There isn't a more exciting moment in Magic the Gathering than opening a booster pack.  Each new booster is like holding a shiny lottery ticket in your hand.  The possibilities are racing through your mind as you tear open the foil.  Sometimes its not so rewarding; "thanks WotC but I already have three Legacy Weapons sitting in a box somewhere".  Other times,  the joy of pulling a foil Demigod is something you can't express.  The future is wide open.  I'm going to open a pack of Conflux and see what that future holds in this newest set.

This is an actual pack, and these are my initial ramblings after seeing each card.

Dark Temper - Not a bad way to start.  Three mana to deal two damage to only creatures is hardly ideal, but as a middle to late game spell it could be useful.  You know how much I enjoy spot removal and Dark Temper is not the worst I've seen.

Frontline Sage - Another decent pull from the common section of my booster.  Basically a Merfolk Looter with Exalted.  Frontline Sage costs too much mana to make a competitive deck, but this would be a nice addition to a sealed tournament deck.

[caption id="attachment_358" align="alignright" width="200" caption="cost effective in any deck"][/caption]

Aven Squire - Cheap creatures with Exalted are always helpful.  Not to mention when this guy attacks hes a 2/2 flyer.  Nice.  Combo this with a Akrasan Squire and you're in the red-zone with a 3/3 early enough in the game to really matter.

Sylvan Bounty - Agh!  I don't like this card at all.  Yeah, I can cycle it and get something out to help my Domain deck, but. . .   No, its just not good.  Gaining 8 life for six mana?  Bad.  Sylvan Bounty is just too specialized for me.  Next!

[caption id="attachment_359" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="no. . . no . . . no"][/caption]

Wretched Banquet - Looks alright at first glance.  Then you must consider that playing black, you'll probably have the creatures with the least power.  Not to mention dealing with the weakest creature on the board is rarely a priority.  Useful maybe, but not good.

Molten Frame - Sorry Esper, you've just had a sideboard card made specifically against you.  Molten Frame can be great in certain situations, but those are too few to include this card in any main-deck.  Even with the cycling ability.

Infectious Horror - Ah yes.  The sweet smell of a multiplayer card.  I love this type of card with a passion I can't rightly explain.  The idea of dealing six, eight, or even ten damage in one turn?  Fantastic!  Of course for one-on-one play its not enough.

Rhox Bodyguard - Spending five mana for a 2/3 and a couple life points is not a deal.  However, while not as useful as some of his Rhox brethren, the Bodyguard does bring enough to the table to be playable in many formats.

Wandering Goblins - A distant relative of the Flamewave Invoker. This three-drop goblin may be plain in the early game, but if you have six mana and more than three basic land types these guys are a real threat.

Might of Alara - Giant Growth gets a Coflux make-over with a Domain twist.  Not much at first, but if you can squeeze out four or five land types, you're playing with a serious instant.

[caption id="attachment_360" align="alignright" width="200" caption="expensive but worth it"][/caption]

View from Above - The uncommons start off with this rather mundane creature buffer.  Playing blue and white many of your creatures will have flying anyway.  It has solid ambush potential, but not much past that.  Its a bummer this card stole a possible Path to Exile slot in my pack.

Hellkite Hatchling - Dragons are always fun.  In combination with Crucible of Fire, these little guys can really pack a punch.  If the devoured a couple goblins on their way in, then even better.  Although I can't shake the feeling I've seen a better version of this card before.

Aerie Mystics - This card has stolen my attention a few times.  Five mana is too much for any 3/3 flyer, but that ability?  There is an awesome deck idea somewhere here.  I have a few decks I'm going to playtest this guy in and isn't that the highest compliment you can give a card?  Putting in a deck?

Charnelhoard Wurm - After peeling through a saproling token and Alara swamp I revealed this monstrosity.  Trample 6/6 fatties aren't exactly at a premium in standard these days.  Especially for seven mana.  Other than retreaving a fallen Hellkite Overlord I can't think of a reasonable use for this guy.  My point being that if you're already trampling over your opponent, then you probably won't need another card in hand.  Other Johnnies may rejoice here, but I want more bang for my mana than this.