Hi everyone. I made a custom MTG card at MTG Cardsmith, and I thought this would be a good place to get some feedback about it.
Just in case some of you cannot open the attachment for whatever reason:
Horse-Head Falcata
Mana cost: {2}
Uncommon
Artifact - Equipment
Kicker {x}. If the kicker cost was paid, put X destiny tokens on this artifact when it enters the battlefield. X cannot be 0.
Equip {2}. Equipped creature gets haste, and if it has no other abilities, move all destiny tokens
from this artifact onto the creature. If equipped creature receives combat damage, remove these tokens from it and put an aura from your hand onto the battlefield enchanting it, with mana cost equal or less than the number of tokens removed.
I'm interested to know what you think about it, stuff like:
What types of decks would it be useful in?
Do you think it is over/undercosted?
If you can see any rule problems with it
Do you think there are any degenerate combos it would enable?
I think it would be cleaner to just put X in the Mana Cost instead of as a Kicker cost. I also see that your attached image has a Kicker cost of "X1" whereas your summary is just "X".
What is the point of saying "X cannot be 0"? Since Kicker is already optional, when do you see a player paying the Kicker cost but leaving X as 0 and having that be a problem? It seems that someone just not paying the Kicker cost is the same as paying 0 for X. It seems like that sentence is just superfluous.
The Destiny "tokens" also need to be "counters". Tokens have a specific game meaning that doesn't match what you are doing. Why move the Destiny counters to the creature? It would work fine if you left them on the artifact. Your design locks the player into only getting value off the first creature it is equipped to and if that creature is destroyed before damage, they have lost all value of paying X.
You don't want to say "If the equipped creature is dealt damage..." as this implies a replacement effect. If you want this to be a replacement effect, you need the word "instead" in there somewhere.
I don't know that a lot of decks will want this, at least at this cost. At this cost, it is too expensive for a Weanie deck and you can only get the Aura text once. This means that almost all the time, it is just a haste enabler. I think having an equip cost of 1 would be fine.
Here is what I would say is a better wording that I think still does what you want:
Horse-Head Falcata X2
Artifact - Equipment
~ enters the battlefield with X Destiny counters
Equip 1. Equipped creature gains haste. Whenever equipped creature is dealt combat damage, if it has no abilities other than Haste, remove all Destiny Counters from ~. If you do, put an aura with converted mana cost equal to or less than the number of Destiny counters removed this way from your hand onto the battlefield enchanting the equipped creature.
"X cannot be zero" doesn't make sense. Kicker is optional anyway, so if a player want to have 0 counters then he just doesn't pay the kicker cost. If you want to enforce the "X cannot be zero", then put X as part of the casting cost rather than being a kicker cost.
Horse Head FalcataX2
If equipped creature receives combat damage...
That should be a "when".
destiny tokens
Should be "counters"
if it has no other abilities
Keep in mind that "no ability" excludes almost means anything that isn't a runeclaw bear or most token creatures. If this equipment only really works for a creature with no other abilities, that severely limits the number of creatures it will be useful with.
move all destiny tokens
from this artifact onto the creature
Unnecessary.
Aside from the wording issues, this card is complicated, extremely limited in use and overcosted. You have an equipment that would grant haste (ok) and let you attach an enchantment onto an equipped creature once (at a time that you can't control). Since you have to pay for X anyway, you might as well cast the enchantment. There is also a flavor issue. Why does a sword let an aura come into play when the creature is damaged? Why does it grant haste?
My suggestion would be to simplify, remove the restrictions on what creature can use it, then lower the cost. then do something about the flavor (likely change it from something other than a sword).
Equipped creature gains haste. Whenever equipped creature is dealt combat damage, remove all charge counters from ~. If you do, put an aura with converted mana cost equal to or less than the number of charge counters removed this way from your hand onto the battlefield enchanting the equipped creature.
I changed "destiny counters" to "charge counters" in order that this artifact would have SOME form of interaction with other things that generate charge counters, giving it more flexibility. Also, removed the "if it has no other abilities" restriction, because, really, the only time that is useful is if you're running a muraganda petroglyphs deck (and I won't run this in such a deck). Decreased the overall cost, because as it is it is less useful than a lightning greaves. Even with the simplification, it is still quite complicated and a very niche card, so making it a rare is appropriate.
Another issue I see with it is that, since it triggers on combat damage being dealt to the creature, the Aura won't enter the battlefield in time to change anything about combat, only taking effect the next time the creature does something. This could be intentional, but either way, it seems to me it would be better served if you let the player get the benefit of the Aura immediately.
I would also do away with the counters entirely. Only being able to use it once is a severe hindrance, and if the creature dies before the Aura can do anything (another problem of only triggering on combat damage), you're completely wasted the card. Repeatable use makes it more flexible and fun.
Magically-Charged Widget2
Artifact - Equipment
Equipped creature has haste.
Whenever equipped creature blocks or becomes blocked, you may pay X. If you do, you may put an Aura card with converted mana cost X or less from your hand onto the battlefield attached to equipped creature.
Equip 1
Thanks to everyone who has commented on my design, and to Cyrogen, who moved my post to the appropriate place.
I think that you have misunderstood what I was trying to do with this card - probably my own fault, as I didn't make the point clear in the first place. In fact, I wasn't sure that anyone would reply, as I hadn't realized that MGTsalvation had a custom card forum. So let me tell you what my intent was, and then perhaps you can offer some new suggestions.
