Friday, August 23, 2013

Weekend [Art] Design Challenge 082313—Enchantments Matter

Weekend Art Challenge
Click through to see this weekend's art and the design requirements for your card submission, due Monday morning. Every submission warrants feedback, which I will try to provide, and which everyone is welcome to provide as well.

If you choose, you may use that feedback to revise your submission any number of times. I will post and review the most recent submission from each designer some time on Monday, life permitting. To help ensure I recreate your design accurately, please use CARDNAME instead of ~ and don't use the {} symbol images in your submissions.

This weekend there is no art, because I want to present another kind of challenge. Make a card appropriate to Theros (based on what we currently know about it) that promotes playing enchantments either directly or indirectly, preferably in a relatively new way. Bonus points for finding a mechanic that could be featured in a cycle or more. Different bonus points for choosing a color other than white or green, the normal enchantment colors. If you want art for your design, find it and include the URL to the image in your comment.

100 comments:

  1. Mud Artist 1B
    Creature - Centaur (u)
    Whenever a noncreature permanent is put into the graveyard from the battlefield, target player loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.
    0/1

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so glad you asked! The Theros spoiler so far has cards for every color but Black, and the worldbuilding has been fairly hush on what to expect from the color. We know Erebos and we know there will be Gorgons, but he's a god and they have rules text that you expect to match. I also expect we will see some flavorful Harpies, but those almost certainly exclusively require flying.

      So, for a sentient small black race, it's up in the air - it could be humans, if they aren't too color-bound to be Heroes. But since Centaurs guard an outer ring of the underworld in The Inferno, and the centaur Nessus acts as a ferryman, I imagine it's possible for them to be a B/G bit-player race in Theros.

      Will Theros have Vampires, since the Word of God has passed down to creative that All Sets Must Have Vampires? Will Theros have Zombies, or just Skeletons? I don't really know. The name, too, is probably too cute; but you take what you can get.

      Delete
    2. Flavor aside, this card is obviously a reflection of Blood Artist. It's designed so you can potentially play it in quirky synergy decks, whether Egg-like, Auratog, Zuran Orb, or Scapeshift-y. I think it's far and away most interesting as it is; but would it be better either saying "enchantment" instead of the cop-out "noncreature permanent", or being a 1B Enchantment itself?

      (We know from experience that there exists no good art of centaurs, so I would cheat for temporary purposes and just use http://www.wizards.com/magic/images/mtgcom/arcana1000/1065_LoamingFinal.jpg )

      Delete
  2. Because of the nature of my design, I had to make two cards:

    Korelliss, Orthovis of Woe 3WB
    http://wall.alphacoders.com/big.php?i=123841
    Legendary creature - Gorgon (Mythic)
    1WB, T: Put a card named Orthofism you own from outside the game onto the battlefield enchanting target creature.
    5/5

    Orthofism 1WB
    http://davidbrinnen.deviantart.com/art/Jade-Turned-to-Stone-269739319
    Enchantment - Aura (Uncommon)
    Enchanted creature cannot attack or block, and its activated abilities cannot be activated.
    At the beginning of Enchanted creatures controllers upkeep, that player loses 1 life.

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    1. Why is Orthofism strictly better than One Thousand Lashes, a card at the same rarity in the same hypothetical Standard format? Is it really better to require the tutor target to come from outside the game rather than being included in the deck?

      Also not understanding the name; ortho- is Greek, with a variety of definitions in the neighborhood of straight/righteous/true, but vis is Latin.

      Delete
    2. very true about the strictly better. change the cost to 2BW and make it a functional reprint instead.

      Delete
    3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    4. i made the tutor come from outside the game to make the card feel more mythic, like the gorgon is casting her own spell, not looking through your deck for your own spells.

      As far as the name:

      I made a mistake!! thank you for catching that.

