Weekend Art ChallengeClick 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 ~ in your submissions.
Design a card with an uncertain outcome that isn't red. Hint: Coin flips and die rolling are right out. Bonus points if you can do it without looking at the CMC of the top card of someone's library.
If you really manage this while resonating with the art, big bonus points for you.
I'm not around today or this weekend, so I hope you all will give extra feedback to each other.
Waterfall Guardian 1UW
ReplyDeleteCreature Human Soldier
Defender
Whenever CARDNAME blocks a creature, its controller must name a card. You may reveal your hand. If the named card is not revealed CARDNAME has deathtouch until end of turn.
1/7
I will ask you riddles three.
I am unsure of the colors of this card.
I think there needs to be an "if, then" clause in here. It seems like you could just choose not to reveal your hand every time and the card would always have deathtouch.
Deletethe way this is worded it makes me think that I block, then I name a card, reveal my hand, and If I reveal a card i did not name, my creature has deathtouch.
Deletealso deathtouch is green and black. this is a WU card so it seems odd.
could be a cool UB or UG card
I'd definitely say UB is the best color pair for this.
DeleteAlso, I agree with Ant: to avoid confusion this should say "that creature's controller".
DeleteWhoa, the way he's worded, if you block with this, choose not to reveal your hand, this guy triggers. Or if you have no cards in hand he always triggers :/
DeleteWhat exactly is the concept of this guy? He's protecting you and giving away all of your information? Or your opponent's guesses are doing what to him? There's potential here, but I'm not sure I get what story you're telling.
Asking for the password! Whenever this would block look at the top card of your library. The attacking player tries to name it to remove this guy from combat and get through anyways. Just a thought
DeleteI tried to not look the top of the library as per instructions and limitations. I messed up with the wording however.
DeleteLet's try again:
Waterfall Guardian 1UB
Creature Human Soldier
Defender
Whenever CARDNAME blocks a creature, that creature's controller must name a card. You may reveal your hand. If you do and the named card is not revealed CARDNAME has deathtouch until end of turn.
1/7
Say the password and pass. Say anything else...
Now that it works correctly, this is very cool and flavorful. Nice work!
DeleteI think the flavor's better if he lets them through if they've got the password.
Delete"Deathtouch
Whenever one or more creatures attack you and/or planeswalkers you control, the attacking player names a card. Reveal your hand, if the named card is revealed this way, ~ can't block this turn."
Waterfall of Weenies XW
ReplyDeleteSorcery
Reveal the top X cards of your library. Put all creature cards with CMC 1 OTB and all others into graveyard.
Great now im picturing a waterfall of hot dogs.
DeleteAnd now I'm hungry
neat. What rarity?
DeleteWhite typically doesn't get card draw, so this needs to be rare. Good way to reload from a board wipe if you're flooded out.
DeleteOoh this art is making me think of those days playing Zelda, furiously running into every waterfall in hopes of treasure being hidden behind it!
ReplyDelete*cracks knuckles*
This might get wordy...
Seeker of Secrets 1UU
Creature - Hylean Knight
Whenever a land enters the battlefield under an opponents control, that player exiles the top card of their library underneath that land.
Whenever CARDNAME would deal damage to an opponent, you may prevent that damage. If you do, reveal all cards exiled under target land that opponent controls. You may cast those cards this turn without paying their cost.
1/2
Trying to capture the feel of link bumping into all your opponents lands, looking for their hidden stuff instead of completing his quest to damage them haha.
should be "exiles FACE DOWN underneath..."
Deletefor mystery! and reasons...
As fun as this is, most of the time it is very close to "cast the top card of target opponent's library w/o paying its mana cost".
DeleteThe 'underneath' idea is cool. I'm not sure if any existing Magic card explicitly associates the thing it exiles with some *other* card, but it could potentially be useful technology. (Haunt is the closest analogy I can think of.)
"Underneath" isn't a thing, so I think the Seeker should just exile all the cards in one pile and choose one at random to cast each time. Since the exiled cards are face-down, you're not really making a meaningful choice distinguishing between "unknown card under Forest #1" and "unknown card under Forest #2", and the only functional difference I can think of involves Strionic Resonator. (Also, replacement effects can't have a target because they never go on the stack.)
DeleteVery Daxos-like, but non-legendary, so...normal rare?
Lands your opponents control have hideaway?
DeleteMemory Cascade (rare)
ReplyDelete3UU
Enchantment
At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player exiles cards from the top of his or her library until he or she exiles a nonland card.