Basically, I was trying to make an equipment card, using MTG Cardsmith, that could be equipped to any creature, but would be better when equipped to a "vanilla creature"; a creature that "has no other abilities". I wanted to design a card that would give people a reason to put things like Runeclaw Bears and Kami of Old Stone into their decks, but I encountered several problems doing this.
For example, physical space for text on the card was an issue. Wizards of the Coast has no keyword for "vanilla creature", so this meant that I would have to write out in detail exactly what I meant, or create a keyword, and then write out what "vanilla creature" meant as reminder text. As you can see, I chose the former option, as it saved on the number of words for what I was trying to design.
Some of the issues you have picked up on concerning wording of the card ("tokens" which are actually "counters", "if the equipped creature is dealt damage..." instead of "equipped creature receives combat damage...", "move all destiny tokens from this artifact onto the creature") were attempts by me to describe a complex idea within the confines of a MTG card text box. I was trying to work out how to describe the card I want succinctly so its rules text fits the text box.
The "X cannot be zero" clause was one idea I tried in an earlier version of the card, as a way to hold the card's power in check should the rules of MTG change in the future. {0} cost abilities have the potential to be misused following the introduction of new abilities or rule changes, so I was trying to prevent this situation
arising. In the end, I just changed the kicker cost to {1}{X}, and did away with the clause. As far as I know, the only card that allows a kicker of {0} to be payed is Verdeloth the Ancient, out of 113 cards with a kicker ability.
As for the uncommon rarity, I was planning to design a number of similar cards, once I had the "vanilla creature power-up" ability 'right'. Because of this, I wasn't worried about like things like not being able to control the timing of when the aura comes into play - I was planning to have people build decks around the mechanic itself. As am example, when attacking with Spined Wurm equipped with the Falcata, it doesn't matter so much if your opponent blocks or not. If they do, you can drop an aura on it that will allow Spined Wurm to punch through the next turn. Alternately, if they don't block, Spined Wurm eats their face. At least, that was the idea.
Also, I was ok with losing the counters on the creature if my opponent killed the creature with a spell or ability, because I imagined that I could use this to my advantage by bluffing my opponent. Imagine a situation where you have Runeclaw Bear and Spined Wurm in play. What creature you equip the Falcata to is going to depend on what aura you have in your hand - something your opponent (generally) doesn't know. Maybe you suspect your opponent has a Doom Blade in their hand, and you want them to waste it on the bears - by equipping the Falcata, maybe you would force your opponent's hand. It could be that you want to equip the Falcata to the Spined Wurm, because you want your opponent to chump block the wurm, so the creature you're about to play in your second main phase can attack for lethal damage next turn.
@ ArixOdragc -
I made the Falcata's aura granting ability trigger on the creature receiving combat damage, because in such a situation the player could potentially put any aura into play at instant speed, without playing any costs (because the cost has already been played), and I wasn't sure if such a mechanic would be confusing or broken when paired with some auras printed previously.
Concerning "Magically-Charged Widget" - I agree that making the "put an aura into play" effect would make the card more fun, but it could also make the card a lot more powerful. Initially I tried to template the Falcata to allow for repeated use as well. But do you think that their needs to be a limit on how many times such an effect can be used due to how powerful it could potentially be?
As for the flavor of the card, initially I started trying to do something that mixed form and function, so to speak, however, at the end, I was trying to get the card to 'work'. I still think there is some flavor there - while holding the blade, the creature can run "as fast as a horse", hence the haste. If the vanilla creature survives combat, the 'destiny counters' are removed, and the creature receives an 'aura', suggesting the creature is on the path to fulfilling his/her/its destiny. The flavor is subtle - probably as a effect of me trying to get the card to 'work', but it is there.
I made the Falcata's aura granting ability trigger on the creature receiving combat damage, because in such a situation the player could potentially put any aura into play at instant speed, without playing any costs (because the cost has already been played), and I wasn't sure if such a mechanic would be confusing or broken when paired with some auras printed previously.
The issue with having it trigger on damage rather than just blocking/being blocked is that the Aura won't come in time to affect anything that turn - and may come too late at all. If your 2/2 is blocked by another 2/2, then by the time the Aura comes down, your creature is dead, and the Equipment's ability completely wasted. Not only does that feel super bad, but you also have to consider how intuitive it is. How many players would realise it works that way? How many would think they could use it to drop a toughness-boosting Aura to save their creature, when in fact it wouldn't work that way at all? And how bad would those players then feel upon learning the truth in the middle of a game?
Concerning "Magically-Charged Widget" - I agree that making the "put an aura into play" effect would make the card more fun, but it could also make the card a lot more powerful. Initially I tried to template the Falcata to allow for repeated use as well. But do you think that their needs to be a limit on how many times such an effect can be used due to how powerful it could potentially be?
I don't believe there's a need for a limit. You already need at least three cards for it to do anything at all (the Equipment itself, a creature to equip it to, and an Aura to drop), and you still need to pay the cost of the Aura, so it's not like it lets you "cheat" anything. This, combined with the inherent drawback of Auras, means it could actually use a boost in power.
