Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Designing Suvnica, Week 10: Back in Black

And we're back! I've been itching to dive back into this. I didn't have the time to finish out the remaining guild profiles while I was studying, and that's hopefully something I'll be able to do over the course of this week. In the meantime, for this week's challenge, we'll be coming up with keywords for two more guilds this week, plus a bonus design challenge.


And the People in the Boxes All Went to the University

For the current creative vision of the Suiroza, take a look at their Guild Profile Page




Reflect is trying to capture the driving philosophy of the guild, that everyone should be given the same opportunities to succeed and shape their own path. I tried a few different mechanical representations of this, and Reflect is where I ended up. It's a weird ability. First of all, it's a copying effect, something that really doesn't play nicely in NWO. If used, it's going to eat up a lot of our complexity space. Secondly, it may not be in the right colors? Blue, sure, and there's precedent for this sort of thing in White (see Radiance, Mirror-Sigil Sergeant). But really, this feels more {U}{R}, and Green would probably be the color that would benefit from it most with Giant Growth effects. Also, it needs some major support combat trick cards, and it can be super degenerate if there are cantrip cards in the format. I like the ability, but it may end up being way more trouble than its worth. I'd like some feedback on this one. Let me know what you guys think.

Need for Speed

For the current creative vision of the Grohm, take a look at their Guild Profile Page



Manabind is somewhere between Convoke and Bloodrush. There are some spirit guides that set a (weak) precedent for this type of acceleration. I suspect that development would want to add some front-end mana to the cost to keep you from being able to play too many cards once you're tapped out, but TDP.



Most of my keywords have been creature only, so I thought it might be nice to have one that works on both spells and creatures. I'm not super-happy with the creative side of Manabind, since it doesn't really connect with the Grohm identity.

YMABC


This week's main challenge is to create guild keywords for the Grohm and the Suiroza. No limits on number of examples or offered keywords, but try to keep it within reason. Feel free to also post some suggested reprints that play nicely with your keyword, or some original ideas for support cards. The more it ties into the guild's vision, the better. 


In last week's hiatus question, I asked about the GA community's thoughts on the results of YMTC4. Most didn't seem overly impressed. As a bonus challenge for this week, try to make a better YMTC with the following restrictions:
  • Mono-{B}
  • Enchantment
  • Must make sense in Suvnica
  • Must have at least some cross-block synergy with Tesla, which for the sake of this challenge, we'll pretend is the block after Suvnica
  • Must have at least some appeal to two of the three player psychographics
That's it, guys. I'll try to wrap up the last guild profiles this week, as well as some analysis of the Hiatus question discussions.

Good luck with the challenges, and make sure to have fun with it.

-Zeff

64 comments:

  1. Your reflect mechanic is unprintable because of its not specifying instants and sorceries; auras target too and cannot be simply copied because they actually stick around on the battlefield. Manabind as a mechanic is just asking for trouble. Accelerating that fast would lead to insanely broken decks, I'm sure.

    For the Suiroza, I do like the idea of "equalizing". How about something like this...

    Striving Student 1W
    Creature - Human (C)
    Strive 3W (3W: Put a +1/+1 counter on CARDNAME if another creature on the battlefield has a higher power than CARDNAME. Strive only as a sorcery.)

    Whether this checks power, toughness, either or or even both is up for discussion, but I like power-only to incentivize people to play it alongside other, more aggressive colors. W/U traditionally have high toughness which could make the ability a little better.

    Striving Guardsman 1U
    Creature - Vedalken Soldier (C)
    Strive 4U (reminder text)
    1/3

    Suiroza's Finest (W/U)(W/U)
    Creature - Advisor (R)
    Strive (W/U)
    2/2

    These also make an interesting mechanic alongside pump spells or enhancement auras (worse on the creatures themselves, better on other creatures).

    Grohm... I feel like I want their mechanic to be something that makes them more hardy towards things imposed on them from the outside... Perhaps something like this...

    Grohm Shieldbearer 1G
    Creature - Human Soldier (C)
    Resist 1G (whenever this creature becomes the target of a spell or ability you do not control, you may pay 1G. If you do, put a +1/+1 counter on it.)
    2/2

    This doesn't have to be things you don't control but I think it might make it easier to control. There's something to be said for this being entirely dependant on opponents choices in that case, though, thus making the game less fun for both parts? Perhaps it's better if it allows your own targetting to trigger it too, as long as it costs mana.

    Grohm War Chant 3(R/G)(R/G)
    Enchantment (R)
    Creatures you control have Resist 1(R/G) and trample.

