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

First of all, the arrival of this new set was so abrupt. I saw that there was a presale and that the new set was coming out. I saw the 2 promo cards that were spoiled with that announcement.
After that I ended up out of town for a family emergency, next thing I know the new set dropped before the end of season and Modern format is like a new game. It was wild. It's a very exciting time to be playing.
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. When the set dropped, I didn't have access to my laptop, so I wasn't in a position to buy singles and I hadn't preordered any packs. I did have 13k DEC in my account, so I bought 13 of the starter packs. That was enough to get me all but one of the common cards and 13 different rare cards. I've picked up a couple of singles since getting home including the last common I didn't have and some rare cards including copies of Kavor Skarn,

Flame For Hire, Grimward Ruinshot, Forked-Tongue Sage, Sacrosanct Shanker, Silverleaf Mage, Shadowfey Sheik and Anyu Huntswoman.

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.

Ferrous Brewer

3/5 stars

Ferrous Brewer can be put into practically any lineup and take a couple of hits. It's not flashy and doesn't deal a lot of damage.

Hodlor

4/5 stars

Hodlor also fits into nearly any lineup. It's not real durable and doesn't hit real hard but does offer the upside of 2 attack types.

Taye Loreswift

3/5 stars

Before you jump on me for not rating this higher, remember that I'm talking about 1 BCX Loreswift. It fits into practically any lineup and can soak up a hit or 2, but does very little damage. Loreswift makes a huge leap at level 2 with the inspire ability, so you'll see this card again when I talk about level 3 upgrades.

Bellowmancer

5/5 stars

Now that the Chaos Legion block has rotated out of standard, there's not a lot of high mana heavy hitters. This monster does a fair impression of Mycelic Slipspawn which was basically a staple and it has the upside of being neutral and having some synergy with the Ulund tribe.

Bren Palesworn

5/5 stars

Palesworn fits a ton of situations, offers 2 attack types and synergizes with all of the tribes.

Gramel the Hunger

4/5 stars

Gramel fits a lot of situations and is the first monster to offer all 3 attack types. The mana cost is a little high which may end up being less of a downside now that we have fewer high mana options in the modern format. Unfortunately Gramel is likely to go down pretty easy in any battle with enough mana to afford this in your lineup.

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

I hope this post has been helpful and informative. Thanks for reading and thanks for all the upvotes, reblogs, comments and follows. I'll see you in the game. If you're interested in starting your own Splinterlands adventure feel free to use my affiliate link to get started https://splinterlands.com?ref=jingo-submo PeakD is a terrific site for learning more about the game and the market.