Weekend Art ChallengeClick through to see this weekend's art and the design requirements for your single 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 for a Magic block inspired by Neverland. (Thanks, Wobbles.)
Specify how you'd like the art cropped.
Bonus points for making a common that feels perfect for the setting / paints a strong picture of the world.
Well now, out of curiosity, what colors would we define the main cast as?
ReplyDeletePeter is obviously Red through and through, but I'm wondering where his mandatory flying comes from.
Nana is white, Smee is blue, Hook is black, Peter is red, and the crocodile is green. I imagine Tink and Wendy both depend a lot on the interpretation. Tinkerbell could easily be a new type of black-red protagonist, but that might be a stretch considering her color scheme.
DeleteYou have to remember that it's a MTG re-imagining of Neverland, not Neverland itself. Tinkerbell could very easily change her color scheme.
DeleteTinkerbell is red-green according to Maro himself. (the 2006 Gruul color pie article)
DeleteI'm doing some research for the challenge, and man, have you seen the amazing cover of the sequel book, by DiTerlizzi?
ReplyDeletehttp://diterlizzi.com/home/books-gallery/#!lightbox[books]/47/
While I understand that DiTerlizzi's style is more old Magic than modern, I dearly miss his illustrations.
DeleteAttacked by crocodiles 2B
ReplyDeleteSorcery Uncommon
Put two -1/-1 counters on target creature. If that creature has 3 or more -1/-1 counters on it, destroy it.
"The first time it was only a hand. Then they deveopped a taste for me.", Captain Hook
Not sure why, but this feels like a more natural tempalte for the same effect:
Delete"If target creature has any -1/-1 counters on it, destroy it. Otherwise, put two -1/-1 counters on it."
That said, not a lot of creatures are going to both survive and remain relevant after they're -4/-4, so the destroy part feels trinkety.
That is true. I was imagining a world where +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters would matter however.
DeleteThat's something that we shouldn't expect to show up in limited environments except in something like modern masters. It adds too much board complexity to have to track which kind of counter is on each creature.
DeleteTake 2:
DeleteAttacked by crocodiles 2B
Sorcery Uncommon
Target creature gets -2/-2 until end of turn.
If you control a crocodile, destroy it instead.
"The first time it was only a hand. Then they deveopped a taste for me.", Captain Hook
Love it!
DeleteWooops, was supposed to design a common!
DeleteI guess that I would have to increase the mana cost a bit to make it common? 2BB?
Probably fine at common at 2B, esp if there are 0-1 black crocs at common.
DeleteI'm amused that you preserved the horrible flavor text typo throughout.
Argh! Copy paste! How could you? I trusted you to correct my deveoppment errors! Thankfully this is a design challenge, no?
DeleteAlso, common it is then, while costing 2B.
DeleteWendy’s Charm (Common)
ReplyDelete1W
Sorcery
Target opponent chooses Peter Pan or Captain Hook, then you choose Peter Pan or Captain Hook twice.
Players who chose Peter Pan, put a 1/1 green and blue Human creature token with flying named Lost Boy onto the battlefield.
Players who chose Captain Hook put a 1/1 black and red Pirate creature token with first strike named Hook’s Crew onto the battlefield.
This design really only works in modern design where tokens are printed as extra cards. I know in the past WotC has avoided referencing multiple token types on a card. And lots of cards would make these tokens.
I also recognized that this is a pushed common, but I'm envisioning a set that creates the two factions as URG (Lost Boys) vs UBR (Pirates), with the humanizing influence of the Darlings in W. I wanted to give players a reason to play White whether they went with Pirates or Lost Boys.
Should the caster be able to choose Captain Hook twice and get two Hook's Crew?
DeleteWhy is a white card making non-white creatures?
Why does it give your opponent a creature?
Do we even need the choice or can this just make one of each?
The caster can choose Pan/Pan, Pan/Hook or Hook/Hook.
DeleteI'm pitching Neverland as a mutlicolor tribal set, like Lorwyn, but instead of 8 focal tribes, there are 2. (Really, factions, not tribes.) In that way, there will be other W, U and GU cards that make that GU Lost Boy token. The color doesn't really matter (look at Guardian of Cloverdell or Stonybrook Schoolmaster for example) as long as mechanically white could make either token, which it can.