The latest version is definitely an improvement over the original, but it's still very complex and has so much text, and it's pretty hard to remember exactly what it does. Why does it only work on vanilla creatures? Why "attacks or is dealt combat damage"? That means it can trigger twice when attacking but only once when blocking. Simplify, simplify, simplify. Here are some versions of the ability:
"X: You may put an Aura card with converted mana cost X or less that could enchant equipped creature from your hand onto the battlefield attached to equipped creature."
"Whenever equipped creature attacks, you may pay X. If you do, search your library for an Aura card with converted mana cost X or less that could enchant equipped creature and put it onto the battlefield attached to equipped creature, then shuffle your library."
It's hard, because you're trying to do a lot of things at once with this card. You've got the vanilla matters aspects, the surprise for us, and the fact that it's an equipment, and all that together eats up a lot of room. Maybe you'd be better served by breaking this concept apart into multiple different cards.
As an idea for a card that hits a couple of the notes you're trying to hit maybe something like this:
Vanilla Buffer :X:
Artifact
~ enters the battlefield with X charge counters on it.
Remove X charge counters from ~: Put an aura with converted mana cost X or less from your hand onto the battlefield attached to target creature with no abilities.
2: put a charge counter on ~.
This isn't ideal with the double use of X, but you get the idea. Maybe make it a fixed cost and a fixed number of starting counters to address that.
I hadn't thought about the limits of auras - that's a very valid point.
I don't believe there's a need for a limit. You already need at least three cards for it to do anything at all (the Equipment itself, a creature to equip it to, and an Aura to drop), and you still need to pay the cost of the Aura, so it's not like it lets you "cheat" anything. This, combined with the inherent drawback of Auras, means it could actually use a boost in power.
I agree that this is one of the weaknesses of the card previously designed. Another drawback of the card was you had to have the right aura in your hand for the situation you are in.
So what about this revision?
---
Etched Blade
Equipped creature has haste. If equipped creature has no rules text, it gains "whenever this creature attacks, or is dealt combat damage, you may pay . If you do, search your library for an aura card with converted mana cost X and put it onto the battlefield enchanting this creature. Shuffle your library."
Equip
From good to great in only two swings of the blade.
---
So, obviously a lot of changes from the original post.
Name and art change with aim of linking function to flavor more concretely.
No more counters.
Rules text corrected and hopefully, easier to understand.
Now grants a "vanilla creature" the possibility of multiple bonuses a turn.
Now a much more powerful card.
Flavor text.
I hope this design prevents the potential for disappointment for those players who want an aura to effect combat the turn the equipment comes into play. Leaving the "whenever this creature ... is dealt combat damage" part seems sensible because it gives this card synergy with Lure type effects, possibly allowing for the aura search ability to be used multiple times a turn.
Do you think I have to make any changes to this card now?
I still believe the "no rules text" portion of the card can go, as it really doesn't serve any purpose. I also believe triggering on being dealt damage isn't necessary and would confuse and disappoint players who think it works differently than it actually does.
As far as templating is concerned, the first line (equipped creature has haste) would have a line break before the rest of the text. Also, there's no way that a card with this much text would have flavor text -- even without it; it's already pushing the line on how small of a font they're willing to print.
You could also shorten it slightly by not grafting the ability directly onto The creature. Instead of the creature gaining the ability just say "whenever equipped creature attacks…… "
Note: if this equipment gives the creature haste, it will by definition never fulfill the 'has no abilities' or 'has no rules text' clause: After all, it has haste
For this to work, it'd have to be worded something like 'equipped creature can attack as though it had haste' (does not give the creature an actual ability)
I hope this design prevents the potential for disappointment for those players who want an aura to effect combat the turn the equipment comes into play. Leaving the "whenever this creature ... is dealt combat damage" part seems sensible because it gives this card synergy with Lure type effects, possibly allowing for the aura search ability to be used multiple times a turn.
Do you think I have to make any changes to this card now?
This doesn't work the way you want it to (unless First or Doublestrike is involved). Combat Damage occurs as one simultaneous action so a creature is only dealt Combat Damage once during Combat, even if it being dealt damage by more than 1 creature. The only creatures with this template say something like "lose that much life" or "gain that much life" or something similar. This is because the only number the game tracks is the amount of damage, not the number of sources dealing damage. You would have to say something like "whenever a creature deals damage to equipped creature...".
Also worth noting is that if you do get an Aura when the creature attacks, it will most likely prevent it from ever triggering again (while enchanted) since the aura will probably grant the creature rules text.
If you really want the "no rules text" clause, I would honestly use the Muraganda Petroglyphs template instead of the current "no rules text" phrase. The other problem is that since the equipment grants the creature haste and a triggered ability, the equipment prevents itself from working. Even without granting haste, the game constantly checks to see if it has rules text. If it doesn't, it gains the triggered ability. Then, it has text so it loses it. Then gains it, and loses it, and so on.
I agree with others that triggering on being dealt damage is overkill and potentially confusing. While it plays into design that hasn't really been done before, it seems to be for very little gain. I also agree that there shouldn't be any flavor text
I would go with something like this:
Etched Blade 2
Equipped creature can attack as though it had haste.
Whenever equipped creature attacks, if it has no abilities, you may pay X. If you do, search your library for an aura card with converted mana cost X or less and put it onto the battlefield attached to the equipped creature. Shuffle your library."
Equip 1
Okay, I got that this card is supposed to buff vanilla creatures, but why exactly this combination of effects (which are for different reasons problematic options)?
