Click through to see the illustration and design requirements for your single card submission, due Monday morning. Every submission warrants feedback, which you may use to revise your submission any number of times. I will aim to review the most recent submission from each designer. |
| Spring… |
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| …Mind |
Spring
ReplyDelete2G
Sorcery - Rare
Reveal the top three cards of your library. Put all lands revealed this way onto the battlefield tapped, then put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
//
Mind
XUU
Sorcery
Aftermath
Draw X cards.
I love the Mind Spring callback, but I think the front half needs to be simplified. How about borrowing Pasteur's idea and making it "You may play up to two additional lands this turn"? (After all, Spring is not quite Summer.)
DeleteAlso, an interesting question: can a card with Mind Spring as the Aftermath effect be balanced at all?
I'm wondering if Constructed decks would find ways to discard it for value, Gifts for it, etc. and just ignore the front half.
It's funny you say that about Pasteur's card because my first thought seeing it was "d'oh, why didn't I think of that?!" :D
DeleteAs far as mind spring flashback. I think it might be a little aggressively costed but still doubt it breaks anything, and with the name I HAD to do it.
Spring has a ton of variance: It could put you up three lands in play, which is twice as good as Cultivate, or it could do nothing at all. Its mean function is to randomly put you up one land, which is slightly worse than Rampant Growth unless your deck is mostly utility lands.
DeleteMind is literally Mind Spring except you have to get it into your graveyard to cast it, perhaps by playing Spring, or perhaps by milling yourself. That's clearly over-powered, but we can let Dev adjust the balance.
The real question is, what's the synergy between these two effects? Both increase your hand-size, and Spring helps you cast a bigger Mind, albeit, only next turn and not the same turn. Most aftermath cards do better, but Cut to Ribbons is certainly an example that doesn't. Seems fair.
Spring 1U
ReplyDeleteEnchantment - U
Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to a player, you may sacrifice Spring. If you do, draw two cards.
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Mind 1G
Sorcery - U
If you were to draw a card, and it wasn't the first card you drew this turn, you pay return target permanent from your graveyard to your hand.
Wow! I honestly have no idea whether this works in the rules. If it's in your graveyard and you Snapcaster Mage or Spelltwine it, do you get to cast the front half?
DeleteOn the other hand, apparently Aftermath works with Instant on one side and Sorcery on the other (which wasn't the case for Fuse cards, for example). So I guess I'd have the same question about casting, uh, Recoup on Failure // Comply?
Any rules experts care to bestow their wisdom?
Well the front half, Spring, is an enchantment so snapcaster could not target it. Does that help?
DeleteThe problem is that Snapcaster targets a *card*, not a front half or a back half. Not sure how the rules resolve this.
DeleteAccording to new rules, this card would be an Enchantment Sorcery in the gy. So Snapcaster can target it whole and gives flashback to both halves, one of which you can cast (to my understanding)
DeleteThe connection between the titles and the art and the rules here is weak.
DeleteWizards avoids putting sorceries and instants onto the battlefield. It's no coincidence we haven't seen permanent split cards before. We could just say we're going to do this—I was noodling around in this space recently too—but we don't need to: There's already a template for this effect in Hunter's Insight.
I think Mind is replacing every draw effect for the turn with regrowth effects? As a sorcery, we don't need the "except your draw for the turn" clause because it's too late. Why not just make the effect straight-up regrowth? I guess so it combos with the second card you draw from the first half of our split card. It's not a huge upgrade, though. I want my aftermath to leave a wake, y'know?
3G Spring
ReplyDeleteSorcery (u)
You may play up to three additional lands this turn.
//
3U Mind
Sorcery
Aftermath
Scry 3, then draw three cards.
This Mind is really strong. Typically the aftermath cost is 1-2 mana more than it would normally cost. I'd probably cost this at 6? 7?
DeleteGood point. Part of my mind was thinking about hedging this by how weak the front half can be, but I'm sure graveyard decks could abuse the back half pretty effectively. This way, hey, you ramp with the first into the second:
Delete6U Mind
Sorcery
Aftermath
Scry 3, then draw three cards.
I like the new Mind a lot. Wondering if it's possible to shave a mana off Spring at this point. Taking full advantage of Spring on turn 4 means drawing 7 mana sources plus Spring // Mind in your top 11 or 12 cards, which doesn't sound like an appealing scenario to build a deck around. It's slightly easier to go "play a 3rd land, Spring, play 3 more" and hope to play a 7th land to cast Mind the following turn.
