Red is probably my favorite color to play. Here are some cards/concepts I’d like to see from WotC:
Seer’s FervorR
Sorcery
Look at the top three cards of your library, exile one of them at random, then put the rest on top of your library in any order. You may play the exiled card until end of turn.
First I’d like to see even more exploration of “exile and play” effects like we’ve seen from Act on Impulse etc. I would however like some cards that do this while minimizing some of the feel bad “I exiled this but can’t play it” situations, while still feeling red (and keeping the risk + reward aspect of the mechanic). Or at least to help future draws.
Letters To Ghirapur1R
Enchantment 3R: Discard a card, then draw a card. If you control an artifact, scry 1. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.
I know card draw is an inherent weakness of red’s, but I would still appreciate more ways of getting cards. Topdecking lands late game isn’t fun. I do admit though that a straightforward red filtering engine is a heavy handed way of tackling this.
[EDIT: redesigned this card to feel more red.]
Krenko’s Expertise2RR
Sorcery
Choose two at random (you may choose the same mode more than once) –
. Create a 1/1 red Goblin creature token.
. Target creature you control gets +2/+0 and gains haste until end of turn.
If you chose the same mode more than once, Krenko’s Expertise deals 2 damage to target player.
I know many people hate the random aspects on some red cards, but I think the mechanic can be fun depending on the implementation. The above card maintains a “risk + reward” aspect as all the combinations are not equally powerful.
Brimstone Rusher3R
Creature - Elemental
Haste 1RR: Target creature you control gets +2/+0 until end of turn. If that creature has haste, Brimstone Rusher deals 1 damage to target player.
3/2
Boon of Keranos2RR
Enchantment
When Boon of Keranos enters the battlefield, create two 1/1 red Elemental creature tokens with haste.
Instant and sorcery spells you cast cost 1 less to cast for each creature with haste you control.
I would really like haste to feel more relevant on turns after the creature first enters play. Currently you often forget about it after the creature it’s on hits the table and immediately attacks. What other evergreen is really like that?
Arson2R
Sorcery
Tap target land, and that land doesn’t untap during its controller’s next untap step.
Draw a card.
Finally, I think the Stensia Innkeeper mechanic is just begging for a cantrip implementation in red. The mechanic is pretty new though so they will probably do something like the above in the future.
Would be interested in hearing other people's thoughts.
I especially like that with Krenko's Expertise, you are choosing randomly between effects that you want. I've been sour on randomizing cards for years because oftentimes you end up with a completely negative effect. With your card, the worst that can happen is that you get a not-as-good effect. I would love to see Red do more of this type of randomizing.
I would really like haste to feel more relevant on turns after the creature first enters play. Currently you often forget about it after the creature it’s on hits the table and immediately attacks. What other evergreen is really like that?
Flash.
Virtual vanill-ity is a feature, not a bug.
The Boon of Keranos tokens will play terrible with players unfamiliar with the set more often than not (since haste on tokens is used more inconsistently than on nontoken creatures). Creatures are better, but you need to craft the environment carefully to imbue meaning into the mechanics. Haste can matter, but it's narrow design space and requires tight designs.
You'll need to build an environment and you won't want to do "haste-matters" regularly. And you'll only want to do it if it coincides with another theme/mechanic that makes the environment more haste-y than usual e. g. unearth.
Well, except if all you want is an individual card shout-out like Lovisa Coldeyes was hor Berserkers.
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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]
You could make the haste-matters theme card a standalone and have it feedback into itself to make it appealing to play.
Haste BoonRR
Enchantment
Creature spells with haste you cast cost 1 less to cast for each creature with haste you control.
I like the concept of Krenko's Expertise, but it could be done more smoothly with coin flips I think. CARDNAME2RR
Sorcery
Flip two coins. For each flip that comes up heads, create two 1/1 red Goblin creature tokens. For each flip that comes up tails, target creature gets +2/+0 and gains haste until end of turn. If both flips come up the same, CARDNAME deals 2 damage to target player.
Seer's Fervor is unnecessarily complicated, and doesn't fix the problem of accidentally exiling something that you can't play because it still picks one at random.
