General Custom Cards: The Lab

[Chris Taylor]

Cleaver I'm not huge on, since that's just a complicated way of saying "Rampage 1"
Master tho, I like. Prowess and Radha, Heir to Keld is an interesting idea.
I'd probably go with a cost reduction, since this seems really odd at first blush

 

[anotak]

card that would break constructed but not most cubes
Illegal Proxy
Artifact
: Put a charge counter on Illegal Proxy.
, Sacrifice Illegal Proxy: Search your library for an artifact card with converted mana cost less than or equal to the number of charge counters on Illegal Proxy and put it onto the battlefield. Shuffle your library.

 

[safra]

Hard to break constructed if it doesn't draw the card imo

(sick Panglacial Wurm tech though)

VVV
ahaha oops

 

[anotak]

*put it onto the battlefield

 

[Ferritovore]

Oath of Someone Who Likes Actual Green Things
Enchantment, make it Legendary if you wanna

When Oath of Someone enters the battlefield, look at the top three cards of your library. You may reveal a creature, land, or enchantment card from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.

You may spend mana as though it were mana of any color to activate abilities of permanents you control.

"Mix with Utility Land of choice, add lemon pepper to taste." -Safra, guide of goblins

 

[Chris Taylor]

How is this for "Somewhere between Arbor Colossus and Thragtusk in terms of defensive value"

Creature - Spider
Reach
When ~ enters the battlefield, put two 1/2 green Spider creature tokens with reach onto the battlefield
When ~ or another spider you control dies, gain 2 life.
3/5

 

[Onderzeeboot]

I can't decide if this is bonkers, tame, or a cool rare. Please help evaluate!

 

[ColonelSanders]

So best case scenario is definitely killing your opponents best creature and then getting it shortly afterwards. Which requires you to already have a way to deal with it. Worst case is something janky like where you try to kill their best creature and they doomblade one of your bad creatures in response, forcing you to use this. However, this forces your opponent to use removal and you still kill their best creature. In more average cases, you either keep one of your guys alive (and trigger ebt) or take an opponents creature, but you don't have nearly as much control over the timing of such events. It seems fine, if a little swingy/conditional, for a 2 color enchantment that doesn't do anything right away.

 

[Onderzeeboot]

So best case scenario is definitely killing your opponents best creature and then getting it shortly afterwards. Which requires you to already have a way to deal with it. Worst case is something janky like where you try to kill their best creature and they doomblade one of your bad creatures in response, forcing you to use this. However, this forces your opponent to use removal and you still kill their best creature. In more average cases, you either keep one of your guys alive (and trigger ebt) or take an opponents creature, but you don't have nearly as much control over the timing of such events. It seems fine, if a little swingy/conditional, for a 2 color enchantment that doesn't do anything right away.

Actually, you are only "forced" to exile creatures ("bind" them) until you decide not to, at which point you can return any creature exiled this way. If he Doom Blades one of my bad creatures in response to your kill spell, you'll still get his creature if you want to. Thing is, this card does nothing on its own, so giving it a high mana cost seems bad. As far as I can tell this is a cheap reanimation spell with a delay, and its targets have to actually have hit the battlefield. At a cheap cost it will be playable for sure, and I imagine it's nice to amass a collection of "ghosts" while deciding when to trigger this thing. I just hope it's not too cheap!

 

[sigh]

It's like a one-shot second sunrise or grave betrayal (depending), if another creature dies. I guess the most powerful part about the card is being able to choose, and not having to "second sunrise" that turn. Can chump with E Witness and use it later to get back some removal or whatnot when some other dork dies later on. Has some really interesting synergies with things that either die at end of turn, or effects that put things on the field temporarily like Apprentice Necromancer and briarhorn/everything with evoke. Cool Card.

EDIT: Very similar in methodology to Colfenor's Urn, thinking about it more. And this one seems better at providing consistent utility and results.

 

[Onderzeeboot]

Ok, another batch. I am abolishing the ULD, so I want to add a few cyclers to the main cube for Life from the Loam, Titania, Protector of Argoth and Worm Harvest shenanigans. To be honest, the available options are a bit too weak for the main I think. I want picks that you would consider over an actual card.

Edit edit:
Ok, let's make this a lot simpler... This was the original idea I had. I liked the fact that it could be fetched for value, and the fact that it etb untapped. The disadvantage is also a natural complement to the cycling ability, it's never dead in your hand. The reveal clause is a bit awkard, but without it every deck can play it for the ability.



Then I thought of this.




I think I personally like this iteration better. It puts the rider effect solidly in white without having to resort to the awkward reveal trigger. It's also a turn one, two, three or four play, depending on the modes you use. There's also less going on. The first three lines are all simple, only the triggered ability requires a bit of reading, making this more grokkable than the first attempt. It does enter the battlefield tapped though.