      New Names:

      Korelliss of the Calcivis (and the card text would now have to search for Calsifism not Orthofism)
      &
      Calcifism is the name of the enchantment

      Delete
    5. NEW VERSION:

      Queen of the Calcivis 3WB
      http://wall.alphacoders.com/big.php?i=123841
      Legendary creature - Gorgon (Mythic)
      2WB, T: Put a card named Calcifism you own from outside the game onto the battlefield enchanting target creature.
      5/5

      Calcifism 2WB
      http://davidbrinnen.deviantart.com/art/Jade-Turned-to-Stone-269739319
      Enchantment - Aura (Uncommon)
      Enchanted creature cannot attack or block, and its activated abilities cannot be activated.
      At the beginning of Enchanted creatures controllers upkeep, that player loses 1 life.

      Delete
    6. are you sure you don't just want Xathrid Gorgon? I feel that captures the flavor without the complexity. also I'm sure this can be mono black with little modification.

      Delete
    7. It's an interesting question from a game design perspective: If you open one Korelliss, and N Calcifisms in Standard, how many of each do you play? Do you play Korelliss and leave all your removal in the sideboard, hoping to get maximum value from your legend? Do you run all your Calcifisms regardless of your legend, because you need removal and One Thousand Lashes is excellent removal? Something in between?

      From a player perspective, I expect that question isn't so much interesting as frustrating.

      Delete
    8. I think you either need to commit to this like Arachnus Spinner, which would probably require new templating ('search your library, graveyard or sideboard' anyone?), or the use of an awkward 'Choose one' clause.

      I, for one, think this would be way sweeter as a Mythic Tallowisp that can wish for any aura in your sideboard.

      Delete
    9. I was thinking a lot this weekend about a wishing Tallowisp! Certainly would make for a neat Mythic Legend.

      Delete
  3. Malicious Nymph - 3BB
    Creature - Nymph (unc)
    Infuse - At the beginning of your end step, you may untap CARDNAME. If you do, CARDNAME becomes an enchantment and loses all other types until the beginning of your
    next upkeep.
    Deathtouch
    When CARDNAME is infused, black creatures you control have deathtouch.
    2/3

    Art: http://media.wizards.com/images/magic/daily/features/feat261c_3_za8pq8rajj.jpg
    Artist Credit: Volkan Baga

    An interpretation of the Planeswalker Guide to Theros Part 1.

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    1. Infuse is neat. Do you imagine any infuse cards having less than 8 lines of text? Is that tap / lose types stuff required to make the mechanic click?

      Delete
    2. It might be simpler as a one-way transition, either as an activated or triggered ability.

      Creature
      Infuse -- B: CARDNAME becomes an Enchantment (it stops being its other types).
      Black creatures you control have deathtouch.

      Delete
    3. I was going for a different type of day/night transition than transform. In this case, day is your turn and night is everyone else's. I've come to realize that my mechanic is basically transform anyway since I forgot about Soul Seizer and Elbrus. With the night being so heavily linked to the gods, I'm anticipating another day/night mechanic associated with both the gods and nymphs. I will have to muse on it some more.

      The one-way transition isn't a bad idea; it basically "saves" your creature from removal in a way that probably isn't too annoying like undying/persist. It's a high-knowledge-level mechanic though. New players probably won't be able to see how infuse saves their creature from a Doom Blade.

      Delete
  4. Whispering Altar 1B
    Enchantment (U)
    When Whispering Altar enters the battlefield, target player discards a card.
    Whenever an opponent has no cards in hand, awaken Whispering Altar. (It becomes a black Demon creature.)
    AWAKE - Flying, 4/4

    I used the level-up template in my mockup, where the first "third" is the discard, the second "third" is the no hand, awaken, and the third "third" is flying and 4/4 with Awake written in the "Level" box. I'm also not sure whether it needs the "and loses all other types and colors", I don't know if that's implied or not.

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    1. This looks great. I like how it's useful without transforming because of the initial effect, and the initial effect works towards the transform condition.

      While I love how the effect and the condition are linked, for most Enchantment creatures, it might feel more like an Enchantment if the ability is a static ability rather than an ETB ability.

