How do you know if it sucks in the SOI format? For all we know the SOI format is how it is because Moss isn't in and destroying lands any more.

Alright, to add a little spice here I'm going to speculate on some reprints we might see in Eldritch Moon. I'm taking a gamble here that we're going to see some sort of return of Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, giving the set an eldrazi subtheme (Emrakul being the "eldritch moon"). I could be way off base here, but I'm running with it. Here's a list of reprints from Rise of the Eldrazi we might get in the D cards, or in the set itself (I'm keeping my speculation to commons and uncommons to fit with the D card theme of this thread):

4 x Ancient Stirrings
4 x Aura Finesse
4 x Deprive
4 x Flame Slash
4 x Induce Despair
4 x Living Destiny
4 x Mnemonic Wall
3 x Not of This World



Obviously we may get none of these things, or other reprints I was less keen to speculate on (vanilla or french vanilla creatures are boring to speculate on, and they could always surprise me by bringing back a mechanic like annihilator or rebound). This suite of basic effects would push back towards the high converted mana cost (and high power/toughness) theme of Rise of the Eldrazi, and would continue the eldrazi flavor while also slowing down the format slightly (good removal of cheap/small creatures combined with useful creatures with defender and strong lifegain would push us back towards control and especially ramp a bit). Part of the reason I am speculating towards ramp is that Emrakul was the most expensive of the three eldrazi titans; I know they were willing to bring Ulamog down to 10 mana, but that was only a 1 mana difference. Even if they shaved 2 mana off of Emrakul (putting it at the thematic cost of 13 for Innistrad), that's still a substantial difference in target mana and game length.

They will probably continue some or most of the themes from the big set, so here are some other cards I think they might reprint, D card or otherwise:

The Odyssey common sac-lands cycle (Abandoned Outpost, Bog Wreckage, Ravaged Highlands, Seafloor Debris, Timberland Ruins)
4 x Anarchist
3 x Ancestor's Chosen
4 x Aquamoeba
3 x Big Game Hunter
4 x Brain Gorgers
3 x Breakthrough
3 x Buried Alive
4 x Call to the Netherworld
4 x Carrion Rats
4 x Cartographer
3 x Compulsion
4 x Crypt Creeper
4 x Dark Withering
3 x Defy Death
4 x Escape Artist
4 x Ghastly Demise
4 x Grave Scrabbler
4 x Grip of Amnesia
4 x Hapless Researcher
3 x Hypochondria
4 x Lost in Thought
4 x Mad Dog
3 x Millikin
3 x Mortiphobia
3 x Narcissism
4 x Obsessive Search
4 x Overeager Apprentice
3 x Patchwork Gnomes
4 x Patrol Hound
3 x Pitchstone Wall
4 x Psychotic Episode
3 x Pyromania
3 x Sandstone Deadfall
4 x Scrivener
3 x Skeletal Scrying
4 x Syncopate
3 x Think Tank
3 x Violent Eruption
3 x Zombie Infestation



These are generally either a flavor fit or a mechanical fit. Most of them work with madness or delirium, or one of the creature tribes, or fit the theme of madness; a few work against the theme to be difficult choices in some way. Obviously, we may not get any of these, and if we do it will only be one or two, at most a handful. I think it's fun to speculate, so does anyone think one or more of these looks like a strong candidate for reprinting, and/or making it into Duels?

If you were just starting out with Duels today and only had the mix of D cards, what would be your early goals? Which archetypes would you aim to build?
Maybe the more interesting question is which expansion packs would you purchase first? What has the best chance of supplementing the D set?

Step 1: Get a job and buy SOI/OGW?
Step 2: Set aside 1.5hrs a day to grind online.
Step 3: Get the set done in June lol.

Interesting questions. My early goals would include:

1.) Find multiple deck archetypes that beat the AI, so that grinding doesn't get stale.
2.) Finish out one complete set at a time. Buying around might be fun, but it dilutes your themes and your overall collection's synergies for deckbuilding.


As to which expansion to buy first... that is the question. Whether 'tis Nobler in the mind to suffer the Slings and Arrows of outrageous Oath of the Gatewatch, or to take up Arms with Shadows over Innistrad against a Sea of troubles, and by opposing Battle for Zendikar end them: to die, to sleep no more; and by a sleep, the Heart-ache, and the thousand Naturalize shocks that Origins is heir to? 'Tis a consummation of sets devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep, to sleep, perchance to Dream of Superfriends; aye, there's the rub, for in that sleep of death, what dreams may come of mythic rares, when we have shuffled the deck off this immortal coil, must give us pause.

...ahem. What I meant to say was, Origins is going to give you good tools to build any random deck archetype your heart desires (and a few specific ones like renown and thopters), but Oath of the Gatewatch and Shadows over Innistrad have the true raw power. In general I say to pick whatever you think is the most fun, and right now my head is in SoI. I really did find Origins to be a fun set concept (and I like some of the offbeat planar settings like Vryn and Kaladesh), so that would also be high on my list. I think any of them would work, they're all peppered with basic card effects that can help a newbie.

D Card Evaluations

So, I have noticed felbatista's card evaluation series and I thought it might be interesting to evaluate all of the D cards we currently have (some of these will repeat evaluations felbatista has made, though I may or may not agree with him on some cards). There are multiple ways to judge cards, so I will introduce some additional rating systems along with the standard one used in felbatista's article series. First, the standard system felbatista is using:

5.0: Format Staple (cards that define the metagame) – Planar Outburst, Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger, Whirler Rogue
4.0: Good in multiple archetypes – Elvish Visionary, Twin Bolt, Retreat to Emeria
3.0: Archetype Staple (cards that define a deck) – Infectious Bloodlust, Sphinx's Tutelage, Chief of the Foundry
2.0: Role player in some decks, but not mandatory – Nissa's Revelation, Ember Hauler, Disperse
1.0: Niche card, or currently unkown archetype – Valor in Akros, Complete Disregard, Elemental Bond
0.0: Don’t play this card – Animist's Awakening, Tainted Remedy, Wave-Wing Elemental


Now to get a little weird. Here follows an explanation of some categories, their abbreviations, and the rating system (still using 0 - 5).

Rating System
5.0: Amazing - you have to come up with excuses not to use the card for this categorical purpose; an ultimate example of what the category measures.
4.0: Excellent - a strong example of the category, well above average and serving the role in multiple ways.
3.0: Good - a square deal; the card may not be the best example of the category, but it is a workhorse.
2.0: Solid - not always a square deal, but it has aspects of the category that shouldn't be ignored.
1.0: Iffy - the card may have very little or none of the category being rated; any of the quality it possesses may be niche or requires jumping through hoops to get it.
0.0: Antimatter - the card actively fails the category in some way or is somehow the opposite of what is being measured.