The emotion I'm going for is a more lighthearted escalation between Hook and Pan. Wendy's Charm is flexible and cheap. It gives an opponent a choice too to allow it to cost less than normal and promote the more fun emotion I'm going for. I hope it plays fun, and not like a card with a drawback.
If it only made one of each token it wouldn't promote factions. I would rather take the choice away and make it only give you two Pan faction tokens, and your opponent a Hook faction token, or vice versa. (That's way less fun, btw.) But I imagined White as the color that isn't in either faction, so it allows maximum flexability.
From a Vorthos perspective, it bothers me that two people drafting enemy factions would be fighting over the same card.
DeleteIf you're promoting faction-based play, it feels wrong to me that the caster can choose one token of each kind. I'd rather template it to give the opponent the choice of token while you automatically get two of its enemy. (Leaving aside that a 1/1 flier will usually be better than a 1/1 first striker.)
DeleteDevin, in the story didn't both the Lost Boys and Hook's crew want Wendy to be their mother? Isn't it exactly the flavor of cards that both these factions would fight for?
DeleteJenesis, the fact that you could choose Pan/Hook isn't great flavor wise, but you're correct that sometimes it's the best choice for the board.
I need to tweak this card anyway, because even though it's not overly complex, it's got a red flag (8 lines of text.)
Wendy's Charm (Common)
Delete1W
Sorcery
Target opponent chooses Lost Boys or Hook’s Crew, then you choose Lost Boys or Hook’s Crew twice.
Players who chose Lost Boys, put a 1/1 blue Child creature token with flying onto the battlefield.
Players who chose Hook’s Crew put a 1/1 red Pirate creature token with first strike onto the battlefield.
“O Wendy lady, be our mother.”
Got it down to 6 lines of rules text, although I had to use Un-set creature type Child. And I couldn't fit language that prevents the caster from choosing a Pan/Hook token combo. .
This isn't remotely common.
DeleteWhy is Wendy letting people choose Hook's Crew? Why is she giving anything to your opponent?
Nah, I think it's okay. The chunking of it's effects help facilitate simplicity, like with Bestow creatures at common, But I can respect your hardline.
DeleteWendy's not letting people choose anything. Her presence attracts both elements. I think the whole point of the Darlings is how they upset the order of Neverland.
Stripped out some complexity.
DeleteWendy's Charm (Common)
2W
Sorcery
Choose one — Put two 1/1 blue Child creature tokens with flying onto the battlefield; or put two 1/1 red Pirate creature tokens with first strike onto the battlefield.
“O Wendy lady, be our mother.”
Focus art on Peter Pan and Wendy, btw.
This is a lot better, but I would still never allow it to see print at common. Inevitably somebody won't have physical tokens and there will be confusion over what the tokens that get made are, with no clues to help determine what's going on.
DeleteThe key to making cards that support two factions is not to make cards that can do two things; it's to make cards that do one thing that each faction can use in a different way. For instance, in Gatecrash Dimir decks could use Mindeye Drake as a consistent way to get Cipher triggers because it's hard to block and too big to trade for even when they have a flier, whereas Simic decks could use it to get evolve triggers even once their creatures were huge.
Also: A 2W card that makes blue or red tokens???
DeleteThis is so much better.
DeleteJules, there are lots of ways to support factions. At common, I think it's important that the card just tell you that's what it's doing. This card screams "I go in either your pirates deck or your lost boys deck." The sort of strategic flexibility you're talking about is important too, but not necessary in place of an obvious card like Wendy's Charm, and maybe not even at common.
DeleteThere is a solid clue for players who don't have the tokens: What faction is the player who cast Wendy's Charm playing? If they're playing Lost Boys, odds are pretty good they made Child tokens. But the conceit of this card is that it could only exist in a modern design, where WotC has become much more comfortable sticking tons of different token types in a set.
Fading, the color of the tokens really doesn't matter in a multicolor tribal set. Take the color out for a sec. White can make first strikers, and it can make fliers. Other colors are also going to be making those tokens, and in fact, the tokens are from factions that are centered in other colors. So it's more important that the tokens mechanically could be white, but it's not at all necessary that they are white. Plus, nothing screams, "hey I help other factions" quite like a card making tokens in the colors of those factions.
