Weekend Design ChallengeGreetings, artisans! Click through to see this weekend's design requirements for your single card submission, due Monday morning. Every submission warrants feedback, and everyone is encouraged to give feedback. You may use that feedback to revise your submission any number of times, though only the version rendered will be included in the review, if that happens.
Design a cross-purpose card. Choose two of these issues and make a single common or uncommon that mitigates both:
• We're hitting goblin tribal a little too hard.
• We need more answers to Skywinder Drake.
• We need a simple Naturalize variant.
• We need help casting our CC and 1CC spells.
If you want your card to be rendered, include a link to an image file and the artist's name. If we get enough, we'll render them and do a review ~Monday.
Transmogrify {1}{G}
ReplyDeleteInstant (Uncommon)
Destroy target artifact or enchantment.
Add two mana in any combination of colors to your mana pool.
"Society is but a shackle, progress a prison. Only the natural holds infinite possibility. The unnatural holds only itself."
This could probably be common because of the difficulty of having a legal target for it, and the fact it isn't a cantrip. I slotted it at uncommon just to be safe. Playtesting would reveal whether my instincts were well-founded.
DeleteStrictly better than Naturalize?
DeleteAt uncommon, that's probably fine - some stuff is pushed. I'd imagine this would be in a format where Naturalize just isn't that useful.
DeleteAt common, good point - though Naturalize IS kinda weak, it's not that weak. Should probably bump it up to 3CMC if it was common.
By "We're hitting goblin tribal a little too hard.", what exactly do you mean? Is that a card that helps goblin tribal or hurts it?
ReplyDeleteHurl into the Skies 2G
Instant (U)
Destroy target artifact or enchantment. Hurl into the Skies deals X damage to up to one target creature with flying, where X is that permanent's converted mana cost.
First shot at what came to mind. Likely not final though since it's a bit cluttered.
It also doesn't really answer Skywinder Drake that well.
DeleteNo. 2
DeleteSandspinner Spider 2G
Creature - Spider (U)
Reach
T: Add G, W or B to your mana pool.
1/4
If a spider went Abzan.
With no context of set, I suppose tapping for ally colors makes more sense.
DeleteCinderweave Spider 2G
Creature - Spider (U)
Reach
T: Add G, W or R to your mana pool.
1/4
A little strange to see the first mana-producing spider, but I can dig it. Stranger still for that spider to make multiple colors. Otherwise, seems like a good answer for both Skywinder and CC costs.
DeleteI interpreted "We're hitting goblin tribal a little too hard." as "We need more Goblins that aren't in the tribal theme."
ReplyDeleteErgo:
Popping Mogg
1R
Creature - Goblin - Uncommon
R, T, Sacrifice CARDNAME: CARDNAME deals 1 damage to each creature.
2/1
~Sometimes when mogg burrows get overcrowded, smaller goblins get squeezed out.~
Popping Mogg might contribute less to a goblin tribal theme than a goblin that makes or buffs goblins, but as a goblin that doesn't suck, it adds to it more than not.
DeletePopping Mogg might be a little too clever for its own good. I actively don't want it in my Goblin deck, because it will kill all my other 1 toughness Goblins. But for that very reason, it's also kind of a bummer, as a card that superficially looks like it fits in my Goblin deck, but on second inspection really doesn't.
DeleteI had a really elegant solution to this until I realized I had designed Abrupt Decay, without the uncounterability. Oops. FWIW, my version was an uncommon WB sorcery.
ReplyDeleteHeh.
DeleteTotally valid if you don't find something more novel.
I was thinking crushing vines. Or maybe "shock" :) But I think I can thinking of something more interesting for this challenge :)
DeleteActually, "Lignify" would be perfect. It's common removal, which helps against goblins and drakes. But it's *clunky* removal, so it doesn't all get snapped up before people can grab it for their sideboards.
DeleteI thought Forked Bolt.
DeleteLovely how many reprints work here. And I'm really glad to see you all considering those.
