General Custom Cards: The Lab
- Thread starter anotak
- Start date
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
I think you should just use a new keyword that's a subset of what kicker can do. The main reason evoke reads better is because it is a more well defined keyword. Kicker can do anything, and as such it doesn't signal clearly what's going on.
Employ
(Sacrifice this creature at the beginning of the next end step unless you pay an additional as you cast this cast this spell.)
Employ
(Sacrifice this creature at the beginning of the next end step unless you pay an additional as you cast this cast this spell.)
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
I believe this was specifically the request earlier so they could be used as cannon fodder for sacrifice effects.
Chris Taylor
Contributor
Which evoke can still do (Unless they're sorcery speed sac out lets I guess)
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
I know, but...
I mean, you wanted a card that had the actual cost in the top right corner, and evoke doesn't do that!
Chris Taylor
Contributor
I mean, you wanted a card that had the actual cost in the top right corner, and evoke doesn't do that!
It doesn't, but I'm beginning to feel like it might just be something I have to deal with. People did compliment the costing on my evoke guys, mentioning specifically that they did feel more like spells.
I think that's down more to curve than how terrible I made the body. The difference between both sides of mulldrifter are so close and the top end is so reachable that it causes problems. However, if the top end costs 6+, or if the evoke cost is 1-2, you kinda can't help but notice the difference.
Here's the designs I'm using right now:
No green ideas yet but I've never had any good ideas for green noncreature stuff anyways. It'll come.
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
Ok... thoughts. In order as they appeared in my head
1. I'm not in the market for a Demonic Tutor // Rune-Scarred Demon split card, but okay. The difference in cost certainly means it's not always obvious that you should cast the expensive mode.
2. Wow, Fathom Fleet Negotiatior kicks ass. Great design!
3. Oh hey, Cancel on a stick! Considering Draining Whelk this is probably fairly costed, nice design!
4. Oh neat, a Sphinx, what does it do? ... Dig? That should definitely be surveil now that Guilds of Ravnica is out...
5. Cool, a Foresee (look at the art pun on that card!) or a big flyer!
6. Wait... HOW IS THAT SPHINX A 2/2!? IMPOSTOR! SPHINXES ARE BIG FLYING CREATURES! THIS IS NO SPHINX!
Ahem... Sorry, I got carried away there. Aaaaaaanyway... The big takeaway is that uhm...
Nope, that is definitely not a sphinx!
1. I'm not in the market for a Demonic Tutor // Rune-Scarred Demon split card, but okay. The difference in cost certainly means it's not always obvious that you should cast the expensive mode.
2. Wow, Fathom Fleet Negotiatior kicks ass. Great design!
3. Oh hey, Cancel on a stick! Considering Draining Whelk this is probably fairly costed, nice design!
4. Oh neat, a Sphinx, what does it do? ... Dig? That should definitely be surveil now that Guilds of Ravnica is out...
5. Cool, a Foresee (look at the art pun on that card!) or a big flyer!
6. Wait... HOW IS THAT SPHINX A 2/2!? IMPOSTOR! SPHINXES ARE BIG FLYING CREATURES! THIS IS NO SPHINX!
Ahem... Sorry, I got carried away there. Aaaaaaanyway... The big takeaway is that uhm...
Nope, that is definitely not a sphinx!
Chris Taylor
Contributor
Ok... thoughts. In order as they appeared in my head
1. I'm not in the market for a Demonic Tutor // Rune-Scarred Demon split card, but okay. The difference in cost certainly means it's not always obvious that you should cast the expensive mode.
2. Wow, Fathom Fleet Negotiatior kicks ass. Great design!
3. Oh hey, Cancel on a stick! Considering Draining Whelk this is probably fairly costed, nice design!
4. Oh neat, a Sphinx, what does it do? ... Dig? That should definitely be surveil now that Guilds of Ravnica is out...
5. Cool, a Foresee (look at the art pun on that card!) or a big flyer!
6. Wait... HOW IS THAT SPHINX A 2/2!? IMPOSTOR! SPHINXES ARE BIG FLYING CREATURES! THIS IS NO SPHINX!
Ahem... Sorry, I got carried away there. Aaaaaaanyway... The big takeaway is that uhm...
Nope, that is definitely not a sphinx!
Okay fine
It was deffinitly a placeholder concept anyways, paired with art I'd been meaning to use.However, you will pry the flavor neutral, evergreen sounding, not rediclious to say "Dig" from my cold dead hands.
Hows this look?
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
Much better!
Though if anything is going to be able to surveil an area, it's got to be a bird of prey, isn't it? Oh, also green ideas!
Impulsive Adventurer
Creature - Human Scout
When Impulsive Adventurer enters the battlefield, look at the top three cards of your library. You may reveal a creature or land card from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.
Evoke
3/2
Ranger's Friend
Creature - Treefolk
Trample, vigilance
When Ranger's Friend enters the battlefield, search your library for up to two Forest cards and put them onto the battlefield tapped. Then shuffle your library.
