When I started out on this concept, I was using parts with input and output effects like a Wheel that uses tapping and untapping to represent turning clockwise and counter-clockwise, and you would be able to assemble a long string of Parts usually starting with some kind of switch or button and ending with a Part that does something to make the whole process worthwhile. But I realized that would be too complex and unwieldy for the kind of game Magic is, so I simplified it all down to the Input/Output system you now see.
Input Parts and Output Parts can be assembled into Contraptions by Riggers (and potentially other creatures). Input Parts have ability activation costs or triggers, but rather than provide their own effect, they trail off into ellipses. Output Parts provide effects, but rather than lead with an activation cost or trigger, they lead with the same kind of ellipses. These allow you to mix-and-match costs or triggers with effects.
Below are examples of Riggers, Inputs, and Outputs.
Schematics Specialist1U
Creature - Human Rigger
Riggers you control have "T: This creature assembles a Contraption." (To assemble a Contraption, join an Input Part with an Output Part.)
1/1
Steamflogger LackeyR
Creature - Goblin Rigger T: ~ assembles a Contraption. (To assemble a Contraption, join an Input Part with an Output Part.)
1/1
Lever Switch1
Artifact - Input Part (This Part can only be joined with an Output Part.) T:...
Pressure Plate3
Artifact - Input Part (This Part can only be joined with an Output Part.)
Whenever a creature without flying attacks...
Security Gate2
Artifact - Input Part (This Part can only be joined with an Output Part.)
Whenever a nontoken creature enters the battlefield...
Mage Detector2
Artifact - Input Part (This Part can only be joined with an Output Part.)
Whenever a player casts a nonartifact spell...
Light Strobe1
Artifact - Output Part (This Part can only be joined with an Input Part.)
...add W to your mana pool.
Water Pipe1
Artifact - Output Part (This Part can only be joined with an Input Part.)
...add U to your mana pool.
Oil Pump1
Artifact - Output Part (This Part can only be joined with an Input Part.)
...add B to your mana pool.
Fire Brazier1
Artifact - Output Part (This Part can only be joined with an Input Part.)
...add R to your mana pool.
Essence Extractor1
Artifact - Output Part (This Part can only be joined with an Input Part.)
...add G to your mana pool.
Solar Ring2
Artifact - Output Part (This Part can only be joined with an Input Part.)
...add CC to your mana pool.
Construct Assembly2
Artifact - Output Part (This Part can only be joined with an Input Part.)
...put a 1/1 colorless Construct artifact creature token onto the battlefield.
Arming Module1
Artifact - Output Part (This Part can only be joined with an Input Part.)
...put a +1/+1 counter on target artifact creature.
Automated Crossbow2
Artifact - Output Part (This Part can only be joined with an Input Part.)
...this Contraption deals 1 damage to target creature or player.
Trap Door3
Artifact - Output Part (This Part can only be joined with an Input Part.)
...destroy target creature without flying.
Lightning Dynamo4
Artifact - Output Part (This Part can only be joined with an Input Part.)
...put a charge counter on this Contraption. T, Remove X charge counters from this Contraption: Choose one -
Put X 1/1 red Elemental creature tokens with haste onto the battlefield. Sacrifice those tokens at the beginning of the next end step.
Add R to your mana pool for each charge counter removed this way.
To provide an example of how Input/Output Parts work, let's take Lever Switch and Construct Assembly and assemble them into one Contraption using Steamflogger Lackey. We effectively get this:
Contraption
Artifact - Contraption T: Put a 1/1 colorless Construct artifact creature token onto the battlefield.
When I started out on this concept, I was using parts with input and output effects like a Wheel that uses tapping and untapping to represent turning clockwise and counter-clockwise, and you would be able to assemble a long string of Parts usually starting with some kind of switch or button and ending with a Part that does something to make the whole process worthwhile. But I realized that would be too complex and unwieldy for the kind of game Magic is, so I simplified it all down to the Input/Output system you now see.
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
I'm always a fan of left side/right side card designs like this. In particular this is an intriguing implementation of what assembling a Contraption can be.
As a note on the individual Parts, I suggest not splitting this design into five differently colored Output Parts, but just have a single one e. g. Emitter Prism with "... add one mana of a color of your choice to your mana pool."
Lightning Dynamo creates an interesting problem: Apparently the assembled Contrapton receives not only the activation cost/trigger and effect combination, but also inherits full abilities from the individual parts.
How do you envision assembling a Contraption to interact with e. g. Relic Ward or Archester's Components?
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Planar Chaos was not a mistake neither was it random. You might want to look at it again.
[thread=239793][Game] Level Up - Creature[/thread]
I'm always a fan of left side/right side card designs like this. In particular this is an intriguing implementation of what assembling a Contraption can be.
As a note on the individual Parts, I suggest not splitting this design into five differently colored Output Parts, but just have a single one e. g. Emitter Prism with "... add one mana of a color of your choice to your mana pool."
In draft, having five different color generators makes it so players will only want to pick emitters of their chosen colors. They're analogous to the Diamond or Myr cycles. I'm not against adding an "any color" option, but that should probably be saved for the second set and/or be costed a bit higher.
While I like the flavor of getting blue mana from a water pipe, would it look better for the emitter cycle to be reflavored as a cycle of gemstone nodes as a nod to past cycles of mana rocks like the Moxes and Diamonds?
Lightning Dynamo creates an interesting problem: Apparently the assembled Contrapton receives not only the activation cost/trigger and effect combination, but also inherits full abilities from the individual parts.
How do you envision assembling a Contraption to interact with e. g. Relic Ward or Archester's Components?
