Things that go bump in the afternoon...

I thought to myself this afternoon, " I think i will go for a lie down before I head out this evening" and whilst I wasn't surprised after returning to my workstation this evening, to find more delicious spoilers, I was shocked that there had been three. We must all be thankful to the internet lords and Mark Rosewater for providing us with a flowing spoiler season, let the cards keep rolling.

N.B. I was going to post this at 3.15am but then realised new spoilers will be up soon..so I am amalgamating the two posts into one bumper post XD

Lets start with Maro's card he teased us with over the weekend shall we since we knew that was being released today.

Yes, this is a jar. Full of Eyeballs...

Constructed: 1/5   Limited: 3/5
           Wizards does like its impulse type effects. From the original pregenitor to more modern versions such as Peer through Depths and Forbidden Alchemy. For the most part, cards like that see play because of the selection they grant the caster and the deeper the card digs the better. I can see this as a worse version of these cards for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it needs other cards for it to be good namely creatures and they can only be your own, because heaven forbid you harvest your opponents creature's eyeballs for your nefarious ends. All the other cards have one thing in common. They're instants, which can be searched and played in the same turn, netting you the possible card you require. This needs 6 mana to get down and activate AND at least one creature dying to perform a pseudo-Preordain effect. I like it in limited better than constructed, although may have a outside shot of making a control deck much like Druidic Satchel did in U/B Control lists.

Up next is my friend, and I'm afraid he is a little handsy. Check out Drogskol Reaver.

 Constructed: 1/5 Limited: 4/5
Handsy here feels like the bastard child of baneslayer angel and conscreted sphinx, with the lifelinking and card drawing vertically transferring from parents to offspring. Sadly he will never live up to his parents from which he inherited his abilities. 7 mana is a lot for something that comes into play and does nothing. The difference between 6 and 7 is bigger than people realise so I believe he shall be reaping back into my folder waiting for another day to shine.

In limited he is the standard mythic flyer who trumps all others, although Ms Voldaren would care for  word or two. You open a pack and see this staring back at you, unless you are dead set on forcing Spider spawning or a gimmick deck, then you take this and move on. Limited Bomb alert.

Next up we have what is possibly the coolest creature combination ever written on a magic card...Zombie Treefolk

I can assure you, his bark is as bad as his bite

Constructed: 1/5   Limited: 3/5
   Apart from having an awesome creature type, i dont see much traction for this card in the current meta. He suffers from the Khalni Hydra effect of being effective if you have creatures in the bin but the time he costs about 4/5 he wont be enough for you to win with. The prevalence of token stratergies also hinders his effectiveness, for the the infinite chump blockers you have throw against you, and also most of the creatures are tokens which don't hang out in the graveyard. In limited he suffers from the same probably altho he is better late game than in constructed. I wouldn't fault you for taking him first, but not over a solid piece of removal.

5'o'clock in the am  rolls around and it is new spoiler day....and OMG do we have some tasty ones for you today. I think i will leave the best for last and start with a simple common

He may be loyal, but he still doesn't like working the night shift

Constructed: 1/5 Limited: 1.5/5
Here we have the white bear with effect card for the set. I don't think it is completely bad in deck that can support it's colour requirements. I have a problem with the human side dying and turning into a guy which, quite frankly isn't better than the front side. If the front side dies then it is more than likely the backside will perish too.

(The backside of this card is a 2/1 which cannot block is black in colour)

Constructed: 1/5 Limited: 1/5
River Kelpie never looked so good! A niche enchantment for those with a penchant for casting cards from their graveyards. I think it could see some use in a limited deck packed with flashback cards, however take some thing for the sideboard. Very limited constructed applications, which makes me sad because I like cards such as these to build around.

Right that is the boring cards out of the way, time for the tasty Mythics starting with,

Constructed: 4/5  Limited: 3.5/5

The court is in session, and she means business, some nice stats comparable, as LSV states in his article on channelfireball.com, to Giant Solifuge which was a beating back in the day. With trample making the way for flying and representing a fast clock if left unchecked, it seems to me this might be a player in aggro red/black decks in the coming months. I think the creatures are there, but the deck hasn't been made yet. Only time will tell if it is any good and the lady above will be introducing herself to our faces in the coming months.

