Friday, June 15, 2018

Weekend Design Challenge 061518 - A Work of Art

Hey, Artisans! Click through to see this weekend's design challenge, submissions due Monday morning.



This weekend, we are continuing our GDS3 play at home challenges, doing the fourth round. Again, Inanimate and I, along with a guest judge (or maybe even two!), will be "judging" submissions like Maro & co. with the Top 8's designs. Here are the design guidelines, lifted directly from the mothership:

Often in design, we have to design to constraints. One of the more challenging design constraints is art. You see, late in the set design process we occasionally have to change cards after the art has been completed (what we call "hole filling"). When that happens, we have to design the new card to the art. This week's design challenge is going to force you to design to art. Here's the assignment:

You are going to design ten cards. Each card will have a mechanical constraint spelled out below.

In addition to the mechanical constraint, for each card design you will have to choose a piece of art (from the twelve provided) to design to. No two cards may use the same piece of art, meaning you will be using ten of the twelve pieces of art.

The card's color and rarity will all be spelled out in its constraint.

No more than three cards may be of the same card type. The one exception is you can have five creatures, as five of the mechanical constraints ask for creatures.

Cards must exactly match the card's constraint. A red card can't be turned into a red-green card, for example.

Assume all the cards you are designing are in the same Standard-legal expansion.

You may use only evergreen mechanics with the exception of one non-evergreen mechanic which may appear on no more than two cards.

Flavor is extra important on this assignment, so take extra care with your names. You may submit flavor text as long it's 100% your creation and it would fit on the card with the rules text provided. Good flavor text can help give context to your overall card.
Here are the criteria for your ten cards:
  • Card #1: White (uncommon) – We want a build-around noncreature for Draft. (It encourages the player to draft a theme that they might not normally.)
  • Card #2: White (rare) – We want a Spike-friendly creature.
  • Card #3: Blue (common) – We want a creature without evasion.
  • Card #4: Blue (mythic rare) – We want a super-exciting enchantment.
  • Card #5: Black (common) – We want a creature with an activated ability.
  • Card #6: Black (mythic rare) – We want a splashy creature for Timmy/Tammy.
  • Card #7: Red (uncommon) – We want a creature that costs four or more.
  • Card #8: Red (rare) – We want a weird Johnny/Jenny-style instant or sorcery.
  • Card #9: Green (common) – We want a noncreature spell for Limited.
  • Card # 10: Green (uncommon) – We want a quirky Aura.
And here are your art choices:
Click for Full Size

Your cards will be judged on the following criteria:
 
  • Matching Art 
  • Matching Mechanical Constraints 
  • Flavor  
  • Creativity
  • Originality 
  • Color Pie Appropriateness 
  • Rarity Appropriateness
  • Card Type Appropriateness
Oh, hey look, it's a bulk size Weekend Art Challenge.

Here's the limitations for you guys:

You may submit up to ten cards, but if you go under, no penalties. You may specify two cards you want us to review. We may not necessarily review both, but we will review at least one if you specify at least one. If you don't specify, we're not going to pick for you. The volume is just too much. We will, however, still offer general feedback on submissions as a whole.

PLEASE PUT YOUR CARDS IN THE FOLLOWING FORMAT

1) Cardname
Mana Cost
Art X
Type
Rules
P/T

Other than that, usual Design Challenge rules apply. Give each other feedback. Use that feedback to revise your submissions any number of times, and we'll grab whatever you have on Monday and put it in our document for review. We'll get it posted as soon as we're able to finish offering our judge feedback.

That's it! Have a great weekend, have fun, good luck. I'll probably be reading through your submissions before I ever get close to catching up with the GDS3 contestant's ones.

-Zeff

42 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. 1) Provide Shelter (Uncommon)
    {W}
    Art: K
    Instant
    Exile target creature you control until end of turn.
    Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, you may return ~ from your graveyard to your hand.

    2) Arc-Hammer Battle Monk (Rare)
    {1}{W}{W}
    Art: B
    Creature - Human Monk
    Prowess
    Whenever you cast a noncreature spell that targets ~, it gains first strike and lifelink until end of turn.
    3/3

    3) Reader of Omens (Common)
    {2}{U}
    Art: E
    Creature - Human Wizard
    {1}{U}, {T}: Scry 2
    1/3

    4) Phantasmal Vistas (Mythic)
    {2}{U}{U}
    Art: L
    Enchantment
    At the end of each player´s turn, put a mirage counter on target land they control that doesn´t have a mirage counter on it.
    Lands with mirage counters on them are 4/4 blue Illusion creatures with flying that have ¨Whenever this creature becomes the target of a spell or ability, sacrifice it¨. They´re still lands.

    5) Vertigo Cultist (Common)
    {1}{B}
    Art: C
    Creature - Elf Cleric
    {2}{B}, {T}: Target creature gets +1/-1 until end of turn. Activate this ability only as a sorcery.
    2/1

    6) Lassar Ulu, Witch Doctor (Mythic)
    {3}{B}{B}
    Art: A
    Legendary Creature - Salamander Shaman
    Whenever a Swamp enters the battlefield under your control, target opponent gets a voodoo counter.
    {B}, {T}, Remove a voodoo counter from target opponent: Look at that player´s hand. You may cast a nonland card from their hand, and you may spend mana as though it were mana of any type to cast that spell. If you cast a card this way, that player draws a card.
    2/5

    7) Goblin Ambusher (Uncommon)
    {3}{R}
    Art: G
    Flash
    When ~ enters the battlefield, it gains double strike until end of turn.
    2/2

    8) Increasing Incantations (Rare)
    {3}{R}{R}
    Art: I
    Sorcery
    Exile the top five cards of your library. Choose any sequence of instant or sorcery cards from among them such that each card in the sequence has converted mana cost exactly one greater than the previous. (For example: 0,1,2 or 2,3,4,5)
    You may cast cards in the chosen sequence this turn without paying their mana costs.

    9) Grow Towards the Skies (Common)
    {2}{G}
    Art: D
    Instant
    Target creature gets +3/+3 until end of turn. If it´s your turn, it gains trample until end of turn. Otherwise it gains reach until end of turn.

    10) Vinelasher´s Blessing (Uncommon)
    {1}{G}
    Art: J
    Enchantment - Aura
    Enchant Creature
    Whenever ~ or a land enters the battlefield under your control, put a +1/+1 counter on enchanted creature.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For the judges: I would appreciate it if you review number 6 and number 7.

      Delete
    2. Actually make that number 1 and number 6

      Delete
    3. I dig how Provide Shelter comes back - it's like the lands are literally providing another place for your critters to stay. But I think this guy runs into a repetitive play loop very easily. It's a very, very useful defensive tool that's extremely cheap and easy to recur. I'd appreciate if its recursion ability had a mana cost with it at least.

      Art-wise, I don't see it at all, unfortunately. The monster doesn't look like he needs sheltering or that the place is somewhere you would go to find protection. You also made an instant and the art feels like one of the most passive scenes of the bunch.

