Friday, August 18, 2017

Weekend Art Challenge 081817—LuisMelon

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.

https://www.deviantart.com/art/The-Sword-of-Shannara-441356512

Design a common sorcery card for this illustration.

45 comments:

  1. Survey the Realm
    2G
    Sorcery - Common
    Search your library for a basic land card and put it onto the battlefield tapped. Shuffle your library afterwards.
    You gain life equal to the number of basic land types among lands you control.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Reminds me a lot of Gift of Paradise. Slightly worse in most cases, but it still seems quite reasonable.

      Delete
    2. This is nice.
      It could count all lands or all basic lands if the set doesn't care about domain or multicolor.
      It could also gain a static amount of life if the set's already feeling wordy, though this is far from too complex on its own.

      Delete
  2. Prophesied Arrival 1W
    Sorcery (C)
    You may return a creature you own to your hand.
    Anticipate 2 (Put two +1/+1 counters on the next creature that enters the battlefield under your control)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There probably needs to be an until end of turn Clause on anticipate just for memory issues. Otherwise an interesting mechanic. Blue couple so the uncommon version of this at instant targeting any creature.

      Delete
    2. If it wasn't for the design restriction, this should really be instant. At sorcery there's a very done distinction between this and put two counters on target.

      Delete
    3. Anticipate would be a fairly widespread mechanic in a set, so it's something that you'd need to track like Energy. You'd want it to be only until end of turn if it was just on its own.

      The sorcery-ness of the card is also a nod to Anticipate. Anticipate 2 is already pretty powerful on a cheap card, so the bounce is more of an add-on that you probably wouldn't play on its own. But in a set with Anticipate the bounce is really nice because it means prophicied arrival isn't just dead if you draw it later because you can bounce and replay a creature to trigger all your anticipate counters.

      Delete
    4. I'm with Wobbles. I could see keeping "anticipate counters" (they probably want to be actual counters) to one side like energy counters. But it would want some kind of strong flavor fit, unless the gameplay is super-interesting.

      Delete
    5. I do like how Anticipated Arrival's first ability can enable the second even when you have no creatures in hand. It's not useless otherwise because it can save a cursed creature, but this effect does look odd at sorcery speed.

      If you were to store up anticipate counters, you'd need something physical with which to represent them and using them would have to be optional so that the game doesn't break when you forget to spend them. I'm skeptical that'd last, and think we'd probably limit them to EOT.

      Delete
  3. Discovered Realm GW

    Sorcery

    Gain one life for each forest you control.

    Add G to your mana pool for each white creature you control



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Needs more synergy between the abilities. Both sides should check the same thing, either land types or color of creatures. The effects should also be more related to each other. Is gold/hybrid a theme in the set? If so, this could be modeled after the Helm of the Ghastlord cycle or the Ravnica block guild champions like Circu or Agrus Kos, which cares about creatures of either color but increases the bonus for creatures that are both.

      Delete
    2. That first ability is plenty G or GW.

      That second ability is a mana ritual, which is almost exclusively red now, and less-than-one-per-block rare. That said, you could grant convoke to one/all of your spells for the turn.

      The connection between counting forests and counting white creatures isn't clear, thematically or mechanically. Probably pick either lands (or forests+plains) to count, or creatures (or white/green creatures).

      Delete
  4. Chartered Conquest 1G
    Sorcery (c)
    Whenever a creature you control deals damage to a player this turn, you may put a land from your hand onto the battlefield tapped.
    Draw a card.

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    Replies
    1. I can never evaluate cards like this. I want to say it's too difficult to abuse, but I still think it might need be an uncommon.

      Delete
    2. At first glance, I'd say uncommon for complexity.

      Not too worried about the power level, since this never ramps for 2 on turn 2 unless you're playing Memnite or similar. It takes a lot of work to make this better than Explore.

      Delete
    3. I wonder whether there's room for "just worse Explore"?"

      Chartered Conquest (b) 1G
      Sorcery (c)
      Raid - If you attacked with a creature this turn, you may play an additional land this turn.
      Draw a card.

      or

      Chartered Conquest (c) 1G
      Sorcery (c)
      You may play an additional land card this turn.
      When target creature you control attacks this turn, draw a card.

      That last one might be too weak to be played, or need a flashback/set's-spell-mechanic rider to be worth it, but the story is simple, and there's no shuffling.

      Delete
    4. The first design could be fun at G. I'd like to see a creature/aura that gives you an Explore when the creature deals combat damage to a player.

      Delete
    5. Chartered Conquest could be common based on its power in normal use, but wants to be uncommon both because it's more complex than Explore and it's swingier. It's both harder to get the same value out of, and technically unbounded in potential.

      The raid version is pretty simple (especially in a set with raid) and tying that effect to that trigger feels like a nice fit.