    Thoughts?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. These are good-looking mechanics. I like the way strive plays, but I feel like growing creatures isn't a very Suiroza thing to do-- they're more interested in cards and spells. Resist seems very fun. The one thing I would suggest is removing the "you do not control" restriction, since that makes the mechanic a lot easier to use and plays well with combat tricks. You could call it "hardy" or something like that.

      Delete
    2. I'm not sure a nerfed Mossdog ability requires a cost. Several ways ways to touch it up, too...

      Resist 2 (Whenever this creature becomes the target of a spell or ability you do not control, put 2 +1/+1 counters on it.)

      Resist--Regenerate this creature (Whenever this creature becomes the target of a spell or ability you do not control, regenerate it.)

      Delete
    3. The trouble with mechanics that require a spell or ability you don't control is that they are always *at best* hexproof. The opponent can always turn your cards off just by choosing not to target them. So, for example, Resist 2 as proposed by Circeus would almost never actually enhance the creature: an opponent with a Doom Blade would just target it anyway, and an opponent with a Shock wouldn't bother targeting it at all.

      Delete
    4. I'm just riffing on Lobster's idea. Making the Mossdog ability itself Grohm is probably workable, if somewhat drab. My "improved" versions are almost certainly too powerful if they trigger on your own spells, though.

      Do you think the [[Spellskite]] ability could be keyworded? Basically we emphasizes red a little in the grohm my making it very hard for the opponent to know which creatures will be affected by targeted abilities or spells he plays.

      Delete
  2. Reflecting Light W
    Instant
    Target creature you control gains protection from the color of your choice each turn.
    Reflect W (When you cast this spell, copy it with a new target for each time you paid its reflect cost.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not sure we can justify coming this close to replicate.

      Delete
    2. I agree that this is uncomfortably close to replicate and overload. But I like the idea. What about:

      Reflect (When you cast this from your hand, if it had three or more possible targets, you may copy it and choose a different target for the copy.)

      Sort of a partial overload that doesn't require extra mana. Some possible designs:

      Reflecting Light W
      Instant (Common)
      Target creature you control gains protection from the color of your choice until end of turn. Reflect.

      Reflecting Aether U
      Instant (Common)
      Return target attacking creature to its owner's hand. Reflect.

      Reflecting Truth UW
      Instant (Uncommon)
      Target creature you control gets +0/+2 until end of turn. Draw a card. Reflect.

      I think I may have suggested this mechanic (or a similar one) someplace else. But I like what it does for the Suiroza.

      Delete
    3. Ultimately and even though I myself suggested a variant of this (and baring the existence of storm and conspire spells in all colors), I'm not sure we want to pretend spell copying is part of white's slice of the pie. MaRo has noted they are trying to not bring {W/U} any closer to each other, and so I believe we should prioritize a mechanic that white could clearly do on its own.

      Delete
    4. If Ravnica never happened, then Replicate was never printed, and Reflect is new and unique. Is Suvnica supposed to exist alongside Ravnica?

      White can target multiple creatures.

      Delete
    5. But from a general design point of view it's like saying that we can ignored people reacting "why isn't this mechanic X? It's just like mechanic X!" (but it's not and people will just keep playing it wrong) just because mechanic X isn't in the set. Besides from a designer's point of view, it would be really REALLY unsatisfying to use such a tiny tweak on an existing mechanic. If it were a cycle or something, I'd be all for it, but certainly not as a UW guild mechanic

      My biggest beef with the mechanic probably remains the whole "bleeding spell copying into white when we already have a color pair that is all about that" thing.

      Delete
    6. For the purpose of Suvnica design, we can pretend that the Ravnica mechanics never happened. That said, we do want Suvnica to be different from Rav. I think that Jay's Reflect definitely feels different enough that it's not just replicate, plus the spells we can tack it onto in White will make for a much different feel than the Red Replicators.

      Delete
    7. @Circeus - copying in white (or any other color) is not completely off limits if its the effect of a keyword - see conspire for instance. The white effects aren't saying "copy target spell", they're effectively a kicker variant.

      Delete
  3. I think reflect has potential, but since we get some sort of Reverse Overload or target-triggered Replicate, I don't think it'd work out. I think a wait to send spells back to the opponent is more interesting:

    Imitate N (Whenever this creature becomes the target of an instant or sorcery spell with a single target, you may pay N to copy that spell. Choose a new target for the copy.)

    Suiroza Mentor {2}{W}
    Creature -- Elf Soldier (C)
    First strike
    Imitate {2}{W}
    2/2

    This greatly reduces the complexity and at the same time enable new play by allowing you to do things like copying removal spells at the opponent.

