It feels strange to see a mechanical giant with
Snapcaster Mage's ability. We're used to
associating that ability with the Pro Tour, both
because of its designer and because of the
combination of card advantage with the cheap
mana cost that attracts competitive attention.
But now we might associate it with different
things. For one, we'll likely associate it with
Commander. We'll likely associate it with more
flavorful decks that call back to the ominous
skies of Esper or the joyous streets of
Kaladesh. We'll likely associate it with
providing a solution for every time a 2/1
creature just wouldn't cut it, even with a
second use of some powerful instant. We'll
certainly remember this card very fondly.
Torrential Gearhulk is pretty imposing,
reminding one of the Titan cycle from M11 and
M12. A 5/6 with flash for 6 mana is maybe a bit
on the weak side, but the effect isn’t: a free
shot of an instant from your graveyard. The
applications of this are rather big, as it lets
you go for something like a bounce spell,
counter magic, or just a good old kill spell.
Flash means it's a reasonable combat trick, as
well.
Torrential Gearhulk probably has a home in
control shells in Standard, if such decks exist;
if you recast a three-mana counterspell, you
basically paid 3 for the counter and 3 for a 5/6
body, which looks a lot better in terms of the
math. I think 6 mana is out of reach for other
formats, but I can see people trying to make it
work there.
