My thoughts (including briefly those on the CA discussion)-
When I say card advantage, I mean resources at your disposal. This includes permanents on the board as well as cards in hand. A 1/1 on the board is a card, and a land in your hand is a card. Progenitus in your hand when you have two lands in play is a card. They may not be very helpful, but they're cards, and they count.
Elvish visionary is CA, because it nets you a 1/1 on the board at no cost to your hand. If they remove it, it's clearly advantage, as everyone agrees. If they don't remove it, it is functioning as a creature with little impact on the board. Might be swinging for 1 a turn, might be threatening a chump block of a bloodbraid. Either way, it has some small value, and counts as a card. When they swing with a 4/4 and you chump block it, you lose a card, and save yourself 4 life. Card disadvantage, overall standings benefitted in a marginal way.
What I am getting at is that the 1/1 counts, no matter how outclassed it is. If you have 8 lands in play, two in your hand, and your divination gets you two lands, you've drawn cards you really don't need, and impact the game only slightly. However, people still call this card advantage. Yes, you get the benefit of not drawing those lands for the next turn, but the elf still did something, too. It's marginal card advantage, and about as useful as drawing that one card you really didn't want to see, and they both have about the same impact. Calling one card advantage and the other not just because a 1/1 isn't very useful isn't really fair. One final illustration- if it were 8 1/1 tokens, it'd be card advantage. Therefore each token must have had some minimal value itself, and the elf has the same minimal value. At the least, it combines with a second elf to take out a bloodbraid- half a card's worth of advantage each.
On to Jace:
Pretty neat, very flexible card. Playing it makes your opponent immediately find a way to get rid of it. If not, major card advantage. Even if they remove it, that's pressure on them, defining their options instead of letting them decide what they want to do.
Sorcery speed brainstorm? Very nice with fetches. Maybe some additional shuffle synergy will crop up, though. I don't like the typical assumption that fetches in the format automatically means you will have one whenever it's convenient. Me? I usually use them to fix mana, like they were intended, rather than have one around to say "T: shuffle." Would be amused if there were a blue land that had ETB: shuffle
The Unsummon is its built in defense, but I'm wary of how effective it will be. Two common threats against Jund are Bloodbraid and Broodmate, both of which you don't want to bounce. Exiling the token altogether sounds nice, though Pity you can't bounce the leech when it's +2/2 is on the stack though. The question seems to me if blue will get enough spells to be able to keep the board safe enough to drop this turn 4. As others pointed out, Day of Judgment seems like a nice option, but with thrinaxes, it'll still get swarmed.
Ultimate not going to be used competitively in most cases, I can only see the +2 ability being used to refill counters or in an unusual case where you happen to know something important about the tops of decks (like the neat synergy with the Sphinx of Jwar Isle).
Other thoughts: An alternative to shuffling for brainstorm is cascade. Stack a card you want to cast for free on top, and drop a cascade spell. In WU, that's ardent plea or stormcaller's boon, both of which are kind of meh. The Plea could shuffle away the top if you put converted cost >3 on top, but Deny Reality into a 4 drop seems like a more appealing choice. It was speculated there will be a 4-cost sphinx?
Still weak to blightning, of course. I really relied on swerve in control decks to handle that, but the red stretched it. Keeping flashfreeze in hand is a nice solution, but what I'd really be amused to see is discard protection. Since madness is long gone, it'd be amusing to see Quagnoth put in. Mind you, I highly doubt it, but it'd be a blow to standard. "Discard 2." "I'll just discard one, okay? And next blightning is just one, too, okay?" Or if you have two, "Nah."
Expected price range for Jace? 15-18. It IS a small set, but players have been crying for good blue cards for how long? Here's a great one, gives them a lot of selection they need to get the right spells. All that's missing now, really, is maybe a little better card draw, and the big thing is early viable counterspells. It's bad when a player is tempted to run Spell Pierce just for early game Blightnings and the like.
