Magic 2010 will finally be released to the general public on Friday.  MTG fans will be tearing open boosters and looking for cards they need or are otherwise excited about.  For some of us this will not be the first time we've held the metallic silver M10 packs aloft, wondering what they contained.  Pre-release events offered a dedicated few the opportunity to open and play with many of the new cards early.  As a participant I secreted away one of my boosters from the sealed draft in order to write this running gimmick.  For those new to this idea, the outline is simple: as each card is pulled I scribble down my first impressions.  Unedited and without research.  As always these are real pulls from an actual booster.

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Veteran Swordsmith - Not a bad way to start the pack.  In fact, this card helped me greatly during the pre-release.  The fact that three mana seems a little pricey for a 3/2 with a great ability shows just how far creatures have come in the past few years.  Obviously we are looking at a tribal card, and a useful one at that.  Not a tournament standard, but highly recommended it if you're playing white in a sealed event this weekend (or any other time for that matter).  Simply sprinkle in some other soldiers and 'poof' instant deck.

Kelinore Bat - The pro being the bat is a cheap evasive creature.  But this bat is no vampire, limiting its usefulness in a tribal sense.  Best case scenarion here is another limited card.  Reminds me of Razortooth Rats from earlier MTG core sets.  Not much to see here so lets move on.

Seismic Strike - Though it owns a name very similar to Seismic Assault, this card does something a little less impressive: provide spot removal in a mono-red or mostly red deck.  The heir to Spitting Earth is better than its predecessor because of the instant speed, but not enough of an upgrade to matter.   With a card like Lightning Bolt in the same set Seismic Strike will see little use.

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Craw Wurm - Here is one of those cards you will see played against you in virtually every limited event.  The casting cost is high but easy to fulfill and once Craw Wurm hits the table removing it is difficult.  That being said most of us won't think twice seeing this card peaking out from our booster outside those formats.  On to the next card.

Wind Drake - The sub-theme of this pack is already evident.  Useful limited tournament creatures that will probably never see play otherwise.  Wind Drake does show that once again blue is master of the skies.  Simply glance back to our second card for what the same casting cost brings you in black.  Unfortunately the precedent has already been set.  Cards like Spiketail Drakeling, Vendilion Clique and Plumeveildemonstrate what a three mana flyer is capable of.  Comparitively Wind Drake seems to fall flat.

Siege Mastodon - The white version of Craw Wurm (worse actually).  A limited tourney card with little use for anyone past the beginning stages of MTG play.  Keep in mind that five mana will buy you Baneslayer Angel in the same set.  Being honest, this card is barely playable in any format.  The fellow playing this card in my tournament did not win.  Enough said.  Thanks again WotC for making another over-priced creature with mid-level power.

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Angels Mercy - This can't be correct.  Something is missing here.  An ability or more rules text?  No, just four mana to heal 7 life?  On the surface it may not seem that bad until you compare some near contemporaries.  Nourish costs two less mana, and Heroes Reunion nets you the same life gain for half the mana.  Truthfully I might need to get up and take a walk outside if this card quality keeps up.

Horned Turtle - When did Wizards' R&D decide that large turtles were 1/4?  Some time around the days of the Giant Tortoise one would suppose.  Staying true to form here is yet another 1/4 turtle for blue wizards to shove aside on their way to more useful cards.  Let's follow their lead.

Soul Bleed - New rules text prevents us from using Lifelink to enchant our opponents creatures for our benefit.  Leaving a void in the harmful creature enchantments that don't destroy said creature.  Perhaps that explains a card like Soul Bleed.  Be that as it may, I vastly prefer the white version of this spell known as Recumbent Bliss.  Perhaps gaining life is not nearly as valued as dealing damage, but the Pacifism effect tips the scales away from SB.  Easily.

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Mist Leopard - Perhaps our final mid-range creature ideal for limited play.  Find a way to clear a path for our friend and it could be a game winner.  Without a clear path the Mist Leopard trades with just about anything blocking it.  Including creatures with much smaller mana commitments.

Demons Horn - The life-gain artifacts are a surprise inclusion in Magic 2010.  Not only were they included in 10th, their flavor (the WotC key-word these days) is a little off.  The art is something out of Tron while the idea of possessing a demon's horn to achieve everlasting life, more strength, etc is not standard fantasy.  At least not in my circles.  All that being said this card could see a lot of use.  Both in the rainbow decks currently popular in Alara and the mono-colored decks sure to arise from M10.

Acidic Slime - A personal favorite limited format card Acidic Slime is versatile enough to main-deck just about anywhere.  The ability to cripple your opponent's mana base or basic strategy while scoring an 'unblockable' creature is fantastic.  Within the context of limited keep in mind that dynamic cards are much more useful.  Even if the mana cost seems high at first glance take a chance in Acidic Slime and you'll be happy you did.

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Rod of Ruin - The ultimate hit-or-miss card.  Against decks featuring small but important nasties like Royal Assassin the Rod delivers much.  Matched with basically anything else and you're left out in the cold.  It is understandable why this card made the set (oozing with basic fantasy flavor).  But the card is vanilla.  Plain vanilla.

Shivan Dragon - Consider that I myself once wrote the possibility that if Shivan Dragon was to be included in M10 it should be uncommon rarity.  That says volumes about the level of excitement I feel after the booster is finished.  Wait there is more: this is Shivan Dragon number two in the few packs of M10 I have opened thus far.  Sure the first Shivan won me at least two matches during pre-release, but there is no need for a pair of these mammoth baddies.