Most people are probably settled in their impressions of Gatecrash by now, but love it or hate it, the new set isn't going anywhere any time soon. Hence, I must continue on my Herculean task of rating every card in Gatecrash color-by-color. Last time, I did the first fifteen cards of red, so naturally, here is the last part of Gatecrash red.
Massive Raid - Mob Justice but better! This is extremely playable in aggro decks; it starts to be worth its cost if you can get a mere four creatures on the table, which shouldn't exactly be hard for that archetype. Mid-game this is good removal; late-game this can turn a nearly-there attack into an alpha strike. Run 'em if you pull 'em.
Molten Primordial - This is easily the most "immediately-game-ending" of all of the Primordial cycle. Sure, Sepulchral Primordial has evasion and lets you keep the creatures you reanimate from your opponents' 'yards with it, but the Molten one has haste, lets you swing with your stolen beaters right away, and you don't even have to be holding removal to take control of your opponents' biggest creatures with it. All of the cycle are probably underrated in Limited (it's obvious they're good in multiplayer formats), this one most of all.
Mugging - As much as I love the flavor of this one, this seems to be a test by R&D to see how bad they can make one-mana removal and still have it played in Limited. This is made vaguely passible by the fact that it's still relevant late-game due to the "can't block this turn" clause, but sorcery-speed 2-damage creature-only burn makes Flame Slash and Shock both hang their heads in shame.
Ripscale Predator - This one actually seems to be the exact opposite of the last: It's an expensive creature that's actually really good for its cost. The only thing they share is consistent Limited relevance. It is a high-toughness red creature with power equal to its converted mana cost and it has evasion that is probably more evasive than you think. Don't overlook this. Play it if your curve can handle it.
Scorchwalker - This, too, is probably more efficient than it gets credit for. Sure, that body is super fragile, but if you can get even one five-damage hit in off it it can be worth the four mana you spend on it. What's really compelling is that bloodrush ability; +5 power for three mana is nothing to sneeze at, and that +1 toughness boost is both rarely seen in red and good for turning trades into massacres.
Skinbrand Goblin - As a teeny-tiny Scorchwalker, everything I said about that card probably applies to this one in a scaled-down way. +2/+1 for R isn't quite the same as +5/+1 for 1RR, but the body is also less of a "waste" - your two-mana 2/1 dying feels less bad than your four-mana 5/1 dying. Plus: Relevant creature types! (Not that the Elemental type is irrelevant.)
Skullcrack - In terms of metagame fixes this is a rather subtle and commendable one. Technically I suppose this is in Gatecrash as an extort hoser, but in a larger context it works against Turbo-Fog decks and other stall-happy control decks. This oddly reminds me of Stranglehold in that it feels like the sort of card that would be created for a multiplayer-specific product. Then again, a lot of Gatecrash feels multiplayer-friendly, so it fits right in.
Structural Collapse - I rather like the new direction that R&D is taking with land destruction; it sort of feels right. Rather than relatively-cheap spells that do nothing but destroy a land, they've been making more expensive ones with wider-ranging effects. As much as LD-deck fans complain about it, the new way reduces the "unfun-ness" potential and also feels better flavorwise: if you're blowing up an entire piece of land the shockwaves will be felt elsewhere. Land and artifact kill, plus a bit of player damage, feels spot-on to me. That isn't to say this is spectacularly playable, but it is appealing.
Tin Street Market - What is the most complimentary thing I can say about this card? It is better than Debtor's Pulpit. Seriously: For three mana less this would be a gem. For two less it'd be still playable. For one less it'd have a niche. At five mana, one card worth of looting per turn that requires you to tap a land just isn't worth it 99 times out of 100.
Towering Thunderfist - Boros seems lacking in terms of fatties that aren't Aurelia, the Warleader, so at common I suppose I would take what I could get. This is at the very least a relevant body to have vigilance on, and even if you can't or don't want to pay that one white mana to turn it on, a 4/4 for five in red is acceptable. This, like it or not, fits pretty well in the curves of Boros decks that even bother playing anything that costs more than three mana.
Viashino Shanktail - A Halberdier-with-different-creature-types isn't bad on its own in Limited for red, but the bloodrush ability on this is even better than it is on other cards because it basically guarantees that you'll turn around one blocked-attacker situation. +3/+1 and first strike is pretty good even when you're paying 2R for it and works especially well with tramplers.
Warmind Infantry - Falling squarely into the "base stats are good even without battalion triggering" camp of battalion creatures, this guy is an entirely solid Boros common that even Gruul decks would be happy to have. The fact that it'll most likely swing as a 4/3 on its first attack is just gravy.
Wrecking Ogre - This card is perceived as a "bad rare," which I can't fully fathom; its bloodrush ability is quite strong and a 3/3 double striker for five mana in red is very reasonable too. I'm not saying this is the best red creature in the set or anything, but maybe it's underrated a little.
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