It's always good to be aware of one's own issues that always come up. In my case, they are:
Mana sink and high-cost cards: Anything that demands a lot of mana causes me a whole lot of trouble. I have a particularly hard time designing spells with CMC 5+
Black cards: This one is ironic because in Theros and Tarkir standard I was very much a UB player, but thinking up monoblack cards just doesn't seem like something that comes naturally to me.
Tribal. I just can't make tribal effects interesting because they're all so one-note in my mind.
Not being unusual for the sake of it. I can keep complexity down, but I can't resist using an offbeat creature type with no good reason, for example, or dropping in some trinket text.
I have no mind for designing for limited in any way, or designing a cohesive set, for that matter. I especially can't bring myself to care much for draft archetypes. I just like building interesting individual cards.
I would say that sometimes I have grand ideas that end up either overpowered or too complex. My best designs are usually my simplest ones. I'm sometimes thinking ahead of myself with combo potentials, which can sometimes turn out fine but some of the ideas wind up being really specific build-around stuff that otherwise might not appear that good by itself. I also think I am pretty weak and inexperienced at coming up with commons and uncommons compared to rares and mythics, but I am slowly working on trying to make good commons.
Formats - Being almost entirely a limited player these days, I struggle to design cards to fit outside of limited. I don't like to push designs to a standard/modern power level since they usually warp limited. I don't play EDH enough to know what players really want in a card. This means that when I design sets my rares are often not splashy enough and the focus is too tightly bound on limited.
Playtesting - I used to playtest designs fairly often, even just goldfishing to see if an idea had merit. These days I just theorycraft and mental playtest and tend to settle for something "good enough" without polishing, hoping instead that the raw idea shines through the haphazard implementation.
Flavor - Ohhh man. Unless I'm designing a card top-down, coming up with flavor text or even just a name is harder than mechanical design by a longshot for me.
Motivation - I used to design magic cards pretty frequently, but the past year or so has been a major slowdown. A few of the people who used to get excited to play with custom cards moved away, shrinking my playgroup, and magic has just not been as frequent an experience for me. I've started branching into designing other games, though motivation continues to be an issue.
I have a habit of designing tutors and subset-focused mana dorks akin to Vedalken Engineer and Renowned Weaponsmith, especially where Equipment is concerned. A few of those are okay, but it's important not to overdo it. Lately I've been looking to alternatives such as cost reduction and Commune with Nature/Mulch-inspired draw.
One example is my Final Fantasy-inspired Guardians of Gera block (formerly known as Crystals of Gera). In that block, Crystals play a role as artifacts with the subtype Crystal, most of them mana rocks but some with secondary effects (such as an uncommon mega cycle of two-color Crystals that can turn into Spirit creatures a la Keyrunes and Monuments). The larger-than-average number of mana sources encourages rampy mechanics like Strengthen (whenever a creature attacks, you can pay the strengthen cost to put a +1/+1 counter on it), Encounter (Look at the top N cards of your library, cast any number of creature cards from among them, then put the rest back in any order), and leveled spells (cast a spell at one of two or three levels, with higher levels requiring more mana but providing bigger effects).
However, I'm aware of the possibility that not every player will necessarily pull a lot of Crystals in limited, and so I want to make sure players without a lot of Crystals don't wind up screwed. Thus, certain archtypes in the set are designed to function without heavy amounts of mana. One such archtype is RW Equipment matters, which started with something akin to Taj-Nar Swordsmith mixed with Renowned Weaponsmith. However, I realized that RW is meant to be an aggressive color pair which means it wants to rely less on ramp and more on speeding things out quick. I also realized that rather than simply provide more ramp, the RW uncommon could drive costs down, to help make the archtype more aggressive. The uncommon thus wanted to be cheap itself.
Duergar WeaponsmithRW
Creature - Dwarf Warrior
Equipment spells you cast cost 1 less to cast.
Equip costs you pay cost 1 less. Dwarven weaponsmiths like to boast about their unmatched speed and skill with a hammer at the forge.
2/2
Another case is the GW Summoner theme, which revolves around Spirit creatures with Evoke. Green is at an interesting place in the set as it's already a ramp color by itself, not to mention the color least eager to rely on artifacts. So for this theme, I figured it'd make sense if the Summoner could help you cast Summons.
