Kolbahan has an interesting suite of themes, and these rares intend to push players into those themes in 2-Headed-Giant Sealed and Draft formats. I've designed them to be hybrid cards, but they might be shifted to gold instead (Sovereign really bends mono-green). The last time the design team and I discussed multicolor cards I don't think we came down one way or another. Use of Parley is similarly unresolved, but I'm excited to try it out since it was a big hit in Conspiracy's four-player limited environment.
Stone Animator4(W/U)(W/U)
Creature - Giant Artificer (R)
Defender
As long as your team controls four or more creatures with defender, those creatures get +2/+2 and may attack as though they didn't have defender.
4/6
Whispering Specter2(U/B)(U/B)
Creature - Specter (R)
Flying Parley - Whenever Whispering Specter deals combat damage to a player, each player reveals the top card of his or her library. For each nonland card evealed this way, exile that card. Then each player draws a card.
Players on your team may cast cards exiled by Whispering Specter as though they had flash.
2/3
Vengeful Undead2(B/R)(B/R)
Enchantment (R)
At the beginning of combat on your turn, put target creature card from a graveyard to the battlefield under its owner's control. It gains haste. Exile it at the beginning of the next end step. If it would leave the battlefield, exile it instead of putting it anywhere else.
Soul's Rally5(R/G)(R/G)
Sorcery (R)
Exile the top X cards of your library, where X is the greatest power among creatures you control. Put all permanent cards revealed this way onto the battlefield.
Astral Sovereign4(G/W)(G/W)
Creature - Spirit (R)
Lifelink, vigilance
As long as you have at least 10 life more than your starting life total, Astral Sovereign gets +5/+5 and has double strike, trample and indestructible.
5/5
WU: Defenders UB: Reactive/Draw-go Control BR: Reanimator RG: Power matters GW: Life matters
Astral Sovereign: The bleed is too much. Lifelink and double strike are just not doable for mono-green.
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Known as Inanimate at Goblin Artisans, and TyrRev at /r/custommagic!
Lead Tesla, a community set designed by everyone and led by me, over at Goblin Artisans. Index of articles here!
Lifelink is still a no, in my opinion. That's not how green lifegain works, usually.
Green creatures mostly gain life when something enters the battlefield, or something dies. This is to reinforce their 'cycle of life' theme, I think. There are a lot of powerful green creatures that gain life when they enter, so that could be something to consider. There are also green creatures that gain life on triggers like lands entering or creatures dying, which are two more possibilities.
They aren't keywords, unfortunately, but they're better than no life-gain at all.
Known as Inanimate at Goblin Artisans, and TyrRev at /r/custommagic!
Lead Tesla, a community set designed by everyone and led by me, over at Goblin Artisans. Index of articles here!
However, in this case, I think the bleed is acceptable as a oneshot hybrid card. I wouldn't consider it a precedent though anymore than Augury Adept sets precedent for blue life gain or white card draw. (I'm aware that even R&D considered Augury Adept a flawed design, but Astral Sovereign has a much better case as a closer color:effect relationship for bleeding purposes.) Extort was MaRo's baby and even he said that the reason Extort was permitted in white was because of the skull side of (W/B). That's really saying something.
When I look at Astral Sovereign, I see a high profile mythic hands down. Which only helps its case.
Part of why I'm so stuck on lifelink is that green has both a "power matters" theme and a "life matters" theme to it. So one of the triggers that both themes want is "Whenever ~ deals damage, gain life equal to its power." but that's just lifelink. I guess I could make it "Whenever ~ attacks or blocks, gain life equal to its power" and frontload the lifegain instead.
@Legend - you said it looks like a mythic, but can it be a rare?
Whispering Specter - I like that having a teammate in different colors helps you cast more cards stolen this way. Nitpicky question though: Is your team allowed to cast the cards? or is just each payer on your team allowed to cast the cards? The first implies to me that both players can split the costs thus being able to each pay for one of the colors of a multicolor card that neither of the players is fully aligned with. For example, a blue-black player and a red-green player being able to split costs to play a black-red card. Or just split costs to cast a larger spell sooner really.
Vengeful Undead - Nothing really exciting for team play, but a good card. Should probably be "you may return" so you aren't technically forced to do it even if your opponent has a glut of blockers available or something like Moat that would stop all of your available creature cards in your graveyard from attacking anyway.
Soul's Rally - Interesting Genesis Wave variant. Watch if it needs Genesis Wave's converted mana cost X limiter. I think that was mostly so you couldn't do something like Worldly Tutor then Genesis Wave with X=1, so the locked in cost of seven mana might make the restriction unnecessary.
Astral Sovereign - Starting life is 30 in 2HG... so your team needs to be at 60 life for this? Seems daunting. Divinity of Pride only needed 5 extra life. Even with the indestructible, this seems like it could be a lot closer to:
As long as your life total is at least 10 more than your starting life total, ...
