There have been a handful of cards throughout the years that care about creatures that have keyword abilities, such as Cavalry Master, Favorable Winds, Kwende, Pride of Femeref, and Stalwart Shield-Bearers. This weekend, you're going to design a card in that adds to that prestigious family.
The rules:
- Must care about an evergreen keyword ability
- The payoff can't boost power and/or toughness.
By the end of this exercise, I expect everyone to intuitively know and understand layers as well as a L3 judge (i.e. not at all. No one understands layers).
Have fun, good luck, and enjoy your weekend!
Sky Prowler 1UB
ReplyDeleteCreature - Harpy Rogue
Flying
Scry Prowess (Whenever you scry, this creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn)
3/2
Betcha can't say 'Sky Prowler has Scry Prowess' three times fast
Not sure we’d keyword this as I suspect we’d want several different payoffs (a la Flamespeaker Adept) but a neat little card.
DeleteAlso I can’t, though I tried.
Neat.
DeleteI wonder if Prowess—Scry isn't more accurate.
Also, can I make a creature with the opposite ability? "Whenever prowess triggers on a permanent you control, scry 1."
Not sure what makes this card UB over mono U. Is Scry Prowess a black mechanic?
DeleteSky Prowler sounds more U/B than U and this card seems like more of a uncommon build around than a common. And obviously I can't change the name because I want the tongue twister to work.
DeleteYou could have a scry that triggered on Prowess, presuming we allow other flavors of Prowess but don't allow Scry Prowess to exist (because it goes infinite). Otherwise it's easier to just make it trigger on noncreature spells.
If this card is more of an uncommon buildaround, then what would a common with scry prowess look like? It seems like this would work better as an individual card than a mechanic.
DeleteOh, 100%. On a "real card" this ability would be spelled out and not keyworded. It's only keyworded here for theoretical "prowess matters" cards and the tongue twister templating.
DeleteI'm really struggling to see what is gained by calling +1/+1 ueot prowess, when the real "mechanic" of prowess is the trigger of casting a non-creature card, not the bonus. If we're talking about creating loops of keywords, that seems way too corner case and niche. Plus, it violates (in spirit) the no-PT-boost-as-reward restriction.
DeleteAll that said, Triggering off of scry is criminally underutilized, and a very interesting place to play in.
Now a 3/2 prowess flyer that also has a scry PT boost trigger is a cool uncommon draft-around design, especially in UR (and assuming Prowess doesn't go the way of the dodo.)
Remorseless Ringleader
ReplyDelete1BB
Creature - Orc Rogue
Skulk, double strike
Other creatures you control with skulk have double strike.
2/2
Different take on Kwende. Not sure about the flavor - “remorseless ringleader” strikes me as more aggressive while Rogue and Skulk read more sneakily passive.
DeleteFlavor is that he's the new don and has to take out the competition for street cred. Flavor text would be some quote from Godfather or Godfather 2.
DeleteGiving skulk creatures double strike is great because it increases their damage without decreasing their evasion. My only complaint is that black doesn't get double strike.
DeleteThat's your only complaint? The power, toughness and mana were just whatever guesses. 1BR, then.
DeleteAlthough, now that I think about it, it feels justified in mono-black as a bend. Maybe BB and legendary to make it really stick out. The combo is so sneaky and underhanded it seems more comfortable in mono-black than Rakdos and it could easily be reskinned to be a monster shade or shadow-mage.
What a fun definitely not monoblack card.
DeleteLet's take a moment to talk about bends, breaks, evergreen keywords, and color pie distribution.
Color pie breaks are when card mechanics, named or otherwise, undercut a color's foundational weakness. These are a big-nono. Green should not get access to Murder without compromising its mana base, for instance.
Bends are when colors have mechanics that they aren't necessarily primary, secondary, or even tertiary in, but don't really undercut that color's weaknesses. These are ok sparingly, but only in a few contexts: Development might need that bend to put some kind of safety valve in the format, or the creative concept of a particularly splashy card is very unique, and needs some slight bending to really marry the creative and the mechanics.
