Friday, September 2, 2016

Weekend (Art) Challenge - Digital to Analogue

Weekend Art Challenge

What up, Artisans! Click through to see this weekend's design requirements and lack of art because there is none. Submissions are 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 if there's any ambiguity as to what your final submission is, I'll make my best guess when doing the renders.



In the Set in Four Cards challenge, Taresivon's submission featured mechanics inspired by video games. This week's challenge is to pick one of your favorite video games or genres of video games, and translate an iconic mechanic from that game into something cool for Magic rules. Bonus points if you use some of the spoiled artwork from Kaladesh and use it for your card (give me a link to the art in the comments).

Good luck and enjoy your weekend (and Labor Daybor)!

35 comments:

  1. Covering Fire {W}
    Enchantment-Aura (cmn)
    Enchant a creature you control
    Enchanted creature has "{T}: Tap target creature. Its controller may have it fight this creature."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neat! Conditional tappers are always cool.

      Not sure this is worth a whole card, though, especially since it's tying up a large creature. Maybe it makes more sense on equipment? The ability is distinctive and conditional enough that color pie does not seem like a huge issue.

      Delete
    2. Machine Wand {1}
      Artifact-Equipment (unc)
      Equipped creature has "{1}, {T}: Tap target creature. Its controller may have it fight this creature."
      Equip {2}

      Delete
    3. I missed this over the weekend. I like the mechanic a lot, as "may fight" is basically a way of saying "creatures stats matter for something other than dying".

      Delete
  2. Katamari Damacy
    5
    Legendary Artifact - Mythic Rare
    T: Put a charge counter on CARDNAME, then exile all permanents with converted mana cost equal to the number of charge counters on CARDNAME.
    At the beginning of your upkeep, you win the game if the total mana cost of cards exiled by CARDNAME is 20 or greater.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Should say "all other" - it can't roll up itself!

      Delete
  3. Ironbelly Buccaneer 2R
    Creature - Dwarf Pirate Artificer (u)
    T: Create a Cannon artifact token with "At the beginning of combat, this deals 1 damage to target creature".
    Hard work pays off!
    2/2

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love the concept, but this implementation seems super-broken-- it's relatively easy to get a few cannons out and just lock down the board (especially since they fire on every player's turn and disregard what's attacking or blocking).

      How about a 1/1 (or 1/2?) Cannon artifact creature token with defender and "this creature blocks every turn if able"?

      Delete
    2. Thanks! I was thinking about a setting with heavier bodies and more common artifact removal, but even easier access to wipes doesn't change the fact that this can lockdown a board and be too unfun. Doing weird things with legendary tokens is one option but maybe just slowing this down would help:

      Ironbelly Mate {2}{R}
      Creature - Dwarf Pirate Artificer (u)
      T: Create an 0/2 Cannon artifact creature token and “T: This deals damage equal to its power to target creature.”
      T: Put a +1/+1 counter on target artifact creature you control.
      2/2

      Not in love with this - I really do like the timing of "at the beginning of combat on each opponent's turn, deal damage" because it simplifies the combat math for everyone by making the choice before attacks and blocks are declared. But this gives a large text size and clean abilities, which is worth a lot.

      Delete
    3. Maybe defender and first strike instead of pinging the creatures? That's safer, and mechanically there's a small difference in how it actually plays out, but reading the card that sells the idea of "cannon turret" so much worse.

      Delete
    4. Maybe it just makes a cannon on EtB? Or ,ahke the card the cannon?

      Delete
    5. It moves further away from the source, but it's clean enough! I like it. Same stats, change text to:

      When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, create an 0/1 Cannon artifact creature token with “T: This deals damage equal to its power to target creature.”
      T: Put a +1/+1 counter on target artifact creature you control.

      Delete
  4. Blue Shell (3)
    Artifact (R)
    Cast CARDNAME only if you have the lowest life total or are tied for the lowest life total.
    At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice CARDNAME. If you do, it deals 5 damage to each player with the highest life total or tied for the highest life total.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The first ability seems redundant, considering what the second ability does. Otherwise, awesome top-down design.

