@Scaccogaming it's balanced and on-color but honestly the flavor is a little meh, and uh... it's a little boring. Don't be afraid to do something wacky so we can refine it and end up with an interesting card!
Think about how it relates to masterwork maybe... what is its "masterwork?" Maybe it experiments on art...
The black card you were talking about doesn't show up on my screen I'm afraid.
Fated Dinner: If we find the right illustration for it, the Last Supper might actually be a good Art creature, especially as part of a cycle. The 12 counters theme is pretty funny, though again I don't want big incidental life gain so the card would have different effects.
It's ok, it's a bit hard to find a good overlap between UBG and GWB, that's why I proposed the Masterwork theme, because it can go kind of anywhere x) For this kind of slots, we're looking more for a bottom-up design based on the fact that it's a GU signpost, so we can't start by saying "this is a 1/4 turtle", we have to find the effect before the illustration on this one. Then, if it fits a 1/4 Turtle, that's cool.
Serran Missionary: A priori it's possible as long as what she's doing is cohesive for the set. We don't have enough room at uncommon for a card that gives bonuses to your opponents without any specific reason, but if the card does something interesting for a given archetype, it could theoretically give them creatures, yes.
Daring Conquistador: "2R,T: Bolt" is too strong. Also, the two abilities don't really seem like they need to go together, we'll add "ETB: discover" on cards if we're short on the as-fan for the mechanic, but at this point there's no need to add that on cards that don't need it.
Serran Binding: It's not really too weak or too strong, it's just that it's a nonbo with the rest of the set, we're actively encouraging players to play with their life total so we don't want a Renewal ability that punishes you, that would ruin the play pattern we're trying to achieve. Also, this card doesn't need life gain we need to be very stingy about it, and 6 serran life is especially too much in White, that's border line a colour pie break if you convert it in mana.
Ah yeah, it's true Faithful of Mossbark would need a little something extra to separate it from the common version.
Wandering Alchemist: In blue/green, I'd be ok with just "Whenever your masterwork deals combat damage to a player, draw a card." The mana ability feels weird a priori, it looks like it's pointing at a ramp/tempo archetype. The gold signposts are not really the place for top-down designs I'm afraid, they're really here to explain the mechanical themes so everything needs to make sense in the context of the draft archetype with them.
@ningyounk ; Wandering Alchemist: So the masterwork effect is okay, but should it have something else alongside it?
Faithful of Mossbark: If I have to print it as a mono green, then Trample should be a no brainer at this point. As a GW card tho, maybe we could think about Vigilance? Think about it: as long as you have 4 serran life or more, you gained yourself a 6/6 4 drop wall with vigilance, so it should, in theory, fit in the archetype, prioritizing both defending your hit points and have a good way to defend them.
@LordTachanka123 It might be an interesting card after all, it just needs a good artwork. Surprisingly, there's a ton of fanarts replicating the Last Supper scene, so it might not be as difficult as expected. But the spell itself needs some refining.
@ningyounk Ok, I think I had a great idea: What about some cards representing Dante Alighieri's voyage trough hell, purgatory or/and heaven? They could be the reason as to why and how Serra came back to life, if we didn't think about it sooner, that is. Think of Serra as some kind of Beatrice, with the "Dante" traveling through hell and heaven just to bring her back to life. Would that be a nice backstory? It would also be a nice excuse to print some Demon and Devil cards, for the BR archetype.
I suppose that would be more of an artifact art card, but that can surely be done, if everyone is ok with it (I noticed that everyone is kinda going on their own ways, so maybe we should all start focusing on one subject at a time, like... We make the white cards first, when we complete them we skip to the next color and so on so forth... I don't expect you guys to like that kind of policy, but it's a suggestion to make everything less messy)
I'm not exactly sure actually. It would supposedly be a big +X, so 3W might do the trick. Maybe. But the name would need some refining, and I hope we can come up with something more original or appealing than "Serran (thing)", not that there's anything wrong with that, but printing a full set of white cards that all have "Serran" or "Serra" in their name doesn't look appealing, in my book. Princess Ball is kind of a weird name tho. What's the reason behind that name? I'm honestly curious.
Travelling Troupe: The bounce trigger is probably too close to just "Whenever you cast a creature spell" to lead to good gameplay, I think.
Tragedy Mask and Comedy Mask: I really like the idea of having a pair of them! I'm less a fan of these effects, I think we can find something more flavourful and that mirrors each other in a more interesting way. Mirrored stat boosts would be a good start for instance (e.g. +3/+1 and +1/+3).
The Poet: A card for the Thinker sounds like a great idea, it's not exactly the right time period but it's a very iconic piece of art so we can hint at it ^^ That effect is something you'd see on a Mythic card more than an uncommon XD But I agree card draw seems like it should be on the card and looting seems especially flavourful. A pile draw effect à la Fact of Fiction could also be a fun interpretation.
Poet's Thoughts: White probably won't need a blink card in this set since that kind of archetype is more focused in UBG. That specific design also seems a bit hard to use efficiently.