When we get to keyword mechanics, we're going to be a little more stingy with the bends. Keywords, and especially evergreen keywords, are one-word shortcuts that are among the first in-game elements to become part of a player's vocabulary. When players see Haste, they're seeing it the vast majority of the time on red cards. This is very strong messaging about the types of things red does, its philosophy and fundamental gameplay.
Because of this, I absolutely cannot get behind "bending" for off-color keyword abilities. This needs to be Orzhov or Rakdos (or reconcepted to be Azorius or Izzet).
All that said, once the colors are fixed I'm a huge fan of this design. It gets the challenge a little backwards, since the challenge wants the mechanic cared about to be evergreen and this "cares about" skulk, which was a failed experimental candidate for evergreen, but a very cool card nonetheless.
Gotta Go Fast
ReplyDelete2WR
Enchantment
Creatures you control with haste get first strike.
Creatures you control with first strike get haste.
What about Flash? (Man there are a lot of ways they represent speed in Magic...)
Deleteflash doent have to be speed though, it can be surprise. haste and first strike is more often speed based
DeletePath of Mettle and Samut, Voice of Dissent have both tried to represent "speed" recently. Both of them have double strike, haste, and vigilance on the list. Flash and first strike are only on one card each, but they also seem likely.
Delete"If several dependent effects form a dependency loop, then this rule is ignored and the effects in the dependency loop are applied in timestamp order." MtG CR 613.7(b).
DeleteI suggest picking one line or the other and sticking with it. Once that card has rotated from standard, print the other. Either way is a cool and flavorful, but both is a layers minefield.
As an un-gag, you could print both versions, one in white and one in red, with the same name.
Wall Spikes
ReplyDelete1B
Enchantment
Creatures you control with defender get first strike and deatouch.
I know it’s against the rules of the challenge, but enough Defenders have zero power that I wish this was +1/+0 and Deathtouch instead.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI enjoy the idea of making your walls more effective, but this just wins games. Let players earn their wins.
DeletePersonally I'd prefer granting indestructible, which is a more plausible flavor match and may actually be more interactive.
DeleteI agree with Defenders gaining Indestructable.
DeleteThat's a fun concept. I do like it in black, which isn't renowned for having the best Defender creatures. White might have been too oppressive.
DeleteThe response suggestions above are all spot-on. This needs some balance to it, as it can easily get out of hand, and putting primarily offensive abilities on a specifically defensive card does cause some dissonance.
If sticking with your version, would it be better as a creature? It makes it more killable, and thus less problematic.
Night Watchmen
ReplyDelete1WW
Creature - Human Soldier - Rare
Vigilance
At the beginning of combat on each turn, tap up to one target creature with converted mana cost less than the number of creatures with Vigilance you control.
3/3
Clever girl.
DeleteVery cool. Is power a greater threshold for legit targets than CMC? Or maybe even toughness? Any of those options definitely work.
DeleteI think as a 3-drop this might be a bit too OP. It could drop down to 2/3 or 2/2 or up to 2WW and I think it would be much more balanced.
Most draft environments have at least one common vigilance creature in white, and it's usually not a highly ranked pick. Opening this as your rare in Pack 1 would really enable you to draft around it, which paves the way for a niche draft archetype, something every set should have at least some of.
Latecomer's Chance 1UR
ReplyDeleteEnchantment (R)
Whenever a creature with flash enters the battlefield under your control during an opponent's turn, take an additional turn after this one. Skip the beginning and main phases of that turn.
I love the idea of rewarding flash, but an extra turn is SOO much, especially when there are really cheap flash creatures.
DeleteEven if you can't untap or draw during that turn? I mostly intended it as a way to let the flash creature get an attack in, but maybe there's a better way to do that if this can be broken too easily.
DeleteOops. I didn't read past "additional turn." Not drawing or untapping does drastically reduce the value. Normally we'd just gain an attack step and I see why you didn't here; Maybe we just gain an attack step in our next turn? Not sure that's cleaner.
DeleteMy Tammy brain is going "Whoa!" (Keanu Reaves style) and my Jenny brain is going "Shenanigans!"
DeleteThis is a great conceit, but would definitely require some thorough playtesting by Play Design. Extra turns, even with the clear restrictions placed on them such as these, are a dangerous dangerous space to play in.
