Marsh Flitter is the best card that isn't red. All of the red cards are great, though, and Rift Bolt and Sudden Shock can both be splashed.
Trapper and Dust Wasp are both acceptable, though neither is on the level of the red and Marsh Flitter.
Kodama's Reach because you are playing Multiple Copies Cube. Test of Faith is second, followed possibly by Summoner's Pact, but I don't trust Summoner's Pact in the format.
I would slam Cryptic Command, it's not even remotely close. There are good cards in the pack, and then there's Cryptic Command. The other blue cards are not even on the same level, even compared with the non-blue cards in the pack.
All of the best cards in the pack are green, followed by Rift Bolt.
I would take Knight, as you can play green or white and splash for it, and couple it with Terramorphic Expanse and Worm Harvest-type cards. I would be debating between it and Rift Bolt. The other green cards are great, and Finks doesn't commit you, but neither of them are bombs on the level of Knight nor are they removal like Rift Bolt.
Third place would go to Search for Tomorrow, even if I would probably take the Finks IRL if the first two were missing from the pack.
Redcap or Grand Arbiter. Green is the most powerful color in the pack with 4 first-pickable cards present (Baloth is arguably a first pick -- a 1cc 5/5 isn't really something to sneeze at), but having 4 first picks for the next 4 players to have them fight over green is a good place to be when you're not in the fight. I would probably take Redcap over Arbiter, because Arbiter commits you to two colors (though having a Sapphire Medallion in blue is AWESOME) and because Redcap doesn't commit you to black or red, and because you can essentially draft mono-removal in the event you go both ways on the Redcap. It can also function with "Goblins" though I'm pretty sure Goblins as a deck is some trash.
I would take Ephemeron or Bound in Silence, although there is a Blinding Beam (which may not actually be that good in the format) and a Dismisser in the pack. There are roughly 5 playable Black cards, discounting the Marsh Flitter.
Life from the Loam and other dredge cards aren't actually bad picks. Worm Harvest is uncommon and I doubt any but the most dedicated dredge decks are going to be clamoring for it.
Bound in Silence and Search for Tomorrow (remember, you're drafting Cube But With Multiple Copies of Cards) are the two best cards, followed by Capsule, Pyrite Spellbomb, and AEther Snipe.
There are no other green cards in the pack, but there are other good/playable white and black cards in the pack, and being able to cast game-ending spells earlier than your opponent is a pretty good game. Search also makes it easier to have mana for any other colors you play.
Additionally, and possibly most importantly, there aren't that many explosive one-drops in the format, and even fewer that move you into a phase of the game up to two turns ahead of your opponent, meaning it gives you something to do sooner than your opponent and allows you to play the good cards in your deck before your opponent can.
It dodges almost all spot removal and still beats for 4 with lifelink. Mortars and renounce the guilds are the only real ways to deal with him.
Maybe I've played the game too long but this guys seems very undercosted. Protection isn't that common these days and having protection from two colors in a multicolored meta is huge.
After the first week or so of Block play, Blood Baron has not shown up except as a singleton sideboard card in an Oros deck.
Block is a format where Mizzium Mortars and Supreme Verdict -- and I've tallied this by hand -- are the most played cards overall. Couple this with a high prevalence of mono-red and Gruul/Naya decks in both formats. The card does not stack up very well against the realities of the two constructed formats it's judged against.
As I said, Malakir Bloodwitch was basically the same thing and saw some, but not really all that much, play. I would remain cautious about expecting it to go above $10.
Edit -- re Advent's value:
5/5 Trampling Wurm is a fairly novel token type at an under-the-curve value and can be coupled with Snapcaster Mage for a card that is better than Armada Wurm overall (impact of flash + a 2/1 in the mix, plus the initial lower cost). Junk Tokens is also a very popular archetype. A 5/5 dodges Mizzium Mortars (and to a lesser extent, Warleader's Helix), the current "Flametongue Test" of Standard and Block. Little Kid GW and Naya decks in block obviously adopt Advent. Bant Flash is one of the only holdouts for Sphinx's Revelation -- and blue decks in general -- in Standard currently. A 5/5 Trample is simply better than most creatures in Standard and is more efficiently costed than comparators, even if it doesn't pack the same value as Thragtusk does for 1-more mana. Magic players as a blanket assessment love creature token making cards. There is also probably some inside information SCG has with its various #teamwhateverSCGproultimatewinnerssquad results that would allow it to reasonably jump the price of a card that is being opened frequently.
RE -- r_e's pricing Gaze of Granite:
He'd noted in an earlier post that he expects great things out of the scalable Planar Cleansing. Take his estimate and my editorial comparison as you will.
mmm just a little more and I'm going to get all the blood barons.
