Tuesday, January 7, 2014

A Set in Four Cards: Sturmkraft

Holmstadt Zeppelin (uncommon)
{4}
Artifact Creature - Vehicle
Flying
Board ({1}, tap an untapped non-Vehicle creature you control: CARDNAME gets +X/+0 for as long as that creature remains tapped, where X is that creature's power. Board only as a sorcery.)
2/2

Powerfang Marauder (common)
{1}{B}
Creature - Vampire Rogue
{1}⚙: CARDNAME gets +2/+2 and gains lifelink until end of turn. ( can be paid with one mana from an artifact permanent.)
2/1

Spark Transformer (uncommon)
{7}
Artifact
Whenever you cast a spell, CARDNAME deals 2 damage to target opponent.
Remodel (As an additional cost to cast CARDNAME, you may sacrifice an artifact. If you do, reduce the cost of this spell by that artifact's converted mana cost and draw a card.)

Lufthaven Factory (uncommon)
Artifact Land
CARDNAME enters the battlefield tapped.
{T}: Add {W} or {U} to your mana pool.

42 comments:

  1. This is awesome. Can we make some of these?

    As for the cards, you'd probably want something in board saying that you don't have to untap the creature. Unless that's not the intention.

    I imagine there's some deck where I can just chain remodel spells to draw my deck?

    And artifact land caveats blah blah affinity blah.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, feel free to add your own designs!

      Board doesn't have a clause about staying tapped because (A) too many words (B) people will forget and then feel bad and (C) it shouldn't be too easy to throw everyone into the vehicle each turn.

      I actually hadn't thought about chaining Remodels at all. That seems pretty darn fun. (And since the cards themselves say Remodel on them, it's not as though you can cheat out an Emrakul this way...)

      Yeah, I know. ETBT might not be enough. But I'd rather print something that's insta-banned in Modern than be constrained by the sins of the Darksteel development team.

      Delete
  2. I love the idea of making artifact work like snow. Like you, I would love to live in a world where artifact lands aren't inherently broken, but between affinity and metalcraft I don't think that's much of a realistic possibility.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Goblin Flight Squad RR (C)
    Creature - Goblin Warrior
    When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, it boards target vehicle you control. That vehicle gains haste until end of turn.
    2/1

    Assuming that Board works like that?

    Rusty Junkheap 4 (U)
    Artifact Creature - Vehicle
    Board 1
    Trample
    When CARDNAME attacks, flip a coin. If you lose, sacrifice a creature boarding CARDNAME. If you win, double CARDNAME'S power.
    3/2

    Just playing around with the idea.

    Blood Engine 5
    Artifact Creature - Vehicle
    Board - Pay 2 life
    Intimidate
    1/4

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think the Goblin Flight Squad doesn't work, since board is an action keyword on the Vehicle.

      I was thinking of setting the cost to a fixed {1}, but perhaps it's worth the additional complexity of allowing alternate board costs. That would probably be a second set evolution.

      Delete
    2. Is board so different from equip?

      Delete
    3. Yes. Board is secretly banding.

      Delete
    4. Gameplay-wise, totally. Mechanically, they're both keywords that exist on an artifact and let you associate it with a creature for mana. My only point is, I think Goblin Fight Squad could work.

      Delete
    5. I imagine Matt Tabak would have the power to fiddle with the Comp. Rules until the Flight School does work, if it doesn't already.

      Personally, I'd like to see something like:

      Goblin Flight School v.2
      4RR
      Creature - Goblin Wizard (R)
      3/3
      Whenever CARDNAME enters the battlefield, target vehicle you control gains flying, haste, and may board Goblin creatures at no cost. At end of turn, sacrifice that vehicle and all creatures aboard it.

      I'm not sure how to phrase some of that in proper Magic syntax, but the idea seems clear enough.

      Delete
    6. Actually, wait, they really would never dare to print such a card.

