Weekend Art ChallengeClick through to see this weekend's art and the design requirements for your card submission, due Monday morning. Every submission warrants feedback, which I will try to provide, and which everyone is welcome to provide as well.
If you choose, you may use that feedback to revise your submission any number of times. I will post and review the most recent submission from each designer some time on Monday, life permitting. To help ensure I recreate your design accurately, please use CARDNAME instead of ~ and don't use the {} symbol images in your submissions.
This weekend's art is by ilkerserdar. Your card must be a creature for Theros. You can use any rarity and color, but your card's converted mana cost must be 3. Try to predict and illustrate a theme of the upcoming set. For bonus points, introduce a new keyword or bring back one we haven't seen in a long while.
Mystic Knight 1WW
ReplyDeleteCreature - Human Knight (R)
Mystic -- As long as you control three or more enchantments, CARDNAME gets +1/+1 and has double strike.
2/2
Aura-craft works for me.
DeleteI will say that double strike has more aesthetic impact by itself than as a rider to +1/+1.
I think the threshold for enchantments needs to be lower than that for artifacts: not only are they colored, many are auras that die...On which note, in order to do a threshold mechanic for enchantments, I'd want most of them to be auras. There simply aren't enough ways to kill non-aura enchantments to make the exciting back and forths over artifact count that Metalcraft had.
Delete@Jules: In an enchantment matters set (which I'm guessing Theros is, but even if I'm incorrect, in any set where Mystic is a viable keyword) there will definitely be plenty of enchantment hate to go around. That said, you're right about the colored cost decreasing their general presence to a degree, so I think we can lower it to 2 and trust development to bump it up if necessary.
DeleteFinal Dealio:
Mystic Knight 1WW
Creature - Human Knight (R)
Mystic -- As long as you control two or more enchantments, CARDNAME has double strike.
2/2
As far as I can tell, there's just not much development can do. Creature removal appears in 4 colors (plus bounce), artifact removal in 3 (plus bounce), and enchantment removal in just 2 (plus bounce). That means if most of the enchantments are non-auras, something like 30% of decks will have no way to interact with Enchantment craft even if every single deck with either green or white does. I think an Enchantment theme can be done without a ton of auras, but this mechanic requires them if it's going to have any play to it.
DeleteAs long as ~ is enchanted, it has double strike?
DeleteHonored Cavalry- 2W
ReplyDeleteCreature- Human Knight (Common)
2/2
Flanking, lifelink
It had to be done.
(Not my real submission)
I approve
DeleteCamilla of the Volsci- 1GG
ReplyDeleteLegendary Creature- Human Knight (Uncommon)
2/2
Haste
"Burrito Bushido" (Whenever CARDNAME blocks or gets blocked, put a +1/+1 counter on CARDNAME.)
Several potential themes here-- top-down adaptations of mythology; legends in large numbers; and an emphasis on combat.
For the mechanic:
http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/40855863175/when-you-said-that-the-name-burrito-bushido-was
Feedback welcome and appreciated.
On second thought, that's probably not going to be a keyword. And if it were, it would be something boring like "Valor".
DeleteThe bonus is permanent, eh? I could see that. Might be a bit tricky to balance on a dozen cards across rarities though.
DeleteHighland Lancer 1RR
ReplyDeleteCreature - Human Barbarian (Uncommon)
Ambition 1 (As this creature enters the battlefield, put the top card of your library into your graveyard and put a +1/+1 counter on it for each creature card put into your graveyard this way.)
First strike
Highland Lancer loses first strike and has double strike as long as it has a +1/+1 counter on it.
2/2
I like Ambition, but I also liked Clash. Players who hated Clash may not care for Ambition.
DeleteHighland Lancer is 8 lines of text as-is. Worth it for an uncommon? We can get it down to 7 easily by removing "loses first strike" which is 99% redundant.
Glory's Herald 2W
ReplyDeleteCreature -- Human Knight (C)
Inspired — As long as you control a legendary creature, Glory’s Herald gets +1/+1 and has first strike.
2/2
Flavor text:
“Let me ride before you, my lord, so that when the muses sing of our deeds, they have saved the best for last!”
Feedback welcome.
Literally what I was about to post. Nice! I approve. I'll think of something else.