You could go with:
Glyphed Edge
Artifact - Equipment
Equipped creature gets +1/+1. If equipped creature has no abilities, it has haste.
Equip
Further the ability to gain Auras can be used indepently and is a separate concept:
Aura Pendant
Artifact - Equipment
Whenever equipped creature attacks or blocks, you may put an Aura that could enchant equipped creature with converted mana cost X or less from your hand or graveyard onto the battlefield attached to equipped creature, where X is the number of cards attached to equipped creature.
Equip
Here changing the trigger to "blocking" rather than "being dealt damage" makes the Aura potentially immediately helpful.
You don't need to separate the Aura idea and the "vanilla creature boost" effect, but maybe the haste is an issue right then, because it takes the simple idea of "having no abilities" and makes it complicated.
Enchanter's Cloak
Artifact - Equipment
You may cast Aura cards targeting equipped creature as though they had flash.
Aura spells you control that target equipped creature cost less to cast.
Equip
Making an existing idea compatible with vanilla matters is just about appending the phrase in a good spot:
Sacred Fetish
Artifact - Equipment
Equipped creature gets +0/+1.
: You may put an Aura card with converted mana cost X or less that could enchant equipped creature from your hand or graveyard onto the battlefield attached to equipped creature. Activate this ability only if equipped creature has no abilities.
Equip
I'm going to try to reply to your questions one by one.
Purpose of the Design
ArixOdragc states:
I still believe the "no rules text" portion of the card can go, as it really doesn't serve any purpose.
I think some of you who have commented on this thread already have picked up on the purpose of the design, but let me re-explain it once more for those who cannot yet see its merits:
The whole point of the card is to give players a purpose to choose vanilla creatures over creatures with abilities to build a deck around. I think if some cards existed (other than Muraganda Petroglyphs) that assisted players to achieve this, cards like Spined Wurm, Kami of Old Stone and Runeclaw Bear would get much more play, and add to the diversity of the game, which would be a good thing. Also, many chase rares required to build any of the popular decks around are expensive to buy, and when Standard rotates, their value falls. If inexpensive vanilla creatures had more cards that interacted with them based on their "vanilla-ness", maybe more people would be able to buy fewer expensive MTG cards to be competitive against their opponents.
Also, many players who are just starting out in MTG likely have cards which came from Wizard's "introduction to the game" products, and therefore, several vanilla creatures, which could slot into a "vanilla creature get buffs" strategy. Perhaps such a strategy could be a bridge between the more straight-forward cards found in intro products and the more complicated cards found in "expert level" products. Although, in saying this, I realize that the card designs I have put forward have been extremely complicated, and not a good fit for 'advanced-beginner' level players...
Templating Issues
Drab Emordnilap writes:
As far as templating is concerned, the first line (equipped creature has haste) would have a line break before the rest of the text.
I know. But I really wanted to see if I could squeeze flavor text in there. And I did! See - it's there! Look! Look!
In all seriousness, I have to agree that the flavor text needs to be removed on such a verbose card (sigh).
The Equipped Card Never Achieves "No Rules Text" Status Long Enough to Matter (a.k.a "MrCardShark should only design custom MTC cards when he is not sleepy)
buemmschaf writes:
Note: if this equipment gives the creature haste, it will by definition never fulfill the 'has no abilities' or 'has no rules text' clause: After all, it has haste
And WizardMN eloborates:
If you really want the "no rules text" clause, I would honestly use the Muraganda Petroglyphs template instead of the current "no rules text" phrase. The other problem is that since the equipment grants the creature haste and a triggered ability, the equipment prevents itself from working. Even without granting haste, the game constantly checks to see if it has rules text. If it doesn't, it gains the triggered ability. Then, it has text so it loses it. Then gains it, and loses it, and so on.
In my sleepy state when I was creating this card, I took "rules text" to mean "the text that is printed in the permanent's text box", and inadvertently undermined the whole design. Whoops.
I think buemmschaf's point is interesting though, because it seems to indicate a way to give a permanent rules text without actually giving it the quality of possessing rules text which may work in future designs.
For this to work, it'd have to be worded something like 'equipped creature can attack as though it had haste' (does not give the creature an actual ability)
Problems with "triggering abilities on damage being dealt"
WizardMN writes:
I agree with others that triggering on being dealt damage is overkill and potentially confusing. While it plays into design that hasn't really been done before, it seems to be for very little gain.
I wanted the "triggering abilities on damage being dealt" there because I thought it may be a little bit safer than allowing the "search your library for an aura card and put it onto the battlefield enchanting equipped creature in response to this creature being blocked" ability. My suspicion is that some auras, when given flash (because, lets face it, that's what this ability does) would make for degenerate, broken play when used in the combat phase, even when used only on vanilla creatures.
Imagine this situation, where Etched Blade's "aura search" ability can be used in response to it being blocked:
1) The player controlling Etched Blade has it equipped to a CMC, 1/1 creature.
2) The defending player wants that creature gone, so he/she blocks with, say, a 5/5.
3) The player controlling Etched Blade activates the "aura search" ability, for , bringing Pattern of Rebirth onto the battlefield.
4) Lethal damage occurs to the 1/1 creature. It goes to the graveyard, and Pattern of Rebirth triggers.
5) The player controlling Etched Blade brings Desolation Twin onto the battlefield. Desolation Twin brings a 10/10 token friend with it.
6) The player controlling Etched Blade equips the 10/10 token with Etched Blade.
