Allied Cards!

Comments

• Grimshac

  January 2016

  Eh, "Immolation Counters" currently recurs the creature endlessly. The -1/-1 counter either goes away when it enters the GY, then returns without it and has a new one placed on it, or, depending on what you intended, it will eventually kill the creature every time it comes back (assuming the counters "stack" - aka they don't go away when it hits the graveyard. If a 2/2 permanently has 2 counters on it, it will create an endless spiral of triggers that will force the game into a draw)
• Faiths_Guide

  January 2016

  First: Beastling Courier
• Bobtacos

  January 2016

  @grimshac Oh dang... Is there any way to make it not do that, or do you have any other ideas for mechanics?
• Bobtacos

  January 2016

  Sorry, @Faiths_Guide, that card doesn't work. "An Ally Colored Card" means colors that are next to each other on the Color Pie. (Google Images does a pretty good job of explaining). The card looks great though!
• Faiths_Guide

  January 2016

  Haha! I guess I wasn't paying close attention (ya I know what allied colors are ), evolve is such a Simic mechanic it's just what came to mind :P I just set out to make an evolve card haha.
• Faiths_Guide

  January 2016

  Rambunctions
• Bobtacos

  January 2016

  @Faiths_Guide Awesome second entry! Yeah, Evolve is a really Simic mechanic, but it felt right at home in the GW Faction/Tribe in my set, so I thought "Why not?" xD
• Grimshac

  January 2016

  @Bobtacos
  
  Eh, I don't know. The mechanic reminds me of Persist/Undying, and I think they do more or less the same thing.
• Cryptonight

  February 2016 edited February 2016

  @Bobtacos , @Grimshac is right. Immolation parallels Persist way too closely.
  
  If we were to scrutinize the mechanic, " under the control of whoever made the counter " doesn't seem to make sense to me. I'm not sure if it works.
  
  Also, immolation is sacrifice - not rebirth, so the name doesn't quite fit the mechanic - in my opinion. Though I could assume you meant for it to be a creature you could repeatedly sacrifice. That should never be allowed, because it combines with Goblin Bombardment or Altar of Dementia (among other cards) for an instant win, or with Phyrexian Altar for infinite mana in any combination of colors.
  
  If you really want to salvage the mechanic, I propose :
  
  Reborn (When this creature dies, exile it if it had a death counter on it. Otherwise, return it to the battlefield under your control with a death counter on it.)
  
  (You could call the counter whatever you want, but...)
  
  This mirrors Bogardan Phoenix ( http://magiccards.info/vi/en/76.html ), and is not abusable, in the sense that it only happens once. The difference between this and Persist/Undying, is that the controller of the creature (even if not the owner), would be the one getting the creature back.
  
  Alternatively:
  
  Reborn (When this creature dies, return it to the battlefield under your control with a death counter on it. If this creature would die, if it has a death counter on it, exile it instead.)
  
  The only difference is that the second time it dies, it gets exiled before hitting the graveyard; thus not (re)triggering any effects as on Blood Artist.
  
  What were you going for, exactly?
  
• dudedaniel

  February 2016

  http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/second-evolution
  
  Wubbalubadubdub!
• Bobtacos

  February 2016

  @Grimshac, @Cryptonight I was going for the idea that the creature dies and comes back for whoever put the counter on. However, I can see where this goes really, really, wrong. Is there a way to keep the feel, or should I just go with Persist, Undying, and/or one of Cryptonight's "Rebirths"??
• Cryptonight

  February 2016 edited February 2016

  @Bobtacos , I took a quick peek at your set, and noticed that "immolation" is a Rakdos-colored mechanic. Calling it "Rebirth" kind of ruins the feel, if you ask me.
  
  I was expecting to see cards with "Immolation" right on them (maybe I missed them), but I only noticed a couple of cards that actually mention it, and put "immolation counter"s on them. I guess I wasn't paying attention, but this seems extra confusing, now with immolation counters *and* -1/-1 counters.
  
  You even have it intertwined with another keyword mechanic - "conflagrate"
  
  http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/kaerat-fire-pouncer
  
  So any creature with Conflagrate has : " Whenever this creature is dealt combat damage, put an immolation counter on target creature. "
  
  As far as I know, cards that place counters on permanents are very specific, and are always explained by the cards that make or place the counter(s). The only counters that need no explanation, are -X/-X counters, +X/+X counters, charge counters, and Loyalty counters. Everything else (and I don't think there are that many) seems to have some specific explanation to go along with them (as on Bogardan Phoenix).
  
  If you read Life Matrix ( http://magiccards.info/lg/en/229.html ), it doesn't say "Put a regeneration counter on target creature." and then expect us to intuitively know what a regeneration counter does - I.E. "Remove this counter from a creature: Regenerate that creature." , simply because counters try not to be too complex.
  
  Instead, Life Matrix (which puts a "matrix counter" - under the current errata) actually grants the creature that you target a whole new ability. In this case, the creature gains "Remove a matrix counter from this creature: Regenerate this creature." - and retains that ability long after the matrix counter is used up or removed.
  
  I don't particularly mind attributing abilities to counters, but it might open up some strange considerations - like for example, if there is a Cursed Totem ( http://magiccards.info/mr/en/264.html ) on the Battlefield, it prevents me from activating creature abilities, but not "counter abilities" - which would be a new thing with what you are proposing. Since the counters themselves would now have either static or activated abilities - not previously done before.
  
  Like I said, I do believe that was avoided to keep some simplicity when dealing with counters, beads, chips, what have you - since they don't want to make counters too hard to keep track of; but if it's really something you want to do, I can work with you to create a counter-based ability for "immolation" - or whatever we/you decide to call it. How would you like to proceed? Do you want "immolation" to be a keyword ability, or a specific counter type that carries its own abilities?
  
  In the meantime, if I were to fix the latter - which is what you currently seem to have, it would go something like this :
  
  You would have other abilities that put tenacity counters on creature - however.
  
  ...and then according to the rules, "tenacity counters" have a static replacement effect, which reads : "If a creature with this counter on it would be destroyed, instead remove all damage from it and remove this counter."
  
  That way they never interact with the graveyard.
  
  ...or, invocation counters: "Whenever a creature with this counter on it dies, return it to the battlefield under the control of the player who controlled the ability which put this counter on it."
  
  It's a little convoluted, but I think that's what you were going for.