Cool Card Design of the Day3/17/2011
Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Here's a leprechaun. You don't see a lot of these guys in Magic and I'm pretty sure that's because they're not terribly distinct from gnomes (of the traditional variety), ouphes and brownies. That, and they tend to be more of the shenanigans variety than the heavy-combat variety.
If you made it cost only G, it would be format-warping (in eternal formats), but maybe not broken. At 1G, it's cool, but probably not Constructed playable? Or maybe I'm underestimating the potential of a R/G deck that simply plans to blow up every possible blocker. It definitely hopes to be in the same environment as Unnatural Predation or Predator's Strike.
ReplyDeleteWhile I get a kick out of the saboteur parallelism here (I get in, I get a card, I don't, you do), I think it's too redundant with the way that saboteur abilities play. When you have saboteurs you are encouraged to swing only when it can get through (or find some way to get through), and the 2nd ability just adds an exclamation point to that. "No, really, don't attack unless you can sneak through!"
ReplyDeleteThe fact that you can't chump with it at least adds something to the card (because typically that's the fate of saboteurs that can't get through anymore), and it further discourages players from letting the creature through in exchange for, say, preventing extra damage by blocking bigger creatures. But generally players don't want to let their opponents draw cards already, and this just unnecessarily heightens that (in that the player basically loses 2 cards in card advantage terms).
However, I do like the idea of adding something else to the saboteur. What do you think of this guy?
Open Source Spy 1UU
Creature - Human Rogue (U)
Whenever CARDNAME deals combat damage to a player, you may draw a card.
Whenever CARDNAME becomes blocked, each player may draw a card.
2/2
This would definitely play differently from your average saboteur.
Another idea inspired by this card:
Vicious Saboteur 2BB
Creature - Vampire Rogue
Whenever CARDNAME deals combat damage to a player, you may draw a card.
Whenever a creature dealt damage by CARDNAME is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, you may draw a card.
2/2
I guess this card would really have to be UB.
Change the spy?
ReplyDeleteWhenever Open Source Spy deals combat damage, draw a card.
Whenever a creature deals combat damage to Open Source Spy, its controller draws a card.
Just watch out for the pseudo-Lure effect! (Or make it work in your favor.)