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. You may use that feedback to revise your submission any number of times.
Some of us might need a break from Tesla. Choose any world, new or existing, and make an uncommon creature for it using this art. If you're inspired to design for Tesla regardless, you of course may. For bonus points, include the phrase "next turn" or "last turn."
Winder Adept {1}{U}
ReplyDeleteCreature-Human Wizard (unc)
Whenever you cast a spell, spells that share a card type with it cost {1} more to cast next turn.
1/3
Started with "can't be cast" and decided that was far too abuseable.
"Can't be cast" would certainly be interesting, but would probably want to show up at rare and at a higher cost for balance reasons. I like the current version just as well and am guessing that it would lead to some very interesting decisions.
DeleteChange to "until your next turn" to be more multiplayer-friendly?
"Until your next turn" is great.
DeleteSorry I've been quiet. Weekend had zero free time. Commenting frenzy begins... now.
Elizabethen Era Intrigue comes to mind:
ReplyDeleteBelle of the Masquerade 1UU
Creature - Human Rogue (U)
CARDNAME can't be blocked.
Unmask 4U (4U: Exchange this from your hand with target creature you control on the battlefield. Counters, attached permanents, and effects on the old creature now apply to this.)
2/2
Super-ninjutsu, eh? Rules managers will tear their hair out (at instant speed no less), but I like the concept.
DeleteBut statuses like damage, tapped-ness, and attacking, blocking or being blocked aren't? Making it sorcery speed would answer the combat questions, but tapped-ness is important.
DeleteXerex Watchkeeper 1U
ReplyDeleteCreature- Human Wizard (Uncommon)
2/1
Elapse-- When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, creatures your opponents control get -1/-0 until your next turn.
I like this as a single card.
DeleteFrom the ability word I gather this effect is meant to go on a number of cards in the set. It's very Spikey because it (usually) only helps attacking, is fairly incremental, and plays directly into the tempo plan (which often be too narrow for non-Spikes).
That is mostly only aids attacking negates the biggest concern (that'll slow games down), but I'm concerned that it looks like it's the opposite of what it is. Maybe that's a good thing, given that audience?
Thanks! I meant 'elapse' as an ability word picking out the "until your next turn" templating-- basically a way of making "until EOT" effects (P/T modifying, ability granting, etc.) keep going through the opponent's subsequent turn. In that sense, the bonus/reward is mostly on defense. I agree that the idea is somewhat Spikey, though. Interestingly, it's a plausible (but probably inferior) way that "until EOT" effects could have been worded through all of Magic history.
DeleteMistgaze Debutante - 1UU
ReplyDeleteCreature - Human Rogue (Uncommon)
1/1
Whenever Mistgaze Debutante deals combat damage to a player, you may return target creature that player controls to its owners hand. If a creature is returned this way, your opponent can't cast spells with the same name as the returned card..
You do realize that the damage trigger is basically Exclusion Ritual, right? (Or did you mean "can't cast spells... on his or her next turn"?)
DeleteWhoops. Yes, that was my intention (fitting in with the theme).
DeleteWhenever Mistgaze Debutante deals combat damage to a player, you may return target creature that player controls to its owners hand. If a creature is returned this way, your opponent can't cast spells with the same name as the returned card until your next turn.
DeleteImproved Unsummon every turn is a nice reward, and getting a 1/1 through unblocked is a fair hoop.
DeleteOften such combinations are dangerous because just a few unsummons can make it easy to trigger the free unsummon and a deck can snowball, but here the free unsummon isn't useful if you've unsummoned all your opponent's creatures to get it.
It's possible the second line is cuter than it is fun or balanceable.
Arcane Adept 2U
ReplyDeleteCreature - Human Wizard (Uncommon)
Creatures you control have “U, T: Look at the top two cards of your library. Put one of them into your hand and the other on the bottom of your library.”
1/3
If just Arcane Adept had the ability, it would make a very solid uncommon. I'm curious to hear the reason for granting the ability to all your creatures (on something other than a lord or a Sliver). Is it something about the set theme or environment?
DeleteThis ability is strictly better than
DeleteCreatures you control have “U, T: Draw a card.”
which is WAY too good for an uncommon permanent (and dangerous on a rare for that matter).
Like Ipaulsen, I'm not sure why she's granting this ability to all your creatures. If just the Adept had this, that would still be a cool card.
Still Life
ReplyDelete3UU
Enchantment (R)
Whenever a creature attacks you or a planeswalker you control, you may tap it. If you do, that creature can't untap during its controller's next turn. (It doesn't untap during the untap phase and spells or effects that would untap it don't instead.)
Errr... Stiller Life? Still Light? Immobile Critters?
DeleteI'd much prefer that the usual workarounds for these effects (vigilance and untapping "manually") still worked. That makes the templating much cleaner too: "Whenever a creature attacks you or a planeswalker you control. it doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step." Still quite good, in my opinion, though maybe it could cost 2UU at that point.
