Cool Card Design of the Day5/20/2015 - Reuben was musing yesterday about how best to template a mechanic first proposed for Tesla some time ago. What's cool about access the machine is that you pay once to activate a number of abilities across your permanents. The trick is we can't just label those abilities with an ability word because the game can't see ability words.
We can make all the abilities trigger whenever you "access the machine" but that means we've got this action word that does nothing on its own. Players expect everything in the game to do something, and so we've got to include reminder text that explains that accessing the machine has no inherent value, but triggers abilities on your cards with the ability. Awkward.
One option is to change the game rules to account for this new kind of ability; Make it possible. Another is to be clever with our wording. The option I want to share today is to simply conform to player expectations: Give access the machine inherent meaning. Something relatively innocuous, but functional. A reason to exist, even without the incumbent triggers.
I originally created a supertype Wired so that access the machine could "untap each wired permanent" but the names and art I'd found were begging to be artifacts anyhow, and "untap each artifact" is modular instead of parasitic, still flavorful, and doesn't require a new supertype.
Untapping is useful, but will rarely be more than psuedo-vigilance on its own. Other options include… "Scry X, where X is the number of artifacts you control." "Draw a card." "Put a 2/2 artifact creature token OTB." "Gain 1 life for each artifact you control." "This artifact becomes indestructible." And surely more (feel free to suggest more). We can do scaling effects or static effects. Powerful effects or weak. That choice impacts what kind of triggers we can attach, but as long as it's simple and flavorful, it works.
EDIT: Here's a solution that allows the keyword to explain exactly what it does.
I think exploit demonstrates that it is possible to have an ability that doesn't do anything other than trigger other abilities, although in that case the cards are all still self-contained. I think it would be possible to have access not do anything but trigger other abilities and still work, as long as there were enough cards that triggered at lower rarities to make the purpose obvious. Untapping is a neat solution, but it does limit the kinds of abilities you can do, since they mostly have to be things it's reasonable to do every turn even without accessing.
ReplyDeleteExploit doesn't inherently do anything positive, but it does do something. The issue isn't whether the keyword has worth on its own, but whether it does anything at all on its own.
DeleteThere's a part of me that thinks this should just be a trigger during your untap step. I dunno. This whole "Access the machine" idea is awesome but I have two problems:
ReplyDelete1. The theme doesn't feel like Magic.
2. It feels like the super-evocative name is masking a really dull mechanic. Rather than making me go, "wow" it kinda makes me go, "Wow... wait, is that it?"
I dunno.
Why doesn't the theme feel like Magic?
DeleteThe second criticism is entirely fair. {7} is a lot to pay, and you might expect a lot. But because it can trigger any number of things, and each of those things is a bonus ability, they're going to have to be pretty small on their own. And that leaves us with a potentially powerful ability that reads very weak.
The theme feels too cyberpunk-y to me. "Access the machine" feels like something you'd do in the Matrix.
DeleteI dunno. I keep trying to look at this in the fun, "hey, I built an engine thing!" but the problem is, I don't build an engine because it's so parasitic. It's like, "Hey! I get to spend all my mana on a deck you built!"
How about if Accessing the machine triggered all "activated abilities on artifacts you control"?
To keep it less insane, it could be;
7: Rig the engine. (When you rig the engine, activate all activated abilities on artifacts you control without paying their mana costs. You must pay any other costs. Rig the engine only as a sorcery.)
This seems to me a modular way of doing this in a pretty cool way that shouldn't be too busted with things that need to tap or sacrifice themselves (like Nevinyrral's Disk or Door to Nothingness). And at common, you make it so only mana costs are on artifacts, no tap or sacrifice abilities. The name feels more steampunk-y ("Assemble the contraption" would be perfect).
I should say — this is still completely insane in terms of board complexity, but might be fun.
DeleteThe more I think about it, the more I feel this whole mechanic just wants to be "artifact-fall" and the desire to make it seem super-new and cool is making a busted, overly-complex, impossible to develop mechanic that, like Storm or Dredge, looks like it does nothing and for new players will be aggravating, but expert players will break open like a kinder egg of delicious contraband.
DeleteI'll take that as one vote in favor of Aetherwork.
DeleteHah! Yep. Although, I think referencing a new type/keyword is antithetical to the mechanic.
DeleteThat is a clever solution. However, I feel it might be perhaps too clever. If you tell people on one line of the card that "Access the Machine" means "Untap all your stuff" (or "Draw a card" or whatever), then you're misleading them. The "real" meaning of Access the Machine is defined by all the cards you've got on the table.