Lightning Dynamo originally had three different effects to choose from, all of which seemed like good choices for what a Lightning Dynamo could do (Lightning Coils and Talon of Pain were obviously major influences). It could be simplified down to one effect, but I wouldn't know which. One idea that comes to mind though is to take the charge counter cost and put it on a different Input Part.
As for targeting interactions, I imagine Contraptions existing as "meta-objects", objects composed of smaller objects. I'm not 100% sure how the rules are supposed to handle it; can the Contraption as a whole be targeted, or do you have to target the individual parts?
Honestly, while I like the Lever Switch's simplistic tap cost, it makes it difficult to implement variants that might want to combine tapping with another cost such as mana; for example, a Water Wheel Part that costs U, T. Should the Lever Switch be costed higher to make room? Or should the Lever itself require an additional cost such as 1 or tapping an untapped creature?
So each part does nothing on their own. Thats a lot of wasted slots. Like how common are riggers?
Considering the tribe will be necessary to make Contraptions work, there should be a good number of them, though I imagine we'll see most of them in blue and red, perhaps also a good number in white. The Schematics Specialist could grant the assemble ability to all your creatures instead of just Riggers.
Honestly, the hardest part about figuring out Contraptions is the fact that creatures, in particular Riggers, have to do the assembling. I think Input/Output Parts would work easily enough as a standalone concept with a built-in assembly ability, but that's not what Steamflogger Boss demands.
The input side's activation or trigger costs are static. This affects the power of the output effect. And even what effects can be made at all.
That's why you cost each Part so the Input/Output combination is costed approximately to what it would take to get an artifact with the activation/trigger and effect.
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
So, to assemble a contraption you're telling me that I need THREE cards. I need to spend a card & mana on an input part that does nothing, spend a card and mana on an output part that also does nothing, and THEN if I spend mana and a card on a rigger AND it survives I can tap it (which is a real cost in limited) to make my stuff do anything.
As a mostly limited player I have to say that sounds very sketchy. What if my draft ends up with lots of good input parts & riggers, but only 1 playable output part? In that case if I don't draw the output part basically none of my cards do anything (though riggers are at least creatures & do affect the board).
I like the idea of assembling the 2-part combos, but the parts (both input and output) NEED to do something on their own. Maybe you could treat them as normal artifacts with normal behaviors that also have an 'input' or 'output' keyword (which is only used when assembled into a contraption). IE "Input -- Bt (if this part is assembled, pay this cost to activate the contraption)" / "Output -- put a 1/1 flying colorless thopter artifact creature token into play (if this part is assembled, get this effect when the contraption is activated)". In that way you could play with the balance of giving them weak but not useless abilities at face value alongside much more pushed (by limited standards) input / output abilities to compensate for the challenge of assembling the 3 cards needed to get there.
I don't know. Especially with the Input and Output parts, this implementation of Contraptions seems to heavily encourage the all-or-nothing nature of building decks with cards that depend heavily on each other. Unlike with some other heavy-dependency playstyles and archetypes, where there is merely a boost as the number of cards that fit the theme increases, these are going to be a dead draws a lot of the time. If there are so few Input and Output cards in the deck to mitigate the effects of dead draws, the deck might as well not use these Parts at all. But if there are so many Input and Output cards in the deck so that the deck can have as many Contraptions as possible, the way that Input and Output parts are drawn may be a bit too random (at least for my tastes).
I'm sure you have some form of game plan regarding these, though, so I won't comment on them too much further.
---
As for some of the more rules-related points:
1)
You mention not knowing whether or not the rules can handle Contraptions being some kind of "meta-object". This is not currently written in the rules for obvious reasons, but is possible. The union of an Input and an Output would represent one object. But the aim is to make as many currently-achievable game interactions be captured by the rules you make as possible, and to make it so that the rules are easy enough to understand.
My suggestion is as follows: Since the union of an Input and Output would represent one object, anything that would do something to a Contraption would do it to the object itself, or its two constituent cards (if the former is impossible to do).
For instance, if my opponent casts Crush on my Contraption, the Contraption is destroyed, and so all cards that represent the Contraption go to the graveyard as a result. Even though two cards go into the graveyard at the same time, only one object is destroyed; any ability that cares about objects being destroyed will see one event, and any event that cares about objects being put into a graveyard from anywhere will see two.
Another example is if the Contraption gets animated somehow. On the basis of singular-object representation, I would make the Contraption as a whole become animated, rather than the Input and Output parts separately. (If you do want to make the Input and Output animate separately, then they have to become separated from each other and assembled again.)
The exception to this (which I don't expect to see much of) is if a card specifically refers to the Input or Output of a Contraption, in which case that effect would only affect the relevant Part of the Contraption.
2)
What characteristics do Contraptions have that come from their Inputs and Outputs? For instance, what would the following be:
a. The mana cost of a Contraption made from Lever Switch (CMC 1) and Construct Assembly (CMC 2)
b. The colors of a Contraption made from a blue Input and a red Output
c. The types of a Contraption made from an Input that has had the enchantment type added onto it and an Output that has had the land type added onto it
d. The types of the Input and Output that result after the Contraption made in (c) splits up, if this is intended to be possible
Also, if a particular Input is a creature and a particular Output isn't, is it possible to assemble those two into a Contraption?
3)
Arguably, the most important thing is to re-template the wording of the cards so that the creature actually performs the action. Either it can be a keyword action that is tied to the creature rather than the player, or it can be a keyword ability that instructs the controller of the creature to perform the action, but gives credit to the creature for instructing you to do so:
Compare:
~ assembles a Contraption. (Join an Input Part with an Output Part into one Contraption.)
Assemble [cost] (T, [cost]: Join an Input Part with an Output Part into one Contraption.)
