@Scott_Anderson , I like both your card concepts, and get why you picked the names as I've played long enough to recall the artifacts in question. I understood right away what you were going for but I think the names however leave something to be desired.
My suggestions go as this Spartan = Racked, 2 or fewer cards
Sage= Vised, 6 or greater.
They sum up the concept as a mechanic better and people will have an easier time to grasp it and remember it.
Here's my own concept to post.
Psychic (If this creature would deal combat damage to a player, instead that player puts that many cards from the top of their library into their graveyard.)
Blue generally lacked a way be aggressive, and milling/decking people generally been a concept that mostly sees fringe play. I wanted to syngerized these concepts and make agressive blue creatures that run a different race than beating 0 life out of an opponent. They will be power heavy, have evasion, but lower toughness as they're supposed be glass canons. They can have some sort of drawback, like can't block, or high flying where they can only block flyers as they're not meant defend. The goal to give blue offense of a different breed, not create better ways for blue to be durtlely, as they got enough of that.
I could see this lightly ending up in black, and white, but this Blue biggest piece of the pie here. Green and red don't fit Psychic at all. I'd like to see blue be about something more than just drawing cards, and other colors could have ways of increasing card draw sprinkled with in them, as magic just needs people draw more cards period. (Enchantress effects, clues or whatever else as mechanics to get more cards out there.) Beating the math is generally the biggest challenge, and forcing it in most cases with drawing as many cards as possible.
This something I've been thinking about, and weaponizing milling is a step in that direction. I feel like blue can have creatures between tiny flyers and massive uncastable sea monsters.
1) thanks for the input on the mechanics I presented. Maybe 2 cards is right for the low end. Without playtesting it’s hard to say.
3) psychic is a fun ability. I love milling effects.
the malfunctioning deck - with regular duffers that is true. But you still always see the same cluster of top players at the top tables. There is something to luck of the draw but somehow the best players are able to have more good luck than the rest of us - which tells me that the game is skill based even if a particular match ends due to bad draws.
@Lastjustice Love the Psychic effect. My one suggestion is to word it as "If this creature would deal combat damage to a player, instead that player puts that many cards from the top of their library into their graveyard." This would match previous cards that do that effect, such as Undead alchemist, and change it to a replacement effect.
- Ritualize [Creature Name or Color] (This can only be cast by sacrificing one [Creature Name or Color] you control in addition to paying its converted mana cost.)
- [Tribal] Crew N (Tap any number of [Creature type] creatures with total power N or more: This Vehicle becomes an artifact creature until end of turn.)
- Multicrew N (Tap any number of creatures with total power N or more; then, tap any number of creatures with total power N or more: This Vehicle becomes an artifact creature until end of turn.)
- Aether Overflow - When you cast this spell, if more than two spells that share a color with this card were cast this turn, add [Mana equal to colorless portion of mana cost] to your mana pool.
- Ascend [Creature type or Color] (During your combat step, you may tap this creature. If you do, put a +1/+1 counter on target [Creature type or Color] creature you control.)
- Succession [Roman Numeral] (If you cast this spell after a permanent [with or without Succession of a lower Roman Numeral] entered the battlefield under your control, it gains access to its Succession ability.)
- Legendary Succession (If you cast this spell after a permanent with any level of Succession entered the battlefield under your control, it gains access to its Succession ability and is treated as though it has the correct level of Succession.)
- Erode (This deals damage to creatures in the form of Erosion counters. A creature with five Erosion counters is sacrificed during the end step of its controller's turn.)
- Blitz [Mana cost] (You may cast this spell for its blitz cost. If you do, it enters the battlefield during your combat step tapped and attacking. Sacrifice it at the beginning of your end step.)
https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/mind-robbery Thwart {cost} (If this spell would resolve, any player may instead pay its thwart cost. If they do, counter this spell.) Thwart is the robbery and crime mechanic - you can escape like a bandit with your good effects, or your opponent can waste resources countering your spell. Either way, beneficial effects occur.
Thorns: Whenever this creature is dealt combat damage, it deals 1 damage to each creature that damaged it this combat.
This is a triggered ability that uses the stack rather than straight damage that doesn't. That means it still works if the creature with this ability dies during the combat prior to dealing its own damage (such as when it's blocking a first striker, for instance.)