      I was also thinking there could be enchantments that turn into creatures, especially the Gods. The Gods could be low-cost enchantments with a static effect that turns into an indestructible creature in the late game after you satisfy some difficult condition or pump an enormous amount of mana into it, while possessing the same (or doubled) static effect.

      Delete
    2. Yeah you can easily have things like that, for example:

      Gilded Caratiyd W
      Enchantment (U)
      Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, you gain 1 life.
      Whenever you have 10 or more life than your starting life total, awaken Gilded Caratiyd. (It becomes a white Soldier creature.)
      AWAKE - Lifelink, 3/3

      Delete
    3. Awaken confuses me a little. For starters, you can't have the creature type in the reminder text, because it differs from card to card. As written, the card triggers infinitely off itself, since there's no rules text that says it only triggers if the enchantment isn't awake. Is "awake" a one-way transformation like "monstrous"?

      It might serve the text box better to just relegate awaken to an ability word, but that doesn't let you print cards like "Sorcery - Awaken the Reflections - Awaken all enchantments you control."

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    4. Yeah the original text that said "Whenever an opponent has no cards in hand, if Whispering Altar is an enchantment, awaken it." on the awaken part but I must have missed that when rewriting it over here. The lack of creature type is kinda sucky if that's how the rules work but you don't loose too much by having them all become Elementals or Spirits or somesuch (or maybe even a new creature type).

      Delete
    5. It would also work the way I did it at first if you made these cards things like Tribal Enchantment - Demon or Tribal Enchantment - Soldier (like how Prowl looks at creature types), but that might not be the best solution since tribal is no longer a supported mechanic. I dunno.

      Delete
    6. I'm picturing something like this:

      Memory Vortex 1U
      Enchantment - Elemental (U)
      When Wisdom Vortex enters the battlefield, draw a card.
      Whenever you have eight or more cards in hand, if Wisdom Vortex isn't a creature, awaken it. (It becomes a creature.)
      AWAKE - Flying, UU: Draw a card. [2/5]

      Delete
    7. I think this still needs the tribal tag to work (?) but otherwise yeah, seems solid. I had a card similar to that I was tossing around for a blue version. That version of the awakening trigger is also probably cleaner.

      Delete
    8. These remind me of Urza block's Opal/Veiled/Lurking/Hidden Enchantments (just noticed Red never got any of those 'awakening' enchantments). I loved those as a new player, and I think it's a good bet we'll see that type of effect again in Theros.

      Delete
    9. rofl alpha jade statue...
      http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=24

      also yes, the hidden was a cool mechanic that I feel could be used again.

      Delete
    10. Tribal would be a decent option if it were supported. I think all 'awake' enchantments becomes spirits (or similar) is likely the best solution. They don't actually have to have a subtype.

      No art, Aura?

      Delete
    11. OK then here is the final version with cleaner awaken tag and spirit creature type.

      Whispering Altar 1B
      Enchantment (U)
      When Whispering Altar enters the battlefield, target player discards a card.
      Whenever an opponent has no cards in hand, if Whispering Altar isn't a creature, awaken it. (It becomes a black Spirit creature.)
      AWAKE - Flying, 4/4

      It was much harder to find suitable art than I was expecting but I guess this will do unless I find something better:

      http://lathander1987.deviantart.com/art/Cursed-Temple-of-Goddess-of-night-3-285202804

      Delete
    12. OK, I found something better (mainly because it's actual Theros art, lol):

      http://majorspoilers.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/MtG_SDCC_Art.jpg

      Delete
  5. Erebos, God of the Underworld 8BB
    Legendary Enchantment Creature - God (Mythic)
    [Tweaked God Mechanic, originally Offering] - (You may cast this card any time you could cast an instant by sacrificing any number of enchantments and paying the difference in mana costs between this and the sacrificed enchantments. Mana cost includes color.)
    You may cast enchantment cards from graveyards as if they were in your hand.
    10/10

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    Replies
    1. MaRo said on his blog that the returning tweaked mechanic was incredibly fitting to the Greek mythology theme, and I couldn't find a candidate more fitting than Offering.

