Pull up a spoiler (like this one) and let's take a look at the upcoming set.

Mythics

Karn Liberated - Overhyped by far. Yes, it's colorless so anyone can play it, but it costs 7 mana so only ramp and control decks would. Ramp decks have better things to ramp into. Control decks are awkwardly torn between the Vindicate effect and trying to bump up its loyalty to go Ultimate. Either way, it's not going to see very much play outside of Block Constructed, and possibly not even there. The card is unique enough that it has an outside chance of being playable in Vintage, but I doubt that. It's at its best in control mirrors, where there are relatively few threats for him to worry about Vindicating, and just a couple of turns before he can restart the game with a massive advantage for his owner.

Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite - Crovax, Ascendant Hero writ large. Crovax only really saw play due to his ability to shut down both [card Thopter Foundry]Thopter[/card]-[card Sword of the Meek]Sword[/card] and [card Vampire Hexmage]Hexmage[/card]-[card Dark Depths]Depths[/card] simultaneously while not being totally dead against the aggro decks. This card would only see play if something similar came up.

Jin-Gitaxis, Core Augur - Ten mana is a hell of a lot, and you can't Eldrazi Temple this fatty out. As a reanimation target, Iona, Shield of Emeria does a much better job of shutting down your opponent while kililng them.

Phyrexian Obliterator - If monoblack is playable at all, this card will be a large part of the reason why. It's also got an outside chance of showing up in Legacy. At this point, I view the monoblack crowd as the boy who cried wolf - they've been screaming that it'll be the bestest deck in the history of ever since Nantuko Shade got reprinted and look what happened. Nothing. Now, however, the broken clock might actually be telling the right time.

Sheoldred, Whispering One - If Legacy reanimator ever becomes so popular that the mirror match is something of concern, you...still wouldn't play this, because you could just shut people out with Iona instead.

Urabrask the Hidden - Possibly playable. Red has a pretty savage glut at the 4-5 mana area right now, which hurts. For 1 mana more, you get Inferno Titan, and at 5 you still have Kuldotha Phoenix available. Giving your other creatures haste is largely irrelevant when this should be sitting at the top of your manacurve. The Kismet ability comes a touch late for my liking- it'd be much better as a 3 mana 2/2.

Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger - Because when you have 8 mana, you need your lands to tap for even more.

Batterskull - You can fetch it out and play it with Stoneforge Mystic, bounce it in response to a Divine Offering, whatever. A 4/4 vigilant lifelinker for 5 is too slow for today's format, but a 4/4 vigilant lifelinker off a Stoneforge is just fine. Fits well in Caw-Blade since your Squadron Hawks can now turn into pseudo-Baneslayer Angels. Pick up 1 of these, since it'll see play for the next few months. After that? Hard to say. There's a lot of generally good equipment, and this is competing with Bonehoard on the high end, and probably loses that comparison straight up.

Etched Montrosity - I'm going to go out on a limb and say this is actually playable. I haven't heard a lot about this card, but at minimum it's a 5/5 artifact creature for 5, which is better than Juggernaut. If you can figure out how to get the counters off it (Sphere of the Suns, dual lands, etc.) then it's just absolutely ridiculous. Turn 4 this guy, turn 5 draw 3 cards and swing for 10? Doable. Look for him to pop up in Block Constructed and possibly Eternal formats. Standard's a bit iffier, but if M12 and Innistrad bring the right kind of manafixing, this is a card to watch for. Hell, he could see play now: the guy's best friends with Lotus Cobra and could compare favorably to Precursor Golem in RUG...

Sword of War and Peace - Obvious money card is obvious. Actually better in aggressive Mystic decks than Caw-Blade, and may push Boros back over the top. Somewhat amusing, considering that it provides protection from Boros colors. It'd be key in the mirror, except the mirror match is partly defined by the phrase "in response, Lightning Bolt". Still, an incredibly frustrating card and will end games unfairly for the next few months. Once Stoneforge Mystic goes away, this or Sword of Feast and Famine is the best sword due to the protection colors.

Summary: There are 2 "chase" Mythics that you only need one or two of (the equipment), one overhyped chase Mythic that you don't need at all (Karn), a potential sleeper (Montrosity), and a wildcard (Obliterator). Those who have been complaining about Mythics ruining magic because of Jace, the Mind Sculptor should take note.