      So gobliny, yet so inappropriate in considering of real world context.

      Delete
    7. @Jay Oh, now I see what you mean. But Kor Outfitter only works because Equip uses the game term "attach". I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's definitely the sort of thing which needs a bunch of invisible rules text to work.

      @metaghost Agreed. If we're going for the "crazy unreliable goblin contraption" feeling, I think something like Devin's Rusty Junkheap is a good place to aim.

      Delete
    8. Rusty Junkheap should read:

      "When CARDNAME attacks, if it is boarded, flip a coin. If you lose, sacrifice a creature boarding CARDNAME. If you win, double CARDNAME'S power.

      Delete
  4. Off-topic: people here might be interested in Goblin Week*, or it might be a good weekend challenge. I, for one, will be designing some Goblins.

    *http://goblinweek.tumblr.com/post/72241026981/what-is-goblin-week-goblin-week-is-a-thing

    ReplyDelete
  5. Amazing work.

    I'm not sure if Artifact mana's restriction is fun. Either you draw a specific card to turn it on or you don't get to activate it, and there isn't much in-play choice-making involved.

    If it's "tap an artifact to activate this (whether it has a mana ability or not)" then it can be activated with a wider category of cards, and the choice of "do I tap this artifact wall for mana this turn?" seems more meaningful and integrated with other aspects of the game than "I drew my mana stone this game so I tap it" "This game I didn't draw my artifact mana so I don't use this ability."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How is this different from Snow mana? Or does your argument apply equally to that (which not be remotely unreasonable)?

      Delete
    2. Thanks, Chah.

      As Jay notes, this is indeed a riff on Snow mana and Jon Loucks' @ mana from GDS2, but with greater backwards compatibility. It's more of a sixth color that you're splashing than a kicker effect that you'll unconditionally expect to activate. Think of it as a linear subtheme like Allies; sometimes you'll draw the cards to get jiggy, and sometimes you won't.

      Delete
  6. A bit less interesting, but rather simpler:

    Board {1} ({1}, Tap an untapped creature you control: CARDNAME gets +2/+0 for as long as that creature remains tapped. Board only as a sorcery.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, that might be the better version. It certainly makes 1/1s and tokens quite a lot better, and disincentivizes the "wurms riding scooters" flavor fail. But it's also less exciting.

      Delete
  7. Ætherkuppling Engine 6
    Artifact - (u)
    T: Add 3 mana to your mana pool
    Remodel

    Potentially very undercosted, but it's an incentive and engine for chaining Remodels.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indeed. Whether this is fair depends a lot on the common and uncommon curve-topper artifacts.

      Delete
  8. Unionize
    1WU
    Enchantment (R)
    Whenever an opponent casts an artifact or enchantment spell, you may draw a card unless that player pays {2}.

    Obsolete Automaton
    9
    Artifact Creature - Golem (C)
    CARDNAME doesn't untap during your untap step.
    Remodel
    9/9

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nice designs. Though it's kinda weird remodeling my artifacts into something obselete.

      Delete
    2. Obsolete Automaton {4}
      Artifact Creature - Golem (C)
      CARDNAME doesn't untap during your untap step.
      5/4

      Delete
    3. The concept is sort of a play on "can't teach an old dog new tricks".

      You can try to improve upon this obsolete design, making it more efficient in some ways, but it's still obsolete per some intrinsic engineering flaw that prevents it from untapping —an early model designed to pilot a military vehicle with no expectation that it would survive its mission.

      Still, I recognize that's not an intuitive conclusion to draw from the design, so simplifying it to something like Jay's design would be appropriate.

      Delete
  9. Scrapyard Rager {5}{R}
    Creature-Goblin (cmn)
    Delve
    Haste
    3/3

    or

    Junkomancer {2}{B}
    Creature-Wizard (unc)
    When ~ ETB, exile any number of artifact cards from opponents' graveyards. Put an X/X Golem artifact creature token OTB, where X is the number of cards exiled this way.
    1/1

    Prrrobably the former is better.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Steampunk seems like a good fit for Delve. I'm always reluctant to rely on opponents' graveyards because it seems so inconsistent at the kitchen table.