DeleteInspired is great.
DeleteIs +1/+1 and first strike the ideal bonus? Would we rather do just P/T or just abilities?
I considered first strike natively + P/T rider, but I think I like it as-is. 1) The text is cleaner and doesn't squish the flavor text. 2) Legends are generally confined to rare, and I doubt this will change much in Theros, making it unfeasible for a player to build a "Legends deck" if everyone at the table wants them. Therefore a strategy that favors synergy over raw power would be favored. Inspired cards should be unattractive to players without Legends, so there's a higher chance that the players who do play them will get to turn on their bonuses.
DeleteNote that I said "generally" confined to rare. Tell me if this sounds completely crazy:
Quest for Glory 1W
Enchantment (U)
Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage, put a quest counter on Quest for Glory.
Remove three quest counters from Quest for Glory and sacrifice it: Target creature you control that dealt combat damage this turn becomes legendary, gets +2/+2, and gains double strike. (This effect lasts indefinitely. Nonlegendary creatures with the same name are unaffected.)
Eight lines in MSE, including the reminder text.
Inspired is great but I'm not sure it needs an ability word.
DeleteI'd rather see:
DeleteQuest for Glory WW
Enchantment-Aura (unc)
Enchant a creature that attacked this turn.
Enchanted creature is legendary, gets +2/+2 and has double strike.
or:
Quest for Glory 3W
Enchantment-Aura (unc)
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature is legendary and has double strike.
At the end of your turn, if enchanted creature didn't attack, sacrifice ~.
Of course all of that depends on players understanding what happens when you control two permanents of the same name if only one is Legendary…
Joke submission:
ReplyDeleteRuler of All
WWW
Legendary Creature - Spirit (M)
Banding
1/1
Actual submission:
Thanik's Warden
2W
Creature - Human Knight (U)
Morph 1UU
When Thanik's Warden is turned face up, draw two cards.
2/2
My idea is that this is part of a cycle of off color morphs to promote cross-block synergy with RTR.
As I said above, Jenesis posted my first idea, some kind of bonus thanks to legendary creatures (which I prefer to be honest). But whatevs.
Feedback appreciated.
It has been a while since we've seen morph.
DeleteThanik's Warden has two modes: {2}{W} for a vanilla 2/2 or {3}+{1}{U}{U} for a vanilla 2/2 plus Divination. Well, Inspiration, I guess.
Two questions:
Do you want this playable in a mono-blue deck?
Should the face-up side be functionally identical to the face-down side?
I like the fact that the two sides are identical vanilla creatures. 2/2 for 3 with a one-time 1UU: draw 2 option seems completely reasonable in mono-blue. It's kind of like Mulldrifter in reverse.
DeleteMy one reservation is that the 2W hardcasting cost is pretty meaningless given that you can get the exact same body for 3. Could it be pushed to 1W?
Champion of the Gods 2WW
ReplyDeleteCreature - Human Knight (R)
First strike, protection from nondivine creatures
Champion of the Gods gets +2/+2 for each divine creature you control.
2/2
Example divine card:
Sacred Pegasus 2WW
Divine Creature - Pegasus :u:
Flying
T: Target attacking creature gets +2/+4 and gains flying until end of turn.
2/4
I also considered a legendary theme for this challenge, but I think divine cards could capture much of the flavor of the legendary theme without making legendary creatures feel less special. They could also satisfy as-fan by appearing in small numbers at common and uncommon without explicitly contradicting the uniqueness that being legendary is supposed to imply. They do have the drawback of not being backwards compatible, but the snow theme in Coldsnap makes me think that it could still work.
I like the "having divine creatures matters" idea, but a supertype is highly unlikely as a way to do this. More likely the gods of Theros will be Spirits or Elementals or some such subtype and have tribal support. That fixes the backwards compatibility and complexity issues that the Divine supertype raises.
DeleteWhat aspect of cards with the "divine" supertype allows me to distinguish them from non-divine cards without having to look at the type line?
DeleteWhy isn't "divine" just a creature type?
DeleteReplace 'divine' with 'legendary' and suddenly Champion of the Gods isn't parasitic and makes legendary creatures better.