I like the newest Wendy's Charm, and totally support the off-color token creation in this context.
DeleteDepends on how tribally focused the factions are. Without effects that specifically care about Lost Boys or Pirates, I'm more likely to choose the effect that my faction doesn't already have ready access to, letting me shore up the weaknesses of the card pool that likely comprises most of my deck. A RW draft deck might have a bunch of Pirates with first strike but few ways to break through a ground defender. Conversely, UW Lost Boys might have cheap fliers but poor ground defense.
DeleteI agree that if the set needs it it might happen, and there are other examples (skeletonize) that do so. I like the general idea, but I would rather it checked what type of mana you spent to cast the card. Still it is much cleaner this way than the initial concept.
DeleteA couple of ideas...
ReplyDeleteLost Boys 2G
Creature- Human Rogue (Common)
3/2
Youthful (Prevent all combat damage that creatures with less power would deal to this creature.)
This is a Heroic-esque attempt to make combat tricks matter (since they're now more likely to be 2-for-1s). Trying to play into the flavor of "can't catch me" / "playing tricks".
Tick Tick Tick 1G
Enchantment- Aura (Uncommon)
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature must be blocked if able.
Whenever enchanted creature is dealt damage, put a +1/+1 counter on it.
Two green abilities that play pretty well together but have never been combined as far as I know.
Feedback welcome and appreciated!
But if I use a combat trick to pump my smaller creature, it will no longer be smaller...
DeleteTick's abilities work together, though I'd be curious to see how often the creature survives to get any counters (should be more than fungusaur [-combo] since you can surprise your opponent with the ability and force them to block—but will it be enough?)
The flavor on Youthful feels backwards, I would expect it to prevent al combat damage dealt to it by creatures with greater power (i.e., grownups). Making small creatures infinite chump-blockers isn't good for gameplay, so I can see why you went the way you did.
DeleteI would either switch Youthful to the pirate faction with a name change, or change it to: Youthful (This can't be blocked by creatures with greater power).
Youthful (This creature can't be blocked by creatures with greater power.)
Deletepower might want to be toughness or CMC.
Points taken about Youthful. I like the idea of changing the concept and making it pirate-compatible, in preference to making an actual "youthful" mechanic. Would it help to call it "clever" or "tricky" rather than "youthful"? I'm thinking that the effect is most likely to show up in U or B after G.
DeleteI like the "Outsmart" flavor personally.
DeleteGood idea. Officially changing mechanic name to "Outsmart."
DeleteSo, final submission:
DeleteLost Boys 2G
Creature- Human Rogue (Common)
3/2
Outsmart (Prevent all combat damage that creatures with less power would deal to this creature.)
Crop to focus on the two smaller kids in the middle, if possible.
Caught by Crocodiles [G]
ReplyDeleteSorcery [common]
Target creature you control fights another target creature you don't control. If your creature is a Crocodile, it gains wither until end of turn.
"Burp."
'your creature' isn't Magic-ese and spelling it out is awkward.
DeleteAlso, this is strictly better than Prey Upon.
Solve both problems by making it, "Crocodiles fighting this way have wither"?
I think the flavor would work better if this was GB and it just said "Crocodile creatures you control gain lifelink until end of turn. Target creature you control fights target creature you don't control." This strikes me as the Moonmist of Neverland-world.
DeleteBen – Wither makes more flavour sense. He ate his hand.
DeleteJay – fix is fine.
Daring Rescue 1W
ReplyDeleteInstant (unc)
Return target blocking creature to its owner's hand. Put another creature from your hand OTB blocking the same creatures. It has "at the beginning of your next upkeep step, pay this creature's mana cost or lose the game."
Too specific, right?
Not necessarily... it's very resonant, which I like. The templating might need a little work. How about:
DeleteXW
You may put a creature card from your hand with converted mana cost X onto the battlefield blocking target blocked creature. If you do, return all other creatures blocking that creature to their owners' hands.
Ha! That's great. I think it probably is too fiddly, maybe make it a flash creature?
DeleteI considered submitting a reprint of dramatic rescue :)
DeleteDaring Intervention 1W
DeleteInstant
Put a creature card from your hand onto the battlefield blocking target creature. It has “at the beginning of your next upkeep step, pay this creature’s mana cost or lose the game.”
