Tide of Misery3BB
Sorcery (R)
Target player loses 1 life. Creatures that player controls get -X/-X, where X is the amount of life he or she lost this turn. "A drop of blood brings an ocean of despair."
-Shauku, Endbringer
It was at that moment that I realized: I'm kinda just making these things up. We can just write the rules the way we want them to work. People will have fun, and people will get it.
That card is ridiculously strong, too strong to ever print I think. You hit with almost anything before playing it and it's a one-sided wrath for 5 total mana. That's just far too good.
This is only good when you're ahead since that's pretty much the only way you're going to be able to cast this for more than -1/-1. It's strong but I don't think it's that strong.
It was at that moment that I realized: I'm kinda just making these things up. We can just write the rules the way we want them to work. People will have fun, and people will get it.
It was at that moment that I realized: I'm kinda just making these things up. We can just write the rules the way we want them to work. People will have fun, and people will get it.
I don't think the art matches much for my tastes. Not sure I like the 1 life loss either. If you're going to deal damage to them anyway to make it more powerful then why have the 1 there? i like the effect otherwise.
It's pretty much a one-sided Mutilate, as any creature with flying before this thing drops (even a 3/1 in Standard play) will wind up doing the same as Mizzium Mortars overloaded but for one less mana, and the card is rewarding you for doing exactly what your deck should have been doing first place: Dealing damage to the opponent.
It's a bit too strong, in my opinion, not too much so, but I freaking love this card and wish it were real. If you run evasive creatures (which, erm, most decks in Standard do) or just creatures in general (because most people don't chump block anyway), then this card is a one-sided Wrath that can swing a game in the caster's favor a solid percentage of the time from sheer card advantage alone. No need to play Lightning Bolt or any other method to damage, either.
I mean, if they printed Bonfire of the Damned as the, "If you topdeck me post turn 5, your chances of winning just skyrocketed" card, then I don't see why this would not see print either, but perhaps with another drawback. Even with, "Lose 1 life for each creature put into the graveyard this way" I could still imagine this card seeing play as one-sided Wraths are incredibly swingy effects when they're under 9 mana.
It's important to remember that people change their play styles based on the cards their opponents are playing. Yeah, of course this would be a massive blowout if your opponents don't ever play around it, but if it ever became popular in constructed players would start utilizing removal on cheap evasive creatures, chump blocking more, etc.
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"In the beginning, MTG Salvation switched to a new forum format.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
It was at that moment that I realized: I'm kinda just making these things up. We can just write the rules the way we want them to work. People will have fun, and people will get it.
Utility based on lost life is very difficult to use. This is fair. The :symb::symb: is especially intelligent, since black finds it the hardest to fight through someone who knows about the card and blocks accordingly.
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Epic banner by Erasmus of æтђєг.
Awesome avatar provided by Krashbot @ [Epic Graphics].
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the correct wording "target player has lost" and not "he or she has lost"?
In general you want to avoid using the word target to refer to a target you've previously chosen, as it could be interpreted incorrectly to mean that you choose a second target. We could have used "that player" instead of "he or she", but it doesn't really matter in terms of the actual function of the card.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"In the beginning, MTG Salvation switched to a new forum format.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
It was at that moment that I realized: I'm kinda just making these things up. We can just write the rules the way we want them to work. People will have fun, and people will get it.
in my opinion its a pretty weak card that wouldnt see much play because when u want to destroy all ur opponents creatures, u want a card that does for sure and this card doesnt, cause u need to deal dmg before but the question is, are u able to deal the dmg with creatures ? can u if ur opponent has so much power on board that u want to destroy them with spells ? this card is already expansive with 5 mana ? so can u avoid more mana to deal dmg ?
This. Sure, with this and a Lightning Bolt, you can deal -4/-4 to everything... but then you spent 7 mana when Mutilate can easily get you there and beyond at 4 mana in MBC.
I would just like to note that designs shouldn't simply be thrown together in a haphazard manner. Each element of the design should be articulate and well crafted. Not that the designs don't turn out that way, but there are inconsistency that are obvious to the trained eye. The designs end up having little or no meaning to them, existing as abilities just thrown together and named with only a vague sense of relativity connecting them. This is not the showings of an artisan. I wish you all you re-think your process here so that the designs end up with a greater depth.
For example, look at the details I've put into this single design (render attached).
Not saying that every design needs this much detail, but as an example that the best designers produce content with great depth.