DeleteOh and technically this fails the guidelines because its CMC isn't 3, but that wouldn't stop me from posting it in the review.
Delete@Ipaulsen and Evan Jones: I'm sorry, I should have been clearer about divine not being limited to creatures. There could also be divine artifacts, divine instants, etc. I suppose I could have made divine creatures Spirits and added tribal to other divine cards to make them Spirits too, but I feel that would have taken away a lot of the flavor in what looks to be a flavor-based set.
Delete@ Jenesis: Art-wise? I imagine divine cards having the "constellation" motif from the picture in the Theros Block Announcement. Mechanics-wise? I see them having big, exciting effects that feel "godly." (I'm not sure the pegasus example quite captured this feeling, but I think boosting creatures is a good way to go with this.)
@Jay Treat: I didn't choose the 'legendary' type primarily because I couldn't figure out a way for common legendary permanents to make sense. Also, thanks for reminding me about the CMC. New entry:
Hallowed Crusader 1WW
Creature - Human Knight (U)
First strike
Sacred - Whenever you cast a divine spell, put two +1/+1 counters on Hallowed Crusader.
2/1
We already have a way to mechanically represent spells with big, exciting effects: higher converted mana costs. Not sure a new supertype is necessary.
DeleteHighland Lancer (uncommon)
ReplyDeleteCreature - Human Scout
1WW
Vigilance, protection from creatures with higher power
2/2
Cool. My only concern is that it might be too strong.
DeleteThe art also looks remarkably like Benalish Lancer, which also happens to cost three. Coincidence?
ReplyDeleteUpon the death of the Jorean Prelate, a tournament is convened. Each candidate, should they survive, earns themselves a knighthood. The winner earns the throne.
ReplyDeleteJorean Candidate 1WW
Creature - Human Knight (U)
Heroes Tale (When this creature enters or leaves the battlefield, put a heroism counter on a creature as long as you control no creatures with heroism counters)
Creatures with heroism counters have first strike.
3/2
You can only ever have one hero, but each hero-maker gives you two chances to promote?
Delete3/2 is a bold departure for a Knight.
Vorthoswise I'd say it's because when you martyr someone's hero, it inspires them to take up the mantle and fight as their legacy. Gamewise it's there for the same reason that Soulbond has two possible triggers, so you don't get locked out on value.
Delete2/2 feels lackluster at 3 CMC, maybe:
Jorean Candidate 1WW
Creature - Human Knight (U)
Heroes Tale (When this creature enters or leaves the battlefield, put a heroism counter on a creature as long as you control no creatures with heroism counters)
Creatures with heroism counters have first strike and lifelink.
2/2
I was trying to capture the hero's journey and ended up with something different, but I think it's kinda cool.
ReplyDeleteIntractable Rider 1R
Creature-Human Warrior (C)
Vengeance (If a creature deals lethal damage to CARDNAME, exile this under that creature until it leaves the battlefield. When it does, return this to its owner’s hand.)
2/1
I'm not certain that the rules work for this templating, but the intent is that you'll stick it under whatever killed it, or get it back immediately if it trades. Replacement effect rules should leave you to choose what to put it under if blocked by multiple creatures.
So I started this as a 2R 3/2 and then tweaked it...forgetting that it started there because it had to be a 3 drop. That's probably too strong, so I'll go with 2R, 2/2, Haste, Vengeance
DeleteIf we replace "deals" with "would deal" then this becomes a replacement effect. I'm not sure if that'd get your creature back in a trade, but let's assume the rules or templating accomodate that: How many creatures do we want running around that can only be permanently removed by spells and abilities?
DeleteI anticipate the recursion being a lot less problematic than it looks since in non-trade situations it will often be many, many turns before it comes back. The mechanic still might be unusable since it's too hard to stop big creatures with it.
DeleteMoving in a different (and hopefully more fruitful) direction:
DeleteValiant Knight 2W
Creature-Human Knight (C)
Heroic—Whenever Valiant Knight blocks or becomes blocked by a creature with greater power, it gets +2/+2 until end of turn.
2/2
Spartan Scout 1GG
ReplyDeleteCreature - Human Scout (U)
When ~ enters the battlefield, if you cast it from your hand, search your library for a land or an enchantment card, reveal it and then shuffle your library and place it on top.