      Delete
    6. Rare:
      For each creature that deals combat damage to an opponent this turn, Explore.

      Delete
  5. Safe Arrival 1W
    Sorcery (C)
    Creatures you control get +1/+3 until your next turn.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is neat! I want more combat tricks that last until next turn, because the Planeswalkers have shown it's doable. Probably closer to an uncommon for complexity?

      Delete
    2. I'm imagining a set where this is the default (maybe the only) version "UEoT" and therefore belongs at common. Otherwise, agreed.

      Delete
    3. It'd be a great common for a Conspiracy set

      Delete
    4. I'm not convinced "until your next turn" can be common at any frequency, though I'd be happy to try. At the very least, you need to call out to the players to read that text b/c they would otherwise skip it and assume EOT. (I sure did.)

      I do love how getting this effect for an extra turn feels like a fair trade off for not being an instant.

      Except for not counting during your opponent's turn, rebound would have the same effect. That matters a lot for this card, but how much would it matter for all the combat tricks in this set?

      Delete
  6. Proclaim Conquest 3G
    Sorcery
    CARDNAME costs {1} less for each creature that you attacked with this turn.
    Search your library for up to two basic land cards and put them onto the battlefield tapped.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wanted to make a land fetch card with a bonus on condition. Those can have weird tension though - players should use them early if they need the land. Cost reduction felt like a great reward because it make you want to hold it for later.

      Delete
    2. Your card and Pastures have this weird tension of wanting a deck to have lots of aggressive 1-2 drops, but also have a lot of 6+ mana sinks. That might not be a thing most sets want, although I could see it in a level up/monstrosity heavy set.

      Delete
    3. Cool. I could see that first ability getting keyworded, but I could also see it only appearing on a vertical cycle or something.

      Wobbles' point about being powered up by lots of small creatures but powering up big spells is fair. You could pack quite a finisher in your weenie deck, but you'll be sad if you draw this and not that, or vice-versa.

      Delete
  7. Proclaim Challenge 2G
    Sorcery
    Target creature you control gets +2/+2 UEOT. It must be blocked by exactly one creature this turn if able.

    Wasn't sure of the size, or if this should give trample like a small version of the +7/+7 one. But it seemed like a reasonable sorcery, part fight, part evasion.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like it. Green fight / "ambush" has been getting pushed recently, but this is a nice subtle way to fit a removal-like effect into green's existing color pie.

      I'm guessing trample or +3/+3 would be totally fine from a power level perspective. The only question is whether it's common-appropriate.

      Delete
    2. Ambuscade suggests this would be fine at common, and this is worse than Ambuscade.

      Delete
    3. Agreed that it's worse (more Edict than targeted removal). More wondering about the second sentence showing up at common, from a complexity perspective.

      Delete
    4. " It must be blocked this turn if able." is more common friendly than specifying exactly one, which is always confusing.

      Delete
    5. Enlarge is a fun way for green to remove creatures and I support making a common version. +2/+2 or +3/+3 is plenty to give a green fatty to stomp over something. I think we do want trample, because them throwing a 1/1 in front of our 7/7 will make us sad. Specifying that exactly one creature must block is more powerful and more complex than Enlarge's requirement. That could make up for a lack of trample, but the simpler and more fun card is just a smaller Enlarge.

      Delete
    6. In general, we want to be careful making text that's identical to a previous card except for a minor tweak to the parts player's skip over the most, because they will assume that part's identical and never realize it's not.

      Delete
  8. Quest's End 4G
    Sorcery (C)
    Put 5 quest counters on target permanent.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Depending on set needs, could be white, blue, or multicolor. Could be an X spell at uncommon. Could alternatively produce level or experience counters, or be modal at uncommon.

      Delete
    2. I think the effect is arguably simple enough to be a common, but to me anyway it groks as a rare.

      Delete
    3. The Vorthos in me doesn't like being able to cheat Quests like this, even though the Mel part understands that proliferate has crossed that bridge already.

      Delete
    4. I'd be surprised to see totally parasitic designs like this show up at common. Would be somewhat more plausible if quest counters replace +1/+1 counters in a set and show up very frequently at common. Which, for the record, is a very cool idea.

      Delete
    5. All valid critiques. I don't see a good way to salvage the core of this without bumping it up to uncommon, so new design.

      Crowning Moment of Awesome G
      Sorcery (C)
      Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control. If that creature was dealt damage by a source an opponent controls this turn, put three +1/+1 counters on that creature instead.

      Delete
    6. One-shot Fungusaur effect? I dig it.

      This would be even more interesting as an instant, but in that case it would more likely belong at uncommon.

      Delete
    7. Crowning Moment of Awesome feels more white to me than green, I think because of how often we've seen effects that save a creature and leave it larger in the last decade, but the fact the creature has to survive the damage first definitely makes this more green and a fun fungusaur callback.

      Delete