Weekend Art ChallengeGreetings, artisans! Click through to see this weekend's art and the 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 someone volunteers to render the cards.
Design a card for this art that somehow answers Bladetusk Boar in Limited.
Spawnpool Guardian
ReplyDelete1UR
Creature - Fish Warrior - Common
Flash, defender
2/4
I'm not really sure what red is doing on this card except for meeting the challenge. This is easily doable in mono blue and none of it fits in mono red.
DeleteRed does have a history of kind-of-cool defenders, whether Wall of Stone/Heat/Fire, Torpid Moloch, Ogre Sentry, or Vent Sentinel, but I agree with you Jules that this could feasibly be mono-blue.
DeleteI was thinking of a flash creature being burn-spell-like, and the flavor of an emotional mother lashing out to protect its young felt red to me as well.
DeleteI was thinking of a flash creature being burn-spell-like, and the flavor of an emotional mother lashing out to protect its young felt red to me as well.
DeleteRain Lizard (common)
ReplyDelete3U
Creature - Lizard
2U: Target creature becomes blue until end of turn.
3/2
This hasn't been common recently, but I don't see any reason it can't be. It's a bit niche, but it would work fine in a set with only a few other cards that care about colour (like intimidate). Given the art, I couldn't justify a smaller creature, so I made the stats reasonable but not so good this would get picked before anyone who wanted the ability could get to it.
Otherworldly Dominator 3UUU
ReplyDeleteCreature-Horror (U)
When ~ enters the battlefield, gain control of target creature an opponent controls with lesser power as long as you control ~.
3/3
Noxious Horror 4B
ReplyDeleteCreature - Horror (C)
When Noxious Horror enters the battlefield, target creature’s controller loses life equal to its power. You gain life equal to the life lost this way.
2/2
How do you answer an evasive creature? Make them consider holding it back to block. Unsure if the scaling drain can be common.
Adaptive Axolotl 4U
ReplyDeleteCreature - Salamander (C)
U: ~ gets -1/+1 and becomes the color of your choice until the end of turn.
3/3
I wonder if the color changing ability justifies an additional mana for a hill giant? Also, should the active ability be 1U?
Second thought, this would most likely be uncommon.
DeleteSeparate the two abilities?
Delete1U: -1/+1
U: Change color
Magisynth Growth (common)
ReplyDeleteG
Instant
Target creature gets +3/+3 and is an artifact in addition to its other types until end of turn.
This would have been a great card for Scars limited.
DeleteI think this should probably be 1G, Giant Growth is really at the upper edge of where they push combat tricks.
I'm okay with this, since "is also an artifact" isn't a strict upside.
DeleteStonegazer 1WW
ReplyDeleteCreature - Lizard (U)
When ~ enters the battlefield, put a petrification counter on target creature. That creature gains defender.
2/2
Dinochthys 3UU
ReplyDeleteCreature - Fish Beast (C)
Flash
When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, tap target creature. That creature doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step.
3/4
Yay!! Is suvnica getting continued? I' m new and have some cool ideas.
DeletePeople keep making guild mechanics a bit more fitting for the ravnica guilds.
Kismet bloodrushish for regeneration as a interesting "change fate" idea
Gruul ability which adds mana to your pool at the start of the main phase after it dies. They have wandered off and are one with the land.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThis is almost certainly not the best place to address it for all sorts of reasons, but Suvnica is on indefinite hiatus. The time commitment it required kept escalating while the time I had available to devote to it did the opposite (descalating?). I hope one day I'll figure out a good way to revive it, but I'm not planning on it in the near future.
DeleteThat said, it was and remains an awesome project that completely surpassed my initial expectations in every possible way. I still think about the alt-versions of the guilds we came up with all the time.
DeleteSliver Construct 3
ReplyDeleteArtifact Creature - Sliver
2/2
Nice.
DeleteNot that it's a competition, but this wins in my book.
DeleteDreadful Voay 3B
ReplyDeleteCreature - Crocodile Horror (c)
Intimidate
4/1
Clever solution.
DeleteGod do I not want them to print this card!
DeleteYeah, I'm scared of crocodiles too.
DeleteI'm more scared of common 4 power creatures with swingy evasive abilities for four mana. (For the record, I really support R&D's efforts to kill Intimidate with fire.)
DeletePygmy Shyft 1U (Common)
ReplyDeleteCreature - Shapeshifter 2/1
NAME is every creature type and is all colors (even if it isn't on the battlefield).
“You never need hunt rare or elusive specimens as long as their are shyfts.”
—Simic research notes
"as long as there are shyfts" I mean.
