Click through to see the requirements for your design test, due Monday morning. Every submission warrants feedback, which you may use to revise your submission any number of times. I will review the most recent submission from each designer.
This week, we're designing out of the box cards. That means designs that explore innovative, even unique, design space, which surprise players. This is quite the tough challenge, so while I'll be providing multiple artworks for inspiration, don't feel obliged to design to an artwork.
In addition, the lower the rarity of your designed card, the more bonus points you get. Even as low as common, we should strive to design out of the box cards.
Without further ado, here's your selections for artwork, if you opt to use it:
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| Perce Nuage by Stéphane Lope |
 |
| Water Elemental by Tizana F. Ruiu |
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| Compass by ExitMothership |
Nice art selection, and nice challenge.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the kind words! :)
DeleteEtherian 2UB (R) (Tizana Art)
ReplyDeleteArtifact Creature - Vedalken Mutant
As ~ enters the battlefield, search your library for a card and exile it face down.
~'s power and toughness are equal to the number of cards you own in exile.
1: Exile a card from your hand face down.
1UB: Return a card you own from exile to your hand.
*/*
So how does one decide on which card you can return to exile when some are face down from Etherian but others exiled from other spells or abilities might be face up? Would you end up with two exile piles? Maybe like Ashiok this could only return cards it exiles?
DeleteAgreed with Larcent on the last point. I think caring about the number of cards you own in exile is already new enough, breaking the 'sanctity' of exile is a little dangerous.
DeleteAs it currently stands, it's a gustha's Sceptre/bane alley broker with a blend of psychatog.
DeleteI wanted it to be able to fetch anything because it's like 'whoa! What the crap?! Combo City!' while being slightly easier to template and to fit in the text box.
I originally designed it with it only being able to return cards that it had exiled and turned the dial.
The timing on this challenge is nice. I'm fiddling with some off-the-wall ideas and I'm not sure are any good. And they fit with two pieces of art (with some creature type changes).
ReplyDeleteFor Perce Nuage:
Reynauld, Battlewright Captain -- 3WR (Mythic Rare)
Legendary Creature – Human Knight
Flying, First Strike
Instant spells may not be cast and creature abilities may not be activated outside of combat.
3/3
This was originally devised as an angel. I'm trying to think more about multiplayer design. I worry this concept could result in game stalls though. (Also, as a blue player, I kind of hate myself for coming up with this.)
Then for Heart of the Wood:
Hex-Burnt Colossus -- BG (Rare)
Creature – Elemental Horror
Mana from lands may not be used to cast CARDNAME.
Trample
4/4
This probably looks really weird in its color pie placement, but green is best suited to be able to cast spells without using lands. I initially templated this in blue-black, but that really meant you'd have to be playing artifacts. Green-black gives a little bit more space for it and it does kind of fit a sort of twisted nature curse vibe.
I like Reynauld as kind of a reverse Badandra, Battle Seraph. I do think the wording could be improved. Maybe:
DeletePlayers can't cast instants or activate creature abilities outside of combat.
Hex-Burnt Colossus seems too hard to cast considering you need to have nonland permanents that produce those specific colors of mana. At least Myr Superion was colorless.
I did have reversing Bandandra in mind for this guy. I couldn't remember her name and exactly what she did (and I couldn't find her in the database). But I knew she existed.
DeleteI had also thought about the second creature as artifacts as well. Even when I shifted it into BG it was as a scarecrow artifact creature. I think they'd make for an interesting simple cycle (even common) in an artifact-focused set. This guy is definitely meant to be built around. So I made it rare and did my best to make sure the payoff for it is solid. Designwise, it would need to be in a set where there was a decent threshold at common of non-land sources of colored mana.
Which one would you like me to review for tomorrow?
DeleteWhichever one seems more interesting to you.
DeleteWill do! :)
DeleteReynauld protects all your creatures and non-combat spells from countermagic.
DeleteWe are Groot XRG
ReplyDelete{Heart of the Woods}
Instant (U)
Teamwork (Your teammates may help cast this spell)
Untap target land you or a teammate controls and put X +1/+1 counters on it. It becomes a 0/0 Elemental creature with haste. It's still a land.
A low hanging fruit keyword for Battleborn.
DeleteWhile this is new, it's not quite virgin territory. We've seen Surge mention teammates in black border, and Join forces captures a very similar concept to this card without quite being it.
DeleteI do think this is a nice mechanic for Battlebond, but I push you to try to innovate further! :)
True Wish Compass 2R
DeleteEnchantment Aura (R)
Enchant the second card in your library
When the enchanted card becomes the top card of your library, exile it. True Wish Compass deals damage equal to that cards converted casting cost to target opponent and is then attached to the second card in your library.
Obviously much less design space, but it's more of a "future sight" outside the box design.
While I worry about this effectively being an epic spell for face damage, I LOVE the concept - not sure how it would work if the library is shuffled (my assumption is that it falls off because the enchanted card doesn't meet the aura requirements anymore), but definitely some nice space to work in!
DeleteThat's a fun Future-sight-esque design, but for the bookkeeping and the potential power, I wish there felt like there was more decision-making you could do, either in deckbuilding or in play.
DeleteAs other have said, I really like Teamwork for the purposes of Commander and/or 2HG. It feels like the kind of thing that should be in a supplemental product.
DeleteThat said, getting it "half" off or more seems really really good, but there's a glimmer there of something nonetheless.
Perce Nuage, Inspiring Figure 3WUG
DeleteLegendary Creature - Human Warrior (R)
Dramatic Entrance (If casting this spell is the first thing you or a teammate does after your draw step, this spell resolves and the turn ends.)
Flying, Lifelink
Other creatures you control gain +2/+2 and have hexproof from black and red.
5/6
Shard Dragon Regent 3RB
Legendary Creature - Dragon (R)
Dramatic Entrance (If casting this spell is the first thing you or a teammate does after your draw step, this spell resolves and the turn ends.)
Flying, Deathtouch to Planeswalkers
If you cast this spell with dramatic entrance, Shard Dragon Regent deals 2 damage to each creature and Planeswalker when it enters the battlefield before the turn ends.
6/5
Dramatic Entrance is real interesting, and the drawback is more significant given the presence of the teammate - losing two players' worth of cards cast that turn is more significant than losing one, it's a larger delta. Also, cooperating with your teammate to decide to cast a Dramatic Entrance is a big decision.
DeleteFor the first one, the Dramatic Entrance is just a drawback, though, which feels pretty bad. I'd prefer to see something like the second one. Specifically, I think this should be a 'may' ability: do you choose to spend your whole turn to get this big effect, or no?
Also Wobbles, which card would you like rendered and reviewed for tomorrow?
DeleteOne of the things that I think Magic is just starting to explore is double-faced cards (Azcanta and friends being a newer innovation).
ReplyDeleteI have a couple ideas for where they can be taken:
Sealed Magma Chamber 1R
Enchantment (U)
Seal 3 (This permanent enters the battlefield with three seal counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a seal counter from it. When the last is removed, transform it.)
////////////////////////////////////////
Awoken Hellion
Creature - Hellion
When this permanent transforms into Awoken Hellion, it deals 1 damage to each other creature.
4/3
Suspend is one of my favorite mechanics, so I was looking for a way to make it more friendly to newer players. This is one way I came up with to trade mana for time.
Another idea:
Bluescale Drake 3U
Creature - Illusion Drake (C)
Flying
When Bluescale Drake becomes the target of a spell or ability, transform it.
