Cool Card Design of the Day7/16/2013 - Oakenform is a nice clean card and while it is entirely Limited-playable, cards like Moldervine Cloak and Boar Umbra show that it could also do a bit more. Given that pure lifegain tends to be terrible in green, I propose killing two birds with one stone. Or rose.
I drop this on a Grizzly Bears. Do I gain 2 life or 5? I think 5, but I feel like I'd need to consult the comprehensive rules to be sure, which feels odd on a common.
ReplyDeleteDivine Favor does this effect much more cleanly.
Why would it be 2?
DeleteWould it be more clear if it said "When Rosemail Armor ETB?"
I think "when ~ ETB" is the normal templating, though I don't know if it's clearer.
DeleteI think it's clear enough -- it does what you'd like it to do, and it's clear if you know the rules that the continuous effect must already apply when the triggered ability resolves. But it's always good to avoid any possible ambiguity if you can.
Can it just be 3? It's not as exciting, but 3CMC, 3 P/T, 3 lifegain would be nice symmetry (if that's the right word)
DeleteDo you expect the casual player to be able to understand the timing of when the P/T boost kicks in and when the lifegain happens?
DeleteI was curious about this, so I mocked up the card and asked my fiance what it did when played on a 2/2 (she's only played a couple times). She correctly answered 5 life. When I counter-explained Evan's reasoning, she countered 'why would you gain the life first, it's never not a 5/5.' Reading the card, she assumed the effects worked together, because 'why would they both be there if they didn't work together'. It was a good reminder on the power of holistic designs.
DeleteThat said, I think it should actually gain you a fixed amount of life, but for a different reason. When the lifegain keys off total power, you want to enchant your biggest creature. That's usually the incorrect play, though, because you should diversify your threats. As is, the card inadvertently teaches poor play.
James proved exactly what I was going to claim: New players assume everything works.
DeleteEven so, I have to agree that gaining a flat 3 life makes much more sense for a common. I clearly got too fancy with the variable life and aura swap shenanigans.
I really like the variable life gain for exactly that reason. Obviously the nut situation with most Oakenforms is to play it on a Gladecover Scout immediately on Turn 3, or to generally diversify your threats as you say. The potential to play the card just for the lifegain - putting it on your fatty to gain 9 life against a more evasive racing deck, perhaps - feels very "rich get richer", which to me feels very Green.
DeleteAuras that care about what they're enchanting can be a plus or a minus in a format, depending on how much complexity is already eaten up. In an expert set this could probably be common, but in a core set it might be uncommon.
Oh, that's really beautiful! Both the art, the name, and the simple design.
ReplyDeleteI'm always a little bit perturbed by these designs because there's very little intuition about whether they will key off of power or toughness. For what it's worth, I think intuition lends itself a little bit better to lifegain caring about toughness.
ReplyDeleteI agree, generally; when I see a card like this that cares about power in the abstract, I assume that there are other cards (a subtheme or cycle) that key off of power in the set.
DeleteNaming the card "Armor" does lean the other way, though.
I didn't even think of that. Toughness makes way more sense for magic armor.
DeleteThis wants to be an equipment.
ReplyDeleteI think the weirdest thing about this is that you can enchant your opponent's creature to gain life and might be the best play. Changing it to "enchant creature you control" or having the life gain be for the creature's controller would reduce those weird cases.
ReplyDeleteThat's a bad thing?
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