Elfheim EvokerGW
Creature - Elf Shaman
When ~ enters the battlefield, search your library for a creature card with evoke, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library. T: Add two mana in any combination of colors to your mana pool. Spend this mana only to cast creature spells.
2/2
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.
Writing and developing a story. Flavor comes from story and adds to the cards. The story helps explain the idea of the Set or cards in general. Most of my sets had a general idea of a story, but having something written that goes into depth about the realm, or its inhabitants, as well as main characters would help add to my designs a lot more.
Multicolor cards are also a huge challenge to me. It's hard to really hit the nail on the head for abilities or effects or keywords that involve three or more colors.
I can't seem to come up with any mechanic truly unique. Everything is either some kind kicker, or some old card effect expanded/tweaked into a keyword. I also suck at naming things and getting flavor right.
My problem is when it comes to making things into a cohesive whole. I get a lot of cool piecemeal ideas, but when it comes to bringing them all together, my brain runs away.
I can't seem to come up with any mechanic truly unique. Everything is either some kind kicker, or some old card effect expanded/tweaked into a keyword. I also suck at naming things and getting flavor right.
You know what they say about Kicker. Don't be afraid of making a Kicker-esque mechanic if it has a unique focus. Buyback, Split cards, Flashback, Madness, Entwine, Convoke, Replicate, Evoke, and Surge could all considered variants of Kicker. But we don't care, they're fun mechanics with good names.
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.
Balancing. I'm great at making splashy, flavorful designs, but they are often game-breakingly good, or unplayablely bad.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Vorthos Cartography - Check out my completed maps of Zendikar and Innistrad!
"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit
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.
and also OCD about lil details, like i hate to have the last word in paragraph of text be on its own line, so i'll try all sorts of rewording to avoid it
I've always had a hard time designing mono-red cards. I also lean heavily towards blue (mechanically) in all of my designs regardless of a card's color (no doubt due to my proclivity for blue as a player). It's a tendency I have to consciously resist as a designer. iirc the first card I ever designed was a blue Sinkhole back in '99, because I loved land destruction and blue so yeah...
Anyways, I'm also feeling rather drained as a designer lately due to WotC printing so many mechanics that I've designed over the years, especially in recent years - Raid, Converge, Constellation, Bestow, Tribute, Support, and Dash come to mind, just to name a few. I can't crank out a set fast enough to stay ahead of them. It's "flattering" I suppose so see "my" mechanics in print, but sucks when trying to assemble ten custom, never-before-printed mechanics for a custom block. So it's become difficult to design anything I like these days. That's why I haven't been designing lately: I'm hoping the old creative reservoir will refill if I stop drawing from it so I can then return.
My recommendation would be to try some top-down design. You'd be surprised what kinds of mechanics you can stumble across when looking to capture that one flavorful concept for your theme. Take these mechanics I designed for Guardians of Gera for example:
Strengthen -cost- (Whenever this creature attacks, you may pay -cost-. If you do, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.)
I first designed this mechanic for my Legend of Zelda set, there called Encourage as part of a trio of mechanics themed after the virtues of the Triforce (Courage, Power, and Wisdom). I later realized it would work great for Warriors, Knights, and the occasional Rogue in GoG as Fighter-type creatures want to attack and grow stronger through doing so. To suit the flavor, I renamed the mechanic Invigorate and then later Strengthen. Strengthen is concentrated in RG Warriors, though WB Knights get a decent amount and at least one blue Rogue gets it.
To help distinguish Encourage from Strengthen, the former has since been tweaked so it triggers off attacking with one or more creatures, but not necessarily the one with the ability, and lets you put the +1/+1 counter on any attacking creature, making it closer to Exalted in function.
Focus - Whenever you cast a spell with a single target, [effect].