Princess Ball: I definitely think that a card with that kind of effect should give you some serran life itself, otherwise it's too difficult to use ^^ I don't dislike the idea otherwise, though it's a bit swingy with the potential of giving like +10/+10 at instant speed while being a 4-mana pump spell which is awkward. Overall, I wonder if this design wouldn't be more interesting as something like this:
2G
Sorcery
You gain 3 serran life.
Target creature gets +X/+X, where X is your serran life, and gains trample until end of turn.
Dante sounds like an amazing trope to hit on, we could totally make a few cards out of this and I like the idea of tying that story to Serra ^^ The one bemol is it's pretty dark material which will contrast with the tone of the set, so I'd rather have that at higher rarity. The seven rings of hell might be an interesting theme for a cycle of five monocoloured rares, for instance, as long as it's not too dark.
Cards are actually more added to the set as cycles rather than colour by colour ^^ It indeed seems that people have shared their first ideas for uncommon so we can focus on the things we're missing now which include:
- An exciting cycle, ideally they would be legendary art but we're going to need illustrations before we start with them (also this kind of slot lend itself pretty well with top-down designs so we can adjust the effects based on the art to be more flavourful.) - A cycle of cards introducing secondary themes for each colour. Ideally, that would be a mix of different card types.
- We need to really shape the archetypes now, one of the first questions we shoudl ask is "how do each archetype win?" and make sure they all have different strategies so they don't feel the same. Here's my take:
WU: It wants to overwhelm the opponent in value by creating tokens, maybe using small flyiers, etc. that will ping at them constantly while you disrupt their game plan with removal, counterspells, protection effects, pump spells, bounce, etc.
UB: It wants to attack with medium Art creatures while abusing the ETB triggers value to clear the board or make their attackers evasive.
BR: It wants to deals a lot of damage very fast through burn spell, drain spells , and very agressive creatures.
RG: It wants to attack constantly by staying over the curve with big creatures that can't be blocked profitably.
GW: It wants to seat back, accumulate a lot of serran life, and then kill the opponent in one go by cashing in the serran life.
WB: It wants to bleed the opponent slowly with small value-y creatures or draining effects while removing everything the opponent plays.
UR: It wants to go big and evasive, going less wide and small than the WU archetype but instead making huge swings whenever it discovers.
BG: It wants to loop creatures infinitely from the graveyard from ETB value while attacking constantly.
RW: It wants to play a lot of cheap creatures very early then boost them with "power 2 or less" synergies to finish the opponent.
GU: It wants to deal a massive, protected, and evasive masterwork.
Note here that I modified the WB a bit to really emphasise the removal aspect because I think it was too close to GW and a lot of archetypes are based on slow grindy gameplay so we need an archetype to prey upon them. I also changed the UR archetype so it felt less like the WU one, making WU more about small incremental value and UR more about going big and impressive. I also tried to refine the GW archetype a bit, adding that element of waiting the right turn to OTK the opponent, making the deck play like a ticking bomb.
Sacrifice a creature. CARDNAME deals X damage to target creature, where X is the sacrificed creature's toughness. If the sacrificed creature was an art, exile the top card of your library. Until end of turn, you may cast it by paying it's mana cost.
@LordTachanka123 The only change I'd suggest is sending the top card to the graveyard, instead of exiling it. That way, it would fit the UBR combo in a better way: You sacrifice an art -> deal damage -> art card's possible on death effect procs -> send your top card to the graveyard, possibly activating another art on death effect. Here's a completed version:
Iconoclasm (2)(R)(R) / (2)(B)(R) Instant
Sacrifice a creature. Iconoclasm deals X damage to target creature, where X is the sacrificed creature's toughness. If the sacrificed creature was an art, send the top card of your library to the graveyard. Until end of turn, you may cast it from the graveyard by paying its mana cost.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Your iteration is good, don't get me wrong, but both versions give a potential lot of value for a 3 drop istant. So I'd change it to sorcery, or pump its mana cost a bit, but not both.
MTG Cardsmith Community Forums
Comments
Enchantment
When CARDNAME enters the battlfield exile target creature until CARDNAME leaves the battlfield.
Renewal-Sacrifice Serran Binding: You gain 6 serran life. Exiled creature's owner draws a card.
Too weak or too strong?
Think about how it relates to masterwork maybe... what is its "masterwork?" Maybe it experiments on art...
The black card you were talking about doesn't show up on my screen I'm afraid.
Fated Dinner: If we find the right illustration for it, the Last Supper might actually be a good Art creature, especially as part of a cycle. The 12 counters theme is pretty funny, though again I don't want big incidental life gain so the card would have different effects.
It's ok, it's a bit hard to find a good overlap between UBG and GWB, that's why I proposed the Masterwork theme, because it can go kind of anywhere x) For this kind of slots, we're looking more for a bottom-up design based on the fact that it's a GU signpost, so we can't start by saying "this is a 1/4 turtle", we have to find the effect before the illustration on this one. Then, if it fits a 1/4 Turtle, that's cool.
Serran Missionary: A priori it's possible as long as what she's doing is cohesive for the set. We don't have enough room at uncommon for a card that gives bonuses to your opponents without any specific reason, but if the card does something interesting for a given archetype, it could theoretically give them creatures, yes.