Admittedly, Pattern of Rebirth is a very powerful aura just by itself. But still, all the more reason not to give similar auras like it any more help.
So, to my way of thinking, having Etched Blade's "aura search" ability activate on the creature being dealt damage was safer, because while I don't think it would help prevent Pattern of Rebirth shenanigans, it might help prevent others by limiting how auras with "pseudo-flash" can interact with the combat phase, despite the rules text being potentially confusing.
Even now, I'm not sure that creating a card which allows just about any aura to be played at instant speed is a good idea. What do you think? Can you think of any examples where WOTC have printed such a card already? Or maybe you can think of other examples of auras where it would be a very bad idea to have them enter the battlefield at instant speed during the combat phase either due to their power level or the complexity they would cause in game state.
Another issue would be is that if Etched Blade was actually printed, how would this limit the design of aura cards in the future?
Why this Combination of Effects on a "Buff Vanilla Creature" Card?
SecretInfiltrator asks:
Okay, I got that this card is supposed to buff vanilla creatures, but why exactly this combination of effects (which are for different reasons problematic options)?
Thanks for the card design suggestions SecretInfiltrator.
In response to your question, I guess I was trying to work out the answer to this puzzle: how much of a boost to a vanilla creature do you have to give to make a “vanilla creature buffs” strategy both playable against creatures with abilities, and also, desirable for a player to want to build a deck around?
With Glyphed Edge and Sacred Fetish
I see your point that the 'give haste to vanilla creature' equipment idea could be developed separately from the 'give auras' idea, but I'm not sure that's an effect great enough to make people want to use vanilla creatures as an alternative to creatures with abilities, because if a player equips a vanilla creature with "if equipped creature has no abilities" clause, and then wants to boost the creature's abilities later with another effect later which grants abilities, the "if equipped creature has no abilities" clause would likely 'turn off'. That might make the card look like a poor choice to include in a deck.
However, I think if a person did want to design a card like Glyphed Edge, using an ability like haste, which is a temporary attacking boost, and giving the equipment that provides it a low equip cost would be exactly the right way to go about it.
With Aura Pendant
With the "Aura Pendant" design, I think the problems I wrote about in the Problems with "triggering abilities on damage being dealt" section may arise here, but I am happy to be proven wrong on this point.
In short, I like your designs, but I think that it would be better if abilities that give vanilla creatures abilities based on their "vanilla-ness" could 'stack' with other abilities that have the potential to buff any creature.
Suit up - Creatures you control with no abilities get all of the abilities of enchant creature auras attached to Iron Man's Coat Rack. Those creatures are still considered to have no abilities.
{x}{t}: Search your library for an aura card with converted mana cost X or less. Put it onto the battlefield enchanting Iron Man's Coat Rack,
then shuffle your library. Play this ability any time you could play a sorcery.
1/3
ATTACHMENTS
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Just in case some of you cannot open the attachment for whatever reason:
Horse-Head Falcata
Mana cost: {2}
Uncommon
Artifact - Equipment
Kicker {x}. If the kicker cost was paid, put X destiny tokens on this artifact when it enters the battlefield. X cannot be 0.
Equip {2}. Equipped creature gets haste, and if it has no other abilities, move all destiny tokens
from this artifact onto the creature. If equipped creature receives combat damage, remove these tokens from it and put an aura from your hand onto the battlefield enchanting it, with mana cost equal or less than the number of tokens removed.
I'm interested to know what you think about it, stuff like:
What types of decks would it be useful in?
Do you think it is over/undercosted?
If you can see any rule problems with it
Do you think there are any degenerate combos it would enable?
Thanks
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What is the point of saying "X cannot be 0"? Since Kicker is already optional, when do you see a player paying the Kicker cost but leaving X as 0 and having that be a problem? It seems that someone just not paying the Kicker cost is the same as paying 0 for X. It seems like that sentence is just superfluous.
The Destiny "tokens" also need to be "counters". Tokens have a specific game meaning that doesn't match what you are doing. Why move the Destiny counters to the creature? It would work fine if you left them on the artifact. Your design locks the player into only getting value off the first creature it is equipped to and if that creature is destroyed before damage, they have lost all value of paying X.
You don't want to say "If the equipped creature is dealt damage..." as this implies a replacement effect. If you want this to be a replacement effect, you need the word "instead" in there somewhere.
I don't know that a lot of decks will want this, at least at this cost. At this cost, it is too expensive for a Weanie deck and you can only get the Aura text once. This means that almost all the time, it is just a haste enabler. I think having an equip cost of 1 would be fine.
Here is what I would say is a better wording that I think still does what you want:
Horse-Head Falcata X2
Artifact - Equipment
~ enters the battlefield with X Destiny counters
Equip 1. Equipped creature gains haste. Whenever equipped creature is dealt combat damage, if it has no abilities other than Haste, remove all Destiny Counters from ~. If you do, put an aura with converted mana cost equal to or less than the number of Destiny counters removed this way from your hand onto the battlefield enchanting the equipped creature.
"X cannot be zero" doesn't make sense. Kicker is optional anyway, so if a player want to have 0 counters then he just doesn't pay the kicker cost. If you want to enforce the "X cannot be zero", then put X as part of the casting cost rather than being a kicker cost.
Horse Head Falcata X2
That should be a "when".
