Cool Card Design of the Day7/15/2011 - I have three Hydra designs left and I'm going to share them all with you today rather than revisit them on some later date. Don't worry about being overwhelmed in awesome, they're fairly tame compared to the last few days. Naturally, I will be saving my favorite for last. First up:
Basically, you can only kill one head at a time. That's useful and resonant enough, but not terribly exciting. It doesn't really do anything other than be conveniently largish and hard to kill.
That's a Hydra lord. Does the world need a Hydra lord? Of course not. There is no Angel, Demon or Sphinx lord (though there is a Dragon lord in Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund). Still, Hydras do love them some +1/+1 counters and a little semi-shroud never hurt an army of giant monsters.
Yeah, he eats ANYTHING. And eating makes him bigger. The wording is a touch tricky, because dinner doesn't happen before damage is dealt like Engulfing Slagwurm, nor is it a post-death situation like Krovikan Vampire or Rot Wolf; It's more like deathtouch. The other creature will die and get digested (hence the exile) at the same time, but not without dealing its own combat damage. The +1/+1 counter will be on Devouring Hydra before state-based effects are checked after the damage is dealt, so the eaten creature will need to have dealt 5 damage to a virgin Devouring Hydra to kill it.
That's it for Hydra week. Anyone who was skeptical how long R&D can keep making fresh and interesting Hydra shouldn't be. Even I was concerned that all my hydra would look like trash next to Primordial Hydra because it grows SO fast. But it's okay: Hydra don't just grow. There's clearly room for years of fun, powerful and flavorful multi-headed serpent action.
Why oh why would you make a Phantom Hydra that almost-but-not-quite mirrors the various Phantoms from Judgment?
ReplyDeleteC'mon, Jay!
Devouring Hydra!
ReplyDeleteXGG
Creature - Hydra
Devour X
0/0
Why wouldn't I, metaghost? It's just a playtest name.
ReplyDeleteDevour got my vote for worst mechanic in the past few years.
ReplyDeleteSo many feel bad moments.
I can agree with that. Not many Devour cards had a super-solid effect in my eyes and they never made it out of casual stuff besides maybe Mycoloth.
ReplyDeleteI like the first one the best. Much simpler than Protean Hydra. While I didn't realize this at first, I'm glad we have the green iconic creature although hopefully they get more constructed playable as time goes on. No one wants hydras to be branded the "unplayable mythic" of the set.
I can only notice that your wording skills, which are usually rather acceptable, are abysmal in this column for some reason. :/
ReplyDeleteJay doesn't care much for proper templating, he's too busy invoking the spirit of Ken Nagle.
ReplyDeleteRandom question: I know this blog has a presence on Facebook, but is there any intention to do anything similar on Google+? I know that it doesn't currently support pages for non-person entities, but if any of the individuals contributing who also have profiles on that network would like to spread the GA love I know that I'd appreciate it. :)
ReplyDeleteLuminum, I'll ask the gang if any of us have Google+ invites (or maybe you can send one along), otherwise we'll have to wait until it's less exclusive.
ReplyDeleteI'll be happy to send along invites to whoever here would like one. (And I might as well just start using my Google profile when posting comments here...)
ReplyDeleteAnonymous and Metaghost, I'm not offended to have "abysmal wording skills,", but I am curious what specific instances you're talking about and how you have done differently. This is how we learn.
ReplyDeleteJay, I don't know what Anonymous is referring to here, though your Phantom Hydra is phrased in a way that isn't especially "MTG" and more just literal English.
ReplyDeleteI assumed you were aware of this. And like most communication, it isn't a problem unless people don't understand what is trying to be conveyed. As has been demonstrated in numerous official playtest cards, cards are rarely in a final templating until they've passed through development.
Phantom Hydra's second ability, and both of Elder Hydra's don't have "proper" wording. But as metaghost said, these are rougher designs and don't necessarily need polished wording to get the idea across.
ReplyDeleteOh, Alex, thanks for the offer of a Google+ invite! I'll PM you our e-mail on twitter, lest nefarious Nigerian spambots start trolling us.
ReplyDelete