Why not just "Exile the top card of your library, you may play that card this turn. Scry 2."
Letters to Ghirapur could be good, bu I feel like the ability costing 4 would hold it back too much, even with the scry. If you goal is to work through late-game land draws, then why not something like "R, discard two land cards: Draw a card."
Krenko's Expetise needs to have the wording on the second option changed to "Up to one target creature gets +2/+0 and haste until end of turn." Since the modes are suppose to be chosen at random but you can't cast a spell that needs a target without one. The new wording lets the second mode be chose able with no creatures on the field.
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WOut of the ground,I rise to grace...W BAfter the lights go out on you, after your worthless life is through. I will remember how you scream...B
Seer's Fervor is unnecessarily complicated, and doesn't fix the problem of accidentally exiling something that you can't play because it still picks one at random.
Why not just "Exile the top card of your library, you may play that card this turn. Scry 2."
What about:
Seer's Fervor | R
Instant
Scry 3, then exile the top card of your library. You may play that card this turn.
Seer's Fervor is unnecessarily complicated, and doesn't fix the problem of accidentally exiling something that you can't play because it still picks one at random.
Why not just "Exile the top card of your library, you may play that card this turn. Scry 2."
What about:
Seer's Fervor | R
Instant
Scry 3, then exile the top card of your library. You may play that card this turn.
You want to give red instant Ponder? Seems excessively excessive. Why not start with lower power level direct rips from blue? Like Serum Visions. Or if you really just want to fix the problem of not being able to play the card go the same route they did with new Chandra.
Seer's Fervor | R
Sorcery
Exile the top card of your library. You may play that card. If you don't Seer's Fervor deals 2 damage to each opponent.
My frustration is that Red effects will exile a card and allow you to play it, but it often happens to be the wrong card for that specific moment in the game. The intention behind the "Red instant Ponder" is that you get some choice in what card gets exiled, so that your "impulsive draw" has a better chance of being relevant to the current game state. Exiling a single card is fine, but the chances are lower that you'll want the card. Dealing damage if you don't play it is fine too, but it doesn't address the desire to have impulsive draw effects that pay off more frequently.
A "Red Ponder" could cost more if you think it would be too powerful at R. My intention is to make impulsive draw more exciting by having it pay off more frequently.
A color-shifted Serum Visions doesn't help, because you scry after exiling the card.
I have a problem with removing the inherent weakness of red 'draw'. If you want to compensate when it goes bad I am on board. Outright removing it would require significantly higher costs and feels wrong in itself. I believe red should work to towards red solutions, not just work to make red 'draw' more like blue draw.
I have a problem with removing the inherent weakness of red 'draw'. If you want to compensate when it goes bad I am on board. Outright removing it would require significantly higher costs and feels wrong in itself. I believe red should work to towards red solutions, not just work to make red 'draw' more like blue draw.
This exactly. The whole spirit of red's card draw is that it doesn't know if it's going to be able to use what it's getting- this applies to elkin draw, wheel of fortune, and rummaging effects and lines up with red's shortsighted and impulsive outlook. Getting to choose an alternate effect when you can't play the card is a good red way to make elkin cards more playable and WotC is clearly playing around with this space right now (Chandra, Torch of Defiance, Spark of Creativity).
Finally able to get back to this thread. Some great ideas here. I agree that Seer's Fervor that I designed is not ideal. I actually really like the design saneatali posted above:
Seer's FervorR
Instant
Scry 1.
You may exile the top card of your library, you do, you may play that card this turn.
I'm wondering if this is too weak though? Some other posters mentioned scry 3, but one thing to mention is that I actually don't think there are any red cards in existence with scry 3 (gotta double check though). I think red is supposed to get only scry 1 and scry 2.
Letters to Ghirapur is not quite there. How about Obsession?
That's a great design. It occured to me now that the sac clause on your card is double good because it makes multiples of the card in a deck more enticing.
I would really like haste to feel more relevant on turns after the creature first enters play. Currently you often forget about it after the creature it’s on hits the table and immediately attacks. What other evergreen is really like that?
Flash.
Damn, you're right. Can't believe I forgot about flash!
I think Arson should be an instant so you can make a tempo play. Sorcery speed makes it meh in my opinion.