1/2
Is the effect so good Spartan scout needs to be 1GG and just 1/2?
DeleteHow do you scout for enchantments?
DeleteMy money says Theros has a load of easily visible enchantments and tutoring them like this is such an important effect that Spartan Scout would be OP in Theros limited at 2 mana for 1/2 and 1GG still makes him a strong early pick. Of course this is all speculative and judging this challenge before September would wholly unfair.
DeleteProdromos 2W
ReplyDeleteCreature - Human Scout (C)
Horsemanship, Vigilance.
1/3
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prodromos_%28Unit%29)
Think Shadow's worth another go?
DeleteVery nice, apart from the fact that R&D is never going to bring back horsemanship. As is, the keyword basically reads "this creature can't be blocked" which is not a white ability at all.
DeleteThey said same thing about poison counters. As for horsemanship, bring it on :)
DeleteAs soon as I saw this challenge, I said to myself, "Somebody's going to go for Horsemanship." But lpaulsen is of course correct; we don't need a second version of Flying.
Deletehttp://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/54243835232/do-you-think-horsemanship-will-come-back-or-that
DeleteFlank Lancer 2W
ReplyDeleteCreature human soldier -common
RenambedBuushido 2 or reinforce 2
"The heroes might be the center of battle, but without our support they could not focus on each other"
2/2
which one would you prefer?
You're drunk.
DeleteI'd like flank Lancer to get flanking and reinforce 2.
DeleteBuut RenambedBuushido!!! Come on!
DeleteI would name the renamed bushido "warring".
And I prefer bushido (henceforth known as warring" to reinforce, even though it fits the art better.
They both work, but I think warring's the better mechanic in a vacuum.
DeleteSince this submission obviates one of my own, I will share the word I was using for new-bushido: Skirmish.
DeleteOh, nice!
DeleteInterestingly, I think "warring" was the playtest name for Battle Cry.
DeleteHippoi Athanatoi Rider 1GG
ReplyDeleteCreature - Human Warrior (R)
CARDNAME enters play with a mount counter.
As long as CARDNAME has a mount counter on it, it has +2/+2 and immortal.
Remove a mount counter from CARDNAME: put a 2/2 green horse creature token with immortal onto the battlefield under your control.
1/1
Keyword:
Immortal (Creatures with immortal are indestructible and cannot be sacrificed)
if needed at uncommon:
DeleteHippoi Athanatoi Rider 1GG
Creature - Human Warrior (U)
when CARDNAME dies, put a 2/2 green horse creature token with immortal onto the battlefield under your control.
3/3
Background: Hippoi Athanatoi were immortal horses in mythology, spawned from the four winds that were personified as horses that pulled the chariot of Zeus.
How often do you see players removing the counter from the 8-line rare version? Is getting a 3/3 and then a 2/2 indestructible creature too good for three mana?
DeleteRecursive keywording seems unwise to me.
DeleteGuardian Hippikon 2W
ReplyDeleteCreature - Human Warrior (U)
Inspired — As long as you control a legendary permanent, Guardian Hippikon has double strike.
2/2
Kaelonia, Herald of War 1WW
Legendary Creature - Human Warrior (R)
Other creatures you control get +1/+1.
Grandeur — Discard a card named Kaelonia, Herald of War: Put two 1/1 white Warrior creature tokens onto the battlefield.
2/2
City-State Mercenary 1RR
Creature - Human Warrior (U)
First strike
Conquer (Whenever a creature dealt combat damage by this this turn dies, put a +1/+1 counter on this.)
2/2
Oops, I forgot to not include the "combat damage" clause for the Mercenary since I wanted it to combo with fight effects and such. Therefore it should read like this instead:
DeleteCity-State Mercenary 1RR
Creature - Human Warrior (U)
First strike
Conquer (Whenever a creature dealt damage by this this turn dies, put a +1/+1 counter on this.)
2/2
Of these, Kaelonia is the freshest idea, and not a bad one by any means.
DeleteA few more (this art is actually really cool looking so I had fun with it xD):
DeleteAgile Lancer 1WR
Creature - Human Warrior (R)
First strike, haste
Whenever Agile Lancer deals combat damage, prevent the next X damage that would be dealt to it this turn, where X is the damage dealt.
