Challenge #7: Results

Greetings, designers!  Apologies for the long delay in getting back to you.  As Jay mentioned, I've been quite occupied by non-magical concerns recently, but I tore myself away from work long enough to judge this design challenge.  Now that we're all eagerly awaiting the new guild keywords in Return to Ravnica, let's whet our appetites with some reader-submitted creations.

Third Place
Winner: Ben Nassau

Drifting Somnian (C)
3U
Creature - Spirit
Flying
When Drifting Somnian enters the battlefield, sedate target creature. (Tap it. It doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step.)
1/1

Duskmantle Infiltrator (U)
UB
Creature - Human Rogue
Whenever Duskmantle Infiltrator deals combat damage to a player, sedate target creature. (Tap it. It doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step.)
2/1

We already know that sedate is a viable action word, since it plays just fine on cards like Crippling Chill, Kor Hookmaster, and Mana Skimmer.  It's not an innovative mechanic, but it's a perfect flavor fit for the secretive Dimir and their covert operatives.  It also has some flexibility in terms of affecting other permanent types, although a name other than "sedate" might make more sense.

Second Place
Winner: Jay Treat

Orzhov Squire (C)
1W
Creature - Human Soldier
Inheritance — When Orzhov Squire dies, gain a gold counter. It has “Sacrifice this: Add 1 to your mana pool.”
1/2

Orphanage Matron (U)
1BW
Creature - Human Wizard
Inheritance — When Orphanage Matron dies, gain a gold counter. It has “Sacrifice this: Add 1 to your mana pool.”
X, Sacrifice a creature: Gain X life.
2/2

This gold counter mechanic is of course borrowed from Devon Rule's GDS2 world.  I think it's especially good for the Orzhov, who care a lot about accumulating wealth throughout generations.  I'm not sure whether the gameplay of a death trigger is the best choice; waiting until after your creatures die to gain gold will sometimes delay the benefit until after its peak usefulness.

First Place
Winner: Prophylaxis

Frost Interloper (C)
2(U/R)
Creature - Goblin Shaman
Knowledge - Whenever you draw a card, you may pay 2. If so, Frost Interloper deals 1 damage to target creature. Tap that creature.
1/2

Mizzium Dragon (R)
5UR
Creature - Dragon
Flying
Knowledge - Whenever you draw a card, you may cast an instant or sorcery card from your hand without paying its mana cost.
4/4

At first, one might wonder why "whenever you draw a card" makes for a compelling trigger at all.  Doesn't it function like an upkeep trigger most of the time?  What makes this a great Izzet keyword is that it works well with looting, which appears at common in both colors.  What's more, it feels like proper mad science: you read a book, and then something exciting happens.

While I like the keyword a lot, the actual cards submitted had some problems.  Frost Interloper should certainly be gold instead of hybrid for color pie reasons.  Mizzium Dragon is exciting, but the potential for chaining draw spells is worrisome.  Still, I'm confident that this mechanic, along with some cantrips and looting spells, would make for wacky Izzet fun.