Skullscorch

I just got back into competitive Magic (Legacy to be specific) and I have a new favourite card. As a Mardu burn player, I can either run the standard discard cards like Hymn to Tourach, Cabal Therapy, or Thoughtseize, but everyone is running those cards, so I thought I'd be different and run Hymn to Flame Rift instead. It gives a choice (something which a lot of players don't like giving), but both choices kind of suck to be on the receiving end of. If this card allowed the caster the modal choice, it might be a little too powerful, but where it is, I love it.

Pros: Hymn to Flame Rift

Cons: Allows target to choose

Rating: 4.5/5

Ray of Revelation

Hiya colourshifted Ancient Grudge! Although, this was the original so... Anyway, this card's pretty cool. Too bad it doesn't see a lot of play due to the lack of constructed playable enchantments (start fixing that WotC, but it's still a cool card in its own right.

Pros: Flashback

Cons: Doesn't cost 1 both times

Rating: 4.5/5

Stoic Angel

They should have called her Static Angel, amirite? *sigh* Bad puns aside, I really love this card. It's like Lightning Angel's mom or something like that. She's the same cost (effectively), has the same power/toughness, and she has two out of three of the same keywords. The only difference is she's slower but stricter. I like this card a lot, despite her effect hitting you as well.

Pros: Harsher Static Orb for creatures on Angel wings

Cons: Not a 4/4 for 4, effects you too

Rating: 4.5/5

Kalonian Behemoth

This thing is pretty awesome. Even if it were just a 9/9 without shroud, it'd be sweet since it'd still be a 9/9 for 7. With shroud, this becomes even better. Unfortunately, the shroud does prevent you from giving this any sort of evasion (save for mass evasion such as Fangren Pathcutter). However, this will force a creature sacrifice every turn even if it has no evasion. It's a pretty cool 7-drop.

Pros: 9/9 shroud for 7

Cons: No evasion

Rating: 4/5

Mind Spring

Pretty good card. It's no Stroke of Genius, but it's still pretty good in its own right. It's one of those cards you're always going to be happy topdecking late in the game because it's going to refuel you and will probably let you push through to victory. It's just a solid card, despite being a sorcery.

Pros: Turns mana into cards

Cons: Sorcery

Rating: 4/5

Fate Unraveler

Really cool Underworld Dreams on legs. It's out of most direct damage range and it deals damage every turn. The effect is great, the cost is okay (only 1 more than Dreams, but much less colour-intensive), and the body is great. I kind of wish this cost only 2B, but then it might be too good I think. 3B places this squarely in the "great, but not amazing" category.

Pros: Pings opponents for drawing

Cons: Costs 4

Rating: 4/5

Feast of Blood

It's a better Doom Blade although it's more restrictive. Yeah, you need two Vampires, but in a Vampire tribal deck, that's a pittance. I personally love this card since it's both creature removal and lifegain, so it helps you stabilize in two different ways. The flavour fits, the mechanics fit, the power level fits; it's just a great card.

Pros: Omni-kill spell, lifegain, cheap

Cons: Requires two Vampires

Rating: 4.5/5

Rakdos Ickspitter

Even if this little guy can't take out a creature, it's always worth using its ability since it will cause the opponent some life loss. It's like a Prodigal Pyromancer that hits two things at once. However, the ability becomes useless if your opponent has no creatures to target. Then again, if your opponent has no creatures, this card will still turn sideways to make them lose a life but though attacking instead of though its ability. All in all, it's a pretty cool card.

Pros: Pyromancer that effectively hits two targets

Cons: Ability is useless without creatures

Rating: 4/5

Dragon Tyrant

12 flying damage for 10 isn't bad, but the upkeep cost kind of relegates this to mono-red decks. That in itself isn't a problem though (Necro-Impotence is pretty much only going to be played in mono-black decks, but that doesn't make it bad). I think card's pretty good, despite its high initial cost. It's probably going to burst through any defender that can be thrown in front of it and it'll hurt if nothing's put in front of it at all. Pretty solid for a Dragon.