DeleteI'm sold on the flavor, though if this art is a pygmy one, I'd hate to look a fully-grown one in the face. Maybe a shyfty vizzerdrix of the simic persuasion.
DeleteThe art reminded me of an update to the original Shyft, which is a 4/2. Luckily this art doesn't have anything to compare its size to. I imagine it's dog-sized.
Deletehttp://magiccards.info/ia/en/96.html
I never knew! Shows how much Master's Edition I've played. Or Ice Age, for that matter.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteWild Game Hunter 5W
ReplyDeleteCreature - Human Assassin Warrior
When ~ ETB, destroy target boar.
Whenever a creature your opponents control dies, you gain one life. Exile that creature.
1/1
Snarky, yes, but if boars are a viable archetype, he could save your life. He eats the enemies, so you gain life and they get exiled. I'm vegetarian, so we don't get along well.
DeleteThis should be cheaper, should probably have a bigger body, probably be a different color(s), probably doesn't need the second ability, and should probably be a bit less narrow, but I really like it.
DeleteI think this is a great place to use the uncommon trope of listing three creature types, e.g. "When ~ ETBs, destroy target beast, bird, or boar." I think I'd aim at a 2GW 3/2 Uncommon or somewhere thereabouts.
Mechanically, there isn't much Green about this, but thematically it is literally as Green as it is possible to be, so I think that has to be in there. You can use the Green to boost the stats if you like.
Wild Game Hunter 5W
ReplyDeleteCreature - Human Assassin Warrior
When ~ ETB, destroy target boar.
Whenever a creature your opponents control dies, you gain one life. Exile that creature.
1/1
Leaching Terror 2BB
ReplyDeleteCreature- Insect Horror (Common)
2/4
Lifelink
Devourer of Light 1BB
ReplyDeleteCreature - Shade (U)
All spells and permanents are black.
Tap another black permanent you control: Devourer of Light gains +1/+1 until end of turn.
/Who's afraid of the dark?/
1/1
I don't know why, but I've always been fond of black having this ability, a la Darkest Hour. It definitely works for me here, and is a solution to the challenge I didn't see coming.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteIt is very weird to me to have both of these abilities on the same card. I also think there is no way "all spells and permanents are black" is Uncommon, in any context.
DeletePower level wise, this is ridiculously better than Looming Shade, and the other Black shades, because it doesn't require you to have Swamps, you can just use any lands to pump it. (Not 100% sure if that was intentional?)
I mean, there's a lot of ways this is better than a common. But it should be noted most shades just care about black mana not swamps, per say. This guy is a bit of a shade, a bit of a Bramblesnap. Sure, it makes him pretty large, but at a pretty big cost with plenty of shields down moments.
DeleteExcept he is a Shade and a Bramblesnap, completely, at the same time, for 3 mana, and it also lets you tap other permanents.
DeleteOne line of logic is "If I want all my lands to pump a shade, all I have to do is make all my lands tap for black mana, so this isn't that much better than that." But making all your lands tap for black mana is a huge cost, and one that is usually not possible in limited (which is the focus of this challenge). So the amount better this is than common/uncommon shades in limited makes me nervous (not that common/uncommon shades have ever been powerhouses).
The removal of any condition on what you tap to pump it, I should note, also makes it stop feeling mono-Black to me.
It is a fine line, but I don't consider these two abilities as really having synergy. It is just too forced to make all permanents Black and then care if permanents are Black.
I'd be quite happy, I think, with a Rare shade that made all lands Swamps and then had the traditional B: +1/+1 ability (though obviously it wouldn't answer this challenge).
Shadow Eater {1}{B}
ReplyDeleteCreature - Horror (Uncommon)
Defender
Sacrifice Shadow Eater: Target unblocked attacking creature deals damage to itself equal to its power.
3/3
Quite the upgrade to Kiku's Shadow!
DeletePhyrexian Landshark {2U}{2U}
ReplyDeleteCommon
Artifact Creature - Fish
(vanilla)
1/4
That's a good one, very fitting for the art.
DeleteBrutish Imitator 2U
ReplyDeleteCreature - Shapeshifter (Uncommon)
You may have ~ enter the battlefield as a copy of any common creature on the battlefield.
0/1
I know rarity matters have been decreed to be off limits in black border for the moment. But why is that? The traditional answer is because cards can be reprinted at different rarities. As far as I can tell, the argument here applies just as easily to creature type matters. In Standard, creatures won't be reprinted with varying rarities or creature types. In older formats, players know that cards aren't always the creature type they say they are - in particular, they've often been given extra types - so we can naturally extend that to knowing that in older formats, cards may have extra rarities as well as the one the expansion symbol shows.
