Hello, Artisans. Click through to see the requirements for this weekend's design challenge, due Monday morning. Every submission warrants feedback, but you all know that already, because the feedback you give to each other each week is out of this world. Revise your submission any number of times, and on Monday-ish, I'll review the most recent submission from each designer.
This weekend, we'll be celebrating May the Fourth by designing cards inspired by something Star Wars. If you want to include a screencap of the character, moment, or concept you're trying to capture, link it with your design. If there's enough of that, I'll do full renders.
No other design restrictions. Good luck, have fun, and I'll see you on Monday.
Higher Ground 2W
ReplyDeleteEnchantment (R)
Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt to blocking creatures you control.
You can't block an attacking creature with more than one creature.
Blaster Deflection 2W
DeleteInstant
Force (You may exert your lands to help pay for this spell. They won't untap during your next untap step)
Prevent the next 6 damage that would be dealt to you and/or permanents you control this turn. If damage is prevented this way, Blaster Deflection deals that much damage to any target.
Mind Trick 2B
Sorcery
Force (You may exert your lands to help pay for this spell. They won't untap during your next untap step)
Target opponent reveals their hand. You choose a non-Hutt, non-Toydarians, nonland card from it. That player discards that card.
Projection 2U
Instant
Force (You may exert your lands to help pay for this spell. They won't untap during your next untap step)
Create a token that’s a copy of target creature. That token has “At the beginning of your next upkeep, sacrifice this permanent.”
Force Lightning 2R
Instant
Force (You may exert your lands to help pay for this spell. They won't untap during your next untap step)
Deal 3 damage to any target and tap it.
Lift Boulders 2G
Instant
Force (You may exert your lands to help pay for this spell. They won't untap during your next untap step)
Target creature gains +4/+4 and trample until end of turn.
Does this mean my lands will produce an extra mana?
DeleteYes! I suppose the reminder text should be:
DeleteForce (You may exert lands to help cast this spell. Each land you exert while casting this spell doesn't untap during your next turn and pays for {1} or one mana of a color that land could produce.)
Nice.
DeleteIndependently, I had been wondering whether Convoke would be a good mechanic to represent the Force. They're both playing with the idea of it being something which is all around, ready to be drawn upon.
Force (You may exert lands to help cast this spell. Each land you exert while casting this spell pays for {1} or one mana of a color that land could produce. Those lands don't untap during your next turn.)
DeleteI had to look up the significance of higher ground to Star Wars. I regret everything about this decision.
DeleteIt's a little strange to clearly allude to an existing card (High Ground) and then specifically don't do what that card did. But there is a thematic link there, so it does kind of work. There's some room for aggressively defensive enchantments in the game, but they are definitely something to keep an eye on for creating game stalls. Very nice.
The supertap for land is something that frequently comes up in design. Force is a nice way to flavor it, although the templating does need a little bit of finessing (can I exert a land I didn't tap to pay for the spell?). As a set mechanic, it might lead to some memory issues, since lands so frequently get stacked together, tapped and untapped in tandem, and untapping them is such a fundamental rote game action I can see a lot of people forgetting that some of them were locked down.
DeleteStar Wars thematically touches a lot on loyalty to a cause (both good and evil), commitment, and concepts of purity and corruption. It ended up leading me to thinking of the devotion mechanic playing a big role if WotC made a Star Wars-themed set. So I end up with:
ReplyDeleteJedi Mind Tricks 2UU
Instant (U)
Tap any number of target creatures with power equal to or less than your devotion to blue.
Devotion is a perfect mechanic for a set about the Jedi/Sith conflict. This particular card has some small problems, not the least of which that it's a four mana card that can easily sit dead in your hand when you most need it (no creatures to block with or contribute to devotion). Scaling devotion effects can be very tricky, and trying to find a good balance can lead to a lot of wordi/mathi-ness.
DeleteI would suggest tapping one, and then tapping another if you have a threshold devotion, rather than scaling the effect.
Force Choke {1}{B}
ReplyDeleteInstant—Force (uncommon)
Target creature gets -X/-X until EOT, where X is the largest number of lands you control of a single type.