If Fighters wanted to attack, Mages wanted you to cast spells. The question was, how to capture that in an interesting way? Well, I knew Mages in Final Fantasy often got an ability command called "Focus" that would make their next spell stronger. I started with trying to figure out a reverse Convoke, where the Mage could be tapped to help pay for a spell. I think it was Heroic that later inspired me to try a different angle: Caring about targeted spells. Specifically, spells with a single target. If Fighters are the ever-growing beatsticks, then Mages are the diverse utility creatures that hang back and add a variety of bonuses to your single-target spells. Fighters go tall, Mages go wide. Focus is concentrated in WU Wizards, though BRG all get some on Wizards (black) and Shamans (RG and occasionally white or black).
Encounter N (When you cast this spell, look at the top N cards of your library. You may cast any number of creature cards from among them, then put the rest back in any order.)
This was designed as a mechanic to capture the flavor of monster encounters in FF and other RPGs. Since monsters tend to attack in mobs, the mechanic wanted you to somehow play more creatures. I started with a Replicate-esque mechanic that had you put tokens that are copies of a given creature onto the battlefield, not a terrible idea in and of itself but maybe a bit difficult to balance. Then I was inspired by two mechanics: Ripple and Cascade, both of which allow you to cast spells straight from your library. Problem is, they can be a bit busted as they allow you to cast spells for free, leading to surprise blowouts and brokencombos.
I opted to try a more balanced mechanic that allows you to cast creature cards among the top N cards of your library, then put them back in any order (you don't put any on the bottom as otherwise this would be super scry). You still have to pay any costs you normally would for those creature cards. Originally Encounter specified "for their mana costs", but this would prevent Encounter from playing nicely with Evoke, a returning keyword that serves as the summon mechanic of the set. Encounter is concentrated in BG with red as a close third and white and blue having minimal representation.
Leveled Spells
Spell Name
L1 [effect] -cost1-
L2 [effect] -cost2-
FF's two or three-level spell series like Fire - Fira - Firaga inspired the flavor, while the mechanics are inspired by RotE's Level up creatures as well as the notion of a spell having two "levels" of Kicker. In GoG, you have 2-level spells that can be cast for either the Level 1 or 2 cost in exchange for that level's respective effect. The second levels generally go wide in a manner similar to Overload, but with the distinction of targeting a player and effecting their field so as to synergize with Focus (for example, a 2-level burn spell's level 1 might deal 2 damage to target creature or player while the level 2 deals 2 damage to target player and each creature he or she controls). This gives 2-level spells value both early and late game.
Crystals of Gera swaps 2-level spells out for 3-level spells, which now focus on vertical increases as opposed to horizontal expansion. For example, a 3-level burn spell might deal 2, 3, or 4 damage to a single creature or player depending on the level cast. This gives 3-level spells a different feel from 2-level spells while retaining the spirit of increasing value as you play more mana sources.
Leveled spells are concentrated in UR with WB being secondary and green tertiary. 2-level spells have two mana costs much like split cards. 3-level spells likewise have three mana costs.
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.
Designing for a format is the bane of my existence, especially if it's Limited.
This also feeds into wanting to design a set, but good lord designing commons is a nightmare... because I'm never sure how to well... design a vanilla creature. It kills me not to have some ability on a card.
It comes down to what needs your set has. Try using a P/T combination that hasn't been represented much among the other commons in the set. Also consider making your vanilla creatures a bit bigger so each color has some size. Finally, don't forget that vanillas can play important roles in supporting mechanics; Alpine Grizzly and Dromoka Warrior were two such cards (Grizzly had a power of 4 for Ferocious decks and Warrior had a low toughness to make it easy to bolster, with the side benefit that the power is higher than toughness thus making Warrior a good beatstick).
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.
Anyways, I'm also feeling rather drained as a designer lately due to WotC printing so many mechanics that I've designed over the years, especially in recent years - Raid, Converge, Constellation, Bestow, Tribute, Support, and Dash come to mind, just to name a few. I can't crank out a set fast enough to stay ahead of them. It's "flattering" I suppose so see "my" mechanics in print, but sucks when trying to assemble ten custom, never-before-printed mechanics for a custom block. So it's become difficult to design anything I like these days. That's why I haven't been designing lately: I'm hoping the old creative reservoir will refill if I stop drawing from it so I can then return.