DeleteBy "We're hitting goblin tribal a little too hard." I mean that the set has a goblin tribal theme, but that's currently too strong and/or too prevalent. How you address that is part of the challenge.
ReplyDeleteI was going to submit this, but I didn't want to submit something that already existed. Imagine my surprise at realizing this has never been done.
ReplyDeleteWeaken (uncommon)
1BB
Instant
Creatures your opponents control get -1/-1 until end of turn.
Kills the Drake dead. Hurts Goblin tribal (which tends to be a weenie strategy) without shutting it down entirely.
This is a (much) worse Loss.
DeleteIt already exist exactly in this exact form: Cower in Fear.
DeleteThat said, I really like it for the elegance with which it answers both problems.
I was going to submit Sparkmage Apprentice and call it a day. Great minds...
DeleteCower in Fear works here.
DeleteVine-Draped Tower GW
ReplyDeleteCreature - Plant (C)
Reach
~ can block an additional creature.
0/5
Stops down Goblins (if they are anything like usual Goblins), blocks Skywinder Drake, and slows down any game enough to draw your lands.
Could easily be a 1/5 instead so it outright kills Skywinder Drake and goblin tokens, but I don't want to hate on the Drake that hard. Could also be an 0/6, though I worry that might be too much of a stop sign.
This seems like it would lead to stalled board states at 2 mana for the early game. The usual responses to good walls are a) evasion or b) multiple attackers; this stops *both*.
DeleteGood blockers are always dangerous and have to be considered, but aggressive decks shouldn't have any trouble one for oneing with this, and it can only block two bears or one bigger thing. Very environment dependent, but I think far less stalling than something like Returned Phalanx.
DeleteVine-Draped Tower is not quite as strong as Returned Phalanx or Wall of Essence (which is unc) in most formats. It can turn off two small creatures, but never kills any, and can't turn off more than two. That is costs {G}{W} makes it harder to cast on turn 2, and playable in only 1/10 decks (which limits its value both for good and for bad, but more for bad since it helps Limited so little).
DeleteI quite like that you will often have to judge the risk of blocking 4-power of creatures, since you'll lose your wall to any trick at all.
If this were somehow too strong, Dev could make it 0/4 and that definitely wouldn't be broken.
Relic Spirit 1W
ReplyDeleteCreature - Spirit
Flying
When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, exile target artifact or enchantment until CARDNAME leaves the battlefield. (That permanent returns under its owner's control.)
1/1
Uncommon?
DeleteYeah.
DeleteW for this would be way too undercosted, right? ...right?
1W 1/2?
DeleteAt 1W it is already a better Disenchant. I don't think this needs to get pushed even more to see play.
DeleteA Disenchant that gets undone by the next Wrath (or Nausea) is definitely not clearly better.
DeleteI'd be fine with this at 1/2. At {W} it would be strictly better than Suntail Hawk, which might be fine, depending on the number of buffs in the format.
DeleteRelic Spirit is a Naturalize variant, although making it white changes the balance of the set skeleton. It also trades happily with Skywinder. Not great for doing /both/ but as a 1-2cc common, doing either is perfect.
Slash-and-Burn 2R
ReplyDeleteSorcery (Uncommon)
Add GGGGG or BBBBB to your mana pool.
Helps with CC in the colors most likely to want it, and (I claim) also helps with Goblins. It's powerful enough to draw red drafters away from Goblin decks, and it helps power out big fatties that Goblin decks will have trouble dealing with. It's also designed as a ritual that encourages players to use it 'fairly', i.e. it doesn't give Storm decks in Modern too much of a boost.
Given taht Seething Song is banned in Modern, I really don't seem them printing this!
DeleteAs a separate issue, I don't think this is in Red's color pie. Manamorphose did it, but Shadowmoor printed a lot of out of colorpie cards.
DeleteGiven that Modern Storm decks are consistently red-blue, I really don't see them benefiting much from this card.