Assuming that it all balances out, I love that it can only be during your opponent's turn and the story that tells with the flashy creature. It riffs off of haste, allowing you to attack in a way that the opponent couldn't set up for during their turn, but in a very different way.
Does this belong in Izzet? Flash is UBG, extra attack steps is Red, extra turns is Blue. I've advocated for partial extra turns like this to be moved into colors other than blue, but there's no official line on that since its not something they often do. Izzet is fine, but I think any of Izzet, Dimir, or Simic could legitimately make this card. The psuedo-haste does push it Izzet, but do give some though to how much differently it plays in Simic.
Very nice design. Next time you're playtesting cards, mock it up and see how well it works in practice.
Glory Swine 1RG
ReplyDeleteCreature—Boar Beast (rare)
Trample, Menace
Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to more than one creature or player, gain that much life.
3/3
Maybe "...gain life equal to the total damage dealt." would be a more clear wording. It's not super thorny as-is, but I could read that to mean "...gain life equal to the amount of damage dealt to each recipient after the first."
DeleteAlthough "Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to a player, gain 2 life." would be simplest and cleanest, even if it's not necessarily best for this challenge.
Yeah I would just keep the current wording and change it to “gain 3 life” to avoid confusion.
DeleteTrample is red/green, menace is red, the lifegain is green, so this package definitely works. For whatever reason, this still scans a little off to me, perhaps because lifegain is atypical on Gruul cards. That doesn’t necessarily mean we can’t or shouldn’t do it there, just that we haven’t done it much historically.
I quite like how clean and modular the design is. The buff ability is a small addition to an already solid uncommon, pushing it up to rare. That said, I've got two nitpicks, Jay.
DeleteGreen definitely has access to lifegain, but lifelink (which this really feels like) is deliberated excluded from green. This isn't a color pie break, but it feels a weird bend.
I like how modular this is, though it feels almost antisynergistic with menace. Menace is paying an extra cost for evasion to allow you to race, this ability doesn't help you race; it just helps you not lose when you're likely already ahead because your creatures are getting double bocked.
Cool work and not at all where my brain would've gone for a menace lord.
Yeah, I dislike that the reward is life gain here, but the most reasonable reward is off the table, card draw is too much, and extra damage is confusing.
DeleteGlory Swine 1RG
Creature—Boar Beast (rare)
Trample, Menace
Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to more than one creature or player, create a 2/2 red Boar creature token.
3/2
Feels very RG! I can't imagine how to deal combat damage to two opponents at the same time, but that's a Jenny puzzle orthogonal-to and hidden-in a fun clean design.
DeletePasteur there are commander cards that do it.
DeleteDouble keyword lord without actually mentioning the keywords it rewards! That's some subtle design.
DeleteI think that the "or player" clause needs to be dropped, or restructured. As written, it implies "more than one creature and/or player," i.e. hitting two creatures or trampling over one and also hitting a player. Most magic players would never consider the possibility of hitting multiple players with combat damage, and it ends up being misleading for that reason, since with the menace, it's going to trigger off of any block necessarily if at all.
I would give the token menace, to drive home what this card is trying to do.
I'd also give it beefier (baconier?) stats. A 3/2 is not going to survive its first combat where it would trigger absent combat tricks. Players will want to at least entertain the dream of keeping this guy around to generate multiple tokens, and as costed/stated, this reads more like a build around enchantment than the aggro creature it wants to be.
I agree hitting two players isn't something players want to do, but I was trying to reward both trample and menace. I expect there's a clear template, but if not, we'd choose one of trample and menace to keep/reward.
DeleteI felt like the token needed trample and/or menace too, but didn't want to make it too strong since this triggers off of every trampler and menacer you hit with.
Glory Swine 4G
Creature—Boar Beast (rare)
Trample
Whenever a creature you control deals two or more damage to a player, create a 2/2 green Boar creature token.
5/4
I've been fiddling with a "Scry things to the bottom, win valuable prizes!" U/R identity for a set concept.
ReplyDeleteThis one's altered a bit from my original concept to comply with the rules.
Nightscrape Pyrescribe 1UR (uncommon)
Creature - Human Wizard
Flying
When Nightscrape Pyrescribe attacks, scry 1.