I would give her a lower rating in limited because of the prevalence of flying creatures and those types of decks. Being chumped all day feels bad for such a powerful card. Saying that, you pick this 1st 99% of the time and are very happy about it.

Constructed: 1/5 Limited: 4/5

6 drop that doesn't have the word titan written on it. Possible that MAYBE, SOMEHOW with SOME FUTURE CARD(S) that allow a red token/swarm deck to be possible that it could make a good finisher with it's ability but it's a straw clutch at best. There are simply other, better cards available at lower costs (Koth, for example)

A special mention for EDH: this is actually pretty good considering it's a red creature card. I'll be picking one up as I do with every other dragon, but I won't feel bad about actually playing it as opposed to passed efforts. To my knowledge it's the first card to do what it does as cheaply and easily as it does, certainly on so accessible and relevant a creature type (for me, anyway)

While "only card of it's colour" may be pushing it due to the utter unsplashability (no matter what I once managed to do with a splashed Devil's Play), this is a pretty nutty bomb, even given it's slot as The Big Red One. As well as operating as a "hit you until you die" dragon it also uniquely synergises with basically any other creature you happen to have available. Open it, pick it, play it, don't get cut in red.

Thank you to ChaosSmurf for writing that review of  Moonveil Dragon. He was definately the man for the job. He does love the dragons dearly. Now onto the main attraction. He has return from his travels in the multiverse to his homeland, and he doesn't like what has happened. BAD AVACYN!

Constructed: 4/5 Limited: 4.5/5
Wow. Just take a minute to take that in.


Sorin, Lord of Innistrad is a powerful addition to the card pools we can draw from and harkens back to three years ago, when LSV nearly ran the tables at Kyoto with BW tokens. Oh how he wishes he could of supplemented Elspeth, Knight Errant with this. First ability is a trademark in all planeswalkers that are of a high power level, they can protect themselves. Lifelink is a nice touch and I'm sure the fact they're vampire will not be overlooked for too long.

Ability number 2, is unique, never before have we had an ability that can make an emblem that is not the ultimate of a planeswalker. These bad boys can stack so it maybe could get out of hand quickly. Turning simple 1/1's into threats is a big deal.  It will take a little work maybe to get a small stack of these emblems, but if you do look out.

Let analyse his ultimate. It is powerul, verstatile, tricksy, ballsy and bonkers all rolled into one. You can destroys your opponents stuff up to get the last damage required. You can blow planeswalkers up to recruit them to your side. You can activate your planeswalkers, except sorin, then send them on a merry journey to the graveyard, only for them to come back again so you get to activate their abilties for a second time. Of course this could be done with your creatures, with Titans being amongst the prime targets.

Sorin is such a verstatile card, that he could find a home in a few decks. He could slot into solar flare to bring that back to the forfront. He could add a more controlling element to the Esper control lists doing the round made famous by Jeremy Neeman at Worlds, or he spawn new deck that build around him. I am thinking about using him in a B/W token deck similar to LSV's list from PT Kyoto from 2009.

The comparisions to another 4 mana planeswalker will printed in a small set started flooding in as soon as the card was spoiled but remember he is 2 colour neither of which is blue, making it slightly tougher on mana bases, has a weakness to flyers, and will take a few turn to get to the 6 loyalty required

Well that was an interesting morning of spoilers which certain surprised me. Lets hope more get released which make people think about new and great decks. Until tomorrow.

The Hoomans are coming..

New day, new spoilers. Only two spoiled this morning as far as i can see so lets get to them

Constructed: 1/5 Limited: 3/5

On the surface it seems like these is a conquering pledge clone but with one less token for one less mana. It does have the added caviat of producing a large number of tokens for the low low price of 9 manas. I feel this isn't a card that will be played in constructed in large numbers mainly due to the fact it is a sorcery. The thing this does have in its favor is that it produce humans, giving that deck archetype a finisher of sorts. In Limited I wouldn't be disappointed in taking this from a average to above average pack. White is a strong colour with lots of supporting cards. I can see this being used for both offense getting those last point of damage through, or maybe on defense absorbing some damage so your flyers can get there

Constructed : /5 Limited: /5
Much like this card, I am lost... for words on the applications of this card. Mana acceleration it is not, and you most certain wouldn't play it in your deck just to flash back the one expensive finisher you have (Army of the Damned). If you do play it in your deck. I think you need to have 8-10 flashback spells to justify this and that is at a push, because you are cutting a spell for this. I just flat out dislike this card and will be passing it both left and right in the coming months.