Should be "counters"
Keep in mind that "no ability" excludes almost means anything that isn't a runeclaw bear or most token creatures. If this equipment only really works for a creature with no other abilities, that severely limits the number of creatures it will be useful with.
Unnecessary.
Aside from the wording issues, this card is complicated, extremely limited in use and overcosted. You have an equipment that would grant haste (ok) and let you attach an enchantment onto an equipped creature once (at a time that you can't control). Since you have to pay for X anyway, you might as well cast the enchantment. There is also a flavor issue. Why does a sword let an aura come into play when the creature is damaged? Why does it grant haste?
My suggestion would be to simplify, remove the restrictions on what creature can use it, then lower the cost. then do something about the flavor (likely change it from something other than a sword).
something flavorfully appropriate X1 rare
Artifact - Equipment
~ enters the battlefield with X charge counters
Equip 1.
Equipped creature gains haste. Whenever equipped creature is dealt combat damage, remove all charge counters from ~. If you do, put an aura with converted mana cost equal to or less than the number of charge counters removed this way from your hand onto the battlefield enchanting the equipped creature.
I changed "destiny counters" to "charge counters" in order that this artifact would have SOME form of interaction with other things that generate charge counters, giving it more flexibility. Also, removed the "if it has no other abilities" restriction, because, really, the only time that is useful is if you're running a muraganda petroglyphs deck (and I won't run this in such a deck). Decreased the overall cost, because as it is it is less useful than a lightning greaves. Even with the simplification, it is still quite complicated and a very niche card, so making it a rare is appropriate.
"Sometimes, the situation is outracing a threat, sometimes it's ignoring it, and sometimes it involves sideboarding in 4x Hope//Pray." --Doug Linn
I would also do away with the counters entirely. Only being able to use it once is a severe hindrance, and if the creature dies before the Aura can do anything (another problem of only triggering on combat damage), you're completely wasted the card. Repeatable use makes it more flexible and fun.
Magically-Charged Widget 2
Artifact - Equipment
Equipped creature has haste.
Whenever equipped creature blocks or becomes blocked, you may pay X. If you do, you may put an Aura card with converted mana cost X or less from your hand onto the battlefield attached to equipped creature.
Equip 1
I think that you have misunderstood what I was trying to do with this card - probably my own fault, as I didn't make the point clear in the first place. In fact, I wasn't sure that anyone would reply, as I hadn't realized that MGTsalvation had a custom card forum. So let me tell you what my intent was, and then perhaps you can offer some new suggestions.
Basically, I was trying to make an equipment card, using MTG Cardsmith, that could be equipped to any creature, but would be better when equipped to a "vanilla creature"; a creature that "has no other abilities". I wanted to design a card that would give people a reason to put things like Runeclaw Bears and Kami of Old Stone into their decks, but I encountered several problems doing this.
For example, physical space for text on the card was an issue. Wizards of the Coast has no keyword for "vanilla creature", so this meant that I would have to write out in detail exactly what I meant, or create a keyword, and then write out what "vanilla creature" meant as reminder text. As you can see, I chose the former option, as it saved on the number of words for what I was trying to design.
Some of the issues you have picked up on concerning wording of the card ("tokens" which are actually "counters", "if the equipped creature is dealt damage..." instead of "equipped creature receives combat damage...", "move all destiny tokens from this artifact onto the creature") were attempts by me to describe a complex idea within the confines of a MTG card text box. I was trying to work out how to describe the card I want succinctly so its rules text fits the text box.
The "X cannot be zero" clause was one idea I tried in an earlier version of the card, as a way to hold the card's power in check should the rules of MTG change in the future. {0} cost abilities have the potential to be misused following the introduction of new abilities or rule changes, so I was trying to prevent this situation
arising. In the end, I just changed the kicker cost to {1}{X}, and did away with the clause. As far as I know, the only card that allows a kicker of {0} to be payed is Verdeloth the Ancient, out of 113 cards with a kicker ability.
As for the uncommon rarity, I was planning to design a number of similar cards, once I had the "vanilla creature power-up" ability 'right'. Because of this, I wasn't worried about like things like not being able to control the timing of when the aura comes into play - I was planning to have people build decks around the mechanic itself. As am example, when attacking with Spined Wurm equipped with the Falcata, it doesn't matter so much if your opponent blocks or not. If they do, you can drop an aura on it that will allow Spined Wurm to punch through the next turn. Alternately, if they don't block, Spined Wurm eats their face. At least, that was the idea.
Also, I was ok with losing the counters on the creature if my opponent killed the creature with a spell or ability, because I imagined that I could use this to my advantage by bluffing my opponent. Imagine a situation where you have Runeclaw Bear and Spined Wurm in play. What creature you equip the Falcata to is going to depend on what aura you have in your hand - something your opponent (generally) doesn't know. Maybe you suspect your opponent has a Doom Blade in their hand, and you want them to waste it on the bears - by equipping the Falcata, maybe you would force your opponent's hand. It could be that you want to equip the Falcata to the Spined Wurm, because you want your opponent to chump block the wurm, so the creature you're about to play in your second main phase can attack for lethal damage next turn.
@ ArixOdragc -
I made the Falcata's aura granting ability trigger on the creature receiving combat damage, because in such a situation the player could potentially put any aura into play at instant speed, without playing any costs (because the cost has already been played), and I wasn't sure if such a mechanic would be confusing or broken when paired with some auras printed previously.