Whenever you put a card on the bottom of your library, Nightscrape Pyrescribe deals 1 damage to target opponent.
2/2
(The original version gives your other creatures +1/+1 for scrying to the bottom)
This probably just gets played for the ability to do something like Cascade with no appropriate CMC cards in the deck, and then hit the opponent for ~60.
DeleteI think deck constraints to do the cascade combo makes that a fine upside
DeleteOoo, the core idea of “if you scry to the bottom, *reward*” is cool. Giving the player a refund for “ugh more terrible cards, bottom, WHERE ARE MY SPELLS” is a good thing to do.
DeleteIf it's breakable too easily we could always go with "Whenever you put one or more cards on the bottom of your library ..."
DeleteI confess I never actually think about older formats when I'm designing cards. I'm always thinking in terms of standard and limited. It's a big weakness.
Or just "Whenever you scry…"
DeleteYes, true. I wanted to also give some additional rewards for playing a couple of spells that let you dig and put other cards on the bottom, but as with the cascade example, that's very likely to get out of hand in older formats.
DeleteThat's a great scry enabler. The combo concerns are legit, which could either be addressed by playtesting it and seeing if it actually breaks, limiting it to when you scry, as Jay suggested, or changing the payoff from hitting an opponent to something else red (Panic effect maybe?). Either way, that's the seeds of an interesting draft archetype and/or combo deck.
DeleteMaster of Unsubtlety
ReplyDelete1GG
Creature - Elf Shaman Warrior
Creatures with hexproof can be the target of spells and abilities as though they didn't have hexproof.
Creatures you control with hexproof get +2/+2.
3/3
(Originally debated what the second color should be, then remembered that Bonds of Mortality and Archetype of Endurance exist and are recent.)
Ha! I love the idea of all the sneaky creatures suddenly coming out to brawl. This is very cool.
DeleteIt bothers me aesthetically that the first ability is symmetrical but the second isn't. That said, I do love trading hexproof for stats, and don't think we could get that stat bonus without losing hexproof.
DeleteThis does break one of the rules of the challenge (PT Boost), but I'm gonna let it slide cause it's just so weird.
DeleteI agree with Jay that the aesthetics look a little odd, but I assume that there's an environment where this is run in the sideboard of a constructed deck strictly to turn off something's hexproof and for no other reason. Is that kind of trinket utility good or bad? If that becomes its primary utility, that reads as bad design to me, since the real focus the card wants is what it does to your side of the board.
I really like this card. Would you put it at uncommon or rare? Most draft environments don't have more than one creature at common with hexproof, so I imagine it would be of little use in limited.
I know the templating on this is curious, but ideally it reads straightforwardly while cutting out potential loops.
ReplyDeleteEmbalming Poison 1B
Enchantment (r)
Whenever a creature you control with deathtouch deals damage to another creature, exile that creature card from the graveyard. Then, create a 0/1 black token copy of the exiled creature.
What if the other creature is indestructible?
DeleteI trust that Eli or someone else can finesse it further, but the full wording to let indestructible stand is probably:
Delete"Whenever a creature you control with deathtouch deals damage to a creature an opponent controls, if that creature dies, exile that creature card from that player's graveyard. Then, create a 0/1 black creature token copy of the exiled card."
But that's a mouthful.
"Whenever a creature you control with deathtouch deals damage to another creature, exile that creature. If you do, create a 1/1 black creature token copy of the exiled card."
That version answers indestructible and evades Rest in Peace effects.
In retrospect, this card is narrow enough that 1/1 over 0/1 is probably more than fine.
“If a creature dealt damage this turn by a creature you control with deathtouch would die, exile it instead. If you do, create a 1/1 black creature token that’s a copy of the exiled card.”
DeleteMaking it a replacement effect avoids weird text about “the card it becomes”. This effect is super cool and the flavor is clear. I might consider putting it on a creature with deathtouch to make it more interactive. Otherwise this is awesome.
Embalming Poison 1B
DeleteEnchantment (r)
Flash
If a creature dealt damage this turn by a creature you control with deathtouch would die, exile it instead. If you do, create a 1/1 black creature token that’s a copy of the exiled card.
