Invent is a cost mechanic, in which you pay the cost for a card or ability by "Inventing". To invent you have to exile a card from your hand of the type that the text says above. So, for example, if it is "Invent a creature:..." The cost would be exiling a creature from your hand.
Restricted mana that can only be used for certain purposes is pretty common, but this is different. This mana has a type label for tracking purposes. Then, either the same card or other cards add extra effects to existing spells or abilities if mana with the appropriate type label is spent on it.
Antilink (Whenever this creature deals damage to another creature, that creature's controller gains that much life. Damage this creature deals to players causes that player to gain that much life instead of losing it.) Example: http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/angel-of-good-health?list=user
Assemble (Put a colorless Contraption artifact token onto the battlefield tapped.) Example: http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/gas-lobber?list=user Note: Based of off of Steamflogger Boss, used by Riggers
Ethereal - When this creature is the target of a spell or ability, if it does not have a -1/-1 counter on it, put a -1/-1 counter on it (then something else may happen). Example: http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/spirit-rider-1?list=set&set=11607 Note: I meant to use this keyword, but didn't.
Bargaining - Wager (Whenever a creature dealt damage by [this permanent] this turn dies, its controller may exchange control of a permanent he or she controls with a nonland permanent they don't control chosen at random.)
Depression (2) - Despond (Whenever a creature you control dies, if it wasn't sacrificed, put a -1/-1 counter on this creature.)
Misery (Whenever [this creature] deals combat damage to a player, sacrifice it or it deals damage equal to its toughness to you.)
Anger - Irate (When [this creature] becomes the target of a spell or ability, untap it.)
Acceptance - Consent (Each spell on the stack can't be countered. Any player may pay {1} for that player to ignore this effect until end of turn.)
Preference on one of the two Depression mechanics?
Denial - Custom mechanic Disregard: Disregard (If a source would deal damage to [this creature], if it is less than its toughness, prevent that damage.)
My Belief Mechanic (which first placed in one of the Circuit Competitions) has gotten a bit of a "face-lift".
Belief [cost] (You may cast this card without paying its mana cost. If you do, each other player may pay [cost]. If no mana is paid this way, counter this spell.)
No real change, but I've added four cards to fill out the mechanic theory:
Saddle up - Cost: Attach this creature to another target creature. It gains all the abilities of this creature and gets +X/+Y, where X is this creature's power and Y is this creature's toughness. (Only on mount creature cards)
Shadowmeld - Cost: this creature can't be blocked this turn.
Backstab - You may have this creature enter the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it. If you do, it has deathtouch, and can assign lethal damage to creatures with indestructible as though they don't have indestructible.
Curing X - Cost: You gain X life Execute - Cost: Sacrifice a creature; destroy target creature.
Rockslide X - You may deal X damage to yourself. If you do, *Effect*
Extract - Whenever a creature dealt damage by this creature this turn dies, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.
Arcanashield - Prevent all non-combat damage that would be dealt to this creature.
Warshield - Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt to this creature.
