Now that there are two Marks writing for the site, I don't know which one to tell you to email
Sure, those tokens have Toxic 1, which means they can represent more of a threat than your typical 1/1, I think I would pretty gladly trade Toxic 1 for the ability to block, especially on a card like this
You don't have to choose a target artifact or enchantment for the last ability
If you're going to play in a tournament, you'll need to build to bracket five
This black planeswalkers almost a sacrifice payoff more so than a sacrifice outlet, but it should be on any aristocrat players radar
Regardless, you can see where conniving can become a useful "special guest" mechanic on this creature