For pushing rarity matters, maybe make it "common creature you control". Otherwise playing this on a board with lots of old creatures everyone will have to pull out their phone to look up the rarity (rarity isn't actually marked on cards until Exodus). This way you only need to know the rarity of your own cards (much like most creature type matters cards care about creatures you control).
DeleteHmm. Yeah, I see what you're saying, but that wouldn't answer the terms of the challenge :->
DeleteWould that make Strip Mine simultaneously Common, Uncommon, and Mythic Rare in paper, but only Rare on MTGO?
DeleteWhat's the rarity of Mana Crypt?
WotC errata'd City in a Bottle et al. so that players wouldn't have an in-game advantage for treating different printings of the same card differently. I'm guessing this is the same reason rarity-matters will never be a thing in black-border.
According to Gatherer, Strip Mine counts as simultaneously uncommon, rare and mythic rare in paper.
DeleteMana Crypt has rarity "special", apparently. Like the Time Spiral timeshifted cards. Tokens (that aren't copies) I believe have the expansion symbol of the card that made them, so we can say they also have the rarity of the card that made them.
You're most likely correct that rarity-matters won't actually happen. I was trying to think of an attribute that Bladetusk Boar had that would be noticeable by an uncommon Clone, and "common" seemed sufficiently more succinct than "with toughness 2 or less". It's worth occasionally trying the out-there ideas, even if most of the time they don't pan out :)
Yeah, I really think "rarity matters" won't be printed, because at least creature types have a canonical version, but most players probably won't get that a card with one printed symbol is multiple rarities because it was printed at different rarities 20 years ago.
DeleteBut clone is a brilliant idea, it was completely off my list of possibilities. If it was some other restriction that makes it ok at uncommon or common, that would be perfect.
Converted mana cost 4 or less?
DeleteDreamskater 3B (3W also works but black fits the art a little better)
ReplyDeleteCreature - Spirit (C)
Flying, lifelink
2/2
Comes down on-curve with the Boar, and races it along a different axis by 2-to-1 (after lifelink).
Cinderskin Spitter 3P/RP/R (3 and two Phyrexian red)
Creature - Horror (C)
When Cinderskin Spitter enters the battlefield, it deals 2 damage to another target creature.
2/2
If we wanted to be super blunt with a reprint:
Disfigure B
Instant (C)
Target creature gets -2/-2 until end of turn.
The thing that stood before them was human, once. They were sure of it.
You designed Insatiable Harpy. Note that this card was a very strong limited card, and so was placed at Uncommon. I don't expect flying and lifelink to appear on a common with more than one power.
Delete(PS: The fact that Insatiable Harpy was so good is really a testament to how ridiculous Vampire Nighthawk was.)
I don't remember Insatiable Harpy being oppressively strong in Limited, and Theros was a set with a lot of ways to boost its power which would have increased its value dramatically. Dreamskater could be a 2/1 instead at common, which would be fine.
DeleteInsatiable Harpy wasn't oppressive, just strong.
DeleteI don't think swapping from a 2/2 flying lifelinker to a 2/1 flying lifelinker lowers it from uncommon to common. I think, actually, if you want to get it to common you go the other way. 4B for a 2/3 or something miiiight squeeze in.
They made a 2WW 2/4 flying common lifelinker in Avacyn Restored, which *was* quite oppressive, but still something they printed not that long ago. A 4B 2/3 doesn't come down on curve with the Boar which hurts its ability to be a good answer. With cards like Giant Spider, Shock, Seacoast Drake etc potentially floating around at common in the same limited environment, a 2/2 or a 2/1 lifelink flyer at common for 4 seems fine with the right context.
DeleteI don't think AVR is to limited design as Planar Chaos is to the color pie.
DeleteThe quality of the best commons is something that has markedly decreased, even over the course of recent blocks. List the best 5 commons in the past few sets, and you'll see nothing approaches Doom Blade, Seraph of the Dawn, Mist Raven, etc.
I do think there probably exists an environment where a 2/2 flying lifelinker for 2BB could be at common, but it would be weird for that to be what a set needed.
DeleteI'll take care of the renders this week.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget the gold frame for Pygmy Shyft. :)
DeleteShoreline Reaper 3B
ReplyDeleteCreature - Horror (C)
When Shoreline Reaper enters the battlefield, put a -1/-1 counter on target creature.
1/3
Comes down on curve with the boar, makes a 2/1 which is easily handled by any number of spells, be they direct damage, -N/-N, fighting, or attacking 1/1s. All common things. Reaper can then attack into it without fear of dying while still being costed fairly.