I just came up with a pretty cool ability word concept. I call it Disrupt (though I'm considering switching to Concuss: see the bottom of the post). Here's a sample:
Disrupt is essentially countermagic bled into Red, but with a twist. You will next-to never see Red just straight-up countering enemy spells like Blue does (Annul, Negate, Clash of Wills, Cancel, Last Word, etc.). This is because Red doesn't interfere with enemy magic by using its own magic to neutralize it; that's Blue's style and Blue's specialty, and Red doesn't have the patience or the talent to do such a thing. Instead, Red interferes with enemy magic by beating the everloving hell out of the enemy so thoroughly that they're just too distracted and/or punch-drunk to cast their spells properly. This is directly based upon a maxim shared among expert Dungeons & Dragons players: "Evocations are the best counterspells." What this means is that D&D veterans seldom, if ever, bother using the game's countermagic system; true countermagic is too precise and dispel magic is too unreliable, and in either case it requires too much sitting around and not contributing much to the fight. Instead, these veterans exploit another mechanic - the Concentration skill. Whenever a character takes damage or otherwise gets distracted while casting a spell, he or she has to make a Concentration check to maintain his/her focus. Failing the check means failing to cast the spell, and it's wasted to no effect. The more severe the distraction (and the more powerful and complex the spell), the more difficult the check. More damage equals a more severe distraction. See where I'm going with this? Well, basically, if you hit somebody for damage much greater than their level, there's no way they can possibly succeed on the Concentration check, so they won't be able to cast a spell. So instead of trying to counter spells, expert D&D players simply swat enemy casters as hard as they possibly can as soon as they start casting. This requires no tricky identification or fancy magic-match antics - just the sort of ludicrously high killing capacity that any competent D&D character will have developed anyways. This philosophy is solidly aligned with "the best defense is a good offense", and is precisely the sort of thing Red would be a fervent believer in. To make a TL;DR comparison, Blue directly interferes with enemy magic by using its own magic to neutralize it, nullifying the spell as it's cast. Red indirectly interferes with enemy magic by relentlessly attacking, distracting the enemy, and otherwise disrupting the enemy's concentration so much that they can't cast their spells properly in the first place. Both have the same end result - the enemy's spell fails to work, so the enemy expended whatever resources were necessary to cast the spell and got nothing out of it - but how it happens is quite different. So where Blue gets spells and abilities that simply counter other spells and/or abilities, often with no strings attached, Red gets spells and abilities that counter other spells and/or abilities in addition to doing damage or otherwise ruining the opponent's day, but the counter effect only happens if the opponent's already been sufficiently wrecked. (And, yes, Blue does have spells that counter spells or abilities in addition to doing something else, such as Absorb, but those spells are pretty much always multicolor and always have countering as the primary effect, and they don't really require any extra effort on Blue's part to nullify the enemy spell/ability. (Cheaper Blue counterspells or abilities may have "escape clauses" that allow the opponent to avoid being countered (the aforementioned Clash of Wills being one example), but that puts the determination of whether or not a spell/ability actually gets countered in the opponent's hands.) Red countermagic will always have countering as the secondary effect, e.g. the spell is designed to do something else (usually hurting the opponent) and counters a spell or ability as a secondary effect that may or may not actually get to happen, depending on how much Red was able to harass the enemy, which means that the Red player's actions determine whether or not an enemy spell/ability gets countered. Red counter spells/abilities always have the potential to not actually counter anything if the Red player doesn't screw with the enemy thoroughly enough.)
The disrupt cards I have planned are themed around concussions, so I think Concuss might be a better name for the mechanic. The mechanic itself doesn't have to be concussion-themed, though; its theme is interfering with the enemy's magic by assaulting and otherwise distracting them (as opposed to neutralizing the magic directly with your own spells, which is how Blue's counterspells work). Blunt head trauma is simply an especially effective way of rendering your opponent too mentally impaired to cast spells properly. Anyways, the question I want to ask is: do you guys think I should switch over to Concuss or continue calling this mechanic Disrupt?
Cowardice (This creature cannot attack or block alone.)
I created this mechanic specifically based on one of my 3 sets, and those sets are:
An Artifice of Aristocrats - originally meant for a story, then I wanted to make a set for it, but I added too much unimportant things and its now ruined.
Elvish Masters - a set of elves, but I haven't even started yet!
Halo Grunts - a set of cards based on grunts from halo, using the mechanic Cowardice.
Cowardice can work on small creatures but preventing them from being op in Aggro.
You mean this one? Disrupt - Counter target ability of target planeswalker if that planeswalker has taken at least 4 damage since that ability entered the stack (including the damage dealt by Planar Concussion).
To me, it's far too niche... Granted I haven't played with a lot of planeswalkers, but I don't know when something like this would be useful. Do people play with multiple Planeswalkers? Why not just say... Disrupt ({t}: Counter target activated ability.) or you could add a cost if you need to balance it more Then it would fit in a lot more useful situations
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Invent is a cost mechanic, in which you pay the cost for a card or ability by "Inventing". To invent you have to exile a card from your hand of the type that the text says above. So, for example, if it is "Invent a creature:..." The cost would be exiling a creature from your hand.
