Generally Unpopular Mechanics Challenge (or GUMC for short)

TezzeretofCarmot21TezzeretofCarmot21
in Contests and Challenges
Sweep, Channel, and Epic from Kamigawa.
Megamorph from Tarkir.
Haunt, Hellbent, and Radiance from OG Ravnica.
Horsemanship from P3K.
Infect and Phyrexian mana from New Phyrexia.
Rampage from Legends.
Substance (which was never seen on an actual card!) from Mirage.
Landhome, Banding, Bands with other, and tons more.

What do these mechanics all have in common? In my experience, they are some of the generally worst received mechanics ever.
(This is just an overall thing I've noticed online and in my community. Individual opinions may differ. For instance, I know a guy who swears by his Megamorph deck, but the overall reception of that mechanic is negative.)

Anyway, "what's the point of all this, ToC21?" you may ask.
I want you to make up to 5 cards for the Generally Unpopular Mechanics Challenge, or GUMC - each with only one of these mechanics, but none with overlapping mechanics.
For example, you can make Sweep, Mountainhome, Megamorph, Haunt, and Radiance, but you cannot make 2 Radiance and 3 Banding. And you CANNOT make a card with Horsemanship and Megamorph.
New cards only, please.
The GUMC ends on May 22nd, a week from today.

First prize - 7 favorites and *maybe* a follow if I like your cards a whole lot. I'm not big on favorites and follows but I will do it.
Second prize - 5 favorites.
Third prize - 3 favorites.

Anyway, time to get smithing! Hope you enjoy the GUMC. (I give extra points for Sweep cards that are actually half-decent.)
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Comments

  • Scott_AndersonScott_Anderson
    edited May 2018
    Put me down for one "Bands With"

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    I also recently designed a card with both "bands with" and "rampage" but that might be gilding the Lion's Eye.
  • sorinjacesorinjace
    edited May 2018
    @TezzeretofCarmot21, does this count? I had made it earlier this month for the May Circuit challenge, it has infect as part of the cards mechanics.

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  • Scott_AndersonScott_Anderson
    Did people dislike infect? I liked infect! But I don’t know, did people dislike it?
  • Scott_AndersonScott_Anderson
    Megamorph was unpopular? I though Ferocious and Outlast were worse
  • Scott_AndersonScott_Anderson
    Was Ninjitsu popular? I thought most everything in Kamigawa was a big failure
  • Scott_AndersonScott_Anderson
    Cumulative Upkeep was okay
  • LastjusticeLastjustice
    edited May 2018
    I feel most of these mechanics weren't bad ideas , just were poorly executed. Like Rampage, it wasn't on creatures that had trample or menace, so people could just chump them and it didn't matter that it got bigger.(Creature generally sucked a as whole back then as the stuff was so overcost.) There wasn't enough trample enablers back then either. Like to cast Revenge of the Hunted on Gabriel Angelfire in Rampage 3 mode...oh that would be fun!

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    Megamorph definitely worked fine. I saw tons of Den protectors and Deathmist Raptors when they were in standard. I punished the heck out people with my Stratus Dancers http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=394714 in my blue white Spirits/flyers Flash deck. It was a tempo deck, I just made sure have a Stratus dancer down so I had a counter spell waiting to protect my creatures. If It ate a kill spell, it did it's job. I played 4 negates, so could keep my flyers going and picking my opponent apart while I had 4 always watching http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=409737 with 4 of Thunderclap Wyvern, the drakes that buffed all flyers. http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=413750 I won gameday with that deck as no one was ready for it.

  • FlatfishFlatfish
    @Scott_Anderson
    On Ferocious, Outlast and Megamorph here. I couldn't find data for the other mechanics you mentioned.
  • Scott_AndersonScott_Anderson
    @Flatfish "Megamorph is the lowest-scoring mechanic of all time."

    That's astounding.

    Also: I like delve!! Oh well
  • GelectrodeGelectrode
    I love Phyrexian mana. However, we as a community loved it too much, and everyone now hates it.
  • Scott_AndersonScott_Anderson
    edited May 2018
    Coming from the plane of Rabiyah:

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    It wasn't only mechanics that were unpopular.
  • LastjusticeLastjustice
    edited May 2018
    I thought Phyrexian mana was a terrible idea. I was just getting back into magic when it was in standard. (M12 came out right when I returned.) I was so turned off by fact people could play cards outside their colors for price of life. Dismember was the shining example of this. I am playing a monogreen deck, let's throw some dismembers in, because I can. Let's throw a birthing pod in whatever deck we need to. I am strong believer in the idea colors need have an identity, and their functions need to require players to actually be in those colors. If they splash and get color screwed that's their own fault for getting greedy then. I find this concept largely distasteful. I found the whole Scars block ugly as a whole though. So much ugly art. It didn't appeal to my sensibilities at all. I was happy when it rotated out.