DeleteAs to the color-pie issue, I admit it's a bit of a stretch, but the flavor helps make it work, and green/black are both known for producing extra mana of their color anyway.
The design hole Jay proposed is casting CC and 1CC spells, not 3CC spells. If you really want to spend 2R and an extra card to cast Garruk's Companion, I guess technically this would let you do that, but it's probably not what you actually want to be using this card for.
DeleteOh, right. Good point.
DeleteThere are several issues with this design, so I'll probably be posting another one.
I liked it. It lets you cast a GG spell *and* a 1GG spell on the same turn :) And it's a really nice elegant way to stop rituals being so chainable.
DeleteI could see a set where a red mana ritual let you produce black and/or green mana, but it's hard to imagine one that never produces red. Given that most goblins are cheap, I'm not convinced that a ritual that doesn't grant red mana weakens that strategy at all, though I'll agree it does offer up a red non-goblin archetype.
DeleteMardu Warshrieker suggests that Red can still get some fixing with its ritual effects. While I do like letting another color besides Green get some fixing for limited, I don't think this is really the card to do it. Aren't pure ritual effects kind of bad in limited?
DeleteOkay, take 3. Let's try doing this at common, because that's more of a challenge.
ReplyDeleteSweetwild Sprite (common)
W
Creature - Faerie
Flying
Honored - When CARDNAME dies, if it had a +1/+1 counter on it, you may destroy target artifact or enchantment.
1/1
http://puimun.deviantart.com/art/Amidst-the-Brambles-458676324
A set would need even more ways than usual to get counters onto creatures to justify honored, but once it did, Sweetwild Sprite would make a good solution.
DeleteDistilling Flame (common)
ReplyDelete1R
Sorcery
CARDNAME deals 1 damage to target creature. If that creature dies this turn, add two mana of any one color to your mana pool.
I considered costing it at R but I wasn't sure if it was already too broken with storm. The fact that it's a dead card without a creature in play probably counts for something.
I really liked the flavor idea of pumping mana through a creature in order to purify it.
DeleteIt's weird to have a "if that creature dies this turn" rider on a burn spell - why else do you cast a burn spell if not to kill a creature? Why not just give me the mana anyway? (It's not like this card would be busted otherwise.)
DeleteI could see:
DeleteCARDNAME deals 1 damage to target creature. Add {R}{R} to your mana pool.
Adding any color with no conditional is a stretch (though certain sets could/have pull/ed it off).
A death conditional isn't particularly unusual for burn spells, and helps justify the colors. I'd be tempted to go this route, if it were uncommon:
CARDNAME deals 1 damage to target creature. If that creature dies this turn, add two mana in any combination of that creature's colors to your mana pool.
This feels more red if it generates RR. I like the idea of the death clause. I think it works with flavor. You're going to get much more gain if you burn through a Birds of Paradise. Shooting this at a Polukranos is probably just going to piss it off.
DeleteDeconstruct 2G *Reprint
ReplyDeleteSorcery (C)
Destroy target artifact. Add GGG to your mana pool.
Or if it really needs to be a Naturalize and not a Shatter:
Destabilize 3G
Instant (C) or Sorcery (U)
Destroy target artifact or enchantment. Add GGGG to your mana pool.
Feedback appreciated as always. I might try and make another one.
I don't think this ability is Green, I think it is Red. Maybe:
DeleteTemur Charm (not the Khans of Tarkir one) RUG
Instant - Uncommon
Choose two:
-) Destroy target artifact.
-) Destroy target enchantment.
-) Add 4 mana in any combination of colors to your mana pool.
-) Draw a card.
4 options, pick 2 is a Command, not a Charm.
DeleteAnd that card is severely busted - ignore the Naturalize modes; a 3-mana ritual that cantrips is an automatic 4-of in every Storm deck in Modern *and* Legacy.
Agreed with Evan on the brokenness of the Command.