Two disappointing spoilers this morning, hopeful Maro's Jar of Eyeballs (previewed later on along) as well as any more from online sources capture the imagination of the Magic community

It has been a while hasn't it. :P

What can I say. Life has a funny way of getting in the way of everything, and in this case it did in a big way, however I am still here and here comes another spoiler season filled with CCG goodies. Feels like christmas all over again :D

I am going to use the LSV rating system for grading card and it does it like this
http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/innistrad-set-review-white/ (if you look at the top of the article

Constructed: 1/5
I feel this will not see play outside of the crazy super all in human decks. Maybe as a 2-of in token deck but not much more as there are better options at this point in time
Limited: 1.5/5
   I would be OK about starting this card in my main. It doesn't do the flashy job of providing me with win like dah Bombs do, however, it does provide me 2 creatures for 1 card. Also may occasionaly save bacon as a last ditch card. Shame the tokens do not fly though. Sorcery speed hurts it though

Constructed: 2/5
This will see some play in sideboard of decks that need to beat those pesky enchantments. With the addition of some of the cards you will see later in this spoiler, I think burning vengeance will become a Tier 1.5/1 deck and this is good way for G/W mages to deal with the aforementioned enchantment
Limited: 2/5
In sealed you probably main deck this bad boy due to random curses and enchantments (I am looking at you Heretic's punishment) in main decks. In drafts an excellent sideboard card you can pick up on the wheel and get value from

Constructed: 2/5
Another card for the U/W human deck, although i think this will see less play other humans. Shame about his last ability only being active when you have 5 or less life...otherwise.
Limited:  3/5
A solid rare that is very much first pickable in an average pack. Unanswered it will give you a nice lead in the  match and if you manage to get Fateful hour ability off then it is GG for your opponent. Goes well in the sacifice themed human deck with unruly mob and Thraban sentry making guys to die.

Constructed: 2.5/5
I think this is the card that makes burning vengeance a better deck. Either cast it on yourself to put more stuff in the bin to take advantage of your graveyard theme or finish the opponent off with the double mill effect. Good early for quick mill, and better late for keeping the engine ticking. Also being able to ping something for U from the bin is useful with burning vengeance out.
Limited: 4/5
A definite first pick in my books, blue being one of the strongest colours to draft. Better when you consider you are only playing with 40 card decks and each person starts with 33 cards in their deck. Say you get to turn 8 and X is 7, that is 18 cards left, if he/she hasn't drawn any cards, then next turn flashback for the same...and they have 3/4 cards left. You can also use it to fuel your own shenanigans if you are playing the spider spawning deck and want to get down to your combo..Watch out for this one

Constructed: 1/5
Mind control is in standard and it is more difficult to deal with and doesn't require you to hit them first...file this  one under "No, thank you"
Limited: 2/5
This isn't mind control. Mind control is a bonkers card for limited environments because enchantments are so hard to deal with. I could get behind it had more power, however I just don't even think it is going to connect to steal a creature. When it does tho...

Constructed: 0/5
.....
Limited 1/5
Maybe, someone gets all the curses in the world...

Constructed: 3/5
This is begging to be broken in an older format in a deck such as dredge or something of that nature. However in standard, I think it gives black aggressive deck another one drop to supplement the Diregraf ghoul for more explosive starts. The rating on this one goes up or down depending on what happens in the eternal formats.
Limited: 1-3/5
A rare 2/1 that gets out-muscled pretty quickly, however get better the more zombies you have. I would say about 8 zombies is a nice number to have to make sure you can rebuy this guy. He loses points because cannot block and therefore chump, however I think he is solid addition to any black deck.