Pros: Big 'n' beefy flying double striker

Cons: Costs 10, upkeep cost

Rating: 4/5

Pyretic Ritual

This little gal lets you drop your turn three stuff on turn two and that makes it pretty great. The only major issue with this card is that it's completely dead as a topdeck or in the late game. Other than that, this card is pretty great.

Pros: Burst mana, instant

Cons: Dead in the late game

Rating: 4/5

Quik Quickies Quickly

It's a 4/2 for 3. That's not bad. If it had first strike, it'd be better.

Pros: 4/2 for 3 when swinging

Cons: Vanilla 4/2 for 3, only 4/2 when swinging

Rating: 2.5/5

A little underpowered cost:mana ratio-wise, but given its ability, I can forgive it. Kind of.

Pros: Exiles things it hits

Cons: 3/3 for 5

Rating: 2/5

Bad. Just bad.

Pros: 4/4 for 4

Cons: Makes your stuff cost more, effectively a vanilla 4/4

Rating: 0.5/5

Amazing blocker. Seriously, this thing is great.

Pros: Flying 1-drop that can regenerate

Cons: 0/1

Rating: 4/5

A conditionally unblockable 3/4 for 6? Yeah... no.

Pros: Conditionally unblockable

Cons: 3/4 for 6

Rating: 0.5/5

Complete waste of paper and ink.

Pros: Scalable lifegain

Cons: 4 for first 3 life, sorcery speed

Rating: 0/5

Pawn of Ulamog

Not bad if you've got a sac deck going. It basically reads "every creature you sacrifice triggers Grave Pact twice". On its own, it's not that great (all it does is replaces itself with a gribbly), but it can allow for nice combos/more devastating combos. I'm not going to complain about it saying "nontoken creature" since that would make this degenerate. In fact, the only thing I'm going to say is a downside is that it's a 2/2 for 3, which isn't great on its own.

Pros: Replaces your dead dudes

Cons: 2/2 for 3, replacements are gribblies

Rating: 4/5

Knight of New Alara

This was a scary card back in its day and it's still kind of scary today. Remember Dryad Militant? With this guy, it's a 4/3 for 1. Esper Stormblade is now a 6/5 flyer, Empyrial Archangel is a 8/11, and Transguild Courier is an 8/8. See why this is scary yet? Honestly, the only issue is that it doesn't give the bonus to itself, which means it's a 2/2 vanilla for 4 on its own. Everything else about the card is great.

Pros: Gives bonuses to other multicolour creatures

Cons: No bonuses to itself, 2/2 for 4 on its own

Rating: 4/5

Sunweb

Given the rumours around Khans of Tarkir having a lot of Walls in it, I'm betting on this card being reprinted very soon. Like the flavour text says, it's really good at killing big flyers (like Dragons) and it's really cheap for its power/toughness. It's too bad that this can't block smaller creatures, but I suppose that gives it a balancing factor. Otherwise, you'd get a massive flying blocker for cheap with no downside.

Pros: 5/6 flyer for 4

Cons: Defender, can't block small things

Rating: 4/5

Spoiler Tyme: The Best and the Worst

So, in apology for being away for so long (internet issues in small towns are fun), here are my top 5 and bottom 5 picks for M15.

Bottom #5: Flesh to Dust 

I have no doubt that this will be seen in Limited, but it's going to be one of those cards that you don't want too many of because of how much it costs. Outside of Limited, the only decks it'll be run in are those made by new players who don't quite understand tempo or value.

Pros: Kills a dude, prevents regen

Cons: Costs 5, no additional effect

Rating: 1.5/5

Bottom #4: Mass Calcify

I didn't like it when it first came out and I still don't like it now. One of the biggest problems in Standard right now is Elspeth, Sun's Champion and this doesn't deal with it. Control decks won't run it either since it blows up their nice guys. Also, it costs 7. The only place I see this in is a one-of in the sideboard of an Azorius control deck in case they're being raced by some weird non-white deck.