    What else do we want to do with this. Fate hate, assuming we keep fate counters, is a possibility...

    Scornful Teacher {1}{w}
    Creature -- Human Cleric (U)
    Fate hate -- When ~ ETBs, put a fate counter on target permanent you don't control.
    ~ has protections from permanents with fate counters on them.
    1/1

    Fatebreaker {X}{u}
    Creature -- Vedalken (R)
    Fate hate -- When ~ ETBs, put a fate counter on X target permanents you don't control.
    {T}: Tap all permanents with fate counters on them.
    2/1

    As for the Grohm, I'm in kind of a bind. They are essentially frontiersman, but the only mechanical tie that comes to mind for this is land-related mechanics, which was already present in GTC (Frenzied Tillings, Ground Assault...). It makes one want to bring back Domain or Landfall, which is undesirable wince obviously we want new mechanics.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As long as Imitate's cost remains significant ({2}{W} seems perfect), the hexproof problem Ipaulsen pointed out earlier is mitigated. That you can imitate your own spells is nice upside. That your opponent can try to 2:1 you when you do, and you'll already have spent most of your mana makes it interesting.

      Fatebreaker is a 2/1 for {U} with upside.

      Delete
    2. Fatebreaker also should definitely say "nonland permanents".

      Delete
  4. For the enchantment, how about:

    Racism {3}{B}{B}
    Enchantment (Rare)
    Creatures get -1/-1 for each of their colors.

    Or, since I will jump at any excuse to publish my own YMTC design:

    Paranoia {2}{B}{B}{B}
    Enchantment (Rare)
    Spells and abilities count you as one of your opponents. (You can target yourself with spells and abilities that target an opponent, and spells and abilities that affect each of your opponents also affect you.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would probably make racism just apply to multicolored creatures, so it isn't just night of souls betrayal+

      Delete
  5. I do not like either manabond, (because it's like every card in your deck is a spirit guide but better) or reflect (because it loses too much value for having a whole bunch of reflect cards)

    Suiroza bear {W/U}{W/U}
    creature- human wizard
    aspire (when ~ enters the battlefield, you may have its power or toughness become that of a creature you control.)
    2/2


    Suiroza retainer {2}{W}
    creature- human soldier
    first strike
    aspire (when ~ enters the battlefield, you may have its power or toughness become that of a creature you control.)
    1/4

    Suiroza arbitor {3}{U}
    flying
    aspire (when ~ enters the battlefield, you may have its power or toughness become that of a creature you control.)
    2/3

    while keeping track of a lot of these is definitely problematic, and copy effects aren't super NWO, I think it is a interesting mechanic that makes you think about your board in new ways. it works well internally boasting the effectiveness of later plays. and works externally to have some interesting interactions with red's high power creatures.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Manabond definitely needs some balance, possibly a mana activation cost (R, Discard ~: Add RR to your mana pool). I'm still not convinced that's neither terrible nor broken, or even fun. It would need playtesting.

      Aspire as printed can't be printed (although it would work nicely on MTGO) simply because it's too many memory issues.

      Delete
  6. I suggested colorless as a potential "glue" for the set allowing a focus on specific two-color pairs (the way that hybrid worked in Shadowmoor to create cards that could be played in more decks). This makes a representation of teaching relatively possible if we teach those colorless cards.

    Alternative Suiroza Mentor 2W
    Creature -- Human (C)
    When ~ ETBs, put a 1/1 colorless Human creature token in play.
    Foster -- Sacrifice ~: Colorless creatures you control gain first strike UEOT.
    2/1

    This goes opposite to my Rimid idea: whereas the Suiroza boost up the colorless, the Rimid cards gain advantages from having colorless cards around.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not sure we want a guild keyword that gets worse the more cards from our guild we put in the deck.

      Delete
    2. I wouldn't dream of doing that if most of those cards didn't bring their own minions for the ride. ANd of course there'd be a Raise the Alarm or Gather the Townsfolk making colorless tokens in addition to the choice of colorless creature (my rimid idea has them capable of turning other creature colorless)

      Delete
    3. So WU is the swarm guild in this block?

      Delete
    4. White always had a swarmy feeling. In RTR, this was in Selesnya and Boros, but since flavorwise, Ayneles doesn't feel very swarmy, I think giving a swarm component to Suiroza can be done.

      Besides, Azorius did have a few token cards in Knightly Valor, Security Blockade and Precinct Captain.