      Delete
    2. Oh, right, and here's the official art for the guy:

      http://media.wizards.com/images/magic/daily/features/feat261c_9_bf6ogpu4mu.jpg

      Delete
    3. Just to clarify: MaRo said there would be two returning mechanics. One that fit the theme perfectly and would be carried over as-is, and one that wasn't done well the first time and was consequently tweaked. Neither is the god mechanic.

      My pick for the first one is Quests (though Enchantment Offering is plausible and would be very cool), and my pick for the second would be Splice (onto Enchantments, presumably).

      Delete
    4. Why multiple enchantments?
      Is this the only card with enchantment offering that lets you get back the enchantments you sacrificed to power it out?

      Delete
    5. If it's a single enchantment, we can use Offering without creating another, nearly identical keyword.

      Is the King of the Underworld more interested in non-creature enchantments than non-enchantment creatures?

      Delete
  6. Gnosis Infusion 4U (R)
    Whenever a creature enters the battlefield, you may have each non-aura enchantment you control become a copy of that creature.
    "To know is to be."

    This could be a stand alone rare or a part of a cycle of cards that transform each enchantment you control.

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    Replies
    1. Awesome. A Clone that makes other enchantments into Clones as well.
      Nice flavor text.

      Delete
    2. Thanks!

      I found me some art!

      http://415a04c9640ccc50b175-8ffbdce6d75d89b22236265b2dc05a04.r20.cf2.rackcdn.com/754538-5212ca798cc71-large.jpg

      Delete
    3. Card type? I'm assuming global enchantment, but that would only let you use it once.

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    4. It's an enchantment, it's intended to be usable just the once. It's a thinking person's bomb.

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    5. Is it clear to everyone that you can only choose to use Gnosis Infusion's ability once? Is there a reason all your enchantments have to change or none, rather than just certain ones?

      Delete
  7. Blessing of Nyx 1GG
    Enchantment (Rare)
    Enchantment creatures you control get +1/+1.
    Creatures you control that are enchanted get +1/+1.
    Art by Mathias Kollros: http://media.wizards.com/images/magic/daily/features/feat261c_17_wdqff6ntae.jpg

    And really "out there" idea that would most likely never see print:

    Immortalize 6UUUU
    Sorcery (Mythic)
    For each enchantment you control, you get an emblem with the abilities of that enchantment.
    Art by Sam Burley: http://media.wizards.com/images/magic/daily/features/feat261c_2_bwf8cjn6kd.jpg

    I waffled back and forth on blue or black for this one. Both would seem to fit the flavor. In the end I settled on blue because it's the color of copying stuff.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For the first design green is fine, but probably white seems more natural as a colour for it.
      Second design is awesome, if probably unprintable (for now...)

      Delete
    2. Oh, I had not seen the picture you choose for the first design, now I understand why you chose green.

      Delete
    3. So enchanted enchantment creatures get +2/+2?

      Can you sacrifice an emblem? Can you shuffle it into your library?

      Delete
    4. Yes. Enchanted enchantment creatures will get both halves of the bonus.

      You can't sacrifice an emblem because it's not on the battlefield, any more than you can sacrifice a card in your hand; you also can't put counters onto it, tap it, or have it enchant anything (in retrospect, should have put "non-Aura" into the rules text). As Fake Rules Manager, I would say that you can shuffle it into your library, but it ceases to exist immediately after, and effects that look for a "card" in your library won't be able to find a shuffled-in emblem.

      Delete
    5. Then Seal of Doom is a problem for Immortalize.

      Delete
  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. Hammer of Purphoros 2RR
      Legendary Enchantment Artifact (rare)
      Whenever a creature you control attacks, it gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
      3R, T: Hammer of Purphoros deals 1 damage to each creature your opponents control.
      The hearts of all mortals beg the freedom of the fire.
      Art(http://media.wizards.com/images/magic/daily/features/feat261c_13_owknqpi18p.jpg)

      Obviously a rip off the recently spoiled Bident of Thassa.
      One enchantment-like ability that rewards attacking, and one artifact-like (Tap) ability that discourages blocking.

