Everyone's NPH Limited Analysis

here's a list of commons and uncommons that will be useful in drafting, and some cursory notes. let me know what you think about my choices (and omissions).

Cathedral Membrane - we know how good Wall of Tanglecord is at this price (minus reach), and could stall the ground and act as psuedo-removal.
Dispatch - good, but has the trappings of any metalcraft card: could set up for ugly card advantage losses if your metalcraft is turned off.
Exclusion Ritual - pricy, but has more value in our expected triple-NPH format, due to the greater likelihood of multiples of troublesome cards. it's nice that it takes out anything.
Forced Worship - good Cage of Hands variant, but certainly not as good.
Inquisitor Exarch - most likely you'll be using the second mode of this guy's EtB trigger.
Lost Leonin - this lil guy will certainly see play in Wx infect archetypes.
Marrow Shards - probably would be more disastrous in a format with MBS (due to all the X/1s) but this set has a lot of those too. being able to be free is nice too, and it could up your card advantage and the life loss would be negated by the life loss you would have suffered if all those X/1s you just killed got through. a general note on the Phybrid mana spells: i'm really not sure how they'll play yet. i'm guessing the "free" ones will be good, but as for the other ones that have colorless mana in their costs, i suppose it will depend on how much life you are willing to lose and how many of them you have in your deck to really consider pushing them out one or two turns early... all depends on the game state, as does everything.
Marrow Splicer - solid, but the one toughness hurts chances of keeping his bonus around. i assume all the Splicers hold this caveat. i'm starting to believe that, just like triple MBS, the triple NPH format will also place a premium on things that kill guys with one toughness. +1 point to Marrow Shards.
Porcelain Legionnaire - again, one toughness. dunno if he would be worth forcing on turn two, cause a kill spell would effectively Shock you.
Sensor Splicer - not bad. like Dan said, compare to Ambassador Oak.
Shattered Angel - as i'll say for Spire Monitor below, 3 power, 5cc fliers are always good. the trigger is gravy, and powerful gravy.
Shriek Raptor - solid for white-x infect. treat as a 4/3 flier when connecting.
Suture Priest - jury's out. Soul Warden was used occasionally, and the life loss is really good. but... X/1.

Blighted Agent - not bad. obv. it will be more likely to run infect in any color. pair with the green Phybrid pump spell even if you're not in green!
Chained Throatseeker - compare to Phyrexian Juggernaut. gotta get that one counter on, but that shouldn't be too hard. could be bomby.
Deceiver Exarch - tricksy. maybe 22nd card.
Impaler Shrike - this card offers some VERY interesting limited decisions. do you take the three cards, or keep slamming with your 3 power in the air? with all the X/1 problems this set already has, if i get in with this, i'll take the cards and run.
Mental Misstep - very situational, and i doubt i'd run this too much. sideboard potential.
Mindculling - interesting card advantage spell. could see play in whatever Ux controlly archetype arises.
Numbing Dose - a little expensive and fragile. if i was hard up for removal, i'd run it.
Psychic Barrier - not bad. i used Remove Soul and Essence Scatter in core set drafts to great effect. gotta know how to use it though.
Spined Thopter - X/1. could run in aggro. i'm starting to wonder if it will be possible to gather a lot of the Phybrid guys in triple NPH and go "five-color".
Spire Monitor - i'll defend 3/3, 5cc fliers to the death.
Tezzeret's Gambit - hmm. jury's out. Night's Whisper +1 +proliferate or Counsel of the Soratami +1 +proliferate . good options.
Vapor Snag - meh. use in a pinch.
Viral Drake - YIKES. love him, but i'll have to see how good he is. another guy that could push a control agenda.
Wing Splicer - another better Ambassador Oak. see notes on Splicers in the white section.

Blind Zealot - wow. i like this creepy lady, especially at common. i'll sneak by and blow up your guy! she is reduced in power level with all the artifact creatures running around. not bad though!
Dismember - uh, yes please. first pick in black, and flexible enough for any color if need be, albeit at a steep cost.
Enslave - i know Jim loved this thing in PLC. i do too. this loads your opponent up with poison counters if the guy you enslave has infect!
Entomber Exarch - not a bad Gravedigger/Coercion man.
Geth's Verdict - love it, but just like other edicts, worse as the game goes on. more "lose one life" gravy...
Grim Affliction - yes! black looks well-suited to be the highest value color. this thing kills a lot of guys.
Ichor Explosion - welp. it's 7cc, but it is a sweep spell at uncommon. as Jim put it, Marsh Casualties was good.
Parasitic Implant - weak black removal, compared to the other stuff, but takes out any guy really. Aura kill spells are usually weaker (see Numbing Dose).
Pith Driller - eh... it's not bad, but not good.
Reaper of Sheoldred - could hold down the fort +gravy.
Toxic Nim - i think it's too expensive, especially in triple NPH where a 1cc infector kills it dead (among other, more prevalent infectors).
Vault Skirge - worth it first turn? maybe if it infected... yikes.
Whispering Specter - same problem with the blue guy above. could be interesting; could be garbage.