Daring Conquistador: "2R,T: Bolt" is too strong. Also, the two abilities don't really seem like they need to go together, we'll add "ETB: discover" on cards if we're short on the as-fan for the mechanic, but at this point there's no need to add that on cards that don't need it.
Serran Binding: It's not really too weak or too strong, it's just that it's a nonbo with the rest of the set, we're actively encouraging players to play with their life total so we don't want a Renewal ability that punishes you, that would ruin the play pattern we're trying to achieve. Also, this card doesn't need life gain we need to be very stingy about it, and 6 serran life is especially too much in White, that's border line a colour pie break if you convert it in mana.
@Scaccogaming
Ah yeah, it's true Faithful of Mossbark would need a little something extra to separate it from the common version.
Wandering Alchemist: In blue/green, I'd be ok with just "Whenever your masterwork deals combat damage to a player, draw a card." The mana ability feels weird a priori, it looks like it's pointing at a ramp/tempo archetype. The gold signposts are not really the place for top-down designs I'm afraid, they're really here to explain the mechanical themes so everything needs to make sense in the context of the draft archetype with them.
Enchantment
When CARDNAME enters the battlfield exile target creature until CARDNAME leaves the battlfield.
Renewal-Sacrifice Serran Binding: You gain 6 serran life. Exiled creature's owner draws a card.
Srry @ningyounk, it was meant to be an ability you activate but only if you renewal that turn.
Wandering Alchemist: So the masterwork effect is okay, but should it have something else alongside it?
Faithful of Mossbark: If I have to print it as a mono green, then Trample should be a no brainer at this point. As a GW card tho, maybe we could think about Vigilance? Think about it: as long as you have 4 serran life or more, you gained yourself a 6/6 4 drop wall with vigilance, so it should, in theory, fit in the archetype, prioritizing both defending your hit points and have a good way to defend them.
Land
CARDNAME enters the battlefield tapped.
When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, you gain 1 serran life.
Whenever you cast a creature that doesn't share a name with another creature on the battlefield, return CARDNAME to your hand.
Equipment
Equip 1
Whenever equipped creature attacks, you may discard a card. If you do, draw 2 cards.
Equipment
Equip 1
Whenever equipped creature attacks, you may discard a card. If you do, equipped creature gets +3/+2.
Artifact Creature-Construct
Defender
When The Poet enters the battlefield, discard your hand, then draw 8 cards.
[1/7]
Sorcery
Exile target creature until end of turn. If you own that creature, each player draws a card.
Instant
Target creature gets +X/+X until end of turn, where X is equal to the amount of Serran life you have.
Would 2w be better @Scaccogaming?
Princess Ball is kind of a weird name tho. What's the reason behind that name? I'm honestly curious.
- A cycle of cards introducing secondary themes for each colour. Ideally, that would be a mix of different card types.
UB: It wants to attack with medium Art creatures while abusing the ETB triggers value to clear the board or make their attackers evasive.
BR: It wants to deals a lot of damage very fast through burn spell, drain spells , and very agressive creatures.
RG: It wants to attack constantly by staying over the curve with big creatures that can't be blocked profitably.
WB: It wants to bleed the opponent slowly with small value-y creatures or draining effects while removing everything the opponent plays.
UR: It wants to go big and evasive, going less wide and small than the WU archetype but instead making huge swings whenever it discovers.
BG: It wants to loop creatures infinitely from the graveyard from ETB value while attacking constantly.
RW: It wants to play a lot of cheap creatures very early then boost them with "power 2 or less" synergies to finish the opponent.
GU: It wants to deal a massive, protected, and evasive masterwork.
Note here that I modified the WB a bit to really emphasise the removal aspect because I think it was too close to GW and a lot of archetypes are based on slow grindy gameplay so we need an archetype to prey upon them. I also changed the UR archetype so it felt less like the WU one, making WU more about small incremental value and UR more about going big and impressive. I also tried to refine the GW archetype a bit, adding that element of waiting the right turn to OTK the opponent, making the deck play like a ticking bomb.
Creature-Noble
Whenever you cast a creature with converted mana cost less than CARDNAME's, CARDNAME deals 2 damage to target player and you gain 1 serran life.
Artistic Damsel (2)(W)(U)
Creature - Human Noble
Whenever you cast a creature card with CMC 3 or less, draw a card.
1/3
Instant
Sacrifice a creature. CARDNAME deals X damage to target creature, where X is the sacrificed creature's toughness. If the sacrificed creature was an art, exile the top card of your library. Until end of turn, you may cast it by paying it's mana cost.
Iconoclasm (2)(R)(R) / (2)(B)(R)
Instant
Sacrifice a creature. Iconoclasm deals X damage to target creature, where X is the sacrificed creature's toughness. If the sacrificed creature was an art, send the top card of your library to the graveyard. Until end of turn, you may cast it from the graveyard by paying its mana cost.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your iteration is good, don't get me wrong, but both versions give a potential lot of value for a 3 drop istant. So I'd change it to sorcery, or pump its mana cost a bit, but not both.