It's a good ability, but .. yeah; ok, it probably is good enough to push it down from 3/3. Hard to see when you'd ever actually cast this though - you'd so very often be thinking either "Can I get something cheaper?" or "Can I get something better?"

Still, I guess it can be a chump now, rather than a better card later.

This will be at least able to trade with most other common creatures, and there probably won't be more than about 3 creatures in your deck bigger than it. So in many Limited games this would be just fine. There will of course be many cases where it's not great, which is naturally when you want the augury.

Hmm.

Hmm.

Okay... there will be a fair number of players who won't like this ability, since it reduces value from the main card, and, if you activate the ability, you get card disadvantage. That said, though, I'm pretty sure that the players who like this ability will rather like it. Maybe not love it, but like it a lot, yes.

That said, you should probably take a cue from cycling. Most cycling cards are for unique scenarios... if you need to destroy an enchantment, you could cast Clear, otherwise, you can pitch it for an effect. Sandbar Merfolk and Ridge Rannet would both be cast at a specific stage in the game... if it's not that stage, pitch 'em. Hill Giants, though, are a bit more universal, and can be usable at any point in the game. I'd dodge making too many cards like that. Personally, I like the stress of deciding whether I want to hold onto a Shock or Scry 3... but I don't think most people enjoy constantly having to re-evaluate the cards in their hand every turn.

Good points; and in fact Ridge Rannet suggests that a larger size (and hence more unique casting point) would be fine at common, something my Skeleton doesn't acknowledge. So I could easily beef this up.

I would just note that Ridge Rannet isn't quite as vanilla as it looks. It's secretly a card with Naya's main mechanic, creatures with power 5+, like the others in its mini-cycle, Yoked Plowbeast and Jungle Weaver.

But nonetheless, yes, I think you could.

Changed again, to allow Canyon Minotaur and Olmerand Brawler breathing room. 4/2 for has been done as vanilla, but not for a while, and it seems like it could bear an ability on top.