Thanks for bumping this, Matt, I would have missed it otherwise.
I think this is a great mechanic that opens up a lot of design space, but I really dislike most of these particular cards. I've written specific objections for each card, and then suggest some changes in the design philosophy of these cards.
Dabbling Wizard
Common
Creature – Human Wizard
Unveil –
, Reveal Dabbling Wizard from your hand: Target player loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.
1/1
The fact that it can be played late game or early game is nice, and makes it one on the best cards offered here. I like the idea that early on, you can get a few damage in by swinging with him, and late game you can get a few damage with him by using the (probably undercosted) ability. Compare to Death of a Thousand Stings to see why it's undercosted.
Vengeful Wizard
Uncommon
{B}
Creature – Human Wizard
Unveil –
{B}{B}, Pay 4 life, Reveal Vengeful Wizard from your hand: Destroy target nonartifact, nonblack creature.
When Vengeful Wizard comes into play, destroy target nonartifact, nonblack creature. You lose life equal to that creature’s toughness.
4/1
BBB is hard to come by in limited, which is the only time the reveal ability will matter. This is like a higher-powered Nekrataal that sometimes can decimate your opponent's whole team, or a harder-to-cast Slaughter that can also kill your opponent. Since both Nekrataal and Slaughter are pretty busted cards in limited, I think this card might be either undercosted or just fundamentally unfair.
Long-Imprisoned Warlock
Rare
{B}{B}
Creature – Wizard Lich
Unveil – Pay 4 life, Reveal Long-Imprisoned Warlock from your hand: Add
to your mana pool if you control a Swamp.
T: Add
{B}{B} to your mana pool
4/4
There's no way the reveal ability wouldn't break Vintage (and probably Legacy) clean in half. The chances of this ever being cast as a creature in those formats are nil. In Limited, the reveal ability would probably never see use beyond being used once or (at most) twice if you get manascrewed early on. And it's also BBB and so hard to cast on turn 5 in limited.
Eager Scout
Common
{W}
Creature – Human Soldier
Unveil –
{W}, Reveal Eager Scout from your hand: Target creature gains first strike until end of turn.
First Strike
2/1
This is a well designed card, although I think it's costed wrong. When you have no men out, he's basically a properly costed weenie, and you'll want to cast him since he doesn't help out when you have no men. When you have men out, he's a great combat trick. As for costing, compare this to Shinen of Stars' Light. I think at WW for the creature and W3 for the ability, this would still be a fine card. It's okay to make the first strike ability cost something because 1) It's probably going to cost the opponent a card. 2) Good players attack before casting new men, so they can use this ability if a good opportunity presents itself, or cast a critter if there's no chance to play the ability.
Determined Marksman
Uncommon
{W}{W}
Creature – Human Soldier
Unveil –
{W}, Discard a card from your hand, Reveal Determined Marksman from your hand: Determined Marksman deals 2 damage to target attacking creature.
1W, Discard a card from your hand: Determined Marksman deals 2 damage to target attacking creature.
2/3
This is an enormous limited bomb, and an incredibly good control card for constructed. Why would you ever cast this as a creature? I don't think there's any way to cost this properly and have it make sense design wise. This is much better than Ghost-Lit Raider, for example, but probably not quite as good as Masticore (since the 'core is also an awesome, hard-to-kill win condition).
False Messiah
Rare
{W}{W}
Creature – Human Cleric
Unveil –
{W}, Reveal False Messiah from your hand: Put a devotion counter on target Plains.
When False Messiah comes into play, sacrifice any number of Plains. For each devotion counter on a Plains sacrificed in this way, put a +1/+1 counter on False Messiah.
Protection from White
2/2
I'm not sure that this card makes any sense color wheel wise, but this is absolutely the right idea for reveal as a mechanic. Here there is an
interaction between the reveal ability and the creature's ability. They don't just "do the same, but for more (or less)".
Meditative Sage
Common
{U}
Creature – Human Wizard
Unveil –
, Reveal Meditative Sage from your hand: Look at the top 3 cards of target player’s library.
Your opponents play with their hands revealed.
1/3
The interaction between these abilities is not very productive. Let's say you play the reveal ability turn 2, and then cast this guy on turn 3. You'll know their next draw right away due to the creature ability, anyway, so you can anticipate their next two draws and maybe play things differently for those two turns. That seems like such a marginal ability that it's just not worth it. How about something like this:
Meditative Sage
Common
Creature – Human Wizard
When Meditative Sage comes into play, any number of target players put the top card of their library into their graveyard.
Unveil –
, Reveal Meditative Sage from your hand: Look at the top 3 cards of target player’s library.