ReplyDeleteSo I think it's actually a recipe for less confusion in the long run to say "Access ({7}: Access the machine.)
Whenever you access the machine, put a +1/+1 counter on ~."
(Also, I'm amused that Cybird is apparently a Bear.)
All artifact creatures are bears in the dystopian future.
DeleteMaking the keyword different from the action phrase might be the trick to making this work. Wait, do we even need the keyword?
"{7}: Access the machine.
Whenever you access the machine, put a +1/+1 counter on ~."
Yeah, I'm not sure we need a keyword at all. A keyword action is probably fine.
Deletealso note that this version removes the NWO board complexity that untapping everything adds.
DeleteThough this comes back to the reminder text version that you posted initially...
Which is the version I'm increasingly liking, its fine under NWO, keeps the great flavor and I realise that magic has done "do nothing" mechanics before in Monsterous. Being monsterous doesn't do anything, but trigger other things and this is in a similar situation that while reading slightly odd should be a lot more grokkable than any of the solutions here.
Monstrosity puts counters on your creature. There are a bunch of commons with just monstrosity.
DeleteThere are no do-nothing mechanics in Magic's history.
Untapping a bunch of artifacts definitely adds board complexity. Two of the five other mechanics I proposed do too. But if that's your concern, use one of the other three.
DeleteI actually quite like {7}: Draw a card. It nails the flavor, reads really well, helps a long game end, and isn't an ability you're going to use every single turn, since you need that mana to cast some of the cards you've drawn.
Hey everyone, there's a nice discussion over at Magic Salvation as well. Link to the thread.
ReplyDeleteI agree that an ability that inherently does "nothing" can be a bit tricky, but that's the thing - most cards that Access the Machine will also give you a reward for doing so. It's designed very much like Exploit, which "looks like" it does nothing, but really plays out quite well.
To address the two major criticisms:
1.) Should the mechanic inherently do something? My thinking is: no. The goal of this mechanic is to 'trigger' every creature you control. I think attaching another, incidental, effect distracts from its real purpose, and would make it feel even more underwhelming when told to other people, since people would naturally associate Access with the effect we attach to it, rather than the other, more interesting, effects on the cards.
2.) Is Access splashy enough? My answer is "probably not". Does it NEED to be splashy? My answer is "no"! I never intended it to be. In my mind, Access was always a fun, 'round-out' mechanic that fills in flavorful space in the set, is relatively mechanically simple, and plays in a fun way while encouraging a cool strategy in Limited. It does play well with some themes - like artifacts and big spells, since you can use Access as a mana sink for your ramp if you have no big spells to cast anymore - but it was mostly designed as a stand-alone interesting mechanic. Kinda like Entwine, or Allies, if you see what I'm saying?
Hm, my link didn't work. Try this: http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/creativity/custom-card-creation/607504-access-the-machine
DeleteAlso, over at MTGS, Legend brought up an interesting idea - one of the big questions was whether Access should have a fixed cost. I'm still on the side of 'yes', but Legend pointed out that fixed cost could be a variable, which I find interesting.
DeleteThe question is: what is that variable? "Number of Access creatures you control" was the first idea that came to my mind as well, but that's a bit silly, since it has way too much of a range and seems a bit too double-edged for my tastes.
What do you guys think? Got any ideas in that department?
What everyone else said :) I like inanimate's description. I see where Jay's logic is coming from, but I'm not sure the result is better.
ReplyDeleteAnother possibility, don't know if it would help, is to find some mechanical action that could take the place of access the machine. Eg.
Access the machine -- 7: put the bottom card of your library into your hand.
Whenever you put the bottom card of your library into your hand, do [bonus thing]
Or:
Access the machine -- 7: Untap each artifact you control.
{T}: Do bonus thing. (Possibly with some restriction on untapping.)
Jack: That further obfuscates the intent of the mehcanic as a means of 'networking' though. If the purpose of the mechanic is the [bonus thing], why are we hiding it so much?
ReplyDeleteDo you actually intend Cybird to bounce something each time it untaps? Or only with the ability?
ReplyDeleteSure. It's a rare and you've got two untaps and a block step to kill it (unless they access the machine).
DeleteThis gives me flashbacks to Capsize. Even without Access I wouldn't want to print this.
DeleteObviously a minor quibble that doesn't detract from the post!
I wouldn't be surprised for a second if Cybird proved too strong / oppressive. I try to lean towards dangerous rares because I'm naturally too conservative with them, and because when they exist solely to illustrate a mechanic's power, too strong is far better than too weak.