4/3
////////////////////////////////////////
Common Bluejay
Creature - Bird
Flying
1/1
The idea behind this one is that instead of sacrificing Illusion creatures when they're targeted, they reveal their true form.
For uncommon, I feel like the Magma Chamber should do something besides just sit there. I realize you want to make a new way with suspend, but using double-faced cards the suspend part can do something too.
DeleteI love the Drake/Bird. There's a part of me that wants to have a way to flip the bird back, but that would probably push it to uncommon. And in blue you can always blink/bounce it anyway.
The wordiness of suspend was on problem, but it also had the issue of requiring lots of bookkeeping. Seal solves the wordiness, but it still has the bookkeeping. That said, so do sagas. I could see a saga that does something like
DeleteChapter I- Deal 1 to each creature
II - Deal 2 to each creature
III - Create a 5/4 red elemental token with haste.
I think one of the other things that made suspend so difficult and confusing is that you had to keep track of cards in different zones than you otherwise would. Seal solves that problem by being on the battlefield. It is true, though, that it still involves a good amount of bookkeeping.
DeleteThe magma chamber could definitely do something on its own. I mostly just wanted to flesh out a general concept before doing anything more complicated.
There's also a part of me that wants to kind of recreate the Bugs Bunny "Duck Season!/Rabbit Season!" joke and have the illusion clause on both sides of the card.
DeleteThese are fun twists on existing keywords and frequent abilities, but I will note that as twists, I'm not sure they count as "out of the box".
DeleteWhat do others think? Are innovative 'upgrades' like this 'out of the box' enough?
Also, I think flipping a transform card to its backface should usually be a 'cool' moment, and on Bluescale Drake, it's an 'uncool' moment. What if we tried something like this:
Bluejay {U}
Creature - Bird
Flying
{3}{U}: Transform Bluejay.
1/1
///
Bluescale Drake
Creature
Flying
Whenever ~ becomes the target of a spell or ability, transform it.
3/3
That way flipping it is a fun moment. It is a very different card, though. And that's just my personal opinion on designing DFCs.
While the illusion card was mostly just a fun-add on to continue exploring the space, I would make the argument that seal is a unique use of double-faced cards that hasn't been tried before. Even if suspend as a concept has been done, finding new and better implementations of it that can be used when suspend no longer can be should count.
DeleteAs for the Bluejay card, you make a fair point and I really love this version of it as well, although I would probably make the transform ability sorcery-speed so you can't just flip it back as soon as it's targeted.
DeleteOne concern I have is that it limits the design space, though. If I want to make a pushed two-drop Illusion, for example, it's very difficult to price the transform cost so that it doesn't make transforming it back irrelevant.
Is it significantly different than Treasure Map? Scry 1 is a very minor effect and for most purposes it's a lot like suspend 3.
DeleteFair enough, it's not actually that different from Treasure Map. You could say that this is a more generalized concept that can be applied to a broader range of cards and effects.
DeleteThe Living Forest-5GG (Uncommon)
ReplyDeleteCreature-Elemental
6/5
Trample
O:Activate this ability only during your upkeep. Put CARDNAME into play tapped and transformed.
////
The Sleeping Forest
Land
T: Add G.
Would you like this reviewed in the post, Doug, or another entry? I'll give feedback via comments here for your other entries. :)
DeleteI've tried multiple avenues to get this effect to work. Would love feedback.
DeleteForgot the line cannot play lands this turn in the activated ability.
DeleteOh yes, thank you, it's nice to have an excuse to stretch the creative muscles (Inanimate, I almost always love your contributions :)).
ReplyDeleteOK, let's start with this. I was loosely inspired by the art, but haven't constrained myself to things for which the art is appropriate.
Cloudscape
(First art, the flying lion)
Basic land - Sky
({T}: Add one sky mana to your mana pool. Sky mana can be spent as though it was mana of any colour to cast spells with flying.)
I figure, if I get bonus points for common, I get more bonus points for basic, right? :) I imagined a cycle of five new lands that worked with existing spell types, e.g. city which cast small creatures of any colour, something that worked with types of spell which can appear in any colour (maybe enchantments?), and then you can make a red/green deck or a red/sky deck or a sky/city deck etc. At least for one set, but they're not useless outside that. You'd have to make sure they don't break all existing formats.
I experimented slightly by having the type be the name of the mana not the name of the land.
You could either go the whole hog and have a new mana symbol, or remove the named mana entirely and have the land just say "Add <>, you can spend this as if etc".
This one just came to me now, but I've several more ideas saved up from my out of the box file, I might write out some more and see which one to submit. Alternatively, I admit, this is surprising, but not really out of the box in the sense that people have been talking about extra colours of mana since the game debuted; I will see if I can bring to mind any MORE surprising designs.
Idea #2. I've always been sad magic doesn't have more planeswalking. The idea is, you can draft these and build a deck around them, and compete to see which plane you end up battling on. I put "subplane" to reinforce the idea you could walk between them without being a planeswalker.
DeleteEsper
(Art 2, the quicksilver-y elemental)
Subplane (Unc)
(Whenever a creature attacks and isn't blocked, it's controller may remove all subplanes from the command zone, then may put a subplane from their sideboard into the command zone)
Artifact creatures you control get +1/+1
Idea 3, everyone loves big creatures, right? This probably doesn't work as it's a drawback and is very Mel-y, but I like it anyway. The idea is to have creatures which are cool, but the opponent can answer. Non-Mels probably need to have spelled out what happened when creatures deal damage to a creature.
Rock Dragon 4RR
Enormous Creature - Dragon (Common)
(Creatures can attack CARDNAME. If CARDNAME is being attacked, it can't block.)
Flying
Idea 4. From an old magicmultiverse.net challenge to find a new card type. I looked for something that could influence combat without being a creature, different terrains have different effects like shrinking creatures or damaging creatures or giving you life or cards, the key play difference is that by existing they force SOME opposing creature through them, but the opponent chooses which so even though they're not used up, they can be answered by "more creatures". Alas it suffered from being primarily defensive. There is an "attack through" version, but it was hard to have both make sense at once. For flavour reasons I wished I could make it a land. I'm not sure how to cost it, I ballparked it at darksteel myr.
Haunted Forest 2G
(Art 5, the living tree thing)
Terrain
(When creatures attack you, one must attack in CARDNAME if possible.)
Whenever a creature attacks in CARDNAME, you may create a 1/1 green saproling creature token blocking it.
So idea 3 is just combat changing? I think it would be cool make it a 10/10 and creatures attacking it have wither, so it gets smaller, could even go larger.
DeleteHaunted Forest probably could be done as an enchantment and be much cleaner.
Cloudscape has a lot of things going on! Which is cool for being out of the box, but I think most of the changes aren't actually that crazy. One is the templating of "spend this mana as though it were mana of any color"
Delete(..which I was also thinking of today and posted below). I don't think the "spend mana for creatures with flying" part is worth symbolizing though. This is quite similar to Ancient Ziggurat or Unclaimed Territory, but for the flying keyword.
Riffing:
Cavern of Keywords
Land
As CARDNAME enters the battlefield, choose a creature keyword.
T: Add 1.
T: Add any color of mana. Spend this mana only to cast creature spells with the chosen keyword.
^Doesn't work with current rules, but would be great to fix. Cairn Wanderer, Odric etc would be grateful.
Afterlife 3W
Delete(Art 3, the mind blow cavern one)
Enchantment (Rare)
Whenever a creature dies, return it to the battlefield. Creatures returned to the battlefield with CARDNAME can only block other creatures returned to the battlefield with CARDNAME, and if they would deal combat damage to a player, they deal 1 damage instead.