2/2
Amazon Godhunter 1WW
Creature - Human Warrior (U)
Protection from legendary creatures
2/2
Warlord of Demikos 1RR
Creature - Human Warrior (U)
When Demikos Huntleader enters the battlefield, reveal your hand. Demikos Huntleader deals X damage to target creature or player, where X is the number of Warrior cards revealed in this way.
3/2
Highland Raider 1WR
Creature - Human Warrior (R)
When Highland Raider enters the battlefield, you may search your library for an equipment card with converted mana cost equal to or less than the damage dealt to your opponents this turn and put it onto the battlefield attached to Highland Raider. If you do, shuffle your library.
2/2
Aand I derped by leaving Warlord of Demikos's old name in the text body xD Oh well.
DeleteHighland Outrider 2W
ReplyDeletecreature - Human Soldier (c)
Heroic— When CARDNAME attacks or blocks if you control at least two other nonattacking or blocking creatures, CARDNAME gets +2/+2 gains first strike.
2/2
Its a little texty for a common ability but there is a lot of design space in it.
Until EOT, right?
DeleteHeroic is similar to Exalted; It works on defense, but only helps the creature it's on. Hmm.
I like the idea of Heroic, but I'm not anxious to make which other creatures you play irrelevant. I'll also note that Exalted mechanics that trigger on blocking make it really complex for your opponent to figure out if they can attack.
Deleteyes it was supposed to be until end of turn. I might suggest bumping the boost down to +1/+1 if your only need one other creature out of combat. the point here is that you need someone staying home but after that you can have any number of heroes in your party. not my best design.
DeleteI'm concerned about board complexity here. If your opponent controls 4 heroic creatures, that's a lot of possible combinations of abilities that can go off.
DeleteGetting one bonus from the trigger (instead of two) would also be more NWO-friendly at common.
My computer won't let me comment on the thread on my card, so I'm putting this here. 1) Yes, I want monoblue to be able to play it. 3) The challenge says it has to cost 3. And regarding number 2, I really wanted it to be 2/3, but my fear is that in a set with morph, slamming down a 2/3 for 3 (even at uncommon) is going to stop SO many Limited decks. In Onslaught block, only two uncommon creatures that cost 3 had a toughness of 3: Mistform Warchief who's 1/3 and so can't kill morphs and Thoughtbound Primoc who's 2/3 but switches control and isn't reliable.
ReplyDeleteJust trying to make the best card possible for the environment it's in.
What about 3/2 for the face-up side? I really don't like how currently, regardless of what colors you're playing, casting it face-up is strictly worse than casting it face-down (because of bluffing).
DeleteThat works much better (as does my computer now apparently).
DeleteSo final submission:
Thanik's Warden
1WW
Creature - Human Knight (U)
Morph 1UU (You may cast this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)
When Thanik's Warden is turned face up, draw two cards.
3/2
Changed to 1WW to reflect the better creature. Now W has an incentive to take it, U has an incentive, and WU adores it. This is also my first card in a while without flavor text. Weird.
is a LOT better than Riptide Survivor and fathom seer. Imagine if you had a guy with divination strapped to it. how much would you pay for that? (mulldrifter)
DeleteI'm totally okay with that.
DeleteThere are definitely cases where this is better than Riptide Survivor or Fathom Seer, but it's far from strictly better. Fathom Seer's deceptively great.
DeleteGykos Legionnaire (Common)
ReplyDelete2B
Creature - Human Warrior
2/2
Serve the gods — Gykos Legionnaire gets +2/+0 as long as you control a legendary god.
Though crops no longer grew in the cursed city of Gykos, its hardy people gained renown as fearless warriors.
Does the flavor come through? Unlike other colors, Black doesn't have a problem worshiping the gods that punish it, in fact, it thrives in this sort of bad relationship.
I don't think it comes through all that well on this card alone, but next to a god with a Demonic drawback it would make sense to me.
DeleteAll I'm saying is that the gods are so prevalent that even those who've suffered their wrath continue to worship them.
DeleteLove the name.
DeleteAre there going to be non-legendary gods?
God is a new creature type, not card type. So it's anti-Changeling tech for kitchen table play. Mistform Ultimus still works though, but I'm fine with that.