The pact mechanic is pretty inelegant, but may be the best solution here. Other option include limiting what you can put out based on the number of lands you control of the creature you're blocking, or returning the blocker to your hand afterwards.
DeleteNot for this, but:
DeleteDiscard a creature card: Target attacking creature becomes blocked this turn.
Don't want to remake Flash, but this is quite simple:
Delete1W Instant
Return target creature you control to its owner’s hand.
Draw a card.
or even
W Instant
Return target creature you control to its owner’s hand.
An alternative to "pay or lose the game next upkeep":
DeleteYou must pay that creature’s mana cost before you cast any other spells.
Get Lost 1G
ReplyDeleteInstant
Remove all counters and attached cards from target permanent.
Draw a card.
"Oh the cleverness of me!"
-Peter Pan
Cropped on Peter and Wendy.
It's a modal spell! On one hand you can use it defensively to free your captured lost-boys, on the other hand you can use it to disarm some low-down dirty pirate mid-combat! Neener neener neener.
A brief word on using 'permanent' instead of 'creature.' I picture the set having traplike effects in the forms of auras that you cast on your or your opponents lands. I also picture some Zendikar Quest-like enchantments that represent going on adventures or plotting elaborate revenge.
DeleteThe card is probably more clear for our purposes as a 'target creature' effect, but I always like to imagine what sort of format I'm designing for.
Regarding "permanent" instead of "creature": Green can kill planeswalkers as part of its ability to destroy noncreature permanents, but do we want it to have this effect at instant speed for two mana?
DeleteHrm... didn't think about Planeswalkers.
DeleteI mean, I don't actually think it would be too strong still, but it feels worse even though it does more. I guess it feels less refined.
"Non-Planeswalker permanent..." is a phrase I find off-putting.
Get Lost 1G
Remove all counters and attached cards from target creature, land or enchantment.
Draw a card.
I'd avoid calling out the types like that, given that the flavor is really at odds with a land "getting lost."
DeleteYou're walking in the woods and suddenly, all identifying features of it are gone. The fortifications, the giant ice-counter monolith, the vivid rainbows, the back-alley ravnican trading post all gone - suddenly, in this unfamiliar environment, you feel very, very lost indeed.
Deletecreature makes more sense.
DeleteDoes this destroy auras and equipment, or just unattach them?
It destroys auras (unless they have bestow) as part of the state based effect of them becoming unattached to anything. It just unattaches (disarms) equipment.
DeleteThe name is a three way pun. When you target their creatures it means "Buzz off, get lost!" when you target a land it is like what Pasteur said, when you target your own creature it means "Welcome to the Lost Boys!" Teehee...
Pixie Duster 1U
ReplyDeleteCreature - Faerie
Flying
X1U: Target creature you control gains flying until end of turn. X is the number of non-Faerie creatures you control with flying.
1/1
Can this be common?
There's too much weird math going on with the X for it to be common imo.
DeleteIf you want it to scale I think what you want is XXU: Up to X target creatures you control gain flying.
I'm not sure you even need it to scale though?
Fixed activation cost definitely seems like the way to go here.
DeleteA Crafty Pathmage tweak:
DeletePixie Duster 1U
Creature - Faerie (C)
Flying
1U: Target creature you control with power 2 or less gains flying until end of turn.
1/1
Cropped on the fairy + Peter carrying Wendy.
This version is much cleaner. I'm still tempted at "XU: Target creature with power X gains flying until EOT" but X is pretty uncommon.
DeleteIf there's one issue I have with this setting, it would be the graveyard + the whole idea of the setting being a place where nobody dies. Should this be a consideration, or am I alone?
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting point. Strictly speaking, Neverland is more about "never growing up" than "never dying"... so maybe the setting shouldn't have +1/+1 or -1/-1 counters? That would make for some fascinating design constraints. I'm imagining a counter definition like:
DeletePixie counters (Creatures can't be blocked by creatures with fewer pixie counters.)
Could be interesting.
Anything about the setting that endangers the play of the set would be the first thing on the chopping block in Magic's re-imagining.
DeleteEither that or determining if the setting is a good fit in the first place, but I concede the point. For this challenge it's moot.
DeleteHappy Thoughts
ReplyDelete1U
Common
Instant
Up to two target creatures gain flying until end of turn.
"Forget them, Wendy. Forget them all. Come with me where you'll never, never have to worry about grown up things again."
-- Peter Pan
So perfect-- clean and flavorful. Could probably push to cost U if you wanted.
DeleteDoes this have to be an instant? Is it meant to be a combat trick, or an evasion granter? I think this would be plenty playable and a good card at U and Sorcery.
DeleteIt doesn't fit the art but it's a fun reprint for a world where creatures never age:
ReplyDeleteEon Hub 5
Artifact (R)
Players skip their upkeep steps.
"I've heard that creatures on Neverland go unchanging, at last I've found the source" - Elspeth.
Seems dangerous. Very Vorthos and very Johnny.
DeleteGreat reprint!
DeleteTake 1: (Crocodile art)
ReplyDeleteSwallowed Whole W
Enchantment-Aura (U)
Enchant Creature you control.
When ~ enters the battlefield, exile target creature you don't control until enchanted creature leaves the battlefield.
Great concept! Seems like this has to be printed at some point. The flavor isn't very white, though-- I'd say either green (best flavor match) or black (precedent for temporary exile). Also, it should probably say "until Swallowed Whole leaves the battlefield", unless you want to let players exile the creature forever by bouncing the Aura.
DeleteGood call on the templating, I'll switch to that. As for the color, I agree about the flavor, but this is clearly in white's pie mechanically and I don't think it's okay to override that. If the concept color and effect color don't match, one of them needs to change.
DeleteFaceless Butcher?
DeleteIIRC in MaRo's podcast he said Faceless Butcher is no longer something they'd do.
DeleteMake it "exile target permanent you don't control" and it could be WG, which I think makes the flavor work a little bit better. Is that too much weaker? Or:
DeleteSwallowed Whole WG
Enchantment - Aura
Enchant creature you control
When ~ enters the battlefield, exile target creature you don't control until enchanted creature leaves the battlefield.
Enchanted creature gets +X/+X, where X is the exiled creature's converted mana cost.
I want Swallowed Whole if only for the hilarious flavor applications.
DeleteCast targeting Llanowar Elves. Exile Emrakul...
DeleteMmmm... spaghetti.
Maro's also said that he thinks things like Colossal Whale that bleed mechanics to match flavor are a mistake, which is why they mostly show up in Core Sets, where he's not involved. Pasteur's tweak to hit other permanent types might make be workable, but honestly I'm not convinced there's a good way to make this ability sync up with this flavor.
Delete1G
DeleteExile target creature if you control a creature with greater power.
That's a clever solution, and probably printable (though it still rubs me the wrong way). The real issue is that fight makes things so wordy, because I want to do something like:
DeleteFood Fight G
Sorcery (U)
Target creature you control fights another target creature. Then if exactly one of those creatures has taken lethal damage, exile it until the other one leaves the battlefield.
The fight should kill one of them, thematically. As should being eaten by a crocodile kill a person. Swallowing whole works for a whale because it doesn't chew you up, and you can fit inside it whole.
DeleteHeroes' Reunion WG
ReplyDeleteInstant - c
Target player gains 7 life.
Sure. I'm not yet sold on it matching the setting, but I can't object to the choice of reprint.
DeleteAssuming the pirates have an alternate win condition (whether Plunder or something similar), like Infect in Scars block, you can make life gain in the environment stronger/more accessible. It's a fun theme on its own, and helps incentivize the alternate win. That's my excuse for making this common, anyway, and it fit the art.
DeleteBucaneer Biter 2B (Common)
ReplyDeleteCreature - Crocodile
Protection from Pirates
2/3
Cropped on the Crocodile of course!
I love how much this tells you about the whole set with just one line of text. Nice common design.
DeleteI'm glad you like it! I was afraid it would give away how little I knew about Neverland!
DeleteAlso I note that, somehow, almost all crocodiles have power >= toughness. This doesn't seem right to me, and I think most of the cards with this property are old, so maybe Magic isn't too attached to that anymore, but when I think crocodile I definitely don't think "fragile."
DeleteTic-Croc 3B
ReplyDeleteCreature- Crocodile (C)
Forthcoming— When Tic-Croc would die, you may put it as the fourth card from the top of its owner's library instead.
5/1
*groans*
DeleteAnother key mechanic would need to be:
DeletePlunder (This deals double damage to players in the form of cards exiled from the top of that player's library.)
To help alleviate repetitive game play. Because Neverland is a somewhat limited setting, I'd go for more of a classical storybook world ala Fables or Once Upon a Time. Naturally, such a place would have a strong "Library"-matters theme.
That captures the crocodile perfectly! I might make it mandatory like a common version of restless mummy.
DeleteHeheheh. I like the pun. I also like Plunder, but I always had it called "Mesmeric" in my custom sets.
Delete@bass Yeah, I like the Plunder mechanic. It's worked itself into several iterations of card designs. I can't imagine we won't see it at some point.
Delete@jack I don't know a restless mummy, but you might be thinking of Dark Revenant and its ilk. While the mechanic certainly has a lot of overlap, I'd rather avoid making it a downside mechanic ever. Plus, by making it optional it's a decision point that asks players to think longer term about what they'll need. Finally, the pun in the name makes the mechanic feel less strictly black (hopefully). Considering this is a storybook world where things rarely die, buried treasure is a thing, and foreshadowing is prevalent, I'd want to bleed this ability to other colors as needed.
This ability will basically just never matter, right? Magic games tend to end around turn 8 in limited, and this is a 4 drop...
DeleteFor what it is worth, I do love the pun though!
Depends on the environment. In a slightly slower format with cantrips/mill it'll be more relevant. Certainly, in a format with Plunder as a win condition even just the fact that it puts a card back in the library is a relevant consideration.
DeleteI think the idea of cards going back into the library fourth from the top has potential, but I don't think it happening when creatures die does. I could see it being on instants/sorceries, like a bad form of buyback, e.g.:
DeleteForthcoming End 3R
Sorcery (Common)
CARDNAME deals 4 damage to target player. Put CARDNAME into your library 4th from the top.
Sure. One of the nice thing about using this as an ability word is that you can use it on anything, even if the usage is a bit different.
DeleteBit of a Croc 2B
Sorcery (C)
Target creature gets -3/-3 until end of turn.
Forthcoming— You may put Bit of a Croc as the fourth card from the top of its owner's library.
Its an open ended mechanic, but I only get to submit one card.
This card and the creature feel very different to me, enough that I don't think I'd want them being under the same ability word, but the joy of ability words is you can do whatever you as the designer want with them!
DeleteI guess my bigger point is: I think the mechanic itself has potential for cards here and there... perhaps a cycle... but I don't see a benefit in putting this text on so many cards that it is worth giving an ability word.
Also, from a play point of view, I don't think this ability wants to be a "may," because trying to think 4 turns ahead to decide if you want an effect is probably beyond most players' comfort zone (I've been playing for 20 years and I don't want to predict what I'll want in 4 turns).
Just for kicks, here is my proposed uncommon cycle of these:
Forthcoming Lava Axe 4R
Sorcery (Uncommon)
CARDNAME deals 5 damage to target player. Put CARDNAME into your library fourth from the top.
I won't list the card text for the others, because I think you can fill it in, but:
Forthcoming Fog
Forthcoming Cancel
Forthcoming Disentomb
Forthcoming Divine Verdict
Obviously there is some wiggle room, but I think the key is that it be an effect that you want to cast somewhere relatively early in the game. On top of that, you want it to be an effect that is significant enough to be worth remembering will come up in four turns (which is a really long time), and also you want your opponent to be able to play around it in some way (to make the card interesting for both players).
I was pretty happy with all these choices, but I'll note that for black I was a bit torn between Disentomb and Sign in Blood.
Maybe the set with Forthcoming can reprint Nephalia Drownyard!
DeleteBit of a Croc is a better pun...
DeleteI'll use that as the submission. Croc art looks spellish and the mechanic works better on spells.
DeleteCrop only Peter Pan, Wendy, and Tinkerbell.
ReplyDeleteEternal Youth (common)
U
Enchantment - Aura
When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, draw a card.