Universal content is the center of all content. When you develop it, you've got to take every single other element of your project into consideration. To me, there are degrees when it comes to this type of content; like mild, medium, hot, and blazing sauce. The intensity depends on overall power of the ability itself. Things like mana amplifiers are hot. And simple things like single mana fixers are mild. Removal is basically the ultimate function of the game; the most powerful basic operation. Hard removal and soft removal both. So naturally, combining them into a single design that offers it all is going to be blazing. What makes or breaks the design at this point is how you apply the hard and soft removal. In the right places, it's the perfect amount of pressure. Carelessly, you'll just end up with something that leaves you with a bad feeling about it.
The artwork is what inspired the design. It's a vivid, colorful, and mystic depiction of the most revered symbol of all Asian (the Yin-Yang). Due to the nature of Yin and Yang (being immaterial/ forms of energy), I wanted to base the design as an enchantment. It didn't feel right though, because it looked awful without any color. Simply adding a color (or all colors) seemed too tacky. I noticed that the painting of the Yin-Yang resembled a machine-like form. Quick thinking lead me to realize I could make a bauble out of this; and I ran with the idea from there. New and interesting forms of classic elements (like a bauble) breath so much life into a project. It's like feeling both revelation and nostalgia at the same time; something familiar, yet brand new. It was a welcomed addition to the set, and I loved the optical appeal it brought to the project.
At this point, I realized there was a challenge ahead. The design's function would have to live up to the amazing optics. This isn't simply done. In Magic, most everything has been done before. Creating a new or interesting bauble is a seriously challenging thing to do. I factored out the possibility of doing something new and decided that something traditional with a modal form would be a great way to embody the concept of Yin and Yang. In my first attempt, there were three options, and they represented positive, negative, and neutral. It was disenchant removal, bounce, and universal card draw.
It was okay, but seemed to do too much. The card draw ability is what really seemed out of place to me. I wanted to simplify the design to concentrate its ability and meanings. To do this, I simply got rid of the third ability and tweaked another one. By simply adding spells to the bounce ability, I perfected the design instantly. Now it was simple, yet powerful; it was Yin and Yang with flawless execution. Yang (evil, that destroys) is represented by the hard removal. It destroys the artifact or enchantment forever. A merciless, harsh action. And Yin (good, which preserves) is represented by soft removal. It simply restrains a source without destroying it, or preserves a source from being destroyed. A merciful, passive action.
Lastly, I tooled around with the costs. It started out with a casting cost of and an activation cost of the same amount. Then I started to run test scenarios in my mind. In my experience, this was too expensive, and anyone who used the design would be greatly held back by those costs. I wanted something that was lite and fast paced. The concept demanded greatness. Yin and Yang are more than legendary; the need for power in this design was not to taken lightly. However, too low a cost lead to a feeling of guilt; such a dilemma.
For a long while, it hosted a split cost of (both casting cost and activation cost). Eventually, I had to accept that even this cost would hold anyone who used it back by an entire turn. I had to bring that time-frame up to 0 if this design was to meet the demand for power that was commanded of it. Each of the peer spells that host the contemporary abilities cost two mana (for example, Disenchant and Memory Lapse ). Anything greater than one mana in addition to their costs would push the design into an average power. That's when I decided a lite casting cost of one mana with an on-par activation cost of two mana was the perfect balance; and in doing so, the design achieved its perfect form.
In the final touch, I inscribed upon it as flavor-text wise words that are meant to remind all of the consequences and benefits to your actions. If you are hasty to destroy, you may be unable to save yourselves later (should the need arise). Choose wisely; once it is done, you can never take it back.
We have an entire forum dedicated to people coming up with their own individual designs which they can ponder as long as they like. However, the point of YMTC is to allow the entire community to design something together, which unfortunately involves a simplification of the design process.
That's not to say that we don't put thought into our designs, we do, and I think this card is actually one of our better examples of good design.
I don't think that the process we use here is perfect, but our goal is to let everyone have a say in what the final product is, for better or worse. If the end result is good, we can all enjoy it. If it's not, then we can all learn from it. This may result in a less focused design, but I think we gain more from the process because of it.
There's also the fact that design is objective. You may really like the design of your card, but to me, it has a very obvious design flaw in that it gives any color access to relatively efficient artifact and enchantment destruction, something that colors like black have historically and purposefully been weak at. Now, we can have a discussion about that, which is what happens in the majority of this forum, but the point of this project is to design something as a community from the ground up rather than editing each other's work.
If you have any suggestions on how you think you could improve the design process (and it could certainly use improvement) feel free to message me about it or post your ideas here, but I have to disagree that this card was thrown together in a "haphazard" manner.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"In the beginning, MTG Salvation switched to a new forum format.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
It was at that moment that I realized: I'm kinda just making these things up. We can just write the rules the way we want them to work. People will have fun, and people will get it.
