• Scattered Groves replaces Temple Garden
• Ash Barrens replaces Safewright Quest
• Jade Mage replaces Selesnya Guildmage
The +1/+1 mode just isn't as good when the core creatures are growing to be more spread out. Repeatable 1/1 chump blockers is the most appealing part of this and doubling at 6 and 9 being achievable makes this a good swap.
• Gnarlwood Dryad replaces Death-Hood Cobra
With multiplayer, this is attacking less, so having to hold up mana for deathtouch makes the snake pretty bad, even if it can block fliers. This one turns into a threat when drawn late to help end games.
• Deathcap Cultivator replaces Avacyn's Pilgrim
This solves the problem of bad mana dorks. In smaller settings, 1/1 bodies can be made relevant fairly easily. This setting needs more longevity when flooding out late. Deathtouch is natural even if this change prevents the deck from moonlighting as a commander deck.
• Clear Shot replaces Dromoka's Command
This is a questionable change, but it makes it harder for this to 2-for-1 combat tricks, allows it to BE a combat trick, and allows deathtouch creatures to damage big creatures without dying. The blow out scenario is also lessened with awkward interactions with removing aura-based removal in combat.
• Choking Restraints replaces Contagion Glasp
This interacts with a slightly different set of threats. Instead of being expensive and targeting utility creatures, it's cheap, and stops big creatures before being a mana sink to deal with creatures with abilities late.
• Provoke replaces Detainment Spell
Doesn't answer threats as easily, but allows social play and deals with utility creatures with no card cost.
• Blessed Alliance replaces Martial Law
This interacts with a slightly different set of threats but does untap creatures tapped down by tappers. Detain is awkward and was ultimately just a 1 for 1.
• Faith Unbroken replaces Vow of Duty
This has better gameplay as the vow typically clogged the board and didn't answer utility creatures. This cleans up utility creatures decently, especially those that accrue value over time.
• Elder of Laurels replaces Seedcradle Witch
This is less-dependent on the ability to ward off early plays and is less of an oppressive ability.
• Unstable Obelisk replaces Selesnya Keyrune
This is more tension and ramp-desiring / pay off. This may be less useful midgame though. This is one of the few remaining ways of getting an aura off your big threat.
• Become Immense replaces Beast Within
This targets combat rather than being efficient, flexible removal. This slot no longer destroys auras and doesn't leave behind a 3/3 token to be dealt with.
• Prepare // Fight replaces Test of Faith
Untap combat trick has more play to it than a flash aura that eats deathtouchers.
• Ainok Bond-Kin replaces Phyrexian Revoker
Early game 2/1s are just bad now and utility creatures are less important than in 1v1
• Heliod's Emissary replaces Wiltleaf Cavaliers
Aggro needs a bit more assist than beefy vigilance. This is now a mana sink and adds to delirium
• Benevolent Offering replaces Briarhorn
Testing out flying tokens and life gain. Might be too much of a liability, but Briarhorn was always too much of a blow out.
• Dragonscale General replaces Auriok Bladewarden
Trying something new.
• Sentinel of the Eternal Watch replaces Coalition Honor Guard
Flagbearers are significantly more awkward in multiplayer where they prevent opponents from killing each other's creatures.
• Conifer Strider replaces Acidic Slime
• Domesticated Hydra replaces Kavu Primarch
Golgari Decoy is now on the watch list because there are very few things it can actually interact against in a satisfying way compared to before. I think there are fewer permanent buffs it can acquire but it still may have enough buffs for it to be usable.
Tezzeret's Bridge Body was the direction it seemed like they were going to take for making the phyrexians an interplanar threat but bifrost seems way less forced and also allows evacuation of mirrans if Karn is intent on using the Sylex to cleanse Mirrodin, provided Koth will allow that.
I wasn't all that interested in vikings but this plot development has grabbed my attention and I'm so on board for this story direction. New set release cycle enables exploration of Phyrexians on other worlds in a timely manner in a way the Eldrazi would have been more interesting to explore with had their impact on worlds not been total annihilation / urgent.
Geist of Saint Traft is the only thing in modern that comes to mind that might want these but Traft is an attacking deck where the removal spell, without access to Traft->Angel, is a control card and even there, Path to Exile already exists as reliable removal. It's not immediately clear to me that the power level on any of these is too high.
Taking a page out of Scroll of Avacyn, I'd like to see some designs that leverage those random angel tokens and scale up themselves if you have one. I'm aiming at designs that are playable on their own but are markedly better with an angel.
Instant (U)
Exile target creature attacking you.
If you control an angel as you cast this spell, exile target nonland permanent instead.
Sorcery (R)
Return target permanent card with converted mana cost three or less from your graveyard to the battlefield.
If you control an angel as you cast this spell, instead, for each permanent type, return up to one target permanent card of that type with converted mana cost three or less from your graveyard to the battlefield.
Creature — Human Soldier (U)
This creature enters the battlefield tapped.
When this creature dies in combat, create a white 4/4 angel token with flying.
2/2
Massaging the removal slot a bit more:
Instant (C)
Destroy target attacking creature.
If you control an angel as you cast this spell, destroy target nonland permanent instead.
This is a plausible common for a draft environment with Devout Captain but can also be used on the captain to turn it into an angel, which is cute.
Instant (U)
Exile target creature that dealt damage this turn.
If you control an angel as you cast this spell, exile target nonland permanent instead.
This pushes the base form to require damage be taken (or blocked), which also allows white to leverage lifegain spells to make this card a bit more efficient. As a bonus, it becomes a 1-mana removal spell that catches all permanent types when the angel exists. Being 1 mana is likely of relevance when it comes to hard casting a normal angel and being able to hold this up at the same time.
Instant
Return target creature, instant spell, or sorcery spell to its owner's hand.
Sorcery
Put two +1/+1 counters on target creature you control. Then it fights up to one other target creature you don't control.
Blue would very likely be a sphynx's riddle, but green is less clear. Hydras are probably more likely to be used than wurms at this point, but it's not clear to me what either of them would do that matches this theme.
Here are some quick attempts but I'm more curious what other people would think of for filling these holes.
Instant
Counter target instant, sorcery, or legendary spell.
Sorcery
Put three +1/+1 counters on target creature.
4 for Unblockable, Vigilance, and Double Strike is excellent. The lifegain really only matters in non-combo metas, but in the same vein, a 1-shot overrun is unlikely to make much headway there anyway.
Leaving up 3 mana for anti board wipes was already a bit of an ask, especially in white where access to mana is harder to come by. 4 is basically asking for a full turn off. As far as I can figure, this slot needs to be a good antiwipe that flexes into an overrun and not a good overrun that flexes into an antiwipe. As is, this isn't a good antiwipe which makes it look sketchy to include in decks.
I'll be looking for a sleeker 3 mana indestructible + double strike spell, but that would definitely seem pushed.
I can't think of a single deck I have that would want to lose a crucial draw step to this. Maybe if I were building a 5+ CMC commander and needed to guarantee it came out early for the deck to function, I might consider it? But then also this will end up more than $2 so it's not on my radar anyway. I'm sure someone will play this somewhere, but I'd rather have a mana rock.
Someone mentioned Muldrotha. That's the kind of deck I can see that would actually really want this. Specifically, Muldrotha generates a lot of value simply being in play and being in play sooner, means it will generate more value over the course of a game. Either it comes out earlier or the mana saved at the normal time of casting means it comes out with protection. In either case, getting the repeatable value engine happening sooner makes up for the card being just a ritual.
But you do you.
Either way, I don't think Maro was the person who needed convincing. As I understand the situation, it was the business suits who didn't want to go back to a world that sold poorly last time.