Monday, May 18, 2020

CCDD 051820 - Restrictive Priest

"Freeze" effects like Take Into Custody aren't in white's color pie. Discard effects aren't either. Can we make a case for giving it a mechanic that lets an opponent choose between the two?





These "punisher" effects, like Browbeat, have a weird relationship with the color pie. "Draw three cards" isn't remotely red on its own, but it's accepted because the opponent could choose damage instead, and direct damage is very red. Restrictive Priest pushes this idea a little further. Since we aren't sure of getting either effect, maybe it's okay if neither is in white's color pie?

The Flavor Judge in me says it's fine, but the Rules Lawyer says it isn't. The initial tapping effect means taboo has to be blue or white, and the rest of the mechanic feels so much more white than blue. The fact that it's a keyword action also helps; Isperia's Skywatch would be a serious color pie bend in a vacuum, but detain being an Azorius mechanic makes it fine. On the other hand, punisher effects can't be allowed to escape color pie rules entirely. Torment of Hailfire and friends wouldn't make sense in any color besides black (and maybe red).

No comments:

Post a Comment