I suppose you could make a guy with Thorns 2, but that would be silly-strong.
I imagine this would be primary in red and white with some rare appearances in green and black.
Disband- {cost}, {t}: Remove all attached equipment from target creature and remove it from a band of creatures. Put a -1/ -1 for each piece of equipment removed in this way on that creature.
An ability to hinder banding and voltroning a creature. You could include removing auras if it has colors that allow for that like green or white.
To go with the two mechanics Scott_Anderson came up with Racked/Spartan and Vised/Sage I made a third for keeping in perfect balance at 4.
@TezzeretofCarmot21 Hinges is using it in his custom set Sarpadian Empires, which is a prequel to Fallen Empires, because it's set in that time period.
Yeah it's a terrible mechanic that never worked well in practice. I tried use it when i first started playing but it was just easier to use creatures that didn't suck than frankstein them together with banding.
As wizards is getting away from full blown color protections, they started to break up the aspects of that system, also known by some as D.E.B.T. Meaning a creature with protection from a color/type can't be Damaged, Enchanted ,Blocked, or Targeted by whatever the thing it has protection from. The combination of not being able to block or target a creature can be down right brutal. One might been doable but both is too much.
So let's assign terms for those aspects to make a more fair version of it.
For Damage: Resist (I've also considered Absorb since you could just put Absorb:Color/type since absorb already a thing.) This would cover the damage aspect of protections.
Resist Black (Prevent all damage from a black source dealt to this creature.)
For Enchant..Seems like something we could live without heh. Someone wants make a word for this be my guest. Seems too hyperspecialized to bother because if you're hexproof to said color, you probably won't have an enchantment on you of that color to start with. Edit: I stand corrected, someone thought was a worth while mechanic to make.
Diffuse*Color/type* (This card cannot be enchanted by *Color/type* spells)
For Block, Breach *Color* (This creature can't be blocked by *Color/Type)
Breach Black (This creature can not be blocked by Black creatures.)
I don't picture there being a strong desire make more unblockable creatures, but I figured I'd get the idea out there either way.
For Target, Wizard made Hexproof for colors, so this is covered.
So there's covering ideas based off the direction of stepping away from Protections and creating more fair mechanics that only access one part of them.
I made a mistake designing a card for the May Force of ... contest, and it got me thinking. Here's the card, before and after correction:
The problem of course was that I was only affecting my own attacking creatures, since your opponent's creatures can't attack you on your turn.
LIGHT BULB.
Avenge X - At the end of combat, if you were dealt X combat damage this turn, there is a second combat phase in which this creature can attack and creatures your opponent controls cannot.
The wording gets tricky. I want creatures with Avenge 1 to trigger if you sustain only 1 damage, while Avenge 5 creatures wouldn't lumber into a revenge attack until you'd taken 5 or more. I think it works as worded.
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Comments
Versatility is by @ChargingBadger.
Here's an example card by @koover.
My suggestions go as this
Spartan = Racked, 2 or fewer cards
Sage= Vised, 6 or greater.
They sum up the concept as a mechanic better and people will have an easier time to grasp it and remember it.
Here's my own concept to post.
Psychic (If this creature would deal combat damage to a player, instead that player puts that many cards from the top of their library into their graveyard.)
Blue generally lacked a way be aggressive, and milling/decking people generally been a concept that mostly sees fringe play. I wanted to syngerized these concepts and make agressive blue creatures that run a different race than beating 0 life out of an opponent. They will be power heavy, have evasion, but lower toughness as they're supposed be glass canons. They can have some sort of drawback, like can't block, or high flying where they can only block flyers as they're not meant defend. The goal to give blue offense of a different breed, not create better ways for blue to be durtlely, as they got enough of that.
I could see this lightly ending up in black, and white, but this Blue biggest piece of the pie here. Green and red don't fit Psychic at all. I'd like to see blue be about something more than just drawing cards, and other colors could have ways of increasing card draw sprinkled with in them, as magic just needs people draw more cards period. (Enchantress effects, clues or whatever else as mechanics to get more cards out there.) Beating the math is generally the biggest challenge, and forcing it in most cases with drawing as many cards as possible.