Doug: Any suggestions for wording? My experience was that what made the gameplay different to blocking was that terrains affected the least susceptible creature, not the most susceptible creature, and that was a lot harder to write rules text for than reminder text for. (I was also swayed )
DeleteZach: Glad to see someone else latching on to the mana idea. I think snow mana or colorless mana costs counted as 'new' because they had a set designed around them, even though they wouldn't have been very new if you spelled the rules out as a single one-off rare.
Actually reading through Terrain again it might not be super simple to right as an enchantment. I think it could be cool as a fortify though. Fortify land it gains tap create a 1/1 green saproling creature blocking the creature with the least power. Activate this ability only during declare attackers.
DeleteAh! If it attached to lands like/as an enchantment it would turn on land destruction which is something I'd hoped for.
DeleteI'm uncertain about abandoning the "opponent choose" mechanic though; it might not work, but if not, I'm not sure it's worth making at all, there are plenty of "{T}: Target creature attacking you gets..." cards already.
Yeah but currently there is just one fortify card, I guess fortify is an artifact.
DeleteToying with other ideas but nothing seemed better. I like all of these in different ways but I think the sky land with a set with five extra basic lands is most interesting.
Delete(I am belatedly reminded they probably need to not have basic land types to avoid screwing up coalition victory)
I still really like idea 3:
DeleteRock Dragon-3RRR
Enormous Creature-Dragon Construct (Mythic Rare)
12/12
As long as you control CARDNAME creatures cannot attack you. Creatures can attack CARDNAME and have wither when attacking.
2R: Remove a -1/-1 Counter from CARDNAME.
Flying
Not sure if we would be a fun one of or a cycle. Maybe they wouldn't all have the cannot attack you clause, might not even need it because a 12/12 flying creature for 6 is scary.
DeleteJack, got a final submission to be reviewed? Cloudscape, perhaps?
DeleteThere is definitely an interesting seed of an idea in Terrain but I agree it currently doesn't quite justify a new card type. It can be represented as an Enchantment quite easily.
Enormous Creatures sound quite cool, but as they are now, they're entirely drawback. I want to be excited to play an enormous creature, not worried.
Afterlife is great, I've seen some keyword mechanics approach similar space. I think it needs to give the creatures counters to alleviate memory issues.
Subplanes probably just want to trigger off of combat damage, I think that's easier to word and makes more sense, and has some more play to it. (It doesn't work with 0 power guys, but oh well.) I think the idea is interesting for sure, but 'subplane' is an odd word. Yet, once again, 'Location' is just a Land...
Cloudscape is real interesting, but I'd prefer something that isn't only for a subset of creatures. I think for it to feel like proper mana it should be wider than just a single cardtype.
And thank you for the kind words Jack, I almost always love to contribute. :)
DeleteThank you! Yeah, I meant to make sky the submission.
DeleteOn further reflection, I think Doug's right, "enormous" would be better as one or a cycle of rare splashy creatures, where it doesn't look as much like a downside because the creature is 12/12 for 6 or whatever. I think players would 'get' that, like planeswalkers. I'm not sure if they should shrink when attacked or not, but it's probably simpler.
Good point, it would be better to include non-creature spells. It could at least be 'ones that mention flying', I guess. But that feels too arbitrary. Trying to think of another way to do this (ideally five natural subsets that cut across all colours and card types).
(And of course, in *this* set, there can be spells that cost sky mana, city mana, etc directly. But that doesn't help backwards compatibility.)
Thanks for the challenge inanimate, I feel pushing the boundaries in Magic is always needed, we can be interesting without being complex.
ReplyDeleteThank you Doug! I was inspired by 940 Cards by Mark Rosewater, how he immediately discusses the importance of going out of the box with our designs. It's my greatest weakpoint as a designer, so I was very excited to see what the rest of the Artisans could come up with when let loose. :)
DeleteThe Bravest and Strongest-2WR
ReplyDeleteCreature-Human Warrior
4/4
Protection from Weaklings (Creatures with power 2 or less are considered weaklings)
This is more for fun flavor but we grouped things to be historic, so I feel we can group some other things.
City of Templating
ReplyDeleteLand
Pay 1 life, T: Add {A}. ({A} can be spent as though it were mana of any color).
^Where {A} would be a new mana symbol. Could replace templating on most cards that currently have "Add one mana of any color to your mana pool." Is a functional change for some cases (like Manamorphose/storm where you're not sure what color you'll need until after the spell resolves). But primarily it would make Magic Online a bit easier, and generally bypass an often easy decision.
Haha, {A} was me typing { A } but apparently it attempted to render that.
DeleteAlso just saw one of Jack's designs is similar. May come up with something different as this is also kinda safe (just a templating change). But comments appreciated!
I am in favor of anything that reduces words and makes things easier to read.
DeleteHow 'out of the box' is this? I agree it's kinda safe, currently. I encourage you to push yourself more.
DeleteThought Police (rare)
Delete3BB
Enchantment
At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, name a card. That player reveals the top two cards of their library. If the named card is revealed this way, exile those cards and that player loses two life. Otherwise, that player puts the revealed cards back on top of their library in any order.
^for the Mind stab art.
Needs some playtesting ~ very much a griefer lantern control card, but scrying on misses lets your opponent dig too.
I was in the mood, so I did one for each art (in order). Some are more 'out of the box' than others and some templating might be off.
ReplyDeleteCloudstrider Archon (R)
GWU
Creature - Archon
Flying, Exalted
Other creatures you control with Flying have Exalted.
3/3
Moment Elemental (M)
5UU
Creature - Elemental
When Moment Elemental enters the battlefield, take an extra turn after this one.
When Moment Elemental leaves the battlefield, skip your next turn.
Evoke - 2UU
4/4
Thoughtslice (C)
1UB
Sorcery
Target opponent puts the top 8 cards of their library into their graveyard, then reveals their hand and discards all non-land cards that share a name with cards sent to the graveyard this way.
Obsidian Scourge (M)
1BR
Creature - Demon Dragon
Flying, Trample
If damage would be dealt to you, you lose the game instead.
6/6
Nature's Herald (R)
2GG
Creature - Treefolk
All lands become Wastes with "T, Sacrifice: Add 2 mana of any color".
4/4
Guiding Compass (C)
1
Artifact
1, Sacrifice Guiding Compass: Search your library for a nonbasic land card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle your library.
So Thoughtslice is b-b-busted, I would put it at rare/mythic and up the cost to 2UB. I'd have to run the math, but I think for the average constructed deck, that's usually a mill-8 on a hymn to tourach with wiggle room. Depending on game state and deck composition, they could discard 0, or 3-4 cards. That's a potentially like a 4-for-one that isn't a wrath.
DeleteObsidian Scourge is such a feel bad card, even as a Johnny I don't think I could get into a situation where I would want to play it. Maybe sideboard against control that has no red. Guiding compass is just a better expedition map because rarely are you searching for a basic land. Out of these Nature's Herald is my favorite. Missed that the lands sac for 2 mana of any color, my mind went straight that they sacced for colorless, yeah definitely my favorite.
DeleteYeah I've got no clue what the numbers look like on thoughtslice, but I think I'd rather adjust the number of cards milled than push it up in rarity.
DeleteI was thinking about compass mostly for limited and forgot about Tron and such. Whoops.
For it to be limited would need to be in a Zendikaresque set and still would be busted could make it a flipped expedition map. 2 to cast and 1 to search.