Concerning "Magically-Charged Widget" - I agree that making the "put an aura into play" effect would make the card more fun, but it could also make the card a lot more powerful. Initially I tried to template the Falcata to allow for repeated use as well. But do you think that their needs to be a limit on how many times such an effect can be used due to how powerful it could potentially be?
As for the flavor of the card, initially I started trying to do something that mixed form and function, so to speak, however, at the end, I was trying to get the card to 'work'. I still think there is some flavor there - while holding the blade, the creature can run "as fast as a horse", hence the haste. If the vanilla creature survives combat, the 'destiny counters' are removed, and the creature receives an 'aura', suggesting the creature is on the path to fulfilling his/her/its destiny. The flavor is subtle - probably as a effect of me trying to get the card to 'work', but it is there.
I don't believe there's a need for a limit. You already need at least three cards for it to do anything at all (the Equipment itself, a creature to equip it to, and an Aura to drop), and you still need to pay the cost of the Aura, so it's not like it lets you "cheat" anything. This, combined with the inherent drawback of Auras, means it could actually use a boost in power.
"X: You may put an Aura card with converted mana cost X or less that could enchant equipped creature from your hand onto the battlefield attached to equipped creature."
"Whenever equipped creature attacks, you may pay X. If you do, search your library for an Aura card with converted mana cost X or less that could enchant equipped creature and put it onto the battlefield attached to equipped creature, then shuffle your library."
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
As an idea for a card that hits a couple of the notes you're trying to hit maybe something like this:
Vanilla Buffer :X:
Artifact
~ enters the battlefield with X charge counters on it.
Remove X charge counters from ~: Put an aura with converted mana cost X or less from your hand onto the battlefield attached to target creature with no abilities.
2: put a charge counter on ~.
This isn't ideal with the double use of X, but you get the idea. Maybe make it a fixed cost and a fixed number of starting counters to address that.
I agree that this is one of the weaknesses of the card previously designed. Another drawback of the card was you had to have the right aura in your hand for the situation you are in.
So what about this revision?
---
Etched Blade
Equipped creature has haste. If equipped creature has no rules text, it gains "whenever this creature attacks, or is dealt combat damage, you may pay . If you do, search your library for an aura card with converted mana cost X and put it onto the battlefield enchanting this creature. Shuffle your library."
Equip
From good to great in only two swings of the blade.
---
So, obviously a lot of changes from the original post.
I hope this design prevents the potential for disappointment for those players who want an aura to effect combat the turn the equipment comes into play. Leaving the "whenever this creature ... is dealt combat damage" part seems sensible because it gives this card synergy with Lure type effects, possibly allowing for the aura search ability to be used multiple times a turn.
Do you think I have to make any changes to this card now?
You could also shorten it slightly by not grafting the ability directly onto The creature. Instead of the creature gaining the ability just say "whenever equipped creature attacks…… "
For this to work, it'd have to be worded something like 'equipped creature can attack as though it had haste' (does not give the creature an actual ability)
Also worth noting is that if you do get an Aura when the creature attacks, it will most likely prevent it from ever triggering again (while enchanted) since the aura will probably grant the creature rules text.
If you really want the "no rules text" clause, I would honestly use the Muraganda Petroglyphs template instead of the current "no rules text" phrase. The other problem is that since the equipment grants the creature haste and a triggered ability, the equipment prevents itself from working. Even without granting haste, the game constantly checks to see if it has rules text. If it doesn't, it gains the triggered ability. Then, it has text so it loses it. Then gains it, and loses it, and so on.
I agree with others that triggering on being dealt damage is overkill and potentially confusing. While it plays into design that hasn't really been done before, it seems to be for very little gain. I also agree that there shouldn't be any flavor text
I would go with something like this:
Etched Blade 2
Equipped creature can attack as though it had haste.
Whenever equipped creature attacks, if it has no abilities, you may pay X. If you do, search your library for an aura card with converted mana cost X or less and put it onto the battlefield attached to the equipped creature. Shuffle your library."
Equip 1
You could go with:
Artifact - Equipment
Equipped creature gets +1/+1. If equipped creature has no abilities, it has haste.
Equip
Further the ability to gain Auras can be used indepently and is a separate concept:
Artifact - Equipment
Whenever equipped creature attacks or blocks, you may put an Aura that could enchant equipped creature with converted mana cost X or less from your hand or graveyard onto the battlefield attached to equipped creature, where X is the number of cards attached to equipped creature.
Equip
Here changing the trigger to "blocking" rather than "being dealt damage" makes the Aura potentially immediately helpful.
You don't need to separate the Aura idea and the "vanilla creature boost" effect, but maybe the haste is an issue right then, because it takes the simple idea of "having no abilities" and makes it complicated.
Artifact - Equipment
You may cast Aura cards targeting equipped creature as though they had flash.
Aura spells you control that target equipped creature cost less to cast.
Equip
Making an existing idea compatible with vanilla matters is just about appending the phrase in a good spot:
Artifact - Equipment
Equipped creature gets +0/+1.
: You may put an Aura card with converted mana cost X or less that could enchant equipped creature from your hand or graveyard onto the battlefield attached to equipped creature. Activate this ability only if equipped creature has no abilities.
Equip
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
I'm going to try to reply to your questions one by one.