It still felt it needed something a little extra, and flash should lead to some fun moments. Alternatively could be just B and act like a Hardened Scales analogue.
Love it. I think we can go way simpler for the same basic effect.
DeleteWhenever a creature you control with deathtouch deals damage to a creature, exile that creature, then return it to the battlefield under your control. It becomes a black zombie in addition to its other types and colors.
Don't worry about the corner cases of indestructibility, don't worry about tokens. I do think that this is undercosted and possibly underraritied. I'm also not sure that flash is warranted. It's always fun to do this as a combat trick, but it isn't fundamental to the design.
Should this be limited to combat damage to prevent too many shenanigans?
Nightstalker Terrapin (U)
ReplyDeleteUB
Creature - Turtle Ninja
Flash
Whenever you cast a creature spell, if it isn't your main phase, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.
1/3
I'm imagining a tribe of U/B turtles with lots of Flash, now that Black has access to Flash.
Fun fact, no turtles have class sub-types! The only turtles with a type other than just turtle are:
DeleteWandering Tombshell (Zombie Turtle)
Shellephant (Turtle and/or Elephant)
Wormfang Turtle (Nightmare Turtle Beast)
But would the tribe also have some Mutants?
DeleteI'm not sure turtles are the best tribe to use when talking about fast effects, but we'll let that one go for the time being.
DeleteHere's a nitpick. Eldrazi aside, permanent spells more often than not care more about hitting the battlefield than being cast.
Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, if it's not your main phase, drain 1.
This is a major flash enabler, but also works in a variety of token decks, suspend decks, flicker decks. It could also be mono-black in an environment that supported any of those archetypes in a black-aligned guild.
Giving drain effects as a reward for flashing in creatures can be a very oppressive and up the psychological game, which is in line with what flash cards typically want you to do.
I had assumed the cast trigger was to not make this degenerate with tokens.
DeleteHashara, Lady of the Charge 1RR
ReplyDeleteLegendary Creature - Demon Warrior
3/3
Haste
CARDNAME and other creatures with haste can't be blocked the turn they enter the battlefield.
Originally this let you recast them if they died that turn, but I decided "can't be blocked" was easier. Now that doesn't seem that interesting, but it's exactly what you want on haste creatures.
“Can’t be blocked” is a blue way to do this. Forcing specific opponents creatures to not block would be red. I expect this would have to be Izzet as it stands.
DeleteHm, or come to think of it, damage to opponent when ETB would also serve a similar function.
DeleteThat’ll do! Probably needs a CMC of 4+ at that point (compare E.G. to Hellrider).
DeleteAs Ryan pointed out, Panic effects are more in-color for red, although the Izzet version is definitely interesting. Rewarding haste by making sure they get a hit in is potent and flavorful, and occasionally just going to be moot for lack of appropriate blockers anyway. That's a good balance for red.
DeleteWas this designed as a legend for Commander purposes?
Goblin Paratrooper (Uncommon)
ReplyDelete{2}{R}
Creature - Goblin Warrior
When ~ enters the battlefield, if you control another creature with flying, you may sacrifice ~. If you do, it deals damage equal to its power to any target.
3/2
Rabble-Rousing (Uncommon)
{R}{R}
Enchantment - Aura
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature has haste and menace.
Creatures you control with haste or menace have both haste and menace instead.
Walder Wallchucker (Rare)
{1}{R}{W}{B}
Legendary Creature - Giant Warrior
{R}{W}{B}, {T}, Sacrifice a creature you control with defender: ~ deals damage equal to the sacrificed creature's toughness to any target.
Wall here was, now wall der. That how I got name
5/5
Love Goblin Paratrooper!
DeleteIt'd be nice if the reward for dropping Goblin Paratrooper were better than a three mana sorcery Bolt.
DeleteHm, what about making it 5 damage (Goblin Grenade territory)?
DeleteGoblin Paratrooper (Uncommon)
{2}{R}
Creature - Goblin Warrior
When ~ enters the battlefield, if you control another creature with flying, you may sacrifice ~. If you do, it deals 5 damage to any target.
3/2
Paratrooper is an interesting design. 3 for a 3/2 is a reasonable rate in red. In draft, this is most likely to end up in a off-kilter Boros or Izzet deck. I like the second iteration a lot, although when you start throwing 5 damage around, extensive playtesting is required.