- Lifelink is primary in white and secondary in black. If lifelink would ever be tertiary in any color, it would be in green. It is not something that green should regularly get, but I think it is acceptable to occasionally appear on a green card.
Good questions. RE:Specter, the intent was "players on your team." ie no cost splitting. Since it sounds like the current wording could cause some confusion or ambiguity I'll change the wording to be more clear.
I've been trying to think of the most elegant way to let Vengeful Undead have more team play... probably easiest to let it return any creature under its owner's control so you can help a teammate out if their creature is more exciting.
Astral Sovereign will probably be toned a bit, and will definitely have its life threshold reduced. +10 seems like a reasonable place to start it at testing.
Since no one has mentioned the card at all, and the idea was bad, I've replaced it with a new card entirely.
Stone Animator 4(W/U)(W/U)
Creature - Giant Artificer (R)
Defender
As long as your team controls four or more creatures with defender, those creatures get +2/+2 and may attack as though they didn't have defender.
4/6
Whispering Specter 2(U/B)(U/B)
Creature - Specter (R)
Flying
Parley - Whenever Whispering Specter deals combat damage to a player, each player reveals the top card of his or her library. For each nonland card evealed this way, exile that card. Then each player draws a card.
Players on your team may cast cards exiled by Whispering Specter as though they had flash.
2/3
Vengeful Undead 2(B/R)(B/R)
Enchantment (R)
At the beginning of combat on your turn, put target creature card from a graveyard to the battlefield under its owner's control. It gains haste. Exile it at the beginning of the next end step. If it would leave the battlefield, exile it instead of putting it anywhere else.
Soul's Rally 5(R/G)(R/G)
Sorcery (R)
Exile the top X cards of your library, where X is the greatest power among creatures you control. Put all permanent cards revealed this way onto the battlefield.
Astral Sovereign 4(G/W)(G/W)
Creature - Spirit (R)
Lifelink, vigilance
As long as you have at least 10 life more than your starting life total, Astral Sovereign gets +5/+5 and has
double strike,trample and indestructible.5/5
UB: Reactive/Draw-go Control
BR: Reanimator
RG: Power matters
GW: Life matters
Lead Tesla, a community set designed by everyone and led by me, over at Goblin Artisans. Index of articles here!
Green creatures mostly gain life when something enters the battlefield, or something dies. This is to reinforce their 'cycle of life' theme, I think. There are a lot of powerful green creatures that gain life when they enter, so that could be something to consider. There are also green creatures that gain life on triggers like lands entering or creatures dying, which are two more possibilities.
They aren't keywords, unfortunately, but they're better than no life-gain at all.
Lead Tesla, a community set designed by everyone and led by me, over at Goblin Artisans. Index of articles here!
However, in this case, I think the bleed is acceptable as a oneshot hybrid card. I wouldn't consider it a precedent though anymore than Augury Adept sets precedent for blue life gain or white card draw. (I'm aware that even R&D considered Augury Adept a flawed design, but Astral Sovereign has a much better case as a closer color:effect relationship for bleeding purposes.) Extort was MaRo's baby and even he said that the reason Extort was permitted in white was because of the skull side of (W/B). That's really saying something.
When I look at Astral Sovereign, I see a high profile mythic hands down. Which only helps its case.
@Legend - you said it looks like a mythic, but can it be a rare?
Vengeful Undead - Nothing really exciting for team play, but a good card. Should probably be "you may return" so you aren't technically forced to do it even if your opponent has a glut of blockers available or something like Moat that would stop all of your available creature cards in your graveyard from attacking anyway.
Soul's Rally - Interesting Genesis Wave variant. Watch if it needs Genesis Wave's converted mana cost X limiter. I think that was mostly so you couldn't do something like Worldly Tutor then Genesis Wave with X=1, so the locked in cost of seven mana might make the restriction unnecessary.
Astral Sovereign - Starting life is 30 in 2HG... so your team needs to be at 60 life for this? Seems daunting. Divinity of Pride only needed 5 extra life. Even with the indestructible, this seems like it could be a lot closer to:
As long as your life total is at least 10 more than your starting life total, ...
- Lifelink is primary in white and secondary in black. If lifelink would ever be tertiary in any color, it would be in green. It is not something that green should regularly get, but I think it is acceptable to occasionally appear on a green card.
I've been trying to think of the most elegant way to let Vengeful Undead have more team play... probably easiest to let it return any creature under its owner's control so you can help a teammate out if their creature is more exciting.
Astral Sovereign will probably be toned a bit, and will definitely have its life threshold reduced. +10 seems like a reasonable place to start it at testing.
Since no one has mentioned the card at all, and the idea was bad, I've replaced it with a new card entirely.