Here is another example: http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/picturesque-landscape
Also, most of the cards at higher rarities should have a way to get their inventions back.
If you have any questions as to how the mechanic works or suggestions as to how I can streamline it, just let me know!
Freezing Strike (Creatures blocking or being blocked by this creature become tapped and don't untap during their controllers next untap step.)
Here an example card:
Feel free to use it.
Restricted mana that can only be used for certain purposes is pretty common, but this is different. This mana has a type label for tracking purposes. Then, either the same card or other cards add extra effects to existing spells or abilities if mana with the appropriate type label is spent on it.
Examples:
Blackmail (Whenever this creature attacks, you may gain control of another target creature until end of turn.)
Example:
Example: http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/angel-of-good-health?list=user
Assemble (Put a colorless Contraption artifact token onto the battlefield tapped.)
Example: http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/gas-lobber?list=user
Note: Based of off of Steamflogger Boss, used by Riggers
Ethereal - When this creature is the target of a spell or ability, if it does not have a -1/-1 counter on it, put a -1/-1 counter on it (then something else may happen).
Example: http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/spirit-rider-1?list=set&set=11607
Note: I meant to use this keyword, but didn't.
Bargaining -
Wager (Whenever a creature dealt damage by [this permanent] this turn dies, its controller may exchange control of a permanent he or she controls with a nonland permanent they don't control chosen at random.)
Depression (2) -
Despond (Whenever a creature you control dies, if it wasn't sacrificed, put a -1/-1 counter on this creature.)
Misery (Whenever [this creature] deals combat damage to a player, sacrifice it or it deals damage equal to its toughness to you.)
Anger -
Irate (When [this creature] becomes the target of a spell or ability, untap it.)
Acceptance -
Consent (Each spell on the stack can't be countered. Any player may pay {1} for that player to ignore this effect until end of turn.)
Preference on one of the two Depression mechanics?
Check out @ningyounk's contest!
http://forums.mtgcardsmith.com/discussion/1741/trabadart-the-tragedy-set-mechanics-challenge
http://mtgcardsmith.com/user/Faiths_Guide/sets/12409
Denial -
Custom mechanic Disregard:
Disregard (If a source would deal damage to [this creature], if it is less than its toughness, prevent that damage.)
Belief [cost] (You may cast this card without paying its mana cost. If you do, each other player may pay [cost]. If no mana is paid this way, counter this spell.)
No real change, but I've added four cards to fill out the mechanic theory:
Original:
( @Grimshac made a fancy looking version: http://imgur.com/HoAYm4G )
New ones:
Shadowmeld - Cost: this creature can't be blocked this turn.
Backstab - You may have this creature enter the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it. If you do, it has deathtouch, and can assign lethal damage to creatures with indestructible as though they don't have indestructible.
Curing X - Cost: You gain X life
Execute - Cost: Sacrifice a creature; destroy target creature.
Rockslide X - You may deal X damage to yourself. If you do, *Effect*
Extract - Whenever a creature dealt damage by this creature this turn dies, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.
Arcanashield - Prevent all non-combat damage that would be dealt to this creature.
Warshield - Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt to this creature.
