Cool Card Design of the Day9/22/2016 - Inspired by yesterday's discussion of rebound, I wondered about a version that you can cast every turn, provided you're willing to pay for it. As soon as you choose to save your mana for something else, the option to keep re-casting it ends.
You'll note that I put some kind of limit on all of these...
Either you run out of lands to pay for the spell, or life, or targets.
This is a dangerous idea. Surely not worth keywording, assuming it's worth putting on multiple cards at all.
Even so, designing around dedicate's unique parameters is challenging, and thus interesting. What can you do with it?
This is actually a lot like an enchantment with Upkeep that does something every turn. Could be worth thinking of effects along that line -- not constantly disruptive effects, but rather, self-supportive ones that you want to maintain? Or *slow* effects.
ReplyDeleteUnsummoning Circles {1}{U}
Sorcery
Return target creature you control to its owner's hand.
Dedicate
Protection Circles {W}
Sorcery
Target creature you control gets +0/+2 until end of turn.
Dedicate
Very interesting to think of ones that your opponent does have means for stopping, though. Unlike an enchantment, if your dedicated spell has no targets, you're a bit screwed:
Killers' Festival {2}{B}{B}
Sorcery
Destroy target tapped creature
Dedicate
^ I really like this one because you can leave tapped creatures just in case, or your opponent can tap only worthless creatures so you end up overpaying to keep the festival going
Brain Drain {1}{B}{B}
Sorcery
Target player with one or more cards in hand discards a card.
Dedicate
Lost in Thought {3}{U}
Sorcery
Return target untapped creature to its owner's hand.
Dedicate
More options, but still fundamentally recursive support spells that act a bit like enchantments w/ upkeep:
(Note that you can pay X = 0 if you just want to 'keep it going' without any desirable targets)
Ongoing Strength {X}{G}
Sorcery
X target creatures each get +2/+2 until end of turn
Dedicate
Ongoing Distractions {X}{R}
Sorcery
X target creatures can't block this turn.
Dedicate
Okay, this one's a bit more oppressive, but no worse than a Curse of Death's Hold -- and much more expensive over time:
Ongoing Weakness {X}{B}
Sorcery
X target creatures each get -1/-1 until end of turn.
Dedicate
oh, one more: a spell that works with its future copies
Delete(oops, edited because I forgot to Dedicate these, haha. also changed the cost of that second one.)
Slow Mind Control {U}
Sorcery
Put a mind control counter on target creature, then gain control of all creatures with three or more mind control counters on them.
Dedicate
or at a more reasonable pace...
Kinda Slow Mind Control {2}{U}
Sorcery
Put a mind control counter on target creature, then gain control of all creatures with two or more mind control counters on them.
Dedicate
These are almost all quite good. Nice!
DeleteI love the play with Unsummoningg circles in that it may push you to use it suboptimally just so you can set up a bigger play
DeleteThis mechanic actually solves a bit of a design issue I was having with my set concept. As Mr. Treat knows I was working on the idea of “roller coaster magic” as opposed to battlecruiser magic, where you tank up for turns and then smash with huge guys, my idea was to alternate between buildup phases and giant action packed battles; rebuilding and smashing over and over.
ReplyDeleteTo support this I worked in the flavor of a Giant Monsters vs. Machines plane. Think Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla or the oxygen Destroyer, King Kong vs. the Planes, Kaiju vs. jaegers in Pacific Rim or the Zords against the monsters in Power Rangers. Imagine a world of powerful artificers in constant war against the wild beasts and monsters just outside civilization. Kaladesh vs. Jund in two words.
But there was a hitch as Mr. Treat explained it, people tend not to like waiting around, in “roller coaster” magic, you are spending half your games in a dull playstate. Was there a way to deal with this? Yes, by taking inspiration from outside the game.
Yu-gi-oh, another of the tcgs I play has a series called the Battle Pack. They are akin to official cubes, boosters selected and proportioned specifically to encourage fun and unique limited play styles. One of the skills they use in selection is crafting entirely different modes of play. One Battle Pack could be built on aggressive creatures and efficient removal while another would be focused on flooding the board with solid monsters and then converting them into finishers.
The second of these was called “War of the Giants” and the idea was to simulate the “boss monster; feel of the cartoon. The cards drove you to get out big strong monsters and then to fight and protect those with countless support cards. This was a set with almost no removal, where the ‘Spike” and the “Timmy” cards converged. That play style was the perfect answer to my issue above.
Imagine a creature driven format of Mtg that opposed to going into board stalls or nigh all creature decks, was built on getting g your creatures into constant battle and using a wave of spells to help them out? Taking it back to the classic ideal of us pitting the warriors and beasts of the multiverse against eachother and helping them out with spells.
To do this, I would need some set goals.