I think it comes out very good sometimes, but not most of the time. The last good one I've seen in ages is Failed Negotiations. It's understandable, coming up with something together, but the entire basis of Magic and their designs is so very deep. Without that, it violates the very essence of the game. It comes off as cold and corporate, just shells of a design without a soul.
I think it comes out very good sometimes, but not most of the time. The last good one I've seen in ages is Failed Negotiations. It's understandable, coming up with something together, but the entire basis of Magic and their designs is so very deep. Without that, it violates the very essence of the game. It comes off as cold and corporate, just shells of a design without a soul.
I think what you're saying is you have reservations about democracy.
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():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Epic banner by Erasmus of æтђєг.
Awesome avatar provided by Krashbot @ [Epic Graphics].
I don't really think "Fusion Bauble" is a masterful piece of design to be honest. First, it doesn't "fuse" anything. Second, it breaks the color pie. Third, it's Yin/Yang and you use neither black nor white mana. Fourth, the card Disenchant already used an Asian-inspired B&W image which included a "destroy artifact/enchantment".
I could keep going, but I think that the YMTC designs have at least as many interesting applications as those submitted by many solo designers.
I don't really think "Fusion Bauble" is a masterful piece of design to be honest. First, it doesn't "fuse" anything. Second, it breaks the color pie. Third, it's Yin/Yang and you use neither black nor white mana. Fourth, the card Disenchant already used an Asian-inspired B&W image which included a "destroy artifact/enchantment".
I could keep going, but I think that the YMTC designs have at least as many interesting applications as those submitted by many solo designers.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Club Flamingo Entries: +50
Club Flamingo Wins: 1!
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Tide of Misery 3BB
Sorcery (R)
Target player loses 1 life. Creatures that player controls get -X/-X, where X is the amount of life he or she lost this turn.
"A drop of blood brings an ocean of despair."
-Shauku, Endbringer
How we got here:
Flavor Text Voting
Card Type Voting
Ability Submissions
Ability Voting
Cost and Rarity Submissions
Cost and Rarity Voting
Art Submissions
Art Voting
Art Tiebreaker
Name Submissions
Name and Quote Poll
Final cleanup
Good work everyone! The next card will start in a day or two.
Want to be a part of YMTC? You can always find the latest thread in the Custom Card Contests and Games subforum!
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
Comic Book Set
Archester: Frontier of Steam (A steampunk set!)
A Good Place to Start Designing
Current New Favorite Person™: Mallory Archer
She knows why.
Would have been a cool idea, but we started making this card long before paincast was revealed to us.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
Comic Book Set
Archester: Frontier of Steam (A steampunk set!)
A Good Place to Start Designing
360-cube - Suggestions welcome!
edit: take away the target player loses one life if it were to cost 1bbb or 2bb
That damn period made the quote take up two lines, so I decided to leave it out.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
Comic Book Set
Archester: Frontier of Steam (A steampunk set!)
A Good Place to Start Designing
Club Flamingo Wins: 1!
It's a bit too strong, in my opinion, not too much so, but I freaking love this card and wish it were real. If you run evasive creatures (which, erm, most decks in Standard do) or just creatures in general (because most people don't chump block anyway), then this card is a one-sided Wrath that can swing a game in the caster's favor a solid percentage of the time from sheer card advantage alone. No need to play Lightning Bolt or any other method to damage, either.
I mean, if they printed Bonfire of the Damned as the, "If you topdeck me post turn 5, your chances of winning just skyrocketed" card, then I don't see why this would not see print either, but perhaps with another drawback. Even with, "Lose 1 life for each creature put into the graveyard this way" I could still imagine this card seeing play as one-sided Wraths are incredibly swingy effects when they're under 9 mana.
Sig and Avatar drawn by me.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
Comic Book Set
Archester: Frontier of Steam (A steampunk set!)
A Good Place to Start Designing
Very nice name.
Utility based on lost life is very difficult to use. This is fair. The :symb::symb: is especially intelligent, since black finds it the hardest to fight through someone who knows about the card and blocks accordingly.
Awesome avatar provided by Krashbot @ [Epic Graphics].
In general you want to avoid using the word target to refer to a target you've previously chosen, as it could be interpreted incorrectly to mean that you choose a second target. We could have used "that player" instead of "he or she", but it doesn't really matter in terms of the actual function of the card.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
Comic Book Set
Archester: Frontier of Steam (A steampunk set!)