  • Faiths_GuideFaiths_Guide
    edited May 2018
    Phyrexian Mana:
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  • bnew07bnew07
    edited May 2018
    Here are my 5 submissions:

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  • atrus159atrus159
    I changed the templating somewhat. Traditionally haunt creatures had an ETB ability that happened again when the haunted creature died, and could haunt your own stuff. This one has a static ability and can only haunt opponents creatures. I think this makes a lot more flavor sense and is more intuitive. With old haunt you were encouraged to haunt your own creatures since you got more control over the creature dying. Now you haunt your opponents stuff.
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  • dramalahrdramalahr
    edited May 2018
    New to the site, but excited for my first contest entry! Here it is.

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  • Scott_AndersonScott_Anderson
    @dramalahr welcome! Good, interesting card.

    @bnew07 that dragonfire ambusher is a very interesting design. It feels more {r}{g} than {r/g} but it’s definitely in the right colors.
  • bnew07bnew07
    @Scott_Anderson thanks for the recognition. Both red and green have the ability to deal damage to a creature based on a creature's power, and because Dragonfire Ambusher's ability deals damage based on +1/+1 counters, its ability is a subset that both red and green should be able to get. All colors get megamorph, and the turn face-down ability isn't too defined but fits in green and red conceptually (I just changed it to trigger on casting a creature spell).
  • TezzeretofCarmot21TezzeretofCarmot21
    @dramalahr Welcome to MTGCardsmith. I'm proud that you chose this contest first :P
  • DeepSkyDeepSky
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    Banding + Battalion!
  • LastjusticeLastjustice
    edited June 2018
    Entry 1

    Here's comes an unstoppable Rampage!!! plus infect!

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    Entry 2

    Sweep and Horsemanship

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    Entry 3

    I combined Phyrexian mana, Megamorph, and a little used mechanic called Amplify.

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    Entry 4

    I made a card with substance and landhome (I made a matching Black version, but it's a bonus doesn't count for this contest.)

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    Entry 5

    Banding and hellbent

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    There's my five, @TezzeretofCarmot21 I had fun coming up with whatever weirdness I made here hehe.
  • CastorCrozzCastorCrozz
    Sweep intrigued me, in spite of its obvious flaws.
    I aimed this card towards much longer games, like maybe long multiplayer rounds or EDH. Does this seem playable?

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  • shadow123shadow123
    Megamorph coming right up!
  • shadow123shadow123
    https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/deepwater-lurker
  • Scott_AndersonScott_Anderson
    edited May 2018
    Sweep and Arcane!

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  • shadow123shadow123
    What makes an instant an arcane?
  • Scott_AndersonScott_Anderson
    Arcane is a subtype of instants and I think sorceries. It allowed other cards with the keyword "splice" to be played at a reduced cost if they were on the stack with the Arcane spell.

    Yes it was needlessly complex and stupid, but this was Kamigawa block.
  • CastorCrozzCastorCrozz
    edited May 2018
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  • DeepSkyDeepSky
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  • UndeadUndead
    edited May 2018
    This might be a tad powerful, but here we go:
    https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/goblin-assassin-4
    The flavour is that he's not very good at his job, so whoever he's tailing pretty quickly gets wind of it and steps up their wariness. The minute they drop their guard, however, he gets them.

    And another entry to go with it. Again, a goblin. This guy is a bit like Elvish Piper and mashes the manifest and megamorph abilities together:
    https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/goblin-sergeant

    Another, slightly odd entry. Not a goblin itself, but definitely goblin themed:
    https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/masterwork-of-destruction

    Fourth entry:
    https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/urg-damned-goblin
    he's not pretty, but he's powerful. While this largely doesn't solve the problem many people have with Phyrexian mana, I feel like he's fun enough for it not to matter. He's also pretty life intensive, which might help turn nonblack decks away from him.

    My final entry and official weirdest of the lot will ride anything provided it can take him and his friends into war:
    https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/makeshift-steed-captain-1
This discussion has been closed.