DeleteObsidian Scourge seems like fun to players who already like Stompy style decks, but formats are usually most fun when that's far from the dominant deck. Hard to generalize but I think it's at least a splashy place to start, and PD can nix or nerf it if it proves too unfun or good. I'm sure someone in R&D has a good thesis on when and how to push risk-it-all cards and decks in red and black. Mostly I'd just make this a Legend with a minor story beat.
DeleteR&D also hates cards that say lose the game. I rather it give me an artifact saying I can't win the game similar to Abyssal Persecutor, actually that would be really cool actually where you would keep accumulating tokens. I think it would need to be pushed up to a 5 drop then.
DeleteSage, this is a nice collection of cards. Which would you like me to review extensively tomorrow?
DeleteI'm not sure Cloudstrider Archon is super 'out of the box', we've seen many tribal-flying cards before. This is a new kind of tribal-flying, but it's a natural extension.
Obsidian Scourge is very difficult to evaluate I think, and it also just feels like a natural extension of 'drawback demons'. Very cool one, though!
Moment Elemental honestly confuses me. You can stack the triggers to do something weird, I'm sure, but I'm not quite following it, or how it innovates. I'd love an explanation, as I'm absolutely missing it.
Guiding Compass is also a pretty natural design that doesn't really 'surprise' me.
Nature's Herald is the most 'out of the box' of the bunch, by introducing a new type of Waste that also drastically changes the nature of the game. Very interesting.
If you're going to review any, Nature's Herald would probably be the best bet. I think it's my favorite of the bunch and the most radical among them.
DeleteI'm hoping Moment Elemental is 'out of the box' in the sense that there are probably some very broken things you can do with it but they're not immediately apparent. It's cool that you can Evoke it and stifle the Evoke trigger, or use a Sundial of the Infinite after the extra turn trigger has resolved but before the Evoke trigger resolves. Having a ETB "extra turn" trigger is probably just too dangerous overall, though.
It's very 'Time Vault'. :)
DeleteI made a cycle of curses where the decision to curse yourself or your opponent was difficult, not sure if it is super outside the box but probably would get Johnny's thinking.
ReplyDeleteCurse of Greed -2BB (Rare)
Enchantment-Aura Curse
Enchant Player
At the beginning of enchanted player's upkeep enchanted player creates a colorless Treasure artifact token with "Tap, Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.Enchanted player cannot sacrifice permanents. If enchanted player controls 10 or more artifacts at the end of turn they lose the game.
Curse of Envy-2GG
Enchantment-Aura Curse
Enchant Player
At the beginning of enchanted player's upkeep, enchanted player gains control of target land. Nonbasic lands enchanted player controls tap for green mana. If enchanted player controls 10 or more lands at end of turn, they lose the game.
Curse of Passion-2RR
Enchantment-Aura Curse
Enchant Player
At the beginning of enchanted player's upkeep, enchanted player draws 2 cards. At end of turn enchanted player discards their hand. If there are 20 or more cards in enchanted player's graveyard they lose the game.
Curse of Sloth-2UU
Enchantment-Aura Curse
Enchant Player
At the beginning of enchanted player's upkeep enchanted player tap all permanents that are tapped and untap all permanents that are tapped. Permanents do not untap during enchanted player's untap step. If enchanted player controls 10 tapped permanents during the end phase they lose the game.
I would think white might be pride or maybe another black. If anyone wants to offer a white curse to give us a complete cycle. I also had wrath as red but this is already enough to read.
This is definitely some interesting space for Curses. We saw this on Curse of the Bloody Tome in Innistrad, where sometimes you want to cast it on yourself just as much as an opponent, but these push it into new territory. However, I'm not sure a cycle of these is needed. Sometimes, a punchy and interesting design like this outstays its welcome across multiple cards, since it loses the 'wow' factor in a cycle.
DeleteYeah started from top down design of the seven deadly sins. I think Curse of Envy plays the best and could be seven curses spread out over multiple blocks, not sure how many people would jump on the seven deadly sins and want it completed.
DeleteI like the top-down idea here a lot, but I feel like "can be played on either" is usually a trap (as much as I love the game of trying to balance it equally for both roles).
DeleteI wonder could you ramp this up somehow? Say the curse changes controller when something happens? Or it's a global effect that whenever X, it's controller does Y? Or it's an instant you can cast repeatedly on either player, but only when some condition is met?
I created this before Teferi's Protection, honest! That said, maybe mine wouldn't work as well as Teferi's Protection.
ReplyDeletePlaneswalk
4UU
Instant (Mythic Rare)
Target player, his or her graveyard, hand, library, and all permanents he or she controls phase out. (While they're phased out, they're treated as though they don't exist. They phase in before that player untaps during his or her next untap step. Spells and abilities can't cause that player to skip his or her untap step. Until that player's next turn, he or she can't lose the game and his or her opponents can’t win the game.)
The art by Tizana F. Ruiu seems like it could work for this card.
Is phasing really a thing any more?
DeleteTeferi's Protection is the only thing that's had it in a long while.
DeleteIs this just here to say "I designed Teferi's Protection"?
That also is not a standard legal set, I guess nothing about these challenges mean it has to be standard.
DeleteAs was pointed out, my last submission did not go far enough outside the box, so I want to take another swing at this challenge. Here's what I came up with:
ReplyDeleteFactory Refiner 2
Artifact Creature - Assembly-Worker (C)
Sacrifice ~: Purify a mana of your choice in your mana pool. (Purified mana doesn't empty from your mana pool as steps and phases end.)
1/2
*{P/R} is a purified red mana
Supercharged Sprinter 1{P/R}
Creature - Human Berserker (C)
Haste
4/1
Would Omnath purify mana now?
DeleteProbably not, since once Omnath leaves the battlefield, your green mana empties normally.
DeleteThis is very cool! I like the idea of storing mana for multiple turns, though I'm wondering how it differs from treasure.
DeleteThe two sample cards you've given are also not very exciting - the one time producer looks like a large price. It would be clearer as a non creature artifact with T, sac or as a sorcery.
The creature reward also rewards getting this early - but a 4/1 is really likely to die, and not something I would want to 2 for 1 mostly in order to cast. Show me something a little harder to deal with and more mid or late game to get me excited about this.
Ugh, I've definitely had the problem of conveniently forgetting past similar mechanics throughout this challenge. The main difference between this and treasures is this can be used as an alternate cost. For example, it can:
Delete1. Be used as a mana cost for more efficient cards
Perfect Storm Elemental 2{P/U}{P/U}
Creature - Elemental (U)
Flying
When ~ enters the battlefield, draw two cards.
4/4
2. Be used as an activation cost
Contact Weaver 1GG
Creature - Human Druid (R)
Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to a player, you may purify a mana of your choice in your mana pool.
3{P/G}: Create a 1/1 green Snake creature token.
2/2
As for Factory Refiner, it's definitely not the most efficient way to purify mana, but I was concerned about making it too easy at common. I'm not quite sure on the balance/rarity for these, but I was thinking:
Laboratory Refinery
Land (U)
~ enters the battlefield tapped.
T: Add U.
T, Return ~ to its owner's hand: Purify a mana of your choice in your mana pool.
Alternatively:
Mana Sanctum
Land (U)
T: Add 1
2, T: Purify a mana of your choice in your mana pool.
Is there a worry that these might be used as storage lands?
DeleteI don't think that's a concern with Laboratory Refinery, as bouncing itself means that you can't get ahead on mana. You definitely can use Mana Sanctum as a storage land, but I think that might be okay if balanced properly.