Ah! I've been having the same problems! Delve? Oh, they're reprinting that. An Exile matter set? Oops. Colorless matters? Double oops. That kinda drained a lot of my creative interest in some of my earlier projects. At least the nature of the Suvnica creative means even if the rumors about the Fall 2017 set are true, a third Ravnica set is unlikely to interfere with it.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Mana sink and high-cost cards: Anything that demands a lot of mana causes me a whole lot of trouble. I have a particularly hard time designing spells with CMC 5+
Black cards: This one is ironic because in Theros and Tarkir standard I was very much a UB player, but thinking up monoblack cards just doesn't seem like something that comes naturally to me.
What are yours?
Not being unusual for the sake of it. I can keep complexity down, but I can't resist using an offbeat creature type with no good reason, for example, or dropping in some trinket text.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
One example is my Final Fantasy-inspired Guardians of Gera block (formerly known as Crystals of Gera). In that block, Crystals play a role as artifacts with the subtype Crystal, most of them mana rocks but some with secondary effects (such as an uncommon mega cycle of two-color Crystals that can turn into Spirit creatures a la Keyrunes and Monuments). The larger-than-average number of mana sources encourages rampy mechanics like Strengthen (whenever a creature attacks, you can pay the strengthen cost to put a +1/+1 counter on it), Encounter (Look at the top N cards of your library, cast any number of creature cards from among them, then put the rest back in any order), and leveled spells (cast a spell at one of two or three levels, with higher levels requiring more mana but providing bigger effects).
However, I'm aware of the possibility that not every player will necessarily pull a lot of Crystals in limited, and so I want to make sure players without a lot of Crystals don't wind up screwed. Thus, certain archtypes in the set are designed to function without heavy amounts of mana. One such archtype is RW Equipment matters, which started with something akin to Taj-Nar Swordsmith mixed with Renowned Weaponsmith. However, I realized that RW is meant to be an aggressive color pair which means it wants to rely less on ramp and more on speeding things out quick. I also realized that rather than simply provide more ramp, the RW uncommon could drive costs down, to help make the archtype more aggressive. The uncommon thus wanted to be cheap itself.
Duergar Weaponsmith RW
Creature - Dwarf Warrior
Equipment spells you cast cost 1 less to cast.
Equip costs you pay cost 1 less.
Dwarven weaponsmiths like to boast about their unmatched speed and skill with a hammer at the forge.
2/2
Another case is the GW Summoner theme, which revolves around Spirit creatures with Evoke. Green is at an interesting place in the set as it's already a ramp color by itself, not to mention the color least eager to rely on artifacts. So for this theme, I figured it'd make sense if the Summoner could help you cast Summons.
Elfheim Evoker GW
Creature - Elf Shaman
When ~ enters the battlefield, search your library for a creature card with evoke, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library.
T: Add two mana in any combination of colors to your mana pool. Spend this mana only to cast creature spells.
2/2
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.
Multicolor cards are also a huge challenge to me. It's hard to really hit the nail on the head for abilities or effects or keywords that involve three or more colors.
Servien
Chaos' Realm
Escalation of Chaos
Tales of Cahdaria
Enigmatic Distrubance
Celestial Unveiling
You know what they say about Kicker. Don't be afraid of making a Kicker-esque mechanic if it has a unique focus. Buyback, Split cards, Flashback, Madness, Entwine, Convoke, Replicate, Evoke, and Surge could all considered variants of Kicker. But we don't care, they're fun mechanics with good names.
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.
"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit
Also, I have trouble coming up with good keyword mechanics.
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.
and also OCD about lil details, like i hate to have the last word in paragraph of text be on its own line, so i'll try all sorts of rewording to avoid it
it's weird
Anyways, I'm also feeling rather drained as a designer lately due to WotC printing so many mechanics that I've designed over the years, especially in recent years - Raid, Converge, Constellation, Bestow, Tribute, Support, and Dash come to mind, just to name a few. I can't crank out a set fast enough to stay ahead of them. It's "flattering" I suppose so see "my" mechanics in print, but sucks when trying to assemble ten custom, never-before-printed mechanics for a custom block. So it's become difficult to design anything I like these days. That's why I haven't been designing lately: I'm hoping the old creative reservoir will refill if I stop drawing from it so I can then return.
