Which Dragon Cards do I need to pick up from Conclave Arcana to compete?

It's a very exciting time to be playing standard.
With previous sets we've had access to ghost cards that included all the common and rare cards from the most recent set. We didn't get that with this set, so my first recommendation is that you pick up your own copy of each common and rare card from the set.

I'll introduce some of the epic and legendary cards from Conclave Arcana like I did when Rebellion came out. I'll use a 5 star rating system. Here's what each of those ratings represent. These ratings are based on level 1 cards with a single BCX as we're getting used to the set.

5/5 stars

These are cards that I expect to be staples. These are generally great cards starting at level 1 and should work well in a wide variety of situations. Think cards like Mantaroth from Rebellion, Djinn Oshannus, Cursed Windeku and pretty much all the cards with the protect ability that get used like they're going out of style.

4/5 stars

These cards are good generally and great situationally. Think cards like Ash Mirage and Tinderlock in the going the distance ruleset.

3/5 stars

These are decent cards that are mostly filler if you don't have anything better. They'll be strong contributors in the right situations. Think cards like Corsair Bosun, Runic Skyclaw and Igor Darkspear. Solid cards that you may not think to use unless the mana cost is just right.

2/5 stars

These are cards that have the potential to be useful in the right situation, like if the ruleset and the mana line up you might give them a try and you might feel disappointment that this was the best you could come up with. Think cards like Biceratops or Goblin Tower.

1/5 stars

These are cards that you can't think of a good use for. Maybe I could just burn this card for DEC or maybe they just haven't come up with the right ruleset for it yet. Think level 1 Venari Heatsmith before they came up with weapons training or Goblin Chef. If you aren't familiar with those cards, it may be that you've never used them and/or never bothered to pick up a copy.

So, here we go.

Aranduriel

At level 1 Aranduriel looks familiar.

4/5 stars

I used Daigendark Hunter quite a bit before rotation. It's like top 20 since rotation hit. The stats aren't flashy, but they are solid. I'm just seeing Aranduriel for the first time today and it will be one of the first epics that I pick up.

Songale

3/5 stars

I'm not sure how best to rate these new reckless cards, but you can bet Songale is coming out all day in the back to basics ruleset.

Desolation

3/5 stars

There are dramatically fewer high mana cost cards since rotation which improves their value, but I can't see a ton of opportunities to drop 11 mana on a ranged attacker without close range.

Sheng Xiao

5/5 stars

I had the chance to play against Sheng Xiao once so far. I had a great lineup and still got beat. Poison burst is very powerful.

Archmage Yabanius

3/5 stars

I'm probably underestimating the empower ability, but I haven't seen it in action yet. This looks like a solid if unspectacular card. I will not be dropping $235 to buy a copy.

What do you think of my ratings? What do you think of the new set?

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