General Custom Cards: The Lab

ravnic

ravnic

Do you think a Pokémon-like evolution ability could work for a Magic set? Sadly the name evolve was already taken, but I tried to template something:

Growing Sapling G
Creature - Treefolk
Reach
4GG: Grow this creature into Seasoned Treefolk. (Exile this creature and put the named card onto the battlefield from your hand or library. Shuffle afterwards.)
0/3

Seasoned Treefolk 3GG
Creature - Treefolk
Reach, Vigilance
6GG: Grow this creature into Ancient Oak. (Exile this creature and put the named card onto the battlefield from your hand or library. Shuffle afterwards.)
4/6

Ancient Oak 5GG
Creature - Treefolk
Reach, Vigilance
When ~ enters the battlefield, draw a card for each card you own in exile.
6/8


You could have different grow conditions:

Vigilant Puppy
Creature - Hound
Vigilance
At the beginning of each upkeep, if your life total is 10 or less, you may grow Vigilant Puppy into Trusty Guarddog. (Exile this creature and put the named card onto the battlefield from your hand or library. Shuffle afterwards.)
1/1

Trusty Guarddog 2WW
Creature - Hound
Vigilance, First Strike, Lifelink
3/2
 
Rusje

Rusje

@Ravnic: how do you suppose your drafters draft these cards? Is each one a pick with the risk that you end up without the evolved version or the babypokemon? That is quite unforgiving. Or do you want to squadron them or do you hand out the evolved one if you picked the babymon? If you want to go this route, why not use a double sided (with flip in your treefolk example) with transform?
Or the level up mechanic? Or the figure of destiny route? They have the benefit of not introducing draft problems like having to look up what the card does.
 
Onderzeeboot

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
I was looking for another 3 cmc mana rock for my cube.

Chrome Sphere.full.jpg

Is this fair or lacking a bit? Contemplating adding "you may cast that card as though it had flash this turn", or something like that.
 
Onderzeeboot

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
Yeah, this would be great at 2 cmc, but 2 cmc ramp is reserved for green exclusively in my cube. obviously the first two abilities mirror Chrome Mox, so both that part and the casting cost are locked in, given the concept of the card and the design constraints of my cube. That third ability is up for grabs though, and could be anything.

What about making it a variant of Pyromancer's Goggles, or would that be a bit too much? "When that mana is spent to cast an instant or sorcery, copy that spelled it shares a color with the exiled card and you may choose new targets for the copy."
 
TrainmasterGT

TrainmasterGT

Onderzeeboot said:
What about making it a variant of Pyromancer's Goggles, or would that be a bit too much? "When that mana is spent to cast an instant or sorcery, copy that spelled it shares a color with the exiled card and you may choose new targets for the copy."
Click to expand...
That card is a lot better but then you run the risk of having it be broken in Burn decks and with Cantrips and the like. Granted, you can't just pitch a land to this and have it function as intended.

Maybe make the change you suggested, but make the sacrifice ability only work on your turn. You could even make the exiling a cost to cast the sphere so that there is some risk in trying to run this out against control, but that change might be a little too weird/swingy/niche to be worth making.
 
Onderzeeboot

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
This addition has been an exciting tool for ninja's! I don't think I've often come close to such a clean intersection between multiple cube archetypes (in this case elemental tribal, ninja's, and discard matters) before.

Fickle Flowcat.full.jpg

I've been testing the custom below for green, to get some more on brand creature removal in the color (plus again, some elemental synergy). It's basically a souped up Krosan Vorine, uplifted to modern stat sensibilities.

Mossridge Stalker.full.jpg
 
anotak

anotak

those are both interesting but i have no useful feedback

chrome sphere seems extremely weak even with the flash text. it could also say "draw a card" on the sac ability and probably be ok?
 
TrainmasterGT

TrainmasterGT

Onderzeeboot said:
This addition has been an exciting tool for ninja's! I don't think I've often come close to such a clean intersection between multiple cube archetypes (in this case elemental tribal, ninja's, and discard matters) before.

I've been testing the custom below for green, to get some more on brand creature removal in the color (plus again, some elemental synergy). It's basically a souped up Krosan Vorine, uplifted to modern stat sensibilities.
Click to expand...

These are both very creative uses of the Provoke mechanic. Mossridge Stalker particularly is nice because you can always guarantee damage against an opponent with a wide board of chump blockers.

Someone needs to show these design to WOTC for Modern Horizons 2!
 
Onderzeeboot

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
TrainmasterGT said:
These are both very creative uses of the Provoke mechanic. Mossridge Stalker particularly is nice because you can always guarantee damage against an opponent with a wide board of chump blockers.

Someone needs to show these design to WOTC for Modern Horizons 2!
Click to expand...

Thanks! I wish I could show them to WotC, but sadly they are forbidden to look at unsolicited card designs. Probably just as well, or MaRo would be even more swamped in mail than he already is :')
 
Dom Harvey

Dom Harvey

Contributor
I've shied away from customs for the most part but I've really felt the lack of good changelings to support tribal themes so:

Shapesplicer Marshal 3
Artifact Creature - Shapeshifter
Changeling
As Shapesplicer Marshal enters the battlefield, choose a creature type.
Other creatures you control of the chosen type get +1/+1.
When Shapesplicer Marshal enters the battlefield, create a 2/2 colorless Shapeshifter artifact creature
token with changeling.
1/1

Shapesplicer Drone 1
Artifact Creature - Shapeshifter
Changeling
Shapesplicer Drone enters the battlefield with 2 +1/+1 counters
0/0
 
Onderzeeboot

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
Shapesplicer Marshal is cool! The one drop seems a bit pushed. An artifact 2/2 for 1 in blue? Seems like it should cost W, honestly. Or maybe be a 1/0 with a single +1/+1 counter on it. Breaks the symmetrical statline, but seems still really strong in nonwhite colors or colorless.
 
Onderzeeboot

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
Dom Harvey said:
Icehide Golem gives some precedent and the snow restriction always seemed clunky there
Click to expand...

Fair, but snow mana is non-trivial in regular Magic (be it MH1 drafts or constructed). There's no untapped snow duals, so you have to lead with a basic to drop Icehide on Tuen 1, and that in turn means you're running a shakier mana base than other decks. Of course this is all relative. In Pauper and Peasant there are no untapped duals (that see play), period, so the snow mana base isn't really at a disadvantage, and in older constructed formats there's plenty of fetchlands that can ensure you hit the right colors anyway. But still, it's kind of stretching it to see Icehide as precedent for an entirely colorless 2/2 one drop with upside.

Then again, if it ain't breaking your cube, is that really a problem? :)
 
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