Constructed: 1/5
Nowadays, you expect more from a 5 drop, even if his flip slide has massive and can get the damage through, the downside is too much for me and easily shut down. What makes him worse is that he is the pre-release promo..:(
Limited: 1-3/5
Dependant on human count in your deck i feel. The reason why it has such a good rating if you do have human is that he is a beating. Good luck trying to mitigate the damage. Common enchantments are a good answer to this guy, but he can be a beating. You have been warned.

Constructed: 1/5
BRAINS..!?!?!?!
Limited: 1-3/5
MOAR BRAINZ!?!?!?!?

Constructed:3/5
A functional reprint of Careful study that i think will see play across all formats. Speaking about standard, Burning Vengeance likes this card a lot, and plays very well in that deck archetype. Hopefully this and Increasing Confusion pushes the deck over the top.
Limited: 3/5
A good card in any deck giving you card selection later in the game. Can sometimes hurt you if you cast when not needed. The great thing about this is the discard is not random, so you can chose to put your flashback card in the bin, or lands later on in the game.

Constructed: 1/5
I want my 4 drop in red to do more for me straight away rather than having to wait until it flips. Hero of Oxid Ridge beats straight away, and Koth turns a mountain sideways faster than you can blink (as long as you don't choose a summoning sick one :P). Nearly madam shaman, nearly
Limited 3.5/5
In limited she is a hot card. Ok she does nothing on he regular side, but once she flips shit gets real. Your opponent need to take 4 damage to flip her, and still takes 2 if they use a kill spell. All for the not-so-large sum of 4 mana. Colour me impressed

Constructed: 1/5
I don't see this taking a bite out of the 60 card meta
Limited: 2/5
Undying makes this card better as you can trade with better cards and come out on top. I wouldn't play more than one but a nice solid card to round your deck and curve out with. You gotta have something to knock their health down.

Constructed 1/5
Giant Growth got cut from 2012 so you can see what Wizards think of pumps spells..this one is worse than giant growth most of the time.
Limited 1.5/5
I wouldn't give this the worst rating because G/W deck could use it for forcing damage through, but even that is pretty loose. The morbid aspect of the card, and the fact the pump stays around is why it gave it the .5 extra

Constructed: 3/5 (possible 4/5)
This is a very strong card and will be a player on many different greens deck in a lot of formats. A 2/1 for 2 with haste is OK, slightly above the curve I would argue. The fact that when it dies it gets bigger! Bonkers. Trades well early or late, and if played on turn 2 can force lots of damage through before being blocked methinks.
Limited 3/5
With green being such a in vogue colour to draft at the minute this card is a good choice for any green mages. Expect to see it rumbling into the red zone offering trades, and then being kept back later in the game for profitable trading. Glad it was printed with the GG cost, otherwise it could of gotten silly.

Constructed: 0/5
I wouldn't be seen drinking from this chalice, never mind putting it in my deck
Limited: 0/5
If you do get to 30 life, you probably do not need this card to win because you are in control of this game.

Well thank you for reading through and I apologise for any spelling and grammatical errors. I try my best to get it rid, but sometimes things slip through. Comment away at the bottom of the blog about my ratings and whether you think they're right or not, and what you guys think about the new mechanics

A Veiled Hunter.

Good Afternoon Readers,

  Many people have undoubtedly seen the cards spoiled this morning and have already formed their opinions of the cards especially of the new planeswalker. I will try to view it as an uninformed observer and try to find a home for our new pretty. For those who haven't seen feast your eyes on Liliana of the Veil

3 mana... She is only the second 3 mana planewalker printed, the other one being the original flavour Jace. Now, Jace Beleren was originally dismissed as a planeswalker but later saw some serious action in all manner of controlling deck from Faeries to 5CC colour control. His play dropped off after Big Jace was printed but more and more, he snuck his way back into the metagame because he was able to off big daddy Jace but I digress.

Liliana abilites are interesting. Her +1 ability is the one most people have been talking about. Looking at it purely as a loyalty ability, I think it is an inherently bad ability because of the card disadvantage it gives you if you activate it when Liliana enters play. You are down 2 cards to you opponents 1. You need to view this card in terms of the set she is in. In a set which is going to use the graveyard as an additional resource, making yourself discard cards to set a combo up is not so bad really. The presence of flashback cards really reduces the impact Liliana's first ability has on your card advantage over the course of the game.

