Conspiracy Set Review: Black Cards

Two colors in and I get it: at $4, these packs will be considerably overpriced. They are all about having fun, and that's great, but almost none of the cards so far are good in any of the constructed formats. The formula seems to be:

pile of limited and commander cards + a sprinkle of great reprints to make people want to crack packs

This set so far is a reprint lottery with what I am sure will be a really fun multiplayer experience. Let's keep going.

Archdemon of Paliano: I would hate to have this be my first rare. Quite the handicap in a draft.
Deadly Designs: fun, fun, fun. If I was playing control with next to no creatures, I would play this and then drop all of my mana on it.

Capital Punishment: great for taking the game closer to a finish. Every game with five players needs to have someone play this card.
Garrulous Sycophant: [Monarch Card] If you are not the monarch, it's a vanilla limited creature. If you are the monarch, that's a great effect turn after turn.

Custodi Lich: [Monarch Card] You get to pick who sacrifices a creature. This is a great way to take out something with Hexproof.
Child of Night: limited classic.

Marchesa's Decree: [Monarch Card] Nice small tax against all of your opponents.
Death Wind: needed removal.

Regicide: Do the colors have to be different? If they are, this is creature removal in three colors. That's allright.
Smuggler Captain: Nice tutor. Another note to keep.

Sinuous Villain: Menace is great for multiplayer. Not much else here.
Thorn of the Black Rose: [Monarch Card] Except for the monarch bit, it's just another common creature to get that limited creature count up.

Absorb Vis: Is that 7 mana a miss-print? It can take out an opponent with a low life count.
Avatar of Woe: Old classic. That graveyard count is a lot easier to attain in multi-player. A rare instance where a card that is no longer relevant in a constructed format shines in this format.

Blood-Toll Harpy: another card that is limited jank yet at a table with five players is hitting them all for one.
Altar's Reap: because this is a set geared for limited. I really this card, though.

Diabolic Tutor: I wish this slot had one of the money tutors. It's a nice inclusion, though.
Farbog Boneflinger: it's still a 5 drop... There are so many other uncommons this could have been...

Driver of the Dead: There's a lot of limited jank in this set, much more than in a normal set, even a core set..... I have been stuck doing my review at this card... anyways, yes, limited needs this.
Festergloom: limited needs this

Fleshbag Marauder: a solid card in all formats, especially ones with lots of creatures.
Harvester of Souls: another junk rare in constructed that can be incredible in multi-player. This thing can draw you many cards in a multi-player game. Deathtouch is really a small bonus by comparison.

Guul Draz Specter: after a board wipe, this would be an amazing play. With a bunch of creatures on the board mid-game, not so much.
Infest: Great effect, definitely a high pick if I choose to be in black. You can wipe-out a lot with this in multi-player, especially early in the game. Remember that it applies to your creatures too!

Inquisition of Kozilek: Because the jank is in $4 packs.
Unnerve: really good in multiplayer. That is a lot of discard when you have four opponents.

Keepsake Gorgon: I guess it will be OK in some situations. The target removal is much more useful in other formats. It will be OK with more players.
Stromkirk Patrol: because this is a limited set.

Mausoleum Turnkey: this card requires great graveyard manipulation and this set is not a graveyard-focused set. Still, it should be a fun play.
Phyrexian Arena: great reprint, and a great pull in a sea of not-so-great rare pulls. I would probably try to gain some life somewhere else in my deck. Just like Dark Confidant, this card can kill the person who plays it.

Murder: the set needs it.
Public Execution: the set needs it, maybe.... it's not a miss-print, this thing is a 6 drop uncommon with a small effect.

Raise Dead: Sure, we need one of these.
Shambling Goblin: another missed opportunity to include a better reprint. Maybe it's because I have been stuck playing this in the current Standard.

Sangromancer: This is a really strong card with four opponents.

Conspiracy Set Review: Blue Cards

White wasn't so great. It has a few bombs, a few monarch cards, a few vote cards, and the Imperial Recruiter substitute. It also has some nostalgia reprints, but mostly, it has a bunch of limited jank. Let's see if we have better luck with Blue.

Arcane Savant: I would copy the biggest bomb in my deck.
Spire Phantasm: It works best when you pass something good, something you know the next person will have to pick.

Canal Courier: [Monarch Card] It's a big casting cost. Placing monarch cards at common is great. That means the monarch will change from player to player many times during a game.
Bonds of Quicksilver: limited Flash trick.

Coveted Peacock: Great way to get rid of a pesky creature, but it's a lot better to remove it with targeted removal.
Illusion of Choice: Reads like a very powerful card if you want a vote to go your way.

Expropriate: Cast it with Show and Tell, otherwise, a late game play, and an epic one, most likely.
Illusionary Informant: All you learn is one card from one player... I can't see this effect being that important when everyone is passing booster packs around.

Jeering Homunculus: the part of the clause I like is that it hits someone else. That can be useful to get multiple opponents to fight each other off.
Messenger Jays: you will give yourself the extra card, and everyone else will give you a counter. That makes this a 6/5 for 5 mana that reads 'when this enters the battlefield, draw a card.'

Keeper of the Keys: [Monarch Card] That is a really good bonus for being the monarch.
Skittering Crustacean: that is one very large cost to make it hexproof. I hope it's worth it.

Stunt Double: I am sure this card will be the source of many fun plays. With five people at a table, that's a lot of creatures to pick from.
Cloaked Siren: another fun limited card.