Evoke
6/9
Belligerent Indrik
Creature - Beast
When Belligerent Indrik enters the battlefield, you may have it fight target creature you don’t control.
Evoke
4/4
evoke on non-elementals is unhappy flavor
like u summon this Human Pirate and they explode into, human energy????? or something
i like several of the designs otherwise though.
and now for some unrelated bad ideas
like u summon this Human Pirate and they explode into, human energy????? or something
i like several of the designs otherwise though.
and now for some unrelated bad ideas
Syphon The Spectrum
Instant
Choose four cards from your sideboard at random, and put them into your hand.
Flashback
Travel the Unknown
Sorcery
Put three cards at random from the basic land box into your hand.
The Paradox Of Reason
Legendary Enchantment
Sacrifice ~: Exile the top ten cards of your library. Choose a card you own from exile and put it on top of your library.
Instant
Choose four cards from your sideboard at random, and put them into your hand.
Flashback
Travel the Unknown
Sorcery
Put three cards at random from the basic land box into your hand.
The Paradox Of Reason
Legendary Enchantment
Sacrifice ~: Exile the top ten cards of your library. Choose a card you own from exile and put it on top of your library.
Belligerent Indrik
Creature - Beast
When Belligerent Indrik enters the battlefield, you may have it fight target creature you don’t control.
Evoke
4/4
Lava Coil can be green now?
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
Yep. That was exactly the card I had in mind by the way :') I'm super aware that this is a sketchy design from that point of view, but I also know my audience (i.e. Chris) doesn't mind that particular design constraint that much. One of the cards he is currently running (multiples of) is
Just throwing it out there again
Contract (At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice this permanent. If you do, create a colorless artifact token named Gold. It has “Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color.”)
It doesn't have the kicker available but it filters mana early, always leaves the player with a feeling of reward and doesn't fail the flavor test. (You pay the mana, get the job done (The ETB effect), and then you kill him and steal his gold.)
Also if you're going to do something new do it super new
Contract (At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice this permanent. If you do, create a colorless artifact token named Gold. It has “Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color.”)
It doesn't have the kicker available but it filters mana early, always leaves the player with a feeling of reward and doesn't fail the flavor test. (You pay the mana, get the job done (The ETB effect), and then you kill him and steal his gold.)
Also if you're going to do something new do it super new
> Turn 3
> Evoke Demon of Contracts
> Resolve tutor trigger first
> Tutor up Undying Evil or Supernatural Stamina or a cheap reanimation effect. Target Demon
> Demon dies, comes back, tutors (profit)
> Evoke Demon of Contracts
> Resolve tutor trigger first
> Tutor up Undying Evil or Supernatural Stamina or a cheap reanimation effect. Target Demon
> Demon dies, comes back, tutors (profit)
Chris Taylor
Contributor
Much better!
Oh, also green ideas!
Impulsive Adventurer
Creature - Human Scout
When Impulsive Adventurer enters the battlefield, look at the top three cards of your library. You may reveal a creature or land card from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.
Evoke
3/2
Ranger's Friend
Creature - Treefolk
Trample, vigilance
When Ranger's Friend enters the battlefield, search your library for up to two Forest cards and put them onto the battlefield tapped. Then shuffle your library.
Evoke
6/9
Belligerent Indrik
Creature - Beast
When Belligerent Indrik enters the battlefield, you may have it fight target creature you don’t control.
Evoke
4/4
Interesting stuff! Intrik is a bit much though, while I do have show dominance (shown above) it's far more Vendetta than Dark Banishing. There's something there though.
Impulseive Adventurer might be approaching the mulldrifter problem again. Even though it costs 1 to evoke, 4 is really reachable and a 3/2 is not horrible. I'd probably up the CMC and P/T, but again, there's something there.
I don't mind it. Were I making a real set where the flavor was 100% consistent with a world, I'd take more issue, making an "evoke like" keyword to fit the flavor here would cause more confusion than it would solve. I guarantee you I'd get a lot more comments of "Why aren't you just using evoke?" than I will "Isn't evoke only supposed to be on elementals?"
Yup, it'd be a possibility, but I don't have these sort of effects in my format. There's necromancy, but that's as fast as it gets. No fast mana, no combo, nothing dumped out this early can't be dealt with.
It's getting better!
Chris Taylor
Contributor
I'm not sure I can think of harder things to find art/names for.
Edit: I should elaborate here. Certain planes are harder to replicate the feel of than others. Zendikar's probably the easiest, it's almost literally pitched as "D&D World", and there's tons of D&D artwork out there for use, and the concepting is easy. Things like Innistrad get harder, but it's a well explored niche.
Lorwyn is... basically unique. Parts of it are doable, like treefolk and kithkin at a pinch (Hobbit artwork would do, but the eyes might just make it look off) but the flamekin are nearly impossible (Okay, fire elementals, but specifically really slim, and with rocky parts? and prominent smoke?), and the elementals of Lorwyn are a specific sticking point.
They're purposely vague embodiments of a concept whose only defining characteristic is being over the top WEIRD. They've got more in common with the spirits from Kamigawa, except that specifically they CAN'T make use of that sort of traditional japanese art style, since Lorwyn is a fairytale plane.