Seriously that guy is value, he will break $15 at some point.
I like this set, the value is low so far but imo there are very few bad cards in the set. There are only like 3 rares I would be unhappy to open and maze's end is the only mythic I would be sad to open which doesn't matter because it replaces a common.
Add in the free shocks every 12 packs or so and this set seems to be fine.
I'm curious why you think this. It doesn't have evasion against horribly relevant colors in current Standard or Block (aside from Obzedat, Angel of Serenity, and Aurelia, all of which "evade" it). There are a good deal of very good sacrifice-based black removal spells and Mizzium Mortars and Supreme Verdict are two of the three most-played removal spells in block (Dreadbore, tied for third, doesn't hit this, obviously), which this card doesn't dodge effectively or add value once removed.
For its body, it's overcosted, and it's questionable how relevant its bonus is.
Malakir Bloodwitch was a good sideboard and occasional maindeck card, but saying Malakir Bloodwitch, even if printed at Mythic, was a $15 card is a bit of a stretch, IMO.
Not saying the Baron is unplayable, it just exists alongside Obzedat and Angel of Serenity, which each provide value and dodge the removal spells that kill this and are common to the formats they're best in -- I think it's outclassed, but I guess that's why I'm asking how you came to your conclusion about it.
I hope not. In a creature-heavy environment such as Standard, Ooze would conceivably be better than Goyf in many situations. It would certainly also make a huge impact on Modern.
Given that it's the ultimate anti-Goyf card, I'm sure this will piss off the people who bought Modern Masters boxes for $300... And Gifts Control, Reanimator and Living End will certainly die off.
Withered Wretch and essentially every good anti-graveyard card ever printed has not managed to do this in Modern, nor has Ooze exiled Tarmogoyf from Legacy. Deathrite Shaman is omnipresent and has not upset the number of Tarmogoyfs cast. Why does a more prohibitively-costed-for-its-effect Withered Wretch automatically doom Tarmogoyf in Modern?
I get that there isn't a whole lot of love for Ral. I guess I'm just wondering how low he might go, how quickly he might drop. If I trade for one at $20 today, am I going to hate myself in a few days? In a week? Or will I get my money's worth by playing him for a few months before he starts to drop considerably? (I remember waiting FOREVER for the Gatecrash mythics to drop in price).
Knowing my luck I'll hold out on him waiting until he hits $12 and then someone will top 8 with a few copies in their deck and he'll double in price overnight.
Based on Block, 4 is the magic number post rotation (unless M14 and Grecoroma say differently), so if you spend $20 on Ral today you'll probably wake up regretting it the next morning.
So, lots of talk about Voice, but what's the verdict on Ral? I'm wanting two for a deck but I don't know if it's wise to buy/trade for him at his current price.
3 damage isn't the 4 damage necessary to kill Loxodon Smiter, Rampager, and Restoration Angel; the two spells necessary to kill Thragtusk, Voice, and all of Huntmaster; the non-damage removal required to kill Boros Reckoner; the larger amounts of damage necessary to kill Craterhoof, Prime Speaker, and Angel of Serenity; or the toughness lowering required to kill Falkenrath Aristocrat.
In short, Ral Zarek doesn't really kill anything worth the "whole 4-mana card" of Lightning Bolt + dying to an attack and the first ability is only OK. It's a planeswalker with the ability to protect itself that doesn't actually protect it very well in Standard right now.
I must have misremembered it as a Mythic for some reason. I apologize for that, and I retract my previous statement in its entirety.
Thanks for correcting my error.
Haha, no problem. I'm just being a sassy lassie. Advent of the Wurm is so expensive because token decks are really freaking popular and a 5/5 for a reasonable cost that goes with those decks is not a small gain. It also helps that a pro player did well with it at the SCG event last weekend and that token/little kid green white decks are roughly as well-performing as RG and mono-Red decks in block.
Trapper and Dust Wasp are both acceptable, though neither is on the level of the red and Marsh Flitter.
I would likely slam the Flitter.
I would take Knight, as you can play green or white and splash for it, and couple it with Terramorphic Expanse and Worm Harvest-type cards. I would be debating between it and Rift Bolt. The other green cards are great, and Finks doesn't commit you, but neither of them are bombs on the level of Knight nor are they removal like Rift Bolt.
Third place would go to Search for Tomorrow, even if I would probably take the Finks IRL if the first two were missing from the pack.
Life from the Loam and other dredge cards aren't actually bad picks. Worm Harvest is uncommon and I doubt any but the most dedicated dredge decks are going to be clamoring for it.