Players can't cast spells with the same name as cards exiled with CARDNAME.
Very interesting. I like the idea but I have a bunch of comments:
Delete-The card name makes this thing sound more like Epic Experiment or Hive Mind than Nevermore.
-This card would be better if it *was* more like Epic Experiment or Hive Mind. A symmetrical effect that eventually stops everybody from playing the game is just not a fun place to be. Maybe copy spells with the same name rather than countering them?
-The exiling mechanism is more complicated than it needs to be. I'd just exile one card per turn and let the lands fall where they may.
-If you take the above suggestion, the card becomes quite slow (and it's reasonably slow already), so the mana cost should probably come down a bit.
Locking up the game is the opposite of playing. That's kind of not where WotC has been steering us. What if it only prevented the most recently exiled card? Or players could actively deselect exiled cards? I don't know where to go with this that doesn't change a whole lot about it.
DeleteWhat if it did the opposite and let you cast exiled cards, but not others?
DeleteThen it would be "3UU: Players can't cast spells" in EDH.
DeleteSorry, I should have been more specific. What if it exiles some amount of cards. Then, whenever someone cast a spell, they exile it and choose another card from exile to replace it.
DeleteYou mean Knowledge Pool?
DeleteLet's make this one-sided in order to prevent the game from locking up. It's still a pretty slow lock, either way.
DeleteMemory Cascade (rare)
3UU
Enchantment
At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, that player exiles the top card of his or her library.
Your opponents can't cast spells with the same name as cards exiled with CARDNAME.
Ghostwish 1R
ReplyDeleteSorcery
Ghostwish is colorless.
Choose a card you own from outside the game at random. Put it into your hand.
Those who walk through Ugin's Falls find their spirits dampened but their minds ablaze.
Alternative flavor text: She wished for a path to walk but not for the sight to see it.
DeleteCheater. :-)
DeleteCool card, though. One could make a case for putting this effect in U or G... but who am I kidding, this is clearly a red effect. And since Ghostfire's being colorless is actually relevant (with regard to protection abilities, for example), I'd say you need some kind of mechanical justification for this "but it's not red!" hack.
DeleteHow annoying would this be in casual play, when people might bring an entire box of decks to weekly gaming night?
DeleteLess annoying than if they had to Burning Wish through the same amount of cards to try to find a specific sorcery. Pick a deckbox at random, pick a deck within it at random, pick a card within it at random. It's not immediate, but it can be done pretty quickly, and if you're playing in casual, its great potential for stories should hopefully outweigh its inconvenience.
DeleteAs for being colorless, I suppose we presume this exists in a format full of Hydroblasts, and/or in a vertical cycle with Ghostfire and... Ghostwildfire? Ghostongue Kavu?
What is this? Microprose Magic 1995? LOL
DeleteIllusionary Mists UG
ReplyDeleteTarget opponent separates all attacking creatures he or she controls into two piles. For each creature in the pile of your choice, tap it, prevent all combat damage it would deal this turn, and it doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step.
(Playtest name: "Fog or Fiction")
With type, rarity, and alternative templating:
DeleteIllusionary Mists GU
Instant (Uncommon)
Target opponent separates all attacking creatures he or she controls into two piles.Tap all creatures in the pile of your choice. Prevent all combat damage those creatures would deal this turn. Those creatures don't untap during their controller's next untap step.
Very cool idea! I especially like how this completely stops a single attacker. That said, the "freezing fog" effect seems a little bit like overkill. What about costing U and just freezing, or costing G and just fogging? (Though I admit, mono-green being this tricky would seem a little weird.)
DeleteI like it. Green has a history of "stunning" creatures (Spore Cloud & Orochi from Kamigawa) so I could see this losing the U altogether. Then its half a Fog that lasts longer.
DeleteI know Green isn't just big and dumb, but is this a little too "thinky" for it? What if you made it W and did the Maze of Ith thing to a pile?
Lost in the Spray 1UU
ReplyDeleteEnchantment (Rare)
U: Reveal a card from your hand at random. If it's an Island, tap target creature.
Gives new meaning (and gameplay relevance) to the term 'flooded out'. This also feels Blue, since it's a random effect that you can still have a good deal of control over. (See also: Merfolk Spy, Delver of Secrets.)
Feedback welcome and much appreciated.
This is weird in that it's a control card that wants you to have one card in hand at all times. Theoretically it could also work as a tempo card, but it seems too expensive (and mana-intensive) to work with what is traditionally a mana-light strategy.