1/3
Cowardly Strategist
Uncommon
Creature – Human Advisor
Unveil –
{U}, Return an Island you control to its owner’s hand, Reveal Cowardly Strategist from your hand: Return target creature you control to its owner’s hand.
Return an Island you control to its owner’s hand: Return Cowardly Strategist to your hand.
1/1
This card has great flavor, and the abilities interact fairly well. I think the cost for using the reveal ability is probably too steep. Just keeping the mana up to bounce your own guys will be hard enough, never mind wrecking your mana base as you do so.
Divining Dragon
Rare
{U}
Creature – Dragon Shaman
Unveil –
{U}, Reveal Divining Dragon from your hand: Draw a card.
Flying
5/5
I think this one works, even though the reveal cost and the mana cost are the same and they don't really have much synergy with each other.
Goblin Warcrier
Common
{R}
Creature – Goblin Soldier
Unveil –
{R}, Reveal Goblin Warcrier from your hand: Target unblocked creature gets +1/+0 until end of turn.
2/1
This could probably be costed at RR and still be fair. Unlike the White first strike guy, using this will never result in card advantage.
Goblin Boomsmith
Uncommon
{R}
Creature – Goblin Artificer
Unveil –
, Reveal Goblin Boomsmith from your hand: Goblin Boomsmith deals 1 damage to target creature.
When Goblin Boomsmith comes into play, it deals 2 damage to target creature.
3/2
I think this should probably be a 2/2 (like the 4cc Corrupt Eunuchs from P3K, not like FTK). I think the card might be more effective as, say, a 1/1 for R1 that dealt 1 to target creature.
Dragon of the Fire’s Eye
Rare
{R}
Creature – Dragon Elemental
Unveil –
{R}{X}, Reveal Dragon of the Fire’s Eye from your hand: Target creature gets +X/+0 until end of turn. Spend only red mana on X.
As an additional cost to play Dragon of the Fire’s Eye, sacrifice two Mountains.
Flying
R: Target creature gets +1/+0 until end of turn.
5/5
As a creature, having to sac 2 mountains to put it in play is way too steep a cost for what is basically a Shivan. As a reveal spell, it seems okay, and maybe even underpowered. Put another way, I don't see how this ability can possibly generate card advantage. You can pump your guys, sure, but they still just trade 1-for-1 with your opponent's guys (since your guys probably have 1 or 2 toughness).
Elvish Harvester
Common
{G}
Creature – Elf Townsfolk
Unveil –
, Sacrifice a Forest, Reveal Elvish Harvester from your hand: You gain 2 life.
2/2
These just seem uninspiring together. Maybe if the creature had "When ~ CIP, return target forest from your graveyard to your hand." It would be a pretty good Grizzly Bear, then.
Elvish Drillmaster
Uncommon
{G}{G}
Creature – Elf Soldier
Unveil –
{G}, Reveal Elvish Drillmaster from your hand: Target creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn. Play this ability only any time you could play a sorcery.
{G},
: Target creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn.
3/3
The "play only as a sorcery" seems like a real kluge to avoid having the green mage get card advantage off this (by pumping dudes in battle). I'd axe that phrase, make the Reveal cost 5 or 6, and make the critter a 1/1 for 2. That way, there would be more incentive to play it early.
Spore Elemental
Rare
{G}{G}
Creature – Elemental
Unveil –
{G}, Reveal Spore Elemental from your hand: Put a 1/1 green Saproling creature token into play under your control.
Sacrifice a nontoken creature: Put a 1/1 green Saproling creature token into play under your control.
7/6[/b]
Again, while these both produce the same ability, the two halves really seem to lack synergy. I think this would be good flavor for something more like the white rare you suggested, where the reveal effect anticipates the arrival of the creature. For example:
Spore Elemental
Rare
{G}{G}
Creature – Elemental
Trample
Sacrifice a Saproling: Spore Elemental gets +2/+2 until end of turn.
Unveil –
{G}, Reveal Spore Elemental from your hand: Put a 1/1 green Saproling creature token into play under your control.
4/4
Let me reiterate that I really like the mechanic, and I think it has lots of potential. But again, these cards seem very much like a first draft rather than the finished product. I think the best cards you've suggested are the one where the creature and the ability complement one another, rather than just having the same ability. (Or, if the do have the same ability, the two effects can still complement each other.) Also, I think it's important to make these cards as castable as possible in both the early and late game. There's nothing worse than having dead cards sitting in your hand.
Oh, and I think Unveil is a great name for the mechanic. However, I see it as more of the player unveiling their secrets than as the card itself unveiling its presence.