Efficiency (E) - Think of this like the "vanilla test," but expanded a bit to consider the card as a whole. Since we're judging for constructed decks and not for limited, we'll be a bit harsher here than the normal vanilla test. Efficiency will be measuring the overall cost-to-power ratio of a card (including, to a lesser extent, added costs beyond mana), and will take into account both good and bad situations for modal cards; for example, Fiery Temper is about a 2.0 when you cast it for 1RR, but it bumps up to around 5.0 when you cast it for R (a Lightning Bolt with upside, since you may have gotten additional value for discarding it). We average the two sides of the card out for efficiency, with the "standard" casting of 1RR taking added weight over the madness cost of R. It ends up as a 3.0 for efficiency: good on average.
5.0: Sylvan Advocate, Reality Smasher, Declaration in Stone
4.0: Lightning Axe, Walker of the Wastes, Eldrazi Skyspawner
3.0: Ember Hauler, Dwynen's Elite, Zendikar Incarnate
2.0: Ravenous Bloodseeker, Inspiring Captain, Paranoid Parish-Blade
1.0: Militant Inquisitor, Champion of Arashin, Ghoulsteed
0.0: Zendikar's Roil, Lys Alana Scarblade, Throttle

Potential (P) - Potential is a little hard to nail down, but the crux of it is a card that has the potential to win the game for you, either by itself or through some form of card advantage/selection. Engine cards that power combos have high potential, or things that net you incremental advantages over time, or simply large creatures that tend to be able to finish out a game without interruption. Inevitability plays a big role here. Removal spells usually have 0 potential: it serves only as an answer and does nothing to bring you closer to winning the game. Potential does not care about efficiency, it cares about what it is capable of, especially over a long game.
5.0: Zendikar's Roil, Sigil of the Empty Throne, Evolutionary Leap, literally every planeswalker
4.0: Ulvenwald Mysteries, Tamiyo's Journal, Ever After
3.0: Call the Bloodline, Plated Crusher, Archangel Avacyn
2.0: Erdwal Illuminator, Pyromancer's Assault, Gravedigger
1.0: Sanitarium Skeleton, Drownyard Temple, Battlefront Krushok, and most random creatures that can attack for damage
0.0: Declaration in Stone, Lightning Axe, Guardians of Meletis


So, for the sake of example, here is how the card formatting will look in each section:

Black Lotus - 5.0
E - 5.0
P - 0.0
This staple of Vintage can allow you to easily fix and accelerate your mana on turn 1, and remains valuable as a draw through the early and midgame. As long as you are drawing a steady stream of cards, it remains valuable no matter when in the game you are fortunate enough to draw it, although some decks may not be able to capitalize on it as a later draw such as Sligh or white weenie. While it cannot win the game on its own, it acts as a utility mana accelerant to whatever strategy your deck employs, and has enabled turn 1 kill combos.



So, are there any other angles of card evaluation someone would like to see beyond the standard one used so far, efficiency and potential? Anyhow, in my next post I'll tackle White cards from the D list and see how they measure up here.

White

Boonweaver Giant - 1.0
E - 1.0
P - 1.0
Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't advise playing a 4/4 for 7 (although we have a surprising number of them in Magic's history, like Lotus Guardian, Bronze Horse or Flowstone Thopter). However, if your aura deck can support this unwieldy 7 mana creature in a color not known for its ramp abilities, his efficiency ratchets up from "unplayable" to "marginal," so it's not unheard-of for a few copies of this to float around with newer players. I'd avoid him until we get auras in our cardpool worth writing home about.

Champion of Arashin - 1.0
E - 1.0
P - 1.0
Make no mistake, a 3/2 for 4 mana is a terrible deal. The only reason I didn't rate this one as 0.0 in the first two categories is due solely to lifelink being somewhat rare still in our cardpool. If you had a deck idea that would absolutely bend over backwards for lifegain or lifelink, and you don't have all the cards unlocked yet, you can give this a whirl and then whirl it right out of your deck after you find out how bad it is.

Cliffside Lookout - 1.0
E - 1.0
P - 2.0
Basically terrible most of the time, being an ally doesn't save Cliffside Lookout in most situations even for an ally deck. In the late game, the card does solid (but not exciting) work buffing up your team +1/+1 or even +2/+2, but a normal ally deck should have won long before reaching 10 mana. If you're a new player, put maybe one copy in your ally deck; otherwise, play zero.

Dauntless River Marshal - 2.0
E - 3.0
P - 2.0
Dauntless River Marshal isn't a bad card; it's just that other cards are now better. It has a useful activated ability, and no one will sneeze at a 3/2 for 2 mana, which it should almost always be if it has a place in your deck. I could see a singleton copy floating around even in a high-tier human deck due to the existence of Knight of the White Orchid and Prairie Stream... I could also see the deckbuilder cutting it to make room.

Expedition Envoy - 3.0
E - 4.0
P - 1.0
It's normally about as efficient as you can hope for with 1 mana, barring outliers like Champion of the Parish or Figure of Destiny. I considered giving it a basic rating of 2.0, but between its classical status in white weenie, human decks and ally decks, I figure this card is a workhorse in more than one archetype. Its potential is low, only winning the game outright if your opponent is manascrewed and you have a mittful of removal.

Heliod's Pilgrim - 3.0
E - 0.0
P - 2.0
If you're making an aura deck, you'll want one or more copies of this card. I'm not saying building an aura deck is the right thing to do, but if you must, then a 3-mana tutor who, in desperate times, can also wear said aura makes the deck tick. The Efficiency rating I gave should be obvious here (it is kryptonite to Efficiency), but it gets a little higher Potential than a normal attacking creature due to card advantage and deckbuilding shenanigans. We can flicker this puppy now with Eldrazi Displacer and such, so there's still a little life to be had here.

Kinsbaile Skirmisher - 1.0
E - 1.0
P - 1.0
Not even creature type can save this card. Maybe someday kithkin or soldiers will be a deck on Duels, and when that day arrives, Kinsbaile Skirmisher will be a lackluster option for the deck that probably still gets cut from the list. New players may find this card of marginal use.

Kor Bladewhirl - 2.0
E - 2.0
P - 1.0
Not exactly exciting, Kor Bladewhirl is the sort of card that you're never surprised to see in an ally deck, but you wouldn't be surprised to see it missing either. It gets 2.0 on Efficiency mostly due to the fact that in an ally deck it semi-reliably gives itself (and your other creatures) first strike while attacking. You don't want to see multiples of it most of the time, so using one or two is probably enough unless you want your 2-drops to be heavy.

Makindi Patrol - 2.0
E - 1.0
P - 1.0
Another card for ally decks... or is it? Vigilance is a lot easier to come by these days with Always Watching, in the same color and converted mana cost. A 2/3 for 3 mana may make the cut in limited formats, but this is constructed so it needs some oomph to overcome those stats. Oomph is not what we have here. This is the sort of ally I would use a singleton copy of unless, for some weird reason, my 3 drops are a bit thin. (Spoiler alert: your 3-drops will not be thin in an ally deck.)

Nimbus Wings - 3.0
E - 3.0
P - 0.0
While auras may be card disadvantage, this is one of the solid ones. If you're building an aura/enchantment deck, there are decent odds at least one copy of this will find its way in, probably more than one. Auras will receive a Potential rating of 0 most of the time since they actively cannot win the game by themselves (tricky auras like Followed Footsteps may receive a positive Potential value).

Razorfoot Griffin - 0.0
E - 0.0
P - 1.0
According to the AI, this card gets a rating of 5.0 in all categories, but we as players generally know better: spending 4 mana to get a 2/2 flier just isn't sexy, even one with first strike (check the conversation about P/T and double strike with Skyhunter Skirmisher). Don't support the AI's griffin abuse, and stay away from this card.

Reprisal - 4.0
E - 4.0
P - 0.0
Only getting better with age, Reprisal is better now than when Origins first hit. Larger, more efficient creatures and easier access to pump abilities means that even small critters may bump up to 4 power on an attack step. As far as our format is concerned, it compares reliably to Terror and Doom Blade as a 2 mana removal spell that has occasional targeting problems. It doesn't hold up next to Declaration in Stone even as an instant, but it helps to supplement such removal.

Siege Mastodon - 1.0
E - 0.0
P - 1.0
Oh, I remember when I first learned Magic, and I was taught by my friend who was out of the loop and still using pre-6th edition rules. I built my first monstrosity of a deck out of cards from his collection, and one of the cards was Ironroot Treefolk (I'm sad to report that it was one of the better cards in my deck, although not as good as Yavimaya Ancients). Times have changed, and a 3/5 for 5 is actively bad now outside of limited. Let me put this another way: if you are wanting a blocker, consider that Rotted Hulk has the same toughness for 1 less mana, which means it does the job of being a wall better than this card. Let that sink in.