DeleteThis is a really cool mechanic, but we've seen a departure from soft lock enchantments. If you have only one card in hand it becomes "U: Tap target creature." Could this cost a lot more, be a dude, or not be Opposition (ie repeatable and game ending)?
DeleteGood points-- thanks! Because control depends so much on card advantage and commits so little to the board, this is unlikely to be strong there; it's more likely to be near the top of the curve for an aggressive blue strategy like Delver or (especially) Master of Waves. Even there, though, it isn't Opposition because it hits creatures only, not lands.
DeleteMike George's point was that with enough lands in play, this enchantment can lock the game into "Target player can't attack, ever" regardless of how long it takes you to actually win the game.
DeleteI see. What if you could only tap down one creature per Island in your hand?
DeleteLost in the Spray 1UU
Enchantment (Rare)
U: Exile a card from your hand at random until end of turn. If an Island is exiled this way, you may tap target creature.
I'm not sure that I like this design better-- it's quite a bit less random if you're able to activate it once per card in your hand, and it's quite feel-bad if you exile a spell you actually wanted to cast. But at least it doesn't provide unlimited tapping capability.
Final version:
DeleteLost in the Spray 1U
Enchantment (Rare)
U: Reveal a card from your hand at random. If it's an Island, you may exile it until end of turn and tap target creature.
Fixes most of the issues that the previous version had. Not as strong now, so moved cost to 1U.
Encroaching Nothingness 3 (Rare)
ReplyDeleteEnchantment
At the beginning of your upkeep, each player exiles a card from their hand at random. Any player may cast cards exiled with CARDNAME and they may spend mana as though it were mana of any color to cast those cards.
Felt like pushing the envelope. Probably doesn't need to be colorless, I did that mostly because of the art.
So the flavor is that all of the color boundaries are fading away? That's very cool. There tend to be major rules issues when more than one player is able to cast the same card, though, so you might want to look for a way to prevent that from happening.
DeleteYou could limit it to allowing players to cast the spells only on their turns. If you exile from the top the library, it won't become a dead card on the board, either.
DeleteIf you want to go way out there:
At the end of your turn exile the top card of your library and target opponent gains control of this.
You may cast stuff, blah blah blah, mana of any color.
I like your solution, Mike (the first one-- the 'out there' one is cool but a bit too hacky for my taste). "During each player's turn, that player may cast cards exiled with ~ and may spend mana as if it were mana of any color to cast those cards" solves all the problems I was worried about.
Delete100% agree. I stone didn't consider the potential casting tug-o-war and will use the "During your turn" clause to solve it.
DeleteI wanted it to affect the hand because that's a more palpable loss, and the card is meant to evoke the feel that the game is trapped at the center of a storm of nothingness. However, being able to just opt out also fails to evoke the flavor I was going for, so:
Encroaching Nothingness 3 (Rare)
Enchantment
At the beginning of your upkeep, each player exiles a card from their hand at random.
During each player's turn, that player may cast cards exiled with CARDNAME and may spend mana as if it were mana of any color to cast those cards.
That card is actually printable, but I am now noticing that the person to your left probably never gets a chance to use the card. Any ideas on how bring everyone into the sub-game?
"At the beginning of each players upkeep, that player exiles a card from their hand at random." instead?
DeleteInvigorating Waterfall
ReplyDelete3GG
Enchantment (R)
At the beginning of your upkeep, any opponent may put a +1/+1 counter on each creature he or she controls. If a player does, you put a green Elemental creature token onto the battlefield with “This creature’s power and toughness are each equal to the number of lands you control.”
Feedback appreciated.
It's a fascinating idea, but frankly I don't think this is a good design. First of all, in a two-player game this is "3GG do nothing", and that's in the *best* case. Even the supplemental Commander products don't print cards like that. Second, this doesn't really incorporate any kind of randomness or uncertainty. Third, the flavor is very confusing-- what does either half of the card have to do with a waterfall?
DeleteSorry to be harsh, but I think you should consider trying another angle on this card somehow.
Ipaulsen is right about the first part. There is little incentive for your opponent to take you up on the offer. If he does, there's probably a reason for it, and you just blew yourself out.
DeleteLetting your opponent choose is the random part, so I differ with Ipaulsen there. I'd really like "At hte beginning of your upkeep target opponent chooses one" You'd have to redesign the benefit package though
Totally fair. I'd much rather you be harsh and honest than lie to me and let my skills suffer because of it.