I've always wanted a better red Walker, but Chandra, Torch of Defiance is close. I like the idea of a scalable Walker in red, think about this:
XRR
Enters the battlefield with X loyalty.
+1: Put a 3/1 Elemental token with Trample and Haste onto the battlefield. Sacrifice that token at the end of the next turn.
-2: Each player discards their hand hand draws four cards.
-X: Each player sacrifices X lands and ~ deals X damage to each creature and player.
Overall, it seems to do everything red is known for. Three mana for a Shock Elemental, four for a mini Wheel of Fortune, at five it is literally Wildfire.
I think Arson should be an instant so you can make a tempo play. Sorcery speed makes it meh in my opinion.
I've always wanted a better red Walker, but Chandra, Torch of Defiance is close. I like the idea of a scalable Walker in red, think about this:
XRR
Enters the battlefield with X loyalty.
+1: Put a 3/1 Elemental token with Trample and Haste onto the battlefield. Sacrifice that token at the end of the next turn.
-2: Each player discards their hand hand draws four cards.
-X: Each player sacrifices X lands and ~ deals X damage to each creature and player.
Overall, it seems to do everything red is known for. Three mana for a Shock Elemental, four for a mini Wheel of Fortune, at five it is literally Wildfire.
The problem is that each of your example cards is over the curve and your putting all of them on one card with scaling. The idea is nice but finding a balance between bad, good, and broken is difficult.
Seer’s Fervor R
Sorcery
Look at the top three cards of your library, exile one of them at random, then put the rest on top of your library in any order. You may play the exiled card until end of turn.
First I’d like to see even more exploration of “exile and play” effects like we’ve seen from Act on Impulse etc. I would however like some cards that do this while minimizing some of the feel bad “I exiled this but can’t play it” situations, while still feeling red (and keeping the risk + reward aspect of the mechanic). Or at least to help future draws.
Letters To Ghirapur 1R
Enchantment
3R: Discard a card, then draw a card. If you control an artifact, scry 1. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.
I know card draw is an inherent weakness of red’s, but I would still appreciate more ways of getting cards. Topdecking lands late game isn’t fun. I do admit though that a straightforward red filtering engine is a heavy handed way of tackling this.
[EDIT: redesigned this card to feel more red.]
Krenko’s Expertise 2RR
Sorcery
Choose two at random (you may choose the same mode more than once) –
. Create a 1/1 red Goblin creature token.
. Target creature you control gets +2/+0 and gains haste until end of turn.
If you chose the same mode more than once, Krenko’s Expertise deals 2 damage to target player.
I know many people hate the random aspects on some red cards, but I think the mechanic can be fun depending on the implementation. The above card maintains a “risk + reward” aspect as all the combinations are not equally powerful.
Brimstone Rusher 3R
Creature - Elemental
Haste
1RR: Target creature you control gets +2/+0 until end of turn. If that creature has haste, Brimstone Rusher deals 1 damage to target player.
3/2
Boon of Keranos 2RR
Enchantment
When Boon of Keranos enters the battlefield, create two 1/1 red Elemental creature tokens with haste.
Instant and sorcery spells you cast cost 1 less to cast for each creature with haste you control.
I would really like haste to feel more relevant on turns after the creature first enters play. Currently you often forget about it after the creature it’s on hits the table and immediately attacks. What other evergreen is really like that?
Arson 2R
Sorcery
Tap target land, and that land doesn’t untap during its controller’s next untap step.
Draw a card.
Finally, I think the Stensia Innkeeper mechanic is just begging for a cantrip implementation in red. The mechanic is pretty new though so they will probably do something like the above in the future.
Would be interested in hearing other people's thoughts.
I especially like that with Krenko's Expertise, you are choosing randomly between effects that you want. I've been sour on randomizing cards for years because oftentimes you end up with a completely negative effect. With your card, the worst that can happen is that you get a not-as-good effect. I would love to see Red do more of this type of randomizing.
Flash.
Virtual vanill-ity is a feature, not a bug.
