General Custom Cards: The Lab

[jerichoalar]

I noticed the other day that's there's basically no way to interact with your opponent's energy.

I think this makes some sense since your average energy card is overcost if it never gets to use it's energy activation (although in the aggregate these get really powerful quickly).

Is energy hosing something that would be useful or would it just make energy a trap?


I ask because looking at a bant wedge and having issues coming up with something that isn't exalted or blink and thought "bant energy" might be interesting.

 

[Velrun]

Yeah I think you only need a way to disrupt Energy if you create some overpowered custom Energy cards. Same with Poison.

 

[Chris Taylor]

Okay how do I word this so it grows if you play OR activate Anthroplasm
Or does it do that already

 

[jerichoalar]

Seems like it does that already.

I think for clarity it should say "if one more counters was put on at least one permanent..."

Also do you intend this to trigger off of gemstone mine and the like? If not maybe "one or more +1/+1 counters"


Also I really want this to grow on my opponent's creatures growing too. He *is* the crowd's favorite after all.

 

[TrainmasterGT]

View attachment 3407
Okay how do I word this so it grows if you play OR activate Anthroplasm
Or does it do that already

I think your wording is good, as per this clause from the Comprehensive Rules:

122.6. Some spells and abilities refer to counters being put on an object. This refers to putting counters on that object while it’s on the battlefield and also to an object that’s given counters as it enters the battlefield.

The way you worded this card is very clean and concise. As it stands, the card is perfect for Anthroplasming. You might want to change it to specify that a counter was put on a creature you control. The current wording also applies to Lands, Artifacts, and Planeswalkers, including when they come into play.

 

[Onderzeeboot]

May I present you with the official templating of abilities like this!



So you're fairly close actually. I believe all you need to do is change "put on a permanent you control" to "placed on a permanent under your control"!

 

[TrainmasterGT]

May I present you with the official templating of abilities like this!



So you're fairly close actually. I believe all you need to do is change "put on a permanent you control" to "placed on a permanent under your control"!

WOTC changed the oracle for those abilities some time between 2016 and 2018, so now all cards talking about counters say "put" as opposed to "placed." For example, this is the current oracle text for the Fairgrounds Trumpeter:

At the beginning of each end step, if a +1/+1 counter was put on a permanent under your control this turn, put a +1/+1 counter on Fairgrounds Trumpeter.

So, for example, Hardened Scales|KTK with "placed" wording becomes Hardened Scales|CM2 with "put" wording.

 

[Onderzeeboot]

Well, that's awkward I didn't look up the Oracle text because the card is so recent. Looks like the only thing that needs to be changed is "under your control" instead of "you control" then

 

[TrainmasterGT]

Well, that's awkward I didn't look up the Oracle text because the card is so recent. Looks like the only thing that needs to be changed is "under your control" instead of "you control" then

Don't worry, I wrote a big "put vs. placed" thing before I realized the ruling had changed as well. I only noticed the difference when I saw the comprehensive rules had changed to exclude the word "placed."

 

[Velrun]

Behold, Wizard's last abomination of Omnath



If you squinch your eyes really hard, you can see the fifth hand in there, somewhere, probably. I expect nothing less.

 

[jerichoalar]

I'm expecting:

Omnath, the Roil Incarnate WUBRG
Legendary Creature - Elemental God
Indestructible
Landfall - choose 1 that has not been chosen this turn:
* add .
* draw 3 cards.
* target creature gets +3/+3 until end of turn.
* gain 3 life.
* deal 3 damage to any target.
5/5

actually, this will probably be more balanced than whatever they actually print.

 

[Chris Taylor]

I had a dumb idea

So having not actually played D&D much, my knowledge of what common 1st level classes is shaky at best, but I'm going for:
-Fighter
-Barbarian
the rest spell themselves out.

The wizard has his one spell slot of magic missile, and while Icatian Javelineers isn't the most in pie ever, it at least exists.

I'm going off Outlaws' Merriment for the wording.

The issue of course becomes that white doesn't get most of these effects. I think the best way to go about it is to figure out a long list of what 1st level D&D classes are in terms of small tokens, then pick from a list that at least kind of makes sense.