Pros: Semi-boardwipe

Cons: Doesn't kill white, costs 7

Rating: 1.5/5

Bottom #3: Research Assistant

Merfolk Looter is a good card. Merfolk Looter with a toughness boost would be a better card. Merfolk Looter with a toughness boost that costs 4 to activate is a terrible card. 

Pros: Merfolk Looter with a toughness boost

Cons: Merfolk Looter with a 4 mana activation cost

Rating: 1/5

Bottom #2: Soul of Ravnica

It's 7 mana to maybe draw 5 cards on a somewhat blue-intensive card. So, to get maximum value out of this card, you have to play a card of a different colour each turn, tap out for this, drop another land on turn 7, then tap out again to fill up your hand. And while you're in Magic Christmas Land, you will draw a Nalathni Dragon, a Shichifukujin Dragon, and three Moxes.

Pros: Card draw

Cons: Expensive card draw, really requires multicoloured cards

Rating: 1/5

Bottom #1: Carnivorous Moss-Beast

It costs seven to put a +1/+1 counter on this. SEVEN. I don't think I need to say anything outside of that.

Pros: Plant Elemental Beast

Cons: IT COSTS SEVEN TO GIVE IT A +1/+1 COUNTER

Rating: 0/5

Best #5: Nissa, Worldwaker

Ain't gonna lie, I hate Nissa Revane. I know she's good in elf decks, but I think her scope was too narrow and I don't like her. WotC seems to have gotten the message and made this version as universal as possible. She may only come in with 3 counters (which is why she's not higher on the list), but in a mono-Green deck, she costs 1. Her other plus one creates a issue that demands an answer since 4/4 tramplers can be a problem. Her ult may not directly win you the game that turn, but unanswered it will.

Pros: Potential 1-cost walker, creates tramply problems

Cons: Best in mono-green, ult lets lands get wiped easily

Rating: 4/5

Best #4: Sunblade Elf

Is this the harbinger of Naya zoo coming back into Standard? Maybe, maybe not, but it's still an awesome little creature. It's kind of like Wild Nacatl but less likely to be banned. The other nice thing about it is that it has a relevant ability in case of the game running late. A mass +1/+1 buff may not seem like much, but it's often going to leave you in a much better position in case of matched blockers.

Pros: Basically a 2/2 for 1, relevant late-game effect

Cons: Requires white, just a 2/2 for 1

Rating: 4/5

Best #3: Polymorphist's Jest

This + Circle of Flame will be hilarious. This is going to be a great trick, especially if your opponent thinks they're swinging into a large, but weak field with their creatures. I also like the fact that it changes their colour, which will nullify anthems effect like Hall of Triumph.

Pros: Turns a field into frogs for a turn

Cons: Doesn't stop any additional pumps (such as +1/+1 counters)

Rating: 4/5

Best #2: Radiant Fountain

Some of you may cry "foul" for me putting this seemingly "meh" card so high on the list, but I have my reasons. 2 life may not seem like much, but it's 10% of your initial health, so it's actually more than you think. It also comes into play untapped, which again, my not seem like much, but it keeps you on tempo and allows you to play out your curve nicely.For a land that comes in untapped and gives you an effect, is there anything else you can feasibly ask for?

Pros: Comes in untapped, gains 2 life

Cons: Doesn't produce coloured mana

Rating: 4.5/5

Best #1: Aetherspouts

This is going to be a problem and I believe it will be a bigger issue than Cyclonic Rift for a lot of decks. Why? Well, Rift costs 7 to get the full effect, this costs 5. And while Rift hits everything, it also allows your opponent to replay everything. This doesn't. If I'm swinging in for lethal with 6 creatures, I don't want to be told that I'm going to either have to spend 6 turns getting all those creatures back or never seeing some of those creatures for probably the rest of the game. At least with Rift, I may be able to throw down a couple creatures in my second main phase to try and recover from this. The only weakness of this card is that it requires the creatures to be attacking, which is something that not all creatures do, but for your mana investment, this thing is amazing. Oh, and one more thing, notice the lack of targeting, meaning is eats through hexproof and shroud quite easily.