Exile X-4 cards from the top of your library.
This reminds me of the djinn from Invasion. I like that this is a land matters card that can still be splashed, although I'm not sure how that connects to the force exactly. The exiling card disadvantage seems unnecessary and a bit clunky unless there's a payoff for exiling your own cards in the set.
DeleteYeah, I was trying to convey how too much force reliance always leads to loss of self, but it's clearly too vague a concept.
DeleteAnother very mathy card. I like the concept of losing yourself to using a type of card, although self mill doesn't really feel meaningful or particularly flavorful. Maybe reducing your max hand size by 1 permanently any time you play a spell from that class?
DeleteMechanically, I like the rest of the card. It's an alternative take on devotion, counting lands instead of symbols, which is discussed as a flavor connect for jedi/sith above. This has the advantage that in limited, it's never going to sit useless in hand. Also nice that it can be splashed in a primarily non-B deck.
Maul´s Double Saber (Rare)
ReplyDelete{5}
Legendary Artifact - Equipment
Equip {3}
Equipped creature has menace and can block an additional creature each combat.
Whenever equipped creature blocks or becomes blocked by two or more creatures, destroy one of those creatures.
I like this on offense, although I'm not sure how often it will trigger. On defense, being able to always destroy an attacker seems insane.
DeleteIt only works if they attack with more than one creature, so there's some wiggle room, but I agree there's a chance it'd be too strong on defence and lead to uninteresting gameplay.
DeleteOn offence it more or less reads 'can't be blocked' until it becomes a lethal attack I suppose
Nice mechanical interpretation. The destroy creature ability makes it a little too oppressive, and I'm not sure it's necessary to the card. Just having the menace/block 2 carries a lot of the flavor. To put your creature in a better position to take advantage of going 2-on-1 in combat, a straight P/T bonus or giving it First strike (or double strike) if blocking or blocked by 2+ provides a little more nuance that straight-out destroying,
DeleteI mean, this does cost {8} to use at rare.
DeleteWizened Mentor 1WU
ReplyDeleteCreature - Human Advisor (R)
When ~ dies, you may exile it. If you do, choose a creature you control. For as long as ~ remains exiled, that creature can't be blocked.
Sacrifice ~: Target creature you control gains indestructible until end of turn.
3/2
Nice use of Haunt!
DeleteTop down Obi wan is amazing, and haunt was a good call here. I wish there was a little more mechanical connection between the activated regeneration and the exile ability. Maybe a stat boost instead of evasion? With the evasion, it seems like mechanically this is going to want to proactively sacrifice itself sooner than the flavor warrants.
DeleteNot a big Star Wars guy, so I'll just try to do something interesting with low-hanging fruit.
ReplyDeleteDeath Star (M)
Legendary Artifact
Hexproof from big (cards with converted mana cost greater than 3 are big).
8, T: Destroy 3 target permanents. Death Star doesn't untap during your next untap step.
So, "hexproof from big" is supposed to represent the idea that the Death Star was heavily defended and only a precise shot from a skilled pilot was able to penetrate its defenses. Plus "big vs small" is potentially cool (but probably gimmicky) design space for a set.
The ability is just because Death Star makes things go boom. Then takes a while to recharge. It's not the most interesting design ever, but I'm fine with that. Maybe it should cost way more and "destroy target opponent" or something.
What is the cmc of the death star? 4BB? 8? I think this is pretty flavorful. Tough to judge the power level.
DeleteIf you want to capture the flavor, it needs to be around 4 or 5 and just sit there on the battlefield, looming over everything until the player gets enough mana to use it.
DeleteOops, yes CMC is just 5.
DeleteThat is, 5 generic mana for the cost.
DeleteI wish I could attack this (could it be a vehicle?) but otherwise, neat.
DeleteI like that design a lot, although it definitely needs some numbers changing. Three targets destroyed every other turn is very oppressive, especially if it can hit lands. See Annihilator. A death star not hitting lands might be a bit of a flavor fail, but I think its necessary for better gameplay.