 

[Zoss]

@Chris--I like the flavor a lot, and I think you can definitely justify this all falling under the purview of White! However, it's a fairly pushed card when compared with Forbidden Friendship. Maybe raise the CMC to 2W or make it cost either OR ? (The middle mess is an attempt at to making it playable in any party deck.)

My contribution is a fixed Venser, the Sojourner. I like the concept of a UW artificer who uses artifacts for teleportation magic (blink + ninjutsu overlap!). However, the original is. . . lacking, and not just by today's power-crept standards. The +2 is wimpy and the -1 is INSANELY busted in a stall or trying to finish out a game (I don't like cards that invalidate all previous game actions). The ult is fine, if somewhat weaker than Teferi, Hero of Dominaria's.

Old version:




And my fix:





The second ability is a bit wordy, but I think it's worth it. And it's still less wordy than Garruk, Unleashed . For shame, Wizards! And in a core set, too! o_O I tried to keep a light touch on the rework rather than just blow the original out of the water--I haven't made custom cards before. Thoughts? (And yes, I know that MSE isn't exactly state-of-the-art anymore )

 

[Velrun]

In case anyone wanted to know some lore:

Karn was trapped by the Phyrexians on Mirrodin that was about to become New Phyrexia and he was in deep trance. He thoughts were no longer his own and his body was getting stronger and stronger as he was sitting on that Phyrexian throne. But he was unable to use that body for anything but to wait until his was 'compleat' and the new Father of Machines (the leader of Phyrexia)



There was nothing the good guys could do. Literally.
Except one thing.

Venser was a teleporter but getting close to Karn was still impossible and would lead to certain death. So he chose to teleport his own heart into Karn and thus replacing his planeswalker spark. Out with the tainted old one and in came the new. Venser gave up his life to save Karn and Karn escaped.



Mirrodin still fell to the Phyrexians and became New Phyrexia. One hundred percent of that plane is now tainted. One of the few stories where the bad guys won. The only victory that came from this story was from Venser. Had he not sacrificed himself to save Karn, the New Phyrexia would have a leader instead of being in constant civil war with each other. And they would have had a planeswalker leader which would certainly have corrupted many, many more planes in the multiverse.

 

[Onderzeeboot]

Cool lore, but New Phyrexia isn't entirely under control of the Phyrexians. It's a bit of an Asterix situation though (except with multiple small villages). Anyway, it's almost certainly not 100% tainted.

Current status
The Mirran Resistance continues to fight for the eventual purification of Mirrodin. The Sylvok named Melira appeared to be the key to achieving their goal. The Resistance managed to locate Karn and, through the sacrifice of Venser, healed him from his phyrexianization and restored his spark. Karn soon left his creation behind in order to seek infestations of Phyrexia on other planes he had visited. The Resistance hoped to use the power vacuum that had been created after Karn left Mirrodin to plunge Phyrexia into a civil war.

It was a vain hope. Elesh Norn took control over the domains of Urabask and Sheoldred, with the praetors (along with the much-despised Tezzeret) gathering to crown a new Father—or Mother—of Machines.

Source

 

[Zoss]

Thanks for the story, Velrun! I knew the basics (EEEEeeevil Karn, heroic sacrifice), but this is both more concise and better fleshed-out.

It does make me wonder a couple of things. One, evidently Venser's spark and perhaps sparks of other Planeswalkers (I hate that Walker is now an official term for something else Yet another reason to hate on the Walking Dead lair!) are localized within the heart AND are transferable, which is wild. This implies that magic is somehow tied to an individual's biology, which makes me wonder what the heck the Phyrexians did with Venser's body. He could make a really cool villain as a forerunner of the Phyrexians, or maybe his reanimated corpse is trying to figure out how to teleport the Phyrexians between planes. . . hmmm. I'm not usually a custom card person, but I'm getting ideas! I've wanted to see a set exploring the contrast in the design space between artifacts and enchantments, perhaps in an enchantment-to-artifice Industrial Revolution setting, and Venser suddenly walking onto the plane might be a good catalyst (if kind of a repeat of the plot of Kaladesh. . . ). Does anyone with more knowledge of the lore know if the possibility of a revived, partially-compleated Venser teleporting off-plane without his heart/spark is remotely plausible? It IS called Magic, after all, but I don't want to Marty Stu someone just because I like his themes and mechanics!