Whenever ~ assembles a Contraption, ... / Some other ability
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How to use card tags (please use them for everybody's sanity)
[c]Lightning Bolt[/c] -> Lightning Bolt
[c=Lightning Bolt]Apple Pie[/c] -> Apple Pie
Vowels-Only Format Minimum deck size: 60 Maximum number of identical cards: 4 Ban list: Cards whose English names begin with a consonant, Unglued and Unhinged cards, cards involving ante, Ancestral Recall
So, to assemble a contraption you're telling me that I need THREE cards. I need to spend a card & mana on an input part that does nothing, spend a card and mana on an output part that also does nothing, and THEN if I spend mana and a card on a rigger AND it survives I can tap it (which is a real cost in limited) to make my stuff do anything.
As a mostly limited player I have to say that sounds very sketchy. What if my draft ends up with lots of good input parts & riggers, but only 1 playable output part? In that case if I don't draw the output part basically none of my cards do anything (though riggers are at least creatures & do affect the board).
I like the idea of assembling the 2-part combos, but the parts (both input and output) NEED to do something on their own. Maybe you could treat them as normal artifacts with normal behaviors that also have an 'input' or 'output' keyword (which is only used when assembled into a contraption). IE "Input -- Bt (if this part is assembled, pay this cost to activate the contraption)" / "Output -- put a 1/1 flying colorless thopter artifact creature token into play (if this part is assembled, get this effect when the contraption is activated)". In that way you could play with the balance of giving them weak but not useless abilities at face value alongside much more pushed (by limited standards) input / output abilities to compensate for the challenge of assembling the 3 cards needed to get there.
Yes, this is effectively an A/B/C mechanic. One way to offset the potential for dead draws would be to include other artifact-related mechanics that can make extra use out of your Parts, like maybe an Awaken variant that puts the +1/+1 counters on an artifact or an artifact-sacrificing ability that lets you use spare Parts as fuel?
I don't know. Especially with the Input and Output parts, this implementation of Contraptions seems to heavily encourage the all-or-nothing nature of building decks with cards that depend heavily on each other. Unlike with some other heavy-dependency playstyles and archetypes, where there is merely a boost as the number of cards that fit the theme increases, these are going to be a dead draws a lot of the time. If there are so few Input and Output cards in the deck to mitigate the effects of dead draws, the deck might as well not use these Parts at all. But if there are so many Input and Output cards in the deck so that the deck can have as many Contraptions as possible, the way that Input and Output parts are drawn may be a bit too random (at least for my tastes).
I'm sure you have some form of game plan regarding these, though, so I won't comment on them too much further.
In Limited, I could see cards designed to support the Contraption archetype.
Gather the Parts1U
Instant
Search your library for an Input Part card and an Output Part card, reveal them, and put them into your hand. Then shuffle your library.
In Constructed, you can simply include whichever Parts you want, though obviously certain parts take priority like Outputs that can damage opponents, mill, or produce tokens. Come to think of it, Pressure Plate-Construct Assembly could get hilarious fast; perhaps Pressure Plate should be edited to say "whenever one or more"?
You mention not knowing whether or not the rules can handle Contraptions being some kind of "meta-object". This is not currently written in the rules for obvious reasons, but is possible. The union of an Input and an Output would represent one object. But the aim is to make as many currently-achievable game interactions be captured by the rules you make as possible, and to make it so that the rules are easy enough to understand.
My suggestion is as follows: Since the union of an Input and Output would represent one object, anything that would do something to a Contraption would do it to the object itself, or its two constituent cards (if the former is impossible to do).
For instance, if my opponent casts Crush on my Contraption, the Contraption is destroyed, and so all cards that represent the Contraption go to the graveyard as a result. Even though two cards go into the graveyard at the same time, only one object is destroyed; any ability that cares about objects being destroyed will see one event, and any event that cares about objects being put into a graveyard from anywhere will see two.
Another example is if the Contraption gets animated somehow. On the basis of singular-object representation, I would make the Contraption as a whole become animated, rather than the Input and Output parts separately. (If you do want to make the Input and Output animate separately, then they have to become separated from each other and assembled again.)
The exception to this (which I don't expect to see much of) is if a card specifically refers to the Input or Output of a Contraption, in which case that effect would only affect the relevant Part of the Contraption.
Those are good rules suggestions. Given how much trouble it can be to assemble just one Contraption this way, I would be concerned about the 2-4-1 potential if a Contraption were to be destroyed or otherwise removed even after going through all the trouble to assemble it. But I do have one suggestion: If a Contraption would leave the battlefield, instead you separate the Parts from which it was assembled. That way, the Contraption is removed without removing the Parts.
What characteristics do Contraptions have that come from their Inputs and Outputs? For instance, what would the following be:
a. The mana cost of a Contraption made from Lever Switch (CMC 1) and Construct Assembly (CMC 2)
b. The colors of a Contraption made from a blue Input and a red Output
c. The types of a Contraption made from an Input that has had the enchantment type added onto it and an Output that has had the land type added onto it
d. The types of the Input and Output that result after the Contraption made in (c) splits up, if this is intended to be possible
Also, if a particular Input is a creature and a particular Output isn't, is it possible to assemble those two into a Contraption?
Excellent questions. As far as questions a-d go, I would opt for the simple approach of making the Contraption a colorless artifact with no mana cost, converted mana cost 0, and subtype Contraption. Input Parts and Output Parts retain their respective copiable values.