Feedback appreciated as always.
I'm not sure that turning an unblockable 3 power creature into an unblockable 2 power creature is really answering it. That said, Pith Driller would certainly be a clever answer here.
DeleteFair. I was trying to be different from above submissions, but yeah, good point.
DeleteI didn't even make the leap to Pith Driller as answer. Geez.
Fun fact: I think Pith Driller is the only common creature with an ETB -1/-1 counter effect.
If they made Pith Driller today, I think it would certainly be a 1/4.
DeleteVilmetal Guardian 4
ReplyDeleteArtifact creature - Construct (C)
Whenever CARDNAME attacks or blocks, tap it. It doesn't untap during your next untap step.
4/4
This card is hard to evaluate but I like it. It should probably be uncommon ala Mardu Blazebringer and Hewed Stone Retainers
DeleteEnemy Salamander 3U
ReplyDeleteCreature - Salamander (C)
Adversary (You may pair this creature with another unpaired creature when either enters the battlefield. They remain paired for as long as you control only one of them.)
Adversaries of CARDNAME get -2/-0
1/3
Adversary should be rewritten so that it doesn't conflict with soulbond but I wanted to get the gist down first.
Actually I'm a bit worried that this has too little of a design space to be all too interesting. An attacking or blocking trigger might work (and allow for some removal abilities).
DeleteEnemy Salamander 3U
Creature - Salamander (C)
Adversary (You may pair this creature with another unpaired creature when either enters the battlefield. They remain paired for as long as you control only one of them.)
Whenever an adversary of CARDNAME attacks or blocks, it gets -2/-0 until end of turn.
1/3
Waterfront Mauler 2B
ReplyDeleteCreature - Drake (comon)
Whenever you take combat damage from a creature you may pay BB and sacrifice cardname. If you do, creatures that dealt damage to you this turg get -2/-2 until end of turn.
2/3
You could make less circuitous by just making this an activated ability instead of a triggered one:
DeleteBB, Sac ~: Creatures that dealt damage to you this turn get -2/-2 until end of turn.
---
This is almost certainly an Uncommon, but I think it is an interesting space to play in.
I concur. To make it common however:
DeleteWaterfront Mauler 2B
Creature - Drake (comon)
{t},BB,sacrifice CARDNAME: target dealt damage to you this turn gets -2/-2
2/3
The uncommon version would either do it to all creatures that dealt you damage or not require the sacrifice.
Yeah I enjoy the version of this where it is a tap ability. Not sure that can squeeze into uncommon, because too much of that and games stall way too much, but would be fun to try.
DeleteI should note I hate giving -2/-2 to a creature that has already done damage this turn, so that the first -2 presumably doens't do anything (barring shenanigans), but WOTC has done it before with Executioner's Swing.
Too many good answers here to join in. Sliver Construct is my favourite. Anything I come up with will be worse.
ReplyDeleteFocus on the comedy and I'm sure an answer will come to you. I believe in you!
Delete*puffs up chest*
DeletePIG-EATER [3BB]
Creature — Fish Beast
When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, destroy target Boar.
"I have been bred for one purpose. I'd tell you what it is, but I'm afraid it might... boar you." — Pig-Eater's first words upon arriving at a crime scene in Miami
3/6
Renders have been posted.
ReplyDeleteWhere are the renders posted prior to the review article? Actually, how does 'doing the renders for this week' work, if there are any other steps involved? I'd like to do that some week but it's apparently not as straightforward as I'd thought.
DeleteI'm not sure how goblin artisans does it, but you can probably use something like http://mtgcardsmith.com/
DeleteThat website would probably work, though I personally just use Magic Set Editor. ( http://magicseteditor.sourceforge.net/ )
DeleteIt's available free online, though afaik does not currently work on Macs? I will typically just e-mail the mocked-up cards as image files to Jay; when Ipaulsen does it they are typically hosted on a page on their blog, Monday Morning Maro. ( ttp://mondaymorningmaro.blogspot.jp/ )
I'm a big fan of MSE, which can do some pretty cool things if you find the right templates. It's how I do the renders for my contributions here.
DeleteI also like MSE + email.
DeleteDoes anyone know how to change styling options for multiple cards at once, but not all cards in the set? I currently have it default to M15 frames, but it makes some of the older cards look a bit odd.
Aisling Construct 1
ReplyDeleteArtifact Creature - Faerie (C)
Whenever CARDNAME blocks or becomes blocked by a creature, that creature becomes all colors. (This effect lasts indefinitely.)
1/1