DeleteMG is right though, the player choice was meant to be the uncertain outcome.
I tweaked and tweaked and tweaked and tweaked and didn't take a step back to look at the whole card and it shows. I do like the "target opponent chooses one". What about:
Invigorating Waterfall
3GGG
Enchantment (R)
At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player chooses one - That player puts a +1/+1 counter on each creature he or she controls; or that player puts a 3/3 green Elemental creature token onto the battlefield; or that player gains 5 life.
Bathe in its waters and victory is assured.
I hope this flavor matches better. The point is it's like a fountain of youth or strength or what-have-you. I'm not sure if this templating works in the rules, but the developers can figure that out.
Alternatively, it could be "at the beginning of your upkeep choose: Each player blah blah blahs."
This feels like a nice marriage between oldschool Green and Newschool Green. Since your opponent(s) are always ahead of you in reaping the benefit I would certainly lower the cost. Making tokens is a good effect, but it doesn't fit the flavor of a mystical fountain as well. That makes me want to change the flavor to an oasis full of resources rather than change the effect.
DeleteAs a side-note it made me want to design "Form of the Jungle."
I like all of those things:
DeleteMystic Oasis
2GG
Enchantment (R)
At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player chooses one - That player puts a +1/+1 counter on each creature he or she controls; or that player puts a 3/3 green Elemental creature token onto the battlefield; or that player gains 5 life.
Bathe in its waters and victory is assured.
From the color pie it seems that put a +1/+1 counter on all creatures you control is white for some reason. White gets small boosts, green gets big ones etc etc. Anyhow. How about adding:
Deletei) when mystic oasis enters the battlefield and at the...
and
ii) Each player cannot choose the last chosen option.
Hinterland Ranger 1G
ReplyDeleteCreature- Human Scout (c)
Ripple 4
When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, draw a card.
1/1
What stalks the wood, travels in groups, and smells like a wolfir?
I like it-- an elegant solution to the challenge, with very neat flavor to boot. Strictly better than Elvish Visionary (except for the creature type) might not be the place you want to be power-wise, but that's easy for development to fix (e.g. by making it a 2/1 for 2G).
DeleteThank you. I tried a ton of combinations. Ripple is hard to cost appropriately and not look terrible.
DeleteI think 2/1 for 2G is even more powerful than my original pitch. If you only hit one its still Divination with two 2/1's attached...
Maybe 2G for a 1/1 isn't that bad.
2G for 1/1 is about where I'd put this. Since Ripple is pretty much Limited Exclusive, you want the commons be kinda unappealing so they can go 8th or 9th and get to the one player drafting them.
DeleteWaterfall Guardians
ReplyDeleteLand Creature - Human Warrior - Rare
Waterfall Guardians is blue and green.
As long as Waterfall Guardians is a land, it has "T: Add U or G to your mana pool."
At the end of your turn, as long as Waterfall Guardians is both a land and a creature, each player secretly chooses land or creature, then reveals their choice simultaneously. Waterfall Guardians loses all types not revealed this way.
2/2
This is a weird, weird place this art led me.
Nice and wonky. No idea how it would play, but interesting.
DeleteJust to clean up in terms of templating, I'd do the following:
(Blue and green color indicators)
"At the beginning of your end step..."
But otherwise cool.
Training Session W
ReplyDeleteEnchantment [U]
When CARDNAME enters the battle field exile target creature you control.
At the beginning of your upkeep reveal a card at random from your hand. If it is a creature card, sacrifice CARDNAME and return the exiled card to the battlefield with three +1/+1 counters on it.
go meditate under a waterfall or something.
it seems everyone is using the hand as a source of randomness. I apologize for not being more inventive;
DeleteReflector Mimic (Rare)
ReplyDeleteGU
Creature - Shapeshifter
0/1
Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under an opponent’s control, Reflector Mimic become a copy of that creature as long as its on the battlefield and gains this ability.
“What’s wrong? Don’t you like yourself?”
Unstable Shapeshifter from tempest, not the same but...
DeleteRelaimer of the Wilds 1GG\
ReplyDeleteCreature-Avatar (R)
As CARDNAME enters the battlefield, each opponent reveals his or her hand. CARDNAME enters the battlefield with an additional +1/+1 counter on it for each nonland card revealed this way.
0/0
Cool. Probably a Nessian Courser or worse in most two-player games, but pretty insane when you drop it on the third turn of a Commander game. All things considered, that's not a bad place to be.
Delete