      Feedback appreciated

      Delete
    2. Seems pretty solid. Oddly enough, I think the static ability may actually be in Green's portion of the color pie. A 'redder' version of the ability might be something like "Attacking creatures you control get +2/+0." I'd also prefer a T ability with a little less raw power and a little more of an anti-blocking effect (which red gets lots of).

      Delete
    3. I agree. It may be better to have the abilities combo.

      Delete
    4. I agree with lpaulsen but would like to remind that anthem effect of primary in white al la righteous charge rather than green,

      Delete
    5. This is weird to me, but no weirder than Bident of Thassa. It's clearly equipment, but you're wielding it instead of your creatures, I guess?

      Delete
    6. Thanks, you convinced me on the +2/+0.
      Flavor-wise it represents an equipment for gods (and planeswalkers like you) not for creatures. In my mind I have pictured it a-la Rod of Ruin. The enchantment part represents its bond with the gods. It will almost certainly have the special Starry frame, which I find strange as a decision, in that it probably will - just - indicate "enchantmentness", and won't have a mechanical meaning.
      Regarding the card, with the Tap effect I wanted to be subtle, with the mass ping that nonetheless discourages blocking; but probably it pulls away focus from the card, and creates a feel-bad moment when you use the ability and it doesn't kill any creature, even if it permits the strike of your critters.
      So I change the design to the more straight-forward:

      Hammer of Purphoros 2RR
      Legendary Enchantment Artifact (rare)
      Whenever a creature you control attacks, it gets +2/+0 until end of turn.
      3R, T: Creatures can’t block this turn.
      The hearts of mortals beg to be inspired and overwhelmed by passion.
      Art(http://media.wizards.com/images/magic/daily/features/feat261c_13_owknqpi18p.jpg)

      Delete
  9. Erebos's Claim
    4BB
    Enchantment (R)
    Whenever an enchantment creature you control attacks, you may sacrifice it. If you do, you draw cards equal to its power, then lose that much life.
    "I am sorry," said Erebos, his whip coiling around the creature’s throat, "But your time is now. Come. Peace awaits you."

    Intended to be part of some kind of cycle.

    Feedback appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fascinating idea, but I think you should remove one of the hoops to jump through. Right now you require the sacrificed creature to be:

      1. An enchantment (appropriate, but rather parasitic)
      2. Able to attack (rarely relevant, but annoying when it is)

      I get that this is a top-down design and support for the enchantments-matter theme, but you should have a good reason for why it isn't just

      Sacrifice a creature: You draw cards equal to its power, then lose that much life.

      ...which is plenty cool on its own, and a lot more concise.

      Delete
    2. actually I feel diffently. while I agree on the fact that the enchantment creature theme seems like its sort of added to make it harder to use outside of theros, I think that it you should need a little bit more (and different) requirement for sacrificing the creatures than just attacking.

      like: Whenever an enchantment creature you deals combat damage to an opponent, you may sacrifice it. If you do, you draw cards equal to its power, then lose that much life.
      "I am sorry," said Erebos, his whip coiling around the creature’s throat, "But you have completed your task for me. Come. Peace awaits you."

      the idea here is too eliminate the confusion of attacking with a creature without it going into combat or actually attacking. or attacking with creatures just to sac them immediately.

      Delete
    3. I hate this trigger. It starts out promising some kind of combat story and then it just kills your guy. I'd much rather see "enchantment creatures you control have 'T, sacrifice itself'" or "sacrifice an enchantment creature you control" since the attack is irrelevant.

      More importantly, why are we murdering the bloody hell out of enchantments after all the work they had to do to become creatures in the first place? Help my enchantments become creatures. Make my enchantment creatures better. Don't kill them!