DeleteAlso, the challenge asks for an uncommon creature.
I'll forgive myself for disregarding some of Jay's words at 1 am.
DeleteCraven Harpsichordist
UB
Creature - Human Wizard (U)
1/2
When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, creatures get -2/-0 until your next turn.
UB, pay 3 life: Return CARDNAME to its owner's hand.
"Sorry, but I think I've come to the wrong party..."
Haha. Should she have type 'coward'?
DeleteShe should totally be a Coward, but a Human Coward Wizard feels like an unnecessarily long type line, even for a joke of a design. And you can't ditch Wizard, otherwise how would anyone know she's a musician?
DeleteMagus of the Mask 1UU
ReplyDeleteCreature - Human Rogue Wizard (Rare)
X, T: Put a creature from your hand into play face down as a 2/2 creature with X mask counters on it. Activate this ability any time you could play a sorcery.
Whenever a creature with mask counters on it deals or is dealt damage, turn that creature face up. If the number of mask counters on that creature are less than its casting cost, you must pay the difference. If you cant, sacrifice it.
I get what you're trying to do here, but I don't like the way this reinvents the wheel. Morph exists for the purpose of giving face-down creatures properties and turning them face-up. I realize it's not quite as true to the original Illusionary Mask, but what about:
DeleteX, T: Put a creature card from your hand onto the battlefield face down. It gains Morph. The morph cost is equal to its casting cost reduced by X. (Face-down creatures are 2/2 colorless creatures.)
Also, power/toughness? And the challenge asks for an uncommon creature (which this just maybe could be, in the right set).
COmpletely missed the "uncommon creature" rule.
DeleteNew submission:
Mask Magus 1UU
Creature - Human Rogue Wizard (Uncommon)
3, T: Put a creature from your hand into play face down as a 2/2 creature. It gains morph with a morph cost equal to its casting cost.
1/3
I like it. Surprising that Wizards hasn't done this with morph yet, given that it's the original reason for morph rules existing!
DeleteI like this one.
DeleteNormally I wouldn't post just to say that, but it gave me an idea. Not one that fits the contest, though.
Homogenization Device 2
Artifact (U)
You may cast cards in your hand face down as 2/2 creatures for 3.
Turn all of your unwanted cards into Grey Ogres.
I like it. I really want it to have "Morph costs on creatures you control cost 1 less" but that feels much rarer.
DeleteI also thought of this. Which one do you guys like better?
ReplyDeleteJezubelle DeViente 1UU
Planeswalker - Jezubelle (Mythic)
+1: Put a creature card from your hand onto the battlefield face down as a 2/2 creature.
-4: Turn target face down creature face up.
-7: Turn all of target opponents creatures face down. That player gets an emblem with "Creatures you control enter the battlefield face down"
2
"make an uncommon creature..."
DeleteI like them both, but the planeswalker is probably better. The Magus is probably a bit too weird and finicky.
DeleteUnfortunately, neither really fits the challenge.
I completely missed that "uncommon creature" rule... Thanks Evan.
DeleteMercadian Dramatist (UNC)
ReplyDelete3R
Creature - Human Spellshaper
2/2
1RR, T, Discard a card: Exile the top three cards of your library. Until your next turn, you may play those cards.
“My ideas are like butterflies, fluttering within reach and hard to pin down.”
This mostly casts a colorshifted Three Wishes, which I am sad to discover is on the Reserved List. My thought behind the return of Spellshapers would be to keep their effects removed from combat as much as possible. Sure you might roll the dice with this one during combat to hope to exile a trick, but more likely you use it before combat, see if you find a trick, lay it bare for the world to see and then attack with your card literally on the table.
And I know drawing cards each turn is busted, but I'm interested in how this plays when the card draw can't actually feed future spellshaping. All those cards being exiled and for limited use seems really interesting. Is it fun to play and play against? I don't know. Is it Uncommon? I think it could be, though maybe the numbers have to get tweaked. I also think the trick to spellshapers is keeping the ability as close to the real thing as possible and just tweaking the creauture's casting cost and p/t. Like maybe this has to be a 1/1 for 3RR or whatever.
DeleteI don't like that you have to pay 3 mana to use the ability. How will you do anything cool with the cards?
DeleteIf Three Wishes is fine, then so is Mercadian Dramatist, and the cost fits the Spellshaper trend. I like the color-shifting. Red doesn't have a ton of ways to get late-game value, and this certainly helps with that.
DeleteHave you considered exiling face-down, as the original Three Wishes does?
I think exiling face down was partially so Blue could hide it's counteralspells and partially to mimic the feel of adding them to your hand. I disregarded it as old design tech and unnecessary for the card advantage generally and red's use for it specifically. Plus, Chandra and Flamespeaker don't exile face down.