With the Orb of Insight up, Bazaar and Trader each returned 1 hit, taken by the card's name. So apparently no multikicker or ETB effects, as they always reference the card's name. That limits his abilities to static abilities or activated abilities. Could just be a cheap, red "T: Draw two, discard three" but I kind of doubt that. I'd expect something more like, "Sacrifice three creatures: Put a creature from your hand into play," though I could see some progenitus shenanigans pretty easily there.
"Turn 2: dragon fodder. Turn 3: Bazaar trader, sac all for Progenitus. Go."
Or replace dragon fodder with two cheap goblins, can't be hard. Probably something else, I'd guess with exchanging permanents, maybe randomly, as a tap ability.
Interesting, for commons. I like the lizard, as it scales pretty well. Tuktuk grunts saw play in limited just as a solid body with haste, even outside allies, and the lizard can function in multiple capacities. Heavy investment in color though.
I never really liked land enchants, but Vastwood Zendikon does seem to be an improvement. Getting the land back is nice. Too bad you can't pull many gimmicks with putting it on an opponent's land and doing something with it :D\
Really dislike the milling ally though. 1/3 for 2 is helpful in draft of course, but the milling aspect of it seems pretty irrelevant. If you get 3 out, then yes, you have some milling going on. But without doubles, it's pretty nominal milling. As for people who like to draft lots of hedron crabs, I believe it was stated that drafts would be ZZW, so you won't be able to pick up a playset of these very easily, even though it's at a common. That being said, if you're playing the raptors, it IS an ally, and a useful one for blocking at that.
The kitesail- good if you have equipment in limited, but if you can't pick up those trusty machetes, I don't really see it getting much use. Maybe we'll see a reprint of the leonin scimitar though
As for the Mysteries of the Deep, I'm pretty amused by it. Yes, instant speed draw, no, not overpowered. It's a common. Hard to make use of, but especially in limited, if you're sitting on a turn 5 Summoner's Bane, and they don't cast a creature, you have something else to do. With all the conditional counters, it could prove rather helpful. I think it could have been printed at straight draw two instant for 3U instead of 4U with the chance of 3 cards, but that takes the fun out of non-permanent landfall
Finally, I really like the manland cycle. Will be interesting to see what abilities or p/t the others get.
Bazaar and Trader each returned 1, so Bazaar Trader does not reference itself. This is a bit puzzling, since most speculation involved multikicker or ETB effects, which always say, "If X was kicked" or "For each time X was kicked," or "When X enters the battlefield." This seems to suggest a static ability? Maybe it's going to be good old "T: Draw 2, discard 3" in red. Not likely, I think. Maybe "T: Choose a permanent an opponent controls, and gain control of it. That opponent chooses 3 permanents you control and gains control of them."
Other speculation would be a static "Sacrifice 3 creatures you control: put a creature from your hand into play" or something similar.
Guided Passage is easily my favorite card. First, and for a long time only, red/blue/green card. I love it because it's generally 'bad,' but in casual play, especially in EDH, it can lead to some awesome plays. It is unique in its design, and I enjoy how people always ask what it does when I cast it.
When I say card advantage, I mean resources at your disposal. This includes permanents on the board as well as cards in hand. A 1/1 on the board is a card, and a land in your hand is a card. Progenitus in your hand when you have two lands in play is a card. They may not be very helpful, but they're cards, and they count.
Elvish visionary is CA, because it nets you a 1/1 on the board at no cost to your hand. If they remove it, it's clearly advantage, as everyone agrees. If they don't remove it, it is functioning as a creature with little impact on the board. Might be swinging for 1 a turn, might be threatening a chump block of a bloodbraid. Either way, it has some small value, and counts as a card. When they swing with a 4/4 and you chump block it, you lose a card, and save yourself 4 life. Card disadvantage, overall standings benefitted in a marginal way.
What I am getting at is that the 1/1 counts, no matter how outclassed it is. If you have 8 lands in play, two in your hand, and your divination gets you two lands, you've drawn cards you really don't need, and impact the game only slightly. However, people still call this card advantage. Yes, you get the benefit of not drawing those lands for the next turn, but the elf still did something, too. It's marginal card advantage, and about as useful as drawing that one card you really didn't want to see, and they both have about the same impact. Calling one card advantage and the other not just because a 1/1 isn't very useful isn't really fair. One final illustration- if it were 8 1/1 tokens, it'd be card advantage. Therefore each token must have had some minimal value itself, and the elf has the same minimal value. At the least, it combines with a second elf to take out a bloodbraid- half a card's worth of advantage each.