GET:

1 Sword of War and Peace

1 Batterskull

4 Etched Montrosity

WATCH:

Phyrexian Obliterator

Urabrask, the Hidden

AVOID:

Karn the Released

White Rares

Blade Splicer - Effectively a 4/4 for 3. Giving a squad of Precursor Golems first strike doesn't seem that relevant since the 3 toughness doesn't die to much. In addition, you don't want to pair Precursor Golem with more Golems, as that makes you more vulnerable. First strike isn't worth playing the mediocre Golem generators, so you have to really want a 1/1 and 3/3 for 3 mana to play this card. Sure, it's more powerful than Master's Call, but it's not a combat trick. Pass on this for Constructed, but note that this could let you set up a ridiculous Limited deck.

Chancellor of the Annex - The ability is an interesting slowdown effect, but the advantage gained by them having to wait until turn 2 to cast a spell is more than negated by the fact that you're playing a terrible 7 mana do-nothing.

Norn's Annex - This has potential for aggro mirrors, but there are likely better options. It seems like a powerful Propaganda effect on the surface, but in practice it probably doesn't have a home. This is probably a good thing for the health of the format.

Phyrexian Unlife - This effectively gains you 6-7 life for 3 mana. Against decks that attack, this is a pass. However, it has its uses. If there are any "loss of life" cards, this is a reasonable sideboard option against them. Tendrils of Agony, for instance - though Rule of Law is a better choice for the mana cost in Legacy.

Puresteel Paladin - This guy plays really well with Kemba, Kha Regent; and that's possibly a deck in Block Constructed. In Standard, Kemba probably isn't worth it, but this could slot into a Mirrodin-style White Weenie/equipment deck. You even have Leonin Skyhunter back! It won't happen so long as Caw-Blade is around, but is worth considering for the future.

GET:

4 Puresteel Paladin

WATCH:

Phyrexian Unlife

Blue Rares

Chancellor of the Spires - No. Just no. If you could mill yourself with it, it'd be nuts. As is, the card is just terrible.

Phyrexian Ingester - Couldn't they have just reprinted Duplicant? That would actually have been playable. This isn't.

Phyrexian Metamorph - Marginally better than Clone, and that's seen play from time to time. Still, not nearly as good as the hype that's out there.

Psychic Surgery - Bulk garbage.

Xenograft - Bulk garbage, unless there's somehow an infinite combo you can set up with this in a format that Mirror Entity doesn't exist in.

GET:

None

WATCH:

Phyrexian Metamorph

Black Rares

Chancellor of the Dross - No. Absolutely not.

Glistening Oil - Kudzu effects don't see play in Constructed because they can't be made good enough. If they were good enough, they'd be overpowering.

Life's Finale - This is unlikely to see play even in block, because both Massacre Wurm and Black Sun's Zenith exist. The graveyard dump may end up being relevant, however. If you play this as your sweeper over Black Sun's Zenith thanks to Melira (see Green), then it has upsides in Block Constructed since you could very well end up knocking out every single creature win condition in control mirrors.

Praetor's Grasp - This card could be quite good in Eternal formats. In Vintage, it can get your opponent's Yawgmoth's Will or Time Vault and end games outright. In Legacy it's quite powerful in Storm combo mirrors, as taking your opponent's lone copy of Tendrils of Agony can end a game immediately. The problem is that storm isn't all that heavily played, and some versions of the deck play Burning Wish, which just makes this a strange Grim Tutor variant that's terrible against everything else. The effect is unusual and doesn't have a home unless the metagame is just right. I don't see that being the case now, but things could change. If you can pick this card up on the cheap, do so.

Surgical Extraction - The people going nuts over turn 1 Duress turn 2 Extraction are just plain terrible. Disregard that craziness, realize that this is a fine sideboard card against Vengevine or other graveyard-oriented strategies if needed, and move on with your day.

GET:

4 Praetor's Grasp

4 Surgical Extraction

WATCH:

Life's Finale

Red Rares

Bludgeon Brawl - It wouldn't be Magic if they didn't print some wacky terrible rare enchantment.

Chancellor of the Forge - Playing this would be a violation of the Raging Goblin Rule, courtesy of Dan Paskins, godfather of monored.

The Raging Goblin Rule states that there is always a better one-mana Goblin that you could put in your deck instead of Raging Goblin, and that if there isn't, you need to find another deck.