DeleteHexproof from is still relatively unexplored territory, and big is pretty loose concept for a batch name. I'd write it out rather than shorthand/reminder text it. But, those nitpicks aside, the ability, or something similar, is definitely necessary.
This is a great interpretation, and probably needs a bit of playtesting to get those numbers where they want to be.
I like this a lot. If three every other is too much, maybe destroying one land + one nonland?
DeleteTo both Jay's points: this as a Vehicle with Annihilator would definitely be unique.
Thanks for the feedback guys. I think there's definitely a cool vehicle design somewhere in here, but I'm not sure how I feel about annihilator. I'll brainstorm on that some more.
DeleteWhile 3 permanents a turn is a very impactful effect, this is a Mythic and certainly not tuned for constructed. Power-wise it's like an amped up Tower of Calamities. Very powerful, but still takes a lot of time to get going.
Jedi Trainee-RW
ReplyDeleteCreature-Human Jedi
2/2
Haste
If you control a Legendary Warrior, CARDNAME gets +1/+1 and first strike.
Sith Initiate-RB
Creature-Human Sith
2/2
Haste
If you control a Legendary Warrior, CARDNAME gets +1/+1 and deathtouch.
Interesting symmetry. The Legendary Warrior part, is it because Star Wars centers a lot around a few legendary heroes?
DeleteYeah and most people get trained by someone you can remember. Luke, Obi Wan, Yoda, someone who is part of the council and if you are being trained in the dark side it is probably a sith lord but you can also be focused to fight harder when you see someone who is good at what you aspire to.
DeleteYay for mirrored pairs. A great intersection of classic magic tropes and resonant star wars flavor.
DeleteSith is perfect, I'm not sure I would make Jedi boros over selesnya, but there's room to argue it given all the Jedi trainees we actually see in the movies. Very nice.
I feel like all early trainees are very reckless and emotional, especially Anakin.
DeleteMagic drives you to want to use big creatures in combat. But Yoda is about redirecting strength to other things.
ReplyDeleteYoda's Teachings 2GG
Sorcery (R)
Tap an untapped creature you control. Draw cards equal to that creature's power, and gain life equal to its toughness.
-
"Strong you are, but wise you must be."
Damn I like this. I really like flavorful additional costs.
DeleteVery nice interpretation of the flavor!
DeleteWouldn't change a thing. Awesome design.
DeleteI love the use of that flavour text for this card and that effect, awesome
DeleteThis is a very fun design challenge since Star Wars has so many strong images, which don't quite line up with traditional fantasy tropes so the low-hanging fruit hasn't already been taken over the many past magic sets.
DeleteStormtrooper BW
Creature - Human Soldier (C)
A deck can have any number of cards named Stormtrooper.
When ~ enters the battlefield, you may search your library for another card called Stormtrooper, reveal it, and put it into your hand. If you do, shuffle your library.
3/1
(Stormtroopers are easy to kill but slightly intimidating, particularly as they tend to turn up in large numbers.)
Actually the repeated shuffling would be kind of annoying. Hmm.
DeleteMaybe:
Stormtrooper 1B
Creature - Human Soldier (C)
A deck can have any number of cards named Stormtrooper.
Multikicker W
When ~ enters the battlefield, for each time it was kicked you may search your library for another card called Stormtrooper, reveal it, and put it onto the battlefield. If you searched your library this way, shuffle it.
2/1
Yoda's teachings is a home run. There's a templating nitpick, but mechanics and flavor are dead on. Well done.
DeleteStormtrooper is strong.im not sure the relentless ability is adding much beyond the multikicker, and can probably be dropped. Are storm troopers promarpri black or white? My gut says white with some black, but I'm far from a star wars expert in that regard.
I'm not even a huge Star Wars fan but there are so many awesome cards possible in this space! Vehicles, Equipment, places, people...Love the ones so far.
ReplyDeleteHere is a simple but very narrow one:
Built on Hope 1WW
Enchantment (R)
As long as you control a Rebel, you can't lose the game.
