's nice that you can interact, but the price you pay is often card disadvantage.
Reckless Lackey
3 This is a pretty pushed stat-line, making it a great play on turn one and a great place to put Equipment, counters, and tricks. And if it ever becomes useless you can just cash it in.
Trick Shot
2.5 This is a little expensive, but it'll have a token to hit reasonably often and it can kill just about anything at instant speed. You probably don't want more than one of them, though.
Pack 3 Pick 9: Nurturing Pixie
Magebane Lizard
1.5 This is a weirdly defensive stat-line on a creature with an aggressive ability. It's also pretty awkward that Red is one of the colors that wants to cast multiple spells in a turn, and the effect is symmetrical.
Nurturing Pixie
3 This is a fine play on turn one, and later in the game it can give itself a more relevant body, and maybe even rebuy an ETB.
Ambush Gigapede
1.5 It's temping to imagine the 2-for-1s this can give you, but it's super expensive and surprisingly ineffective.
Quilled Charger
2 This has a passable baseline, and it's saddle ability means it can attack effectively at most stages of the game.
Reach for the Sky
1.5 It's great that this replaces itself, but it's too expensive for it to be a trick/aura that I'm interested in using.
Deadeye Duelist
2 This lets you repeat crimes repeatedly, but the stat-line isn't great.
Pack 3 Pick 10: Failed Fording
Irascible Wolverine
3 This is a great ETB trigger. Plot allows you to take full advantage, but even without Plot this can help you hit a land drop in the early stages of the game, and if you draw it late you can just cast it right away because you'll be able to use the card either way.
Corrupted Conviction
2 If you have lots of Mercenary tokens, this isn't a bad way to cash them in.
Discerning Peddler
2 Red doesn't have much of a discard theme in this set. So, this is mostly just a card with a mediocre statline and a mediocre ETB.
Failed Fording
2 This style of card is virtually always a 2, even with a little bit of upside. It's nice that you can interact, but the price you pay is often card disadvantage.
Rodeo Pyromancers
2.5 In a format with Plot, this looks pretty good. It helps you have the mana to plot things, and casting something with Plot for free on your next turn and netting two red mana is sweet too. You won't always be able to use it, but I think you'll be able to often enough.
Peerless Ropemaster
1.5 It's a decent body, but bounce effects have been getting worse lately with all the ETB abilities and the like. Plus, not being able to bounce a creature that can block is a big problem.
Outlaws' Fury
2.5 A mass board pump that draws you a card tends to play pretty well, and Red is quite good at going wide in this format.
Phantom Interference
3 This can take care of a spell on turn two, and it has the upside of being a 5-mana 2/2 flyer that counters a spell -- that's a card I would always play.
Fake Your Own Death
2.5 This type of trick is always solid. It's good in combat, good against removal, and has the upside of working well with ETB.