DeleteIf I had time to playtest it or more space, I'd add a rider to the Spring half with "you gain 3 life" or something similar for symmetry & leave it at 3G. I'm very shy of Summer Bloom territory, but at 2G the card will be less frustrating for a lot of players, so we'll give it a go.
Delete2G Spring
Sorcery (u)
You may play up to three additional lands this turn.
//
6U Mind
Sorcery
Aftermath
Scry 3, then draw three cards.
'Spring' seems like the better name for Summer Bloom anyhow, and it is less dangerous at three mana. Mind is a big hunk of card selection and advantage, which I could see printed at 5U on its own, so 6U might work since you either have to maximize land to get there off of Spring, or mill yourself into it. As good as free card draw spells are—very very—the fact that you have to have seven mana to cast Mind, and that you won't have any mana left to cast what you drew the same turn, this seems printable, at least outside the scope of a specific combo.
DeleteGood flavor. Decent connection, via the three 3s.
Spring G
ReplyDeleteSorcery - U
You gain 4 life.
//
Mind 1B
Sorcery
Aftermath
Pay X life then look at the top X cards of you library. You may put any number of them into your graveyard and the rest on top of your library in any order.
Spring is a great mechanical choice for an Aftermath card, and this is a cool interpretation of the Mind art. Is there some way we could simply the Mind effect so it fits in a textbox?
DeleteI'd propose:
"Pay any amount of life. Scry X, where X is the amount of life paid this way."
Pretty sure that still fits in Black's color pie.
Spring G
DeleteSorcery - U
You gain 4 life.
//
Mind XBB
Sorcery
Aftermath
Draw X cards, lose X life
The scry ability is less fun when it can't mill other aftermath cards. But that is too much text. So now it's a non-targeting Damnable Pact
DeleteI like it a lot. Clean design, and makes a ton of mechanical sense.
DeleteThis is a card I'd be happy to have designed.
DeleteWith under a dozen words of rules text, it'd be hard to argue this isn't elegant. Nice.
DeleteDepending on the board state, though, I'd often choose to cast Spring and leave 3BB untapped, just so I can draw 4 or 5 cards next turn instead of 3 this turn. Despite the life gain very clearly offsetting the life payment, that almost feels like anti-synergy. (Cut to Ribbons is more egregious in this way.)
I also have to point out that this Mind is as dangerous in terms of abuse as R Stech's Mind is up above. Obviously, this costs more in the form of life, but that's a cost black pays to get blue's card draw anyhow.
Can you change the order?
ReplyDeleteMind 1U Uncommon
Instant
Draw a card. Then scry 2.
//
Spring 1G
Sorcery
Aftermath
Reveal the top card of your library. If it is land card, put it onto the battlefield tapped. If it is not, put it in your hand.
(remmember I am bad at english)
"Spring to Mind" is a colloquialism about having a good idea. Not really reversible unfortunately.
DeleteThe order matters, but we can overlook that here.
DeleteMind is Serum Visions, which is the more frustrating order to play with, but a good effect still (less so at two mana, but that buys you Spring).
Spring is the Coiling Oracle ability, and it's nice to see it getting a card of its own… well, half a card.
Together, you're paying 2GU to draw, scry 2, then draw or accelerate as you please. Clear synergy, fair utility, good flavor. I like it.
Thanks!
DeleteThe idea was that the two halfs were more powerfull if casted them one after another.
Spring 2G
ReplyDeleteInstant
Search your library for a basic land card and put it onto the battlefield tapped.
//
Mind 4U
Sorcery
Draw a card for each basic land type among lands you control.
The Spring effect usually requires shuffling your library. I think it still fits on an Aftermath card, but I'm not sure.
DeleteGood catch, much appreciated. In the last set I designed I played around with making the "Search" action require a shuffle via comp rules rather than spelling it out. It wasn't a successful experiment, but I developed the bad habit of forgetting to put the shuffle clause on my cards from time to time. Oops!
DeleteReally like the synergy here, good work!
DeleteThis is really strong. Allied strategies was nuts
DeleteYeah, thinking about it more I definitely should have a much steeper cost on Mind.
DeleteNatural Connection at no extra cost with upside is strong, but probably fine at uncommon+.
DeleteMind is an uncommon on its own (Allied Strategies). I don't think we could offer both on one card at no additional cost, even at rare, but if we make Mind 6U or maybe 4UU, I could see it. See card-draw-from-gy discussions above.
Good synergy and flavor.