DeleteYeah and it costs 3 mana to gain 1 for the next turn, which probably is balanced maybe even could push it to 1 mana to purify. Would need some playtesting.
DeleteUsing these as an alternative cost is very parasitic, unlike the :C: cards from OGW. I like the root idea of purifying cards, but I'd prefer to see cards like Contact Weaver rather than Perfect Storm Elemental.
DeleteThe actual 'purified mana lingers' mechanic is very intriguing, though. I wonder what its gameplay is like. I worry about the memory issues. Conveniently, it does help with the issue of parasitism, too, since you can build up purified mana to spend on your cards that need it later.
Which design would you like extensively reviewed?
Hmm, that's tough. I guess since these cards fit the challenge better, I'd appreciate further review on them.
DeleteOh, also, I just thought of a way to make Perfect Storm Elemental a bit less parasitic, although it still is to a degree. What about:
DeletePerfect Storm Elemental 6UU
Creature - Elemental (U)
~ costs 4 less if {P/U}{P/U} is spent to cast it.
Flying
When ~ enters the battlefield, draw two cards.
4/4
I was also thinking of having tokens similar to energy to help keep track of purified mana.
Perfect Storm Elemental 4UU
DeleteCreature - Elemental (U)
Flying
When ~ enters the battlefield, if {P/U}{P/U} was spent to cast it, draw two cards.
4/4
Not /that/ outside of the box (or playable), but it's trying some weird stuff and tickling my fancy!
ReplyDeleteLab Rat's Dread UR
Enchantment - Aura (u)
Enchant creature
{UR}:Change a target of target spell or ability to enchanted creature.
Retrace
Alpha's Dread BG
Enchantment - Aura (u)
Enchant creature
When ~ enters the battlefield, enchanted creature fights another creature of target opponent’s choice.
Retrace
Penitent's Dread WB
Enchantment - Aura (u)
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature has base power and toughness 1/1 and has lifelink and deathtouch.
Retrace
Champion's Dread RW
Enchantment - Aura (u)
Enchant creature
When damage would be dealt to a legendary permanent, it is dealt to enchanted creature instead.
Retrace
Sojourner's Dread UG
Enchantment - Aura (u)
Enchant creature
When enchanted creature becomes blocked, draw a card.
Retrace
Sadly I believe retrace was ill received.
DeleteRetrace has the problem that players have to discard lands to reuse it, which for many players leads to a 'stalled' board state as they overprioritize retracing cards and underprioritize developing their lands. Even for players that understand the importance of the choice, it's a very taxing choice that occurs very often. It indeed didn't go over the best. (I like it, though.)
DeleteThese are interesting designs for sure, but I do encourage you to try to push yourself to innovate more! You yourself admitted these aren't going super out of the box. :)
I do think we'll always need new ways to offset late-game land glut, and Auras do improve on sorceries by spending more time outside of your graveyard and so making the choice not necessarily come up every turn/as often (as opposed to, say, a Raven's Crime that from turn 1 on gives you that choice every single land). These particular auras are more likely than average to end up in the graveyard, but even still I imagine they'll dwell on the battlefield a good margin of the time.
DeleteThat is an excellent point, Pasteur. I'd honestly push you to design Auras the other direction, given that point - making them less likely to reach the yard then normal, to make the Retrace really feel like it 'saves you'.
DeleteOh yeah. I quite like retrace on auras just normally.
DeleteIt took me a minute to figure out I'm supposed to cast Alpha's Dread on my opponent's creature.
DeleteOk so I've had several issues with Evoke for a long time even if I really enjoy the core gameplay.
ReplyDelete1): The card has the "players don’t realize they can cast it when they can" issue of the smaller cost not being in the top right corner due to it being a alternate cost rather than a kicker style mechanic.
2): Evoke doesn't really signpost clearly that it is acreature that can also be a spell. So many times I've had to explain to new players why they would want their creature to sacrifice itself.
3): Doing things like flickering an evoked creature often feels like cheating to those who don't understand the stack. I do concede this aspect makes them appealing to johnnies/jennies.
So I think Evoke can be "fixed" by using a new frame to a large degree. Example render here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vzayph4c62j830l/Flight%20of%20Thoughts%20v3.jpg?dl=0
Flight of Thoughts 2U
Sorcery (Uncommon)
Draw two cards.
Incarnate {4}{U} (If you cast this spell for {4}{U}, put it onto the battlefield as an Elemental creature as it resolves.)
--------------------------------
Flying
2/2
Art: Tizana F. Ruiu
If you're going to use a frame like that, I'd consider going all the way into Awaken and having the player make a land a creature with (textbox below the line) and P/T, since you can literally place the land card over the other text? Just an option.
DeletePasteur, that's a really interesting option, but also quite different gameplay. Why do you suggest it needs a land to become a creature, rather than just becoming a creature itself?
DeleteThanks for providing a render Reuben. I'm excited to review this tomorrow. :)
That way you don't have the "draw two etc" text on the battlefield (for someone like me to whom that feels like it could be distracting) and to make it more clear that sorceries can't be on the battlefield. Some playtesting would probably quickly clear up whether that's an issue with physical cards at all or if Reuben's version is in fact clearer for most players in the long run. Possible that just printing an optional-use morph-overlay-style card would work well as well!
DeleteHuh. Until I read that I hadn't realised how evoke and awaken were nearly the same mechanic!
DeleteSweet!
DeleteThere's two veins of design space Ive been very interested in lately: the use of outside game pieces as a tracking tool (the crown, the city's blessing) and counters to mark things on the card itself (hard to explain, but Sagas are close to a black border implementation of what I mean, and silver border has done it with art many times). The former because its a built in way to simplify rules text and contain rules, amd the latter just as a unique tool to mark things for memorization.
ReplyDeleteI'll just do the former for this. This is a mechanic thats gone through a lot of iteration in my head for a while now and this is the most recent version. The goal is to turn the combat phase into a place of increased risk versus reward with an emphasis on bluffing-- the space is similar to morph, but for conceptual reasons and for the kind of gameplay I wanted to encourage (specifically combat tricks) morph didnt fit what I was going for.
Wayward Wilder {3}{G}
Creature - Elemental
When ~ enters the battlefield, the feud begins with target opponent.
Daunt (just shorthanding here)
4/2
Artist: Tianhua Xu
And the reminder card
The Feud
When a feuding player is dealt combat damage by one or more creatures controlled by another feuding player, that player wins the feud and draws a card.
Notes: there can only be one feud out at a time betwern all players (similar to monarch), but if a second card that starts a feud is played, you can reselect the opponent youre feuding with. When a feud is won, it goes away. The card is just a reminder to help players track it between turns until then as well as a place to write out rules that would normally make individual cards longer.
Interesting. So the idea here is that you're making combat even more rewarding to the victor? This is definitely some nice exploration of the design space that Monarch carved out, and it's expanding it with a 'temporary' status as opposed to Monarch's 'permanent' status.