DeleteR (uncommon)
1/1
2R, Tap an untapped creature you control with flying, sacrifice cardname: 3 damage.
That's a mouthful for the activation cost, but it does make this more appealing with less swingy numbers. I'm not sure if the one time trigger is more or less fun overall, but I'd like to see both in action.
ReplyDelete1. The Fastest Striker-RW
Creature-Human Ninja
Vigilance, Haste
CARDNAME can attack an additional time for each creature you control with haste.
3/3
Not sure if this works within the rules, number 2 would be probably the way to word it within the rules.
2. The Fastest Striker-RW
Creature-Human Ninja
Vigilance, Haste
You get an additional combat phase for each creature you control with haste. During these combat phases only CARDNAME can attack.
3/3
Might need it to be 1RW or change the stats.
So why is it that only this guy gets to attack again and again? I'm not quite clear why this guy is selfish like that. Wouldn't a ninja lord make a little more sense, with an ability like, "At the end of your first combat step each turn, untap all your creatures with haste. You gain an additional combat step."?
DeleteYeah, this dealing 6 damage on turn 2 (and again on turn 3 if they don’t have a blocker) is clearly too strong. I would go with 1WR and “each other creaturen with haste”.
DeleteCosmos the reason I didn't go with that wording is it has been done to death and the trope about ninjas is actually they are stronger as 1. Also, this is a new direction that has not been done before.
DeleteAgreed R Stech but was thinking this would be a mythic to sell the set. So would you think dropping it to a 2/2 would be better or the increased mana cost?
I think either could work - you’d have to test it in the entire environment to decisively say.
DeleteThat's a great concept. We'll get to numbers in a minute, but would making temporary clones of itself during the attack phase be better than just letting the one attack over and over again? It certainly results in shorter turns, especially in digital.
DeleteWhenever ~ attacks, for each other creature with haste you control, create an attacking token that's a copy of it. At the end of combat, sacrifice those tokens.
I think this makes the one combat step slightly more complicated, but then we don't end up with three or four extra combat steps that all play out exactly the same.
I love this concept. Playtesting is definitely needed to figure out this one's numbers, but I think 1RW for a 2/2 Haste Vigilance with this ability is already fair. Definitely viable at rare unless playtesting shows this guy just dominating limited or FFL.
Ekkar the Terrorizer 2BR
ReplyDeleteLegendary Creature - Demon
3/3
CARDNAME can't be blocked except by three or more creatures.
Creatures you control with menace can't be blocked except by three or more creatures.
Neat! I like this a lot.
DeleteI also like this card.
Delete3/3 seems small for a demon, but making it larger isn't a good idea given its evasion. Make a devil?
omg. Menace+1 is such a fantastic idea. This is simple and clean, and the costs are all in the right spot. My only critique is that it doesn't really fit the demon archetype, both being too small, too not-flighty, and lacking a drawback. As a devil, goblin, horror, or even human, the creative wouldn't feel as off.
DeleteThis could be legendary or not. As a Jenny, this seems too linear to be appealing as a commander to me, but commander players come in all shapes and psychographics, so there's definitely someone who will want to build this.
Shaka, Rampart Commander 4WWW
ReplyDeleteLegendary Creature - Human Soldier R
Vigilance
Tap an untapped creature with Vigilance: Tap target creature.
4/7
Temba Wide-Arms
Delete3WW
Legendary Creature - Human Soldier
Vigilance
Creatures you control with vigilance have lifelink as long as they are blocking.
3/6
Re: Shaka: The former is almost exactly what I was trying to go for with mine; I actually like what it’s doing better; I was concerned about power level but making it a 7 drop helps mitigate that a lot.
DeleteRe: Temba: I worry this will stall games a bit too much. I would want this to bolster attacking as well as blocking so games don’t completely stall out
Is it just me, or do vigilance creatures always read as way less powerful than they actually are? Like, I play a decent amount of limited, and I always undervalue vigilance creatures until I see them on the board.
DeleteI don't think Shaka reads like such an appealing card until you start mentally working through different scenarios, and this basically durdles your opponent's creatures into irrelevance as long as you can outnumber them.