On to Jace:
Pretty neat, very flexible card. Playing it makes your opponent immediately find a way to get rid of it. If not, major card advantage. Even if they remove it, that's pressure on them, defining their options instead of letting them decide what they want to do.
Sorcery speed brainstorm? Very nice with fetches. Maybe some additional shuffle synergy will crop up, though. I don't like the typical assumption that fetches in the format automatically means you will have one whenever it's convenient. Me? I usually use them to fix mana, like they were intended, rather than have one around to say "T: shuffle." Would be amused if there were a blue land that had ETB: shuffle
The Unsummon is its built in defense, but I'm wary of how effective it will be. Two common threats against Jund are Bloodbraid and Broodmate, both of which you don't want to bounce. Exiling the token altogether sounds nice, though
Ultimate not going to be used competitively in most cases, I can only see the +2 ability being used to refill counters or in an unusual case where you happen to know something important about the tops of decks (like the neat synergy with the Sphinx of Jwar Isle).
Other thoughts: An alternative to shuffling for brainstorm is cascade. Stack a card you want to cast for free on top, and drop a cascade spell. In WU, that's ardent plea or stormcaller's boon, both of which are kind of meh. The Plea could shuffle away the top if you put converted cost >3 on top, but Deny Reality into a 4 drop seems like a more appealing choice. It was speculated there will be a 4-cost sphinx?
Still weak to blightning, of course. I really relied on swerve in control decks to handle that, but the red stretched it. Keeping flashfreeze in hand is a nice solution, but what I'd really be amused to see is discard protection. Since madness is long gone, it'd be amusing to see Quagnoth put in. Mind you, I highly doubt it, but it'd be a blow to standard. "Discard 2." "I'll just discard one, okay? And next blightning is just one, too, okay?" Or if you have two, "Nah."
Expected price range for Jace? 15-18. It IS a small set, but players have been crying for good blue cards for how long? Here's a great one, gives them a lot of selection they need to get the right spells. All that's missing now, really, is maybe a little better card draw, and the big thing is early viable counterspells. It's bad when a player is tempted to run Spell Pierce just for early game Blightnings and the like.
"Turn 2: dragon fodder. Turn 3: Bazaar trader, sac all for Progenitus. Go."
Or replace dragon fodder with two cheap goblins, can't be hard. Probably something else, I'd guess with exchanging permanents, maybe randomly, as a tap ability.
I never really liked land enchants, but Vastwood Zendikon does seem to be an improvement. Getting the land back is nice. Too bad you can't pull many gimmicks with putting it on an opponent's land and doing something with it :D\
Really dislike the milling ally though. 1/3 for 2 is helpful in draft of course, but the milling aspect of it seems pretty irrelevant. If you get 3 out, then yes, you have some milling going on. But without doubles, it's pretty nominal milling. As for people who like to draft lots of hedron crabs, I believe it was stated that drafts would be ZZW, so you won't be able to pick up a playset of these very easily, even though it's at a common. That being said, if you're playing the raptors, it IS an ally, and a useful one for blocking at that.
The kitesail- good if you have equipment in limited, but if you can't pick up those trusty machetes, I don't really see it getting much use. Maybe we'll see a reprint of the leonin scimitar though
As for the Mysteries of the Deep, I'm pretty amused by it. Yes, instant speed draw, no, not overpowered. It's a common. Hard to make use of, but especially in limited, if you're sitting on a turn 5 Summoner's Bane, and they don't cast a creature, you have something else to do. With all the conditional counters, it could prove rather helpful. I think it could have been printed at straight draw two instant for 3U instead of 4U with the chance of 3 cards, but that takes the fun out of non-permanent landfall
Finally, I really like the manland cycle. Will be interesting to see what abilities or p/t the others get.
Other speculation would be a static "Sacrifice 3 creatures you control: put a creature from your hand into play" or something similar.