More on-topic, Venser's cards feel much more focused on his proficiency with teleportation magic than his use of artifacts to do the same. Does anyone have any thoughts on how to merge the two within a PW other than making Conjurer's Closet tokens?

 

[Onderzeeboot]

Well, Venser lost his spark in giving it to Karn, so in theory he can't planeswalk anymore, even if he was resurrected. To correct one of your conclusions, the spark is not localized within the heart, as Venser notably transferred his heart and his spark to Karn. This Wiki page describes what "exactly" a spark is (under the revisionist theory). Note that the last sentence in that paragraph confirms my first sentence here.

PS. You can read more about Venser's sacrifice here.

 

[Velrun]

Velrun is definetely not perfect

I thought New Phyrexia was 100 % done for. When 'we left it' they were almost done for and it could basically only go one way so I thought it was done for after so many years. Alas I was wrong. Thanks Onde.

We should consider Venser dead and gone from the story as much as we should Urza, Yawgmoth and Gideon. Anything is possible but we should only see him again in a Masters product or something like that.

 

[Onderzeeboot]

We should consider Venser dead and gone from the story as much as we should Urza, Yawgmoth and Gideon. Anything is possible but we should only see him again in a Masters product or something like that.

I kind of agree, but also...



She's actually, somehow, a zombie. I didn't read the books, I only know she was compleated by Vorinclex. Did she die? The phyrexians have the tools to zombify corpses, as evidenced by...



Venser could potentially be reanimated and corrupted into a former shell of himself. I could actually see a compleated version of him as a legendary creature, which would likely have to have some connection, mechanically, to...



Maybe something like...

 

[Zoss]

I agree that Venser is not showing up in official canon, unless trotted out in a Masters set or as an Officially Pushed Commander! However, after an hour or so of reading the actual lore instead of working off of the lore I think I knew, I know that Karn is worried about Phyrexians developing the ability to Planeswalk, and they *did* leave Venser's corpse there. With the corpse of a Planeswalker, combined with the in-depth look the Phyrexians got into Karn's planar portal and their body horror/reanimation abilities, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to imagine a future in which a twisted Venser acts as a Phyrexian agent--maybe? The rules do get rewritten all the time (Mowu is a good boy, but his fluff is really hard to accept o_O )


Edit: beat me to it, Onderzeeboot!

 

[Velrun]

I don’t know if it’s possible to reanimate dead people this long after they’ve died. If this is the case then they might as well go ahead and revive original big bad Yawgmoth.

 

[Onderzeeboot]

I don’t know if it’s possible to reanimate dead people this long after they’ve died. If this is the case then they might as well go ahead and revive original big bad Yawgmoth.

Yawgmoth's corpse might be a little harder to find. He is depicted here:



That thing ain't easy to reanimate, I bet. Anyway, like I said, I mostly agree with you, but it's easy to retcon since we basically lost sight of Venser as soon as Karn was rescued, iirc. That means the Phyrexians had a fresh Venser corpse to toy around with, we just don't know what happened to it. Caveat; I haven't read the book, so I'm not sure Venser's body was left behind.

Anyway, that said, there is something called the Venser Scale, which is MaRo's analogy for the Storm Scale, except it puts a number (from 1 to 10) on how likely we are to see a given planeswalker in a future Standard-legal set. As Venser is the namesake, you can probably guess that his odds of returning (as a planeswalker at least) are rather negligible.

 

[Velrun]

Another picture from Karn on his Phyrexian Throne

 

[jerichoalar]

That art would be An excellent Choice if someone were to make a colorless “court” enchantment to go with the probable cycle in Commander Legends...

 

[Velrun]

That art would be An excellent Choice if someone were to make a colorless “court” enchantment to go with the probable cycle in Commander Legends...

In practic this could happen since it is an official Wizards of the Coast comissioned artwork and they own all the rights. Furthermore the art was never used on a card but only as a promotion for New Phyrexia. And Commander Legends set draws from New Phyrexia among other planes. But it is unprecedented.