DeleteLiturgy of Blood makes BBB. Burning-Tree Emissary can make RG for GG. I think it's different enough that it falls under green's color pie.
If no one agrees, then this also works for the challenge:
Upgraded Crushing Vines 3G
Instant (U)
Choose one or both-
Destroy target creature with flying.
Destroy target artifact or enchantment.
I do like this effect more in red (I love red making mana off of kill spells/shatters) but as you show, there's definitely precedent for it in green. Liturgy of Blood was a recent M-set, which basically means "planar chaos" as far as the color pie is concerned.
DeleteThe play of Upgraded Crushing Vines is great (plummet or naturalize or both for 3G is nice), but "one or both" with an "or" in one of the modes feels kind of odd. The new bulleted list format probably makes this look fine, though.
Green doesn't repay itself as much as red, but it's not unreasonable. If Destabilize does repay all 4, it shouldn't be an instant.
DeleteUpgraded Crushing Vines works for me well at uncommon.
White doesn't get to flicker its opponent's permanents; that's blue. This is an interesting UG spell, though.
ReplyDeleteIf you got rid of the "nonland" clause this would actually be a way to make it easier to cast CC spells, too.
I've already made my entry, but: one interesting way of addressing the "easier time casting CC or 1CC spells" challenge would be to create a card that encourages monocolor play. Fixing is only an issue if you're running a multicolor deck, right?
ReplyDeleteNice insight.
DeleteMy first idea was
ReplyDeleteGrowing Renewal 2G
Sorcery
Destroy target artifact or enchantment. Pick a color of that permanent; add 2 or two mana of that color to your mana pool.
But a Naturalize effect is narrow and won't be consistent enough to help with CC or 1CC spells (though it might for, say, 3CCC spells). So here's my current submission:
Fragile Prism 2
Artifact
2, T: Add two mana of any one color to your mana pool.
4, T, sacrifice Fragile Prism: Destroy all artifacts and enchantments. Add two mana of any one color to your mana pool.
Why is a boardwipe tacked on to a cheap color fixing artifact?
DeleteI could see:
DeleteFragile Prism 2
Artifact
2, T: Add two mana of any one color to your mana pool.
4, T, Sacrifice Fragile Prism: Destroy target artifact or enchantment.
Good point, I forgot about the white/blue seperation of flicker targets.
ReplyDeleteLost to the Mists UG
Instant (Uncommon)
Exile target permanent, then if its not an artifact or enchantment, return that card to the battlefield under its owner’s control.
I'm adding a simple Naturalize variant and providing another answer to Skywinder Drake.
ReplyDeleteEssence Rupture (Common)
2W
Sorcery
Exile target artifact or enchantment.
Put a 1/1 white Spirit creature token with flying onto the battlefield.
The things we try hardest to claim may already be possessed by another.
http://ralphhorsley.deviantart.com/#/art/Talisman-The-Nether-Realm-437022066?hf=1
Illus: Ralph Horsley
Hopefully the art helps sell the concept. Turns out your item was possessed and this spell pulls out the spirit, with destructive side effects.
Simple and elegant. I like this a lot.
DeleteLovely.
DeleteRays of Purity 3W
ReplyDeleteInstant (C)
Rays of Purity deals 1 damage to each attacking creature. Destroy all permanents attached to those creatures.
Seems... weird at common at first, but probably totally reasonable. There's definitely a Limited format where this is "fun" and not "backbreaking" or "unplayable".
DeleteI agree anything with "destroy all" looks more like uncommon to me. Rain of Blades and Marrow Shards were uncommon too.
DeleteI'm having a lot of trouble seeing this much damage being a white effect, and I agree "destroy all permanents…" seems anything but common.
DeleteCard advantage is a red flag at common under NWO. They allow it for card draw because that doesn't directly affect the board state, but otherwise this card would need to be signed off on by both Design and Development. But an analog to Blastfire Bolt seems doable.