As for Parts that are also creatures, since the Contraption exists as a separate object that draws only its composit effect from its constituent Parts, creature Parts can be assembled into Contraptions and effectively cease to be creatures while assembled into a Contraption. Furthermore, if the Contraption is separated back into its constituent parts, those Parts reset to their default copiable values as printed on their cards, meaning if one or both Parts were creatures before assembly, they cease to be creatures following assembly and separation.
This admittedly does not play as well with my proposed artifact Awakening mechanic, but it's preferable to forcing the player to remember the Part's creature characteristics prior to assembly. The +1/+1 counters placed on the animated Part could still remain, allowing for the Part to be reanimated and retain the counters from the previous animation.
Arguably, the most important thing is to re-template the wording of the cards so that the creature actually performs the action. Either it can be a keyword action that is tied to the creature rather than the player, or it can be a keyword ability that instructs the controller of the creature to perform the action, but gives credit to the creature for instructing you to do so:
Compare:
~ assembles a Contraption. (Join an Input Part with an Output Part into one Contraption.)
Assemble [cost] (T, [cost]: Join an Input Part with an Output Part into one Contraption.)
Whenever ~ assembles a Contraption, ... / Some other ability
Whoops, you're right, I neglected the "creature assembles" part! I've duly edited the OP.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
Way too complicated. Why don't you just have cards that say Artifact - Contraption or something like that? Then you can have cards that say "Contraptions you control have do X." Much easier to understand and easier for players to get into without needing to waste a lot of thinking and time.
Example:
Kaladeshian Hastemail
3
Artifact Creature - Contraption
Contraptions you cast cost 1 less to cast and have flash.
3/1
Way too complicated. Why don't you just have cards that say Artifact - Contraption or something like that? Then you can have cards that say "Contraptions you control have do X." Much easier to understand and easier for players to get into without needing to waste a lot of thinking and time.
Example:
Kaladeshian Hastemail
3
Artifact Creature - Contraption
Contraptions you cast cost 1 less to cast and have flash.
3/1
Because this cared can;t be assembled by a Rigger, that's why :3
Way too complicated. Why don't you just have cards that say Artifact - Contraption or something like that? Then you can have cards that say "Contraptions you control have do X." Much easier to understand and easier for players to get into without needing to waste a lot of thinking and time.
I suppose you missed the card that inspired this mechanic.
---
I have to agree with the critique of the left side/right side mechanics and that this one actually needing two parts is likely too much. I have a... unorthodox... solution in my head. What if a part it always a left part and a right part, so you simplify this from X + Y + Z = C + Z to X + X + Z = C + Z?
When you assemble a Contraption you choose the trigger/activation of one half and the effect of the other. I'm currently mulling over the possible ways to layout the cards to make that work (without going straight for flip cards - which are... problematic).
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Planar Chaos was not a mistake neither was it random. You might want to look at it again.
[thread=239793][Game] Level Up - Creature[/thread]
1. I agree with whoever mentioned it before that the input and output parts would need to do something on their own. Perhaps they all could have "X, sac: draw a card" at least, so you could cycle them when you only have half the combo? Or they could all have small abilities, like a Fountain of Youth-effect tacked on or whatever.
2. How would these interact with the second ability of Steamflogger Boss?
The boss reads: "If a Rigger you control would assemble a Contraption, it assembles two Contraptions instead". In your example "assemble a contraption" means "joining an input card and and output card".
The way I would guess this would work, is that you could perform the action twice. I.e. Steamflogger Lackey with Steamflogger Boss on the battlefield would functionally read "T:Assemble a contraption. Assemble a contraption." So for Steamflogger Boss to have any benefit at all in assembling contraptions you would need to have two input and two output parts of the battlefield. And all it would gain you would be some tempo, since you are still spending the full amount of resources for each of your contraptions. I.e. without the boss you could just assemble the other contraption the next turn instead.
Importantly, the boss would not make your riggers read like this:"T:Assemble a contraption, then put a contraption onto the battlefield that is a copy of that contraption".
It is possible that this design works under the rules, but issue#1 needs to be resolved for playability reasons, and issue #2 needs to be resolved for "feel good reasons". If contraptions come around, Steamflogger Boss better be a good card in the contraption-deck.
_______
EDIT: First of all, the "functionally reads" is probably incorrect for timing reasons, since I guess the contraptions would be assembled simultaneously. But that doesn't matter for the point I made.
Secondly, a suggestion on how to make the input and output and riggers work a little bit better, I have two suggestions:
A-Make each input and output part have two abilities. One that is functional on its own, and one that is the half of the assembled contraption that you suggest above. Then have the assembled contraptions have all three resulting abilities.
B-Give the input and output parts the ability to assemble on their own. Similarly to how equipment have an "equip" ability and cost, but they can still be attached by other means, contraptions could have a "manufacture:" (or whatever) cost, that read: Manufacture: [cost] (assemble this contraption). (With correct templating). This way they would work without riggers, but riggers would make them better.
This doesn't solve the possible issues with the boss though, and it would make all the input and output parts have a ton of text.
1. I agree with whoever mentioned it before that the input and output parts would need to do something on their own. Perhaps they all could have "X, sac: draw a card" at least, so you could cycle them when you only have half the combo? Or they could all have small abilities, like a Fountain of Youth-effect tacked on or whatever.
2. How would these interact with the second ability of Steamflogger Boss?
The boss reads: "If a Rigger you control would assemble a Contraption, it assembles two Contraptions instead". In your example "assemble a contraption" means "joining an input card and and output card".
The way I would guess this would work, is that you could perform the action twice. I.e. Steamflogger Lackey with Steamflogger Boss on the battlefield would functionally read "T:Assemble a contraption. Assemble a contraption." So for Steamflogger Boss to have any benefit at all in assembling contraptions you would need to have two input and two output parts of the battlefield. And all it would gain you would be some tempo, since you are still spending the full amount of resources for each of your contraptions. I.e. without the boss you could just assemble the other contraption the next turn instead.