      Delete
  7. Based on the guild profile, the Suiroza mechanic should be around shaping the paths of its members. Some possibilities:

    Skyturtle Student {2}{WU}
    Creature—Human Wizard (cmn)
    Tabula Rasa — As ~ enters the battlefield, it becomes your choice of a 1/4, or a 2/2 with flying.

    Professor of Espionage {1}{U}{U}
    Creature—Vedalken Rogue (unc)
    Whenever ~ deals combat damage to a player, draw a card.
    Mentor {1}{U} ({1}{U}, Reveal ~ from your hand: Target creature you control becomes a copy of ~ until EOT. Activate this ability as a sorcery.)
    2/2

    Or the simpler:

    Master of Flight {3}{W}{U}
    Creature—Vedalken Rogue (cmn)
    Flying
    Teacher {1}{WU} ({1}{WU}, Reveal ~ from your hand: Target creature you control gains ~'s abilities until EOT. Activate this ability as a sorcery.)
    3/3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like teacher very much, it can be worded like splice where the you add this cards text to the card until end of turn.

      Delete
    2. Teacher is a replicating forecast. Indeed, it's actually discussed as one application of Forecast (featured on Paladin of Prahv and Spirit en-Dal) in MaRo's "Designing for Azorius"!. Do we want that sort of repetitive play as a guild mechanic?

      Delete
  8. The Grohm seem to need a nomadic keyword. Possibilities:

    Roaming Goblin {1}{R}
    Creature-Goblin Nomad (cmn)
    Roam {R} (You may cast ~ for {R}. If you do, it ETB with haste. Return it to your hand from the battlefield at EOT.)
    2/1

    Wandering Elf {1}{G}
    Creature-Elf Nomad (cmn)
    Wander (Return ~ to your hand. Add {1}{G} to your mana pool. Activate this ability only as a sorcery.)
    2/2

    Exploring Centaur {2}{R}
    Creature-Centaur Nomad (cmn)
    Explore 1 (Whenever ~ attacks, look at the top card of your library. If it's CMC is 1 or less, you may reveal it and put it into your hand.)
    2/2

    Scouting Beast {2}{G}
    Creature-Beast (cmn)
    When ~ ETB, Scout 2. (Look at the top two cards of your library. Put all but one on bottom in any order.)
    3/1

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like Roam (which seems to play perfectly into the right deisgn space for GR), but Wander needs to have the added mana less than the casting cost or you get built-in infinite ETB triggers (plus mana generation probably does not a mechanic make). Explore is cute, but I'm not sure an uncounterable card engine is the best idea for a mechanic. Scout feels nohing like a GR mechanic.

      Delete
    2. I agree circeus, roam is a great mechanic that feels very red but could also be green, there is a lot of space for it too.
      I do not think that grinning ignus would make a great mechanic, maybe as a one of...
      explore and scout both do not feel very red, they "could" (but probably shouldn't a lot) be green but mostly they feel blue. scout being a alternate to scry.

      Delete
    3. If anything, Explore is perfect colorpie-wise for the Kisme, but certainly not as a guild mechanic (if only because I'm not sure where attack=knowledge works), maybe a vertical cycle at most.

      Delete
    4. Agreed on all counts.

      Uncommon+ roam cards could have triggers like "If this roamed, creatures you control get +1/+1 until EOT."

      Wander definitely doesn't work at full cost, at least not without adding something awkward like {T}. I suppose attacking with a 2/2 on turn three and then returning it your hand so you can cast a four-drop is good enough, so maybe a fraction works.

      Explore has too much potential for card advantage. Scout isn't mechanically very RG at all. The name of both fits though; maybe we can find other mechanics that fit those names.

      Delete
    5. Landfall seems fantastic for the Grohm, but if we're going for something new, Roam gets my vote.

      Delete
    6. Roam looks awesome.

      I would add the clause "must attack if able" so that we could have cool roam creatures with ETB effects. It would be lame to keep casting a Blisterstick Shaman without attacking, it wouldn't feel like a RG style. But if it attacks each time it Roams, it would lead to intriguing gameplay.

      Roaming Explorers {1}{R}{G}
      Creature - Elf Scout
      2/2
      Roam {R}{G}
      When this enters the battlefield, search your library for a basic land card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle your library.

      Roaming Explorers {3}{R}
      Creature - Elf Scout
      3/1
      Roam {2}{R}
      When this enters the battlefield, target creature can't block this turn.

      Roaming Huntsman {3}{R}
      Creature - Elf Scout
      2/2
      Roam {2}{R}
      When this enters the battlefield, it deals 1 damage to target creature or player.

