Multiplayer Mechanic Contest #1 - Switcharoo

Comments

• TheFriendlyGeek

  May 2016

  http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/moonshadow-ninjas?list=user
• Faiths_Guide

  May 2016 edited May 2016

  So one of your dudes (of which you retain control) is now attacking during an opponents combat step?
  I dunno about this...
• Shadikal

  May 2016

  I won't enter a second card, but also don't treat this card as an entry. I'd just like a little feedback on the card, on whether or not it may be viable or see play. If there needs to be a rarity shift, stat shift or rewording...
  
  http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/arhanian-pilferer
  
  I tried to reword the card so certain restrictions didn't inhibit the card. Thanks to @Faiths_Guide for mentioning something about it. I still think there's a timing issue with how I worded it though. I don't know...
  
  A little help guys?
• starwars05

  May 2016

  Here you go:
  http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/hired-assassin-7
• Tomigon

  May 2016 edited May 2016

  Test :
  This comment isn't blocked? I can't comment on some other threads.
  
  Edited :
  Never mind this comment. I don't know what happened.
• Tomigon

  May 2016 edited May 2016

  I like the concept of Switcharoo ability. It seems very fun. But there are some issues:
  
  1 - The MtG rules don't allow for a creature to attack in the turn that is not its controller's (The only card to do this is silver-bordered.) I think the ability needs to have creatures switch their controllers.
  
  2 - In current wording, it removes a creature from combat before it is replaced. That means both creature do nothing in that combat.
  
  3 - You say "temporarily swap", but the ability doesn't say when the effect ends.
  
  
  I have two alternate ideas:
  
  "Target attacking creature becomes a copy of this creature until end of combat. This creature becomes a copy of that creature until end of combat. This creature is treated as though it was that creature."
  or
  "You gain control of target attacking creature you don't control until end of combat. Its controller gains control of this creature until end of combat tapped and attacking."
  
  But I'm not sure if these are right. Sorry if I was wrong.
• fabiocbinbutter

  May 2016 edited May 2016

  I should have noted in the OP... I am well aware the current rules don't support this. It is a hypothetical "New" mechanic. Control of the creature doesn't change, it is just put into combat attacking (and the target creature is removed from combat). Obviously it implies that creatures not controlled by the active player can be attacking. That said, are there any other rules concerns?
  
  And for point 2, "and" is different from "then". The remove and replace is one action
• Shadikal

  May 2016

  Well now I just feel silly... XD
• fabiocbinbutter

  May 2016 edited May 2016

  @Shadikal - your card is a good idea. I think it might make more sense if the attacking player had to donate a creature instead of you? Then it could be used defensively? What is the play scenario that you imagine happening? Also, the wording leaves it a bit unclear who chooses the permanent to donate. Finally, a repeatable forced donation/control magic is reeeally powerful. Perhaps it needs to be toned down somehow, like a weaker toughness?
• Shadikal

  May 2016 edited May 2016

  @fabiocbinbutter The word 'you' refers to the player controlling Arhanian Pilferer, since my rewording of Switcharoo has that player gain control of it. The idea is that you switch it with your opponents attacker, let it through and then gain control of any other permanent that player controls. The player dealt damage is supposed to choose a permanent to gain control of, and given that the wording on the damage trigger doesn't use the word 'target' it can take something with hexproof or shroud too.
  
  She is actually a little more one sided than I thought.
  
  Still takes a bolt to the face and dies though...
• fabiocbinbutter

  May 2016

  Hump day bump!
  
  Can I entice anyone else into making a Switcharoo card?
• Faiths_Guide

  May 2016 edited May 2016

  I'd readily be enticed except that I'm not that keen on Switcharoo...
  
  What will Multiplayer Mechanic Contest #2 be? I'm hoping it will be Belief as seen on Trust.
  
• fabiocbinbutter

  May 2016

  @Faiths_Guide - I was thinking of doing my Feedback mechanic next, but I'll hold on to that and do yours next. I like Belief mechanically, but I'm not sure I understand the choice of name... could you elaborate why it's called "Belief {cost}" ?
• Faiths_Guide

  May 2016

  Your making a "leap of faith" believing that your opponents will cast your card for you :P
• fabiocbinbutter

  May 2016 edited May 2016

  Well, it seems Switcharoo didn't get much interest, so we just have two entries. Although ninja-type was not a requirement, it was quite fun to see that both entries used it.
  
  First the comments, then the winner.
  
  @starwars05 - Great art. I like the use of both Switcharoo and Ninjustsu. Although the abilities are mechanically different, they both synergize well with the other abilities on the card, so it was a nice inclusion. There were a couple of templating issues, and I think the first line (shroud & first strike) could have been removed to shift the emphasis toward the sneaky abilities. In other words, 5/1 first strike shroud is already a great creature in its own merit (not to mention for three mana), so it kind of detracts from the importance of the sneaky abilities.
  
  This also would have allowed you to put the triggered "At" ability on its own line, as I think you probably intended the mechanic to always be active, and not triggered each time the creature hit. Or maybe that was the intention, it's hard to tell.
  
  Minor point - The name says assassin but the creature type doesn't... awkward!
  
  @TheFriendlyGeek - Also awesome art! I like that you experimented with making the switcharoo ability in a traditionally "non-sneaky" color, white, and if the trigger would have alluded to that somehow, it would have been that much better. Also, I think this is the first creature spell I have ever seen that targets, but hey, it's technically correct under the rules I believe. The discount mechanic is a little bit unfocused, like the card is trying to do several unrelated things at once, but at the same time, I could understand that there is synergy with multiplayer scenarios in general. Powerwise, 3/x doublestrike seems pretty strong, but at the cost of 3 mana each turn, it's reasonable. On the otherhand, without an opponent attacking another opponent, it's mostly a chumpblocker, so I think the card is a bit situational/swingy as a result.
  
  So, with all that said, the winner is - starwars05. I'll assign favorites on my own, but to claim the main prize, please message me with some suggestion of what kind of card I should design in your honor.
• Flatfish

  May 2016

  Just one note: Magnetic Theft and Vulshok Battlemaster exist, and they both do something similar and unusual, so maybe Switcharoo could be worded in the original way.