Importantly, the boss would not make your riggers read like this:"T:Assemble a contraption, then put a contraption onto the battlefield that is a copy of that contraption".
It is possible that this design works under the rules, but issue#1 needs to be resolved for playability reasons, and issue #2 needs to be resolved for "feel good reasons". If contraptions come around, Steamflogger Boss better be a good card in the contraption-deck.
See my Mobilize topic for one idea of how to make extra use of Parts.
Indeed, Steamflogger Boss would basically have you assemble two pairs of Input/Output Parts. That's why it's important they be as cheap to cast and easy to draw as possible, hence my suggested tutor for one of each.
What's weird about Steamflogger Boss is that he makes your Riggers more aggro and more utility; this suggests certain Riggers could assemble a Contraption whenever they attack, which would have the nice benefit of not wasting combat potential per turn.
EDIT: First of all, the "functionally reads" is probably incorrect for timing reasons, since I guess the contraptions would be assembled simultaneously. But that doesn't matter for the point I made.
Secondly, a suggestion on how to make the input and output and riggers work a little bit better, I have two suggestions:
A-Make each input and output part have two abilities. One that is functional on its own, and one that is the half of the assembled contraption that you suggest above. Then have the assembled contraptions have all three resulting abilities.
B-Give the input and output parts the ability to assemble on their own. Similarly to how equipment have an "equip" ability and cost, but they can still be attached by other means, contraptions could have a "manufacture:" (or whatever) cost, that read: Manufacture: [cost] (assemble this contraption). (With correct templating). This way they would work without riggers, but riggers would make them better.
This doesn't solve the possible issues with the boss though, and it would make all the input and output parts have a ton of text.
While I get wanting to make the Parts do something on their own, that has two drawbacks:
Parts become more complex as they have to fit more text in the box.
Parts become more expensive to account for the extra ability, making assembling them even harder.
Based on Steamflogger Boss's text, assembling will have to be a creature action, particularly of Riggers.
When I started out on this concept, I was using parts with input and output effects like a Wheel that uses tapping and untapping to represent turning clockwise and counter-clockwise, and you would be able to assemble a long string of Parts usually starting with some kind of switch or button and ending with a Part that does something to make the whole process worthwhile. But I realized that would be too complex and unwieldy for the kind of game Magic is, so I simplified it all down to the Input/Output system you now see. (I'm going to be adding this paragraph to the OP.)
The fact that designers keep using Assemble as a standalone action rather than a creature action tells me that's the weak link in the concept. Contraptions could have worked fine without involving creatures, basically like an artifact version of Soulbond or Equip. But, we have to work with what we have to work with, so creature assembling it is.
For what it's worth, I cost the Input/Output parts keeping in mind that you have to jump through an extra hoop to assemble them. But you know, even if it turned out Contraptions don't work the way I and others have proposed, the "Part A - Part B" concept could have merit as its own thing.
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
Curious, so this is like soulbond for artifacts?
It could have a simple ability as well as one for when it's assembled.
Wire4
Artifact - Contraption
When ~ enters the battlefield, draw a card. Assemble (You may assemble this contraption with another unassembled contraption when either enters the battlefield. They remain assembled for as long as you control both of them.)
As long as ~ is assembled with another contraption, both artifacts have "Sacrifice ~: Draw a card, then discard a card".
Curious, so this is like soulbond for artifacts?
It could have a simple ability as well as one for when it's assembled.
Wire4
Artifact - Contraption
When ~ enters the battlefield, draw a card. Assemble (You may assemble this contraption with another unassembled contraption when either enters the battlefield. They remain assembled for as long as you control both of them.)
As long as ~ is assembled with another contraption, both artifacts have "Sacrifice ~: Draw a card, then discard a card".
Assemble has to be a creature action, like fight, because Steamflogger Boss says so.
I do like the idea of putting a cantrip on every Part; that makes casting them not potentially a total waste while at the same time not complicating or overcosting the card too much. It even helps with drawing more Parts.
Seeing the Boss in that mech thing makes me wonder: Could it be possible to evolve Contraptions into creatures or Equipment? As in, being able to assemble artifact creatures out of creature Parts or Equipment out of Equipment Parts? Even if they aren't Contraptions per se, they're interesting ideas.
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
I'd probably change the etb thing then (forgotten about external action). Assemble would be like soulbond, but requires an outside source.
Assemble Weaponry1RW
Sorcery
Assemble(You may assemble two target contraptions. They remain assembled for as long as you control both of them.) As long as the contraption remains assembled, each of those artifacts is an Equipment with equip X and "Equipped creature gets +X/+0," where X is that artifact's converted mana cost.
When I started out on this concept, I was using parts with input and output effects like a Wheel that uses tapping and untapping to represent turning clockwise and counter-clockwise, and you would be able to assemble a long string of Parts usually starting with some kind of switch or button and ending with a Part that does something to make the whole process worthwhile. But I realized that would be too complex and unwieldy for the kind of game Magic is, so I simplified it all down to the Input/Output system you now see.
Input Parts and Output Parts can be assembled into Contraptions by Riggers (and potentially other creatures). Input Parts have ability activation costs or triggers, but rather than provide their own effect, they trail off into ellipses. Output Parts provide effects, but rather than lead with an activation cost or trigger, they lead with the same kind of ellipses. These allow you to mix-and-match costs or triggers with effects.
Below are examples of Riggers, Inputs, and Outputs.
