How can Mirrodin Besieged affect the Standard format and metagame? Today I finish my series grading MB for Standard with a look at Green, artifact, and Gold cards.

Green

Blightwidow – While great in limited, it's at best a sideboard card in Standard. In constructed, you'd generally rather pay for power than toughness, and you never want to pay for Reach. Even with Infect, 2 power for 4 mana without evasion sucks. D

Creeping Corrosion – The design team clearly intends this as a game-changing sideboard card. In limited, it could even be a pretty awesome main-deck card in an Infect deck. The main problem is that the top decks in Standard right now generally wouldn't really care about this card. It might be worth having one in your board just in case you run into a Tempered Steel deck. B−

Fangren Marauder – Like many six-drops, it's pretty good in limited, but horrible in Standard. A 5/5 with the potential to gain some life is so much worse than a Titan. D−

Glissa's Courier – Typically, Green has the biggest and best creatures. A 2/3 for 3 that requires and has an extremely situational ability is pretty bad for a Green creature. Green just has too many better options in Standard: Leatherback Baloth, Mul Daya Channelers, and Elvish Archdruid, for example. D−

Green Sun's Zenith – This is a card already being used in Standard, usually in Valakut Ramp. I suspect the power and flexibility of this card will lead to it being used in other future decks as well. It makes a good fit in almost any creature-based deck with Green mana. I like the idea of using it in a Fauna Shaman deck, either to get your Shaman or the creature that you'd get if you had a Shaman in play. A+

Lead the Stampede – In a deck with more than half creatures, this can be a source of card advantage. In a deck with that many creatures, though, tempo usually matters enough that it's bad to spend 3 mana without affecting the board or your opponent. C−

Melira's Keepers – A 4/4 for 5 mana with a weak, situational ability makes for a bad Green creature. I can imagine putting it in a deck with Black Sun's Zenith, but I doubt that would be a Tier 1 deck. D−

Mirran Mettle – In a Green/White Tempered Steel deck, it has some potential. By itself, it's not enough to justify adding Green to a Tempered Steel deck, though. C−

Phyrexian Hydra – It has some potential in an Infect deck. One hit from it is practically game over. However, it doesn't have Haste or an ETB ability, and it just dies to cards like Doom Blade and Day of Judgment. C+

Pistus Strike – It will probably only ever be a limited sideboard card. Most Standard decks don't even run flyers, and it's so much worse than a card like Doom Blade. D−

Plaguemaw Beast – A 5-mana creature that can be killed by a Lightning Bolt before it even has the chance to do anything has little or no chance of being used in Standard. F

Praetor's Counsel – While a cool and powerful effect, spending 8 mana on a sorcery that doesn't immediately affect the game isn't Standard-playable. F

Quilled Slagwurm – At 7 mana, it's not even as good as most 6-mana creatures being used in Standard. Constructed isn't about spending huge amounts of mana for a vanilla creature that's only redeeming quality is being fat. F

Rot Wolf – Most Infect decks in Standard focus on two-drops, except for a few extremely high-quality creatures costing more. Rot Wolf doesn't meet those standards. Except for having Infect, it's essentially a vanilla 2/2 for 3 in constructed. C−

Tangle Mantis – A solid limited card; unfortunately, Trample is weak in constructed. Green four-drops like Obstinate Baloth, Vengevine, Oracle of Mul Daya, and Kozilek's Predator are just better. C−

Thrun, the Last Troll – This four-drop is great, however. The main problem with it is that it's a Legend. As a one-of in a deck with Green Sun's Zenith and Fauna Shaman, it's excellent. A

Unnatural Predation – Given how weak Trample is in constructed, it's basically a third as good as a Giant Growth, a decent card that still doesn't get played in Standard. F

Viridian Corrupter – A terrific sideboard card. It's best in an Infect deck, but not bad in Elves, a Fauna Shaman deck, or with Green Sun's Zenith. The ability to destroy something and get a creature in the deal is excellent. Unfortunately, it's not main-deck worthy until the environment becomes a little more artifact-heavy. A−

Viridian Emissary – If you're playing cards like Bloodthrone Vampire, Culling Dais, Eldrazi Monument, Jinxed Idol, Fling, or Vivisection, this card is pretty cool. If not, less so. It's actually decent in a Ramp deck that needs an early blocker, and it's fine even if you are running cards like Pyroclasm or Slagstorm. B+

Artifacts

Bladed Sentinel – Like many artifact creatures, it's not constructed-worthy. Typically, colored creatures are going to be better than colorless ones, because they're harder to use. Only the best get used in Standard, although a few borderline ones might see use in a Tempered Steel deck. F