DeleteXenia, the Placid (Common)
ReplyDelete1WW
Legendary Creature - Human Soldier
3/2
Grandeur — Discard another card named : Xenia, the Placid gains lifelink until end of turn.
Glad someone's exploring the (risky) space of common legends. Grandeur is a great way to do it.
DeleteCan't imagine many cases where I'd rather discard my spare 3/2 for 3 just to gain 3 life though...
I have to disagree with Jay. Grandeur works at rare but not at common.
DeleteGrandeur is to smooth out constructed decks, not limited ones. It gives you a reason to run more copies of a card you otherwise wouldn't. The first copy should be good on its own; the extra copies will be gravy.
Therefore, because the first copy has to be worth playing on its own, grandeur creatures all have extra abilities that aren't the grandeur one. NWO makes this hard to do at common. This means that your common grandeur creatures will probably have to be vanilla or virtual vanilla creatures. How many of those are you going to want to draft (or be happy to pick up in sealed?) What is the likelihood of you having a sealed pool with a bunch of grandeur commons you can't activate?
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHow many abilities a card has does not determine its strength. I'd be happy to play a Limited deck whose creatures are all vanilla if they're particularly efficient.
DeleteConjecture: Wizards would not print Isamaru at common despite its lack of complexity.
DeleteI really dislike the idea of common Legendary creatures. It feels like robbing a lot of what makes them special.
DeleteGrandeur as a common mechanic on NON-Legendary creatures however intrigues me. Would you play something like this?
Placid Soldier
1WW
Creature - Human Soldier (C)
3/2
Grandeur — Discard another card named Placid Soldier: Placid Soldier gains lifelink until end of turn.
I'd play it as a 3/2 for three. I wouldn't use it's grandeur ability.
DeleteShouting Spearman
2W
Creature - Human Soldier (C)
3/2
Grandeur — Discard another card named ~: ~ gains first strike until end of turn.
Thank you all for your insightful comments. In some way, I agree with Jay Treat and Ben Nassau about grandeur and Legendaries at common, in fact initially I wanted to submit grandeur without the legendary supertype. I could argue my other thoughts much longer, but sadly I don't have time.
DeleteI'll submit a similar, yet different idea:
Placid Hippeus (C)
1WW
Creature - Human Knight
3/2
Magnificence - Discard a Legendary card: Put three +1/+1 counters on ~. Activate this only as a sorcery.
Addelhiem, Godslayer
ReplyDelete1RB
Legendary Creature, Human Soldier
4/1
Protection from Legendary, when *cardname* enters the battlefield, exile target legendary creature.
The endless wars of gods and heroes laid waste to his village and his people, now he sees the gods and their playthings as fuel for his all-consuming rage.
Mythic rare?
DeleteAddelheim (which feels like a German/Jewish name) sure does punish legendary creatures. Is the theme anti-legendary?
Daring Spearmaiden 2W
ReplyDeleteCreature - Human Scout
Whenever another creature attacks, you may return Daring Spearmaiden to its owner's hand.
Reinforce 2—1W (1W, Discard this card: Put two +1/+1 counters on target creature.)
2/2
Leto's Hoplite 2W
Creature - Human Soldier
Reinforce 2 - 2W (2W, Discard this card: Put two +1/+1 counters on target creature.)
When Leto's Hoplite reinforces a creature, if that creature is legendary, put Leto's Hoplite onto the battlefield.
2/2
The first is weird (and seems the opposite of daring), but the second is exciting (and probably too strong, but eh).
DeleteI really like this one
DeleteHope it's not too late -
ReplyDeleteI looked at this card and I felt like it reminded me of something. So I went on gatherer and found it:
Dogged Hunter 2W
Creature - Nomad
T: Destroy target creature token.
"The relationship between hunter and hunted knows nothing of alliances."
1/1
A reprint from Odyssey, I think this is a great fit for Theros, as being an actual creature matters instead of being a token - promoting a 'Legendary' theme that many speculate.
Leader of Men - 1WW
ReplyDeleteCreature - Human Knight (R)
Human creatures you control are also Soldiers.
Soldiers have protection from Mercenaries, Rogues and Rebels.
2/2