DeleteStill, it reminds me a lot of Monarch. Exploring a recently-discovered vein of design space is still innovative, but it's not the same as finding a new vein entirely. While this certainly counts as 'out of the box' and I'll be happy to review it, I also like to push my competitors! So, can you think of ways to innovate even further with this? To explore something even more markedly different than Monarch? I encourage you to try to. If you submit such an attempt, but would prefer me to review this iteration, just let me know. :)
I actually agree the draw a card makes this feel really similar to monarch. I think it plays out a little differently (though no playtesting... id be interested in finding out, though). The main thing is monarch is about getting monarch status then defending the crown, whereas this encourages attacking since once you "get it" (deal damage) theres no risk of your opponent getting it back, as the main difference between this and monarch is that its only a temporary status. In other words while it looks similar to monarch, I actually think it plays pretty different. I really need the reward to be simple but strong enough to hide "bad attacks" to make the opponent think twice about blocking you. I think the trick to make it look more different from monarch is a different reward, but Im not exactly sure what it could be.
DeleteDrawing a card is definitely a good place to start for testing. :)
Delete"When a feuding player is dealt combat damage by one or more creatures controlled by another feuding player, that player wins the feud and draws a card."
Delete'That player' is ambiguous here. If it weren't for the flavor, I'd assume the player taking damage is drawing a card.
Is it important to exclude burn spells?
"When a source a feuding player controls deals damage to a feuding opponent, that player wins the feud and draws a card."
Jeskai BookWorm 1W
ReplyDeleteCreature Human Monk
[W | U | R]: Jeskai bookwurm gains [firstrike | flying | haste] until end of turn.
3/1
Book of Bolas 2
Artifact
[U | R | B] sacrifice book of bolas: [draw two card| target creature gets -3/-3 until end of turn| haste] until end of turn.
and and art card
art compass
Scouts Compass 1
Artifact
[1 | 2U | 2G]: [draw a card | draw two cards | serach your library for a basic land and put that card onto the battlefield tapped, shuffle your library]
Please elaborate how these work? Is this just templating to save room?
DeleteI'm guessing this is:
Delete"X, Sacrifice Book of Bolas: If you paid U, draw two cards. If you paid R, this deals 4 damage to target player. If you paid B, target creature gets -3/-3 until end of turn."
This formatting could be interesting, but I don't know how often we want cards with that many options flavorfully. It also becomes much less readable if any of the brackets share the same color? But. It could certainly make some cool-looking cards if you could find a compelling reason to do it.
yeah it does as was suggested above. Some formating tricks in an actual render could help and it removes some verbosity. It can help in a similar way hybrid mana and split cards help both mono and multi colour limited formats. In retrospect I want to try a slight Variation.
DeleteFae or Foe 2[i) U | ii) R]
Creature [i) Fairie | ii) Goblin]
[i) Flying | ii) Menace, Haste]
"Some shapeshifter choose a form and keep it"
2/2
or less out there
Cabal Death Weilder 4B
Creature- Human Wizard
[i) B | ii) BB | iii) BBB] T: [i) each player looses one life | ii) each player discards a card | iii) each player sacrifices a creature]:
2/3
I actually like the first templating. I rather the second just be 3 separate activated abilities. I know it takes up a little more space but probably cleaner.
DeleteAs Doug said, many of your cards are simply 'space savers', trimming lines of text with their nonstandard layout. I think there's a very promising idea hiding in here, and you're beginning to explore it with Fae or Foe... but at the same time, Fae or Foe presents some memory issues in action, and it's quite difficult to realize as a card.
DeleteI encourage you to explore this concept further, try to iterate more upon how to make it markedly different than just consolidating multiple abilities. You're onto something!
I'll be reviewing Scout's Compass, but I wanted to clarify: did you intend for it to sacrifice itself as a part of the cost? I'm assuming so, because currently, it's very powerful.
DeleteCompare this:
Delete[1 | 2U | 2G]: [draw a card | draw two cards | serach your library for a basic land and put that card onto the battlefield tapped, shuffle your library]
with
1: Draw a card.
2U: Draw two cards.
2G: Search your library for a basic land and put that card onto the battlefield tapped, shuffle your library.
The traditional way is fewer characters, ends up at 5.5 lines on a card rather than 6.5, and is infinitely clearer.
oops I didn't finish
ReplyDeleteBook of Bolas 2
Artifact
[U | R | B] sacrifice book of bolas: [draw two cards |
deal 4 damage to target player | target creature gets -3/-3 until end of turn]
Ring of Blind Eternities {5}
ReplyDeleteArt#4
Artifact (uncommon)
Prememorized (You may start the game with up to one card with Prememorized in your command zone. If you do, draw one less card in each starting hand. You may cast cards with Prememorized from your command zone as though as they were in your hand)
{T}: You gain 2 life.
This mechanic has been tried before by Mark Rosewater for... Urza's block, if I remember correctly. It plays out quite poorly, judging from his reports on it. I think even just a single card with prememorized - though that significantly helps with the problems in play - still could make games play out similarly.
DeleteTo push you, I want to see some more designs with prememorize. How many cards can we make where there's a real interesting choice on what you prememorize, that don't make games play out similarly too often, and that don't dominate the game in doing so?
I agree that this is an idea that warrants experimentation and perhaps 'solving', given that it comes up so often and that it's such a natural concept, but it has some serious gameplay concerns. Convince me it can be done, and that you can address those concerns!
I was toying with a similar idea, basically "auras you can cast only from your sideboard". With some timing restriction as well so the right time to cast them wasn't just "always". My logic was, auras weaknesses (needing other cards in play first, often losing you a card) are exactly countered by the usually-overpowered benefits of playing a card from outside the game. That seemed more promising (although I think it'd still be nicer if it was somewhat random if you drew them rather than having them always available).
DeleteThe cards that want to be always-available are black-border versions of vanguards (or things like contraptions, like my subplanes). I'd like to see *that* tackled in a balanced way.
Also are you sure you meant Art #4 (Black Crystal Dragon) and not Art #6 (Compass)?
DeleteFirst, thanks for the feedback, Jack and Inanimate (yes, I meant art #6).
DeleteEh, I had completely forgotten about Maro's precedent. A friend has already reminded about that. (Here is the article where he talks about it)
So, my basic idea is to bring one aspect I love about Commander to 'normal' Magic, that is the possibility of having a build around card always available; lots of decks don't work 90% of the time, because they don't draw the engine pieces in time or at all.
This mechanic is about that, so I would want cards with Prememorized to be somewhat narrow, weak cards with potential to be the centerpiece of very Johnny, fun and not oppressive decks, instead of being 'free' utility in different types of decks. That is a very tall order, and could prove to be undesignable (not enough fun to justify itself/kills variance) or undevelopable (too narrow of a space in power level between weak/not worth it, and powerful/oppressive/stifling deck diversity).
Thus a mechanic in this guise would need A LOT of playtesting.
Anyway, here are some other examples:
Growing Pains {2}{B}{G}
[Heart of the Wood art]
Enchantment (u)
Prememorized
At the beginning of each end step, if you lost life this turn, you may pay {2}. If you do, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control.
Skypride's Boon {1}{U}{W}
[Perce Nuage art]
Enchantment (u)
Prememorized
At the beginning of combat on your turn, you may pay {2}. If you do, target creature with flying you control gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
Fluidform {2}{U}{U}
[Water Elemental art]
Enchantment - Aura (common?)
Prememorized
Enchant creature you control
{U}: Enchanted creature gets +1/-1 or -1/+1 until end of turn.
You're definitely on the right track with these designs, I think... Skypride's Boon is probably the best of the bunch given your design goals.
DeleteI'll be reviewing Ring of Blind Eternities, unless you want me to review one of the newer bunch. Just let me know! :)
Cloudstriding Messenger 1W
ReplyDeleteArt 1
Creature - Human (U)
Flying
When Cloudstriding Messenger enters the battlefield, put a +1/+1 counter on a creature you control.
