General Custom Cards: The Lab

[Velrun]

I just re-read my text. It sounds like I am blaming you. This is not the case although it is not your job to read it any different. It is my job to write it differently. I am sorry.

What I meant was: I am looking for a simple keyword and that’s it. I will either go with trample or with the cut.

Thanks for helping guys!

 

[Onderzeeboot]

No problem. In that case I personally would go with the cut, but that might be personal preference. You can, of course, always test it out first, and if it proves too annoying cut it anyway.

 

[Aston]

I've just taken the protection off mine and it's worked well for a while.

I agree with Onderzeeboot that I would not want to put an evasive keyword on the swords - it's what I found most frustrating about the protection in the first place. I don't know how strictly you need to stick to the colour pie either, as obviously the sword itself is colourless, even if it is blue/green themed.

For a couple of suggestions, Shroud might be better than Hexproof at least, or Exalted fits pretty well.

 

[japahn]

I'm not one for customs, but here's a card I wish existed:

Token of Reluctant Alliance - 1
Artifact
When Token of Reluctant Alliance enters the battlefield, choose two different creature types.
Creatures you control of the first creature type get +1/+1 if you control a creature of the second creature type.
Creatures you control of the second creature type get +1/+1 if you control a creature of the first creature type.
Whenever you control a creature that's both of the first and the second creature type, sacrifice Token of Reluctant Alliance.

 

[yan]

yes more one drops. maybe +1/0 bonuses and +0/1 after fufilling both instead of sac

 

[Onderzeeboot]

I just re-read my text. It sounds like I am blaming you. This is not the case although it is not your job to read it any different. It is my job to write it differently. I am sorry.

What I meant was: I am looking for a simple keyword and that’s it. I will either go with trample or with the cut.

Thanks for helping guys!

I was just triggered by a post in another thread. Why are we looking at evergreen keywords only? Persist (the word that triggered me), for example, was definitely green and blue, and would be a cool keyword to use! Exalted is another one that blue and green shared back in Alara block.

 

[Velrun]

I was just triggered by a post in another thread. Why are we looking at evergreen keywords only? Persist (the word that triggered me), for example, was definitely green and blue, and would be a cool keyword to use! Exalted is another one that blue and green shared back in Alara block.

No worries here. The fault lies with me and none other.

We are not only looking at evergreen keywords actually. Persist could be cool yeah!

Let’s try persist. Probably a bit strong since now the sword provides a body to reequip if it gets through (2/2 wolf) OR a body to reequip if it doesn’t get through (a persisted creature unless it’s a token.)

 

[anotak]

if you wanted to do something hexproof-lite you could do like
protection from spells cmc 3 or less or protection from instants or something

 

[vennythekid]

Re: abilities on the swords.
You could try out the "ring" cycle from M13 (at the beginning of your upkeep, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature if it is ~color).
Two-for-one bonus, you could do a "hexproof light" by requiring mana to give it hexproof.

 

[anotak]

Bones of the Demon King
Legendary Creature - Skeleton
~ can't block.
Sacrifice twenty permanents, exile ~ from your graveyard: Create a legendary 20/20 black Demon creature token.
2/1

 

[safra]

Bones of the Demon King
Legendary Creature - Skeleton
~ can't block.
Sacrifice twenty permanents, exile ~ from your graveyard: Create a legendary 20/20 black Demon creature token.
2/1

How are you getting 20 permanents in a deck that wants a B 2/1 can't-block? It's very evocative and I like it, but even getting The City's Blessing is kind of awkward. If you have 20 permanents shouldn't you already have won? I worry that this second line is just trinket text.

Some spins on the idea:

same card but
exile ~ from yard, sacrifice all permanents you control: Create an x/x token, where X is the number of permanents sacrificed in this way.

Cabal Priestess
Creature - Human
exile ~ from yard, sacrifice 9 nonland permanents: Create a legendary 9/9 Demon creature token.
First among playthings.
1/1

Bladewing's Attendant
Legendary Creature - Zombie
exile ~ from yard, sacrifice a Dragon: create a 4/4 legendary Bladewing creature token with Flying.
2/1

 

[Onderzeeboot]

All of these feel like they suffer of "not worth the cost" problems. They create big tokens that without evasion that can thus be easily stopped by a lowly Saproling token. And that's after you sacrificed your board. I think sacrificing your board should reap a much better reward. Surely the cost of nine (nine!) nonland permanents should reward you with something better than a 9/9 that won't ever get through? (Picking one of Safra's suggested redesigns as an example here.) Also, sacrificing land is a real cost going forward in the game. I'ld much rather see a "sacrifice X nontoken permanents" clause on there, than any other limiting sacrifice clause, to make sure people pay a real cost, and not go off with Treasure tokens, or whatever. Also, Safra is right that 20 permanents is waaaaaay too high a cost. You never reach that in a typical game.



