Originally Posted by
Sunyveil
It's been a while since I've visited these boards, so I'm going to try to answer as much as possible in one post.
Thoughtseize > Duress imo because sometimes against Show and Tell you want to take their fatty if they have 2 Show and Tells or whatever. Duress is fine, I've played it in tournaments where I never wanted to take a creature, but I think Thoughseize is better if you have access to it.
Cradle is good, but only if you're running straight GW imo. I can't think of a land I'd want to cut for it in the already-crowded GWb manabase, though maybe the second Horizon Canopy? Cradle's real power resides in being able to devour graveyards with Ooze, so keep that in mind.
I've played Fauna Shaman before, and never liked it. Yes, it can tutor, but the effect is slow and dependent on the Fauna Shaman's survival, and they're terrible in multiples. The only reason I'd play one is to tutor for a non-green creature, and right now I don't think that's necessary.
I have maindecked Linvala before. It's metagame dependent -- she's pretty bad against combo but total lights out against D+T and Maverick.
For the Thalia vs. Canonist debate, I like Canonist more if she's in the sideboard because she's tutorable and you don't need to waste valuable slots with multiples. As far as the effect they have on the game, I think Thalia is slightly better.