Siegecraft - 1.0
E - 1.0
P - 0.0
This replaced the potentially useful card Divine Favor, and about the only time I can imagine using this now is if you pull it straight out of the library and into play with Boonweaver Giant. However, I'd still rather fetch up Knightly Valor for the same purpose of "discounted overcosted aura."

Skyhunter Skirmisher - 1.0
E - 1.0
P - 1.0
"You have failed me for the last time, Admiral." A flying double-striker sounds great, doesn't it? ...doesn't it? Slap on some equipment or auras, and you'll be in the big-time before you know it! Except that auras are card disadvantage, most of our equipment is of the suke, its creature types are of no help, and in practice it's hard to keep a 1-toughness creature alive long enough to do much of anything cool with it. Don't try it, you will be disappointed.

Solemn Offering - 2.0
E - 1.0
P - 0.0
If Disenchant as a 2 mana instant is "good" or "solid," then Solemn Offering as a 3-mana sorcery must be considered "iffy." However, if you aren't running green in Duels, there are a finite number of ways to destroy artifacts and enchantments, and sometimes the lifegain could be relevant. I won't fault you for choosing this over Angelic Purge if your deck can't handle the sacrifice and would normally roll over to Sphinx's Tutelage, but you should strongly consider Felidar Cub as a primary option.

Suntail Hawk - 1.0
E - 2.0
P - 1.0
It's not always a square deal, and the fact of the matter is that a lot of decks don't want 1-mana creatures due to their lack of power. Even when they do want 1 mana critters, they could probably find something better. Once in a while, Suntail Hawk might fit the niche 1 mana flier slot in a deck, probably for a newer player.

Suppression Bonds - 3.0
E - 3.0
P - 0.0
A godsend for new players trying to deal with planeswalkers, Suppression Bonds is a workhorse of the early game and still entirely relevant to any aura deck as a tutorable answer. There's nothing to rave about here, but nothing to decry either; let's move along.



Final Thoughts on White: No 5.0's in our white D cards, but the removal available should be taken seriously. What we're lacking at the moment are credible threats: after Expedition Envoy and Dauntless River Marshal, things go downhill rapidly. I would tell any new player to use a deck of at least 2 colors if they're relying on the D cards, and in white's case I would be sure to splash in the removal spells.

Blue

Aeronaut Tinkerer - 1.0
E - 1.0
P - 1.0
A thoroughly iffy card all the way around. A new player may use it to add some evasion to an artifact-based deck, but if the deck is supplemented by thopter cards and such then Aeronaut Tinkerer will quickly be outclassed. It doesn't help that this card is not an artifact, and produces no artifacts.

Benthic Infiltrator - 1.0
E - 2.0
P - 2.0
While a fully-unlocked player can probably do better, I have some fondness for the Infiltrator. Being a 1/4 for 3 mana makes it a serviceable blocker, and the unblockable ability is not terribly common. Generally speaking, it will hit the opponent, and they will exile the top card of their library. While you could do better, you could also certainly do worse. If there was a creature to try out the aura/equipment strategy with, this would be on the list. In the D card pool, I have enchanted this guy up with Necromantic Thirst for a net gain before.

Coral Merfolk - 1.0
E - 1.0
P - 1.0
Like Welkin Tern, except it doesn't fly and it could theoretically chump block a Gaea's Revenge. This card is terrible, a less splashable version of Bronze Sable, and there is no merfolk tribe to take advantage of for now. I would mark the card's numbers even lower, except that as a new player sometimes you just need a 2-drop in a particular color. Still, I hope you never have to resort to this.

Countermand - 2.0
E - 1.0
P - 0.0
The dreaded one-and-only counterspell available to brand new players at the moment, Countermand is much reviled as a sort of poster child for overpriced hard counters, especially in Duels. Since our pool of counterspells is still a bit limited for now, you will see this card come up, especially for those who are still unlocking new cards. It has gotten worse with the addition of delirium, but it does complement Sphinx's Tutelage as additional mill. Where white's answers are still relevant or even improved, it seems that blue's answers have only gotten worse with age. I hope blue gets some decent D card answers in the next expansion or two.

Darkslick Drake - 1.0
E - 2.0
P - 1.0
This isn't a bad card, not really; the power curve has just left it behind. I would recommend it as a decent option for a new player, something that fits into aristocrats-style decks and also gives you evasion/flying blockers. It's the sort of card that a veteran will probably frown at in annoyance as they either experience card disadvantage to kill it, or waste something powerful like Anguished Unmaking to try to move past it. Make no mistake though, this is more of a speed bump than a game winner.

Dehydration - 0.0
E - 0.0
P - 0.0
This card is antimatter; don't touch it. On a more serious note, we have a number of different blue tap-down enchantments in Duels now; this just happens to be the very worst of the bunch. Unlike some, it does not tap the creature on its own, and it has no alternate cheaper cost. There are new ways to untap creatures as well: I've seen the AI use Tenacity, or Kiora, Master of the Depths with some frequency. This just isn't worth it for 4 mana.

Esperzoa - 3.0
E - 3.0
P - 3.0
A clunky card, but nonetheless one that can power up an artifact deck with enter-the-battlefield triggers like Alchemist's Vial. While it requires commitment to artifacts and it has moments where it's suboptimal, there seems to be some consensus that Esperzoa does good work, even potentially for prowess/surge decks by bouncing back Bone Saw. It could be in the future that Esperzoa will have its moment in the sun once again when some new artifact set rolls in; for now, it's one of the more Johnny-ish cards in the D cards... if only we had a nice artifact synergy in the D cards to pair it with.

Frost Lynx - 1.0
E - 1.0
P - 1.0
One of the sort of cards that will get weaker with time as our card pool expands; case-in-point, Stitched Mangler, which even has a more relevant creature type. A new player can get some mileage out of the Lynx, making tempo plays and learning the ropes, but don't expect it to keep a deck slot forever.

Grip of the Roil - 2.0
E - 2.0
P - 0.0
A relative newcomer, Grip of the Roil may show up in aggressive prowess decks or the like, but it doesn't necessarily make the cut. There is a sharp distinction between casting the spell for 3 mana or 2 mana: it is quite good at 2 mana, and somewhat terrible for 3. It occupies the same general area as Press for Answers, but I like Grip of the Roil better most of the time as an instant-speed answer that draws the card immediately. It is useable, but unexciting.

Inspiration - 2.0
E - 2.0
P - 0.0
It will probably slip down to 1.0 soon if it hasn't already, but for now I'll give Inspiration the benefit of the doubt due to being in everyone's card pool no matter what is unlocked. It is a "fair" price to pay for drawing two cards at instant speed, but who wants fair? It works well enough with Sphinx's Tutelage, but Comparative Analysis is just a better card. This card was first printed all the way back in Visions... and it's showing its age.

Jorubai Murk Lurker - 2.0
E - 3.0
P - 2.0
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. There was a time during Origins play when this card was considered to be one of the better options for some archetypes. Lifegain still isn't terribly common, so it could have its uses, and it makes a solid early blocker in a U/B deck. I would suggest it as a solid addition for a new player crafting a deck, but a day will come when you are down to the last copy in the deck as you unlock cards, looking for something to cut to add some shiny new card to your deck, and you will give the murk lurker a tearful farewell when that day comes.

Jwar Isle Avenger - 2.0
E - 2.0
P - 1.0
For 5 mana, this card is bad; for 3 mana, this card is excellent. Unfortunately, as a creature it does not trigger prowess, making it suboptimal for one of the most common archetypes that would want it. No doubt it still sees some play, and if you can reliably get it for 3 mana it is nothing to sneeze at. A new player who can reliably trigger surge will probably win some games with this, and this could be a steady "meat and potatoes" card for such a deck for a long time while unlocking cards.