DeleteAnother option:
ReplyDeleteMechanical Manipulator {4}
Artifact (unc)
Access the Machine ({7}: Activate any number of other activated abilities among artifacts* you control without paying their activation costs.)
{2}, {T}: Tap target creature.
* Choosing artifacts opens the possibile applications outside of the set in an incredible way. A dangerous way: With access, you can Mindslaver or Door to Nothingness every turn for {7}. We could instead give all eligible targets a supertype and trigger those instead.
Automatic Library {2}
Wired Artifact (unc)
Access the Machine ({7}: Activate any number of other activated abilities among wired permanents you control without paying their activation costs.)
{3}{U}{U}: Draw a card.
We could avoid that by making the reminder text self-referential:
Steamwork Hydra {3}
Creature-Hydra (rare)
Access the Machine ({7}: Activate any number of other activated abilities without paying their activation costs among permanents you control with access the machine.)
{X}: Put a +1/+1 counter on ~. X is ~'s power.
1/1
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DeleteI think, for safety and elegance reasons, we'll want to use the last one.
DeleteI think this might be getting very close to the ultimate iteration of what we're looking for. It cunningly solves both of the problems I mentioned.
One, it's got two costs: the 7, and the cost of whatever activated ability it has innately. This presents it with a little modality - you can use it for cheap, or if you want to go 'crazy combo' you have that option available to you. This makes it slightly easier to balance, in my opinion.
Two, it's got an innate ability: it lets you do stuff for free! "For free" is like, the coolest thing to appear on Magic cards apparently, so that's awesome. (: This makes it both more splashy, and makes it more obvious that this actually does something on its own.
Overall: This is excellent. I think this might just be what we're looking for.
I really like the shared activation model (in fact, it preempts a worse mechanic in the same space I was playing around with for the next Tesla post).
DeleteThe only other option I think is really on the table is making the activation explicitly call out that the effect is tied to the permanents:
{7}: Access each permanent you control.
Access { ~ gets +2/+2 until end of turn. }
or the like. Obviously this is a bigger departure from standard Magic templating.
Jules I explored this kind of templating quite a lot.
Deletehttp://imgur.com/a/Fe5GJ
However I eventually came to the conclusion that the super irregular templating wasn't worth the complexity.
Unlike something like Levelers this is more suited to a minor theme of a set, not a intergral part of it.
If we can find super-irregular templating for it that's clear enough, and distinct enough, it could help sell the mechanic and the set, ala Level-Up and DFCs. I still would only want to do it if we thought we could re-use that templating for other mechanics; if it opened up a new vein of design space for the game. Coordinate is one example, but I'm not sure there are many more, if any.
DeleteShoulders of Giants is another one, but between the three I think we've eaten up most of the design space.
Deleteactually that creates an infinite loop because you activate the ability itself.
ReplyDeleteto me, access could be tiered, like security levels. so access is cheap, but other abilities have various costs.
eg
Cybear 1G
Creature
3: Access the machine.
t: Put +1/+1 counter on this.
Run program- 2: Put counter on this. (activate only if you accessed the machine this turn.)
That's what the word 'other' is doing in there. You activate abilities other than access the machine abilities.
DeleteJay, I got the intent behind that 'other', but I think Steam Fu might be right. Usually the 'other' refers to the object in question - in this case, the ability on the stack itself, not the kind of ability it is.
DeleteAll italicized text is there for the player's benefit and has no rules meaning. Flavor text, ability words, and reminder text have no effect on the game. Reminder text exists to remind players how a keyword is to be played. So long as it serves that purpose, there is no right or wrong reminder text. The full rules for all abilities are found in the comprehensive rules.
DeleteHere, the natural intuition is that access the machine doesn't activate access the machine because that's immediately infinite / broken and makes no flavor sense. 'Other' here is just to remind players that's the case.
Right, but my point is that the reminder text doesn't make that clear. I get that it's "obvious", but still seems like there might be a better wording for this.
DeleteLikely. LMK if you think of something.
DeleteHacker's Tome 5
ReplyDeleteArtifact
4, t: draw a card.
3: Access the machine.
Whenever you access the machine, you may draw a card and discard a card.
I'm curious about tapping back into space I think we were exploring under "revolt" or "industrial revolution". Naming either the front side or the back side with a supertype or subtype can help shortcut this, but this is just a test template.
ReplyDeleteMagnetic Lackey 4
Artifact Creature - Construct (u)
Access the Machine 7 (7:Transform each non-Powered artifact you control.)
2/3
//
Magnetic Behemoth (-)
Artifact Creature - Powered Construct
At the beginning of your upkeep, transform ~.