Creature - Human Rigger
Riggers you control have "T: This creature assembles a Contraption." (To assemble a Contraption, join an Input Part with an Output Part.)
1/1
Steamflogger Lackey R
Creature - Goblin Rigger
T: ~ assembles a Contraption. (To assemble a Contraption, join an Input Part with an Output Part.)
1/1
Artifact - Input Part
(This Part can only be joined with an Output Part.)
T:...
Pressure Plate 3
Artifact - Input Part
(This Part can only be joined with an Output Part.)
Whenever a creature without flying attacks...
Security Gate 2
Artifact - Input Part
(This Part can only be joined with an Output Part.)
Whenever a nontoken creature enters the battlefield...
Mage Detector 2
Artifact - Input Part
(This Part can only be joined with an Output Part.)
Whenever a player casts a nonartifact spell...
Artifact - Output Part
(This Part can only be joined with an Input Part.)
...add W to your mana pool.
Water Pipe 1
Artifact - Output Part
(This Part can only be joined with an Input Part.)
...add U to your mana pool.
Oil Pump 1
Artifact - Output Part
(This Part can only be joined with an Input Part.)
...add B to your mana pool.
Fire Brazier 1
Artifact - Output Part
(This Part can only be joined with an Input Part.)
...add R to your mana pool.
Essence Extractor 1
Artifact - Output Part
(This Part can only be joined with an Input Part.)
...add G to your mana pool.
Solar Ring 2
Artifact - Output Part
(This Part can only be joined with an Input Part.)
...add CC to your mana pool.
Construct Assembly 2
Artifact - Output Part
(This Part can only be joined with an Input Part.)
...put a 1/1 colorless Construct artifact creature token onto the battlefield.
Arming Module 1
Artifact - Output Part
(This Part can only be joined with an Input Part.)
...put a +1/+1 counter on target artifact creature.
Automated Crossbow 2
Artifact - Output Part
(This Part can only be joined with an Input Part.)
...this Contraption deals 1 damage to target creature or player.
Trap Door 3
Artifact - Output Part
(This Part can only be joined with an Input Part.)
...destroy target creature without flying.
Lightning Dynamo 4
Artifact - Output Part
(This Part can only be joined with an Input Part.)
...put a charge counter on this Contraption.
T, Remove X charge counters from this Contraption: Choose one -
To provide an example of how Input/Output Parts work, let's take Lever Switch and Construct Assembly and assemble them into one Contraption using Steamflogger Lackey. We effectively get this:
Contraption
Artifact - Contraption
T: Put a 1/1 colorless Construct artifact creature token onto the battlefield.
When I started out on this concept, I was using parts with input and output effects like a Wheel that uses tapping and untapping to represent turning clockwise and counter-clockwise, and you would be able to assemble a long string of Parts usually starting with some kind of switch or button and ending with a Part that does something to make the whole process worthwhile. But I realized that would be too complex and unwieldy for the kind of game Magic is, so I simplified it all down to the Input/Output system you now see.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
As a note on the individual Parts, I suggest not splitting this design into five differently colored Output Parts, but just have a single one e. g. Emitter Prism with "... add one mana of a color of your choice to your mana pool."
Lightning Dynamo creates an interesting problem: Apparently the assembled Contrapton receives not only the activation cost/trigger and effect combination, but also inherits full abilities from the individual parts.
How do you envision assembling a Contraption to interact with e. g. Relic Ward or Archester's Components?
Finally a good white villain quote: "So, do I ever re-evaluate my life choices? Never, because I know what I'm doing is a righteous cause."
Factions: Sleeping
Remnants: Valheim
Legendary Journey: Heroes & Planeswalkers
Saga: Shards of Rabiah
Legends: The Elder Dragons
Read up on Red Flags & NWO
The input side's activation or trigger costs are static. This affects the power of the output effect. And even what effects can be made at all.
........................
In draft, having five different color generators makes it so players will only want to pick emitters of their chosen colors. They're analogous to the Diamond or Myr cycles. I'm not against adding an "any color" option, but that should probably be saved for the second set and/or be costed a bit higher.
While I like the flavor of getting blue mana from a water pipe, would it look better for the emitter cycle to be reflavored as a cycle of gemstone nodes as a nod to past cycles of mana rocks like the Moxes and Diamonds?
Lightning Dynamo originally had three different effects to choose from, all of which seemed like good choices for what a Lightning Dynamo could do (Lightning Coils and Talon of Pain were obviously major influences). It could be simplified down to one effect, but I wouldn't know which. One idea that comes to mind though is to take the charge counter cost and put it on a different Input Part.
As for targeting interactions, I imagine Contraptions existing as "meta-objects", objects composed of smaller objects. I'm not 100% sure how the rules are supposed to handle it; can the Contraption as a whole be targeted, or do you have to target the individual parts?
Honestly, while I like the Lever Switch's simplistic tap cost, it makes it difficult to implement variants that might want to combine tapping with another cost such as mana; for example, a Water Wheel Part that costs U, T. Should the Lever Switch be costed higher to make room? Or should the Lever itself require an additional cost such as 1 or tapping an untapped creature?
Considering the tribe will be necessary to make Contraptions work, there should be a good number of them, though I imagine we'll see most of them in blue and red, perhaps also a good number in white. The Schematics Specialist could grant the assemble ability to all your creatures instead of just Riggers.
Honestly, the hardest part about figuring out Contraptions is the fact that creatures, in particular Riggers, have to do the assembling. I think Input/Output Parts would work easily enough as a standalone concept with a built-in assembly ability, but that's not what Steamflogger Boss demands.