Kapsho Kitefins - 1.0
E - 0.0
P - 3.0
Someday, there's going to be a deck for the kitefins; it might happen with some combination of Ulvenwald Mysteries and Tamiyo's Journal, or some other source of token production we have yet to witness. When that day comes, and Kapsho Kitefins taps down an opponent's army at the end of their turn, I'll point to this text and say, "I told you so!" Until then, six mana is just far too much to pay for the kitefins. That being said, I have won a game or two before as a newbie player on the back of their tap triggers pushing through damage for a win.

Metropolis Sprite - 1.0
E - 1.0
P - 1.0
Is this supposed to trick new players into putting Siegecraft into their deck? If so, it's a cruel trick. This is better than Storm Crow, and for a new player it can be used alongside Welkin Tern as an additional 2-mana flier for a bit of evasive damage. Drop this one from the deck before you drop the Welkin Tern.

Mist Intruder - 1.0
E - 1.0
P - 2.0
Slightly better than a Storm Crow, just because of ingest. Could theoretically give you an edge against decking in a really long game. If you're a new player and you're trying to play an ingest deck, you may need this to force some of the opponent's cards into exile. Once you've unlocked some of B4Z or OGW you'll have much better options available.

Murk Strider - 2.0
E - 1.0
P - 1.0
So, a 3/2 for 4 mana is terrible, but one that bounces a creature? Hmmm. This is an eldrazi "processor," which makes you jump through the hoop of exiling an opponent's card first before using it, but the effect is good. Good enough, in fact, that if you can reliably pull it off, this card is probably worth the effort as a strong tempo play. Only a narrow band of decks can reliably pull this off, so the base rating is only 2.0, but a new player who wants to pursue this sort of deck should be running the playset of Murk Strider until new cards get unlocked... and maybe even after.

Sky-Eel School - 1.0
E - 1.0
P - 1.0
You would think a sizeable flier with card selection might rate higher than this, but these days 5 mana is just too much to pay for a 3/3 flier. For a new player though, this card represents basically the only support for madness, and it's one of the better cards for enabling reanimator decks out of the box (due in no small part to being a creature itself). You will replace this card in time, but it serves well enough right at first.

Telling Time - 4.0
E - 4.0
P - 0.0
It may be no Ancestral Recall or even a Brainstorm (it may compare to Impulse), but Telling Time is going to endure in our format as a staple of blue decks. There is no doubt it would be more powerful if the words "draw a card" appeared anywhere on it for Sphinx's Tutelage, but even without that synergy it is hard to dismiss it outright. For the Duels cardpool, between the mana cost and the instant speed, the price is right.

Welkin Tern - 2.0
E - 3.0
P - 1.0
A decent card that falls by the wayside as more powerful cards get unlocked. For a new player, this card may well win them some games in combination with the right mix of disruption and ground blockers. The card could have a home in some sort of all-fliers deck (or some future bird deck), but for now it is simply a solid offering to a beginner, and an option for anyone filling out an aggressive curve in blue.


Final Thoughts for Blue: Outside of Telling Time, blue could use some help. There are a few quirky build-around cards that could inspire a new player to craft a deck, but honestly I think blue looks anemic in the D cards. A color known for its control decks and answers... brought to this? A pile of mediocre fliers is not good enough.

Black

Accursed Spirit - 1.0
E - 1.0
P - 1.0
Basically terrible. It will be unblockable sometimes, but you can't rely on it and it is fragile. How about a nice Gravedigger instead?

Bitter Revelation - 2.0
E - 2.0
P - 0.0
At 4 mana, this spell is just a little too slow to be the perfect reanimator deck spell, but it serves the purpose well enough to sometimes make the cut. The life loss is also relevant when there are aggro or midrange decks bearing down on you. You'll feel really clever when this sends two creatures to the graveyard and puts an Ever After in your hand, though.

Bloodflow Connoisseur - 1.0
E - 0.0
P - 2.0
You could build an aristocrats deck around her, but to be honest she has to eat two creatures before she even starts to feel like a good deal. A new player will take what they can get, but Nantuko Husk is far and away a better card that can deal lethal damage from out of nowhere. This card does half as much damage in a single turn's worth of sacrifices; if you think you can produce that level of sacrifice every turn, maybe she's better in that instance. Realistically, that never happens and she's just a bad card that you should replace when you get the chance.

Bone Splinters - 3.0
E - 4.0
P - 0.0
I would go so far as to call this a staple of aristocrats decks. You can't ask for a better mana cost than Bone Splinters has, and black has plenty of ways to circumvent the added cost of sacrifice. You can't casually toss it into any black deck, but this is one of the workhorse black spells among the D cards.

Child of Night - 1.0
E - 2.0
P - 1.0
This vampire did not get better with age; on the other hand, she does allow a new player to get a leg up on making a vampire deck sooner. Lifelink is still rare in Duels, but that doesn't improve her playability. At best, she is a stepping stone into vampire tribal; at worst, a filler card to help speedbump against aggro decks. After some card unlocks, she won't be hanging around.

Corpse Hauler - 1.0
E - 1.0
P - 2.0
While the AI may not use this little fellow as often as it did in Origins, there are still plenty to be seen running around in games against the computer. There could be some fringe usefulness in an aristocrats deck (making some expensive loop with Smothering Abomination for instance), but usually aristocrats have better cards for that. A new player could get a little mileage out of them, but I far prefer Gravedigger.

Crow of Dark Tidings - 2.0
E - 1.0
P - 1.0
A flier that enables a graveyard strategy could be quite good; in practice though, I rank it with the numbers I see here. Not unplayable, but questionable.

Flesh to Dust - 0.0
E - 0.0
P - 0.0
So, for 3WW I can destroy all nonland creatures with Planar Outburst, for 5WWW I can also get a 4/4 land creature... or for 3BB I can destroy a single target creature at instant speed. I understand if a new player feels the need to run a couple of these, but please, replace them at your earliest convenience. Black has finally gotten decent removal in the form of Grasp of Darkness, but that's a heavy commitment to black for the mana cost. We really need something like Murder in the D cards, or maybe Doom Blade, or Dark Banishing to be old school.

Gravedigger - 2.0
E - 2.0
P - 2.0
An all-around solid card that can keep you in card advantage and blockers. It might get cut later, or it may stay on as a permanent resident of a churning mass of "durdle" and card advantage you pilot. The choice is yours; personally I'm quite fond of it.

Gurmag Swiftwing - 1.0
E - 2.0
P - 1.0
Despite having three keywords, this card just isn't good enough most of the time. It wears auras and equipment well, but there are better things to do with your time. It doesn't even make the final cut into a "suicide black" deck when all the cards are unlocked.

Havoc Sower - 1.0
E - 2.0
P - 2.0
As "shade" creatures go, this one could stomp away with the game by itself simply by being enormous. It requires a heavy commitment to colorless to get the most out of it, so I'm not sure if there's a popular black/colorless archetype to support it or not. This thing could definitely stomp some people flat if the right build is found, I think; you might not run a full playset though.

Indulgent Aristocrat - 2.0
E - 1.0
P - 2.0
By the time this card arrived in the D cards, SOI had also arrived and vampires became a thing. I don't think anyone took this card seriously at first, but now second opinions and deckbuilders have come around a bit. It only works in a vampire deck, and preferably one that makes token vampires such as with Call the Bloodline. If you can swarm the board with vampires though, he can close the deal.

Kindly Stranger - 2.0
E - 1.0
P - 1.0
Perfectly solid in delirium decks, and nigh-useless elsewhere. If you get her to flip you'll be patting yourself on the back, but if not you'll be cursing the card types in your graveyard. If you manage to use her with consistency, these numbers will rise. For now, I believe she is on the periphery.