      Delete
    4. TehWERR, I like your saboteur version a lot. It makes sure that combat actually matters and allows the enchantment to be costed a lot lower. I'd still argue for dropping the 'enchantment' requirement, for both mechanical and flavor reasons. As far as I know, Erebos can't kill other gods.

      Delete
    5. Damn, I like the saboteur version a lot better too, but the challenge requires enchantments.

      How about:

      Erebos's Claim
      4BB
      Enchantment (R)
      Whenever an enchantment creature you control deals combat damage to a player, you may sacrifice it. If you do, you draw that many cards and lose that much life.
      "I am sorry," said Erebos, his whip coiling around the creature’s throat, "But your duty is done. Come. Peace awaits you."

      Still kills your creature but feels a lot more rewarding. Also feels black enough to me. And it's parasitic, but I think a rare parasitic cycle is fine.

      Delete
    6. If the creature part still bugs y'all here are two alternatives:

      Whenever an enchantment you control deals damage to a player, you may sacrifice it. If you do, you draw that many cards and lose that much life.

      Or:

      Whenever you sacrifice an enchantment, draw cards equal to its converted mana cost, then lose that much life.

      Delete
    7. I like the first alternate.
      The second alternate is pretty frustrating given that black is incapable of sacrificing enchantments.

      Another option:
      Whenever an enchantment you control deals damage [to a player], draw that many cards and lose that much life.

      Delete
    8. Alright. Final:

      Erebos's Duty
      4BB
      Enchantment (R)
      Whenever an enchantment you control deals damage, you may sacrifice it. If you do, you draw that many cards and lose that much life.
      “I am sorry,” said Erebos, whip uncoiling from his hand, “But you must accept your fate as I have mine. Come. Peace awaits you.”

      Break out the Pestilence folks.

      Delete
  10. Imbue with Divinity
    GW
    Sorcery (U)
    Until end of turn, target creature you control becomes an Enchantment in addition to its other types and gets +1/+1 for each creature and each enchantment you control.
    [i]Whether a reward for reverence, or to delight in mortal folly, the gods may see fit to lend the heroes of Theros a helping hand.[/i]

    My intention is that this gives at least +2/+2, assuming you only have the one creature and no other enchantments, but I can't remember if that's how the game actually counts on-board objects.

    This was designed for the first art in the PW Guide: http://media.wizards.com/images/magic/daily/features/feat261c_1_9837094ds3.jpg

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neat. Does it need to be both green and white?

      Delete
    2. Well, to be perfectly honest it being green and white was just me taking a cue from the art.

      However, it could be argued that the Creature bonus comes from green (Might of the Masses) and the Enchantment bonus comes from white (uh... well there's nothing like it to my knowledge). Plus, turning a creature INTO an enchantment also feels very white.

      I suppose it would thus be best as is, or as a monowhite card, though there would be some strangeness there as white doesn't typically get sorcery-speed single creature pump.

      Delete
  11. Purphoros, the Fire Penguin- 4RR
    Legendary Enchantment Creature- God Aura (Rare)
    6/5
    Divine (When ~ enters the battlefield, exile a non-Aura permanent you control until ~ leaves the battlefield.)
    Haste, trample. Whenever a source you control would deal damage, it deals double that damage instead.

    Playing with the idea that we could have Auras that 'change' whatever they enchant into a god-- equivalent to the god appearing as an avatar maybe. This would also make good use of M14's Banisher Priest templating. All-downside mechanics tend to be suspect, but this one seems pretty justified, in that it feels like an Aura and works a lot like Champion. Feedback welcome and appreciated.

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. reminder text for divine should be "When Purphoros, the Fire Penguin enters the battlefield, it consumes and confuses target non-Aura permanent you control."

      also I'm not really sure I get the template here. but I feel like this would just work better as the curse of the fire penguin card but with actual rules text.

      Delete
    3. Is it an aura? If so, does it have the 'Enchant X' rules text? What's going on with the exile? Are we supposed to be exiling the thing we're enchanting? If so, why, and why can it godify any permanent except another aura?