      As for the Witch Doctor, cool! Yeah, he looks like a witch doctor but that doesn't mean Wizards would ever print a card with the words "witch doctor" or "voodoo" on them for political correctness reasons. Stick to your guns or conform, whatever you like, but it's worth pointing out that's a guideline they sure would have brought up in the competition. If it's not your goal to please my imaginary corporate overlords, don't worry about it.

      The art sells me on witch doctor/tribal shaman idea, but not quite the voodoo aspect.

      I like the idea of voodoo counters and that he uses them to possess people. That's very voodoo in both the stereotypical and accurately representative sense. You might want to add a "Activate this ability as a sorcery" to avoid timing weirdnesses and/or make it nonland, noncreature spells to really drive home the possession feel. (You aren't possessing the creatures that player summons, just the player/planeswalker themselves. As I see it.)

      But voodoo counters don't do anything by themselves which makes the possession a two-step process where one step is strangely vestigial. I like both the possession ability and the giving of voodoo counters by playing swamps, but I don't see where those abilities conjoin mechanically. (Flavor-wise, I think I get it. Kinda.) They feel like two halves of different abilities taped together. Compare: "Play a swamp: Target player gets a voodoo counter. During that player's upkeep, they lose 1 life for each voodoo counter on them." and "T, sac a creature: Target opponent reveals their hand. You may play a card from it." Do you see what I mean? Those abilities are a little bit smaller than yours but also a little tighter.

      As written, your dude will likely leave meaningless voodoo counters all over the place when he dies. (Unless those mean something else in the set he's in. Which could be awesome, but I didn't see any other voodoo-ers here and that's probably outside the scope of the competition as presented.)

      If you still want Goblin Ambusher critiqued, I think the art depicts an instant. Usually creature cards don't depict other creatures so prominently in the art, as the minotaur is here.

      All in all, cool cards! I wish Vinelasher's Blessing was in Zendikar!

      Delete
    4. What is politically incorrect about a Witch Doctor or voodoo? (Genuine question, I'm not from the U.S. and to me it just seems as another folklore/mythical thing)

      Delete
    5. Also wizards literally has a card with voodoo counters listed on it. Voodoo is just a practice I do not see an issue but might go a little on the darker side.

      Delete
    6. Feedback on everything! (I'm just in that mood)

      Provide Shelter: White typically only recurs permanents, but they started experimenting with conditional recurring spells with Unconventional Tactics in Amonkhet.

      That said, I think this needs to be a little bit harder to bring back (Look at the hoops on that Amonkhet card). You're making blue and red jealous at the efficiency here. Also, I'm not sure what you're building around with this, other than possibly creatures with ETB effects, but this card's recursion is powerful enough and it's an instant that I'd want it with any creature deck.

      Arc-Hammer Battle Monk: Name's a bit on the nose, lol. I don't think you need "noncreature" here. I like it in concept, but it might be too parasitic and require too many hoops for a Spike.

      Reader of Omens: Now Spike likes this one. That's because it's way too powerful for common. Scry 2 is typically only a one-time trigger in common. It's easy to fix, though.

      Phantasmal Vistas: Now this card is interesting because everything on the card itself is within blue's color pie, but once it is actually played in practice it becomes a huge color pie break. The most likely play pattern with this card is that its user will build a deck around targeting (and then destroying) his opponents' animated lands. This would end up being a blue land destruction enchantment.

      I don't think it's mandatory for all illusions to have that drawback (I haven't searched to make sure). So it could be fixed by taking the sacrifice away.

      Vertigo Cultist: Making the activation a sorcery is good, but I'm still concerned about how many creatures it would kill in a single game at common. Maybe require a sacrifice?

      Lassar Ulu, Witch Doctor: I'm not sure why the counter goes on the opponent instead of you or the witch doctor itself (I guess in that case to separate from +1/+1 counters). If you want the player to do this only once, why not just make it a sacrifice effect? If you want them to do it more than once, it should have a way of getting more voodoo counters. I like what the creature does (my cephalid tribe would love to meet up with this person). I am just confused by the process.

      Goblin Ambusher: I was going to say red doesn't have very much access to flash, but this does seem to fit where it's permitted, with surprise ETB effects. The problem though is that this creature's play pattern is defensive. You put it in as a surprise blocker, which makes it feel more white than red. Take note of how many red combat tricks require "target attacking creature."

      Increasing Incantation: Doesn't get more Johnny than this in red, I don't think, so good work there. I don't think the name connects well with the art, though obviously the intent is that a red player is going to line up a parade of destruction spells. Maybe just a more sinister name that speaks to devastation of some sort.

      Grow Towards the Skies: I love the concept of modal spells that change based on whose turn it is and have been experimenting with it myself. I really like this one. And good work finding a way of resolving the red creature/green action issue with the card.

      Vinelasher's Blessing: The enchantment doesn't really match with the art much at all. It's also not terribly "quirky." It's not a bad enchantment otherwise. I think you fell into the art trap with this one. It's really not meant to be an enchantment and it shows here.

      Delete
    7. Cheers for the feedback cosmos and Larcent. Most of your feedback seems on-point and fair.

      I definitely should have added some cost to Provide Shelter to make recurring more difficult, as you both pointed out. I'm honestly not sure why I didn't..

      The Battle Monk has noncreature because it matches up with the prowess. I think that's still easy enough to activate? And yes the name is terrible, it was one of the last ones I made and I couldn't be bothered at that moment :p

      Reader of Omens would be fair at scry 1 instead of 2 no? I tend to underestimate recurrent scrying I think.

      I agree that Phantasmal Vistas is a strange form of land destruction. What if instead of 'sacrifice it', it read 'return to its owner's hand'? That feels more blue and wouldn't be quite as bad? Still too much pseudo ld?

      Vertigo Cultist is probably the card I'm least happy about. I think the +1/-1 fits the off-balance art with the swirly background. But +1/-1 every turn seems too strong on common as it invalidates any X/1s. Making it a one-time effect doesn't fit the challenge. Perhaps making it require discarding a card would make it ok?

      Lassar Ulu does give more than one voodoo counter, you get one every time a Swamp etb under your control. Perhaps you accidentally read it only gave a voodoo on Lassar Ulu etb?

      Goblin Ambusher is definitely a defensive creature. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing or a white thing though (but maybe I'm wrong). I feel like making red only about aggression makes it very one-sided as a color.

      Increasing Incantation can use a better name, agreed. Suggestions?

      Grow Towards the Skies: Cheers :) Even though this is essentially the same as +3/+3 trample and reach ueot, I think this reads more clearly and intuitively for newer players (it avoids confusion on trample on blocking and reach on attacking).

      I personally thought the green/jade armour on the merfolk with the vines seemingly being controlled fit the enchantment, but art is very subjective and this is just my interpretation. It's useful to see that other people don't agree with that. Somewhat similar for 'quirky', but I guess it could've been more so.

      Delete
    8. For Goblin Ambusher, yeah, red is not very defensive and that DOES make it one-sided as a color. That's an aspect of red. Go to gatherer.wizards.com and do an advanced search for red cards with defender in the rules text. Check out how offensive those are. And they're walls! Or go to mtg.gamepedia.com/red and read some more about red's color philosophy. I think the point being made is that a red creature with "When this creature ETBs it gains double strike until end of turn" is much, much more likely to have haste than flash. I would believe this as a red/white card, though.