What I'd need is like Digital Painting Low Number of Actors Hieronymus Bosch.
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
https://www.deviantart.com/keltainen/art/elemental-345300265
https://www.deviantart.com/willwarburton/art/Elemental-Rhino-372735896
https://www.deviantart.com/keltainen/art/another-earth-elemental-345436407
https://www.deviantart.com/michaeljaecks/art/Earth-Elemental-Dragon-130254773
https://www.deviantart.com/cobaltplasma/art/Water-Elemental-Ascension-Gift-of-the-Element-667587410
https://www.deviantart.com/chenthooran/art/weird-giant-20-543787968
https://www.deviantart.com/davesrightmind/art/Angel-wip-3-341274251
https://www.deviantart.com/davesrightmind/art/Goazard-717924424
https://www.deviantart.com/davesrightmind/art/Lightning-Bite-763332583
https://www.deviantart.com/davesrightmind/art/Diamond-Rain-Maker-673880005
(In case you didn't notice yet, Dave's right mind is delightfully not quite right
)https://www.deviantart.com/davesrightmind/art/Under-Sea-Shooter-649415917
https://www.deviantart.com/davesrightmind/art/Sonic-Winged-Murmuration-594301010
https://www.deviantart.com/davesrightmind/art/Rainforest-Beast-318027467
https://www.deviantart.com/daitengu/art/Frilo-216660746
Chris Taylor
Contributor
It makes my magic cards feel like magic cards
https://www.deviantart.com/keltainen/art/elemental-345300265
https://www.deviantart.com/willwarburton/art/Elemental-Rhino-372735896
https://www.deviantart.com/keltainen/art/another-earth-elemental-345436407
https://www.deviantart.com/michaeljaecks/art/Earth-Elemental-Dragon-130254773
https://www.deviantart.com/cobaltplasma/art/Water-Elemental-Ascension-Gift-of-the-Element-667587410
https://www.deviantart.com/chenthooran/art/weird-giant-20-543787968
https://www.deviantart.com/davesrightmind/art/Angel-wip-3-341274251
https://www.deviantart.com/davesrightmind/art/Goazard-717924424
https://www.deviantart.com/davesrightmind/art/Lightning-Bite-763332583
https://www.deviantart.com/davesrightmind/art/Diamond-Rain-Maker-673880005
(In case you didn't notice yet, Dave's right mind is delightfully not quite right
https://www.deviantart.com/davesrightmind/art/Under-Sea-Shooter-649415917
https://www.deviantart.com/davesrightmind/art/Sonic-Winged-Murmuration-594301010
https://www.deviantart.com/davesrightmind/art/Rainforest-Beast-318027467
https://www.deviantart.com/daitengu/art/Frilo-216660746
Alright I'll take a look
yea idk i think "i can't find art of that" is a bit strange of a thing to even say? there's plenty of art out there of weird creatures. it doesn't even have to be lorwyn elementals. elementals are one of the most well-known types of fantasy creatures
i wonder like, if/when i ever actually get back into magic enough to make a custom cube i should start by compiling art to use though, on like a thematic basis.
i'd love to start with something a bit more out-there than the default mtg works.
i wonder like, if/when i ever actually get back into magic enough to make a custom cube i should start by compiling art to use though, on like a thematic basis.
i'd love to start with something a bit more out-there than the default mtg works.
Chris Taylor
Contributor
Not all art out there is suitable for magic cards. I get that there's literally trillions of images on the internet, but like:
In terms of lorwyn specifically, you think it'd make sense if I made "Fire Elemental" (Lol) that evoked for like, lava coil? I'm not sure it would.
I do have quite a large folder of art I ought to use/have used. Super useful!
- Digital or traditional painting
- Level of Quality
- Full background (Eg not this)
- Medium to high light levels/Contrast (Eg: not this)
In terms of lorwyn specifically, you think it'd make sense if I made "Fire Elemental" (Lol) that evoked for like, lava coil? I'm not sure it would.
I do have quite a large folder of art I ought to use/have used. Super useful!
yes i do think it'd make sense just find with a regular ass fire elemental.
i'm not attached to lorwyn. i don't think we need a "lore justification" for everything.
just "evoke" specifically, what are you doing if it's like, a person, and not like some kind of weird elemental or spirit?
we shouldn't actively be *fighting* the flavor.
edit: especially when it lets people combine attributes of a card in their memory
"oh it has evoke? must be an elemental"
"oh it's an elemental, all the other cards in this cube that were had evoke. make sense that this would too"
i'm not attached to lorwyn. i don't think we need a "lore justification" for everything.
just "evoke" specifically, what are you doing if it's like, a person, and not like some kind of weird elemental or spirit?
we shouldn't actively be *fighting* the flavor.
edit: especially when it lets people combine attributes of a card in their memory
"oh it has evoke? must be an elemental"
"oh it's an elemental, all the other cards in this cube that were had evoke. make sense that this would too"