      Delete
    7. It's true that Explore and Scout don't feel very much like RG mechanics, but then again Green has traditionally had enchantments like Sylvan Library, and Red does get looting nowadays, and this is like a kind of preemptive looting. The attack trigger on Explore makes it feel somewhat more ok.

      I like Explore. It could help a style where you're attacking to grab lands, so that you can cast a fatty later. By manipulating the top card of the library, it could combo with the Kisme guild, if it turns out that have a "top card of library matters" theme for Kisme. (Although this last part shouldn't be a consideration initially.)

      I've designed a mechanic like it in my own files called "Search for CATEGORY" where the CATEGORY is something like "land" or something else. The effect could be a filtering effect (look at top X cards and leave a card of that category on top) or an effect that lets you draw a card of that type if it's in the top X cards of your library. If it triggers off of damage to opponent like Scroll thief, the X could equal the damage dealt.

      Delete
    8. If you add "must attack if able" to Roam, you'll also have to add "must play before your first main phase."

      ETB effects and Roam is an exciting combo, though Roaming Explorers' card advantage feels too strong.

      "Search for" sounds very Grohm to me.

      Delete
    9. Ooh, even better: Replace "must attack" and ETB effects with attack triggers.

      Delete
    10. Roaming explorer ain't that big a problem. It's a {r}{g} Borderland Ranger. Maybe a little pushed, but nothing huge at first blush.

      Delete
    11. The attack triggers idea solves the post combat issue, but no longer offers an incentive to Roam except for the one surprise trigger. Maybe that's enough, but we could also make them enters the battlefield effects that make you really want to attack:

      Sunscorched Swordsman {1}{R}
      Creature-Human Warrior(C)
      When ~ enters the battlefield, target creature gains first strike until end of turn.
      Roam {R}
      2/1

      Tenacious Trailblazer {4}{R}
      Creature-Minotaur Berserker (C)
      When ~ enters the battlefield, target creature can't block this turn.
      Roam {3}{R}
      3/3

      Ferocious {3}{R}{G}
      Creature-Human Shaman(C)
      When ~ enters the battlefield, target creature gains trample until end of turn.
      Roam {1}{R}{G}
      4/4

      Heart Thumper {4}{R}
      Creature-Viashino Berserker (U)
      When ~ enters the battlefield, target creature gets +3/+0 until end of turn.
      Roam {3}{R}
      3/1

      Invigorated Pathcutter {3}{G}
      Creature-Elf Shaman (U)
      When ~ enters the battlefield, target creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn.
      Roam {2}{G}
      2/2

      Charging Commander {2}{R}{R}
      Creature-Human Berserker (R)
      When ~ enters the battlefield creatures you control get Double Strike until end of turn.
      Roam {4}{R}
      4/2

      Fiery Rhetoric-Spewer {3}{R}{R}
      Creature-Human Shaman (R)
      When ~ enters the battlefield, gain control of target creature until end of turn. Untap that permanent. It gains haste until end of turn.
      Roam {5}{R}
      4/4

      Overwhelming Presence {3}{G}{G}
      Creature-Elemental (R)
      When ~ enters the battlefield, creatures you control get +2/+2 until end of turn and must be blocked this turn if able.
      Roam {5}{G}
      2/2

      Delete
    12. I like these latest ones. Would you ever switch up the colors for the cost/Roam -

      Beast-who-follows
      {3}{G}{G}
      Creature - Beast
      Roam {2}{R}
      3/4

      - or is that unnecessary complication?

      Delete
    13. Tough Guy {G}{G}
      Creature-Elf Barbarian
      Roam {1}{R}
      3/2

      I don't imagine we'd want many, but it could help you to 'cast' things when your mana isn't coming out just right.

      Delete
    14. I did a set that used Roam but made you sacrifice the creature at EOT which might be something to think about if any of the other mechanics in the set are relevant when a creature dies. I like either version of it though.

      Delete
    15. You could also have roam put the creature onto the battlefield tapped and attacking.
      Roam 1R (During your declare attackers step, you may pay 1R to put this onto the battlefield tapped and attacking. Return it to your hand after combat.)

      Delete
  9. Nomadic Raider - R/G
    Creature - Human Beserker - uncommon
    Explore - When you cast this spell, reveal the top card of your library. If it is a (land/creature) card, ~ enters the battlefield with haste. (You may put this card on the bottom of your library.)
    2/1

    It is kinda like what Jay suggested but tied a little more to green. I think the Grohm would like the land trigger better thematically, but I could see using the creature trigger instead with a different name. I'm not sure if I want to include the last clause in parentheses; I like that clash does this and Explore feels similar to both that and Kinship (kinship wouldn't be a bad Grohm mechanic either...).