      As far voodoo, yes, it's a real tradition that, when speaking about it scholastically, is usually spelled voudoun (or similar) to both try to more accurately represent the tradition as it might represent itself and to distance the modern speaker from past representations in American culture that were almost always stereotypical and reductive. (But major shout-outs to Orson Welles' all black, voodoo-inspired production of Macbeth he put on Broadway!) Same with using the term "witch doctor" instead of something like "tribal shaman". Distancing yourself from older terminologies by using more clinical expressions is important to modern American culture; the term "colored person", which was often used in the middle of last century, is often called a racist term but "person of color" or even the acronym "POC" is okay (at least to the loudest advocates of political correctness).

      That's a tricky minefield that may not make sense to an outsider, but Hasbro's marketing team sure as hell knows it, lives it and breathes it. They're the ones who try to make it so they never have to deal with those "loudest advocates" over twitter or whatnot. Gatherer tells me the first, last and only Magic card with "voodoo" in the rules text is Voodoo Doll from Legends. That was, you know, a while ago.

      I hope I helped make that clear for you. It's not worth arguing politics over an internet forum, but I brought it up because it's something I think the Magic judges would've noted and dinged you for, and then I explained a bit more because you asked.

      Delete
  3. I'll post mine when I return from Origins.

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    Replies
    1. This is about two hours of un-playtested work that I did after the challenge was revealed publicly but before reading the submissions.

      1 My Blood For Your Blood
      {1}{W}
      Art E
      Instant U
      Sacrifice a non-Cleric creature.
      Creatures you control gain indestructible until end of turn.

      2 Regal Omnicorn
      {2}{W}
      Art K, cropped around the quadruped
      Creature — Dinosaur R
      Whenever Regal Omnicorn attacks, tap or untap target creature.
      3/3

      3 Minister of Mysteries
      {2}{U}
      Art L
      Creature — Human Wizard C
      Whenever a creature dies, scry 1.
      1/3

      4 Transmute Water
      {2}{U}
      Art A
      Enchantment M
      {2}: Target Island you control becomes a copy of target permanent until end of turn.

      5 Disease Flinger
      {2}{B}
      Art C
      Creature — Elf Wizard C
      {1}{B}, Sacrifice Disease Flinger: Target creature gets -2/-2 until end of turn. Activate this ability only as sorcery.
      2/2

      6 Lord of Eternal Conflict
      {5}{B}{B}
      Art F
      Creature — Demon M
      Flying
      At the beginning of combat on your turn, return a creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield. It gains haste. Exile it at end of turn.
      7/7

      7 Ambush Hellion
      {4}{R}{R}
      Art D
      Creature — Hellion U
      Ambush Hellion has flash as long as a flying creature is attacking.
      When Ambush Hellion enters the battlefield, it gains reach until end of turn.
      5/5

      8 Kick it Up a Notch
      {R}{R}
      Art B
      Instant R
      Choose one —
      • Copy target spell. You may choose new targets for the copy.
      • Kick or entwine each spell you control.
      Entwine {2} (Choose both if you pay the entwine cost.)

      9 Stalk
      {G}
      Art J
      Sorcery C
      Target creature you control gets +2/+2 until end of turn and must be blocked this turn if able.

      10 Slimed
      {G}
      Art H
      Enchantment — Aura U
      Enchant creature
      Enchanted creature can’t attack or block as long as you control an Ooze or a creature with greater power.

      Delete
    2. 1 is not the most build-around card, because it doesn't require you to have Clerics to do something, but it is notably stronger in an all-Cleric deck and that counts.

      2. I was surprised none of the contestants or judges mentioned the possibility of cropping the art. That happens all the time.

      3. I did not notice the face in the art at the time.

      4. It's so funny that Chris copied Scott's round 1 card accidentally this round. I was aware of the homage here, and trying to make a clearer/safer version.

      6. It was so hard to find a mono-black Demon design for this art rather than black-red!

      7. Red gets reach now, and any color can do flash when totally necessary, but I still felt ishy just putting "Flash, reach" on this card. I like Ryan's solution best.

      8. Apparently entwine is my non-evergreen mechanic. I felt pretty good escaping the trap of using Art I here, though I definitely would've lost points since my art is so focused on the creature. (Just noticed that Scott's submission was a creature rather than a spell and no one called him out on it.)

      9. In the same way red is constantly trying out variations in the power space between Shock and Lightning Bolt, I think green needs to vary between Prey Upon and Provoke.

      10. This art depicts a creature's fate, and is thus a removal spell. How does green use Oozes to kill?

      Delete
  4. 1.
    Pools of Rejuvenation
    3W
    K
    Enchantment
    Whenever a creature with toughtness 5 or more enters the battlefield under your control, put a +1/+1 counter on the creature you control with the lowest toughness.

    2.
    Disciple of Thor
    1WW
    B
    Creature - Human Warrior
    Double Strike
    As long as Disicple of Thor is equipped, it gets +2/+2.
    3/1

    3.
    Merfolk Fence
    2UU
    A
    Creature - Merfolk Rogue
    Raid - Draw a card.
    2/2

    4.
    Quantum Suicide
    3UU
    L
    Enchantment
    etb, exile your library.
    Whenever you would draw a card, instead choose a card exiled by Quantum Suicide and put it into your hand.

    5.
    Cult Ritualist
    2B
    E
    Creature
    TAP, Pay 1 life: Scry 1
    2/2

    6.
    Akama, Covenant of Blood
    3BBB
    F
    Legendary Creature - Demon
    Flying, Soulbond
    The creature Akama is paired with gets +5/+5 and gains Menace. If Akama or the creature it is paired with leave the battlefield, sacrifice the other creature.
    6/6

    7.
    Low-Flying Dragon
    3RR
    D
    Creature - Dragon
    Flying
    Whenever Low Flying Dragon becomes the target of a spell or ability, it loses and can't gain flying until end of turn.
    4/2

    8.
    Invasion from the Stars
    1RRRR
    I
    Sorcery
    Storm
    Exile the top card of your library. Invasion from the Stars deals damage equal to the exiled card's converted mana cost to you. If the exiled card is a creature card, you may put it onto the battlefield under your control.

    9
    Mould Cauldron
    1G
    H
    Enchantment
    Whenever a creature dies, you may put a digestion counter on Mould Cauldron.
    1G, Sacrifice Mould Cauldron: Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature for each digestion counter on Mould Cauldron.

    10
    Hunter's Mask
    GG
    J
    Enchantment - Aura
    Enchant Creature
    When Hunter's Mask enters the battlefield, name a creature card.
    Whenever a creature of the chosen name enters the battlefield under an opponent's control, enchanted creature fights it.

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    Replies
    1. Feedback!

      Pools of Rejuvenation: Definitely a buildaround, but how many creatures with a toughness of five or more do you imagine a player being able to get on the battlefield in a typical limited game? I think either the threshold should go down or the reward should be greater. Or maybe even both.

