New Phyrexia Limited Review - White

Hello again,
Welcome back! Today I will doing a set review in limited for the color white. I will go over some of the more important cards and rate how good they are in limited. LSV does set reviews on channel fireball for New Phyrexia, except he also does constructed rating as well. As limited is currently my favorite format, I will focus on limited. The rating system is as follows:
5.0 - I will always first pick this, sometimes without even looking at the rest of the pack. I will switch colors to play this, unless it is easily splash-able. 
4.0 - I almost always first pick this card. If I'm highly dedicated to at least two other colors and is not easily splashed, I may pass it for something else but this is rare.
3.0 - If possible, I try not to switch into another color for this, but I can splash it. If it's in my color, I usually play this.
2.0 - This card isn't great, but it will occasionally find it's way into the main and be sided in if not. This rating might also represent cards that need heavy support to be decent, which usually isn't great.
1.0 - Unless I'm on a bet (and even then) I will not play this. 

I'll probably stick to the cards 3.0 or better, to save time. Cards not on here are probably not a 3 in my eyes, or I just missed it.

 

Rating: 3.5

This card is the face of efficiency. 4/4 for 2W is good alone, but when split onto two bodies and the bigger one has first strike, you get crazy. There's a reason this is the rare splicer.

Rating: 4.0

Putting your opponent behind a turn can really make a difference in limited. On top of that, once you land this, which in limited is reasonably possible, you put your opponent back really far. This card isn't excellent and I only want one in a deck, but it pulls its weight.

Rating: 5.0

The fact that we will open New Phyrexia first helps the rating, because we aren't dedicated to colors yet. If New Phyrexia was last, I might say 4.5. This card, once on the table, not only wipes the board and helps you win faster, but your opponents lose the ability to play top deck chump blockers.

 Rating: 3.0

This card in some situations is worse than Arrest. The ability to still block may be important, but the ability to still use activated abilities is what drops this card very low. Many cards in the block shine without attacking or blocking like Geth, Hoard-Smelter, Carnifex Demon etc. The ability to switch it around is cool though, not only for the late and mid-game value, but also for the ability to fix misplays.

Rating: 4.0

This card is what aggro needs. Turn one, for a measly one mana and two life, you get a 3/1 first strike. On the play, you should get in for at least 6 damage uninterrupted. First strike makes it even better and harder to kill. This card will be seeing a lot of early grabbing.

Rating: 3.5

This card, once dropped, can really change a game. Against infect it is lacking, but a 3/3 flier for 5 is still good. This card is a good addition to any white deck, especially when you need both reach and extra turns against aggro based draft decks.

Rating: 3.0

This card is a great infect card, and maybe playable in non-infect white controling decks. In infect, 3 toughness is great, as proved by Cystbearer. It may cost 5, but it gives infect deck the reach they need, and non-infect a good defense.

Rating: 3.0

This card pulls its weight very well. When dropped on turn 2, this card is great and can really exceed your money back. Late game, it gives a bit of reach, but it's not the greatest card to draw in top deck mode. It is a great card in white, but I don't think it deserves to much of a splash.

 

So that's it for the ratings, thank you for reading. I will soon return with the other colors. Let me know in the comments if you thought this helped, or if you disagree with any of my choices. Also let me know if I missed anything important. New Phyrexia will certainly do a lot to the draft block, opening up many new strategies. I will most likely enjoy this format, and I hope you will too. Remember, follow me on twitter @AJKerrigan55 if you haven't already.