Blightsteel Colossus – As you would expect, a twelve-drop needs to pretty much win you the game immediately. While scary, this guy doesn't quite fit that description. D+

Bonehoard – While a personal favorite of mine, it has yet to make an impact on Standard. I think it should. Not only do you get a four-drop that can be/become huge in the right deck, but if your opponent kills your dude, you can still move the equipment to another creature. I also like that in the late game you can effectively get a Haste effect by moving it to a creature about to attack the same turn you play it. A−

Brass Squire – While it combines nicely with Stoneforge Mystic, it's just not powerful enough by itself—a 1/3 for 3 mana that has an ability that is usually pretty weak. C−

Copper Carapace – While terrific in limited, it's just much too much worse than Adventuring Gear in Standard. D

Core Prowler – There are solid two-drop artifact creatures with Infect being played in Standard right now. At 4 mana, Core Prowler would need to bring much more to the table to see play in constructed. D−

Darksteel Plate – Spending 5 mana to enhance another permanent without increasing the amount of damage I can do to my opponent is unplayable in Standard. F

Decimator Web – Way too slow for a card that doesn't affect the board. It doesn't help that this card is so unfocused, Constructed decks are all about having a tight focus. F

Dross Ripper – Like most artifact creatures, it's just too small for its casting cost. The ability is too expensive to matter. D−

Flayer Husk – This card has some potential. It's a 1-cost equipment that can make a creature bigger for only 2 mana, which still makes it worth considering. The problem is it only gives +1/+1, but it compensates by providing a body that can start attacking on turn two. The thing that makes me sad is that the token isn't an artifact creature. If I could get two artifacts for 1 mana and one card, it would definitely be a solid Standard card. Still, it has some promise. B−

Gust-Skimmer – In a Tempered Steel deck with Blue mana, it's actually decent. I like Blue in a Tempered Steel deck because it can help you get to the Tempered Steels, which are such a key to the deck's success. Cards like Riddlesmith, Preordain, and Halimar Depths are some of the possibilities I would consider. B

Hexplate Golem – Seven mana for a vanilla 5/7 is a complete disaster. F

Ichor Wellspring – It has some potential in a deck seeking Metalcraft and in decks that like to sacrifice artifacts. For now, though, I don't see it getting much run in Standard. If you want to draw a card for 2 mana, generally you'll be better off with Wall of Omens or Spreading Seas. B−

Knowledge Pool – This card seems like it was probably cheaper when they first tested it and the developers kept breaking it, so they finally just slapped a much bigger cost on it and now it's practically unplayable. It's bad enough that it requires setup and combining it with other cards to try to abuse it, but the 6 mana is too much. D−

Lumengrid Gargoyle – A comparison to Wurmcoil Engine reveals how weak this card is. F

Magnetic Mine – I can't think of any way this card will ever be played in Standard. You spend 4 mana to do nothing and then later you might be able to make your opponent lose 2 life once in a while. F

Mirrorworks – A very cool effect, but very slow. D−

Mortarpod – In a deck with creatures that you want to sacrifice, it's decent. It's probably best as a sideboard card against decks with important 1-toughness creatures. B−

Myr Sire – It could be a good blocker against some swarm decks. It could also be fine in a deck that wants to sacrifice either creatures or artifacts. That being said, it's not sexy. B−

Myr Turbine – Like many artifacts, it's just too slow for Standard. Spending 5 mana to get a 1/1 is horrible, even if you get more in future turns. D−

Myr Welder – A 1/4 for 3 colorless might actually survive long enough to start making this ability useful. The big question will be finding a deck that gets appropriately cool artifacts into the graveyard. I don't see that happening in Standard anytime soon. C−

Peace Strider – A poor man's Obstinate Baloth. If you're not playing Green or have a specific reason to play artifacts, it could be okay, especially as a sideboard card. B−

Phyrexian Digester – It just compares too poorly to other Infect creatures costing 2 or 3 mana. If I'm going to spend 3 mana for a 2/1, it needs to do more. D−

Phyrexian Juggernaut – Six mana is too much to pay for a creature that just dies to Shatter or Doom Blade without having done anything yet. D−

Phyrexian Revoker – This card is definitely Standard-worthy. It's already seeing use in Tempered Steel decks, and I can see using it in other decks, either as a utility card to search for with cards like Fauna Shaman or as a sideboard card. B+

Pierce Strider – Not bad as the high-end creature in an aggressive deck built around artifacts. While I don't like spending 4 mana on a 3-toughness creature, it's cool if I can abuse the ETB ability, like with Mimic Vat. B−