      Disciple of Thor: From what I've experienced from watching Spikes play, because they place a high priority on removal they tend to really dismiss rewards for auras/equipment unless the set really, really is designed around facilitating it. As far as I can tell, Dominaria's R/W equip/enchant theme has been a non-starter because removal in the set is so common and cheap. If it's easy to remove creatures in this set, Spike is probably not going to value this guy highly.

      Merfolk Fence: Is this version of raid an Enter the Battlefield or a repeat trigger every time you attack? It's fine as an ETB, too powerful at common for a repeat trigger. Also not sure about the name. Is that a stolen turtle?

      5. Quantum Suicide: Fascinating and splashy, but this is a card they wouldn't print because of the massive slowdown that would hit gameplay. I'm not even getting into the power level of the card here, but making every card draw a tutor would cause games to go on forever.

      Cult Ritualist: Requiring life loss and tap makes it more balanced, but I still think being able to scry every turn is too strong for common. Especially in black. I think it would be fine as uncommon.

      Akama: This is a second non-evergreen mechanic. You're only allowed one. Flag on the play! Anyway, the card itself seems fun and fine and definitely very Timmy.

      Low-Flying Dragon: The emphasis here is on the worm creature, so it's surprising to see the dragon chosen as the creature. A creature like this begs for a cheaper casting cost than this, given the vulnerability. The card art is screaming "This creature is doomed!" to the player. I don't think they're gonna want to pay five mana for it.

      Invasion from the Stars: Storm? So I guess the flavor here is that those are meteors containing creatures? The milling creatures out onto the battlefield though feels green rather than red. Red typically will either go with sorcery/instant or any non-land card, depending on the context.

      Mould Cauldron: I like it but it both screams black and build-around uncommon to me.

      Hunter's Mask: Neat name and concept. The eye is drawn to that mask in the artwork. The text has me confused as to whether you're naming a creature type (merfolk, zombie) or a particular creature name (Fire Elemental, Sailor of Means)

      Delete
    2. 1. That's a good point. I originally had it at 4 toughness and upped it to ensure it was something players definitely had tocommit to. 4 I probably high enough. I would avoid going higher on reward since there's an inflection point where if you play this before a dude, then throw down 1 guy you could make 1 unstoppable threat. So, changed to 4 toughness.

      2. I think 3 mana 3 power double strike is enough to get spike interested. If you manage to equip him before you swing it 10 damage + whatever comes with the equip. That gets games over in a hurry and while it requires investment to make him really shine, cards that are good without investment are why energy was such a ridiculous strategy.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=356ilzFF8BE
      I think more cards like this should be the norm where there's a clear downside but a huge upside that plays to an insular mechanic if you are so inclined.

      3 I shouldn't have shorthanded this one. Its an enters the battlefield effect. Also, who wouldn't sell a stolen elephant? What else are you supposed to do with them?

      4 I think there's more of a tolerance for it than you'd expect and more importantly mana cost plays a huge role here. At 5 mana it might be too good or cause problems, but what about at 6, 7? That's not even accounting for the greater number of cards drawn by that point, but just how narrow the number of turns you have left to play becomes when this effect exists. Its not materially more time consuming than Tomorrow, Azami's Familiar with the added drawback that if your opponent kills it you lose on the spot. When making weird cards the only measure is playtesting, which I haven't done with it but that I think would reveal that if anything its too slow if not played immediately on turn 5.

      5. Again, mana cost plays a big role here. It might be too good at 3, but what about 2BB? I think that's probably safer and makes the card more committal. Its home would still be primarily limited where the life payment can be an issue. If playtesting reveals an issue the life cost can go up.

      6. Misread the non-evergreen mechanic. Probably just change Merfolk Fence to spell out raid, same with Invasion. Soulbond is too evocative and specific to try to write out.

      7. A 5 mana 4 power flyer in red is really really good. Red is the color most capable of ending the game through direct damage, and thus has very low amounts of flying outside of rare. The card is a borderline bend. The stiff drawback is absolutely required and honestly might not be enough. Players holding a fireball would be ecstatic to spend 4 less mana on it to end the game. As always, playtesting will bear it out but I think its right at the sweet spot.

      8. I don't know why the effect would feel green. They also aren't being milled, they are coming from exile, eg invading from another world. It could be upgraded to permanent but I don't think that works as well. Though the card is intentionally fighting itself to require more of a puzzle to figure out the optimal number of storm to have versus number of creatures. The casting cost of those creatures. Actually, thinking about, perhaps it should read, "Exile the top card of your library. Deal damage equal to its converted mana cost to each creature. If the exiled card is a permanent, you may put it onto the battlefield." That way your still trying to balance the cost of creatures versus number since if you put a lot of creatures in they kill each other.

      9. I disagree completely. Feeding on death is definitely a green thing. The rate on this might be too good, but if you play it on turn 7 its going to be really slow so you'd want it to common to give players the density for it to be a strategy they can plan around.

      10. I mean it says name a creature card. I don't know how to be clearer than that. That said, it might be better if it named a creature type since as is it pretttttty fucking narrow.

      Delete
  5. These are mythic rare blue enchantments using the last art, the one with the face in the woods with the wizard. Critique what you like.

    Cypherwood Sorcery
    3UU
    Enchantment
    Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery, create a blue Cyphermist Illusion creature token with “This creature’s power and toughness are equal to the number of Illusions you control.” and “Whenever an Illusion you control is targeted by a spell or ability, sacrifice this creature.”
    Sacrifice a spell: Draw a card.

    Inveiglementals of Cypherwood
    3UUU
    Enchantment
    Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery, you may draw a card or gain control of target creature with converted mana cost equal to the spell you cast for as long as you control ~.
    "AKA the Manachurian Candidates"

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    Replies
    1. In my opinion, both designs are interesting. However, neither quite fit the "super-exciting" requirement, at least for me.

      For the first, Illusion "Go Wide" Tribal feels pretty bad when a single Shock can wipe everything you've worked for. Cypherwood Sorcery feels like a very slow commitment for a very fragile reward, and that's just no fun. It isn't too splashy either, more of a slow but potentially deadly engine. When I think "super-exciting", I think of something that would create big, swingy game moments or crazy board states that your group would talk about for weeks. This doesn't seem like either of those.
      However, it should be said that I really like the second line: "Sacrifice a spell: Draw a card." This has a lot of great Johnny potential, in both its synergies with on-cast abilities and its individual interactive moments. I'd like to see that ability some time on a more exciting enchantment, or even on its own in the rare slot.

      For your second submission, the problem is the restrictions. As long as you have to EXACTLY match the converted mana cost of the creature and ONLY with an instant or sorcery, this doesn't really work. I'd suggest lowering the requirements, both by triggering off of any noncreature spell and by targetting CMC equal to or less than the cost of the spell. Knocking down limitations would really help sell this card as a super-exciting Mythic Rare.
      Also, this design is just as fragile as the first one. One enchantment removal spell and your opponent gets all their guys back. Again, that's a pretty big feelsbad for such heavy investment. I'd suggest providing some other way by which the opponent can struggle to bring their guys back. That way, there's more interaction between the two players.