Purpose of the Design
ArixOdragc states:
I think some of you who have commented on this thread already have picked up on the purpose of the design, but let me re-explain it once more for those who cannot yet see its merits:
The whole point of the card is to give players a purpose to choose vanilla creatures over creatures with abilities to build a deck around. I think if some cards existed (other than Muraganda Petroglyphs) that assisted players to achieve this, cards like Spined Wurm, Kami of Old Stone and Runeclaw Bear would get much more play, and add to the diversity of the game, which would be a good thing. Also, many chase rares required to build any of the popular decks around are expensive to buy, and when Standard rotates, their value falls. If inexpensive vanilla creatures had more cards that interacted with them based on their "vanilla-ness", maybe more people would be able to buy fewer expensive MTG cards to be competitive against their opponents.
Also, many players who are just starting out in MTG likely have cards which came from Wizard's "introduction to the game" products, and therefore, several vanilla creatures, which could slot into a "vanilla creature get buffs" strategy. Perhaps such a strategy could be a bridge between the more straight-forward cards found in intro products and the more complicated cards found in "expert level" products. Although, in saying this, I realize that the card designs I have put forward have been extremely complicated, and not a good fit for 'advanced-beginner' level players...
Templating Issues
Drab Emordnilap writes:
I know. But I really wanted to see if I could squeeze flavor text in there. And I did! See - it's there! Look! Look!
In all seriousness, I have to agree that the flavor text needs to be removed on such a verbose card (sigh).
The Equipped Card Never Achieves "No Rules Text" Status Long Enough to Matter (a.k.a "MrCardShark should only design custom MTC cards when he is not sleepy)
buemmschaf writes:
And WizardMN eloborates:
In my sleepy state when I was creating this card, I took "rules text" to mean "the text that is printed in the permanent's text box", and inadvertently undermined the whole design. Whoops.
I think buemmschaf's point is interesting though, because it seems to indicate a way to give a permanent rules text without actually giving it the quality of possessing rules text which may work in future designs.
Problems with "triggering abilities on damage being dealt"
WizardMN writes:
I wanted the "triggering abilities on damage being dealt" there because I thought it may be a little bit safer than allowing the "search your library for an aura card and put it onto the battlefield enchanting equipped creature in response to this creature being blocked" ability. My suspicion is that some auras, when given flash (because, lets face it, that's what this ability does) would make for degenerate, broken play when used in the combat phase, even when used only on vanilla creatures.
Imagine this situation, where Etched Blade's "aura search" ability can be used in response to it being blocked:
1) The player controlling Etched Blade has it equipped to a CMC, 1/1 creature.
2) The defending player wants that creature gone, so he/she blocks with, say, a 5/5.
3) The player controlling Etched Blade activates the "aura search" ability, for , bringing Pattern of Rebirth onto the battlefield.
4) Lethal damage occurs to the 1/1 creature. It goes to the graveyard, and Pattern of Rebirth triggers.
5) The player controlling Etched Blade brings Desolation Twin onto the battlefield. Desolation Twin brings a 10/10 token friend with it.
6) The player controlling Etched Blade equips the 10/10 token with Etched Blade.
Admittedly, Pattern of Rebirth is a very powerful aura just by itself. But still, all the more reason not to give similar auras like it any more help.
So, to my way of thinking, having Etched Blade's "aura search" ability activate on the creature being dealt damage was safer, because while I don't think it would help prevent Pattern of Rebirth shenanigans, it might help prevent others by limiting how auras with "pseudo-flash" can interact with the combat phase, despite the rules text being potentially confusing.
Even now, I'm not sure that creating a card which allows just about any aura to be played at instant speed is a good idea. What do you think? Can you think of any examples where WOTC have printed such a card already? Or maybe you can think of other examples of auras where it would be a very bad idea to have them enter the battlefield at instant speed during the combat phase either due to their power level or the complexity they would cause in game state.
Another issue would be is that if Etched Blade was actually printed, how would this limit the design of aura cards in the future?
Why this Combination of Effects on a "Buff Vanilla Creature" Card?
SecretInfiltrator asks:
Thanks for the card design suggestions SecretInfiltrator.
In response to your question, I guess I was trying to work out the answer to this puzzle: how much of a boost to a vanilla creature do you have to give to make a “vanilla creature buffs” strategy both playable against creatures with abilities, and also, desirable for a player to want to build a deck around?
With Glyphed Edge and Sacred Fetish
I see your point that the 'give haste to vanilla creature' equipment idea could be developed separately from the 'give auras' idea, but I'm not sure that's an effect great enough to make people want to use vanilla creatures as an alternative to creatures with abilities, because if a player equips a vanilla creature with "if equipped creature has no abilities" clause, and then wants to boost the creature's abilities later with another effect later which grants abilities, the "if equipped creature has no abilities" clause would likely 'turn off'. That might make the card look like a poor choice to include in a deck.
However, I think if a person did want to design a card like Glyphed Edge, using an ability like haste, which is a temporary attacking boost, and giving the equipment that provides it a low equip cost would be exactly the right way to go about it.
With Aura Pendant
With the "Aura Pendant" design, I think the problems I wrote about in the Problems with "triggering abilities on damage being dealt" section may arise here, but I am happy to be proven wrong on this point.
In short, I like your designs, but I think that it would be better if abilities that give vanilla creatures abilities based on their "vanilla-ness" could 'stack' with other abilities that have the potential to buff any creature.