DeleteRays of Purity W
Instant (C)
Rays of Purity deals 2 damage to target attacking creature. If that creature would die this turn, destroy each permanent attached to it.
Strip Bare is pretty good on its own, given how often a block or attack is made based on the things buffing your creature.
DeleteJay, what did you mean by "this much damage being a white effect"? The submission is only dealing 1 damage to each attacker, which is Marrow Shards / Rain of Blades. But even "10 damage to each attacking creature" or "destroy all attacking creatures" is clearly white too.
DeleteNew Phyrexia is the new Planar Chaos. Marrow Shards shows that dealing 1 damage to multiple creatures can be white, but can also be colorless as long as you're pushing that far anyhow. Rain of Blades is much better precedent, but Hornet Sting shows that core sets get bleed all the time.
DeleteDealing damage to attackers is white-ish, and it can be done, but it's not as white as destroying an attacker or preventing damage. Sunlance and Fire at Will help show how dependent white is on alternate-universes and other colors to deal damage.
Dematerialize 1W
ReplyDeleteSorcery (Uncommon)
Exile target nonland permanent.
CARDNAME costs 1W more to cast for each colored mana symbol in its target's mana cost.
Trying to design a card that will do something for all 4 goals... good against artifacts and Goblin tokens, decent against other Goblins and Skywinder Drakes, but very inefficient against CC and 1CC cards.
White doesn't get "exile target permanent" anymore.
DeleteTrue, white doesn't get unconditional exile anymore. But Dematerialize isn't totally unconditional. You *can* in theory get rid of a Boros Reckoner or Nightveil Specter with this... but it's very unlikely that you'll be in a position to do so.
DeleteEvan: ...Except for when it does :/
DeleteCouncil's Judgment most recently. Archon of Justice and Exclusion Ritual also in the past few years.
Council's Judgment doesn't give you any control over what gets exiled; Archon of Justice costs 5, its ability is conditional, and the card is 3&6 years old; Exclusion Ritual costs 6 and is from a set that actively warped the color pie to make the audience feel uncomfortable.
DeleteWhite *can* do this, but it needs a very good reason.
By trying to serve all the goals, the end result serves none of them well. I could kill a goblin with this, but why would I waste such powerful removal on a Goblin Piker? I'd be fine killing a Skywinder with this, though 2WW isn't exactly a steal. This works as Naturalize, perhaps for 1W, perhaps 2WW, perhaps 3WWW. Those last two together make this comparable to Upgraded Crushing Vines, except for being much more fiddly and complicated. This doesn't help cast CC or 1CC spells, though it does make it harder to answer them.
The end result is supremely flexible, and powerful, but seriously awkward, aesthetically and otherwise.
Council's Judgment gives you complete control over what gets exiled. (Well, technically it lets your opponent choose to bin another of their permanents if it's hurting them for some reason). Except in chaos multiplayer, of course; but the card is very playable in duels, as its price attests.
DeleteThe rest of Jay's points stand.
lpaulsen's simplification down to "white doesn't get unconditional exile" is sadly not true at all, much though I'd like it to be. White /does/ still get to exile creatures unconditionally, if you pay enough mana. See Iona's Judgment, Trostani's Verdict, Angelic Edict... and Excoriate's condition is pretty minimal ("exile target creature that did something"). Maro is on record as not liking those cards from a colour-pie standpoint, and neither do I, but Limited does benefit from them.
Engeneered contagion 5BB
ReplyDeleteSorcery - Common
Delve
All creature get -1/-1 for each every creature on the battlefield of their creature type.
No way this is anywhere close to common (and rare is a lot more likely than uncommon).
DeleteYes, indeed. Also, the wording is awful. A simple -2/-2 to all creatures would solve the problem. And would not require delve.
DeleteDrown in Sorrow works.
DeleteGoblin Sureshot - 1RR
ReplyDeleteCreature - Goblin - Uncommon
When Goblin Sureshot enters the battlefield, flip a coin. If heads, Goblin Sureshot deals 2 damage to target creature an opponent controls. If tails, Goblin Sureshot deals 1 damage to each creature you control.