    Raging Earthquake - XR
    Sorcery - rare
    ~ deals X damage to each creature without flying.
    Explore- When you cast this spell, reveal the top card of your library. If it is a land card, ~ deals X damage to target player.

    ReplyDelete
  10. One option I could see for the Suiroza is ability-wording the Trained Condor effect. It could make for fairly complex boards, but that might be okay since they'll be sorted out before blockers are declared.

    Swordplay Instructor 1WW
    Creature-Human Soldier (C)
    First Strike
    Mentor--Whenever ~ attacks, you may have target creature gain first strike until end of turn.
    2/2

    Balm Mixer W
    Creature-Human Cleric (C)
    Lifelink
    Mentor--Whenever ~ attacks, you may have target creature gain lifelink until end of turn.
    1/1

    Suiroza Aerialist WU
    Creature-Vedalken Wizard (C)
    Flying
    Mentor--Whenever ~ attacks, you may have target creature gain flying until end of turn.
    1/2

    Instruction Instructor 4W
    Creature-Vedalken Wizard (R)
    Whenever ~ deals damage to a player, put that many 1/1 white Soldier creature tokens onto the battlefield.
    Mentor--Whenever ~ attacks, you may have target creature gain "whenever this deals damage to a player, put that many 1/1 white Soldier creature tokens onto the battlefield" until end of turn.
    3/3

    Hmm, that's a lot of text, perhaps we should go for the slightly harder to parse but more concise version:

    Mentor (Whenever ~ attacks, you may have target creature gain its other abilities until end of turn.)

    ReplyDelete
  11. For the Suiroza, I think that level up is a good place to start building the mechanic. It encapsulates the intense schooling and unlocking one's full potential that defines the Suiroza. Level up has some problems though; while it is a very good and grokkable mechanic to play, it has some flavor problems (you would never say "I just leveled up!" in real life).

    Sphinx Neophyte - 1WU
    Creature - Sphinx (common)
    Mastery - At the beginning of your upkeep, you may tap ~. If you do, put a mastery counter on ~.
    Base: 2/2
    Mastery 1-3: Flying; 3/3
    Mastery 4+: Flying, vigilance; 3/4

    Mockup: http://i.imgur.com/nHjyde9.jpg

    It plays off the slow nature of the UW pairing.

    Tactical Prodigy - 2W
    Creature - Human Wizard (unc)
    Mastery 2.0 (You may keep ~ tapped during your untap step. If you do, put a mastery counter on ~.)
    Base: T: Tap target creature; 1/2
    Mastery 2-4: T: Tap target creature. You gain 1 life; 1/3
    Mastery 5+: T: Tap up to two target creatures. You gain 2 life; 3/3

    Mockup: http://i.imgur.com/HJ711jq.jpg

    A slight variation on the theme. This allows for interesting effects like this although not nearly as good on a vanilla creature.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I think there's potential in the flavor of Zeffaral's reflect mechanic, but it should be copying Auras instead.

    101 Teacher W (Common)
    W, T: Teach target Aura you control to target creature. (Put a token that's a copy of that Aura onto the battlefield enchanting that creature. Sacrifice the token at end of turn.)

    Eager Learner 2W (Common)
    2/2
    Whenever this creature attacks, teach target Aura to Eager Learner. (Put a token that's a copy of that Aura onto the battlefield enchanting Eager Learner. Sacrifice the token at end of turn.)

    Great Teacher 2WU (Rare)
    1/4
    Hexproof
    Whenever this creature attacks, teach target Aura enchanting Great Teacher to each creature you control. (Put a token that's a copy of that Aura onto the battlefield enchanting those creatures. Sacrifice the token at end of turn.)

    Crash Course Teacher 1U (Common)
    Creature - Faerie Wizard
    Instant
    1/1
    Flash, flying
    When this enters the battlefield, teach target Aura to target creature.

    Chronicle Researcher 2U (Uncommon)
    2/3
    At the beginning of each combat step, you may put the top card of your library into your graveyard. If an Aura card is put into your graveyard this way, you may teach it to target creature.
    (Combos with Auramancer)

    Visionary Teacher 2UU (Rare)
    Flying
    At the beginning of your upkeep, look at the top card of your library. If it's an Aura card, you may reveal it until end of turn and teach it to target creature you control three times.
    3/4

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    Replies
    1. That's a cool variation. I wonder if we'll feasibly be able to fit enough auras in white and blue in a guild set to support it properly though.