Lys Alana Scarblade - 2.0
E - 0.0
P - 2.0
A bit of an oddball, Lys Alana Scarblade can turn your elf cards into deadly targeted removal. Since we're already in black, this opens up the option to use her as a sort of engine card to power graveyard shenanigans as well as gunning down your opponent's creatures. Even with all the cards unlocked, I still keep a singleton copy of her in my elf decks, and multiples wouldn't be terrible (just discard the extras to kill creatures).

Mind Raker - 1.0
E - 1.0
P - 1.0
At the moment this card is bugged; presumably someday when the bug is fixed it may have a bit of play in eldrazi processor decks again, but it was never the best of the bunch. Assuming the bug gets fixed, I might increase its general rating and efficiency up to 2.0, but that's not a guarantee.

Minotaur Abomination - 0.0
E - 1.0
P - 1.0
So... even a new player might end up cutting these to make room for other creatures, depending on their deck's colors. I will say that one of these can block stuff like Tajuru Pathwarden all day, which the AI seems to love. They aren't unplayable, there's just a world of better cards out there waiting for you. If you dabble into green, you probably won't need to run even one of these, for instance. For the most part, avoid these abominations and heed the necromancer's advice in their flavor text.

Necromantic Thirst - 1.0
E - 0.0
P - 3.0
It's no easy task to get this spell working; auras often get 2-for-1'ed with a removal spell from the opponent, your creature has to be able to get across for damage, and you need a creature in the graveyard to get any profit. If you get all of this working though, the upside is recurring a creature every turn, which can be game-winning. It's probably one too many hoops to jump through, but the potential is there.

Nightfire Giant - 1.0
E - 2.0
P - 2.0
I feel like this is great in limited, and is just a bit too slow for constructed. It could be completely game-changing in some matchups, assuming you went first and got a running start. Mostly it's a bit of clunky card advantage for new players, but if the format slows down a lot I could almost imagine some sort of disruptive deck that could run this as a singleton. A superfriends deck would be obligated to get rid of it.

Rise from the Grave - 3.0
E - 2.0
P - 1.0
We have four options for reanimation at the moment: Rise from the Grave, Necromantic Summons, Ever After, and Emeria Shepherd. Without dipping heavily into white (it takes a Plains to trigger the full reanimation with Emeria Shepherd), that's a total of 8 spell cards that can go into a reanimator deck, and you probably want all of them. This one may be the worst of the lot, but until we get more reanimator spells it is a somewhat unique effect in our cardpool and a staple of its archetype.

Rotted Hulk - 1.0
E - 0.0
P - 1.0
I think some cards are designed to be bad enough that even new players recognize them as being bad; this is one of those. That said, it could serve as a sort of wall for some strategy like fliers in the early game, so a new player could get some use out of it before discarding it for better cards.

Scarred Vinebreeder - 1.0
E - 0.0
P - 1.0
Even in Origins I was never happy to run with this, and when enough other elves got unlocked it went the way of the dodo bird. Maybe if it cost less mana to use the ability... I dunno. Anyway, a new player may be forced into using it to reach a critical mass of elves for an elf deck, but after some card unlocks this needs to go.

Sky Scourer - 2.0
E - 2.0
P - 2.0
It looks like a Storm Crow at first glance, but clearly the right deck could make this card more of a threat. It would not be easy to consistently get it higher than 2/2, but just having a 2/2 flier attacking for 3 or 4 turns in a row could change the game's course. Someday, the potential for a colorless/artifact combo could exist that would make this into an explosive win condition, but for now it simply appears as a not-terrible option for a black/colorless deck.

Stallion of Ashmouth - 1.0
E - 1.0
P - 2.0
This is a newbie delirium-reward card, and it's another "shade" creature in the black D cards. I can say firsthand that these can win games against the AI, largely because it never seems to calculate how much pump ability I have so every attack/block interaction gains profit. In the long run you will outgrow this card and put something else in the deck, but early-game this can beat the AI.

Stromkirk Mentor - 2.0
E - 2.0
P - 1.0
It has the stats of Giant Cockroach, but with a vampire upside tacked on. Assuming you collect on that +1/+1 counter, this card is fairly efficient and does a good job of trading with opposing creatures. This is another stepping-stone vampire, one to outgrow when the right cards have been unlocked.


Final Thoughts on Black: Bone Splinters, Gravedigger and Rise from the Grave seem like the best of the lot here, but I didn't rate anything as 4.0 or higher in terms of overall metagame adoption. I'd like to see one nice no-frills removal spell in black, and maybe an interesting threat such as Nightmare, or even just a utility creature like Liliana's Shade (this latter one would be interesting in its ability to tutor up Smoldering Marsh or Sunken Hollow).

Red

Barrage Ogre - 1.0
E - 0.0
P - 2.0
Am I off-base on this analysis? Did anyone ever run an artifact deck where this guy ended up shining? I could almost imagine him next to a pile of clue tokens and Ulvenwald Mysteries, except that he's RR in a deck that's usually WUG. Also, a 3/3 for 5 is anemic to say the least (like a Segovian Leviathan). If someone managed to pull off this 4-color deck and he was a boss in said deck, let me know. On the surface he looks terrible.

Bloodpyre Elemental - 1.0
E - 1.0
P - 1.0
I suspect that if this guy cost 4 mana, everyone would laud him as a sort of off-brand crappy Flametongue Kavu; or at the very least he'd see more adoption in mid-range decks. For 5 mana though, he's a hard sell for aristocrats or some sort of elemental deck built around a singleton copy of Omnath, Locus of Rage. I wouldn't say this guy will never find the right deck; I just think that the stars would have to align to make him a good play for 5 mana that sacs at sorcery speed.

Boulder Salvo - 3.0
E - 3.0
P - 0.0
A strong card that doesn't fit into every deck, Boulder Salvo is fantastic removal for 2 mana, and is bad removal in the vein of Throttle or Demon's Grasp when cast for 5 mana. Assuming you can set up the alley-oop of surge, this becomes some of red's premium creature removal. If you can use it, use it. If you can't, move along.

Ember Beast - 1.0
E - 4.0
P - 0.0
There may be a deck for Ember Beast someday, when the stars align just so; but really, I expect that even if that moment comes, there will be other 3-drops that are more reliable and almost as efficient that get used instead. The power to be gained by this card is not worth the hoops and headaches you'll go through (it's on the low side of 4.0 Efficiency), no one wants to be stuck with a single Ember Beast on the board while the opponent looks on with a cruel handful of removal.

Ember Hauler - 3.0
E - 3.0
P - 1.0
Another solid card for red, trading the death trigger of Goblin Arsonist for a built-in sacrifice effect. This requires a heavy commitment to red, and ideally you'd leave 1 mana open whenever possible to take advantage of instant-speed sacrifice. This card kills Razorfoot Griffin, an important strategy against the AI.

Flaring Flame-Kin - 3.0
E - 3.0
P - 2.0
If you just had to run Siegecraft in a deck, it wouldn't look so bad turn 4 on a Flaring Flame-Kin (although some other auras would look just fine too). I was there at the Dissension prerelease when the Rakdos first showed up to wreak havoc, and this elemental was wrecking face all over the room (along with Azorius 2-power fliers, but that's another story). This card is the main reason to run a W/R aura deck out of the box (the other reason being that auras are tutorable in our format).

Goblin Arsonist - 3.0
E - 3.0
P - 1.0
A workhorse of red, especially now that Perilous Myr is gone. He finds work in red burn/sligh decks as well as aristocrats variants; I kinda wish he was Mudbutton Torchrunner instead, but I'm more interested in sac abilities than attack abilities. In any case, it's a 1 mana creature you aren't embarrassed to run.