That's why you cost each Part so the Input/Output combination is costed approximately to what it would take to get an artifact with the activation/trigger and effect.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
As a mostly limited player I have to say that sounds very sketchy. What if my draft ends up with lots of good input parts & riggers, but only 1 playable output part? In that case if I don't draw the output part basically none of my cards do anything (though riggers are at least creatures & do affect the board).
I like the idea of assembling the 2-part combos, but the parts (both input and output) NEED to do something on their own. Maybe you could treat them as normal artifacts with normal behaviors that also have an 'input' or 'output' keyword (which is only used when assembled into a contraption). IE "Input -- Bt (if this part is assembled, pay this cost to activate the contraption)" / "Output -- put a 1/1 flying colorless thopter artifact creature token into play (if this part is assembled, get this effect when the contraption is activated)". In that way you could play with the balance of giving them weak but not useless abilities at face value alongside much more pushed (by limited standards) input / output abilities to compensate for the challenge of assembling the 3 cards needed to get there.
I'm sure you have some form of game plan regarding these, though, so I won't comment on them too much further.
---
As for some of the more rules-related points:
1)
You mention not knowing whether or not the rules can handle Contraptions being some kind of "meta-object". This is not currently written in the rules for obvious reasons, but is possible. The union of an Input and an Output would represent one object. But the aim is to make as many currently-achievable game interactions be captured by the rules you make as possible, and to make it so that the rules are easy enough to understand.
My suggestion is as follows: Since the union of an Input and Output would represent one object, anything that would do something to a Contraption would do it to the object itself, or its two constituent cards (if the former is impossible to do).
For instance, if my opponent casts Crush on my Contraption, the Contraption is destroyed, and so all cards that represent the Contraption go to the graveyard as a result. Even though two cards go into the graveyard at the same time, only one object is destroyed; any ability that cares about objects being destroyed will see one event, and any event that cares about objects being put into a graveyard from anywhere will see two.
Another example is if the Contraption gets animated somehow. On the basis of singular-object representation, I would make the Contraption as a whole become animated, rather than the Input and Output parts separately. (If you do want to make the Input and Output animate separately, then they have to become separated from each other and assembled again.)
The exception to this (which I don't expect to see much of) is if a card specifically refers to the Input or Output of a Contraption, in which case that effect would only affect the relevant Part of the Contraption.
2)
What characteristics do Contraptions have that come from their Inputs and Outputs? For instance, what would the following be:
a. The mana cost of a Contraption made from Lever Switch (CMC 1) and Construct Assembly (CMC 2)
b. The colors of a Contraption made from a blue Input and a red Output
c. The types of a Contraption made from an Input that has had the enchantment type added onto it and an Output that has had the land type added onto it
d. The types of the Input and Output that result after the Contraption made in (c) splits up, if this is intended to be possible
Also, if a particular Input is a creature and a particular Output isn't, is it possible to assemble those two into a Contraption?
3)
Arguably, the most important thing is to re-template the wording of the cards so that the creature actually performs the action. Either it can be a keyword action that is tied to the creature rather than the player, or it can be a keyword ability that instructs the controller of the creature to perform the action, but gives credit to the creature for instructing you to do so:
Compare:
Whenever ~ assembles a Contraption, ... / Some other ability
[c]Lightning Bolt[/c] -> Lightning Bolt
[c=Lightning Bolt]Apple Pie[/c] -> Apple Pie
Vowels-Only Format
Minimum deck size: 60
Maximum number of identical cards: 4
Ban list: Cards whose English names begin with a consonant, Unglued and Unhinged cards, cards involving ante, Ancestral Recall
Yes, this is effectively an A/B/C mechanic. One way to offset the potential for dead draws would be to include other artifact-related mechanics that can make extra use out of your Parts, like maybe an Awaken variant that puts the +1/+1 counters on an artifact or an artifact-sacrificing ability that lets you use spare Parts as fuel?
In Limited, I could see cards designed to support the Contraption archetype.
Gather the Parts 1U
Instant
Search your library for an Input Part card and an Output Part card, reveal them, and put them into your hand. Then shuffle your library.
In Constructed, you can simply include whichever Parts you want, though obviously certain parts take priority like Outputs that can damage opponents, mill, or produce tokens. Come to think of it, Pressure Plate-Construct Assembly could get hilarious fast; perhaps Pressure Plate should be edited to say "whenever one or more"?
Those are good rules suggestions. Given how much trouble it can be to assemble just one Contraption this way, I would be concerned about the 2-4-1 potential if a Contraption were to be destroyed or otherwise removed even after going through all the trouble to assemble it. But I do have one suggestion: If a Contraption would leave the battlefield, instead you separate the Parts from which it was assembled. That way, the Contraption is removed without removing the Parts.
Excellent questions. As far as questions a-d go, I would opt for the simple approach of making the Contraption a colorless artifact with no mana cost, converted mana cost 0, and subtype Contraption. Input Parts and Output Parts retain their respective copiable values.
As for Parts that are also creatures, since the Contraption exists as a separate object that draws only its composit effect from its constituent Parts, creature Parts can be assembled into Contraptions and effectively cease to be creatures while assembled into a Contraption. Furthermore, if the Contraption is separated back into its constituent parts, those Parts reset to their default copiable values as printed on their cards, meaning if one or both Parts were creatures before assembly, they cease to be creatures following assembly and separation.
This admittedly does not play as well with my proposed artifact Awakening mechanic, but it's preferable to forcing the player to remember the Part's creature characteristics prior to assembly. The +1/+1 counters placed on the animated Part could still remain, allowing for the Part to be reanimated and retain the counters from the previous animation.
Whoops, you're right, I neglected the "creature assembles" part! I've duly edited the OP.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
Example:
Kaladeshian Hastemail
3
Artifact Creature - Contraption
Contraptions you cast cost 1 less to cast and have flash.
