Best New One Mana Spells in Core 19 for the Standard format

[DelverMage]

The first core set since Origins.  It was right around that time that I got back into Magic after a 12 year hiatus.  I thought Origins was a nice set, not a set with 75% reprints.  I do believe that M19 has more reprints than Origins did, but there is still plenty of brand new cards in this set.  There are no significant reprints here to really benefit Standard, that have not seen play for awhile.  Llanowar Elves was reprinted last set, so this reprint is too soon.  The one mana spells in this set are a bit disappointing.  Many are playable, but not outstanding enough to mention in this article.


White
Almost half of the cards I will list on this article are White.  Between Dominaria and M19, White has gotten some seriously playable cards. 


Leonin Vanguard – Leonin Vanguard is a 1/1 for W, but at the beginning of your combat phase, it gets +1/+1 and you gain a life as long as you have 3 creatures in play.  It does not have to attack to get these effects.  Also it happens before choosing your attackers.  This card adds a lot of value to any weenie deck, especially a White weenie deck.  Ajani's Pridemate LOVES Leonin Vanguard.


Novice Knight – A 2/3 with Defender for W.  The Novice Knight can be activated to full combat capability by attaching Equipment or giving it an Aura.  It is an excellent early defense card and there are a number of very usable items in Standard that can quickly make the Novice Knight a formidable creature.  With it being both a human and a knight, Novice Knight can be a key player in a deck based on either tribe.


Rustwing Falcon – A 1/2 creature with flying.  Any creature that has flying for one mana is a playable card.  Most of those are also at 1 toughness, which make them chump blockers for the Rustwing Falcon.  This card, played on turn 1, will often get you 2 or 3 points of damage before being rendered ineffective or removed.  If you can get your opponent to expend removal to get rid of your Rustwing Falcon, then bully for you!

Blue
One card, and it isn't even that exciting.  This would barely be a mentionable card in some sets.


Gearsmith Prodigy – Another 1/2 creature for U, it is a Human Artificer, not that Artificer is going to be a thing for long in the current Standard.  It becomes a 2/2 if you have an Artifact in play.  There are plenty of ways to get artifacts on the cheap in Standard, enough to make Gearsmith Prodigy a 2/2 for U, which is not common in the history of Blue creatures in Magic.  Game breaking?  Not at all, but still a good value in many scenarios.

Black
We have 2 cards in Black but I believe  believe both of them can be strong cards in the right scenarios.


Nightmare's Thirst – An instant that let's you gain gain 1 life, and target creature get -X/-X for each life you have gained until end of turn.  This is an almost guaranteed -1/-1.  There are many way to gain life in Black and White, which is a powerful color combination in current Standard.  This card can be effective removal in all stages of the game, especially useful against indestructible creatures.


Diregraf Ghoul – A 2/2 Zombie, that comes into play tapped for B.  The Diregraf Ghoul is a strong 1 mana creature, even though it has a delayed start.  The only real consequence of coming into play tapped is that it cannot block that turn and cannot take advantage of Haste.  Zombies are going to be a viable tribe in Standard, maybe not in tiered competition, but certainly at local events and tabletop.  It is more effective on the play then on the draw, but it keeps parity on the draw at least.

Red and Green
Zip.  Nada.  Nothing to see here except some normal and expected staples, like Shock, Llanowar Elves, and a few decent combat tricks.  Oh, and a nasty little goblin that can tap to give haste who may allow others to sneak in a few extra attacks if it can survive long enough.

Colorless
Wow, an artifact worth mentioning.  Some of you may think it is not, but I am going to beg to differ considering the other cards and deck types that are viable in Standard.


Fountain of Renewal – It lets you gain 1 life at the beginning of your upkeep and for 3 more mana you can sacrifice it to draw a card.  Why would I even mention this card?  It is cheap, it provides two critical assets to winning the game of Magic, it is a mana sink, and it is sneaky.  On curve, it would be like, Turn 1: Cast Fountain of Renewal.  Turn 2: Gain life.  Turn 3 Gain life, sacrifice and draw a card.  For the cost of 4 mana, you would get 2 life and a card.  The only time you would use this card like this is if things are not going to well.  It would also not be terribly useful if you are running low to the ground and have lots of things to do with the early turns.  Control decks and reactive decks will find this unassuming little fountain to be quietly generating life while waiting for the opportunity to become the key piece that lets you top deck the game winning spell.