This something I've been thinking about, and weaponizing milling is a step in that direction. I feel like blue can have creatures between tiny flyers and massive uncastable sea monsters.
1) thanks for the input on the mechanics I presented. Maybe 2 cards is right for the low end. Without playtesting it’s hard to say.
3) psychic is a fun ability. I love milling effects.
Love the Psychic effect. My one suggestion is to word it as "If this creature would deal combat damage to a player, instead that player puts that many cards from the top of their library into their graveyard."
This would match previous cards that do that effect, such as Undead alchemist, and change it to a replacement effect.
Fear of [subtype] (Whenever a [subtype] enters the battlefield, return this creature to its owner's hand.)
Loom (This creature can't block or be blocked by creatures with toughness 3 or less.)
- Enlightened (While this creature is tapped, it has shroud.)
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/forgotten-queen-of-saramesh
- Ritualize [Creature Name or Color] (This can only be cast by sacrificing one [Creature Name or Color] you control in addition to paying its converted mana cost.)
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/gargant-of-the-worlds-end
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/malicious-gargant
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/watmon-bringer-of-the-waves
- Choir N (When you cast this spell, if you control at least N other permanent(s) with choir, double the effects of this spell.)
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/gravebane-marauders
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/undying-haunt
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/tides-march
- Blood Rite - If life was paid to cast this spell,...
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/saracine-the-ritualist
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/entangle-ritual
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/jzechial-king-of-izk
- First Loren March - If defending player controls and Eldrazi creature, attacking creatures you control...
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/first-loren-crusade
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/first-loren-commandant
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/loren-angel-of-unreality
- Skeleton's march - Whenever this creature attacks for the first time each turn, if you control three or more Skeleton creatures;...
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/immortal-husk-vanguard
- Bereave [Mana cost] (You may cast this card from exile for its bereave cost. It gains haste. Sacrifice it at end of turn.)
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/forlorn-wanderer
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/return-to-existence
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/lobrian-the-returned
- Foretell [Mana cost] ([Mana cost], Reveal this card in your hand. It's treated as if it were on the battlefield.)
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/ironbride-heroine
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/cyrus-bode-of-shadowmarsh
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/serbient-husk
- [Tribal] Crew N (Tap any number of [Creature type] creatures
with total power N or more: This Vehicle becomes an artifact creature until end of turn.)
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/myr-voidliner
- Multicrew N (Tap any number of creatures with total power N or more; then, tap any number of creatures with total power N or more: This Vehicle becomes an artifact creature until end of turn.)
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/darksteel-siege-engine-1
- Flail (Whenever this creature becomes blocked, you may have it deal damage equal to its power to target creature adjacent to the blocking creature.)
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/serbient-ravager-1
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/serbient-berserker
- Soldner Resistance - During your draw step, if you control another Soldner creature,...
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/soldner-flaretrooper
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/soldner-quadmight
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/defenders-of-new-marathon
- Consume N (If this creature deals lethal combat damage to a creature with power N or less, put a +1/+1 counter on this card.)
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/blightmarsh-bridge-troll
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/bilgert-troll-king
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/blightmarsh-berserker
- Aether Overflow - When you cast this spell, if more than two spells that share a color with this card were cast this turn, add [Mana equal to colorless portion of mana cost] to your mana pool.
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/typhoon-elemental
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/eruption-elemental
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/earthquake-elemental
- Assault (When this deals lethal damage to a creature, you may have it deal damage equal to its power to that creature's controller)
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/beast-of-torinaga
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/queen-abelia-of-amestrus
- Ascend [Creature type or Color] (During your combat step, you may tap this creature. If you do, put a +1/+1 counter on target [Creature type or Color] creature you control.)
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/coveska-dragon-rider
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/covaska-mendicant
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/covaska-scribeling
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/faemother-of-covaska-1
- Succession [Roman Numeral] (If you cast this spell after a permanent [with or without Succession of a lower Roman Numeral] entered the battlefield under your control, it gains access to its Succession ability.)
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/gold-spire-vindicator
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/dark-spire-cultist
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/dark-spire-slaver-1
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/keldwin-urbo-fanatic
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/he-fang-spires-farrier
- Legendary Succession (If you cast this spell after a permanent with any level of Succession entered the battlefield under your control, it gains access to its Succession ability and is treated as though it has the correct level of Succession.)