Liliana second ability is more of what we expect from our planeswalkers. A repeatable cruel edict is a fantastic ability, and one I am sure will be used over and over again. In order to get 2 edict you must first +1 but that is a small price to pay for what is a strong ability. I do not think any more needs to said about her second ability.

Her "ultimate" is an expanded Do or Die. On a big bored you either Plague Wind, or Armageddon you opponent. A fair trade if you ask me. Even better if you consider black has both Life's Finale and Black Sun's Zenith as sweepers, plus whatever Innistrad hold in the way of mass creature removal. Remove all of their creatures first then use the ultimate to destroy half of your opponents lands. Either way, her last ability is very powerful and well worth discarding some cards for.

Time. Time will only tell if Liliana is good enough. She needs cards to help support her first ability, but I think with some help she can be very very good, and a major player in the upcoming standard format.

Another card I want to talk about today is Fiend Hunter. Again if you have not seen it, see below

This is a fantastic card. A journey to nowhere on a creature. A newer lower costed, slightly more resilient faceless butcher, if white is good, then this will be an integral part of it. It removes problem creatures, at the end of the game such as Titans (although that is not such a good idea if you opponent has a removal spell). I think where it will be most effective is in white weenie. Removing blocking creatures so you are forcing through extra damage is want to be doing, and this achieves this most admirably. Limited wise, unless white is absolute gash in Innistrad limited, this will be a high pick and rivalling most rares as first pick material.

Till Next Time...

Innistrad Episode 4: A New Hope

"All is not lost in the darkness. There must be someone who will teach, who will train us to overcome our adversaries, and allow us to drift into the restful sleep"


"I think I can help with that"

Now here is a powerful card. Probably the most exciting card spoiled thus far. Do not underestimate this card for it absurdly powerful. The deck you would think of straight away would I think be White Weenie.

23 Plains
3 Dismember
2 Sword of War and Peace
3 Inquisitor Exarch
4 Mentor of the Meek
4 Hero of Bladehold
1 Oblivion Ring
4 Elite Vanguard
4 Stormfront Pegasus
2 Signal Pest
2 Mirran Crusader
4 Leonin Skyhunter

4 Gideon's Lawkeeper

Something like this, I think might be a powerful and viable deck. Now notice without the Mentor, there is no inherent problem with this deck....Card advantage. The hero provides its own mini army when attacking but aside from that you have creatures. If you don't draw enough during you draw steps then you lose. If you draw to many and throw them all on the board, then you are asking to get blown out by Day of Judgment.

Mentor of the Meek gives this deck a draw engine. It allows you to play your Exarch's, Pest's, and Skyhunter's with the additional text 

"When ~ enter the battlefield you may pay 1. If you do draw a card"

That is a very powerful ability, and white weenie is not the only deck it could go in. Check these bad boys out

G/W Beatdown

4 Jade Mage
4 Skinshifter
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Birds of Paradise
2 Dismember
4 Sword of War and Peace
4 Mentor of the Meek
3 Oblivion Ring
4 Sunpetal Grove
1 Acidic Slime
4 Mirran Crusader
3 Hero of Bladehold
4 Razorverge Thicket
4 Sunpetal Groves
9 Forest
6 Plains
And it is not only Standard that gets to have all the fun.
G/W Elves
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Nettle Sentinel
2 Regal Force
4 Mentor of the Meek
2 Elvish Archdruid
4 Green Sun's Zenith
4 Heritage Druid
1 Tangleroot
2 Essence Warden
3 Cloudstone Curio
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
2 Ranger of Eos
4 Elvish Visionary
4 Arbor Elf
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Verdant Catacombs
7 Forest
1 Dryad Arbor
2 Temple Gardens
1 Horizon Canopy
This deck uses Mentor as a pseudo Glimpse of nature, and doesn't have any problems paying the cost because of the large amount of mana created. Perhaps it will take a little more thinking when going off, but it is something I think a competent player will have no problems with.
We have just scratched the surface with this cards usage and I expect it to be a player in the upcoming format. 
I will leave you this week think about this cards interaction with Reveillark.
Till Next Time..
P.S. Credit goes to Gavin Verhey for the decklists. read his article which goes a little more in depth into the card at
http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/standard/22679_Innistrad_Preview_Mentor_of_the_Meek.html

A Coach Tour of Innistrad

Thank you Ladies and Gentlemen for joining us today on our journey today. A few quick ground rules before we leave
1. Keep all body parts inside the vehicle. We do not want anybody coming back missing something because the werewolves got hungry.
2. Don't feed the animals. (see rule 1)
3.Have a pleasant journey!