Goblin Balloon Brigade - 1.0
E - 1.0
P - 1.0
Speaking of 1 mana creatures you'd be embarrassed to run... the balloon brigade can get evasion but it just doesn't have much oomph to it. If you're running a true Sligh deck you'll use it anyway (the original deck had Goblins of the Flarg in the same list with Dwarven Trader because it craved 1-drops that badly... also, that tournament may have required a minimum of 5 cards from every expansion, including Homelands). It's just hard to stomach using a card that is strictly worse than Suntail Hawk.

Goblin Piker - 1.0
E - 1.0
P - 1.0
Not a good card at all, but potentially one you might run as a new player going for a speed aggro/Sligh deck. Fortunately many better options will present themselves.

Inferno Fist - 2.0
E - 2.0
P - 0.0
Not the best aura, pretty bad as a burn spell; split the difference though, and you have a workable card. Among other things, this can turn Flaring Flame-Kin on without being card disadvantage, or at least offering some burn on the way out.

Into the Maw of Hell - 2.0
E - 2.0
P - 0.0
Any card with a built-in 2-for-1 is worth looking at, at least. Outside of Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger, this is now the only card in our pool capable of taking out a land, specifically a man-land. Obviously a 6 mana pricetag puts it out of reach of many decks, but for the right kind of ramp or control or disruption, this lurks on the periphery as an option. If it's worth about 3 mana to kill a creature and about 3 mana to kill a land, then efficiency-wise this card isn't too far off. Also, it's a red spell that kills the vast majority of targetable creatures in our cardpool (indestructible and regeneration notwithstanding), including Kozilek, the Great Distortion. I think we haven't seen the last of Into the Maw of Hell, not by a long shot.

Kird Chieftain - 3.0
E - 3.0
P - 2.0
An all-around good card for R/G decks with a very relevant late-game ability. Turns your lesser creatures into stompy trampling beatsticks, and makes your big creatures game-enders.

Ondu Champion - 2.0
E - 2.0
P - 1.0
A solid but unnecessary addition to an ally deck, perhaps best used as a singleton copy to power out some surprise trample damage. Reasonably efficient on P/T but not exciting, this card can push your ally deck further towards midrange beatdown if that's what you want.

Pyromancer's Assault - 2.0
E - 0.0
P - 2.0
The deckbuilding requires a little thought with this one, but a recurring source of burn damage is nothing to be trifled with. In particular, this could be a rude awakening to someone's planeswalker or token army, or it may simply burn down their face. This sort of Johnny-style card is not for everyone, but the Potential is there to be more than just another burn spell (a whole bunch of them, in fact).

Scrapyard Mongrel - 2.0
E - 2.0
P - 1.0
A solid addition to a young artifact deck, likely to be outclassed by the many other options at 4 mana later (Thopter Spy Network, Reclusive Artificer, Whirler Rogue, Pia and Kiran Nalaar). There's nothing wrong with it, there's just so many things right with the other options at 4 mana.

Traitorous Instinct - 2.0
E - 2.0
P - 0.0
Stealing a creature temporarily can be a strong play at times, but 4 mana is a steep price to pay for the ability. That just about prices it out of a red aggro/sligh deck's curve, which leaves it as the lesser option for a steal-and-sac deck. You may see this one around though... I'm not saying you couldn't theoretically be blown out by this card.

Twin Bolt - 4.0
E - 3.0
P - 0.0
Two damage for 2 mana is normally a bit subpar, but when you can divide it, it turns out to be pretty good. This spell keeps the 2/1 (and 3/1) creatures of the world honest, and has also been known to keep down the population of thopter tokens and other red aggro creatures. The metagame may go through pushes and pulls where Twin Bolt is better or worse, but its presence here has definitely left an impact on the metagame in general.


Final Thoughts on Red: I feel like Red has more 3.0 cards here than some of the other colors: solid workhorses that help to define an archetype. The removal is also pretty good, from the excellent Twin Bolt to the modal Boulder Salvo to the questionable-yet-niche Into the Maw of Hell. If Red had about one more good aggro creature or one more good mid-range creature, I'd say it would look pretty good on the D cards. There are a few build-around cards lurking here too, which could at least get a newbie deckbuilder scheming.

poor dehydration lmao

poor esper zoa too lol, that was the shiz in thopters, making a 16/15 unblockable flier was a hilarious way to win.

thoughts on things you've undervalued:

Solemn Offering - a bit more useful these days with the popularity of Call the Bloodline, Fevered Visions and some of the Retreats.

Esperzoa - should hit a 3 on your list for having specific decks. Play this with some Prowess and cheap artifacts like Alchemist's Vial and Bone Saw. There's not a lot of rares needed to make a working prowess deck around Zoa, Bone saw, Expedite and Slip Through Space.

Jorbai Murk Lurker - I disagree that this itself has fallen in value. Blue/Black decks have fallen in value, yes, for the full meta - but if you're talking good tactics and cheap designs for just starters it's still just as great as it used to be.

Nercromantic Thirst - this has some efficiency since it can easily replace itself in your hand if you are in a position to drop it and hit with it that turn. Also, consider the lack of good flying defense in the meta and this is more useful than it seems.

Stromkirk Mentor - doesn't get outgrown that quickly, in particular in combination with Stensia Masquerade making that +1 power really pay off.

Of these, I feel that the first three you named (Solemn Offering, Esperzoa and Jorubai Murk Lurker) may indeed have higher scores than what I gave them. I like them as cards and deck construction tools, and perhaps they are still seeing more widespread use than I had experienced.

For now, my position stands on the latter two.

Green

Battlefront Krushok - 0.0
E - 0.0
P - 2.0
I keep wondering if a counter-happy format is going to come along and make this guy relevant somehow. Y'know, something to the tune of graft or modular coming back, where a whole deck's worth of creatures come in with +1/+1 counters already attached and flying around to other creatures? If that day arrives, this card will still be inefficient on P/T, but it could serve as a singleton copy in such a deck to be a major pain for blocking. Until then, don't use this, it's terrible.

Birthing Hulk - 2.0
E - 3.0
P - 2.0
An interesting giant creature. We can flicker it to produce token creatures (and mana); it regenerates which is rare and apparently will only get more rare with time; we can simply ramp up to it, or reanimate it, and in general not feel too bad about doing so. This is a good top end D card, something that the occasional deck may genuinely want, and even if not, something that a new player can grow on for a long while until someday replacing it.

Chorus of Might - 3.0
E - 2.0
P - 0.0
I feel that this is the correct choice of finisher for elf decks, the one that was custom-built for them. It may fit into other strategies (a green splash into thopters would be hilarious, but more likely a clue deck using Ulvenwald Mysteries), but mostly I associate it with elf decks. It's a card that's only as good as the swarm strategy you employ.

Explosive Vegetation - 5.0
E - 4.0
P - 1.0
Some folks may disagree with me here and call this a 4.0 card, but I feel the existence of Explosive Vegetation is something that defines our metagame and makes ramp possible. Would Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger even be a blip on our radar if Mwonvuli Acid-Moss had been replaced with Creeping Mold? We've gotten some other ramp, sure, and you could make a go of it, but the 2 mana ramping of this spell is unique. It is also a bit unique at the moment in being able to fix two colors of mana simultaneously, enabling 3- to 5-color decks + colorless to work with some consistency. If it was not here, our game would look very different, and I feel that game would be worse.

Fog - 4.0
E - 4.0
P - 0.0
In terms of what a 1 mana spell can do, this effect is right up there on the power curve. It may or may not be spread across enough decks to warrant a 4.0, but I believe the power level is there. It can save you, save a planeswalker, win a damage race, guard against burst damage (Tenacity or Primal Bellow and the like) and generally be a pain to your opponent. It's as good now as it ever was, which is a long and storied history all the way back to Alpha.