Invading Parasite - Just terrible. Pass.

Moltensteel Dragon - 4 mana and 4 life gets you a 4/4 flier with Phyrexian Firebreathing. Solid! Even monored is likely not paying 6 mana for this, but the possibility exists. This card will pop up from time to time in the next couple of years, and may even show up in the Legacy Ancient Tomb/City of Traitors decks. It's certainly much better than Lord of Shatterskull Pass!

Slag Fiend - This ranges from "absolutely awful" to "best creature in the history of ever". Kuldotha Red would do well to play this guy as a lategame card, where lategame means turn 3. Still, it's probably not enough to make Kuldotha Red into an actual deck. As for Legacy Affinity, this probably makes it right to go back to treating that as a red deck rather than a Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas deck.

GET:

4 Moltensteel Dragon

4 Slag Fiend

Green Rares

Birthing Pod - The effect is sort of halfway in between Fauna Shaman and Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero. The catch is finding a home for the card. Anything you can get on the battlefield for less than its converted manacost plays well with this, but the Evoke creatures rotate out of Extended before that format matters again (if it even does). I think this costs too much to be worth considering for Legacy, and I probably wouldn't play it while Fauna Shaman can still set up Vengevines with Squadron Hawk, but it's something that will always be on the verge of becoming a real deck.

Chancellor of the Tangle - This is probably the most playable of all the Chancellors. The mana boost could find a home in Legacy Belcher (though that's probably bad), Elves in any format (less bad), and possibly even general-purpose Ramp decks. Turn one Explore, anybody? The difference is this guy's ability naturally leads into a deck which can actually cast him. Sure, he's just a subpar fatty when cast, but sometimes that's all you really need.

Fresh Meat - A solid sideboard option for green beatdown decks to answer sweepers, it's probably outclassed by Eldrazi Monument in Standard. However, this can also be used in conjunction with lots of sacrifice effects. Of particular note is Nest Invader and Kozilek's Predator - for the low cost of {G}, you can turn 3 Eldrazi Spawn tokens into 9 power of beastly facesmashery at the end of your opponent's turn.

Melira, Sylvok Outcast - Well, that settles it, monogreen infect won't be a real deck ever. Monoblack infect doesn't much care, since Melira will just get her [card Go for the Throat]throat ripped out[/card]. Her existence does mean Skinrender loses a lot of its value as a 2-for-1, and Contagion Clasp is nowhere near as awesome as it used to be. Black Sun's Zenith is also neutered. This means Melira, an infect hoser on the surface, is going to have more of an impact in any given deck as a monogreen anti-control card!

Phyrexian Swarmlord - See before, monogreen infect isn't a deck. Paired with the lack of black/green dual lands, this is a bombtastic card without a home, continuing the theme of ridiculous game-ending limited bombs that seems to be the hallmark of this set.

GET:

3-4 Melira, Sylvok Outcast

4 Fresh Meat

WATCH:

Birthing Pod

Chancellor of the Tangle

Gold Rares

Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer - My impression is that this is an overpriced casual card. However, someone daring might try RW metalcraft in Block with this at the top end. I don't think that's worth it due to the awkward mana, but with Mox Opal and Sphere of the Suns, it may work out.

WATCH:

Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer

Artifact Rares

Caged Sun - This is probably too expensive for what it does. But then again, Mirari's Wake was only 1 mana less... the effect's potent, but it may not have a home.

Hex Parasite - There have been thousands of words written about this card, especially in discussion about whether or not Jace, the Mind Sculptor should be banned. It's colorless, goes in any deck, and readily goes in a Trinket Mage-based blue deck for winning the Jace war. The aggro decks will gladly pick this up, since paying 3 mana and 2 life is often going to be enough to let Parasite and another dude kill Gideon, or with some care, Gideon and Jace can be killed on the same turn. He's also got all sorts of other roles, such as making Etched Champion massive (without the card draw).

Lashwrithe - Realistically a black card. Is stuck competing with Bonehoard, Batterskull, and Phyrexian Obliterator. It might compare favorably to Bonehoard and Batterskull, but has to be worse than Obliterator. The deck, if it exists, only has room for so many 4-drops, and Lashwrithe doesn't play well with non-Swamp lands. Obliterator is at least fine with dual lands, and the others are perfectly happy to play alongside Tectonic Edge and friends.