3/1
Because this cared can;t be assembled by a Rigger, that's why :3
I suppose you missed the card that inspired this mechanic.
---
I have to agree with the critique of the left side/right side mechanics and that this one actually needing two parts is likely too much. I have a... unorthodox... solution in my head. What if a part it always a left part and a right part, so you simplify this from X + Y + Z = C + Z to X + X + Z = C + Z?
When you assemble a Contraption you choose the trigger/activation of one half and the effect of the other. I'm currently mulling over the possible ways to layout the cards to make that work (without going straight for flip cards - which are... problematic).
Finally a good white villain quote: "So, do I ever re-evaluate my life choices? Never, because I know what I'm doing is a righteous cause."
Factions: Sleeping
Remnants: Valheim
Legendary Journey: Heroes & Planeswalkers
Saga: Shards of Rabiah
Legends: The Elder Dragons
Read up on Red Flags & NWO
2. How would these interact with the second ability of Steamflogger Boss?
The boss reads: "If a Rigger you control would assemble a Contraption, it assembles two Contraptions instead". In your example "assemble a contraption" means "joining an input card and and output card".
The way I would guess this would work, is that you could perform the action twice. I.e. Steamflogger Lackey with Steamflogger Boss on the battlefield would functionally read "T:Assemble a contraption. Assemble a contraption." So for Steamflogger Boss to have any benefit at all in assembling contraptions you would need to have two input and two output parts of the battlefield. And all it would gain you would be some tempo, since you are still spending the full amount of resources for each of your contraptions. I.e. without the boss you could just assemble the other contraption the next turn instead.
Importantly, the boss would not make your riggers read like this:"T:Assemble a contraption, then put a contraption onto the battlefield that is a copy of that contraption".
It is possible that this design works under the rules, but issue#1 needs to be resolved for playability reasons, and issue #2 needs to be resolved for "feel good reasons". If contraptions come around, Steamflogger Boss better be a good card in the contraption-deck.
_______
EDIT: First of all, the "functionally reads" is probably incorrect for timing reasons, since I guess the contraptions would be assembled simultaneously. But that doesn't matter for the point I made.
Secondly, a suggestion on how to make the input and output and riggers work a little bit better, I have two suggestions:
A-Make each input and output part have two abilities. One that is functional on its own, and one that is the half of the assembled contraption that you suggest above. Then have the assembled contraptions have all three resulting abilities.
B-Give the input and output parts the ability to assemble on their own. Similarly to how equipment have an "equip" ability and cost, but they can still be attached by other means, contraptions could have a "manufacture:" (or whatever) cost, that read: Manufacture: [cost] (assemble this contraption). (With correct templating). This way they would work without riggers, but riggers would make them better.
This doesn't solve the possible issues with the boss though, and it would make all the input and output parts have a ton of text.
Cubetutor Peasant'ish-Funbox
Project: Khans of Tarkir Cube (cubetutor)
See my Mobilize topic for one idea of how to make extra use of Parts.
Indeed, Steamflogger Boss would basically have you assemble two pairs of Input/Output Parts. That's why it's important they be as cheap to cast and easy to draw as possible, hence my suggested tutor for one of each.
What's weird about Steamflogger Boss is that he makes your Riggers more aggro and more utility; this suggests certain Riggers could assemble a Contraption whenever they attack, which would have the nice benefit of not wasting combat potential per turn.
While I get wanting to make the Parts do something on their own, that has two drawbacks:
Based on Steamflogger Boss's text, assembling will have to be a creature action, particularly of Riggers.
When I started out on this concept, I was using parts with input and output effects like a Wheel that uses tapping and untapping to represent turning clockwise and counter-clockwise, and you would be able to assemble a long string of Parts usually starting with some kind of switch or button and ending with a Part that does something to make the whole process worthwhile. But I realized that would be too complex and unwieldy for the kind of game Magic is, so I simplified it all down to the Input/Output system you now see. (I'm going to be adding this paragraph to the OP.)
The fact that designers keep using Assemble as a standalone action rather than a creature action tells me that's the weak link in the concept. Contraptions could have worked fine without involving creatures, basically like an artifact version of Soulbond or Equip. But, we have to work with what we have to work with, so creature assembling it is.
For what it's worth, I cost the Input/Output parts keeping in mind that you have to jump through an extra hoop to assemble them. But you know, even if it turned out Contraptions don't work the way I and others have proposed, the "Part A - Part B" concept could have merit as its own thing.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
It could have a simple ability as well as one for when it's assembled.
Artifact - Contraption
When ~ enters the battlefield, draw a card.
Assemble (You may assemble this contraption with another unassembled contraption when either enters the battlefield. They remain assembled for as long as you control both of them.)
As long as ~ is assembled with another contraption, both artifacts have "Sacrifice ~: Draw a card, then discard a card".
Assemble has to be a creature action, like fight, because Steamflogger Boss says so.
I do like the idea of putting a cantrip on every Part; that makes casting them not potentially a total waste while at the same time not complicating or overcosting the card too much. It even helps with drawing more Parts.
Seeing the Boss in that mech thing makes me wonder: Could it be possible to evolve Contraptions into creatures or Equipment? As in, being able to assemble artifact creatures out of creature Parts or Equipment out of Equipment Parts? Even if they aren't Contraptions per se, they're interesting ideas.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
Sorcery
Assemble(You may assemble two target contraptions. They remain assembled for as long as you control both of them.) As long as the contraption remains assembled, each of those artifacts is an Equipment with equip X and "Equipped creature gets +X/+0," where X is that artifact's converted mana cost.