      Delete
    4. Yes, it's an Aura. No, it doesn't have 'Enchant X'-- the 'divine' ability replaces it. (I realize now that this may create rules problems, but re-templating the divine ability as "Enchant X; X is treated as if it doesn't exist" may solve this. Otherwise we can just drop the "Aura" subtype.) The idea is for it to behave as if it's enchanting the exiled card, but it exiles instead for two reasons: (1) it would have to completely overwrite the enchanted card anyway and this template avoids the ensuing rules complications, and (2) it prevents 2-for-1's. What exactly it godifies is very much negotiable; "creature" and "enchantment" are both plausible replacements for "permanent", with or without the non-Aura clause. I also considered replacing "non-Aura" with "non-God". My intent was to prevent one god from turning into another god.

      Delete
    5. Revised version:

      Purphoros, the Fire Penguin- 4RR
      Legendary Enchantment Creature- God (Rare)
      6/5
      Divine (When ~ enters the battlefield, exile a non-God permanent you control until ~ leaves the battlefield.)
      Haste, trample. Whenever a source you control would deal damage, it deals double that damage instead.

      Delete
  12. Diabolic Harpy (Rare
    2BB
    Creature - Harpy
    2/2
    Flying, lifelink
    At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control five or more Auras, search your library for a card and put that card into your hand. Then shuffle your library.
    Erebos fosters endless greed in his devotees.

    Illus: Ravenscar45
    http://ravenscar45.deviantart.com/art/Harpy-301882786

    ReplyDelete
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    1. once "on" this card's pretty broke. might I suggest something a little less... NWO unfriendly? like edicting opponents every turn. there's a pretty good reason wizards hasn't done a lot of upkeep diabolic tutor cards.

      Delete
    2. Why are non-Aura enchantments insufficient?
      What is it about harpies that find you spells once your permanents are glowingly radioactively? (I'm asking if there's a big bonus that would work better with the card mechanics/concept)

      Delete
    3. The only thing I would change on this would be to re-think lifelink, but having it does incentivize you to suit up the Harpy, so I can see its value.

      I think it's hard enough to turn on, and slow enough to trigger (once a turn, sure, but waiting a whole turn after your fifth aura) that it's not a problem at all. Probably fun in some Commander or casual-Curse decks.

      Delete
    4. Rares aren't affected by NWO.

      I chose Auras because they can be answered by all colors, unlike non-Auras which are immune to Black and Red.

      I thought harpies could take the place of Vampires in the Block. And, in the myth, harpies harass and harrie people, often by stealing food.

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  13. Auratouched Vampire 2BB
    Vampire Shaman(R)
    Aura's attached to CARDNAME have totem armour(If enchanted creature would be destroyed, instead remove all damage from it and destroy this Aura.)
    Whenever an enchantment enters the graveyard from the battlefield put a +1/+1 counter on CARDNAME.
    3/3

    Probably aren't many vampires in Theros but the creature type can be flexible.

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    1. Unless Totem Armor is a keyword in the set, I think we just spell this ability out (and if it is in the set, I'm not sure we need/want Auratouched Vampire).

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  14. Spark of Purphoros 2R
    Enchantment (U)
    Enchantment Creatures and Enchanted Creatures you control have first strike.
    R: CARDNAME becomes a 2/2 Spirit Creature until end of turn. It's still an Enchantment.

    Intended as an Uncommon cycle to work with the Enchantment Creatures we expect to see in Theros.

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    1. Does the NWO lord rule apply here?

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    2. Not sure I understand-- do you mean that it should spell out "becomes a 2/2 Spirit Creature with First Strike until end of turn," or not gain the bonus itself, or something else?

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    3. probably it wants the bonus for itself spelled out

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    4. Okay that makes sense I'll make that change. Just wasn't sure if there was something else I wasn't thinking of.