"We have hope. Rebellions are built on hope!" -- Jyn Erso
Here is a silly one:
Far, Far Away 2BB
Sorcery (U)
Put target creature on the bottom of its owner's library.
Here is a batching idea for how to represent the force:
Force Push U
Instant (C)
Tap target creature. If the force is with you, draw a card. (The force is with you if you control a Knight, a Rebel or a Vehicle.)
I think the wording "If the force is with you" has a lot of potential, if you can figure out what it means. Not a fan of the current interpretation (not big on Star Wars but to my understand having those things doesn't mean you have the force as far as I know, and it seems pretty arbitrary). Basically the city's blessing is what I would look for, but a different play pattern.
DeleteI Am With the Force 3UU
DeleteInstant
If the force is with you, you may exile a card from your hand and pay 1 life rather than pay I Am With the Force's mana cost.
Counter target spell.
In Magic I feel most blue characters would have force powers, not sure if we would want to go off of that.
DeleteOops, comment lost AGAIN. I'm not used to "tab, return" taking me to another page instead of posting :)
DeleteYes, I'd love to see a "if the force is with you" mechanic.
Maybe something like, "R. Force Choke. Force 2 (Exile the top two cards of your library.) Deal X damage to target creature where X is the number of land cards you own exiled with force abilities this game"?
That way, you slowly level up in the force, but there's also some variation.
I'm not sure what colour the force would be most. Study and dedication are U. But the force also has a lot of "getting in tune with the universe and not fighting it" which is very very G.
(Or my idea above could count lands+spells associated with WGU for light side and BRU for dark side, so you can level up in either or both. I love that mechanic, though it's probably too finicky.)
I just feel blue is very telekinetic and messing with the mind, besides force lightning which is red.
DeleteI'm really not sure how to represent it. I agree that what I initially proposed is not ideal. I couldn't think of something better. I guess when I think of the force, it seems like a cosmic energy which comes from everything which has life. Maybe an energy-like mechanic would make the most sense. I also thought about counting "organic" permanents (non-artifact, non-enchantment) and having the force is with you mean you control the most "organic" permanents, but the gameplay seems bad (win more).
DeleteThe easiest could just be give permanents with force level and you are one with the force if you control a permanent with force and maybe one other check.
DeleteTo be honest, I'm not a fan of this representation of "the Force". Gonna show my Star Wars nerdiness for a second, but the Force is more than just 'being a Rebel', right? It's about inner peace, wisdom, tranquility, knowledge, protection...
DeleteI also think it's problematic that the Force really wants to be green (as well as white and blue) but your batch is really strongly centered around white, with a touch of blue.
This batch is great for representing the Rebellion, but I don't think it does a good job of representing the Force.
I kind of like Doug Kent's idea to give cards having a "force level" and "the force is either you" if you have a certain number. I think counting permanents on board is a little too close to the play pattern of ascend, though, which was defined by building up a board state until you reached a threshold which switched you into "late game" mode. Is tracking things in the graveyard too much work?
DeleteThere has been talk that tracking graveyard is annoying.
DeleteI would definitely want to think more. I agree with what you said Inanimate. Both flavorfully and mechanically, the implementation isn't the best. The force is such a big thing in Star Wars, that implementing it as a rider threshold mechanic for certain creature types seems a bit lame.
DeleteI like what Doug and Enzio said. Maybe something like:
Young Padawan 1W
Creature - Human Monk (C)
Force 1 (The force is with you if you control permanents with total force 5 or more.)
If the force is with you, ~ has lifelink.
2/2
Jedi Levitator 3U
Creature - Human Knight (C)
Force 2
If the force is with you, ~ has flying.
3/3
Not sure if the threshold should be fixed or variable, and at what level. (For instance, if something already has Force 5 this implenentation isn't great.) It's still about building up a board though...but maybe other colors (R/B) could have more single cards with high force levels rather than many with low levels?
I guess hand size could be another avenue, since hand size is thought of as wisdom. But that didn't work out so well in Saviors of Kamigawa.