Act of Aggression - worth it? i doubt it. i don't like Threaten effects in draft.
Artillerize - certainly an improvement upon the one from RAV, Fiery Conclusion. pricy yet.
Fallen Ferromancer - could be DEVASTATING when online. too bad it doesn't have 2 toughness like its counterpart in MBS, Vedalken Anatomist.
Furnace Scamp - this guy isn't as interesting as the other ones in its cycle. you connect, you Bolt. simple.
Geosurge - got a dragon or two? now you got one on turn 4. i probably wouldn't play it otherwise.
Gut Shot - nice trick, and kills what seems like 90% of the common/uncommon guys in this set.
Ogre Menial - good, plus it has quadruple toughness from everything else! still, red doesn't have as much infect as the other colors. gotta watch that.
Priest of Urabrask - i think he would be ok. i certainly played Coal Stoker in TSP.
Rage Extractor - yea.....no.
Razor Swine - o0o0o that's nice! watch your X/1s though like normal. on second thought, there might not be as many ways to kill X/1s in NPH as opposed to MBS. we'll see.
Ruthless Invasion - nah.
Scrapyard Salvo - could be a viable common finisher, but i wouldn't play it often.
Slash Panther - worth it? maybe. still unsure.
Tormentor Exarch - good removal dude. again the Phyrexian mode is best.
Victorious Destruction - yikes. i haven't seen too much artifact removal though.
Volt Charge - first to third pick removal!
Vulshok Refugee - sideboard material, like the Couriers.
Whipflare - yay! Pyroclasm kinda.

Beast Within - i'd rather you have a 3/3 than that Praetor. good removal in green.
Brutalizer Exarch - i dunno about this guy yet. could remove a problem noncreature or fetch your bomb.
Corrosive Gale - sideboard.
Death-Hood Cobra - GOOD blocker guy.
Glissa's Scorn - quality. and 1 life gravy (yummm).
Leeching Bite - best case scenario 2-for-1! otherwise good.
Mutagenic Growth - you'll take this in ANY infect variant. i like it.
Mycosynth Fiend - kinda defeats the purpose of infect. could run into the problem Jim faced where he had equal infect and regular guys, and couldn't put the nail in the coffin.
Noxious Revival - hmm. dunno about this.
Spinebiter - pricy, but could spell game over.
Triumph of the Hordes - ALPHA STRIKE TEAM GO
Viridian Harvest - 15th pick!

Alloy Myr - good fixing, but not as good an accelerant as the Palladium variety.
Blinding Souleater - VERY good in white, marginal elsewhere (makes their biggest attacker effectively a 2/X)
Conversion Chamber - could be a very good card. i'll say it's a sleeper for now.
Gremlin Mine - passable colorless removal. i doubt its second ability will be as used as its first.
Hovermyr - meh!
Immolating Souleater - yikes! could get in for a lot of damage. i wish we'd have Assault Strobe in the format just for this guy.
Insatiable Souleater - ew, is that a 5/1?! ugh.
Isolation Cell - hmm. controlly, but it really isn't part of the BREAD and butter of drafting, if you catch my drift.
Kiln Walker - i'm ok with this guy!
Mycosynth Wellspring - wow. not as good as the Ichor variety, and might not have as much sacrifice help as in MBS. still i'd definitely run it.
Necropouncer - i dunno. again with the one toughness thing, and pricy. as far as living weapons go, it's weak.
Pestilent Souleater - could be ok.
Pristine Talisman - not a huge fan. i wish it was 2 mana.
Shrine of Boundless Growth - are there Eldrazi in this set?
Shrine of Burning Rage - along with the white one, it's one of the more powerful Shrines. definitely playable in any deck, but obv. better in red ones.
Shrine of Limitless Power - by the time this would be ready to pop, your opponent's hand will be empty more or less. no good.
Shrine of Loyal Legions - could set up for lots of guys at instant speed (but without the instant surprise factor). i like it.
Shrine of Piercing Vision - just another cantripper. could thin your deck, but i don't know how long you'll wait to pop it.
Sickleslicer - solid living weapon, although the equip cost is steep (that's the norm for living weapons though).
Surge Node - takes a LOT of support. i'd call this a dead card in my hand most of the time.
Trespassing Souleater - Bullet Bill here will be played.

Here are my thoughts, following the color order on the MTGS spoiler:

Cathedral Membrane - extremely solid, holds up the ground and acts as pseudo-removal. If I'm running a slower, control deck I'd love to have this.

Exclusion Ritual - Like Steve said, pricey but powerful, kind of reminds me of Iona's Judgment from WW.

Forced Worship - Not a terrible piece of removal if you don't care about attacking or can evade past whatever's enchanted. It will always be enchanted to the biggest threat on the board if nothing else.