Lifespring Druid - 2.0
E - 1.0
P - 1.0
Personally I've not seen too many of these going around, perhaps due to the existence of more 2-mana accelerators and decent options among 3-mana accelerators. I could be underestimating how many of them are running around out there, but she seems fragile compared to just grabbing a land. She is an elf, so there's that, but green has a lot more options these days. Until you've unlocked some of those cards though, this is great for new players to enable multicolor decks and get a bit of extra ramp.

Lys Alana Huntmaster - 3.0
E - 3.0
P - 4.0
The beating heart of the elf deck; probably good for aristocrats too, as long as it's elven aristocrats. If you were wanting to go wide, this is the guy to make it happen for you. His mere presence on the battlefield turns a bad elf card into an acceptable play, and a good elf card into a crushing blow. Now I'm wanting to build a deck using him with Pious Evangel and Angelic Purge. In any case, he's the real deal.

Moldgraf Scavenger - 3.0
E - 3.0
P - 1.0
A historic comparison, if you will: Werebear. Unfortunately the scavenger doesn't make mana (if it did, it would also compare to Vine Trellis), and instead of a 4/4 you get a 3/4. You also start with a 0/4 instead of a 1/1 for 1G, a serviceable blocker to propel a mid- to late-game strategy. I don't know how many players might be using this guy, but I see the potential of an early blocker becoming a midgame beatstick. Maybe the deck isn't quite there or doesn't really exist, but something tells me this card has some life in it. As more graveyard sets come down the pike, Moldgraf Scavenger's power will grow rather than shrink.

Primal Bellow - 3.0
E - 4.0
P - 0.0
In a monogreen deck, I am going to say that this is better than Giant Growth most of the time, which makes it pretty darn efficient for 1 mana. You wouldn't want to run it in anything outside of a monogreen deck, so this feels definitively like a 3.0 card, something that helps to define monogreen beatdown. It's great for that deck, and mostly unplayable elsewhere.

Primal Huntbeast - 2.0
E - 3.0
P - 1.0
Not exciting, and yet... sometimes you want a hexproof or shroud creature for some nefarious purpose. I built a green control deck recently (probably more like a midrange/disruption deck) sporting a bunch of the pseudo-fight cards (and a few of the actual fight cards), and some copies of this guy made it in as something the opponent would have trouble getting rid of. There are better options around, but not too many options that can't be targeted, so for the moment this card has a little niche carved out. Whether that means it gets used or not is another matter. Also not the worst option for an aura deck, since you can't muck with it easily.

Reclamation Sage - 4.0
E - 0.0
P - 2.0
As the cheapest enters-the-battlefield Naturalize critter we've got, you're going to see this lady around despite her abysmal combat stats. She can be fetched up with a Woodland Bellower for value, blinked with an Eldrazi Displacer, or brought back from the graveyard with an aristocrats-style deck. Her mana cost of 3 (and her status as a D card) makes her more widespread than her more "efficient" cousin Conclave Naturalists, coming down in time to save you from an early Sphinx's Tutelage or Call the Bloodline. While no one is exactly happy about running her, she's one of the best options we've got so she gets around.

Spined Wurm - 1.0
E - 2.0
P - 1.0
I don't give this a 1.0 to say there is some niche deck for it; it's more of a recognition that a new player may well employ Spined Wurm to some beneficial effect until better cards come along. When all of your cards are unlocked, I can't imagine a deck that would want or need to make room for this. Maybe if we reach dinosaur world, where cards like Muraganda Petroglyphs exist?

Stalking Drone - 2.0
E - 4.0
P - 1.0
A surprisingly resilient and annoying little card; anyone who plays the AI has sat across from these little guys at some point. Just the threat of activating them is often enough to get them by unblocked, so you may not have to spend the mana at all. I don't know how many players are using this guy, which is why I've only given him a 2.0, but I could see this defining a deck archetype if it exists in our metagame. If it doesn't currently exist, I guess that would be 1.0, but the card doesn't feel like a 1.0 to me.

Sunblade Elf - 2.0
E - 4.0
P - 2.0
Not bad for a one-drop. In Origins, there was no reason to go white with your elf deck really, so the effort of making this guy work wasn't worth it. However... now we have things like Declaration in Stone, and the elf deck can spare a permanent for Angelic Purge too. Assuming you started with BG elves, you can also cast Anguished Unmaking. With all of that on the table, I think elves could go white in our current metagame, which means there may be room for one or more copies of this little guy too. Probably just the one copy, since the deck I'm describing would be more midrange/disruptive so an early offense is hard to capitalize on. Despite collective wisdom though, I have personally witnessed plenty of players using this guy in an elf deck, so rating any lower than 2.0 seems unrealistic. Will we see a WG weenie deck someday? If we do, this guy will be there.

Sylvan Ranger - 4.0
E - 3.0
P - 2.0
Used in a variety of decks, the humble Sylvan Ranger has quickly replaced Gatecreeper Vine across the metagame, with more attack ability and less mana-fixing. I think it's pretty obvious this card has "staple" status and gets used in everything from 2-color up to 5-color + colorless, and the occasional monocolor deck may even use her for some purpose. Elves like her, and aristocrats like her, and Eldrazi Displacer likes her. She is a ubiquitous utility card, and it's hard to imagine multicolor decks being the same without her.

Timberland Guide - 1.0
E - 2.0
P - 1.0
Now that we have Obsessive Skinner, this guy looks kinda sad. I guess there are shenanigans with Eldrazi Displacer so he could act as copies 4-7 of the skinner; I've tried him out in the past and been largely disappointed. Does anyone have a deck where this guy shines?

Vessel of Nascency - 4.0
E - 3.0
P - 0.0
People will probably disagree with me, but this is one of those cards that says "planeswalker" on it so it can fetch one up before filling your graveyard. Although it takes a total investment of 1GG, this is split up into two payments, which makes it more manageable and splashable. It may not have widespread adoption in the current speed of our format, but this card is more than just a delirium enabler: it fills the graveyard, assists reanimator, digs for artifacts, digs for planeswalkers, digs for land, digs for creatures and enchantments. Considering our lack of tutoring for many card types, this sort of Impulse effect is valuable, and the graveyard will continue to be an important resource. This would be my favorite vessel to return with Auramancer, and I think its footprint is going to grow with time.

Wildsize - 4.0
E - 3.0
P - 0.0
A fair combat trick for a fair price that replaces itself. The evasion of trample is nice, but I suspect this card is used more than it should be. I feel that I've seen it often enough to call it a 4.0, but it may be more deserving of 3.0 or even 2.0. Despite my opinion, the card gets plenty of play and I doubt that will change soon.

Yavimaya Wurm - 1.0
E - 2.0
P - 1.0
Better than Spined Wurm, but not by a significant enough margin to change the numbers. Again, new players will use this to positive effect, but with enough cards unlocked you will find replacements for this. Being a high-power trampler might almost give it a place somewhere, but I don't know where.


Final Thoughts on Green: Some of this could be my personal bias (Green is my favorite color, both in life and in Magic), but I don't think all of it is. Looking across the field, I see a lot of 3.0's, 4.0's, and even a 5.0. Green seems to be genuinely stronger in the D cards than the other colors from what I can tell, with more universal tools and just some stronger cards for deckbuilding options. Let me know if you disagree, but I bet that my conclusion will be close to the consensus.

I'm not sure if this guide is trying to rate the cards in a vacuum, in the current meta, or as beginner cards. For example, River-Marshall is a solid two drop that only lacks a tier 1 home now but is somehow ranked under Indulgent Aristocrat which is only borderline playable in a deck that is at best tier 2 and can't be made with starter cards anyway. As noted before, Esperzoa is a definite 3 and a solid pick for beginners who have origins but not other sets yet.

I think you're a bit too generous with red and green, but they're very good colors for starting players so that kind of works out. For example, super niche cards like Boulder Salvo and Vessel of Nascency are okay in ranking for new player archetypes. Overall, these are pretty good posts and should be useful for new players.