Art link card
Art link token

As per the original design, you can activate this ability at instant speed. For no mana. That's insanely powerful. I mean, you're giving up any pretense of a board position, so it might be okay, but do realize it is crazy powerful. Kinda fits the theme though, power at any cost, right?

 

[anotak]

the 20 permanents was meant to be somewhere between "trinket text" and "completely different deck than the 2/1".

20 was because, yea, it's free, and it's from your graveyard. and, yeah, it's evocative.

i sort of wanted the feel of some of those really strange rares that get printed sometimes, while sort of being a "split card" with an actual playable card, so it doesn't take up a cube slot

 

[Velrun]

Changing subject.

Hexproof is a fine ability and already a lot better than Shroud. However I feel like hexproof is missing some qualities. Some games can be too easily decided simply because "Can't be countered" and "hexproof" just happens to be on the same big green dinosaur. The keyword is by default uninteractive.

Here are some ideas I would have introduced to the set designer if I was working for Wizards to make the keyword a bit more interactive.

Example 1: Spellproof



Spellproof differs from hexproof:
- Doesn't only go onto creatures but can be put on any kind of permanent including lands, enchantments, artifacts and planeswalkers.
- Can still be touched by abilities such as planeswalkers, Maze of Ith etc.
This ability is a little more interactive than Hexproof but not a lot. However it is a step into the right direction if you ask me. This keyword is even more clean than hexproof.

Example 2: Magical protection



Magical protection differs from hexproof:
- Doesn't only go onto creatures but can be put on any kind of permanent.
- Spells and permanents with a 4+ converted mana cost may target this.
A lot more interactive and a step into the right direction. Not as clean as hexproof.

Example 3: Illusive



Illusive differs from hexproof:
- Legendary spells and permanents may target this.
Once again more interactive and bla.bla step..direction. Not as clean as hexproof but not super texty either.

What do you guys think?

Please ignore stats, artwork and names and focus on the hexproof substitute ideas

 

[Onderzeeboot]

I think Spellproof reads well. Can also be targeted by things like Executioner's Capsule and Banishing Light. I kinda like it. The only gripe I have with it, is that it can't be targeted by spells like Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger's cast trigger. I think this is not intuitive for every player, and the ability would parse better if the reminder text read: This permanent can't be the target of instant and sorcery spells your opponents control.

Magical protection is pretty sweet. I don't mind narrow hexproof like this. I don't like the name, but that's about everything bad I can say about it. Good on bigger creatures to ensure they at least require an expensive answer. Also increases the value of more expensive removal, which is a funny dynamic, I feel. Be sure to plant enough expensive removal in your cube though, if you plan on running a bunch of creatures with this ability.
A rules problem with this card might be that activated abilities don't have a converted mana cost. To be fair, the reminder text is not actual rules text, so this could just be shorthand, where the actual rules text spells it out.

Illusive (I think you were looking for the word 'elusive', by the way) is hardly more narrow than hexproof. I guess creatures with elusive can be targeted by planeswalkers, but there isn't much beyond that in most cubes. If you're looking for a more narrow form of hexproof that plays better than hexproof, elusive definitely isn't it.

In the end though, there isn't really a need for a specific keyword here, as Wizards of the Coast has already given us a solution to the problem of hexproof, which debuted in Dominaria.



Spellproof is "hexproof from spells" of "hexproof from instants and sorceries".
Magical protection is "hexproof from converted mana cost 3 or less".
Elusive is "hexproof from nonlegendary spells and abilities".

 

[Chris Taylor]

Mechanically I like Spellproof. Shanna, Sisay's Legacy is kinda this backwards, but I did like that she was hard, but not impossible to remove.

