CCDD 111218—Path to Peace

Cool Card Design of the Day
The problem with Path to Exile is that pesky downside. What if we turned that around and made it an upside?

CCDD 110818—Foresee Obstacles

Cool Card Design of the Day
Here's a weird spell.

CCDD 110718—Restrain

Cool Card Design of the Day
This counterspell can straight up counter a spell that costs the same or less. It can still answer a bigger spell, but only temporarily. I wanted to explore this space because it's problematic for unconditional countermagic to create a mana advantage.

CCDD 110218—Pangs of Regret

Cool Card Design of the Day
This design is from July of last year, which is why it uses the old damage template. It stood out to me as I scanned my folder because it's literally an undergrowth card, just red.

CCDD 110118—Call into Question

Cool Card Design of the Day
Here's a new way to make hybrid cards, good for a cycle or two: Modular cards with one effect of each color, where the opponent gets to choose the mode if you only pay one color, but you get to choose if you pay both.

CCDD 102918—Promise Safety

Cool Card Design of the Day
Fatal Blow / Crushing Pain effects are hard to do well, because they're removal spells that don't work on their own. Anything really worth casting a spell to kill that isn't already trumped by one of your creatures is probably killing the blocker you use to prime your spell, so you're often 2:1'ing yourself. If black-red had more 1/4s, that might help.

Anyhow, I found a really nice way to even out the card EV here.

CCDD 102318—Gaea's Benediction

Cool Card Design of the Day
I found this Gaea's Blessing variant while ideating on a Beacon of Creation challenge. It didn't end up fulfilling the challenge, but it's interesting enough to share.

CCDD 101918—mystery

Cool Card Design of the Day
In the last Beacon of Creation podcast I listened to (I'm a bit behind), they speculated briefly about a mystery card type / mechanic and how that might interact with clues. It seemed like having a clue should help you solve a mystery. Here are five executions of that idea.

CCDD 101818—Rogue Tutor, Steal & Premature Autopsy

Cool Card Design of the Day
A few weeks back, Beacon of Creation proposed the challenge: Design a black draw spell that doesn't cost you life or creatures. Nice. I was late to submit, but here are some thoughts.

CCDD 101118—Riddle of the Sphinx

Cool Card Design of the Day
Here are two variations of a spell that supports Sphinx-tribal.

CCDD 100218—Trivial Defense

Cool Card Design of the Day
Here's an interesting card idea that could be better. I'm curious to see which of you think of the same improvement I am.

CCDD 091318—Exploit Weakness

Cool Card Design of the Day
Discard lives in an awkward spot where it can't be too focused or too efficient. When we can pair it with another small effect it a way that feels mechanically or thematically organic, that helps us justify that little bit of extra cost.

CCDD 091218—Ever Vigilant

Cool Card Design of the Day
How kosher is it to grant a keyword to all your creatures, but first reward all your creatures that already have that keyword?

Walk with me.

CCDD 082818—Paired Strike

Cool Card Design of the Day
Here's a top-down-from-the-art implementation of two combatants coordinating an attack on a third.

CCDD 081618—Claim Dinner

Cool Card Design of the Day
This Prey Upon variant came top-down from the art. It's essentially a spell version of Polukranos, World Eater's monstrosity trigger, but using a very different template.

CCDD 073118—Torches & Pitchforks

Cool Card Design of the Day
I wanted a damage spell where I could do a little to two targets, or a bit more to one.

CCDD 0727/18—some other wraths

Cool Card Design of the Day
Here are a few Wrath effects that don't address the problem of disrupting the game's story, but work a bit differently than most.

CCDD 072618—some better wraths

Cool Card Design of the Day
Let's look at a few Wrath effects that are less disruptive to the game's story.
Divine Reckoning, Cataclysm/Cataclysmic Gearhulk, Barter in Blood,  and Pyroclasm are a few of the existing sweepers that mitigate the problem by affecting fewer permanents. Settle the Wreckage offers compensation (which is sometimes irrelevant, but often not).

CCDD 071918—Exploit Disorder

Cool Card Design of the Day
Here's another. This card was designed to be a two-for-one, and appealing in that regard. But automatic, guaranteed two-for-ones are boring, so I found a pair of related states we could craft some removal around.

CCDD 041118—Jaya's Immolating Inferno

Cool Card Design of the Day
4/11/2018 - Have you seen Jaya's Immolating Inferno from the Dominaria spoilers? Let's discuss legendary sorceries.