      Delete
    2. Cypherwood Sorcery is somewhat similar to Metallurgic Summonings from Khaladesh, a card that I loved but didn't turn out to be terribly impactful. Part of the problem was the speed of the format and more importantly, being completely outclassed by the set's other blue mythic (Torrential Gearhulk). So it could fare better in a different set. Keep in mind that this enchantment may look powerful but is actually very slow-going. One of the big challenges with crazy blue enchantments is that in order to keep them from breaking the game, they're costed to come out later. But if you they come out too late AND have to ramp up to be effective, it may be too much.

      The slowness is even more pronounced in your second enchantment. If your opponent has creatures worth stealing with this card, they've probably been beating you up the whole game and at this point of the game may be too expensive to steal with your other spells. It could partner with a UW control deck. But it's going to take some playtesting to see if it's actually worth the effort to get it going. Most control decks are heavily dependent on board-clearing, which can make it incompatible with creature stealing.

      Delete
    3. Thanks for the feedback! How about this:

      Cypherwood Sorcery
      3UUU
      Enchantment
      Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, create X blue 1/1 Illusion creature tokens where X is equal to the converted mana cost of that spell.
      Sacrifice a spell: Draw a card.

      That makes it much more of a not-awful Dovescape. (Though I do love me some Dovescape.) I really liked the feel of mist illusions and making them poof when targeted, but I think 1 toughness gets the point across as well.

      Bottled Mistlings
      2U
      Enchantment
      Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, put X animus counters on ~, where X is equal to the CMC of that spell.
      Sacrifice ~: Create a 1/1 blue Illusion creature token for each animus counter that was on ~.

      I'm still trying to capture the bottle aspect of the art. I really like the "Sac a spell: Draw a card" ability and I think it goes very well with cast triggers. This version doesn't feel mythic to me without really lowering the casting cost, at least in part because it doesn't have the spell saccing ability. It's also probably not worded correctly. And I wish it was an artifact at this point.

      Delete
  6. I know everybody probably wants responses on their crazy blue mythic but I'd actually like feedback on my two reds.

    Baths of the Favored (Uncommon)
    WW1
    Art K
    Enchantment
    Creatures with power greater than 2 may not attack or block unless their controller pays 2 for each creature.

    The hot springs soothe the savage beasts – so much that it takes some prodding to remind them of the hunt.


    Elder of the Frigid Winds (Rare)
    WW3
    Art B
    Creature – Human Monk
    Vigilance, First Strike
    When CARDNAME attacks, you may pay W. If you do, detain target creature until your next turn. (That creature cannot attack, block or activate abilities)
    3/3

    Outnumbered? Perhaps. Outmatched? Never.


    Wildspring Hexer (Common)
    U2
    Art A
    Creature – Merfolk Shaman
    When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, you may give another target creature -3/-0 until the end of the turn.
    2/2

    "If the change is only temporary, that means she actually likes you."


    The Leyveil Manifests (Mythic)
    UU4
    Art L
    Enchantment
    When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, return all lands you control to their owners' hands. Create X 2/2 blue Illusion creature tokens with "When this creature is the target of a spell, sacrifice it," where X is the number of cards in your hand.
    Discard two lands: Illusion creatures can't be blocked this turn.


    Needlebrand Cultist (Common)
    B1
    Art E
    Creature – Human Cleric
    2BT: Target creature gets menace until the end of the turn.
    2/1

    "Show that you fear no pain, and you'll fear no foe."


    Bloodbond Harvester (Mythic)
    4BB
    Art F
    Creature – Demon
    Flying, Deathtouch
    When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, sacrifice all your other creatures. Then create an X/X black Warrior creature token with first strike, where X is equal to the number of sacrificed creatures.
    6/6

    "You hunger for war. I hunger for … everything else."


    Acre Shaker (Uncommon)
    3RR
    Art D
    Creature – Hellion
    CARDNAME attacks each combat if able.
    RRR: Target creature cannot block CARDNAME this turn.
    5/3

    The frequent death shrieks may keep you awake at night, but just be grateful they're not yours.


    Piercing Lancefire (Rare)
    3RR
    Art I
    Sorcery
    CARDNAME deals 5 damage to each creature and planeswalker. Each player may sacrifice any number of artifacts. For each sacrificed artifact, that player prevents damage by CARDNAME to one target.

    The privileged mourned the destruction. The poor mourned their dead.


    Pursue New Paths (Common)
    G1
    Art J
    Sorcery
    Search your library for a basic land card and reveal it. If you control no other lands of that type, put it into play, tapped. Otherwise put it in your hand. Shuffle your library.

    Some see the horizon as a boundary. Others, a mystery. Others still, an invitation.


    Freewild's Clutches (Uncommon)
    2G
    Art G
    Enchantment – Aura
    Flash
    Enchant creature you control.
    Enchanted creature has +2/+2 and reach.
    GG, Sacrifice CARDNAME: The creature CARDNAME enchanted fights target creature you don't control.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your red cards don't feel like they engage with the art a lot. The hellion isn't scaring away the dragon, he's straight up EATING him. His tongue is wrapped around the dragon and everything. I don't know what lancefire is, but clearly it does a lot of damage - great, just like the art! But why does sacrificing artifacts protect you? That's not in the art. I really like the mechanical concept of being able to prevent the damage by doing something (like taking shelter) but I don't know why or how artifacts protect from lancefire.

      I like your crazy blue mythic. I want to give it flash.

      Delete
    2. As Cosmo said, your Hellion's design isn't consistent with its art. It also isn't consistent with its flavor text; if its intended to charge past blockers and hit face, what is making those death shrieks?

      I'm not certain about Lancefire, not because the design isn't interesting but because I'm not sure how Johnny it is. A boardwide nuke seems very Timmy to me. If the artifact angle is supposed to come into play at all, does that mean the card is meant to be played in a deck with strong creatures and artifact tokens combined? It seems to fit pretty straightforwardly in a deck with few or no creatures, using Lancefire as a one-sided wipe and never needing to sac artifacts. I'm not condemning the design. In fact, I'm really interested in your opinion on what makes this card Johnny.

      Delete
    3. So the Acre Shaker's weirdness is do to my poor grasp of some red mechanics. I thought anti-flyer damage and forced blocking were only in green. They are in fact, also both permitted in red. So I was trying to get around it with a concept that everybody with good sense was running away (and dragons aren't known for good sense.)

      But! Since I was wrong, we can fix it and make it more red and art appropriate

      Acre Shaker (Uncommon)
      3RR
      Art D
      Trample
      Creatures with flying must block Acre Shaker if able.
      5/3
      (Same flavor text)

      Piercing Lancefire is a bit more complicated. I was struck by the fact that the art emphasizes the boat and a community and it got me thinking about who would survive this devastation and who wouldn't and how to represent that as a Johnny thing. That naturally meant to me Johnny would want to combo it to make sure his creatures would survive. So I thought about the idea of people taking cover and protecting themselves with their "things." Those who had things survived, but the things were destroyed. Mechanically, artifacts seemed like the best fit. (Boat=vehicle=artifacts...)