2: Exile Cloudstriding Messenger until end of turn. Any player may activate this ability.
2/2
I don't know about virgin territory for two of these, but I figure one of these mechanics is only a matter of time, with Brawl and Commander being a thing:
ReplyDeleteBurst of Insight (Uncommon)
2U
Sorcery
Leadoff U (If this is the first spell you cast this turn, it costs U to cast.)
Draw two cards. If Burst of Insight is the first you cast this turn, discard a card.
Obsidian Menace (Rare)
3BR
Creature - Dragon
4/4
Flying, trample
Harness 2 (This creature enters the battlefield with two +1/+1 counters on it if you cast it and another spell this turn.)
When Obsidian Menace enters the battlefield, it deals damage equal to its power to any target and you gain that much life.
{Black Crystal Dragon}
Borgan, Heir of Brago (Mythic)
2WU
Legendary Creature - Spirit
2/2
Promote (You may exile your commander for the rest of the game as it dies to make this card your new commander if it’s on the battlefield.)
Flying, prowess
When you promote Borgan, Heir of Brago or it enters the battlefield as your commander, put two +1/+1 counters on it, draw two cards, and you gain 2 life.
I find these interesting. Nothing super out there but would play well and change gameplay, similar to werewolves.
DeleteOh what the hey, I'll throw in this rare enemy cycle I did. They aren't exactly innovative, since it's a riff on split cards, but split cards, even Fuse ones, can't do what the third mode does:
DeleteSplendor of the Immortal (Rare)
*white-black*
Sorcery
(You may cast this spell for 2W, 2BB, or 6WB. Its converted mana cost is 8.)
2W> Up to two target creatures you control get +2/+2 and gain indestructible until end of turn.
2BB> Return target creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield.
6WB> Return up to two target creature cards from a graveyard to the battlefield under your control. They gain indestructible.
Splendor of the Prophetic (Rare)
*blue-red*
Sorcery
(You may cast this spell for 2U, 1R, or 6UR. Its converted mana cost is 8.)
2U> Scry 4, then draw a card.
1R> Exile the top two cards of your library. You may play those cards from exile until end of turn.
6UR> Scry 6, then exile the top three cards of your library. You may play those cards from exile.
Splendor of the Departed (Rare)
*black-green*
Sorcery
(You may cast this spell for 1BB, 2GG, or 6BG. It's converted mana cost is 8.)
1BB> Destroy target creature or planeswalker.
2GG> Return up to two target creature and/or land cards from your graveyard to your hand.
6BG> Destroy up to three target permanents. Return up to three target cards from your graveyard to your hand.
Splendor of the Pure (Rare)
*red-white*
Sorcery
(You may cast this spell for 1RR, 2WW, or 6RW. Its converted mana cost is 8.)
1RR> Splendor of the Pure deals 3 damage to each creature and planeswalker.
2WW> You gain 10 life.
6RW> You gain 4 life for each creature and planeswalker. Splendor of the Pure deals 4 damage to each of those your opponents control and to each opponent.
Splendor of the Inscrutable (Rare)
*green-blue*
Sorcery
(You may cast this spell for 3GG, U, or 6GU. Its converted mana cost is 8.)
3GG> You may put a creature card from your hand onto the battlefield.
U> Until end of turn, play with the top card of your library revealed and you may play the top card of your library.
6GU> Reveal the top seven cards of your library. You may put up to three permanent cards from among them onto the battlefield. Draw the rest.
This cycle came about because I wanted to make a variant of split cards that did something a little extra that Fuse just couldn't quite reach. I wanted cards where you could have one of two modes in mono-color, but if you were playing both, you could get not only both modes, but "something more" in the late game. (I wanted the third effect to try and win a Marky Award, for those of you who follow Blogatog and catch my drift.)
It started with Splendor of the Pure, funny enough, because the naming of it was originally Splendor of the Phoenix. The problem was coming up with something similar for the other four enemy pairs; naming after iconic creatures promptly went away, in addition to the RW one not bringing anything back so it didn't evoke Phoenix at all. "Cleansing", on the other hand, can be easily conveyed with life gain and nuking your "impure" opponents and their boards.
Really wonder how these would look as cards. Splendor of the Prophetic just does not feel as strong as the others for the eight mana.
DeleteI used the Planeswalker style in MSE when I made these, where the mana costs are the "loyalty abilities". It's how I kept the word count down, too!
DeleteHey Dvoraen, which card would you like reviewed in the post? I can give feedback for the other designs in the comments here. :)
DeleteI'll double down on Burst of Insight, mostly because there's plenty to be said about it from the perspective of multiple formats!
DeleteTried to go real weird. This isn't inspired by any of the artwork directly, though ExitMothership's Compass got me to this concept.
ReplyDeleteWhat Could Have Been (or Compulsory Friendship)
3WU
Instant
Until end of turn, each of your opponents is instead your teammate. (Teammates can't attack each other. Teammates can block for each other. Teammates are not opponents. Teammates gain the benefits of effects which apply to teammates. Other relevant reminder text.)
Now honestly I would just post a bunch of triple faced card designs but thats just using existing printing technology and the designs really would just be more "further beyond stuff"
ReplyDeleteSo my take on a tag team walker which fandom has talked about and even got features in GDS3 was themed on Gideon and Sarkhan, the two walkers that can turn to creatures.
Warbound Gideon and Sarkhan 2RW
Legendary Planeswalker- Gideon Sarkhan
4
+1: ~ deals 1 damage to target creature. Tap that creature.
0: Exile ~ until end of turn. Create Gideon, a legendary 4/4 white Human Knight creature token with indestructible and haste; and Sarkhan, a legendary 4/4 red Dragon creature token with flying, indestructible, and haste. Exile those tokens at the begging of the next end step.
-8: Exile ~, then search your library for a non-Gideon Sarkhan card and a non-Sarkhan Gideon card, put them on the battlefield and shuffle your library.
Also, what about a Banishing effect, using the graveyard?
Way of Going Forth by Death 1W
Enchantment
When ~ enters the battlefield, destroy target creature an opponent controls.
When ~ leaves the battlefield, target opponent returns a creature card in their graveyard to the battlefield.
I'm a big Banisher priest effect so here is a R/W design
Priest of the Warp 2{R/W}{R/W}
Creatur -Human Wizard
When ~ enters the battlefield, exile target creature an opponent controls.
When ~ leaves the battlefield, target opponent reveals cards from the top their library until they reveal a nonlegendary creature card. They put that card onto the battlefield and the rest on the bottom of their library in a random order.
In hybrid though? Note Mono red gets random polymorph and mono w gets "exchange" style polymorphs (last seen on Declaration in Stone) Baffling end showed us you can make a polymorphic banisher priest, this swaps the blue version from that guy into the red version from this one.
Finally, an inspiration from a flipwalker on GA taken in a new direction.
Sorin, Trapped in Stone B
Legendary Artifact
1B, T: Pay 1 life: Sorin, Trapped in Stone deals 1 damage to any target. Put a loyalty counter on Sorin, Trapped in Stone, then, you may untap and transform him.
\\\
Sorin Who Hungers (B)
Legendary Planeswalker- Sorin
0
0: Reveal the top card of your library and put it into to your hand. Sorin Who Hungers deals damage to you equal to it’s converted mana cost and you put that many loyalty counters on Sorin Who Hungers.
-X: Sorin Who Hungers deal X damage to any target and you gain X life.
-6: You get an emblem with “Whenever an opponent or permanent is dealt damage, you gain that much life.”