 

[anotak]

eternal ccg has an ability called "aegis" that is basically 1-time protection from opponent. this is a bit more doable because the game is digital though.

wonder if it'd just be worth using a hexproof-ized version of the kira, great glass-spinner ability. there are some minor memory issues, but i don't think it's too bad

and now for something completely different

Spoiler

The Vintage Master
Planeswalker
+2: Create a colorless artifact token with ": Add to your mana pool."
+0: Draw three cards.
-4: Shuffle your library. Exile a card from the top of your library for each spell cast this turn. Until end of turn, you may play any of those cards without paying their mana costs. (If it has X in its mana cost, X is 0.)
4

look, i decided to run with the idea that "____ Masters" sets are named after a planeswalker. i just realized i have no idea what the modern/eternal/ultimate master would look like.

 

[Onderzeeboot]

Can't protect itself, waaaay too expensive. Garbage! :')

 

[Velrun]

I'm not gonna put any hexproof-like custom cards into my cube. This is just what I would suggest to the person in charge of a set if I was working at Wizards.

Could also be either of these:
A: Prowessproof (This permanent can't be the target of noncreature spells your opponents control.)
B Spellproof Again (This permanent can't be the target of instant or sorcery spells your opponents control.)

Anything is better than shroud, hexproof and hexproof from color.

For both constructed tournaments and drafting tournaments: With the 5 suggestions above players would be able to construct their decks in a manner where they can actually interact with the protected permanents OR decide to not care. In that case the protected permanent would simply have hexproof (except it could be on any type of permanent.) All this would not be possible with shroud, hexproof or hexproof from color because shroud doesn't care about deck construction, hexproof doesn't care about deck construction and hexproof from color either forces you into another color than the deck you actually want to build or doesn't care about deck construction. Same goes with drafting where a player can decide "Maybe I want a 4 mana removal or two in order to deal with that pesky Magical protection card." etc.

 

[Velrun]

About that Bones of the Demon King

Whenever I make custom cards for a format I always go all in on the custom part. I try to find a balanced power level and I try to make sure the card has a real purpose in the cube (Support a strategy maybe) but I want the custom part to be interesting.



Flavor: Innistrad (Markov family, 13/13, artwork)
Power level: Up for debate. Numbers can be changed as much as you'd like.
Clean: Clean enough. You could even give it a simple keyword.
Custom: Interesting enough to be custom. Counters on a card in the graveyard.
Purpose: Supports aristocrats, can give the player a way to break through in the grindy late game.

I would 100 % use the token from Ondezeeboot. Great art. It even fits with the Innistrad flavor.

 

[Chris Taylor]

eternal ccg has an ability called "aegis" that is basically 1-time protection from opponent. this is a bit more doable because the game is digital though.

wonder if it'd just be worth using a hexproof-ized version of the kira, great glass-spinner ability. there are some minor memory issues, but i don't think it's too bad

and now for something completely different

Spoiler

The Vintage Master
Planeswalker
+2: Create a colorless artifact token with ": Add to your mana pool."
+0: Draw three cards.
-4: Shuffle your library. Exile a card from the top of your library for each spell cast this turn. Until end of turn, you may play any of those cards without paying their mana costs. (If it has X in its mana cost, X is 0.)
4

look, i decided to run with the idea that "____ Masters" sets are named after a planeswalker. i just realized i have no idea what the modern/eternal/ultimate master would look like.

Ageis I think reminded me of Divine Shield (Hearthstone), I used this:

It's not perfect. I had it alongside proliferate, and let me tell you a creature that has 3 lives (as opposed to persist's 2) is a pain in the ass, plus it uses regenerate (though you could avoid that) but it's certainly a functional keyword.

 

[Rowan_CB]

What about a hexproof version of sturdy?

e.g., "Spell Shield 1. ~ Enters the battlefield with one Spell Shield Counter on it. Remove a Spell Shield Counter: Until end of turn, ~ cannot be the target of spells and abilities your opponents control."

 

[Velrun]

What about a hexproof version of sturdy?

e.g., "Spell Shield 1. ~ Enters the battlefield with one Spell Shield Counter on it. Remove a Spell Shield Counter: Until end of turn, ~ cannot be the target of spells and abilities your opponents control."

You won’t ever activate it. Your opponent will never cast a spell targeting your creature because it will get countered.

 

[Chris Taylor]

They can double spell. Over two turns no less

 

[Velrun]

They can double spell. Over two turns no less

Or in response.

But they won’t. I had that exact effect in my first cube from 2008 and it was never activated. At least I do not remember it being activated even once.