3/1
As valid as Drown in Sorrow, though I must say quite unappealing.
DeleteMy card is flavored as Gruul Equipment:
ReplyDeleteA Rock 4
Artifact - Equipment
Equipped creature gets +1/+0
Equipped creature has "T, unequip CARDNAME: deal 1 damage to target creature."
Equip: 1
Should answer that pesky goblin and drake problem. You could say I, killed 2 problems with one stone. >_<
lol
Feedback appreciated. I have a feeling this is not common, but eh lets give it a shot.
I find myself making this comment around here a lot, but pinging equipment is far better than it looks because of the ability to move it to a bunch of creatures in the same turn. As point of reference, consider that Razor Boomerang and Wolfhunter's Quiver were both quite playable in their limited environments, and Viridian Longbow was oppressive.
DeleteAt uncommon you could probably do:
DeleteA Rock 4
When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, you may equip it to target creature.
Equipped creature has "T, Unattach CARDNAME: CARDNAME deals 1 damage to target creature."
Equip 4
Still very strong and a big source of card advantage in almost every limited format, but maybe balanceable? Not hitting players maybe makes a difference. I do like the flavor.
The flavor of a rock being uncommon is weird. I'd make it magical in some way.
DeleteA Rock 4
DeleteArtifact - Equipment
Equipped creature gets +1/+0
Equipped creature has "T, sacrifice CARDNAME: deal 1 damage to target creature."
Equip: 1
changed unequip to sacrifice. The rock breaks on impact.
DeleteWith Saccing it, I think it can be considerably stronger, as demonstrated by Blazing Torch. Maybe 2 damage and +2/+0, a la Inferno Fist?
DeleteWe do definitely have to be careful about repeatable damage effects. I was pretty surprised to see how cheap Heart-Piercer Bow is. If the first version costed more to equip (and less to cast), it would be fine. That said, I like the last design best. And yes, it could be cheaper or bigger (I'd prefer cheaper since player's will feel bad sacking a Bonesplitter.)
DeleteA Rock 1
DeleteArtifact - Equipment
Equipped creature gets +1/+0
Equipped creature has "T, sacrifice CARDNAME: deal 1 damage to target creature."
Equip: 1
Easy to find a rock lying around (low casting cost)
Easy to pick up (equip cost of 1)
Rock breaks on impact.
(also all of the numbers on the card are 1, which is cute
Now I want to design a pre-historic based world with proto-humans equipping rocks and fighting dinosaurs
DeleteElvish Trouble-shooter [1G]
ReplyDeleteCreature — Elf Druid Archer
T: Add one mana of any colour to your mana pool.
T: CARDNAME deals 1 damage to target flying creature.
1/1
I think this could work as an uncommon.
I love this name. This feels like a card out of Lorwyn. Uncommon is probably best as repeatable removal (even if it's just flying creatures) is strong. Maybe add an activation cost to ping fliers?
DeleteI think green's okay to repeatedly ping flyers at common. It'd need to be in a set that warranted it, mind. I remember Matsu-Tribe Sniper, which is perhaps a bit more awesome than they intended (can single-handedly keep two Akromas locked down).
DeleteStrictly better than Urborg Elves, Quirion Elves. Should this tap for {G}?
DeleteI think this is too strong an answer to Skywinder Drake. Presumably Skywinder Drake is a high pick and strong common in draft, so people are playing it.
DeleteThen the poor blue drafter runs across someone who is playing this card (which would be played without the flying hate) and just gets wrecked. I think I would rather it cost 2G and be a 1/3 with Reach.
This looks rare to me.
DeleteOtherwise pretty sweet.
Could add a cost to the ping effect.
Duck Hunt 2G
ReplyDeleteInstant
Deal 2 damage to target creature with flying. If that creature dies this turn, add 2 mana of any one color to your mana pool.