      Delete
    2. I don't see why it's a problem though. You get to choose how many Auras you put into the set. It's like how Blue is creature-light in most sets, but is given lots of good creatures in Gatecrash so that evolve can work.

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    3. Well, there are multiple constraints to match, but I agree it's doable. It does, however, likely preclude us from giving another guild an instant/sorcery theme in the same set since we need room for creatures.

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    4. We should always be wary of keywords that only do something if you've got something else. Evolve did that, but what it requires (another creature) is the thing players have/want the most of. Metalcraft did it, but artifacts were super prevalent, colorless, and not exclusive with creatures. Teach requires us to have both another creature and an aura in our colors. Auras are the least common of the main types, always colored, and already have a card-disadvantage concern.

      Can teach be done? Absolutely! But I think it would shine best in an enchantment set, so whether it could work in Suvnica or not, I think it's better saved for that enchantment set (unless we want to make Suvnica an enchantment set, which might be interesting).

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    5. Good point. Although Selesnia did it with cards that require tokens, and cards like Auramancer and Totem-Guide Hartebeest can definitely help out with an Aura requirement, we should look for other mechanics without such constraints first.

      Delete
  13. Proposed Suiroza mechanic:

    Exemplar [cost]- [Cost]: Change this permanent's text by replacing all instances of "enchanted creature" with "each creature you control".

    Lesson of Strength W
    Enchantment- Aura (Common)
    Enchanted creature gets +1/+1. Exemplar 2W

    Lesson of Curiosity U
    Enchantment- Aura (Uncommon)
    Enchanted creature has "Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, draw a card." Exemplar 1U

    Lesson of Levitation U
    Enchantment- Aura (Common)
    Enchanted creature has flying. Exemplar 2U

    Lesson of Stoicisim 3W
    Enchantment- Aura (Uncommon)
    Enchanted creature has indestructible. Exemplar 2W

    Lesson of Brilliance WU
    Enchantment- Aura (Rare)
    Enchanted creature has "0: Return this creature and all Auras attached to it to their owners' hands." Exemplar WU

    The design space is rather limited, but that should be fine for a guild mechanic.

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    Replies
    1. In my opinion Emblem of the Warmind is too unintuitive for a mechanic that appears at common. I could see printing it if they became non-Aura enchantments, but then they become very difficult to deal with in limited. That said, this is a really cool Overload mechanic, it just may be better served in a different context.

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    2. Good point. I'm not sure how to fix that.

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    3. What I like about unattaching it from the creature (and making it not an aura) is that it's clear which auras have been exmaplar'd or not.

      That's not compatible, though, with the suggestion I was going to make that Exemplar could work slightly differently on other cards.

      Anti-Goblin Teacher W
      Creature-Teacher
      Pro:Goblins
      Exemplar 1WW (1WW: All creatures you control gain CARDNAME's other abilities.)
      1/1

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    4. A creature-only version would actually fix a lot of this mechanic's issues. Templating it is a little difficult, though. How about:

      Exemplar [cost] ([Cost]: Other creatures you control have this creature's other abilities for as long as it is on the battlefield.)

      Or, if we want to do the Aura-into-global version:

      Exemplar [cost] ([Cost]: Unattach this. It's no longer an Aura. Change its text by replacing all instances of "enchanted creature" with "each creature you control".)

      That's a little wordy, but it is much easier to keep track of. As Jules said, some of the costs would probably have to go up.

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    5. So the creature version of Exemplar combos with ability-granting Auras like Flight? That is neat.

      There are rules problems with granting all of a creature's abilities to another. But as an amateur set, I think it's worth it to assume the rules can be fixed (a Lurgoyf can grant its characteristic-defining abilities to a Maro, and the controller of the effect chooses which contradictory ability is applied, etc.) and explore what cool things can happen if it's allowed.

      I think both the Aura version and the creature version could use a tap cost on the creature to feel more like teaching.

      Combat Knowledge W
      Enchanted creature gets +1/+1.
      Exemplar 2WW (2WW, Tap enchanted creature: Replace "enchanted creature" with "creatures you control" until end of turn. Exemplify as a sorcery.)

      I don't know what abilities we could give to the creature version without being busted. Maybe it could be some trigger.

      Flight Instructor U
      Creature-Teacher
      Flying
      Schooling - Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, target creature gains flying until end of turn.
      1/1

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    6. Oops, I meant:

      Flight Instructor U
      Creature-Teacher
      Flying
      Schooling - Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, target creature gains all of this creature's abilities until end of turn. (This includes abilities granted by other sources.)
      1/1

      Delete
  14. Proposed Grohm mechanic:

    Wander-- Put the top card of your library into your graveyard. If it's a land card, EFFECT.