I first designed this mechanic for my Legend of Zelda set, there called Encourage as part of a trio of mechanics themed after the virtues of the Triforce (Courage, Power, and Wisdom). I later realized it would work great for Warriors, Knights, and the occasional Rogue in GoG as Fighter-type creatures want to attack and grow stronger through doing so. To suit the flavor, I renamed the mechanic Invigorate and then later Strengthen. Strengthen is concentrated in RG Warriors, though WB Knights get a decent amount and at least one blue Rogue gets it.
To help distinguish Encourage from Strengthen, the former has since been tweaked so it triggers off attacking with one or more creatures, but not necessarily the one with the ability, and lets you put the +1/+1 counter on any attacking creature, making it closer to Exalted in function.
If Fighters wanted to attack, Mages wanted you to cast spells. The question was, how to capture that in an interesting way? Well, I knew Mages in Final Fantasy often got an ability command called "Focus" that would make their next spell stronger. I started with trying to figure out a reverse Convoke, where the Mage could be tapped to help pay for a spell. I think it was Heroic that later inspired me to try a different angle: Caring about targeted spells. Specifically, spells with a single target. If Fighters are the ever-growing beatsticks, then Mages are the diverse utility creatures that hang back and add a variety of bonuses to your single-target spells. Fighters go tall, Mages go wide. Focus is concentrated in WU Wizards, though BRG all get some on Wizards (black) and Shamans (RG and occasionally white or black).
This was designed as a mechanic to capture the flavor of monster encounters in FF and other RPGs. Since monsters tend to attack in mobs, the mechanic wanted you to somehow play more creatures. I started with a Replicate-esque mechanic that had you put tokens that are copies of a given creature onto the battlefield, not a terrible idea in and of itself but maybe a bit difficult to balance. Then I was inspired by two mechanics: Ripple and Cascade, both of which allow you to cast spells straight from your library. Problem is, they can be a bit busted as they allow you to cast spells for free, leading to surprise blowouts and broken combos.
I opted to try a more balanced mechanic that allows you to cast creature cards among the top N cards of your library, then put them back in any order (you don't put any on the bottom as otherwise this would be super scry). You still have to pay any costs you normally would for those creature cards. Originally Encounter specified "for their mana costs", but this would prevent Encounter from playing nicely with Evoke, a returning keyword that serves as the summon mechanic of the set. Encounter is concentrated in BG with red as a close third and white and blue having minimal representation.
Spell Name
L1 [effect] -cost1-
L2 [effect] -cost2-
FF's two or three-level spell series like Fire - Fira - Firaga inspired the flavor, while the mechanics are inspired by RotE's Level up creatures as well as the notion of a spell having two "levels" of Kicker. In GoG, you have 2-level spells that can be cast for either the Level 1 or 2 cost in exchange for that level's respective effect. The second levels generally go wide in a manner similar to Overload, but with the distinction of targeting a player and effecting their field so as to synergize with Focus (for example, a 2-level burn spell's level 1 might deal 2 damage to target creature or player while the level 2 deals 2 damage to target player and each creature he or she controls). This gives 2-level spells value both early and late game.
Crystals of Gera swaps 2-level spells out for 3-level spells, which now focus on vertical increases as opposed to horizontal expansion. For example, a 3-level burn spell might deal 2, 3, or 4 damage to a single creature or player depending on the level cast. This gives 3-level spells a different feel from 2-level spells while retaining the spirit of increasing value as you play more mana sources.
Leveled spells are concentrated in UR with WB being secondary and green tertiary. 2-level spells have two mana costs much like split cards. 3-level spells likewise have three mana costs.
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.
This also feeds into wanting to design a set, but good lord designing commons is a nightmare... because I'm never sure how to well... design a vanilla creature. It kills me not to have some ability on a card.
Choose one of these judge of creation:
Make Strionic Resonator shine!
You can not grasp the true form of Ashiok's attack!
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.
Ah! I've been having the same problems! Delve? Oh, they're reprinting that. An Exile matter set? Oops. Colorless matters? Double oops. That kinda drained a lot of my creative interest in some of my earlier projects. At least the nature of the Suvnica creative means even if the rumors about the Fall 2017 set are true, a third Ravnica set is unlikely to interfere with it.