New Phyrexia Spoilers?! Already?! Pt 2

Well, I decided I would pick up where I abruptly left off, be sure to check out the first part here. Let me just explain what I was doing with the expected price at the end of each card. I said when Thrun, the Last Troll was released that I imagined it as no more than an $8 card. It was released as a $20 card, and has done nothing but drop in price since. I never traded for it, and immediatly sold the only one I packed. It currently sells for $8 on ChannelFireball and Star City Games. By identifying what I think the card is really worth, I can set my eyes on whether or not to invest in the card. FYI: SCG came out with pre-order prices on these spoiled cards, and they put Karn at $45. It's not worth that much.

Urabrask, the Hidden
3RR
Legendary Creature - Praetor

Creatures you control have Haste.
Creatures your opponents control enter the battlefield tapped.
4/4

At first I saw this card as an awkward combination between Kismet and Madrush Cyclops, two cards that never saw play, and I dismissed it. However, in conversation with Mark, we identified it as a serious tempo card, and could find a nice home in RUG. RUG is a tempo deck, which is a very strange archetype in which you gain small incremental advantages on your opponent each turn through more mana (Lotus Cobra), more cards (Jace, the Mind Sculptor), and disruption (Lightning Bolt, Inferno/Frost Titan) that puts you multiple turns ahead of your opponent, from which they can't come back. A big reason comes into play tapped lands are disadvantageous is because your board doesn't advance a turn to match your opponent. By making your opponent's creatures come into play tapped, it prevents your opponents from being able to create a board position as fast to prevent your Titans from crashing in. Giving your creatures haste has very nice symmetry with the Titans too...
Expected price: $4

Spawning Shell
3{pg}
Artifact
({PG} may be paid for with either or 2 life.)
1{PG}, tap, Sacrifice a creature: Search your library for a creature with converted mana cost equal to the sacrificed creature's converted mana cost plus one and put it onto the battlefield. Then shuffle your library. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.
 
This is the card that I am most excited for out of all the ones spoiled. When it first was released you could search for any creature with converted mana cost equal the the sacrificed one's plus one or less. I was excited because you could chain Vengevines into more Vengevines, while Fauna Shamaning for more, and you would have all 4 in play in no time! Obviously we will have to wait for the cards to be officially announced, but assuming you have to search for a creature exactly one more, we can still go Vengevine -> Acidic Slime -> Titan. But moving beyond this specific card, Phyrexian mana is awesome! Being able to pay life instead of using mana is an awesome way to change your turn progression. Also, note how you don't even have to be playing green to use this card! Obviously this works better with green than any other color, but why restrict ourselves?!?! Maybe we have a ton of disrupting creatures like Skinrender and Massacre Wurm that we want to drop into play on cue? Control decks can have 3 finishers that are only god against specific decks, and tutor up to the one they really want! Vampires can use this to sacrifice Bloodghasts grabbing Captivating Vampires! This is another outlet for getting rid of Abyssal Persecutor! Right now I have my mind on a Fauna Shaman-Vengevine-Green Sun's Zenith-Spawning Shell creature tutor package, like the BG one I am having some success with right now.
Expected price: $1 until it's broken, then up to $6
 
Fresh Meat
3G
Instant

Put a 3/3 green Beast creature token onto the battlefield for each creature put into your graveyard from the battlefield this turn.

I smell... combo! Need I remind you of the existence of Eldrazi Spawn? How about a whacky combo with Hellion Eruption? This card won't see play simply because it's so odd, but if the Meta shifts to a creature vs Day of Judgement one, this card very well could see play.
Expected price: $1

Caged Sun
6
Artifact

When Caged Sun enters the battlefield, choose a color.
Creatures you control of the chosen color have +1/+1.
Whenever you tap a land for one or more mana of the chosen color, add one mana of the chosen color to your mana pool.

Don't look it up, what do you think Gauntlet of Power sells for? It never saw constructed play... Would you believe me if I told you it's a $7-8 card? Gauntlet of power is massively popular in EDH and casual, and this card is the exact same, except it works with non-basics too. Trade for these off of the spikes for a buck or 2 and move them to the casual guys at 8.
Expected price: $7-8

Hex Parasite
1
Artifact Creature - Insect

x{PB}: Target a permanent. Remove up to X counters from that permanent. Hex Parasite gains +1/+0 until end of turn for each counter removed this way.
1/1

I spy with my little eyes a colorless recursive planeswalker killer. Because you can pay 2 life instead of a black mana for the activated ability, this is another completely flexible card that I expect to see in every single deck going forward. Unlike Phyrexian Revoker, this is a proactive card that even if you kill, the damage remains. Gideon is one of the banes of beatdown decks, but with access to this card, a little mana goes a long way to stopping Gideon from slowing you down too much. Also, consider this: kill Jace by draining 5 counters, which makes Hex Parasite a 6/1, then attack and kill Gideon. Sounds fair to me! I expect this card to be played in control and beatdown decks as it helps win Jace wars and keep the way Gideon-free, but Valakut doesn't want this random card, and I don't expect to see this card in RUG either.
Expected price: $3

Screamwhip
4
Artifact - Equipment
Living weapon
Equip {PB}{PB}
Equipped creature gets +1/+1 for each Swamp you control.

This is the card that got me thinking about a mono-black beatdown deck. Mind Sludge is another powerful swamps matters card. Mark sent me his mono-black beatdown deck on facebook earlier today, and I will probably touch on it in a couple days. But this card is a lot like Bonehoard, it will usually more powerful then its mana cost would suggest. The longer the game goes on, the more powerful this card gets as well, so you have a ton of reach. Any 1/1 you draw late can suddenly be a 9/9 and end the game immediatly. Also like Bonehorde, it won't be worth much.
Expected price: $1

I felt like finishing up with all of the interesting cards I didn't touch on in the first part. So that's all for now! Now I need to get my mind back to the present and prepare for SCG Boston in less than 3 weeks! Until next time, stay classy!