Pair 1: Dromar's Charm and Mortal Wound
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Jay Treat: 6.7 (Fun: 7 Aesthetics: 6 Mechanics: 7 Bonus: 0)
Jonathan Woodward: 5
metaghost: 6
Chah: 7.7 (Fun: 6 Aesthetics: 8 Mechanics: 9 Bonus: 0)
Average: 6.3
Comments:
Chah: A really cool ability. It may cause the board to clog up, so maybe it's better on a larger guy with higher cost. I think a name like "Acid-blood shrike" might be evocative.
metaghost: A very powerful ability more deserving of a rare, but a really good idea that made me think of it as Black's answer to Swans of Bryn Argoll. However, it can't be a Shrike if it doesn't have flying.
Pair 3: Pestermite and Tivadar of Thorn
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Jay Treat: 6 (Fun: 7 Aesthetics: 8 Mechanics: 3 Bonus: 0)
Jonathan Woodward: 5
metaghost: 7
Chah: 6.3 (Fun: 7 Aesthetics: 6 Mechanics: 6 Bonus: 0)
Average: 6.1
Jay Treat: Blindside is strong, but frustrating (because of the order) and probably not mono-white.
Chah: I like how it's removal that goes further than destroying just one creature, but not as far as destroying two creatures. But the phrasing needs to be changed somehow, because many players will expect this to work like an entwine spell. By the way, I think the name could be "The Lost and the Mourning" or something.
metaghost: What Jay is missing is that keeping the order as written is what keeps it mono-white. That said, I agree with what they're saying regarding the expectations of how a modal spell like should work. As such, I think it'd improved by being a non-modal spell.
Pair 4: Shrouded Serpent and Soldevi Sage
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Jay Treat: 7 (Fun: 7 Aesthetics: 8 Mechanics: 4 Bonus: 2)
Jonathan Woodward: 4
metaghost: 8
Chah: 6.3 (Fun: 8 Aesthetics: 4 Mechanics: 6 Bonus: 0)
Average: 6.325
Comments:
Jay Treat: So I can lose a guy, take 1+ damage AND give you a card, or just take 4? This snake would be more interesting without trample.
Chah: If the aim is to give this "Un-chumpblockability," it would be simpler to give this an ability like Aura Gnarlid. If the goal is a "Digest small prey for gain" flavor, it could be more like Rot Wolf.
metaghost: I like this design a lot because I appreciate how it emphasizes Green's desire to interact on a physical level. I do think you could've tried to pull more characteristics from the card pair and made things a bit more interesting, something like:
Soldevi Gargantuan
2GGG
Creature - Wurm
Trample
Whenever Soldevi Gargantuan becomes blocked by two or more creatures, you may draw three cards.
6/5
By adding a little enticement to find ways to get your creature gang-blocked, the design can be more appealing to a broader set of player-types.
Total for all 3 cards: 18.725
I love the first card, it's the kind of card a black player enjoys playing. I think it's the best card in this contest.
ReplyDeleteThe second card is really frustrating. It leaves you really wishing you could switch the order, and it makes you feel like the card is trolling you. I would remove the choices and put a "you may" on the second part. With tweaks, it becomes a solid design.
Mottled constrictor is a design that doesn't play like it promises, and what it promises is not interesting in its current incarnation. This is the kind of card that I don't like.
Overall, pretty good!
True, there were very few cards that both felt new and was printable, but Tar Shrike was that.
ReplyDeleteI wish I gave it a higher score, but I feel the ability should be on an early, smaller creature that can't block as a kind of deathtouch/evasion, or a late game huge creature as a finisher that's hard to deal with.
When creating renders, I normally choose the art first, then build the card's name and flavor around it. I find that it makes for a better visual, which - sadly - did not apply here. Ah well.
ReplyDelete