So, what do you think?

 

[Suicufnoc]

Hard to judge power lever, its really cool, but probably too good

 

[Onderzeeboot]

Hard to judge power lever, its really cool, but probably too good

Ok, really cool is good! I don't mind if they're strong. I'm aiming for main cube power level, so they are good competition for the likes of Phyrexian Tower, Shelldock Isle and the creature lands (well, except Celestial Colonnade, that thing is a bit too much). The other four I have thought up, using the second template:



Note: Keeping a stash of bodies in the sewer is probably illegal.

I wanted to avoid straight up removal (the blue one bounces conditionally, but doesn't kill a creature), so it was pretty hard to design a meaningful red one that still had impact. I think this is a pretty strong land. If you topdeck this, it's draw 3 at instant speed, which is pretty scary! o_O It's probably the worst of the five on turn 3 though. I couldn't really think of other options that were entertaining and didn't resort to dealing damage though. Wizards has the same problem evidently, because red's utility lands largely suck when compared to the other colors.

 

[ColonelSanders]

I was trying to come up with a flexible mechanic for red that can lead to explosive turns. How does this feel? (playing a bit fast and loose with the rules text...)

 

[anotak]

and the mechanic looks interesting / potentially fun, maybe especially cool in some kind of off-color activation type set where other color cards have a ignite abilities for costs

yeah the rules text needs a good bit of work, right now it's not clear at first even that it's an activated ability, at first i thought it was like dash
also try "ignited" instead of "on fire" imo

 

[Onderzeeboot]

You could probably template this off monstrous. Also, Bloodfire Dancer should gain trample imo, it's going to die anyway, so first strike doesn't do a lot (except against other first strikers).

 

[sigh]

I think the monstrous template is a good idea. Also, I think this makes a badass Gruul mechanic, and a cool mechanic in general. You can do stuff like fighting, direct damage, pump another dood, hand cycle, panic effect, etc etc. It fits well with both reds individuality and temper, and greens aggressive instinct and need to protect their kin. Here's a thing I tossed together to exemplify my thoughts:

 

[Onderzeeboot]

I'ld template it as:

Ignite <cost> (This creature becomes ignited. Sacrifice it at the beginning of the next end step.)

And then you can word your example as:

: Ignite
Woodland Crasher gets +2/+2 and has trample as long as it's ignited.
3/3

Much cleaner that way

Edit: the reason monstrosity checks if the creature is already monstrous is because otherwise you could activate it more than once to pile up on +1/+1 counters. There isn't any reason for that check here I think, so I'ld just skip it.

 

[sigh]

Your templating is good, but takes away the ability to have effects happen on ignition, which leeds to needing the same rider as monstrosity. Here's a couple examples of that:

 

[Onderzeeboot]

Your templating is good, but takes away the ability to have effects happen on ignition, which leeds to needing the same rider as monstrosity. Here's a couple examples of that:
View attachment 695 View attachment 696

Ah, good catch! You should word your examples as "When ~ becomes ignited" though, because you can activate that ability multiple times, and it will still trigger each time the way you worded it

Edit: All of your examples are sweet by the way!

 

[sigh]

Ah, good catch! You should word your examples as "When ~ becomes ignited" though, because you can activate that ability multiple times, and it will still trigger each time the way you worded it

Edit: All of your examples are sweet by the way!

lso a good catch! With the templating all worked out this way, it's an "evoke monstrous" ability, which is wicked cool and plays off different themes thwn monstrous does. Another thing I'm realizing is that it can probably be stretched into basically any color. For blue, it's the "literally mind and body shattering epiphany", for black it's the sacrifice of the creature for the good of the controller or the sacrifice of the controller for the good of the creature, for white it can be the desperate act of a brave hero to save those around them etc. Really really cool mechanic Colonel!

 

[anotak]

makes me want to design a set/cube i would with a mechanic centered around an activation cost of each of the 5 colors and then go from there and so forth

also i wasn't saying multicolor cards but that would work too just something like

Creature
Flying
: Ignite ~.
When ~ deals combat damage, if ~ is ignited, draw two cards and discard a card.
2/1

oh wait i know what to do:

Instant
Ignite target creature.

 

[sigh]

Yeah I got some off color ones too. Multicolor was more straightforward to approach first. Note that this is mostly just card design phase, cause I'm sure costs can use tweaking etc. I do like the idea of that set too. If anything just an ability of whatever kind per color, and this is the red-centered one.

 

[whydirt]

I like ignite a lot! It shares the same short-term value space as echo but without the memory issues of the upkeep cost. Good job!

 

[Onderzeeboot]

Now all you need to do is decapitalize Ignite(d) in your reminder text sigh