Myr Superion - A 5/6 for 2 that can be played alongside Lotus Cobra, Grand Architect, Palladium Myr, or [card Nest Invader]Eldrazi Spawn[/card] is nothing to sneeze at. Note that it also works with an animated Inkmoth Nexus or a land carrying a [card Wind Zendikon]Zendikon[/card]. Realistically the earliest you're casting this is turn 3, but with a 1-cost manadork and Lotus Cobra, it can come down turn 2. Note that this does not work with Springleaf Drum, which probably renders it unplayable in Legacy Affinity. Metalworker decks could try it out, but it's probably not good enough there. If you have that kind of mana, why not just play Wurmcoil Engine or Steel Hellkite instead?

Omen Machine - Just play Summoning Trap instead.

Soul Conduit - There's an very small outside chance of this being playable in Infect decks as a tool to beat other aggro decks, but more than likely it's too expensive to even do 4that.

Spellskite - This is probably not playable, unless you are playing a creature-based combo deck. If one exists, this is an excellent bit of colorless combo protection.

Torpor Orb - Too expensive to work against Squadron Hawk and Stoneforge Mystic on the draw, but possibly good enough anyway. This one is going to require some playtesting to figure out.
It may also be relevant against Goblin Ringleader and friends in Legacy, but I suspect it's not nearly good enough for that matchup, and the format's too wide for such a narrow card. Stick to Engineered Plague.
The big alarm bell here is that Torpor Orb sets up Phyrexian Dreadnought, acting as Stifle 5 through 8 in that deck.

Unwinding Clock - Casual multiplayer trash rare. Sell Japanese foils to EDH players to make bank.

GET:

4 Hex Parasite

4 Myr Superion

4 Torpor Orb

4 Spellskite

Potentially Relevant Uncommons

Cathedral Membrane - Might be a worthwhile card. It's "colorless" and either blocks weenies or trades for fat.

Dispatch - If you have Metalcraft, this is the best white removal spell ever printed. The question is, is there a white deck that can reliably get Metalcraft? Legacy Affinity doesn't want to have white mana- it's either a red deck or a blue/black deck. Both of those color setups have removal available to them so there's no incentive to switch. The Tempered Steel deck is the Standard/Block deck, but it's not actually a Metalcraft deck. Yet. This card will probably see some play, but the question of how much is still up in the air.

Due Respect - I don't think we've seen a card that does anything like this before. It's probably not good enough, but might make the cut in a world where Gideon Jura exists.

Marrow Shards - Probably not good enough for constructed unless there's a swarm deck out there (Elves, Kuldotha Red).

Corrupted Resolve - If there's a black/blue infect deck, this will likely see play in it, at least in the sideboard.

Mental Misstep - This card has probably had more words written about it than any other card in the set, and it hasn't even seen a drop of tournament play yet. Make no mistake: Misstep is the real deal.

Tezzeret's Gambit - All together now: this is not a blue card. Yes, you can spend blue mana on it, it can be countered by Red Elemental Blast, etc. But Blue decks don't have much of a reason to play this card. It's far more tempting to something like monoblack infect, which might need to refill its hand after a sweeper late.

Wing Splicer - Of all the 1/1s that make a 3/3 golem, this is probably the most likely to see play because it's the only one that really is worth the risk that comes with pairing this with Precursor Golem. 12 power of Flying Golems is a pretty damn good reward for the risk that you're taking. Being in the same color as Grand Architect doesn't hurt, either.

Despise - Instant constructed staple. Might even see Legacy play.

Dismember - 1 mana and 4 life is a lot to pay, but anyone can pay it. This card could pop up in all sorts of wacky places over the years.

Postmortem Lunge - This lacks the clause where the creature gets exiled if it leaves the battlefield, so if you Lunge something with a sac effect or bounce effect, you can still pull that off. The best targets here are those with good triggers or high power relative to their converted mana cost.

Geosurge - Could possibly see play in any format. Turns 4 into 7 quite nicely for Goblin Charbelcher, which is probably the best use for it. Costing quadruple red is awkward for more general Storm purposes, but eventually red rituals might end up being better than black ones.

Gut Shot - Kills lots of things, and could readily see Legacy play in random decks that have a hard time dealing with turn one Goblin Lackey. Also bumps up storm count for free while dealing damage, which could be a tool used to push Grapeshot over the top.