I really liked the idea of a 0 walker with no normal pluses, you have to feed him blood, from you and your enemies to grow him up. The "ghost plus" was inspired by the Sarkhan who bobbed, but hit himself instead of you, RIX showed us Black can make OTHER people pay for Bob effects, so in this version you pay the life, but it all goes straight to Sorin.
Honorable mention; Sarpadian Empires, the Saga!
DeleteIt was the craziest idea I had and way too impracticable
Sarpadian Empires, Vol I 3
Legendary Enchantment- Saga
I - Create a red 1/1 Goblin creature token and a red 2/1 Dwarf creature token.
II - Put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control
III- Creatures you control with counters on them get +1/+0 and gain first strike and indestructible until end of turn. Transform ~.
\\
Sarpadian Empires Vol II
IV- Create two 1/1 black Thrull creature tokens
V- Sacrifice any number of creatures. Add B for each creature sacrificed this way
VI - Each opponent discards two cards, search your library for a card named Sarpadian Empires Vol III, put it on the battlefield, then shuffle your library.
And then it went on like that Vol I/Vol II as a flip card that tutored out Vol III/Vol IV as its last chapter which in turn tutored out Vol V/VI which just won you the game if you got to the final ability.
I eventually smoothed it out into https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/421790812893085699/423118566007767040/Sarpadian_Empires_Vol_I-III.jpg
Which is a similar but less totall nutjob idea.
Mortal Adversary 1WU
DeleteEnchantment- Aura
Flash
Enchant spell or permanent
You and permanents you control have protection from enchanted spell or permanent.
A really silly counterspell/pacifism variant.
Oh, that's really cool! I like the search version more than the DFC version (I always feel DFC are overused) although both together is quite cool.
DeletePutting them together saved it from being 6 cards to only 3
DeleteWhich design would you like me to review, Jim?
DeleteI'll give extensive feedback via comments here on the ones you don't want me to review via post. Here's some initial thoughts:
DeleteWarbound Gideon and Sarkhan is very interesting flavor and a fun way to execute it. Pairing these two was a smart mechanical choice and implies fun things in the story too.
Way of Going Forth by Death is very interesting, a nice spin on white Banish spells, with a weird touch to it. How 'innovative' is it? I'm not sure it's super innovative, but it is new for white.
Sorin Who Hungers is a great design, but I'm not sold on the fact you have to flip into it. What I do like is that it lets you do a 0 loyalty PW with a 0 ability, that is interesting. But it's almost distracting from the intrigue of that 0 ability with all the other stuff going on, you know? I feel like that 0 ability wants to be the 'standout' part of a PW design. Lots going on here.
The Sarpadian Empires design is great fun, lol! Lots of clever choices for the sequencing.
Mortal Adversary is indeed very weird. We're getting some fun Auras this challenge. I'm not really sure 'enchant spell' works, but I'd like to see it tried! I think this doesn't want to be an aura really.
Casual Commitment {2/U}{2/B}
ReplyDeleteSorcery (R)
(Border - Probably silver, maybe tie dye.)
Choose Brawl or Pauper. Your next game this match is either a Brawl or a Pauper game. Before the beginning of that game, exile CARDNAME and your opponent may sideboard any number of cards they own from outside the game before the game begins, so long as their final deck is legal in the chosen format. You may not sideboard cards before the start of the next game, and may not play with an illegal deck.
water elemental art
DeleteHave you built a brawl or pauper deck? This spell will take hours to resolve.
DeleteKnow Thyne Own Self 3B
ReplyDelete[Mind Stab]
Sorcery (rare)
Choose a card type. Ask an opponent how many cards of that type are in their library. If they answer, then look at their library with them and count the cards of that type. If they were wrong, exile all cards of that type from their library, then they shuffle. If they decline to answer, they discard three cards from their hand at random.
Woah, that might be the spikiest card I've ever seen :)
DeleteHonestly, this just seems unfun. The optimal way to play in a format with this in it is to memorize how many of each card type is in your library, but no one wants to have to do that.
DeleteI think there should be a reward for me being right, otherwise we wasted a lot of time for no great reward.
DeleteI've got to agree, I think this is a fun card to read, but maybe having it in a un-format would be on the miserable side. If you wanted to salvage the core concept, maybe "look at the top ten cards and count types" could introduce more variance and keep it more quick and fun? That way even if I know I have, say, 13 lands left (for example) I can weigh the risks of how many might be in the top (and sometimes just get lucky).
DeleteInitial read, though, I was like this card is awesome and that is probably because I am a spike.
DeleteAt the same time, Pasteur, that isn't known information at that point. The intent of this card is that the contents of their deck are 'known' to the player if they thought to track it.
DeleteI have to agree with the others, I think this is some really weird and out-of-the-box design space, but I'm not sure it plays out very fun. Asking players to count their cards is pretty taxing, and this requires the caster to go through the deck and count up a card type, which is also quite slow.
Could we explore this idea of 'known information' while pushing towards a less-taxing execution?
I have one
DeleteGuess the Weight-3UR
Sorcery
Reveal your hand. Select any number of cards from your hand and place them facedown. Target Opponent guess the combined CMC of the facedown cards. If your opponent is correct they play one of the cards at random. If they are wrong you play one of the cards at random.
Very wordy.
Oh, this is definitely not fun enough to print.
DeleteIt's more of a poem than a card.
I will defend that there very much is a reward for guessing right, and that is that you don't lose cards in deck or hand, negating the spell.
The issue I have is the reward feels like we wasted time. Even if I got a 2/2 flier for being correct I would feel a little better.
DeleteVertical Cycle of coin flip cards. Not sure how out there these are.
ReplyDeleteChaos Seeker-1R (Common)
Creature-Human Scout
2/2
When CARDNAME enters the battlefield flip a coin and apply the below effects based on the result:
1 Head: First Strike
0 Heads:-0/-1
The Chaos Knight-1RR (Uncommon)
Creature-Human Knight
2/2
When CARDNAME enters the battlefield flip 2 coins and apply the below effects based on the result:
2 Heads:+1/+1, First Strike, Haste
1 Head:+1/+1, First Strike
0 Head: First Strike
The Chaos Dragon-2RR (Rare)
Creature-Dragon
3/3
When CARDNAME enters the battlefield flip 3 coins and apply the below effects based on the result:
3 Heads: +2/+2, flying, and haste
2 Heads: Flying, First Strike
1 Head: Flying, R:+1/+0
0 Heads: Flying
The True Master of Chaos-5RRR (Mythic Rare)
Legendary Creature-Avatar
7/6
When CARDNAME enters the battlefield flip 5 coins and apply the below effects based on the result:
3+ Heads: Deal 4 damage to each creature and each player sacrifices 4 lands.
2 Heads: Discard your hand and draw 7 cards.
1 Head: Deal 3 damage to each opponent.
0 Heads: Flying, Haste, at the end of turn target opponent gains control of CARDNAME
The Chaos Knight-1RR (Uncommon)
DeleteCreature-Human Knight
2/2
First Strike
When CARDNAME enters the battlefield flip 2 coins. If you got one or more heads, ~ gets +1/+1. If you got two, ~ gains haste.
It's weird that Chaos Dragon is better with one head than two.
I don't know I think a 3/3 flying first strike is pretty good. Is firebreathing seen as that good? I guess in the aggressive nature of red it might be.
DeleteYeah I am wondering if these would read well on a card or just be better completely spelled out.
DeleteTrue Master of Chaos would be interesting in Sneak Attack.
Delete