Friday, March 20, 2020

CCDD 032020 - Friendly Chatterbox


There's a well-known design trap where adding "bad" abilities to an otherwise fine card can make it read a lot worse-- like the difference between Gutter Skulk and Tavern Swindler. Today's card is a little bit that way at first glance, but I'm hopeful that the ability is actually more relevant than it seems.



Aside from the multiplayer hijinks that this enables, it can work as a finisher in mill / control decks. In fact being able to mill 10-20 cards in a single turn might be too good, even though it's bad news if the opponent gets to untap with all those cards. I didn't want to go down to just one card because that would make the ability much more unambiguously "bad". But maybe adding a sorcery-speed restriction would help, by increasing the risk that the opponent could use their new cards to interact at instant speed.

3 comments:

  1. I really like this one. I would like it even at {1}: target opponent draws a card. It would still "bad mill", it would still be a card for Jenny but it would be less exciting. There is value in excitement.

    It reminds me of a cycle in mercadia masks too, somehow. The monger cards, where any player could activate the ability of the card. I know this card does not have it, but it could be another way to design something similar.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This card probably has a very unfun play pattern in Limited, where at some point on turn 7 or so, you play this, end of your opponent's turn make them draw 12, then untap and make them draw 14, killing them on the spot.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I mean, it's bad in every other scenario, so it should be fine. If it takes 15 mana to be oppressive then it isn't. Compare that to Kiora Bests the Sea God or Nadir Kraken.

      Delete