      And if you're playing red, there are plenty of artifact-focused red decks, so I figured Johnny can find interesting ways to play off it, like with the artifacts that do things when they die. Or with cheap artifact tokens/treasures.

      Delete
  7. Would appreciate feedback on my build-around and Spike card (1 & 2). Spike design tends to be my blind spot, as I'm not a very competitive player.

    1) Inhabit the Ruins
    2W
    Art K
    Enchantment — Aura
    Enchant creature
    Enchanted creature has defender.
    At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control a creature with defender, you may put a +1/+1 counter on target creature.

    2) Wizened Battersmith
    2W
    Art B
    Creature — Human Warrior
    When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, you may attach target aura or equipment to it.
    W: Exile CARDNAME, then return it to the battlefield under its owner’s control.
    2/2

    3) Turtleshell Sibyl
    3U
    Art A
    Creature — Merfolk Druid
    When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, draw two cards, then discard two cards.
    2/2

    4) Djinnself Evocation
    5UU
    Art L
    Enchantment — Aura
    Enchant creature
    2UU: Create a token that’s a copy of enchanted creature, except the token isn’t legendary if enchanted creature is legendary. It has haste.
    Other creatures with the same name as enchanted creature have flying and +2/+2.

    5) Profane Palmist
    1B
    Art E
    Creature — Human Cleric
    T: Put a -1/-1 counter on target creature and CARDNAME.
    1/2

    6) Asgarvatoth of the Ninth
    6BBB
    Art F
    Legendary Creature — Demon
    Flying, Trample
    CARDNAME costs 1 less to cast for each nontoken, nondemon creature you control.
    Nondemon creatures have -6/-6.
    6/6

    7) Drakesnapper
    3R
    Art D
    Creature — Wurm
    Trample
    When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, it deals 2 damage to target flying creature.
    4/3

    8) Tricasta’s Barrage
    2R
    Art I
    Instant
    Copy target instant, sorcery, or activated ability twice. Choose the targets for each copy randomly.

    9) Track the Beast
    2G
    Art J
    Sorcery
    Look at the top ten cards of your library. You may reveal a creature card from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.

    10) Curse of Deliciousness
    1G
    Art G
    Enchantment — Aura
    Enchant creature
    Whenever a creature enters the battlefield, any player may pay 2 to have it fight enchanted creature.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Inhabit the Ruins: I'm not sure why the enchantment checks for defender if it gives the creature defender. I am not sure removing a creature's ability to attack makes up for getting a +1/+1 counter during your upkeep. I'd rather had a single aura with only upsides. Is there an intent with this that I'm missing?

      Wizened Battlesmith: As I mentioned up with Lee Owens, Spikes tend to take a dim view of creatures that need auras or equipment to be combat-ready. It's too many eggs in one basket and very vulnerable to removal. Yours has the bonus of being able to save itself, but the self-blink essentially means you want to be playing with lots of auras in order to really take advantage of its ability. The fact that it does almost nothing if you control no auras or equipment will turn Spikes right off it.

      Turtleshell Sibyl: That turtle apparently knows a lot! (I have no criticism. I think this is a fine common.)

      Djinnself Evocation: So this is a slower Helm of the Host that also gives an additional advantage. But is that advantage worthwhile to make an already slow effect (available to all colors) even slower? I don't think it will work out well. I've had some fun with Helm of the Host, but I think I've played maybe one game where I wasn't already winning by the time I was able to get it out and attach it to something.

      Profane Palmist: I really like how this elegantly solves the dangers of having activated creature abilities at common. Well done.

      Asgarvatoth: Interesting demon concept, but what about the other dude in the artwork?

      Drakesnapper: This caused me to look up the mechanical color pie and realize that I misunderstood some red mechanics. I thought green alone had the power to damage flyers, but I was wrong! (Which is why my version of this card is so strange) This is a fine card. It could probably do even more damage to a flyer if it's confined to a single target.

      Tricasta's Barrage: You had me and then you lost me. Johnny isn't as down on randomness as Spike, but not like this. Johnny wants rewards for creative deck conceptualization and this seems like it has a lot of backfire potential, unless it's paired with something like card draw. Can this be gamed in some particular way I'm not catching?

      Track the Beast: That's an awful lot of digging. It's pretty much a creature tutor at this point. I'd at least make them put the cards at the bottom in random order to avoid absurd game slowdowns.

      Curse of Deliciousness: I don't understand the name. Oh God! Is he going to eat the minotaur?!!

      Anyway, the art looks like it's the goblin that's enchanted, not the minotaur, so the nature of the enchantment is a little odd. It's certainly quirky. I think it's also too powerful, because it will essentially allow people in a round-of-about fashion to counter creature spells if you put this on a large creature.

      Delete
    2. Thanks for the feedback! I'll admit a bunch of my ideas may be confusing to players due to how they target. I'll just take this opportunity to clarify the intended usages of some of these:

      Inhabit the Ruins, because it doesn't have "enchant creature you control", can be played on any creature, making it a form of defensive soft removal. However, you still control the enchantment, meaning if you drafted any defenders of your own you can start laying down +1/+1 counters. If you didn't, you can still make use of either its soft removal or cumulative +1/+1 aspects individually, but building around defenders in a limited environment where walls are an archetype allows the player a clever cumulative advantage, appropriate for the uncommon slot in my opinion.

      The Battersmith also messes with targetting a bit; it can steal equipments and auras from across the board when it triggers ETB. Also, it can pick up the equipment it was carrying after it flickers. I wanted to design around the art here, while acknowledging that equips have the inherent weakness of being vulnerable to removal. In a set with strong equipments, this is the creature to carry those equipments. The aura is an extra form of utility, allowing Spike to snipe his opponent's auras and then destroy them by flickering.

      I designed Tricasta's Barrage around Howl of the Horde, from Tarkir block, with a few different upsides offset by the downside of random targeting. In my mind, Johnny would see this downside and think of all the ways he can get around it. The first thing that comes to mind is Lava Axe, but card draw, tutors, field-wide effects and other single target abilities have potential here too. Plus, Tricasta's Barrage serves as a sort of counter-counter; in response to a counterspell you can copy the countered spell twice, as they will resolve first on the stack. You can also counter a counterspell with Tricasta's if you're feeling cheeky, but that's far riskier.

      And the curse? Yeah, I was torn as to which party should do the fighting. I went for the goblin being attracted to a cursed minotaur, but it might clash with the art too much.
      I can see times when the game would be decided by a Curse of Deliciousness on a big fatty, as no more creatures could ever be played, but the fact that any player can activate the ability means the enchanted creature is made vulnerable to deathtouch creatures and might be tricked into fighting too many creatures in one turn, or even creatures on its controller's own team. I can see how this would promote an unhealthy line of play, so I'll work on this.

      Thanks again for your feedback! It was really helpful in evaluating the appeal of each card. I'll work on these some more and repost the list later.

      Delete
  8. 1. Imbued with the Energy of The Gods
    2W
    Art B
    Enchantment
    Whenever you play an equipment or cast a creature with first strike, vigilance, or double strike, target creature gets +2/+2 untol end of turn.

    The gods favored the one's who knew how to fight.