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/serbille-gold-spire-champion
- Erode (This deals damage to creatures in the form of Erosion counters. A creature with five Erosion counters is sacrificed during the end step of its controller's turn.)
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/weathered-colossus
- Blitz [Mana cost] (You may cast this spell for its blitz cost. If you do, it enters the battlefield during your combat step tapped and attacking. Sacrifice it at the beginning of your end step.)
example: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/defenders-of-ardash
Feel free to use em!
Thwart {cost} (If this spell would resolve, any player may instead pay its thwart cost. If they do, counter this spell.)
Thwart is the robbery and crime mechanic - you can escape like a bandit with your good effects, or your opponent can waste resources countering your spell. Either way, beneficial effects occur.
This is a triggered ability that uses the stack rather than straight damage that doesn't. That means it still works if the creature with this ability dies during the combat prior to dealing its own damage (such as when it's blocking a first striker, for instance.)
I suppose you could make a guy with Thorns 2, but that would be silly-strong.
I imagine this would be primary in red and white with some rare appearances in green and black.
Insidious {cost} ({cost}: Exile this card from your hand. You may cast it for as long as it remains exiled.)
In U/B colors.
Disband- {cost}, {t}: Remove all attached equipment from target creature and remove it from a band of creatures. Put a -1/ -1 for each piece of equipment removed in this way on that creature.
An ability to hinder banding and voltroning a creature. You could include removing auras if it has colors that allow for that like green or white.
To go with the two mechanics Scott_Anderson came up with
Racked/Spartan and Vised/Sage I made a third for keeping in perfect balance at 4.
https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/warchief-anderson
https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/oryinthin-enlightened-one
Each give a bonus based on your hand for a different amount.
Arbiter- Long as you have exactly four cards, this creature *Effect*
Yeah it's a terrible mechanic that never worked well in practice. I tried use it when i first started playing but it was just easier to use creatures that didn't suck than frankstein them together with banding.
Whenever this creature is dealt damage you lose that much life
Interesting with lifelink
As wizards is getting away from full blown color protections, they started to break up the aspects of that system, also known by some as D.E.B.T. Meaning a creature with protection from a color/type can't be Damaged, Enchanted ,Blocked, or Targeted by whatever the thing it has protection from. The combination of not being able to block or target a creature can be down right brutal. One might been doable but both is too much.
So let's assign terms for those aspects to make a more fair version of it.
For Damage:
Resist (I've also considered Absorb since you could just put Absorb:Color/type since absorb already a thing.) This would cover the damage aspect of protections.
Resist Black (Prevent all damage from a black source dealt to this creature.)
For Enchant..Seems like something we could live without heh. Someone wants make a word for this be my guest. Seems too hyperspecialized to bother because if you're hexproof to said color, you probably won't have an enchantment on you of that color to start with. Edit: I stand corrected, someone thought was a worth while mechanic to make.
Diffuse*Color/type* (This card cannot be enchanted by *Color/type* spells)
For Block, Breach *Color* (This creature can't be blocked by *Color/Type)
Breach Black (This creature can not be blocked by Black creatures.)
I don't picture there being a strong desire make more unblockable creatures, but I figured I'd get the idea out there either way.
For Target, Wizard made Hexproof for colors, so this is covered.
So there's covering ideas based off the direction of stepping away from Protections and creating more fair mechanics that only access one part of them.
Retribution(Whenever a creature you control dies, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.)
with help from @Tomigon
As a commemoration of the Contest for the new playmat.
Antagonism for (text) (This spell costs {1} less to cast for each (text) your opponents control.)
Example:
The problem of course was that I was only affecting my own attacking creatures, since your opponent's creatures can't attack you on your turn.
LIGHT BULB.
Avenge X - At the end of combat, if you were dealt X combat damage this turn, there is a second combat phase in which this creature can attack and creatures your opponent controls cannot.
The wording gets tricky. I want creatures with Avenge 1 to trigger if you sustain only 1 damage, while Avenge 5 creatures wouldn't lumber into a revenge attack until you'd taken 5 or more. I think it works as worded.