Okay, these are my top picks for Conflux (that are not as much as Noble Hierarch) rares that still have hopes of a better future.

This “advanced” miller card is already a sideboard against 5cc control decks. I mean, if your opponent was using that deck with only Progenitus as their creature, this card would be really lovely. And it’s not just a good sideboard against 5cc control, it might just be a game winner. Even though this sucks against aggro decks, against other decks, the ability to mill and take a creature from your opponent’s deck is a bargain for me.

Control decks love using this. Maybe it looks like an expensive cost for a Wrath of God, but if you think of it, Wrath of God costs 4 mana, and Martial Coup will most likely be used with 7 mana or more, so, what’s the 3 mana left for? 5 1/1 soldier tokens! I mean, sure, Spectral Procession gives away 3 1/1 flyers for 3 mana, but 5 1/1s for 3 mana is already a sweet bargain. And if your opponent didn’t have any Dauntless Escort to defend their creatures, the board will be cleared of any blockers. And not just control decks, even mid-range control decks use this one simply because it sweeps the board and gives you a fresh start with some soldiers.

I’ve already seen this being played in Extended decks, along with Tarmogoyf and a lot of discard. But what about Standard? Well, this card is also being used in B/R decks, probably because Blightning is good with it. But when M10 comes out, this card might just be used more times. Why? Well, maybe it’s because we are all aware the Duress might just be reprinted. I’ve read in lots of forums, and the art of Duress certainly doesn’t fit much with other Divine VS Demonic cards. So, if there would be other discard creatures or spells around there, Nyxathid might just find a decent home.

This is a good card. When I saw this in the previews last time, I think I was overhyped, thinking that this would explode in Standard. I guess not. But the Standard environment right now has lots of variety, the Shards have really made an impact. So, it’s fair to say that this card can still be seen in Jund aggro decks supported by Scarland Thrinax, Sprouting Thrinax, Necrogenesis, and now Jund Hackblade (!!). And it still fits well with Kederekt Parasite for some odd reason.

I was so happy when I saw that this artifact help Koji Takanashi win this year’s Tokyo Regionals with the Turbo Fog deck. Right when I got the Conflux visual spoiler, I loved Font Of Mythos. I know it would be fun in casual play, and I wanted to use it in Standard. However, I don’t actually know how to defend myself once the opponent starts drawing lots of cards too. So, I was really delighted to see Font of Mythos being supported with “fog” cards. Doesn’t it feel good when the card you were supporting all this time makes a splash in Standard (winning 1st, in Japan!)?

I’m gonna list some rare cards that aren’t really that expensive as maybe Elspeth, Knight Errant. It’s simply because I like this cards because they’re affordable, fun, and they might just have some more power in them in the near (mostly Standard) future.

First of all, the art is strange yet cool. I’ve already seen this card being played in the Extended Format by a Japanese player, in a multicolor aggro deck :
Tomoharu Saito’s Super Naya Zoo

The ability to stop any ElfBall deck from completely fulfilling its duty is just fun. What else can you do with it? Well, it also stops any non-artifact combo decks (Dragonstorm build-up!) And in standard? It has an Esper shard cooperating with it, and it can be used for any other deck that supports white, even without much artifacts as we have seen from the Saito’s Naya Zoo deck.

This card is already showing up in Extended formats as mostly a sideboard card for some combo-like decks. And, I really like this because there are really a lot of good 0cc or 1cc cards out there like Sigil of Distinction and Feral Hydra that would be easily available because of this card. And what about life loss? I don’t worry about that much anymore since we have – Tainted Sigil. Oh yeah, it’s an instant!

BANEFIRE! That’s what I thought of when I read this guy’s ability. Simply ramp up your mana and draw some cards, then kill your opponent off with a particularly big Banefire. And here’s a Block Constructed deck that uses it:

Kettle’s Big Mana

Really, even if your opponent can also double up his mana, I doubt that it would be useful to him. Most decks these days have more nonbasic lands supporting them than basic ones.

Monstrous. The art is pretty savage, and the ability too is savage. Giving it devour 2 is pretty deadly, especially if it’s in a token deck (Jund aggro maybe?), but if it gives you 1/1 saproling tokens, it only helps more. You can make your Scarland Thrinax bigger, or just rush in with your tokens. And with if Mycoloth gets too big, Soul’s Fire FTW!

This is the last post of my favorite Alara Reborn Uncommons.

This is another interesting rat. It fits perfectly in assault with Rotting Rats. It also reminds me of the other nifty rats: Hellhole Rats, RELENTLESS RATS, Ravenous Rats. Also, with B/R in it, this might just be useful for Blightning/Nyxathid decks. So, for 3 mana, you get a 1/1 rat (can be regenerated with Swarmyard!) and pick a random card from your opponent.

This is a good card. It’s cheap, and in a control deck, equipping this to something useful like Wall of Hope could really piss your opponent off. Plus, if the attacking creature didn’t have vigilance, it will be tapped out for the whole time of your and your opponent’s next turn. That’s 2 turns of reassured safety from that opposing creature!

First of all, damn good art! An uncommon card with the word “Bolas” in it and has a picture of a deviant-looking angel is just begging to be collected. Even if it’s just a sorcery, it can be played in Dimir (B/U), Izzet(U/R), Rakdos(B/R), and definitely Grixis(U/B/R) colors. Blue and black have card manipulation and control, while red can take out the opponent with burn spells and nasty creatures. Well, so maybe it’s just an overcosted Threaten, but it isn’t. It’s more like a Terminate/Cruel Edict + Threaten. A 2 for 1 card. And what creature can be good enough to use against your opponent if it becomes unblocked? I don’t know.. maybe this one: