Cool Card Design of the Day4/10/2014 - Royal Assassin is no fun to play against when you can't find removal for it (and aren't packing an all-vigilance army), but it's such a powerful idea. How much of that can we recapture in something a little more interactive?
Creatures ought to attack, and from what I've heard, LSPs are generally too hesitant to do so. In general I like mechanics and abilities that encourage attacking to get around this, if I recall that's why wizards added "Attacks each turn if able" to Ulamog's Crusher. But I'm worried this card could instead create board stalls in low-skill games. The defender may just stop attacking so that the Executioner never finds a target, leading to a boring stall.
ReplyDeleteI like the card for me and would play it, but I'd want to keep a close eye on what it does to LSP's games.
Considering how unlikely this guy is to survive a single combat (once your opponent puts him out on the board, you will always leave an eligible blocker who can kill him), haste + lower stats (1/1, maybe?) might be more interesting.
ReplyDeleteWhy not leave it to the players to decide how much to shift the focus of their game to this? Is it worth playing Fearsome Temperament? Waiting until I can bestow Heliod's Emissary on it? Does this make Messenger Speed playable?
DeleteI think I like this as a mirror of Royal Assassin actually: 1BB 1/1. Guaranteed to be taken out while most likely taking something out. Decent interaction.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think the flavortext works without the last sentence.
Good call on the flavor text.
DeleteAccidentally this reminds me that PoxNora has a lot of interesting art (that is where you got this image, right?) and I should see what they are up to.
ReplyDeleteThis is a relatively old design, so I can't be sure. The art might have been cross-posted on DeviantArt, or I might have found it on PoxNora via Google Search.
DeleteI love attack triggers of all sorts. I'd love modern Magic to do more of them.
ReplyDelete