Many of you have come from far away to tour the mystic lands of Innistrad and no doubt you came in on the overnight ferry into port

A picturesque and beautiful location by day and it shines brightly in the moonlight. If you have lodgings here this evening then please be careful if you wander the streets after dark. Many being lurk in the harbour mists beyond your drunk and rowdy sailor.

As we travel through the land we are going to be venturing into areas both civilised and wooded, again we would remind to keep yourself to yourself, and everyone will be fine. If you care to look to your left we see the famous house on the cliff. Renowned for it's fantastic views and even tastier wines, distilled from the local slopes, it peers out onto the Great sea and is a vantage point to spot incoming ships and others mechanical objects....

Moving on, we are now travelling through one of the planes many thick wooded areas. These are the hunting grounds for the local whom have a more carnivorous palette. Just up on the right you will the famous Woodland Cemetery, in which lies some of the more skilled hunters. You see, they wished to be buried here so there bodies would become one with earth from which they took. Very sentimental if you ask me, but I would keep your eyes on the Shepherds and Rangers. Hardy folk but they do seem to have some anger issues.

Further along the track you will see a chapel. Strange you might think, that a place of worship resides in such a dark area. It is for the followers of demonic powers. Do not go near it, many have and we have no longer seen them. It is the Restless Sleep for them.

And finally as we head from the wooded hills and slopes up to the more canyon-like mountainous regions, we can see that the world beneath us is still active.

If you know the right spells or are of the demonic flavour then you could pass through the falls into the labyrinth beyond. I heed you this warning though, many creatures of the nigth lurk within the falls. Do not take so lightly your entry into the caves, you may come out a changed person.

"Well, thank you everyone for coming on this journey with us, I hope you have enjoy your day, it is getting close to night fall so everyone should probably head back to your domiciles"

"But we cannot get back, for it seems the horses have disappeared, along with the driver"

"Well, letting one get away is not ideal, but I can work with it. I am so hungry. Who is up for supper?"

Ain't no party, like an Innistrad Spoiler Party

Good Morning, Evening, Whatever to all those who are reading this. The only word to describe what was spoiled last night is "Whhhhhaaaaaatttttt?" I suppose that is more of a sound than a word, but I digress. Lots of tidbits, mechanics, and awesome cards were revealed to the entire world last night. This was not limited to those at the PAX party, but thanks to the social media website many people are able to share there findings.

Before I run down what was spoiled, let me give a little background about the PAX party, and PAX itself.  Penny Arcade Expo or PAX, is a gaming weekend for gamers! Created in 2004, PAX has been hailed as a weekend long celebration of gamer culture. Defining characteristics include an insider keynote speech, game industry topics, exhibitor booths from independent and major game developers and publishers, after-hours parties, tournament and freeplay areas. 


There was a lot of anticiptation ahead of last nights party. Speculation forums were awash with threads about a day and night mechanic, about how the Mayor of Avabruck would transfrom. A token card perhaps, or two different cards that interchange with each other....


So therefore Ladies and Gentlemen I give you.....




Double Sided Cards

I wonder what could be in the egg?

"Run away, run away"

Yes that is right, this card has no Magic the Gathering back, both sides are being used. Before people explode at this with things like "Oh people can see my card when I draft" and " I could see it in my deck when  shuffling my deck up" please visit the Magic the Gathering main website for extra information about these exciting new changes!!