Pros: Tucks or tops all attacking creatures

Cons: Only hits attacking creatures

Rating: 5/5

Runners-Up (Bad): Kird Chieftain, Blastfire Bolt, Vineweft

Runners-Up (Good): Ajani Steadfast, Garruk, Apex Predator; Military Intelligence 

Quirion Dryad

This lady is great in Limited since you're probably going to be running at least two colours. Outside of Limited, this card is pretty great too if you're running a multicolour deck. It grows with every nongreen cast (not really, but it's easier than spelling out each cast colour) and things that grow are awesome. It also works well with combat tricks like Colossal Might and Consume Strength. The only issue I have with this is that there's no evasion, but I just think of it as having the text "defending player has one less blocker whenever this creature attacks". 

Pros: Grows with red, white, blue, or black spells

Cons: No evasion

Rating: 4/5

Nyx-Fleece Ram

Let's talk about this card. Let's talk about how awesome it is and why it's awesome from the ground up. First off, it's a 0/5 for 2. Not super-amazing, but it'll block a great many things and live to tell the tale. Second, it gains you life. Normally, I tend to say that lifegain isn't all that great, but I'm talking about one-shot spells like Dryad's Caress and creatures with expensive abilities like Stonehorn Chanter. This, on the other hand, costs nothing to activate. Finally, it's a sheep. Not a normal sheep either; it's a space sheep. It's a space sheep that munches grass all day, gets in the way of Loxodon Smiters, and gives you some wool every turn. And, if you feel like it, you can glue an Armory of Iroas or give it the Gift of Orzhova and have it swing in for some damage too. This proves that wool can make great stuffing for a pillow fort.

Pros: Life-giving beefy sheep

Cons: Had no power

Rating: 4.5/5

Kessig Malcontents

This was a missed golden opportunity for a flavour text crossover with South Park. Something like "RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE!" or "Those vampires thinks they can just take our jerbs?!" would have been amazing. Anyway, this card is actually pretty cool. If you're making a drop every turn, it's a free Flame Jet when it enters. In the late game, it's probably going to be more of a Lava Axe or better. Any card that deals damage upon entering is pretty cool, especially those that scale. My only real issue is that it has one toughness, but by the time it matters, it's already done its job. It's not great outside of a Human deck, but then again Wellwisher would suck in a Merfolk deck.

Pros: Damage upon arrival, scales

Cons: Only works in a Human deck, 1 toughness

Rating: 4/5

Congregation at Dawn

"It is fitting that we meet in the first hour of light, for we are called by the Conclave to pierce a threat of darkness."

"Yeah Greg, your mohawk is catching on with the initiates. No one will take us seriously if all our members have them!"

Bad comedy aside, this card is pretty great. You have to have a really good effect to warrant a 3 CMC card with only colour requirements and this fits the bill quite nicely. At worst it's an expensive Worldly Tutor and at best it's three Worldly Tutors in one. This is always a great play to make just before you cast Genesis Wave or Æthermage's Touch to ensure a good result. The only issue is that your opponents know what you're drawing, which may put you at a disadvantage because they'll know what they need to counter and what you might be up to.

Pros: Stacks your deck

Cons: Gives your opponents information

Rating: 4/5

Thermokarst

It's a green Rain of Tears with an added effect and that's pretty great. I've always been proponent of land destruction, much to my friends' chagrin (I like to so much that I made an EDH deck around it). Land destruction really cripples an opponent and it's an effective tool to keep people behind in the race. Green has some less-than-stellar land destruction (most of it costs 4 or more) but at least it gets this alongside Winter's Grasp and Ice Storm (remember when green represented ice and winter?). The fact that it gains you a life if it's a snow-covered land is just a tiny dollop of whipped cream on top of the strawberry sundae. Not a huge dollop that makes you wonder why you bothered ordering something that's 90% whipped cream, but a small one that adds that nice touch without taking away from the sundae itself.

Pros: Green Rain of Tears, potential for lifegain

Cons: Double green

Rating: 4/5