There are no other green cards in the pack, but there are other good/playable white and black cards in the pack, and being able to cast game-ending spells earlier than your opponent is a pretty good game. Search also makes it easier to have mana for any other colors you play.
Additionally, and possibly most importantly, there aren't that many explosive one-drops in the format, and even fewer that move you into a phase of the game up to two turns ahead of your opponent, meaning it gives you something to do sooner than your opponent and allows you to play the good cards in your deck before your opponent can.
Personally, I would take the Search for Tomorrow.
After the first week or so of Block play, Blood Baron has not shown up except as a singleton sideboard card in an Oros deck.
Block is a format where Mizzium Mortars and Supreme Verdict -- and I've tallied this by hand -- are the most played cards overall. Couple this with a high prevalence of mono-red and Gruul/Naya decks in both formats. The card does not stack up very well against the realities of the two constructed formats it's judged against.
As I said, Malakir Bloodwitch was basically the same thing and saw some, but not really all that much, play. I would remain cautious about expecting it to go above $10.
Edit -- re Advent's value:
5/5 Trampling Wurm is a fairly novel token type at an under-the-curve value and can be coupled with Snapcaster Mage for a card that is better than Armada Wurm overall (impact of flash + a 2/1 in the mix, plus the initial lower cost). Junk Tokens is also a very popular archetype. A 5/5 dodges Mizzium Mortars (and to a lesser extent, Warleader's Helix), the current "Flametongue Test" of Standard and Block. Little Kid GW and Naya decks in block obviously adopt Advent. Bant Flash is one of the only holdouts for Sphinx's Revelation -- and blue decks in general -- in Standard currently. A 5/5 Trample is simply better than most creatures in Standard and is more efficiently costed than comparators, even if it doesn't pack the same value as Thragtusk does for 1-more mana. Magic players as a blanket assessment love creature token making cards. There is also probably some inside information SCG has with its various #teamwhateverSCGproultimatewinnerssquad results that would allow it to reasonably jump the price of a card that is being opened frequently.
RE -- r_e's pricing Gaze of Granite:
He'd noted in an earlier post that he expects great things out of the scalable Planar Cleansing. Take his estimate and my editorial comparison as you will.
I'm curious why you think this. It doesn't have evasion against horribly relevant colors in current Standard or Block (aside from Obzedat, Angel of Serenity, and Aurelia, all of which "evade" it). There are a good deal of very good sacrifice-based black removal spells and Mizzium Mortars and Supreme Verdict are two of the three most-played removal spells in block (Dreadbore, tied for third, doesn't hit this, obviously), which this card doesn't dodge effectively or add value once removed.
For its body, it's overcosted, and it's questionable how relevant its bonus is.
Malakir Bloodwitch was a good sideboard and occasional maindeck card, but saying Malakir Bloodwitch, even if printed at Mythic, was a $15 card is a bit of a stretch, IMO.
Not saying the Baron is unplayable, it just exists alongside Obzedat and Angel of Serenity, which each provide value and dodge the removal spells that kill this and are common to the formats they're best in -- I think it's outclassed, but I guess that's why I'm asking how you came to your conclusion about it.
Withered Wretch and essentially every good anti-graveyard card ever printed has not managed to do this in Modern, nor has Ooze exiled Tarmogoyf from Legacy. Deathrite Shaman is omnipresent and has not upset the number of Tarmogoyfs cast. Why does a more prohibitively-costed-for-its-effect Withered Wretch automatically doom Tarmogoyf in Modern?
Based on Block, 4 is the magic number post rotation (unless M14 and Grecoroma say differently), so if you spend $20 on Ral today you'll probably wake up regretting it the next morning.
3 damage isn't the 4 damage necessary to kill Loxodon Smiter, Rampager, and Restoration Angel; the two spells necessary to kill Thragtusk, Voice, and all of Huntmaster; the non-damage removal required to kill Boros Reckoner; the larger amounts of damage necessary to kill Craterhoof, Prime Speaker, and Angel of Serenity; or the toughness lowering required to kill Falkenrath Aristocrat.
In short, Ral Zarek doesn't really kill anything worth the "whole 4-mana card" of Lightning Bolt + dying to an attack and the first ability is only OK. It's a planeswalker with the ability to protect itself that doesn't actually protect it very well in Standard right now.
Haha, no problem. I'm just being a sassy lassie. Advent of the Wurm is so expensive because token decks are really freaking popular and a 5/5 for a reasonable cost that goes with those decks is not a small gain. It also helps that a pro player did well with it at the SCG event last weekend and that token/little kid green white decks are roughly as well-performing as RG and mono-Red decks in block.