Double Sided Card Rules

For the record, I like what this brings to the game. There are a few mechanical issues which I think playing with the cards will erase, but I am very excited to be playing with these new cards. I am no Vorthos, but I love the flavour of transforming something into something else which is in keeping with the Classic Horror theme of transformation, which is the major design factor for Innistrad. It is displays the cards in ways the original flip cards from Kamigawa, and the split cards from Apocalypse onwards do. Here is another double sided card, one which you choose which side you stay on.

If that isn't classic horror then i don't know what is. The difference between this one and Ludevic's Abomination is that you can change this card back and forth from a bat into a vampire. It gives this card flexibility that not many cards have. A 3 mana 2/2 is nothing to write home about but it gets the job done, but imagine if your opponent has a 3/3 flyer, you bat is not getting through. OK, play 2BB and get a 5/5 that bashing through your opponents monster. Nice...creature. I expect this card to receive a middling grade and garner maybe 4/5 pick status, a solid card to add to your deck, but nothing special. Speaking of special, check out the Mayor of Avabruck

I apologise for the bad picture of the Howlpack Alpha, it reads:
Other Werewolf and Wolves you control get +1/+1.
At the beginning of your end step put a 2/2 Wolf onto the battlefield.
At the beginning of each upkeep, if a player cast two or more spells last turn, transform Howlpack Alpha.

There is a exciting card. Lot of potential but I think the tempo you lose from going from Mayor to Howlpack is a lot early on in the game, but as said previously it has lots of potential that can only get better, if other good werwolves are printed. A solid all round card which I would not mind first picking in a draft.

Remember the last time something had 5 abilities on a White Creature

This creature is obviously based on the legendary monster hunter, Van Helsing. I think he does a great impression of the great man, with some monster abilites. He reminds me of Kazandu Blademaster with regards to the 2/2, First Strike, Vigilance. His other abilites look promising and I see him locking out opponents creatures for the next couple of years. The power of this card will depend on how much play Vampires, Werewolves and Zombies see, although if a mono-W aggro deck arises this will be a role player no question. A very strong card which I think will see a high pick in draft.

In addition to the flip cards we have a new Aura type: Curse. This is the keyword for enchant player previously see on Paradox Haze amongst other things. This card is not very good. In my opinion mill cards are not very good, but there are people who like them and will pick them up. Expect to see this tale wide up around pick 13/14 in most drafts.

 A cheap flyer, with a very weak drawback? Sign me up for a couple.Obviously you do not want to many a deck but looks like a solid creature in the mid to late game.

Sarcomancy, and Carnophage are both amazingly powerful cards, This card has a very high power level, because you play it turn one and it does not matter if it is tapped. Later on in the game perhaps he not that good, because you cannot block. In the decks he is good in, this zombie shines. I think he is an average card at best and we will have to wait and see whether he sees any play.

This neonate is a deceptive card. Many players would dismiss it, however it can and I think will get out of hand very quickly. Play it turn 2 and it spirals out of hand very quickly. 2 hits and it is a 4/3 which is trading some of bigger creatures.

Rare fireball....which can be used twice... Sign me up for two! Also the buy-a-box promo

Here are a set of cards from the werewolf tribe. Both are solid cards for draft decks with the ranger being above average. The arena ability of the Nightfall Predator is very strong on a 4/4, if you see they have made the ability into an evergreen keyword called "fight". The shortened version looks very good on the card, keeping everything neat and tidy but arena abilities are not liked much by the community, so we will see how this card fares. I think the Shepard is a mid to late pick with the Ranger being a high to mid pick.

 A couple more cards to go, and we carrying on by introducing Olivia Voldaron, who has a couple of Memnarch style abilites who is very very powerful, and a windmill slam first pick. She is packing creature removal on a flying 3/3 body. With the ability to steal creatures in the late game as well as putting on the pressure in the early game she is a strong candidate for a first pick in a draft.

and finally after that epic tale we come to these.

Enemy. Colour. Dual. Lands. Finally Wizards have printed enemy colour duals to help fix mana after the sac land and man-lands cycle out of standard with the imminent arrival of Innistrad. The original core duals are popular but the call for enemy colour duals was made by many players to help fix enemy colour mana bases, many of these decks are popular so the printing of these will be welcomed by all.

That was an epic session and I didn't fit all the cards in....Phew!

Well everyone, Till Next Time...