I'm enjoying reading your card reviews. Only gotten through to black so far, and agree with a lot of your commentary - but I had to pause for this comment.



I agree with this comment and think you've undervalued Esperzoa. I can see why you'd be inclined to give it a low ranking, because it is unplayable if you're not using an artifact heavy deck - but you gave Indulgent Aristicrat a 3, who has similar deck specific playability. I think Esperzoa deserves a 3 as well.

It's a 4/3 flyer for 3 mana. I suspect a vanilla 4/3 for 1 color 2 generic would get playing time in some decks - and zoa has evasion to boot. It's drawback isn't terribly difficult to turn into a benefit with Alchamist's Vial (or early on when I didn't have all cards, I would run a single Meteorite for late game recurring damage), or turn into a neglegable penalty with Thopter Spy Network, Thraben Gargoyle, or some other 1 mana artifact. With Thopter Engineer in play it can function like having an Exquisite Firecraft in hand to toss at your opps face each turn. Even at its worst and you have no other artifacts in play, it has some utility where you can play it for a blocking threat to keep your opp off their attacks or trade it on the block.

I have everything unlocked and I still run a pair in my thopter deck.

I will be going back through and changing some of the rankings after the dust has settled. It seems there is a consensus that I have underranked Esperzoa, and I admit that my thopter deck also uses it... I just thought that I was going too synergy-Johnny-long game and maybe just out of date with my thopter deck. I figured there was a faster, more aggressive option that would be a better inclusion... maybe there isn't. I'll change up some numbers, but not until I've posted my first thoughts up for the whole list.

@GimmickMan: I realize I'm probably bouncing between different judgment metrics sometimes, but I do want to capture at least some of the current feel of the metagame. I try to include some comments that could apply in a different, future world of Duels, as well as the occasional view of the past. I'm not going for judgments in a vacuum - a lot of these would be perfectly playable in a vacuum, but would have no home currently.

I think you did an admirable job. I'd add a note to Reprisal : it will continue to be relevant until white gets an instant speed exile effect at 2 or less CMC - read, basically forever in Duels.

I like upping Esperzoa to 3, even though we may not get a boost to artifact decks for many moons to come.

Artifact, Colorless and Land

Bottle Gnomes - 3.0
E - 1.0
P - 2.0
On its own, Bottle Gnomes is well past its prime. 3 toughness on turn 3 is not necessarily enough to stop the onslaught these days, and the life gain is only relevant against a red aggro/Sligh matchup. However, about the time you thought it was done... lo and behold, this mechanic comes along called delirium. As a set piece to turn on delirium in addition to its other game-slowing qualities, Bottle Gnomes is actually pretty good. It also performs well enough in aristocrats builds, turning on cards like Liliana, Heretical Healer and Smothering Abomination and Ulvenwald Mysteries. Delirium is the important one to look at here, but it could wheedle its way into some other decklists too.

Bronze Sable - 1.0
E - 1.0
P - 1.0
My least favorite card rotation: we get this to replace Perilous Myr. To be fair, this gives you a generic 2-power attacker for 2 mana, and an artifact creature if your deck calls for it, no matter what you're running. It's fair, it's safe, it's boring, and very quickly it's useless as your artifact creatures fill out a bit more.

Juggernaut - 2.0
E - 3.0
P - 1.0
An old, old classic, Juggernaut can give some midrange beats to any color of deck starting off, which is kinda nice. The P/T ratio is a square deal here, offset somewhat by the fact it must attack every turn. Early artifact decks will be glad to have this beatstick, and even later it is not beyond possibility to find a spot for it in your deck (it looks pretty good on turn 4 after Thopter Engineer). The relics of the past don't always age well, but I hate to speak ill of the Juggernaut lest it break through the walls of my home and crush me.

Ruin Processor - 2.0
E - 3.0
P - 2.0
As big dumb creatures go, this one isn't too bad. For one thing, it's hard to find fault with the P/T ratio, even as a 7 mana creature. Then we've got the processor angle, wherein this card could be pretty good for you to come back from behind with a sudden board presence and 5 extra life. If you aren't gaining the life this card doesn't look too great, but it's not a bad ramp or reanimation target for a new player alongside Birthing Hulk.

Stonework Puma - 1.0
E - 0.0
P - 1.0
As a brand new player who loves allies, you might throw some of these stone kitties into your deck, but even then you'll be hoping to quickly replace them with allies that grant lifelink, or menace, or that trigger lifedrain, etc. There's a very narrow window of time where these may be of any use to you, and that time is soon gone.

Strider Harness - 2.0
E - 1.0
P - 0.0
A pretty bad piece of equipment, although once you've committed it to the field, granting +1/+1 and haste for 1 colorless isn't a bad deal; it's that initial 3 mana to get it on the board that really hurts. Equipment decks might still run a copy to tutor out, and any oddball deck that is sorely wishing to hasten its creatures might find a spot for it. Mostly though, this is to be avoided.

The Basic Lands (Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, Forest, Wastes) - 5.0
E - 3.0
P - 0.0
Not much to be said here, their inclusion is expected and obligatory (if they hadn't been included, heads would have exploded). Have you ever wondered why Plains and Wastes get the sort of pluralization, and the others don't?

The Generic Taplands (Forsaken Sanctuary, Foul Orchard, Highland Lake, Stone Quarry, Woodland Stream, Cinder Barrens, Meandering River, Submerged Boneyard, Timber Gorge, Tranquil Expanse) - 5.0
E - 2.0
P - 0.0
Okay, so nobody is impressed, and 5.0 might seem too high of a rating. Answer me one question though: when you build a 2-color deck (or 2 colors with a little splash), do you, or do you not include a playset of these guys? I know I do. They're a godsend to new players looking to build a deck of 3+ colors, and even in my advanced deckbuilding with manlands and all, sometimes one or two copies will worm their way into my decks. If they were not in our pool... two-color decks would be a lot harder. New players would have a rough time cobbling together a mana base. If this game had come out before Ravnica, we might not have gotten these lands, or we might have only received the allied-color taplands from Invasion block. It's a nicer world we live in, where you can easily get ahold of a UG land, or a UR land, or a WB land. Our metagame would feel the effects if these little staples dropped out.

The "Checklands" (Woodland Cemetery, Drowned Catacomb, Rootbound Crag, Clifftop Retreat, Hinterland Harbor, Isolated Chapel, Sulfur Falls, Dragonskull Summit, Glacial Fortress, Sunpetal Grove) - 5.0
E - 3.0
P - 0.0
If you're wondering what would rate as a 5.0 on Efficiency, see City of Brass. Anyhow, these are workhorses even moreso than the taplands are. Since the battlelands (or tangolands, or whatever) give us cards with multiple basic land types, they improve the value of the checklands. Also, in this world of Sylvan Ranger and Explosive Vegetation, it's not too strange to have some basics on the board to untap these as well. These are going to be fixtures of our multicolor decks for a long while, even if we get some new cycles further down the line. As a point of trivia, these are also the only rare cards we received in the D cards, and unless patterns and policies change, I expect they'll be the only rare D cards.


Final Thoughts on Artifacts, Colorless and Lands: Moar plz. No seriously, people love artifacts and equipment, give us something juicy to start our collections off with. I can't really complain with the lands they've provided, but I'd like to see just a few more options here.

Personally I think priority should be given to vacuum evaluations. Current meta eval isn't unwelcome, but I do think vacuum should get more weight. Gives your list longer term relevance, as the meta will constantly be shifting as new sets release. Cards that are 4 in current meta may be 2 after the next shift, or vice versa - so someone viewing your work 3 months from now will be getting a skewed analysis.

Maybe add another ranking to seperate card power in current meta from card power in a vacuum?