I wonder if you could use aftermath tech and combine it with Doug's idea of a force level. Basically put a number on the frame and design it such that it can be turned sideways and visit from the grave? I actually think that solves a few aesthetic and practical issues with aftermath cards since it's easier to read an individual digit sideways and it shouldn't require as big a frame change such that it alters art and frame layout hugely like aftermath cards.
DeleteI actually like the force threshold and there is no reason Yoda or some strong sith lord shouldn't be one with the force, or if we want to get literal, you become one with the force after death, so go with Enzio's idea or a haunt idea.
DeleteSo the flavor actually checks out in a sense? I was worried that the version I was suggesting didn't make any sense flavorfully in the context of Star Wars, though I think it's an interesting mechanic in and of itself at a glance
DeleteI'm not a fan of how parasitic this is.
DeleteIt's prsitic, but it's not like you can't do parasitic mechanics. Presumably all cards with a force total can be designed to care about the force so it can be self contained, and it wouldn't be hard to tell a force spell at a glance because of a big force number somewhere in a bottom corner of the frame (which was an issue with arcane). Spells can be designed to be playables without caring about force, which was another issue with arcane. You can also be careful with how much parasitism in the rest of the set once it's decided a mechanic like this is the core, comparing Kamigawa where a lot of themes in the set were parasitic. This mechanic also works well on paper since the support it needs has synergy with other mechanics and themes, and also isn't like splices onto arcane which requires drawing spells together to work, compared to this which let's you just play your cards and maybe it'll turn on late if you play enough, but doesn't stop you from getting full value otherwise, unlike a splice card which compels you to wait til you have other arcane spells.
DeletePersonally I think parasitism is a bit of a boogeyman. Nearly every set has a little in some degree. The question is, is the play pattern fun enough to warrant it? That's the big question I think to whether or not a parasitic mechanic is worth it. I think this would require similar support to delirium.
Yeah, what if it worked like outlast. Tap increase the force of this card by 1 and used level up templating, so at each level of force it did something.
DeleteMy suggestion might get really messy if mocked up. I hated that you could not level up at instant speed, so counter intuitive.
DeleteBuilt on Hope is great. A great white enchantment for a set with rebels as a minor tribal theme. I'm a fan, although I imagine some who had to face down Masques block rebels pre-ban would give you some serious stink-eye about it.
DeleteAs far as Force goes, it is parasitic, but that's not a dealbreaker. If you want to reduce parasitism, you could say that every creature has Force 1 unless it specifies another number. You would have to raise all relevant numbers, but it promotes go wide strategies outside of the set, and can be more parasitic within the set. It's a nice idea, but definitely needs to be developed a bit more.
A New Lap Record R
ReplyDeleteEnchantment - Aura (u)
Enchant creature
Creatures you control with power greater than enchanted creature have trample and haste.
The original star wars podracer is now available on GOG!
DeleteLol. I forgot about that game's existence.
DeleteThat is such an interesting aura. It's a little reminiscent of Emblem of the Warmind.
It's powerful in decks that run it, probably a little too powerful for the cost. I would bump it up to 2 or 3 mana. It could be either uncommon or rare. I guess the aura is fragile enough attached to the creature that it doesn't need to force the creature to attack, but it feels like it would be easy enough to plant it on a wall and have it act like a global enchantment. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Very fun design.
Neat!
DeleteDecoy Droid (1)
ReplyDeleteArtifact Creature - Droid
If a spell or ability an opponent controls would cause that opponent to choose a card in your hand, that opponent must choose Decoy Droid if able.
When you discard Decoy Droid, draw a card.
1/1
Wacky! I wish this worked from hand or play, because I don't see much incentive to ever cast this, right?
DeleteIf you need a 1/1 chump blocker? *shrug*
DeleteIt's not Bridge from Below levels of uncastable, at least.
Maybe:
DeleteDecoy Droid (2)
Artifact Creature - Droid (U)
If you would discard a card, you may discard or sacrifice Decoy Droid and draw a card instead.
1/3
That makes it less of a blank in hand and it's still a play when you want it in a matchup.
"If you would discard a card, you may return CARDNAME to your hand and discard it instead" could be fun? Doesn't let you surprise from hand, but lets you protect from the battlefield. Might be unnecessary if the sacrifice trigger is just easier.