Marrow Shards - Depending on the number of x/1's the opponent has, this can be a real sweeper. If nothing else you can use it to finish off creatures during the blocking step.

Marrow Splicer - An excellent creature, I really like the whole Splicer cycle, getting 2 or more bodies out of one card is usually a great thing.

Shattered Angel - An amazing package in limited, with both a solid body, evasion, and life-gain.

Bighted Agent - A nasty little creature, with infect and unblockable. You get a couple of these guys, or decent equipment, or combine it with proliferate and you can finish off an opponent pretty fast.

Spined Thopter - The small body is worrisome, but I never have a real problem with playing a 2/1 flier for cheap.

Tezzeret's Gambit - A nice bit of card-draw in a set that up-till-now was lacking it.

Viral Drake - I love this guy, being able to proliferate for just 4-mana is fantastic.

Blind Zealot - Another creature I really like, though it'd take some games to see how often she actually gets through.

Dismember - A first pick, no question asked, it can pretty much kill anything you'd see play against you.

Enslave - I loved this card in TS and I love it in NPH, an amazing control card.

Entomber Exarch - Gravedigger is always a nice card to have in limited.

Geth's Verdict - Diabolic Edict was always a great card, though this variant is a bit harder to cast.

Grim Affliction - A potentially really powerful card, and a decent removal spell if not.

Parasitic Implant - Slow and expensive, but it will kill pretty much anything.

Artillerize - An expensive Shrapnel Blast variant, could be useful depending on the creatures you run.

Fallen Ferromancer- Slow and Expensive, but potentially a game finisher

Ogre Menial - Not a bad creature if you mostly playing red-mana.

Razor Swine - Another good red infector, where was this when I was RG Infect last week?

Scrapyard Salvo - A fun card that will probably find it's way into my Big Deck, but not too great for limited

Slash Panther - A 4/2 haste creature for 4-mana and 2-life isn't bad, especially if there aren't any blockers around.

Tormentor Exarch - A great bit of removal with a decent body attached.

Volt Charge - Good removal and proliferate makes it into any deck I'd run.

Brutalizer Exarch - Expensive, but tutoring for a creature in the late-game is never a bad thing.

Death-Hood Cobra - Another expensive creature, but with enough mana he can hold off pretty much anything.

Leeching Bite - Killing a x/1 and pumping your own guy is always a nice thing, especially in Infect.

Maul Splicer - Expensive, but she can finish the game real fast if your opponent doesn't have substantial blockers.

Spinebiter - Rhox infector seems pretty good to me.

Vital Splicer - If we do triple NPH I'm going to build a splicer deck.

Alloy Myr - Darksteel Ingot with legs (and sans indestructibility).

Blinding Souleater - Tappers are always good in limited.

Isolation Cell - A good way of slowing down an aggressive opponent.

Mycosynth Wellspring - A nice bit of colorless mana-fixing, combos well with artifact sacrificing effects.

Sickleslicer - A solid Living-Weapon I'd be happy with in most decks, +2/+2 means a lot in limited.

question about Due Respect.

I can play it in response to seeing what you attempt to play before it actually hits play correct? If so, then im definitely playing this card. Has so many implications. If you have it early, then turn 3 upkeep due respect could time walk your opponent. Later, when you are trying to push through damage, it can give you the additional turn you need to get in past the flyer/infect blocker/beefy dude they are attempting to play. Could also nullify a hasted creature.

Marrow Shards and the other 0 mana instants are wicked (except the blue one). Youll just never know sometimes, itll make combat so much more interesting.

Deceiver Exarch is going to be awesome too. You appear 1 body short, your opponent alpha strikes but OH NO flash in Exarch's big booty and tap down their "just in case" remaining blocker to swing in for the win next turn.

Impaler Shrike will definitely make for some hard decisions. If you get in once, do you go for it again or do you take your cards and run?

Psychic Barrier is all good. No chance it wont find itself useful 90% of the time you draw it. And once you opponent knows you have it, it can completely change how they play our future hands.

I see Caress of Phyrexia ending quite a few games.

Killing your own Mortis Dogs post combat could win you the game, i cant wait to see that.

intrinsic wrote:question about Due Respect.

I can play it in response to seeing what you attempt to play before it actually hits play correct?

A non-land permanent doesn't enter the battlefield until it resolves. You can't play this (or anything else) in response to a land drop, but you can definitely cast this in response to, say, a creature.

While not an uncommon or common, I see Norn's Annex as a nasty card against all non-white strategies.

intrinsic wrote:question about Due Respect.

I can play it in response to seeing what you attempt to play before it actually hits play correct? If so, then im definitely playing this card. Has so many implications. If you have it early, then turn 3 upkeep due respect could time walk your opponent. Later, when you are trying to push through damage, it can give you the additional turn you need to get in past the flyer/infect blocker/beefy dude they are attempting to play. Could also nullify a hasted creature.

i'd like playing it in response to you flashing in your Spire Monitor to block my x/2