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  15. sort of a cycle???? there are three that I really felt I could present from the cycle. they probably would all have to be rares and features a new way of counting enchantments

    Studious Mantle {2}{U}
    Enchantment [R]
    At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control more enchantments than cards in your hand draw a card.

    Foul Mantle {B}
    enchantment [R]
    At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control more enchantments than an opponent has cards in their hand, that opponent loses 3 life.

    Scenic Mantle {1}{G}
    Enchantment [R]
    At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control more enchantments than creatures, put a 1/1 green Saproling creature token onto the battlefield.
    (I used saprolings here because I didn't have a better Idea for theros 1/1 green creatures.)

    two of theses have a rebalanceing theme and the other does not. obviously you can't have all of them care about rebalanceing to the number of enchantments because you run out of zones really fast. so I would opt for a 2:3 split here. I would have put them all at 1C but the blue one felt sort o' bah-roken at that cost. I was going to to have the black one be a oversold cemetery variant but I couldn't get it to work right so I went for a "the rack"

    as for art, I'm thinking sort of like Cloak of Feathers by Rebecca Guay. each art would feature a man or woman of color appropriate race and class facing away or to the side with a long magical cloak of ____ trailing behind them. studious would be paper or runes. foul would be worms or filth. scenic would be flowers or leafs.

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    Replies
    1. Studious Mantle 2U
      Enchantment [R]
      At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control more enchantments than cards in your hand draw a card.

      Foul Mantle B
      enchantment [R]
      At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control more enchantments than an opponent has cards in their hand, that opponent loses 3 life.

      Scenic Mantle 1G
      Enchantment [R]
      At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control more enchantments than creatures, put a 1/1 green Saproling creature token onto the battlefield.
      (I used saprolings here because I didn't have a better Idea for theros 1/1 green creatures.)

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    2. The mechanic involves counting two sets of things, and comparing them every turn but I still like it a lot. At least, I'd want to playtest it.

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  16. Resurgence of Heat 2R
    Creature-Avatar (R)
    When CARDNAME leaves the battlefield, it deals damage to target creature or player equal to the number of permanents that left the battlefield this turn.
    3/2

    Auras lead to lots of permanents dying when a creature leaves. This guy could be part of a cycle you're not afraid to pile auras onto.

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    Replies
    1. Perhaps it'd be better as a twist on Demigod of Revenge/Phoenix/Hammer of Bogardan? "Leaves the battlefield" triggers are something I associate so strongly with Evoke (and are kinda weird in general), that I'd strive to avoid them unless necessary.

      Rage of Purphoros
      1RRR
      Creature - Hellion (R)
      Haste
      When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, it deals two damage to each creature.
      Whenever an enchantment you control is destroyed, if CARDNAME is in your graveyard, you may 1R. If you do, returning CARDNAME to your hand.
      3/3

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    2. I definitely think it should be leaves the battlefield. Triggering on enchantments being destroyed means that Auras don't trigger this, which I think is a mistake. Rules.

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    3. "Rules" what?

      Look at it this way (as an extrapolation of Jay's terse remark) — How many Aura do you need to have piled on to this guy to make it matter (or satisfying)? Or how many permanents do you need destroyed? Is this supposed to be something that demands multiples in play? If so, why? Should that be clear to the player? And how will the controlling player feel if an opponent destroys all the permanents EXCEPT Resurgence of Heat?

      Jules' design achieves an increased valuation of Aura without being explicit that that's what it does, but it does so at the cost of being fairly marginal and unappealing. More and more, we're seeing WotC choose blunt-force instruments over clever planning.

      So, if Jules wants to make a Stalking Vengeance variant, make a Stalking Vengeance variant. If he wants to make a Wrath-punisher (a la Voice of Resurgence), he's going to have to work harder to make it seem fun to have your creature die by balancing the ratio of how much mana the controlling player has to input in order to achieve a satisfying output.



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    4. Ben is arguing templating. Technically, an aura going to the graveyard as a state-based effect doesn't count as 'being destroyed'.

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    5. Jay is correct. Sorry, I should have been more clear.

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