DeleteThat's nice and niche. I would imagine that would only be printed in a set with artifacts matter themes. Even then, it might be rare because it exists in such a strange little space. I like that you worded it so it wasn't only limited to discard purposes, but was open to other times when they choose as well. Nifty.
DeleteStormtrooper-1W (U)
ReplyDeleteCreature-Human Soldier
3/3
When CARDNAME is blocked prevent all damage it would deal.
Flavorful! Stormtroopers seem BW to me, and a large creature with a drawback does seem more black than white to me.
DeleteI guess it depends which iteration, also stormtroopers seem more like soldiers following orders than anything out for their own gain, but I could easily see deciding to make it b/w. Trying to decide if this could be common or if it would be too strong.
DeleteAnd we have a winner. Agreed that this ought to be WB. Should the damage cancellation apply on defense as well? I would think so, or else this should otherwise be disincentivized from blocking. That's a clever shot ::shades:: at the challenge.
DeleteI feel like stormtroopers were just bad at shooting. Also, if it applies on defense it is a pretty weak card, but maybe then it could be common.
DeleteI'm on board with this being mono-white.
DeleteAlter the Deal 2B
ReplyDeleteInstant (uncommon)
Whenever target player would draw a card this turn, they discard a card instead.
I had some more involved ideas but this simple one seemed to capture the flavour of a starwars moment best.
Other ideas which didn't quite make the cut:
DeleteDeath Star 4. Flying. 4, T: destroy target permanent. Untap only if you return two lands to your hand. Destroy if dealt exactly one damage.
Although maybe the idea above of hexproof from big would fit the "shields with weakpoint" flavour better.
Cut off hand. B. Put a -1/-1 counter on target creature. Tap it and remove it from combat.
Force Precognition. 1W. Target gains first strike, draw a card.
So I can cast this during my opponent's upkeep and they skip their draw step and discard a card in essence discard 2 at instant speed, that seems too powerful.
DeleteOr a simplification of the idea I posted above
DeleteForce Choke R
Instant
Force 1 (Gain a midichlorian counter)
Deal X damage to target creature or player where X is the number of midichlorian counters you have.
I don't like midichlorians but they seemed the perfect fit for this mechanic. Alternatively they could be permanent tokens that you need to tap (so you can't use all your force tokens on multiple spells in the same turn, a bit like land)
I'm very interested in ways to use player counters and its definitrly the perfect way to portray midichlorians as I understand then. There's a few caveats though. A) what makes these different from energy? You have to find that. It's hard to tell with one card, but it seems like maybe the idea is that you want to build them up? Is that too similar to experience counters? Or is the way its 's built up enough to make it different? and B) I, again, have no problem with parasitism on principle (I kind of wish it had a different name! Parasitic is just such a nasty word that has entirely negative connotations despite a lot of sets featuring parasitic components which can be very fun), but this does have some of the bad parts-- mainly, gaining midichlorian counters and force cards have no synergy with anything but playing force cards. Something like that "force level" threshold from grave idea has synergy with other things normal magic does-- discard and mill in particular, as well as not having any reason not to immediately play your cards without needing to hold out for a higher number of midichlorian counters.
DeleteAlter the Deal seems very strong to me. Notion Thief didn't seem terribly unfair at rare and 4 mana, and the body it was attached to was incidental, and that was way less violative than this.
DeleteIf this can a) hit their draw step, and b) cause Divination to ruin their day, I'd want this at 5 mana and rare, minimum. There's space for cards like this, but they should not be effects seen all that often.
I do like the flavor capture a lot, and this creates a very cinematic feel, where all the carefully laid plans fall apart at once. It's just a bit strong and scary, especially at that CMC.
Thank you all. WRT force counters, yes, they basically function the same way as experience counters, but I think it plays quite differently when you actually need multiple different cards to make that work; the commander experience counters could have been placed on the commander and not moved when it changed zones nearly as well.
DeleteI agree, if there's a way of making it backwards compatible it would be much better, but I couldn't think of one. Maybe count enchantments?