    2. Elderon, the revoker of darkness 1W
    Art C
    Legendary creature-Elf Wizard Warrior
    First Strike
    XW: Exile target black permanent with cmc x or counter target black spell unless its owner pays x.

    "As long as Elderon was around we knew were safe."
    High Priestress Almerian
    3/1

    3. Simple Illusionist
    4U
    Art A
    Creature-Salamander Illusionist
    Flash
    When cardname enters the battlefield create an 0/2 blue turtle illusion creature token.
    3/5

    Everyone has to start somewhere.

    The first three the next seven will come a little later.

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    Replies
    1. 4. The Mesmerizing Oasis 2 UU
      Art K
      Enchantment
      Whenever you cast a blue spell but a mesmerizing counter on cardname.
      XU, remove X mesmerizing counters: Choose one,
      -Tap up to X target creatures and they do not untap during their controler's next untap step
      -Gain control of target creature with cmc X or less.

      5. Blood Seer 1B
      Art E
      Creature-Human
      Pay 2 life, T: Scy 1
      1/3

      6. Revark the Indescribable Evil
      5BB
      Art F
      Flying
      R: Target creature gains haste until end of tutn
      1RR, sacrifice: Deal 3 damage to each creature and player.
      Revark sure knows how to get things done, a little destruction goes a long way.
      5/7

      7. The Hulking Goblin
      4R
      Art G
      Menace
      1RR: Target creature cannot block this turn
      4/4

      8. Chaotic Mistake
      XRR
      Art I
      Search your library for X instant and/or sorceries with cmc x or less and put them into your graveyard. For each card put into your graveyard this way flip a coin. If you win the flip cast the spell without paying its mana cost. If you lose the flip deal 2 damage to any target.

      Messing with chaos magic sometimes can have unforeseen consequences.
      -The Elder Wizard

      9. Enlarged Predator
      2GG
      Art D
      Put 2 +1/+1 counters on target creature, destroy target flying creature.

      The energy of lands made things bigger and hungrier.

      10. The Mask of Enragement
      2GG
      Art J
      Enchanted creature gets +2/+2 and trample.
      1RR: Enchanted creature fights a creature at random. Activate this ability each turn if able.
      When cardname is put into the graveyard return it to plah enchanting a creature.

      Delete
    2. I want 10 and 8 reviewed. Revark should read sacrifice a creature.

      Delete
  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  10. 1) Palace Sanctuary
    3W
    Art K
    Enchantment (U)
    1W: Exile target creature you control.
    2W: Return a creature card exiled with Palace Sanctuary to its owner's hand.
    At the beginning of your upkeep, you gain 1 life for each creature card you own in exile that was exiled with Palace Sanctuary.

    2) Warhammer Mystic
    1WW
    Art B
    Creature - Human Soldier Wizard (R)
    Lifelink
    Whenever Warhammer Mystic attacks, creatures defending player controls lose all abilities until end of turn.
    3/3

    3) Illusion Summoner
    3U
    Art L
    Creature - Human Wizard (C)
    Flash
    When Illusion Summoner enters the battlefield, create a 3/3 blue Illusion creature token with "When this creature becomes the target of a spell or ability, sacrifice it."
    1/1

    4) Shrunken Specimen
    2UU
    Art A
    Enchantment - Aura (M)
    Enchant creature
    You control enchanted creature.
    Enchanted creature has base power and toughness 0/1 and has defender.
    5UU: Create a token that's a copy of enchanted creature.

    5) Elvish Shadowmage
    2B
    Art C
    Creature - Elf Wizard (C)
    Whenever Elvish Shadowmage attacks, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.
    1B: Elvish Shadowmage gains menace until end of turn.
    2/1

    6) Insanity Demon
    5BB
    Art F
    Creature - Demon (M)
    Flying
    Whenever a creature an opponent controls dies, you may return it to the battlefield under its owner's control. If you do, it deals damage equal to its power to its controller.
    At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, that player sacrifices a creature.
    3/4

    7) Extreme Multicasting
    4R
    Art I
    Instant (R)
    Creatures you control gain "T: Copy target instant or sorcery spell. You may choose new targets for the copy" until end of turn.

    8) Gorging Hellion
    3RR
    Art D
    Creature - Hellion (U)
    When Gorging Hellion enters the battlefield, you may have it fight target creature you don't control. If you do, tap Gorging Hellion. It doesn't untap during your next untap step.
    4/4

    9) End of the Trail
    3G
    Art J
    Instant (C)
    Create two 0/1 green Plant creature tokens. Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt this turn to Plant creatures you control.

    10) Oozification
    1G
    Art H
    Enchantment - Aura (U)
    Enchant creature you control
    Enchanted creature is a 1/1 Ooze.
    At the beginning of your upkeep, put a +1/+1 counter on enchanted creature.
    When enchanted creature dies, create a 1/1 black Skeleton creature token with "1B: This creature gains indestructible until end of turn."

    Please review #6 and #10.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In regards to number 6, I think you've hit the mark for a mythic rare's ability perfectly. I can imagine all kinds of great Timmy moments with this one. My only critique would be the mismatch between the art and the size. Look at Archfiend of Despair, a Mythic with a similarly awesome ability. It's a 6/6 with Flying that can also instantly kill your opponent off a big enough swing. I'd suggest pumping yours to a 6/6 or so and giving it a cooler name :)

      Oozeification is a little TOO quirky imo. You should totally be able to enchant creatures that aren't your own with it, and you don't usually want to turn your own creatures into 1/1s. Furthermore, the card uses a lot of text to convey two really simple abilities: this card puts +1/+1 counters on a creature (really slowly) and makes a chump blocker when it dies. I think opening it up to enchanting any creature would make its abilities more interesting by virtue of increased choice related to them. Also, speeding up the process of gaining +1/+1 counters seems important. Perhaps an activated ability related to saccing creatures or exiling from graveyard? There's a lot more "quirky" design space to explore for this card.

      Delete
    2. Feedback on everything (I need to figure out something to do with my Saturdays)!

      Palace Sanctuary: This is doing way too much for uncommon. Being able to so easily remove anything from combat and replay it is incredibly powerful, even if you have to cast it again. And once you start gaining life off creatures in exile, you're essentially doing that thing they don't like where you're treating exile as a second graveyard. They're no longer realistically removed from the game if you're gaining life off them. And yet your opponent can't interact with them in any way to stop your life gain. They have to kill the enchantment, and some color combos cannot even do that.

      Warhammer Mystic: Definitely a spike creature for white but arguably again too powerful, even at rare. The Warkite Marauder in Rivals of Ixalan only did this to one creature and was rare. Also note the wording on that. You have to set a power and toughness for the creature in order to account for abilities on a card that define power and toughness (cards in hand, creatures in graveyard, lands in play, etc.)

      Illusion Summoner: Works fine. It's funny, typically you'd want to give this illusion flying, but the card slot demands no evasion.

      Shrunken Specimen: I think players would rather just steal the creature with no conditions rather than have to wait several turns to spend all mana to make a version of the creature that actually works, and then have to wait another turn to actually use it. And given the tremendous drawback you put on the creature, I wonder if it would even survive long enough to clone.