Piston Sledge – I definitely think this card has a place in a Standard deck. It can give a creature a "permanent" +3/+1 for a total of only 3 mana. If you have an artifact that you would like to sacrifice like Ichor Wellspring or don't mind sacrificing like Myr Sire or Ornithopter, the equip cost is actually cool, too. B+

Plague Myr – Already being played in Infect decks. If Infect decks get more competitive, this card's grade will go up accordingly. B+

Psychosis Crawler – Another favorite of mine. It's not being played in Standard yet, and it may never be, given how powerful five-drops are in Standard: Baneslayer Angel, Malakir Bloodwitch, Ob Nixilis, the Fallen, and Sphinx of Lost Truths. Especially when you consider that it's colorless, I think it will eventually find a place in Standard. I think the combination of the fact that it can be huge and it can do direct damage to your opponent makes it a big enough threat to pay 5 colorless mana for in the right deck. B+

Razorfield Rhino – Thanks to the existence of Titans and Wurmcoil Engine, the bar for six-drops is extremely high. Being large isn't enough; it also needs to do something else powerful. F

Rusted Slasher – Not impressive stat-wise, but I like that it's both a threat and a way to sacrifice creatures if you have a deck that wishes to do so. Unfortunately, there are better rewards you can get for sacrificing creatures. D+

Shimmer Myr – While it has both a reasonable cost and a cool ability, by itself it's probably too weak to justify running it in most decks. C−

Shriekhorn – In the current Standard environment, it's probably better as a way to mill yourself than as a way to mill your opponent. It's possible—if you have enough ways to add counters to it—that you might be able to deck a slow control opponent with it, but most of the time, it will just be a drawback to have a card that doesn't affect the board. However, in a Kuldotha Phoenix deck or one with Vengevines and Bloodghasts, it might be okay, especially if you play with Riddlesmiths and Trinket Mages. Unfortunately, it doesn't currently seem that these sorts of decks are viable in Standard. C−

Signal Pest – A solid card already seeing use in multiple decks: Tempered Steel and Kuldotha Red. Battle Cry is a powerful enough ability that if you're playing a swarm deck and can get it in a hard-to-block creature for 1 colorless, it's pretty exciting. It's especially good if you have a way to take advantage of having cheap artifacts in your deck. A

Silverskin Armor – It's not powerful enough for Standard. You're much better off with a card like Adventuring Gear; 4 mana isn't good enough for +1/+1, and the secondary ability isn't really relevant in constructed. D−

Skinwing – A 2/2 flyer for 4 is awful in constructed. Yes, you can equip it to something else, but getting +2/+2 for 6 mana is bad enough to make it almost irrelevant. F

Sphere of the Suns – In a deck that's three or more colors, it's not bad as a mana-ramper and color-fixer—especially if your deck likes artifacts and isn't base Green. B

Spin Engine – Like many cards, 1 mana makes a big difference. If this were a two-drop, it would be pretty solid in an aggressive Red deck. Three mana is a little bit too much to pay for such a fragile creature in Standard, especially when you consider the one- and two-drops that are available to Red. C

Spine of Ish Sah – Another card that probably cost less in testing, but they eventually raised it until it was too expensive to be a good Standard card. Frankly, to be a good Standard card, it would probably need to cost 5 mana and still be in the right deck. D−

Strandwalker – Another equipment that's bad for constructed. Most equipment isn't good enough for Standard, though. The ones that are usually fall into one of two categories: They're really cheap and give your creature a powerful bonus, or they're just really powerful. Strandwalker is neither. F

Sword of Feast and Famine – This card, however, is really powerful and getting lots of run in Standard. Not only is being used in aggressive equipment decks, it's also being used in Caw-Blade with Squadron Hawks. A

Tangle Hulk – Three toughness is horrible for a five-drop. In addition, you wouldn't play it without Green mana, and if you're playing Green, you've got four-drops that are better than this. D−

Thopter Assembly – Not as good as Titans and Wurmcoil Engine . . . blah, blah, blah. D+

Titan Forge – Normally too slow for constructed, but it might be good with Proliferate. Unfortunately, most Proliferate cards aren't really Standard-quality. D

Training Drone – Probably hard to play enough equipment to make this viable. D+

Viridian Claw – First Strike isn't really worth paying much for in Constructed. In addition, +1/+0 just isn't enough punch for an equipment in Standard. D−

Gold

Glissa, the Traitor – If you happen to be playing Black and Green, this creature is pretty solid, even if you aren't playing artifacts. It's especially nice if your deck likes Elves or Zombies. It is still annoying that it dies to Lightning Bolt. B−

Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas – This is a card that you pretty much need to build your whole deck around. Some players are already building Standard decks with it. Pat Chapin kicked butt at Paris with it. A