I'm good with the cost and the legendary status for this. Green and red won't be able to answer it the vast majority of the time, so heavily pushing it into mono white control is probably for the best.
Here's my biggest question: would this be fun? I imagine griefer Tammys would find this somewhat appealing, but I think most people staring it down would be less than thrilled to play out the remainder of that game. Whenever you have a card that explicitly reduces interaction like this, it can lead to very unfun games, and if it happens too frequently, that type of design can drives players away.
Bandwagon 4
ReplyDeleteArtifact - Vehicle (R)
Crew 4
If ~ is crewed by a creature with first strike, ~ gains first strike until eot.
The same is true for lifelink, trample, double strike, flying, haste, deathtouch, vigilance and double strike.
6/6
Love the name. The art direction could reach silver-border level of shenanigans, but legitimately.
DeleteSweet. Would add menace, but otherwise, ship it.
DeleteOh menace, I knew I was forgetting one. That's what I get for typing it on my phone in bed!
DeleteWe'll revise to:
DeleteBandwagon 4
Artifact - Vehicle (R)
Crew 4
If ~ is crewed by a creature with first strike, ~ gains first strike until eot.
The same is true for lifelink, trample, double strike, flying, haste, deathtouch, menace, vigilance and double strike.
6/6
Don't forget hexproof and indestructible!
DeleteKeeping it to combat keywords does make sense.
DeleteI like the high crew cost, encouraging players to naturally give this multiple abilities.
DeleteAmazing. I love this vehicle and I want to play it, which is more than I can say about any vehicle in print. Is double-strike on a potentially evasive 6/6 too much? I think it might be. Cut that and I think you're golden.
DeleteRe: Hexproof and Indestructible, I'm comfortable skipping them. Wanting to only crew them with those keywords when relevant can lead to some weird crew timing, which would probably result in too many judge calls.
Glaive Trainer (R)
ReplyDelete1UU
Creature - Human Monk
Prowess, Prowess
Other creatures you control with Prowess gain Prowess (each instance of Prowess triggers separately when you cast a non-creature spell)
2/2
Flavor is a mentor teaching others to improve their abilities.
Has double prowess itself to ease math -- all your creatures should have 2 instances of prowess, giving them +2/+2. With two of these on the board, each creature with prowess has 3x prowess.
Has square stats to keep math easier.
Reminder text is important, I'm not sure "separately" should be in it, but could still be confusing if that word isn't present.
Is a gray ogre to not be a complete dud in limited. Maybe turn into 1/1 if this is something to be encouraged in constructed? One dream is to play this then a non-creature spell immediately, so being cheap is important.
Welcome Gregory.
DeleteGlaive Trainer works for me. Creatures with X get another X is pretty old school, but that seems appropriate here.
This is a great design. The only thing I would do differently would be to write it out, which reduces the number of triggers that go on the stack when you have a number of prowess creatures out (which you'll want to). Doesn't matter in analogue, may matter in arena, and grinds mtgo to a grinding halt.
DeleteProwess
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, ~ and other creatures you control with prowess get +1/+1 until end of turn.
Mind you, this actually does violate one of the rules of the exercise (PT boost), but I think we can safely make an exception for double prowess.
Arbiter of the Ordinary (R)
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Creature - Human Adviser
Shroud
All creatures with Hexproof have Shroud.
2/2
I know we dont shroud anymore, but this came to me immediately.
DeleteLet's finish this exercise off with an anti-lord.
DeleteAside from the Archetypes, I can only think of one anti-lord off the top of my head, and that's Plague Sliver.
Is it worth using the retired keyword? I don't think so.
Hexproof
Creatures your opponents control with Hexproof can't be the target of spells or abilities.
Here's the deal guys. I'm still doing reviews, but my right hand is injured, so it's taking me a long time to type them. I'l working on it, I'll get to it soon. Thanks for patience, and for continuing to submit awesome designs.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's a wrap. Thank you all for your patience while I worked through the remaining reviews. There were some really cool ideas here, many of which surprised me. I was concerned that this exercise would be too narrow, leading to too many similar designs, or designs too similar to existing cards, but as always, you artisans displayed incredible creativity. Well done.
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