      Elvish Shadowmage: I think the menace on this creature doesn't actually need to be activated and can just be there. But then it wouldn't be compliant with the slot request. Which maybe means it should have a different activatable ability.

      Insanity Demon: This has been my favorite demon creation so far. I think I like it better than the demons that were submitted for GDS3 itself! And so wonderfully Timmy in a fun way that even non-Timmy players will enjoy.

      Extreme Multicasting: Is this an attempt to try to "fix" storm? I think this is fine in limited but is going to be incredibly destructive/problematic in constructed. And the name doesn't really reflect the art.

      Gorging Hellion: Nice uncommon hole-filler. It's not fancy, but it works very well, and a red player is going to think highly of this creature in draft.

      End of the Trail: Interesting weaker version of fog. I think it's actually too expensive, since they want this for limited in this slot. If it's not a tribal set they might not have loads of "plant" creatures and so it's probably only going to shut down two attackers in most situations.

      Oozification: "Is an ooze with a base power and toughness of 1/1" will be the text format you want to allow for the bonuses of the counters. It's amusing and fun and flavorful. Not everybody will want to play it (Spikes aren't going to touch it and it becomes a terrible draw later in the game) but I think people who like "quirky" will enjoy it.

      Delete
    3. Thanks for the feedback! To respond to the points made:

      Palace Sanctuary - To be honest, I struggled with this slot the most and agree that it doesn't really fit as an uncommon build-around enchantment. It probably needs to be completely reworked.

      Warhammer Mystic - I think I pushed this enough that it would see constructed play, but I don't think it's broken by any means.

      Shrunken Specimen - It struck me as flavorful and exciting to turn my opponent's creature into a clone factory, but that might not be the case for other people, so I'm not sure.

      Elvish Shadowmage - The mana for the activation is mostly to keep the card from being too powerful at common.

      Insanity Demon - This was definitely the card I was most happy with. I don't think it should have more than 3 power, as you really want to be killing opponents with its ability rather than attacking, but I could see it as a 3/5 or 3/6.

      Extreme Multicasting - I didn't have storm in mind when designing this, and I'm not sure exactly what scenario you're thinking of that will break this card. I think it requires a lot to go right before becoming good.

      End of the Trail - Yeah, in a set without support for plants, this should probably cost 2G.

      Oozification - Yes, the correct wording is base power and toughness. I don't think it's correct to allow enchanting opponents' creatures, since that's way too close to removal in green (it would essentially be "destroy target creature that was dealt damage this turn"), but maybe it should have a faster way to add +1/+1 counters, or abandon the 1/1 thing entirely. I'll have to think about it.

      Delete
  11. The cards I want feed back on are card 10(Oozification) and card 1(quiet of the pool)

    1) Card #1: White (uncommon) – We want a build-around noncreature for Draft. (It encourages the player to draft a theme that they might not normally.)
    Quiet of the pool
    2W
    ART K
    Sorcery
    Gain X life where X is the number of enchantments you control and create a 1/1 white cat token with lifelink.
    Whenever an enchantment enters the battlefield under your control you may pay W, if you do return Quiet of the pool to your hand.

    2) Card #2: White (rare) – We want a Spike-friendly creature.
    Sage of Arnlor
    1W
    ART B
    Creature – Human Cleric
    First strike
    Whenever a creature leaves the battlefield
    2/1

    3) Card #3: Blue (common) – We want a creature without evasion. 2U
    Censer Swinging Brute
    3U
    Art E
    Creature – Human
    When Censer Swinging Brute blocks a creature, scry 1
    3/4


    4) Card #4: Blue (mythic rare) – We want a super-exciting enchantment.
    Way of the Turtle Snake
    3U
    ART A
    Enchantment
    When a snake or turtle enters the battlefield under your control scry 2.
    1U: name a non-land card, then reveal the top card of your library, if it is the named cards create a 1/1 blue turtle snake creature tokens, activate this ability only if you haven’t revealed the named card this turn.

    5) Card #5: Black (common) – We want a creature with an activated ability.
    Speaker to the Nether
    1B
    ART C
    Creature- Human Cleric
    B: exile target card from an opponents graveyard, if you do Speaker to the Nether gains deathtouch until end of turn.
    2/1


    6) Card #6: Black (mythic rare) – We want a splashy creature for Timmy/Tammy.
    Corrupted Illusionist
    3BBB
    ART L
    Creature – Human Wizard
    X T: target creature gets -X/-X until end of turn, if that creature dies this turn return it the battlefield under your control except it is a black horror in addition to it’s other types.

    7) Card #7: Red (uncommon) – We want a creature that costs four or more.
    Scry-Scraping Wurm
    4R
    ART D
    Creature- Wurm
    Reach
    When Scry-Scraping Wurm becomes blocked it deals 2 damage to each creature that blocked it and an additional 2 damage to each creature with flying that blocked it.
    4/5

    8) Card #8: Red (rare) – We want a weird Johnny/Jenny-style instant or sorcery.
    Gaze of The Infernal Spawn
    1R
    ART F
    Sorcery
    Until end of turn deal whenever an instant or sorcery you control deals damage to a creature exile the top card of your library, until the end of the turn you may cast cards exiled this way for “RR, RB or BB”.
    Deal one damage to target creature.

    9) Card #9: Green (common) – We want a noncreature spell for Limited.
    Jungle paving
    2G
    Sorcery
    ART J
    Reveal the top five cards of your library, you may put up to one land card and up to one creature card with converted mana cost 3 or less into your hand, then put the rest of the cards onto the bottom of your library in any order

    10) Card # 10: Green (uncommon) – We want a quirky Aura.
    Oozification
    2G
    ART H
    Enchantment Aura
    Enchant Artifact or Enchantment
    As Oozification enters the battlefield put three +1/+1 counters on enchanted creature.
    Enchanted permanent loses all abilities and is a 0/0 creature

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like the name 'Quiet of the Pool' but I don't see why it's a sorcery rather than an enchantment and I'm deeply confused by the cat token given the art.

      Definitely swap the last two lines of Oozification. It's super confusing that you just said we're enchanting a non-creature and then you're referencing an enchanted creature. It's also not clear from this card alone why you're dancing around with 0/0 +3/+3 rather than just making it a 3/3 creature. That's slightly oozier, but not worth the complication without a +1/+1-matters theme.

      Delete
    2. Yeah swapping the last two lines makes sense, I still kinda like the counters idea.

      It is cats because I may have lost track of the challenge I did have it as 3/3 dinosaurs but would cost 3WW and I wasn’t sure white should have reoccurring green 3/3 creatures but should be

      Quiet of the Pool
      3WW
      Art K
      Sorcery
      Gain X life where X is the number of
      Enchantments you control then create a 3/3 green dinosaur with trample
      When an enchantment enters the battlefield under your control you may pay W if you do return Quiet of the pool to your hand from your graveyard

      Delete
  12. It just occurred to me that someone could have made a creature using Art B and creature type Elder.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had flavor text from an Elder Wizard. I thought a cool weekend challenge would be to make an Elder of some creature typr.

      Delete