DeleteGood points. You've convinced me that face-up is the way to go.
DeleteThis is really cool. I greatly doubt this is too strong for Constructed, but I'm less sure about Limited. Probably depends on the format. Mercurial Chemister is the closest analog I see, and it's mostly much better, so maybe uncommon is fair.
DeleteFrom the Design side, the only thing I don't love is the mixed metaphor of discarding to draw spells, casting from exile instead of drawing, and spellshaping. I'd feel better if it was clear what spell she's shaping, but the combination of it being an ancient spell most players have never heard of and color-shifting it (which is perfect) muddies that connection heavily. Not saying that's a deal-breaker, but it's my only Design criticism.
I think that's a very fair point, Jay. Even Planar Chaos may have had a tough sell including a Spellshaper that shapes a color-shifted and mechanically updated version of the spell it references.
DeleteAs to rarity, I imagine it would be rare simply for it's weirdness and high variance. That is to say, it mostly sucks, but it when it doesn't you probably put yourself way ahead.
I agree with not knowing what spell you're casting. That's a huge part of spellshaper cachet. Then I guess it should only get printed after they print something like:
DeleteDramatic Flair (Rare)
1RR
Instant
Exile the top three cards of your library. Until your next turn, you may play those cards.
"You want to see something?"
Which they totally should!
DeleteI've been thinking of Conspiracy these days...
ReplyDeleteAuthor of Misinformation (uncommon)
2R
Creature - Human Advisor
2R, T: Choose target opponent. Creatures that player controls can't attack you or planeswalkers you control until your next turn. Choose another target opponent. Creatures that player controls can't attack players other than you or planeswalkers you don't control you until your next turn.
2/2
Whoops, should be "Author of Disinformation".
DeleteJust out of curiosity... how *does* this work in 2-player games? Does the ability just fizzle since you can't choose enough targets? (For what it's worth, most Conspiracy cards have at least a plausible application to 2-player games.)
DeleteYeah, where multiplayer-only cards can exist, this is really neat. I think CNS doesn't have any strictly-multiplayer cards, but it's strange because there are other choices that make two-player duels silly.
DeleteSlightly better template?
2R, T: Creatures target opponent controls can't attack you or planeswalkers you control until your next turn. Creatures another another target opponent controls can't attack players other than you or planeswalkers you don't control you until your next turn.
Preoccupied Elite 1UU
ReplyDeleteCreature-Human Wizard (U)
Protection from creatures that entered the battlefield last turn
[i]I only associate with old money.[/i]
2/3
Probably too cutesy, but I figured since there was no clean rules text to pick out summoning sickness I might as well try out the challenge parameters.
This behaves a bit weirdly in multiplayer. "Since your last turn"?
DeleteOtherwise, I like it. Conveys the idea of a behind-the-times aristocracy quite nicely.
That's an excellent point, changing it to that
DeleteCute. Perhaps even relevant in a set with a lot of flicker and bounce effects.
DeleteShould it be more aggressive since it won't be blocking with protection much (and would have protection anyhow)?
Seeing this and Swzasa, inspires:
DeleteGraduate of the Circle has protection from all creatures that were on the battlefield when it ETB'd.
If that weren't a massive pain to track, I'd love it a lot more.
Swzasa, the Hidden 2UU
ReplyDeleteLegendary Creature -- Human Rogue (Mythic)
Flash
CARDNAME has protection from creatures your opponents control if you did not play a spell on your last turn.
4/1
I wonder if this wants reminder text to the effect of "your opponent's turn isn't your turn." I couldn't think of a way to phrase it that wasn't insulting, but I feel like people are likely to misread it.
"Your" is probably sufficient to show players that they shouldn't count opponents' turns.
DeleteThe challenge asks for an uncommon card. This doesn't quite feel mythic to me in any case; rare is more likely. A non-legend with less scary stats could plausibly be uncommon.
Oh darn, I let this simmer in my brain while I was giving a final and didn't have the challenge in front of me (I got the bonus part though!). That said, now I feel pretty committed to this and I don't want to change it to be uncommon (for example, an uncommon version couldn't have Flash).
DeleteI'm not totally opposed to it being a rare, though this card is so absurd in limited I'm not sure I'd want to risk it there.
Speaking of which, why does this have flash?
DeleteI mean, obviously you can pass your turn and cast this in response to attackers, with protection, but does the new ability need flash to have value?
It is a hint. Really, this creature is a kind of lord for spells with Flash and wants to go in a deck where you never play a card on your turn. If you had to play it on your turn, it would ruin that.
DeleteThat said, I'm not totally married to the card having the "Divine Verdict++" mode, but I felt this allowed the widest variety of decks to be built around it.
I would argue this is at least as good at being a lord for attacking, and that mode is likely more fun.