    Yes, it's kind of like a coin flip, but it captures the sense of "adventure" well and there are lots of good ways to print cards that interact with it in RG. The wording gets a little bit awkward, though. Sample cards:

    Wandering Herder 3G
    Creature- Human Scout (Common)
    2/2
    Wander-- When ~ enters the battlefield, put the top card of your library into your graveyard. If it's a land card, put a 3/3 green Beast creature token onto the battlefield.

    Hunters' Expedition- R
    Instant (Common)
    ~ deals 2 damage to target creature.
    Wander-- Put the top card of your library into your graveyard. If it's a land card, ~ also deals 2 damage to the creature's controller.

    Bold Adventurer- RG
    Creature (Uncommon)
    2/2
    Wander-- Whenever ~ attacks, put the top card of your library into your graveyard. If it's a land card, ~ gets +2/+2 and gains trample until end of turn.

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  15. Bestow -- When this ETB, target/all creatures you control gain [ability.]

    Suiroza Mentor 3W
    Creature -- Human Cleric
    Vigilance
    Bestow -- When ~ ETBs, creatures you control gain vigilance UEOT.
    2/2

    Introduction to Flight 2U
    Enchantment -- AUra
    Enchant creature.
    Enchanted creature gets +1/+0 and has flying.
    Bestow -- When ~ ETBs, creatures you control gets +1/+0 and gain flying UEOT.

    ReplyDelete
  16. First, the Black Enchantment.
    I was disappointed by the lack of lich effects in the submissions.
    Lich's Covenant BBBB
    Enchantment (m)
    You may cast creature cards from graveyards.
    At the beginning of your upkeep, or whenever you cast a creature spell from outside your hand, sacrifice a creature. If you can't, you lose the game.
    F: To keep on the threshold of life and death sometimes requires more decided servants.

    Grohm:
    Reflavored: Hull Breach, Gruul War Chant
    Reprints: Branching Bolt, Manamorphose (Good kill spell, and a mana fixer for set three)

    Hearthsong X (Whenever ~ blocks or becomes blocked by a creature with greater power than it, it has +2/+0 until end of turn.)
    Sometimes a mechanic just needs to be combat based. Hearthsong is about reckless charges against great foes - your creatures might be worse individually but at some points they become nigh unblockable with the tricks you might have at your disposal.

    Grohm Youngling 1G
    Creature - Human Barbarian (c)
    Hearthsong 2
    F: “I’ll have such wonderful tales when we next meet, brother. Of dragons slain and maidens lain, a ballad to inspire you through time.”
    2/2

    Luresetter 1R
    Creature - Human Scout (c)
    Whenever ~ attacks and isn't blocked, you may have it deal 2 damage to target creature.
    Hearthsong 3
    F: At a stretch, the trap can snap on both hunter and prey just as effectively.
    0/1

    Grohm Glory Seeker 1RG
    Creature - Elf Warrior (u)
    Grohm Glory Seeker can't be blocked except by creatures with greater power than it.
    Hearthsong 3
    2/3

    Grohm Hearthbearer 3RG
    Creature - Giant Shaman (r)
    Trample, Hearthsong 2
    Whenever another creature with Hearthsong X that you control becomes blocked, it has +0/+X until end of turn.
    3/4

    Suiroza:
    Reprinted: Absorb, Hindering Light, Wall of Denial

    Archive (If you would draw a card, you may instead put a Fate counter on this permanent.)
    Instead of drawing cards, have a little faith in your students, and send them on study leave. Cards with Archive may not be able to draw extra cards (Suirozan Archivist pays you back for the investment, but isn't itself card draw to stop looping issues) but they might be able to use the knowledge better than you.

    Studying Initiate 1U
    Creature - Human Advisor (c)
    Archive
    1, Remove a Fate counter from Studying Initiate: Look at the top three cards of your library and rearrange them in any order. You may shuffle your library.
    1/1

    Academy Overseer 2WU
    Creature - Bird Wizard (u)
    Flying, Vigilance, Archive
    Whenever combat damage would be dealt to Academy Overseer, you may remove a Fate counter from it. If you do, prevent the damage and put the top card of your library into your hand.
    2/2

    Suirozan Archivist 1WU
    Creature - Vedalken Advisor (r)
    Archive
    T: Put a card from the top of your library into your hand for each Fate counter on Suirozan Archivist.
    F: Most additions to the academy are of only minor note. Others are of more importance - rumors from outside of war brewing, or recipes for powerful spellcast.
    1/2

    ReplyDelete