The Boon of Keranos tokens will play terrible with players unfamiliar with the set more often than not (since haste on tokens is used more inconsistently than on nontoken creatures). Creatures are better, but you need to craft the environment carefully to imbue meaning into the mechanics. Haste can matter, but it's narrow design space and requires tight designs.
You'll need to build an environment and you won't want to do "haste-matters" regularly. And you'll only want to do it if it coincides with another theme/mechanic that makes the environment more haste-y than usual e. g. unearth.
Well, except if all you want is an individual card shout-out like Lovisa Coldeyes was hor Berserkers.
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."
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Haste Boon RR
Enchantment
Creature spells with haste you cast cost 1 less to cast for each creature with haste you control.
I like the concept of Krenko's Expertise, but it could be done more smoothly with coin flips I think.
CARDNAME 2RR
Sorcery
Flip two coins. For each flip that comes up heads, create two 1/1 red Goblin creature tokens. For each flip that comes up tails, target creature gets +2/+0 and gains haste until end of turn. If both flips come up the same, CARDNAME deals 2 damage to target player.
Seer's Fervor is unnecessarily complicated, and doesn't fix the problem of accidentally exiling something that you can't play because it still picks one at random.
Why not just "Exile the top card of your library, you may play that card this turn. Scry 2."
Letters to Ghirapur could be good, bu I feel like the ability costing 4 would hold it back too much, even with the scry. If you goal is to work through late-game land draws, then why not something like "R, discard two land cards: Draw a card."
BAfter the lights go out on you, after your worthless life is through. I will remember how you scream...B
Instant
Scry 3, then exile the top card of your library. You may play that card this turn.
A "Red Ponder" could cost more if you think it would be too powerful at R. My intention is to make impulsive draw more exciting by having it pay off more frequently.
A color-shifted Serum Visions doesn't help, because you scry after exiling the card.
Seer's Fervor R
Instant
Scry 1.
You may exile the top card of your library, you do, you may play that card this turn.
That lets you peek at the top before committing to the effect, but still lets you gamble on the next card if you want to.
This exactly. The whole spirit of red's card draw is that it doesn't know if it's going to be able to use what it's getting- this applies to elkin draw, wheel of fortune, and rummaging effects and lines up with red's shortsighted and impulsive outlook. Getting to choose an alternate effect when you can't play the card is a good red way to make elkin cards more playable and WotC is clearly playing around with this space right now (Chandra, Torch of Defiance, Spark of Creativity).
I'm wondering if this is too weak though? Some other posters mentioned scry 3, but one thing to mention is that I actually don't think there are any red cards in existence with scry 3 (gotta double check though). I think red is supposed to get only scry 1 and scry 2.
I also love the mention of the "exile and play it or do damage" mechanic from Chandra, Torch of Defiance and Spark of Creativity. I totally forgot about that effect.
That's a great design. It occured to me now that the sac clause on your card is double good because it makes multiples of the card in a deck more enticing.
Damn, you're right. Can't believe I forgot about flash!
There are only 10 other cards that allow Scry 3 or higher, with 7 being Blue, 1 being White, 1 being Green and 1 being colorless.
So I'd say Red can get Scry 3 on rare occasions.
I've always wanted a better red Walker, but Chandra, Torch of Defiance is close. I like the idea of a scalable Walker in red, think about this:
XRR
Enters the battlefield with X loyalty.
+1: Put a 3/1 Elemental token with Trample and Haste onto the battlefield. Sacrifice that token at the end of the next turn.
-2: Each player discards their hand hand draws four cards.
-X: Each player sacrifices X lands and ~ deals X damage to each creature and player.
Overall, it seems to do everything red is known for. Three mana for a Shock Elemental, four for a mini Wheel of Fortune, at five it is literally Wildfire.
I like Arson a lot.
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
Maybe the "whirlpool effect" aka Whirlpool Rider cycle or Tolarian Winds could be red?
New Plan, Now! - 1R
Instant
Shuffle the cards from your hand into your library, then draw that many cards.
Or you know, "plus one" and/or different mana cost...
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Reforge the Soul and such is what I was referring to when I said Wheel of Fortune effects. We've gotten Collective Defiance and Fateful Showdown recently, as well as Bedlam Reveler, so I'd say this is well within red's purview.