1. Encourage Combat
Every color has certain properties that work well or jell nice with combat. This set is about Monster fighting so things like Vigilance, Flickering, and Fighting would be toned up rather than evasion
2. Spells are key
This was not to drive all creature decks or play styles, spells need to be a key part of the format, and so Combat tricks are a huge part of the design here
3. Color Diversity
Certain colors have play styles they naturally trend towards creatures, but for this to be healthy, each color needs to have a unique combat themed play style that fits there themes
Putting it all together gave me a nice framework but some issue came up. Mostly that with constant battle people would run out of tricks. There were ways to mitigate this, Vehicles, Equipment’s, counter giving spells, auras, anthems and the like are all permanents that can help battle, but what about Instants and Sorceries? Perennial combat tricks and disposable buy design?
This mechanic showed the solution. In a set about combat, why not a way to keep using combat tricks?
The “use it or lose it” caveat is a brilliant peace of work because it keeps balance in checks and stops cancerous plays. I also had to be careful with the effects to keep the gamestate from getting messed up or forcing players into complicated combat math or draw go- esque “I know he can do this so I can do that but he knows that so I can do this except he knows I know he can…”
This lead to my designs, see the next post for a full cycle of this new mechanic!
Now I give you the mechanic Signature Move! A classic trope given the Japanese animation, shoen, tokusatsu and superhero themes I am working with.
ReplyDeleteAs always costs and specific numbers are rough and meant to get the idea of the card across rather than aim for a perfect power level. (Just like in irl wotc design)
Perfect Will W
Instant (C)
Target creature you control gains Vigilance and cannot deal or take damage until the end of the turn.
Signature Move (Exile this card as it resolves, during your next turn, you may cast this card from exile)
Soulcore Ranger Lesson 1: Your will is your guide.[/i]
Echo Step U
Instant (C)
Exile a creature you control, and then return it to the battlefield.
Signature Move (Exile this card as it resolves, during your next turn, you may cast this card from exile)
[i]Mindcore Ranger Lesson 1: Your mind is your shield. [/i]
Horror Hide B
Instant (C)
Target creature you control. During this turn, all creatures damaged by it get -2/-2
Signature Move (Exile this card as it resolves, during your next turn, you may cast this card from exile)
[/i]Helm and Heart alike fall to the hide of the Kaiju. [/i]
Ki Blast R
Instant (C)
Tap a creature you control, it deals damage equal to its power to target creature you don’t control.
Signature Move (Exile this card as it resolves, during your next turn, you may cast this card from exile)
[i]Heartcore Ranger Lesson 1: Your passion is your weapon.[/i]
Horror Roar
Instant (C)
Target creature you control gets Hexproof and +1/+1 until the end of the turn.
Signature Move (Exile this card as it resolves, during your next turn, you may cast this card from exile)
[i] Might and Magic both fear the roar of the Kaiju.[/i]
Note all these commons are instants, yet Signature move only triggers on your turn. This lets you surprise your opponent one time but then keeps you from having to worry about “hidden” threats the field when you are dealing with attacks. No “cheating” on tricks.
Hopefully this gets the flavor across too; of the Core Rangers, each with a color and genre accurate feel (The Noble leaders, techy support guys and hot blooded heroes) and the idea of the monsters they face. Mtg’s Color coding made it too easy to go into a Sentai vibe for the Core ranger faction, and each spell here takes its cue from a classic “move” or aspect scene in the genre. (The seemingly hero that shirks off horrible injuries as long as he believes , the quick stepping near teleportation, the energy blasts of Japanese cartoons, and the monsters SKREEOK and weaponized bodies.) The “use or loose” flavor also fits this flavor, as once you get the mana out for the big guns, the “basic” tricks fall away to more explosive moves.
Note how white is using vigilance and blue flicker, in a set all about combat, you don’t want to be scared to attack in fear of not being able to block. Untap effects vigilance and flickering are put in the set to mitigate this fear. Things like Hexproof are there to block opponents coming at you with effects,like direct damage and p/t shrinking that is threaded through the set. Surprisingly, despite being the “least creature” driven color, blue’s Hexproof, untapping, flickering, toughness shrinking and spell spamming all made it play very well here.
Hope this was a treat for you guys! This was a really fun and inspiring challenge!
And yes I realized I styled that kinda like a Maro two parter. It was actually not deliberate at first but once I saw I would need to use two posts, I embraced it.
ReplyDeleteI love the effects Jay and other people came up with that create different decisions every turn despite repeating the same effect.
ReplyDeleteThis mechanic might be easier to balance if it had a different cost for repeat casting like Dedicate 2U (......You may cast it from exile for 2U)
Thanks! I appreciate the feedback. I like the way you can play with "modes" and also the great idea of playing around its targets.
ReplyDeleteMaybe have a version thats mandatory? I really love KillCon, great card.