Metalworker

Ah Metalworker, you broken, broken little robot man. There are a few of these "Reveal X" cards out there, but this is the most powerful of them all because it adds so much mana for so little. Reveal 1 card, it's a Mox Sol Ring. 2 and it's a Mox Scorched Ruins. 3 or more and it's a Mox Why-The-Hell-Did-We-Print-This. And all that mana for the low, low price of showing your opponent what you're about to play. The only real problem with this card is that it's a creature, meaning that it's slower and more vulnerable than a regular artifact. Other than that, it's further proof that the Urza's saga should have had more oversight.

Pros: Adds a bunch of mana for almost no investment

Cons: Creature

Rating: 4.5/5

A Christmas Treat

Yeah, I know it's two days overdue and I know it's a cliche, but I've decided to get you all a Christmas treat and review the card that everyone is talking about. Yes, it's a card from Born of the Gods that was recently spoiled that's getting everyone super-excited. It's the one, the only, Springleaf Drum!

This card has been a staple of Modern artifacts decks ever since it's original printing in Lorwyn. It can really help accelerate creature-heavy decks by just enough to make them win. It's one of those cards that seems pretty bad, but it has a lot of uses that you don't think about right away. Basically, I like to think of this card as having the text "You may have a creature you control enter the battlefield tapped. If you do, add one mana of any color to your mana pool" because that's essentially what it does (except you can use it on other people's turns too).

Pros: Gives your slow creatures some usefulness

Cons: Only uses one creature, forces creature to tap

Rating: 3.5/5

What? You thought I was going to look at Kiora? Not until at the cards in the set are officially spoiled!

Temporal Aperture

This card is pretty fun. It's kind of like Unexpected Results. Actually, it is Unexpected Results, only more repeatable. It costs a little more, but it's extremely repeatable and won't go away if you hit a land. There's nothing wrong with this card in my opinion. It's a random card every turn (at least) for only 5 mana. It's pretty awesome! 

Pros: A random card every turn

Cons: Costs 5 mana (you might overspend)

Rating: 4.5/5

Teleport

Man, this card was really good in its day. Making a creature unblockable? Before this, the best way to do it was with Invisibility and that's not the greatest. It allows for some creatures to block it and telegraphs the fact that that creature will be pumped for extra damage. This card was really good in its good. The operative word being "was". Why do I say "was"? Ehem, Aqueous Form, Artful Dodge, Distortion Strike, Infiltrate, and Veil of Secrecy. Need I say more?

Pros: Makes a creature unblockable

Cons: Costs way too much, timing restriction

Rating: 0/5

Note: I just want to say how much I hate the change of "unblockable" to "can't be blocked". It's longer word-wise and clunkier to say. I think it's dumb and will not be using the terminology "can't be blocked" here. It will always be "unblockable" in my mind!

Soul Sculptor

This is a sort of a repeatable Prison Term, but not really. It easily locks down any unshrouded creatures until someone casts a creature spell. This is a great card for a control deck since you don't need that many creatures and this is just a great control card. The fact that it turns creatures into the marginally more vulnerable type of enchantment. It allows for an Azorius control deck to run more than a couple true kill spells because it turns cards like Erase into a better Path to Exile. Yeah, there's a flaw in that its effect is undone by a creature spell, but it can be worked around by timing it just right. That Blightsteel Colossus won't do much damage during the combat step if it's an enchantment now will it?

Pros: Makes creatures into enchantments, makes creatures lose abilities

Cons: Undone by creature spells

Rating: 4/5

Black Cat

Don't be surprised, you knew this was coming today. This is a really decent card for what it does. A really good that I've seen of this card is in a Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker EDH. Sack it every turn to force summon to discard a card at random and for fun and profit. It's a pretty painful little kitty.

Pro: Force random discard upon death

Cons: Just a 1/1

Rating: 4/5

Spitting Earth

A decent card, but it's held back by its speed. I can understand that an instant-speed scaling damage speed for a flat 2 can sound scary, but since it can only target a creature, it's basically a weaker Murder. I'd really have liked to have seen this at instant speed. WoTC sort of corrected it with Seismic Strike, but I don't think it should have costed an extra 1.

Pros: Scaling damage based on lands

Cons: Sorcery, creature only

Rating: 2/5

The Eventide Untappers

This set is pretty awesome, although some are much better than others.

Ballynock Trapper

Being able to tap down creatures is very important for an aggro deck and being able to do it more than once per turn is really good, Tap a dude, cast a dude, tap down another dude, swing. It can also be used defensively to lock down potential attackers. I'd have liked to have seen this at CMC 3 instead of 4 though. It comes in a turn too late for my liking.

Pros: Very repeatable blocker removal

Cons: Costs 4

Rating: 2.5/5

Cinder Pyromancer

This is the second-best out of the set. It fits in really well into a red burn deck. It basically adds an extra damage to each of your red spells. It's like a universal mini-Pyromancer's Gauntlet, only it doesn't cost 5. I would have liked it with haste, but I can't have everything I want.

Pros: Mini universal Pyromancer's Gauntlet

Cons: No haste

Rating: 4/5

Merrow Bonegnawer

Eating graveyards can be really advantageous and this card is really apt at that. However, it's not always a good effect and that really holds this card back. I think this would have done better with giving out temporary -1/-1 instead.

Pros: Really efficient at eating graveyards

Cons: Effect has limited usability

Rating: 2/5

Merrow Levitator

This card fits into the same vein as Ballynock Trapper. It essentially does the same thing, except that it can't be used defensively. It sort of removes blockers from the equation by making your creatures flying, but without the defensive capability, it's just not that great. If it cost one less, then it might be better.

Pros: Hands out flying

Cons: Only hands out flying

Rating: 2/5 

Nettle Sentinel

THIS IS NOT A DRAWBACK! This card is the star of so many green aggro decks it's not even funny. A pseudo-vigilance 2/2 for 1. There's not really another card like it. Most other 2+ power creatures that cost one have some sort of drawback (like sacking a land or creature) or are rare. The fact that is at common is ridiculous.

Pros: 2/2 vigilance for 1

Cons: Doesn't fly

Rating: 5/5

Reprisal

Situational Murder? Pretty good. Most of the time, you'll want to use your removal on big things anyway, so this card's restriction isn't really a restriction. It's like how Nettle Sentinel has a "downside". Not a bad card, but you might get burned sometimes when you really want to take out a utility creature.

Pros: Cheap white removal

Cons: Only targets big things

Rating: 3.5/5