Re: cost. Yeah, it's swingy enough it's hard to cost well. Your guess is probably accurate.
Inspired by the above, what is the force? Knowledge mind connectedness but used mostly for fighting so UG with RWb application??? hmmm mechanicaly the phrase "as long as the force is with you is great" what does this mean?, cards in hand? drawn two or cards per turn?.
ReplyDeleteI am trying "the force is with you as long as you have drawn a card outside of your drawstep" as it gives some cool play to cantrips and other odd design while stil capturing the idea of training (plus it is a unique effect)
Yoda's Combat Training 1G
Sorcery
target creature gets +4/+4 until end of turn.
If the force is with you instead put 4 +1/+1 counters on that creature. (the force is with you as long as you have drawn a card outside of your drawstep)
Young Padawan 1W
Creature- Human Jedi
If the force is with you Young Padawan has first strike .(the force is with you as long as you have drawn a card outside of your drawstep)
"Patience you must have, my young Padawan.
3/1
Mind Tricks 2U
Sorcery
Gain control of target creature until end of turn
As long as the force is with you you may cast this spell as though it had flash (the force is with you as long as you have drawn a card outside of your drawstep)
X-Wing 3
Artifact-Vehicle
Flying, Crew 2
X-Wing must be crewed by at least one artifact creature and one non-artifact creature.
When X wing attacks you may deal 3 damage to target creature
3/1
(the force is with you as long as you have drawn a card outside of your drawstep this turn*)
Deletealso any good ideas for a non Star Wars name for this mechanic
May the Force be with You is like a good luck greeting, would love a way to represent luck in red with the force being with you.
Delete'Study' might work as an ability word. (i.e. "Study - As long as you have drawn a card outside of your draw step this turn, [effect].'
DeleteI rather like this interpretation of the phrase as well. I've seen this mechanic before and I've always wondered how it played, if it was something that could be consistently triggered and how to design it (should cost be reduced since you need to spend mana to draw a card typically? How much draw needs to be in a set to enable it? And etc.).
DeleteMy biggest problem with "force be with you" related to card draw is that Jedis really want to be centrally white, where card draw isn't nearly as common as it is in any Sultai colors. It would feel a little off to have the weakest "force" mechanics in the color most flavorfully connected to the force.
DeleteI do like the mechanic, and the interpretation, but calling it the force and making it hard to pull off in white is a big miss.d
Tatooine Dune Sea (rare)
ReplyDeleteLand
CARDNAME enters the battlefield tapped.
T: Add {1}.
{4}, T: Put a -1/-1 counter on target creature without a -1/-1 counter on it.
"I don’t like sand. It’s coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere."
I just keep cracking up at the mechanical interpretation of that ridiculous line. Should this be a desert? This should be a desert.
DeleteI want to play this to see how unfun it is to be on the receiving end. My gut says the 4 activation is the right spot for that ability, but it's hard to tell in a vacuum. Either way, that's a solid utility land that would be killer in limited. Well done.
Millennium Falcon
ReplyDelete5
Legendary Artifact - Vehicle
6/5
Flying, haste
Whenever Millennium Falcon attacks, exile another target artifact. At the beginning of your end step, return that card to the battlefield under your control.
Crew 3
Mythic Rare
DeleteStormtrooper Squadron
ReplyDelete[W/B][W/B]
Creature - Human Soldier
~ can't attack or block alone.
3/3
But seriously:
Smuggler's Junker
4
Artifact - Vehicle
Crew 2
Vigilance, flying
2, T: Exile target permanent you control. Return it to the battlefield at the beginning of the next end step.
3/5
"Fast ship? She's fast enough for you, old man. What's the cargo?"
It's fast, it smuggles, and it takes 2 to crew because while Han can fly it alone, SOMEONE better be repairing it at the same time.
Didn't see the Falcon right above me that's basically the same. Have a different card!
DeleteSarlaac Pit Monster
7
Enchantment - Aura
Enchant Land
Enchanted land is a 6/4 colorless Wurm creature with defender. It's still a land. It has "T, sacrifice a creature: Draw a card".