Mindful - [As long as / If ] you are the player with the most cards in hand or tied for most cards in hand, [effect]
Disrupt is essentially countermagic bled into Red, but with a twist. You will next-to never see Red just straight-up countering enemy spells like Blue does (Annul, Negate, Clash of Wills, Cancel, Last Word, etc.). This is because Red doesn't interfere with enemy magic by using its own magic to neutralize it; that's Blue's style and Blue's specialty, and Red doesn't have the patience or the talent to do such a thing. Instead, Red interferes with enemy magic by beating the everloving hell out of the enemy so thoroughly that they're just too distracted and/or punch-drunk to cast their spells properly. This is directly based upon a maxim shared among expert Dungeons & Dragons players: "Evocations are the best counterspells." What this means is that D&D veterans seldom, if ever, bother using the game's countermagic system; true countermagic is too precise and dispel magic is too unreliable, and in either case it requires too much sitting around and not contributing much to the fight. Instead, these veterans exploit another mechanic - the Concentration skill. Whenever a character takes damage or otherwise gets distracted while casting a spell, he or she has to make a Concentration check to maintain his/her focus. Failing the check means failing to cast the spell, and it's wasted to no effect. The more severe the distraction (and the more powerful and complex the spell), the more difficult the check. More damage equals a more severe distraction. See where I'm going with this? Well, basically, if you hit somebody for damage much greater than their level, there's no way they can possibly succeed on the Concentration check, so they won't be able to cast a spell. So instead of trying to counter spells, expert D&D players simply swat enemy casters as hard as they possibly can as soon as they start casting. This requires no tricky identification or fancy magic-match antics - just the sort of ludicrously high killing capacity that any competent D&D character will have developed anyways. This philosophy is solidly aligned with "the best defense is a good offense", and is precisely the sort of thing Red would be a fervent believer in. To make a TL;DR comparison, Blue directly interferes with enemy magic by using its own magic to neutralize it, nullifying the spell as it's cast. Red indirectly interferes with enemy magic by relentlessly attacking, distracting the enemy, and otherwise disrupting the enemy's concentration so much that they can't cast their spells properly in the first place. Both have the same end result - the enemy's spell fails to work, so the enemy expended whatever resources were necessary to cast the spell and got nothing out of it - but how it happens is quite different. So where Blue gets spells and abilities that simply counter other spells and/or abilities, often with no strings attached, Red gets spells and abilities that counter other spells and/or abilities in addition to doing damage or otherwise ruining the opponent's day, but the counter effect only happens if the opponent's already been sufficiently wrecked. (And, yes, Blue does have spells that counter spells or abilities in addition to doing something else, such as Absorb, but those spells are pretty much always multicolor and always have countering as the primary effect, and they don't really require any extra effort on Blue's part to nullify the enemy spell/ability. (Cheaper Blue counterspells or abilities may have "escape clauses" that allow the opponent to avoid being countered (the aforementioned Clash of Wills being one example), but that puts the determination of whether or not a spell/ability actually gets countered in the opponent's hands.) Red countermagic will always have countering as the secondary effect, e.g. the spell is designed to do something else (usually hurting the opponent) and counters a spell or ability as a secondary effect that may or may not actually get to happen, depending on how much Red was able to harass the enemy, which means that the Red player's actions determine whether or not an enemy spell/ability gets countered. Red counter spells/abilities always have the potential to not actually counter anything if the Red player doesn't screw with the enemy thoroughly enough.)
The disrupt cards I have planned are themed around concussions, so I think Concuss might be a better name for the mechanic. The mechanic itself doesn't have to be concussion-themed, though; its theme is interfering with the enemy's magic by assaulting and otherwise distracting them (as opposed to neutralizing the magic directly with your own spells, which is how Blue's counterspells work). Blunt head trauma is simply an especially effective way of rendering your opponent too mentally impaired to cast spells properly. Anyways, the question I want to ask is: do you guys think I should switch over to Concuss or continue calling this mechanic Disrupt?
Cowardice (This creature cannot attack or block alone.)
I created this mechanic specifically based on one of my 3 sets, and those sets are:
An Artifice of Aristocrats - originally meant for a story, then I wanted to make a set for it, but I added too much unimportant things and its now ruined.
Elvish Masters - a set of elves, but I haven't even started yet!
Halo Grunts - a set of cards based on grunts from halo, using the mechanic Cowardice.
Cowardice can work on small creatures but preventing them from being op in Aggro.
Here's the set: http://mtgcardsmith.com/user/TrippleBoggey3/sets/12227
http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/bored-succubus-2
Thank you sir, I will have to check it out inna lil' bit!
Disrupt - Counter target ability of target planeswalker if that planeswalker has taken at least 4 damage since that ability entered the stack (including the damage dealt by Planar Concussion).
To me, it's far too niche... Granted I haven't played with a lot of planeswalkers, but I don't know when something like this would be useful. Do people play with multiple Planeswalkers? Why not just say...
Disrupt ({t}: Counter target activated ability.)
or you could add a cost if you need to balance it more
Then it would fit in a lot more useful situations