DeleteYeah, I'm more attached to it having Flash than I am to it granting that ability instead of just "unblockable".
DeleteAzorius Entrancer (U)
ReplyDeleteWG
Creature - Elf Wizard
Whenever Azorius Entrancer attacks, you may pay 1WU. If you do, creatures can’t attack you or planeswalkers you control until your next turn.
2/2
I meant WU!
DeleteWow... this plus Whispersilk Cloak is basically a win unless the opponent has Wraths. That'll excite (and/or scare) players, but the attack trigger is a clever way of making him not-too-overpowered.
DeleteCool card, although it seems like maybe a rare? I like the fact that since you aren't attacking, you should have blockers back to eat this guy the next time it swings.
DeleteYeah, this seems maybe too easy to lock many opponents out. What about pay {X} (or {X}{W}{U}) to prevent X creatures from attacking?
DeleteMaskaster 1U
ReplyDeleteCreature - Human Wizard
Hexproof
U, Tap: Target creature you control gains Hexproof until the end of your next turn. Play this ability only during your upkeep.
1/1
I like how this forces you to use hexproof proactively rather than reactively, in contrast to most of the cards that grant hexproof. I'd be inclined to restrict it to sorcery speed rather than upkeep, or to make it an upkeep trigger rather than an activated ability.
DeleteProbably a good idea. New version:
DeleteMaskaster 1U
Creature - Human Wizard
Hexproof
U, Tap: Target creature you control gains Hexproof until the end of your next turn. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.
1/1
I also considered...
Maskaster 1U
Creature - Human Wizard
Hexproof
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may pay X. If you do, X target creatures you control gain Hexproof until the beginning of your next upkeep.
1/1
...but I think the activated version is better.
The sorcery-speed version is pretty good.
DeleteDoes it need hexproof itself? I mean, does this card become unplayable if an opponent can use spend an extra removal to make her first removal spell usable?
It probably doesn't really need Hexproof, but I figure it might as well have it. I don't think it's terribly powerful, even with Hexproof.
DeleteInteresting. Reminds me of a card that was created on Multiverse this week, Sea of Aeturnum, which taps to grant indestructible at sorcery speed. Which it turns out is good, but nowhere near as good as you might think at first. (When created it was a non-legendary land at uncommon which tapped for colourless mana.) I can believe the same would apply to this.
DeletePriestess of Karitos 2(U/W)
ReplyDeleteCreature- Human Cleric (U)
t: Until your next turn, prevent all damage that would be dealt to and dealt by target creature.
1/2
I like this as a variation on tapping-- it doesn't stop blockers, but the flexibility of being able to Fog an attacker or save one of your own creatures is probably worth it.
DeleteAny particular reason for U/W rather than straight U? Just curious.
Fits the art!
DeleteAs an instant-speed ability with no cost, I imagine this being fantastically frustrating for the opponent 90% of the time. Worst case, it's a Fog Bank.
DeleteMaiden of Masks 2U
ReplyDeleteCreature - Human Rogue (U)
2UU: Exile a creature card from your hand.
Maiden of Masks is a copy of the exiled card.
2/3
"Which one shall I wear today?"
I really like this idea! You might want to be more formal about how this works if you exile more than one card (e.g. in response to the first activation). For example, "2UU: Exile a creature card from your hand. CARDNAME becomes a copy of the exiled card." Also, be aware that (contrary to what the flavor text implies) this can only really copy something once, since it then loses the ability.
DeleteIf it's intended to be able to re-write, add "and gains this ability" to Ipaulsen's version (and make it rare+).
DeleteEither way, it's neat and dangerous. Tempting indeed.
At uncommon, was intended as a one-shot use. At rare, then yeah, I could see multiple-use.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteCrap. I accidentally removed this.
DeleteWhat ever happened to click confirmation or undo? Sorry, Lompe!
so again,
Delete(i forgot the name i gave it xD) 2b
Creature - Human wizzard rogue
1b: target creature blocks CARDNAME if able
2b: Exile all creatures blocking or blocked by CARDNAME. Return them to their owners control at your next upkeep
2/2
Hmm. Nifty. Not sure about it from a colour pie point of view: isn't this effectively (offensive) blink in black?
Delete("Blocks this if able" isn't normally black either, but feels okay here for some reason.)
woops, i meant U, not B! My mistake
Delete(i forgot the name i gave it xD) 2U
Creature - Human wizzard rogue
1U: target creature blocks CARDNAME if able
2U: Exile all creatures blocking or blocked by CARDNAME. Return them to their owners control at your next upkeep
2/2
I really like the flavor of "create a distraction" here.
DeleteIf it was just a distraction, then "removed out of combat would be enough. But now it's more like a distraction to anather demension
DeletePretty comparable to Vortex Elemental in terms of the color pie. Worse at removing strong creatures, but better at tying up blockers. Neat.
Delete