A Good Place to Start Designing
This. Sure, with this and a Lightning Bolt, you can deal -4/-4 to everything... but then you spent 7 mana when Mutilate can easily get you there and beyond at 4 mana in MBC.
For example, look at the details I've put into this single design (render attached).
Not saying that every design needs this much detail, but as an example that the best designers produce content with great depth.
The artwork is what inspired the design. It's a vivid, colorful, and mystic depiction of the most revered symbol of all Asian (the Yin-Yang). Due to the nature of Yin and Yang (being immaterial/ forms of energy), I wanted to base the design as an enchantment. It didn't feel right though, because it looked awful without any color. Simply adding a color (or all colors) seemed too tacky. I noticed that the painting of the Yin-Yang resembled a machine-like form. Quick thinking lead me to realize I could make a bauble out of this; and I ran with the idea from there. New and interesting forms of classic elements (like a bauble) breath so much life into a project. It's like feeling both revelation and nostalgia at the same time; something familiar, yet brand new. It was a welcomed addition to the set, and I loved the optical appeal it brought to the project.
At this point, I realized there was a challenge ahead. The design's function would have to live up to the amazing optics. This isn't simply done. In Magic, most everything has been done before. Creating a new or interesting bauble is a seriously challenging thing to do. I factored out the possibility of doing something new and decided that something traditional with a modal form would be a great way to embody the concept of Yin and Yang. In my first attempt, there were three options, and they represented positive, negative, and neutral. It was disenchant removal, bounce, and universal card draw.
It was okay, but seemed to do too much. The card draw ability is what really seemed out of place to me. I wanted to simplify the design to concentrate its ability and meanings. To do this, I simply got rid of the third ability and tweaked another one. By simply adding spells to the bounce ability, I perfected the design instantly. Now it was simple, yet powerful; it was Yin and Yang with flawless execution. Yang (evil, that destroys) is represented by the hard removal. It destroys the artifact or enchantment forever. A merciless, harsh action. And Yin (good, which preserves) is represented by soft removal. It simply restrains a source without destroying it, or preserves a source from being destroyed. A merciful, passive action.
Lastly, I tooled around with the costs. It started out with a casting cost of and an activation cost of the same amount. Then I started to run test scenarios in my mind. In my experience, this was too expensive, and anyone who used the design would be greatly held back by those costs. I wanted something that was lite and fast paced. The concept demanded greatness. Yin and Yang are more than legendary; the need for power in this design was not to taken lightly. However, too low a cost lead to a feeling of guilt; such a dilemma.
For a long while, it hosted a split cost of (both casting cost and activation cost). Eventually, I had to accept that even this cost would hold anyone who used it back by an entire turn. I had to bring that time-frame up to 0 if this design was to meet the demand for power that was commanded of it. Each of the peer spells that host the contemporary abilities cost two mana (for example, Disenchant and Memory Lapse ). Anything greater than one mana in addition to their costs would push the design into an average power. That's when I decided a lite casting cost of one mana with an on-par activation cost of two mana was the perfect balance; and in doing so, the design achieved its perfect form.
In the final touch, I inscribed upon it as flavor-text wise words that are meant to remind all of the consequences and benefits to your actions. If you are hasty to destroy, you may be unable to save yourselves later (should the need arise). Choose wisely; once it is done, you can never take it back.
That's not to say that we don't put thought into our designs, we do, and I think this card is actually one of our better examples of good design.
I don't think that the process we use here is perfect, but our goal is to let everyone have a say in what the final product is, for better or worse. If the end result is good, we can all enjoy it. If it's not, then we can all learn from it. This may result in a less focused design, but I think we gain more from the process because of it.
There's also the fact that design is objective. You may really like the design of your card, but to me, it has a very obvious design flaw in that it gives any color access to relatively efficient artifact and enchantment destruction, something that colors like black have historically and purposefully been weak at. Now, we can have a discussion about that, which is what happens in the majority of this forum, but the point of this project is to design something as a community from the ground up rather than editing each other's work.
If you have any suggestions on how you think you could improve the design process (and it could certainly use improvement) feel free to message me about it or post your ideas here, but I have to disagree that this card was thrown together in a "haphazard" manner.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
Comic Book Set
Archester: Frontier of Steam (A steampunk set!)
A Good Place to Start Designing
I think what you're saying is you have reservations about democracy.
Awesome avatar provided by Krashbot @ [Epic Graphics].
I could keep going, but I think that the YMTC designs have at least as many interesting applications as those submitted by many solo designers.
Club Flamingo Wins: 1!
I could keep going, but I think that the YMTC designs have at least as many interesting applications as those submitted by many solo designers.
Club Flamingo Wins: 1!