Covenant of Minds: That's a great card. Most of the time you are going to effectively draw three cards. If at least one of your opponents can exile your graveyard, you still get to draw five cards.... seems like a lop-sided choice.
Caller of Gales: solid one drop. Giving a creature flying is a nice bonus.

Deceiver Exarch: Definitely a fun card in this format and a crowd favorite.
Dismiss: [Counterspell at 4] I am counting these to figure out what the best number is for Sanctum Prelate.

Divination: needed in any limited environment.
Desertion: [Counterspell at 4] Nice effect. Definitely a fun rare.

Fleeting Distraction: because this is a limited-focused set.
Serum Visions: At least it is not at rare. The money uncommon of this set. I would have preferred Ponder.

Followed Footsteps: You get to play a token every turn, right? That could be huge.
Show and Tell: The most important reprint in this set, and one of the many reasons why Eternal Masters missed the mark.

Into the Void: limited card in a for-limited set.
Merfolk Looter: limited card in a for-limited set.

Merfolk Skyscout: solid uncommon. Fun effect to pick which permanent to untap. The bonus can be useless, though.
Kami of the Crescent Moon: extra cards for everyone! That's a fun effect.

Mnemonic Wall: a limited card in a limited set.
Omenspeaker: A really fun card. The Scry 2 can come in handy at any stage of a game.

Negate: needed.
Repulse: needed, but much more costly than it's better cousin Void Snare. You do get to draw a card. Gitaxian Probe would have been so much better in this slot even if it is a different effect.

Sphinx of Magosi: great multiplayer card, a junk rare in any other set.
Vaporkin: a needed limited card. Blue creatures are supposed to suck in limited-well, in all formats; and this one certainly does.

Traumatic Visions: [Counterspell at 5] There is not a single counterspell below 4.... ouch. That is one stinking pile of limited cards.
Vertigo Spawn: interesting.

Conspiracy Set Review: White Cards

Let's go.

Ballot Broker: voting helper card. I would love to have two or three on the board at the same time.
Custodi Soulcaller: it will be most effective if you can cast it early with other white weenies and some of your opponents have no creatures on the board. Otherwise, it's just a 1/2 creature for 3 mana, which isn't great.

Custodi Peacekeeper: I will need to keep notes for this one. If I am the fifth person in that draft round, this is a great card.
Noble Banneret: More notes. I will need to write down the name of the card and that it is associated with this card.

Lieutenants of the Guard: I love these voting cards. They require thinking. Three +1/+1 counters and two 1/1 tokens is not bad for a 5 drop.
Palace Sentinels: [Monarch Card] There may be circumstances when you may not want to become the monarch.... let me think more about this.

Palace Jailer: [Monarch Card] Interesting. It's an open question how often any player will be able to remain as the monarch.
Paliano Vanguard: The creature types are of that other card, not this card. It can be any creature you draft after this card. It can be a creature you draft two packs later, when you know which tribes you have the most and/or the best creatures for.

Protector of the Crown: [Monarch Card] You are casting it late in the game, when you could be taking some big hits. I would like to have some way to buff this, or give it indestructible, or deathtouch.
Sanctum Prelate: Oh this is so much fun. Once I am done with blue, I will be in a better position to name the best number. Right now, I would say three, since that's the casting cost of many counterspells, but the number that matters is the one for this set.

Recruiter of the Guard: Imperial Recruiter's lesser brother. A great card. A must pick in a draft.
Thorne Warden: The counter stays. The only question is how long you will remain the monarch.

Spectral Grasp: Very nice. A Pacifism with just the right use for this format.
Wings of the Guard: Drop it early in white weenies. Late game you will probably have fewer creatures, unless all players at the table decide not to play removal.

Affa Guard Hound: Because you will be playing it in a draft format. It has Flash, and that means you will need to have three mana available after you play your turn.
Disenchant: A classic. It needs no introduction.

Doomed Traveler: Another draft all-star. Great card advantage.
Faith's Reward: I wonder how this plays out in multiplayer. It's an instant, and if you have the mana available after a board wipe, you can get your creatures back before you are attacked by one of your opponents.

Ghostly Possession: you can turn something weak into a pretty good wall.
Hollowhenge Spirit: fun battle trick. You need to have 4 free mana to drop it using Flash.

Ghostly Prison: Another classic that does need an introduction.
Gods Willing: Strong card. I would pick as many as possible to protect my creatures during combat.

Gleam of Resistance: heavy casting cost for the effect. Good late game.
Guardian of the Gateless: another heavy casting cost. If you can make it indestructible or give it deathtouch, or both, that will turn this into a board wipe or a way to deter an attack to buy time.

Hail of Arrows: Great card. I would love to use it late game when X can be largest.
Hundred-Handed One: Great flavor. It should be a riot in multiplayer.

Kill Shot: a needed battle trick.
Hallowed Burial: a great card for sure, especially against any opponent with a bunch of tokens on the board.

Pariah: really strong card. As always, I would want to enchant an indestructible creature or a deathtouch creature.
Reviving Dose: a needed limited battle trick.

Raise the Alarm: a needed battle trick.
Spirit of the Hearth: great card. It would help limit damage from some of your opponents until they can figure out a way to remove this creature.

Wild Griffin: needed limited card.
Zealous Strike: needed limited card.

Windborne Charge: needed limited card.