Enchanted creature loses all cumulative upkeep abilities.
I hope I never have to see the environment where this is good.
DeleteSlightly broader alternative wording: "Beginnings of upkeeps don't cause enchanted creature's abilities to trigger."
That's a card like Balduvian Shaman where the rules text is completely unclear on what the card is actually supposed to do. Doesn't work as an NWO common.
DeleteEternal Youth isn't supposed to be a good card.
Good point-- my wording isn't common at all. Yours is more plausible as a common, but only if cumulative upkeep is a major theme of the set. And I'm personally rather skeptical about that decision.
DeleteTook a gander to see what creatures this would break.
Deletehttp://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?text=+[cumulative]&type=+[creature]
None. It breaks nothing. Good heavens creatures used to suck.
I'm also skeptical about wanting CU in a modern set, particularly for the justification of showing how time is slower here.
Focusing on Hook and the croc:
ReplyDeleteGriptide
3U
Instant (C)
Put target creature on top of its owner's library.
Sometimes pirates go out in a clash of steel and the cry of battle. Sometimes the crocodiles just want a light snack.
The first art, showing all the children including Peter & Wendy
ReplyDeleteWashed Ashore
1WU
Enchantment - Rare
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a shipwreck counter on each land you control.
X, Remove X shipwreck counters from among lands you control: Choose one - gain X life, or put X white 0/1 Survivor creature tokens onto the battlefield.
Whoops, meant the second art I guess. Thought the crops were in the other order.
DeleteActually, if I reflavor, I think I like this card too:
DeleteEternal Youth
2W
Enchantment - Rare
X: Gain X life.
[i]"Here, no-one ages. You never have to grow up."[/i] -Peter, to Wendy
I like the look of Eternal Youth. It would tell me a lot more about the set if it were uncommon or even common (though common doesn't often get global enchantments). The ability might be more readable as "{1}: You gain 1 life."
DeleteEternal Youth is so much cleaner, though I do worry it's just straight-up unbeatable in a lot of matchups, since it can't be killed like Oracle of Nectars.
DeleteNot a real submission:
ReplyDeleteDoomed Buccaneer 2B
Creature - Human Pirate (C)
2/2
Plankwalk
New submission to avoid ability/flavor color conflicts:
ReplyDeleteTake 2, in desperate need of a cleaner template:
Missing Shadow 2UU
Creature-Shapeshifter (R)
CARDNAME enters the battlefield as a copy of any creature on the battlefield, except it gains "Whenever this creature blocks or becomes blocked by a creature with the same name, attach it to that creature. This becomes an aura with "Enchant creature. You control enchanted creature.""
Could instead grant the ability, "Whenever this creature blocks or gets blocked by a creature with the same name, sacrifice it and gain control of that creature."
DeleteVery cool concept.
Cool concept, but what art are you using?
DeleteHuh, I'd thought the sun was coming from the other direction and Peter had a shadow. Better come up with another submission.
DeleteCARDNAME enters the battlefield as a copy of target creature, except it gains “Whenever this creature engages a creature with the same name in combat, attach it to that creature. This becomes an aura with “Enchant creature. You control enchanted creature.”
ReplyDeleteIt's not pretty, but it's progress... maybe?
CARDNAME enters the battlefield as a copy of target creature, and gains: "Whenever this creature would deal or be dealt damage by a creature with the same name, sacrifice it and gain control of that creature." ???
DeleteTraumatized by Crocodiles B
ReplyDelete(The Hook art)
Enchantment - Aura
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature gets -1/-1.
Crocodile creatures have protection from enchanted creature.
Take 3: Focused on the girl all the way to the right
ReplyDeleteUntouchable Youth 2G
Creature-Human Child (C)
Outflank (Whenever CARDNAME becomes blocked by exactly one creature, it gains indestructible until end of turn.)
3/1
The mechanic interpreatation of outflank does not feel natural. I get around you and then I can live through a lightning strike?
ReplyDeleteI like the basic idea though. How about:
Hyperactive Youth 2G
Creature-Human Child (C)
CARDNAME cannot be blocked by only one creature
3/1
I'm not sure on the flavor, but that's certainly another enticing piece of mechanical space. It rewards auras whereas Outflank rewards combat tricks.
Delete