      Delete
  10. This is eerily similar to an ability I designed for a "Water World" set. Some of the first iterations I tried were very similar to your tapping method. After a few tries, I found it a little too fiddly and very wordy. Eventually I ended up here:

    Dread Clipper 2BB
    Creature- Vessel (c)
    Board 1B (1B: Exile target non-vessel creature you control for as long as ~ remains on the battlefield.)
    As long as a creature is aboard Dread Clipper, she has Intimidate.
    3/3

    Powder-Keg Galleon 4R
    Creature- Vessel (c)
    Board 1R
    As long as a creature is aboard ~, she can't be blocked except by two or more creatures.
    6/1

    I "found" the solution to the Oblivion Ring problem a year or so before WotC released Banisher Priest, etc. (Imagine my surprise when they released that tech)

    If you're interested in seeing the rest of the set, or some of the more interesting (non-common) places "Boarding" card, here's a link to my FB

    https://www.facebook.com/mike.george.102/media_set?set=a.10200371409114091.1073741833.1421086926&type=3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The 'she' in the aboard ability refers to the vessel, right?

      Delete
    2. This is sweet, but I have to say my favorite part is how you worked some flavor into the rules text. It's really impressive that you've done that without disrupting the mechanic.

      Delete
    3. So your ships can attack even if they aren't manned? Also, having an enviroment full of Cold Storages seems brutal. Maybe just

      Board 1B (1B: Tap a non-vessel creature you control for as long as ~ remains on the battlefield.)?

      Delete
    4. @Jay: Yes, sir, it does.

      @Devin: Thanks. That felt like a eureka moment.

      @Wobbles: The idea is that vessels are depicted with crew, players would be boarding *additional* people onto them. Vs Cold Storage: The way I designed the set, Vessels lead the game to its conclusion. A multitude of ETB effects, tokens, self sacrifice effects, and "greatest power among creatures you control" are some of the things that make the format more than just a bunch of Cold Storages. Please, check out the card file.

      Delete
    5. I don't have a facebook account, so it won't let me. :(

      Delete
    6. If you have MSE, I could send you the file.

      Delete
  11. This is really interesting. I feel like we discussed something similar with our steam punk set design project. Board seems super good in this iteration, as it basically gives creature a resilient form of haste. The fact that it keeps so many of your creatures out of combat seems problematic for limited, but its hard to say.

    Remodel and new artifact lands would be super broken in any interaction with affinity.

    But these are development concerns, not design ones.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Would Modern Affinity actually be willing to use ETB-Tapped Artifact lands?

      And any cost-reduction mechanism must be handled with care, but again, how would Affinity leverage the ability as demonstrated? Affinity's average CMC for artifact permanents is less than 2, so while churning out a quick Spark Transformer and hoping to redraw all your 0-cost spells is an intriguing alternative to Storm, I don't think it's "super broken".

      Delete
    2. Board (Creatures you control have "{T}: CARDNAME gets +2/+0 as long as this creature remains tapped. Board only as a sorcery.")

      Delete
    3. It's also possible boarding should cost {2}; that would largely alleviate the insta-haste problem.

      Delete
    4. That's good news! I was hoping to see more in this vein. Have you considered "A set in a pack"?

      Delete
    5. I hadn't, actually. The goal of the exercise is to give as much information about the set as possible in just four cards.

      Delete
  12. Is this the current state of the Tesla project? I've been meaning to ask about that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I believe Chah was planning a follow-up regarding Tesla, but it may have been abandoned in favor of other projects.

      Delete
    2. This is a new series that's completely independent. Hopefully, there will be several more sets in four cards.

      Delete