As I expected, MTGSalvation is drooling all over the more spike-ish cards like Eldritch Rites, despite obviously knowing deep down that Wizards will be forced to make their mana costs sky-high.
Consuming Contract vs Double Down
I know Wizards is really wary of one-card engines, and it doesn't even look like a fun card to play. Consuming Contract, on the other hand, feels way more black and looks like the effects could fit well into a cheap card mana cost-wise.
Blood in the Watering Can vs Mass Mummification
The Mummification is a bit too clunky, and hte fact that it applies to both players makes it a lot less interesting, as it could've been a fun lich effect otherwise if they fixed the counters and mana cost to make sure it's relatively playable but still doesn't drag games on forever. BitWC has a fun effect that doesn't look overpowered, so I guess it could be priced at 4 or 5 CMC.
Soulfeaster's Rising vs Revenge of Necromancy
Revenge looks as wordy as Deathrite Shaman, but dependant on discard. The Rising reminds me of my Exquisite Corpse concept, though, so I ultimately went for that.
Eldritch Rites vs Demonic Bargain (BTW, congratulations ultron!)
I read spikes' dreams of using Gravecrawlers alongside Eldritch Rites as some sort of awesome engine of doom, but I know it'll cost 5+ mana, so it's going to end up as an unplayable card in most formats. Bargain treads the fine line of seeming powerful but requiring a very low mana cost in order to be playable (XB would be ideal, but I guess they could also go for X1B or XBB). I also like black cards with drawbacks, so DB gets extra points for being one of the two cards in this YMTC that do have a drawback.
Heh... it looks like the people at Salvation got a list of all the designers' names and some of their twitter accounts. That's going to make voting herder for those who know any of the contestants.