When enchanted land dies, return that card to its owner's hand.
Very nice. 7 for a 6/4 defender is a little much, even with the draw ability. I would also commit to a color, even if the source material is pretty open to interpretation. Green or Black is probably the place to go. There are a lot of knobs here, and I think that, at least if it's rare, this can definitely be pushed a bit more.
DeleteIf it drew you two cards, how would you tweak the costs? If it could attack? This is a very fun initial design. For something that iconic, let's not be too conservative with the splash.
Gonna last minute this as I've grown attached to the "force level" threshold idea, but forgive me for lack of Star Wars knowledge.
ReplyDeleteYoda, Jedi Master {G}
Legendary Creature - Monk (Knight? Samurai?) (Also apparently his species is meant to be a secret?)
As long as the force is with you, other creatures you control have +2/+2 and trample. (The force is with you if the total force level of cards in your graveyard is 8 or more.)
2/1
Force Level 7
Really rough draft. I like the idea of cheap but small impact cards with a high force level and Yoda is meant to exemplify that. Hes small but quick and holds a high force level, and when your force is high enough he teaches your creatures to overrun in the mid to later game. Play pattern is that you can drop him early game and is serviceable, and then he turns on your force cards more easily than I would expect an average force card to do when he dies. My worry here is, is it too easy since this legendary? I made the force count 1 less so you couldn't immediately turn it on by casting a second copy, but maybe it's still too easy to get such a big anthem effect? Also, is this more interesting with defensive stats, so that he can defend you long enough to turn on your force powers?
Also reminder "force level" is a sideways large digit on the frame positioned so that it can be turned sideways in the grave for easier visibility and reminder to track.
DeleteHaving a force level as some kind of graveyard indicator is very clever. There was a 1997ish Star Wars TCG that had a mechanic somewhat similar, with the number lightsaber icons appearing in the bottom corner of a card indicating how strong you had to be to use it. It does have some parasitism problems, but if every card that cares about force level has a force level indicator that's not too terrible. Like Slivers, over time it could easily become less parasitic.
DeleteYoda with just a class is perfect. I'd go with Knight. There's some oddness in running multiples of legends just to get one to the graveyard for force levels - that's a flavor fail. But having Yoda as a 1 mana anthem effect is definitely something I can buy.
Honestly I probably wouldn't see every card in the set with a force level caring about the force being with you. Most would, but probably some spells especially might just sport high force levels, but not care about the force specifically. It's partially a wordiness thing, but also I think there's enough consolation to this as a parasitic mechanic since this mechanic hypothetically has synergy with things magic can do normally, unlike something like energy (which has synergy with nearly nothing else but playing more energy, the only other thing being counter manipulation which is a very niche effect) or arcane spells (which need you to have multiple arcane spells in hand just to use splice, meaning spells have to sit around if you didn't play more arcane and you wanted to splice and they were not developed well as a whole-- energy generation was usually treated as a "free" action, whereas arcane wasn't always costed as a "free" bonus).
DeleteIt really bugs me with the legendary thing too. Really what I wanted was for him to have Force 8 but being legendary stops that. That can go on another nonlegendary creature I guess but it seems weird today just wouldn't have the highest force level.
I know there was a WOTC Star Wars game where there was a dice rolling mechanic and that and an Unstable card actually inspired me to do another Magic mechanic where a dice pool was created and you could use it to store extra dice you could add whenever you rolled dice to help your rolls, and also because I love rolling lots of dice.
Top-down Star Wars made for an interesting exercise. I really like all of these designs. I'm not super into star wars, but I like how identifiable most of these designs were with just pop-culture knowledge of the source material. That's how top down design should work in an ideal world - take what is commonly known about the source material and use that to reinforce those conceptions. There's room for some deep dive stuff (Hundred-Handed One, I'm looking at you), but these were all phenomenal interpretations.
ReplyDeleteThere's a fan-design star wars magic set that has some very strong designs, if you're looking to see other takes on some of these iconic concepts.
Great work, as always.