6/7
"Powered" here is a an artifact subtype that we see on the "night" side. They could all flip back at the beginning of your next turn - either as a ubiquitous trigger, or part of the Access ability - or maybe not.
Research Probe 3
Artifact (r)
2, T: Name a card type, then reveal the top card of your library. If it’s not the named type, put it on the bottom of your library.
Access the Machine 7 (7:Transform each non-Powered artifact you control.)
//
Research Matrix (-)
Artifact - Powered
2, T: Name a card. Search your library for a card with that name and put it into your hand.
Yeah, this was the original idea that inspired Access the Machine and Industrial Revolution - it was Tommy Occhipinti's original Revolution mechanic.
DeleteThe problem I think everyone had was that you'd have some stuff 'Accessed' and some stuff not 'Accessed'. I like the idea of transforming back at end of turn to fix that, but...
Personally, if we're going down the DFC path - which I think is a fine path - I'd much prefer if it simply transformed all cards with Revolution for the rest of the game. Totally feels like a 'Paradigm shift' when you do that, you know?
If you wanted to make it less parasitic, you could center the mechanic around untapping artifacts.
ReplyDeleteAccess the Machine (7: Untap each artifact you control.)
From here you could have a theme in a set be artifacts that tap for abilities without mana costs (Maybe a cycle with alternate costs). For example:
Research Library 5
Artifact
Access the Machine (7: Untap each artifact you control.)
T: Draw a card.
Bola Launcher 4
Artifact
Access the Machine (7: Untap each artifact you control.)
T: Tap target creature.
Mana Radar 3
Artifact
Access the Machine (7: Untap each artifact you control.)
T: Add 1 to your mana pool.
This would make it harder to put the ability on creatures, but you could have a vigilance creature that pumps itself, or a creature that gives itself a counter (A la chronomaton), or just an efficient creature that can untap itself later in the game. I feel like this might be a little better at 6, but I haven't played with it so maybe that's too good. You could also have a cycle like this:
Online Assistant 4
Artifact
Access the Machine (7: Untap each artifact you control.)
T: target creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn
W, T: creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn
Online Torturer 2
Artifact
Access the Machine (7: Untap each artifact you control.)
T: Target player puts the top card of his or her library into his or her graveyard.
U, T: Target player puts the top 3 cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard.
Online Bleeder 3
Artifact
Access the Machine (7: Untap each artifact you control.)
T: Target player loses 1 life.
B, T: Target layer loses 2 life.
Online Vanguard 3
Artifact
Access the Machine (7: Untap each artifact you control.)
T: Target creature with power 3 or less can't block this turn.
R, T: Target creature can't block this turn.
Online Forcefield 6
Artifact
Access the Machine (7: Untap each artifact you control.)
T: Target creature gains hexproof until end of turn.
G, T: Creatures you control gain hexproof until end of turn.
Not great examples perhaps, but you can have minor tap abilities and better versions with a color requirement. So you need 8 mana to upgrade one of them from minor to major, 9 mana for two, etc. if you decide to access the machine that turn. That would help reduce repetitive gameplay, at least a bit.
While this approach gets closer to normal magic templating, I think it loses some of the essence of the mechanic. Nothing new happens when you Access the Machine because you were already activating each of those abilities every turn.
DeleteAnother wording suggestion based off of Astrolobe's wording:
ReplyDeleteElectrophasomancer {2}{U}
Creature- Human Artificer (C)
Access the Machine ({7}: Grant access to the Machine to each permanent you control.)
Access granted -- Whenever Electrophasomancer is granted access to the Machine, it gets +3/+0 and can’t be blocked until end of turn.
1/4
Fascinating and very cool how "grant…to" conveys the concept that granting access is what Access the Machine does, and all it does. I'd want to shorten this, but there's real potential here:
DeleteElectrophasomancer 2U
Creature- Human Artificer (C)
Energize ({7}: Grant energy to each permanent you control.)
Whenever Electrophasomancer is granted energy, it gets +3/+0 and can’t be blocked until end of turn.
1/3
Electrophasomancer 2U
Creature- Human Artificer (C)
{7}: Empower each permanent you control.
Whenever Electrophasomancer is empowered, it gets +3/+0 and can’t be blocked until end of turn.
1/3
Hmm. I think that second one loses some of the clarity of the original. The difference seems to be how much our action sounds like it does something on its own?
Could we go a step further and have the second ability spell out that it IS what happens?
Deletee.g.
Access granted -- Granting ~ access to the Machine, means it gets +3/+0 and can’t be blocked until end of turn.
Feels too far to me.
Delete