Uncommon
"Looks like we'll be eating drake tonight."
I toyed with the idea of having this be a sorcery, but I think conditional removal with conditional after effect is fine. 2G seems like a fair cost for the effect. I like that this can fix your mana for a turn while simultaneously punish those pesky drakes.
And just for fun:
Pop RG
Sorcery
Destroy target artifact or enchantment. Then, put 2 1/1 goblin creature tokens onto the battlefield.
Uncommon
"Hope you saved the receipt."
This just seems like a fun little naturalize variant. The card tells a story. That nice shiny Mana Vault you just got? Turns out goblins were living inside it.
Contemplating changing the name to "And Suddenly... Goblins"
Funny how I feel like the red Distilling Flame wants the "if it dies" condition, but I want Duck Hunt to just give you the mana. Part of that is precedent, and part is that green's just so much better at producing other colors of mana. Instant works for this cost.
DeletePop is neat. At face value, I want it to cost more or make just one goblin, but I suspect in practice it's actually completely fine.
I toyed with having Pop give one goblin, but having only one goblin explode out of your mana rock just feels like a flavor fail. Also considered hasted tokens, but it seems pretty unfair to the opponent.
DeleteFunny, I read through Distilling Flame and didn't initially make the connection with that and Duck Hunt. The context of the spells are very similar, but at the same time tell a completely different story. I do agree that as a green card, it could do away with the death trigger, but would require some flavor alterations.
Unprecedented Growth 2G
Sorcery
Add two mana of any one color to your mana pool. ~ deals 2 damage to target creature with flying.
"Shamans seek out trees that birds avoid."
This could definitely use some work.
A little tricky, conceptually, but at uncommon that works for me. I like this a lot.
ReplyDeleteOne thing we lose when we drop {W} is the explanation for exiling the artifact/enchantment, but it's not unheard of for green, so... close enough?
Causticspout Spider 2G
ReplyDeleteCreature - Spider (U)
Reach, deathtouch
Whenever Causticspout Spider deals combat damage to a player, you may sacrifice it. If you do, destroy target artifact or enchantment that player controls.
1/3
With three different things, I can't help but analyze how important they all are to the design. Reach allows this to trade with Skywinder, and makes it a spider. Deathtouch works on spiders fine, but it's only purpose here is as evasion to help with the last ability. Sabotaging stuff is reasonable in the abstract, though I'm not clear why it kills itself to that. It's got free poison for deathtouch, why not for artifacts?
DeleteCausticspout Spider is a pretty good design, but not a slam-dunk because of the questions it raises.
Deathtouch also helps with goblins defense, even if they are slightly bigger than 1/1. The sacrifice clause was tacked in only for developmental issues, and because I made the card initially common. With some testing, I guess it could lose the self sacrifice at uncommon (or would it be better than Trygon Predator?)
DeleteOK new submissions.
ReplyDeleteTo tackle goblins and the drake:
Drown in Sorrow, Volcanic Fallout as reprints. I also wish we could print Lightmine Field at uncommon...
However we can do an uncommon tapper too:
Revengeful Trapmaster {1}{W}{W}
Creature human
When CARDNAME comes into play, select a creature type.
{W}{W},{t}: tap all creatures of the chosen type.
To tackle the problem of mana help and the drake situation, I would try to use an artifact:
Unstable Mana Condencer {4}
CARDNAME enters the battlefield with 2 charge counters on it.
remove a charge, {t}: add one mana of any color to your mana pool.
Whenever you are dealt combat damage sacrifice CARDNAME. It deals 1 damage to each creature and player for each charge counter on it.
Another reprint would be crushing vines from dark ascension, dealing with the drake and the artifacts part.
Another thing to deal with goblins and naturalize at the same time would be:
Vandalism target 1RG
Instant - common.
Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt this turn.
You may destroy target artifact or enchantment with converted mana cost equal or less than the number of attacking creatures.