      If you want an effect that's literally "blue" and still on-flavor, you could do a bounce-all-creatures or tap-all-permanents effect.

      Delete
    2. An alternative that's actually blue:

      Blue Shell (U)
      Instant (R)
      Choose target player with the highest life total who has 15 or more life more than you do as you cast Blue Shell. Tap all permanents that player controls. They don't untap during his or her next untap step.

      This might actually be more in the spirit of Blue Shell, since it doesn't *kill* you - it just makes it easier for all your opponents to catch up.

      Delete
    3. The 15+ part feels extraneous and less blue.
      Could just tap all players with more life than you.

      Delete
  5. Koopa Troopa (rare)
    2r
    Creature - Turtle Soldier
    2/2
    When CARDNAME dies, create an artifact token called shell with "tap an untapped creature you control: shell deals two damage to target creature. It's controller gains control of shell" and "at the beginning of your end step, sacrifice shell".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thematically, I want them to have to tap a guy to take/hit he she'll back, but this seems like better play.

      Delete
  6. Banana Peel W
    Instant (C)
    Exile target permanent you don't control. Return it to the battlefield at the beginning of the next end step.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Funny how banana peels are literally white, mechanically blue, and creatively green or red. This implementation is a clever way to get the literal and mechanical aspects to align.

      Delete
  7. Transistor 4
    Artifact- Equipment (Rare)
    Equip 2
    Whenever equipped creature attacks, if it's the first combat phase of the turn, untap that creature. After this phase, there is an additional combat phase.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Finest Hour, but in reverse! Seems fair and evocative - though the name might be magic-ified a little.

      Delete
  8. Yosuke, Ninja Assassin
    1RW
    Creature- Human Assassin
    2/2
    First Strike
    Whenever you control another legendary creature, ~ gains haste
    "I'm counting on you, partner!"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Legendary and sometimes-haste means this could probably be a 3/3, or boost the other-legend, and be on-par. (I'm assuming this is legendary as well).

      Any reason why you chose assassin?

      Delete
    2. Make the whenever ability EtB?

      Delete
    3. This was meant to reflect the Persona-users from the Persona series. It is meant to be a cycle of creatures that get better from having another legendary creature on the battlefield, so similar to the Blade cycle from Alara they would all be able to boost each other. Assassin was selected just as a reference to Yosuke's character from Persona 4, as his persona and fighting style is based on that of a ninja (although the Ninja type is sort of discontinued now).

      Delete
    4. I would suggest the ace of the archetype to be
      True Name, Protagonist
      WUBRG
      2/2
      ~gets +1+1 for each legendary creature you control
      ~gains all abilities of other legendary creatures you control
      If a legendary creature you control would die, you may sacrifice another legendary creature instead

      Delete
    5. If possible I'd probably like my submission to be the Protagonist, with Yosuke being the template for how other legendary creatures in the set might be like

      Delete
  9. Disgaea Sword 4
    Artifact-Equipment-Rare
    Level Up Tap a creature you control. Equip 2
    Level 2-5. Equiped creature gets +3/+3 and first strike.
    Level +6. Equiped creature gets +6/+6 and double strike.

    Based of off the Disgaea games, where your player can go into items to level them up and make them stronger.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neat.
      You don't have to tap the equipped creature?

      Delete
    2. I would make sure you only level up at sorcery speed, or there's going to be a lot of on-board tricks here.

      Delete
  10. I couldn't stop at just one

    Enderman 3BB
    Creature- Horror
    Phasing
    When an effect controlled by an opponent reveals CARDNAME from your hand or library, you may cast CARDNAME. If you do, CARDNAME can't phase out.
    5/4

    Creeper 2BR
    Creature- Horror
    Haste
    When Creeper deals combat damage, sacrifice it and it deals 4 damage to target creature in combat or to the defending player.
    4/1

    Spawner 5
    Artifact
    When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, choose one at random:
    • 2/2 black Zombie
    •1/3 green Spider with reach
    • 3/1 red Pig Soldier with "this creature attacks each turn if able."
    At the beginning of your end step, create a creature token of the chosen type.

    ReplyDelete