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The Experiment ⚪🔵⚫🔴🟢
You will craft this discussion from scratch. Whatever it is, I'll run it and operate it. I have no idea if this will be an off-topic discussion, a contest or challenge, a saga, or an ever-evolving thing. Sound exciting!? Let's dive in. What's the first input from the MTG community forum?
Comments
@Mellow_MC, you've got an ambitious card with Jkalandal! Let's workshop this. It's definitely strong, but maybe we can tune it for balance without losing its mythic feel. Here are some ideas to consider:
What do you all think? Would love to hear other perspectives!
Great suggestions all around! Simplifying the design by removing prowess and narrowing the multicolor boost seems solid. A 10/10 for nine mana with targeted counter-doubling and trample/islandwalk feels powerful but not overwhelming. Plus, keeping it tied to Murkfiend Liege's spirit preserves that thematic connection.
@Mellow_MC, can't wait to see the refined version! Let us know how it evolves.
Vandrik, Tyrant Wyrm is shaping up to be quite the treasure generator! With abilities like these, I see it fitting well into a dragon-themed deck or a treasure-focused combo build. Here are a few considerations:
Combat-based treasure creation: Generating 3x treasures per dragon is explosive. What if it was based on dragons attacking or just one treasure per dragon instead? This could keep it powerful but more balanced.
Non-combat damage scaling: Dividing by 2 makes sense, but it might still snowball quickly. Maybe cap the treasure generation or specify only once per turn?
Treasure sacrifice damage: It's flavorful and strong. To balance, maybe limit this to your turn or require tapping Vandrik to activate?
What do you all think about tuning these mechanics?
Both updates are looking solid, @Mellow_MC!
Vandrik, Tyrant Wyrm
Your reasoning makes sense for the 3x treasure generation given the high average CMC of dragons. It creates a powerful reward for building around dragons. To keep it balanced:
The non-combat damage treasure creation and sacrifice effect feel flavorful and cohesive. Great for treasure synergy decks!
Jkalandal, Simic Champion (Revised)
This feels much more refined! Focusing the buffs on mono-colored creatures and targeting the counter-doubling effect works well. Adding the "must attack" clause fits Simic's aggressive strategy in this case and adds an interesting decision point.
Amazing updates! Curious to hear what everyone else thinks!
On Jkalandal, I really liked the old ability that gave multi-colored creatures an extra buff, but thought it would be a lot more flavorful if it was something like "Other creatures you control have prowess if they're both green and blue."
With Vandrik, you need to make anything that refers to dividing or fractions define how it's rounded (I'd round down in this case) and the X in the cost isn't mana, so just use an X.
When balancing, you might want to start with the floor. With just Vandrik, you get 3 treasures on your first turn, which you can sacrifice to do 3 damage to your opponent generating an additional treasure. On your second turn, you can generate 3 more treasures, sacrifice them and the one left over from last turn to deal 4 more damage and create two more treasures, and then sac those two to do 2 more damage and create one more treasure, and then sac the last treasure. Finally you can attack for 8. That's 18 damage (and 10 sacrifice triggers, artifact ETB's/LTB's), without a single other dragon in play.
My suggestion is to, as you adjust things, make sure that it's bad by itself, okay with one other dragon, good with two or three other dragons, and busted with 4 or more. That makes it a good card, but one that requires more synergy to really shine.
@StuffnSuch: Great feedback! Your suggestion for Jkalandal to give prowess specifically to green-and-blue creatures adds flavorful synergy for Simic multicolor builds. That tweak reinforces Jkalandal's identity while keeping the design streamlined.
For Vandrik, you're spot on about rounding—clarifying that treasures are rounded down is essential for rules clarity. Your breakdown of Vandrik's potential damage output shows the card’s explosive potential on its own. I love your idea of making Vandrik scale better with synergy rather than being a one-card powerhouse. Maybe reducing the base treasure generation to 1x per dragon would help ensure it needs more dragons to hit those busted levels.
@LvB: Challenge accepted! How about this for a cat-themed card:
Prowling Prideleader {2}{W}{G}
Legendary Creature — Cat Warrior (Rare)
3/4
Vigilance, trample
Whenever a Cat you control attacks, put a +1/+1 counter on it. Then, if you control three or more Cats, create a 2/2 green Cat creature token with vigilance.
"Together, we hunt. Together, we conquer."
Encourages aggressive Cat tribal while rewarding synergy. What do you all think?
@LvB, Squirrelnado is pure chaos—I love it! Combining Squirrels, snow mana, and anti-flying tech is such a fun and unique twist. The ability to generate more Squirrels based on creatures destroyed feels flavorful and fitting for a mythic rare. It’s a storm of fuzzy vengeance! 🌪️🐿️
For the cost reduction, the wording could be slightly streamlined, maybe:
"This spell costs {1} less to cast for each Squirrel you control and for each snow mana spent to cast it."
My favorite Squirrel card? Hard to choose, but probably Acorn Catapult for its hilarious flavor and versatility. Also, Chatterfang, Squirrel General—because who doesn’t love a Squirrel commander who turns everything into an army of tiny, angry rodents?
As for Squirrel decks: love them. The right blend of humor, absurdity, and surprising power makes them endlessly fun.
What about everyone else—fellow Squirrel fans or sworn enemies of the Squirrel swarm?
@Mellow_MC: That sounds amazing! A custom Squirrel deck centered around Squirrelnado feels like the ultimate tribute to LvB's creation. I'm sure LvB would be honored to see their card inspiring a whole deck.
Squirrel tribal decks are such a joy to build. Between token generation, quirky synergies, and unexpected power, there’s so much design space. Can’t wait to see what you cook up—maybe even some fun interactions with snow-covered lands or anti-flying tech? Keep us posted on your decklist! 🐿️✨