Priest of Urabrask - This is Priest of Gix shifted into the modern color pie. Probably not playable, but stranger things have happened.

Vulshok Refugee - A very strange card that will see play in red deck sideboards for the mirror.

Whipflare - It's "worse" than Pyroclasm, except for the fact that it's possible to build your deck to take advantage of the asymmetry.

Beast Within - This Terastodon-like ability is fairly costed and can serve as a Vindicate or a "bad" Trained Armodon. Of course, if you're blowing up your own card with a reasonable trigger (such as Perilous Myr) then it's actually an Elephant with an upside. This will see play.

Corrosive Gale - Did we really need this card to exist? At all?

Noxious Reveal - "Colorless" with two modes. The first is obvious - use it as a Reclaim. The second is a bit less so- the card as spoiled says "a graveyard", so you can use it on your opponent to put their Reanimation target on top of their library, nerf their Vengevine, mess up a Counterbalance, for them to draw a land, etc. This will see play at some point in time.

Triumph of the Hordes - It doesn't matter how good you are, at some point you're going to get blown out by some little kid playing this card.

Darksteel Relic - I really hope this card is never playable in anything.

Shrine of Boundless Growth - This might help power out Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. If you play this on turn 3, you can probably have 5 counters on turn 6, which could pair with your existing manaramp to set up Emrakul. It's likely not good enough, but it's worth considering.

Shrine of Burning Rage - Note that this says "creature or player". It's a far better answer to Kor Firewalker than Ratchet Bomb, and is very likely to see play.

Shrine of Loyal Legions - might be playable in Block. It's like having a backup army ready in case of sweepers, and the tokens are artifact Myrs, which plays very well with Tempered Steel. The problem is, if you cast this early enough to get a decent-sized army, you're not casting your early beaters.

The other 2 Shrines aren't good enough.

Surge Node - People are going to try to get this to work with something. They might even succeed. It's fetchable by Trinket Mage, too.

Phyrexia's Core - Only playable if you're really in need of a sac outlet. Ichor Wellspring and Perilous Myr play well here, naturally.

GET:

Just pick up a 4x Common/Uncommon set off eBay or whatever so you won't find yourself having to pay a ton of money for Mental Misstep two years from now. It'll cost you like $30 and you won't find yourself scrambling to get what you need.

Potentially Relevant Commons

Apostle's Blessing - cheap protection spells see play all the time, and this now makes them available to all colors.

Gitaxian Probe - Will see play in Eternal combo decks. Might even make it in Standard. Pyromancer's Ascension has to like this card.

Psychic Barrier - Playable

Vapor Snag - Only worth mentioning because it's strictly better than Unsummon as a tempo play. A touch worse when saving your own guy, of course.

Geth's Verdict - If you're monoblack or heavy black, this is better than Diabolic Edict. Of course, Edicts are not particularly amazing in a world with Squadron Hawk...

Scrapyard Salvo - This could be the "reach" Kuldotha Red has needed for some time.

Glissa's Scorn - Quite likely to see play.

Mutagenic Growth - Pump effects don't typically see Constructed play, but this one might.

Mycosynth Wellspring - Probably not likely to see play, but does help color fix in a Block format that is desperately lacking good colorfixing options. I have to think that Sphere of the Suns and Ichor Wellspring do both halves of this card's job better.

Conclusion

A set full of powerful and unique cards, New Phyrexia looks to reshape the face of Standard and Legacy alike. It'll take some time to figure out how best to use many of these cards, as they do things which haven't really been done before. In the short term, expect minor tweaks to existing decks, people to try monoblack, and for people to amp up Kuldotha Red with the new tools available to it.

**Final Summary**

GET:

1 Sword of War and Peace

1 Batterskull

4 Etched Montrosity

4 Puresteel Paladin

4 Praetor’s Grasp

4 Surgical Extraction

4 Moltensteel Dragon

4 Slag Fiend

3-4 Melira, Sylvok Outcast

4 Fresh Meat

4 Hex Parasite

4 Myr Superion

4 Torpor Orb

4 Spellskite

A complete playset of Commons and Uncommons.

WATCH

Phyrexian Obliterator

Urabrask, the Hidden

Phyrexian Unlife

Phyrexian Metamorph

Life’s Finale

Birthing Pod

Chancellor of the Tangle

Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer

Josh Justice

JoshJMTG on Twitter