Spring U
ReplyDeleteSorcery
Draw two cards, then discard two cards.
//
Mind 3U
Sorcery
Return target instant or sorcery card from your graveyard to your hand.
Oh, and... common, I guess.
DeleteNormally this wouldn't be an issue, but I have to wonder if players won't question if they can Mind targeting the Spring?
DeleteThat is a really good Faithless Looting
DeleteYeah I'd be worried about making a nearly strictly better faithless looting in a color that cares about the effect more. Maybe make the front half cost 1U, or only loot 1?
DeleteThat's fair. I'd forgotten about Careful Study, wouldn't want to make this strictly-better. So:
DeleteSpring 1U
Sorcery (Common)
Draw two cards, then discard two cards.
//
Mind 3U
Sorcery (Common)
Aftermath
Return another target instant or sorcery card from your graveyard to your hand.
Spring's flavor is a touch weak but Mind's is good. Their synergy is very real, if a bit forced. Real solid entry.
DeleteMy intention for the flavor on "spring" was water-spring, not season-spring. Not sure whether that came through.
DeleteTotally fair. Missed that, only because of multi-review.
DeleteSpring 3G
ReplyDeleteSorcery
Return up to 2 land cards from your graveyard to the battlefield.
//
Mind XUU
Sorcery
Draw X cards.
Spring is very flavorful, and requires a certain kind of deck to set up.
DeleteMind is too powerful, as discussed above.
I can't tell if having the front half want a mill deck is better or worse for aftermath.
Spring 1UG
ReplyDeleteInstant
Draw a card
You may put a land card from your hand onto the battlefield
Mind 2UU
Sorcery
Draw a card for each forest you control
Discard a card for each island you control
Spring is Explore made an instant for an extra U.
DeleteMind rewards you for having a bunch of forests and punishes you for having islands. It costs four and requires UU, so at face-value, you've got 2 or 3 forests when you cast it and exactly 2 islands, letting you loot twice and maybe putting you up a land. Of course, you can also just play forests and birds of paradise to draw a card for each land you control. This effect seems too clever: The kind Jenny-Mel would appreciate (and they would), but few else.
There's some synergy here, and the flavor on the first half is okay, while the flavor on the last half is absent. I'm not too concerned about cheating this card draw spell from your graveyard, considering how hard it is to do that with forests; that's nice.
Spring 3G
ReplyDeleteSorcery
Search your library for up to three basic land cards, reveal them, and put them into your hand. Then shuffle your library.
Mind 4U
Draw cards equal to the number of cards in your hand, then discard that many cards.
Seek the Horizons at no extra cost up-front.
DeleteA new big-loot spell on the back, that cares about cards in your hand, and thus profits from you not playing the lands you searched right away.
This Mind is much less dangerous than the straight card advantage spells that have been going around, but it would still be strong in a graveyard deck, since it helps you get specific cards in your gy even as it draws you gas.
Good flavor and synergy.
Spring U
ReplyDeleteInstant
Target land becomes an Island UEOT.
//
Mind 4UU
Draw a card for each Island you control.
Sorcery on the second half.
DeleteSpring is pretty weak, but Mind is very strong. Assuming Mind isn't too strong (see above), the two halves might balance out in raw power and they have a tiny bit of synergy. Good flavor both sides.
DeleteFor reference, Mind is a worse Flow of Ideas, which AFAIK has never been good in any Constructed format.
DeleteHow do I cardlink things?
True, but Flow of Ideas has always cost a card too.
DeletePut the card title within an anchor tag.
<A>card name</A>
While I always favor elegant rules text, I hadn't thought about aftermath's extremely confined text box until someone mentioned it 3/4 through. Aftermath cards have much less room than normal, and so have a very hard limit on rules text, in addition to needing to be conceptually simpler to average out having two text boxes.
ReplyDeleteWe generally want aftermath cards to be an instant on one half and a sorcery on the other, to fuel delirium, but not all of Wizards are; it's hardly a requirement.
ReplyDeleteAftermath cards do have to be very cognizant of their second half being played 'for free' in a milling deck.
Heyyyyy wait a dang minute here!!
ReplyDeletehttp://mythicspoiler.com/akh/cards/springmind.html
Delete!!!!
Piar wins the award for coming closest to the printed card.
DeleteI'm just as impressed that out of all the ____ to ____ names out there that this challenge picked one that got printed.
DeleteDon't be. The card titles were clearly associated with the illustrations when I snagged them.
DeleteOh, I didn't catch that these were official artwork. Makes sense!
Delete