Tuesday, February 26, 2013

CCDD 022613—Phantom of the Loch

Cool Card Design of the Day
2/26/2013 - Everybody wants to block Stealer of Secrets, but nobody wants to block Slate Street Ruffian. What if we married the two to make a blue creature that your opponents don't want to block?


I kind of waffled between whether it should be an Illusion or a Faerie. Splitting the difference is not what Creative would do.

9 comments:

  1. We'd have a card that we might as well write "Phantom of the Loch is unblockable" on?

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    Replies
    1. If I'm facing an unblockable creature, an entire avenue of interaction is closed to me. A creature like Phantom of the Loch gives me options. Not great options, but options. I always prefer "You can do X, but it will cost you," to "You cannot do X."

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  2. I think this is a direction that either becomes the norm for saboteur effects or is heavily mined as a theme of a set. It's not really unblockable in practice. Players will have to block and hopefully kill the creature to keep the effect a one-off. And if both players have the trigger... well that could be very interesting. I would love to see Specters switch to this trigger.

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  3. It already exists on several cards:
    - Chambered Nautilus
    - Drelnoch
    - Saprazzan Heir
    - Slith Strider

    I think it would be better off on green creatures or possibly red ones since it's effectively a punisher mechanic. Realistically it fits into green's current color pie but I think it would be a much more interesting mechanic in red.

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  4. I particularly like the idea of using this ability in green because its a new type of evasion the color needs, fits the color pie, and combos well with "must block" effects. It might be better as "Whenever ~ deals damage to a creature" so that it also combos with fight.

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  5. Maybe one trigger is red, while the other is green:

    Angry Recruiter 2R
    When Angry Recruiter becomes blocked, you may put a creature card with power 2 or less from your hand onto the battlefield.
    2/2

    Scholar of Blows 2G
    Whenever ~ deals damage to a creature, draw a card.
    2/2

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  6. Despite the blue precedent, I agree would be good to see more of in green. Rot Wolf was fun and powerful, and plays very similarly. As a bonus, it turns your giant growths into 2-for-1s when your opponent tries to block and trade.

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    Replies
    1. If its the "blocked" trigger rather than the damage trigger, you could even rip the Giant Growth you need to keep your dog alive.

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