I decided to create my own ocean covered plane. This plane is Luvion, described by the card Celestine Reef.
Name: Luvion [LUV] Block Structure: 1 set of 2 Mechanics: Journey, Hatred, Carnage, Diver, Community and Landwalk.
Mechanics:
GWUJourney <mana cost> - <mana cost>: Exile this card. Return it to the battlefield at the beginning of your next upkeep. It gain haste. Active this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.
Venuzan Coastkeeper 1W
Creature - Human Soldier (C)
When Venuzan Coastkeeper enters the battlefield, you may tap or untap target creature.
Journey 1W (Exile this card. Return it to the battlefield at the beginning of your next upkeep. It gain haste. Active this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.)
2/1
Barren Missionary 2U
Creature - Human Wizard (U)
When Barren Missionary enters the battlefield, put a 1/1 blue elemental creature token onto the battlefield.
Journey 1U (Exile this card. Return it to the battlefield at the beginning of your next upkeep. It gain haste. Active this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.)
2/2
WUBDive - Each card you discard from your hand while casting this spell pays for 1.
Drowner of Madness 4BB
Creature - Merfolk Wizard (C)
Dive (Each card you discard from your hand while casting this spell pays for 1.)
When Drowner of Madness enters the battlefield, search you library for a card, reveal it, and put it in your hand. Then shuffle your library.
3/4
Sink to Oblivion XW
Insntant
Dive (Each card you discard from your hand while casting this spell pays for 1.)
Exile target nonland permanent with converted mana cost X or less. You gain X life.
UBRHatred - Whenever you cast a spell that targets a creature an opponent controls, <effect>.
Treasure Diggers 2B
Creature - Human Pirate (C)
Hatred — Whenever you cast a spell that targets a creature an opponent controls, you may return target permanent from your graveyard to the top of your library.
2/2
Party Pooper 1R
Creature - Human Pirate(U)
Haste
Hatred — Whenever you cast a spell that targets a creature an opponent controls, put a +1/+1 counter on Party Pooper.
1/1
BRGCarnage - This spell cost 1 less to cast for each creature that died this turn.
Trashing Tentacles 2RR
Sorcery
Carnage (This spell cost 1 less to cast for each creature that died this turn.)
Trashing Tentacles deals 2 damage to each creature and player.
Titan's Presence 5G
Sorcery (R)
Carnage (This spell cost 1 less to cast for each creature that died this turn.)
Put a creature card from your hand onto the battlefield. Put a +1/+1 counter on that creature for each creature that died this turn.
RGWCommunity - Other creatures you control have <ability> as long as this creature has <ability>.
Grizzly Familiar 3G
Creature - Bear (C)
Community — Other creatures you control have trample as long as Grizzly Familiar has trample.
3/3
Daru Sporelord 2GG
Creature - Elemental (R)
Community — Whenever a +1/+1 counter is put on Daru Sporelord, put a +1/+1 counter on each other creature you control.
3/3
I'm on mobile so it's difficult for me to look at your full image spoiler, but just from looking at your mechanics and example cards I can tell that Dive is badly underpowered.
We have two basic points for comparison: Delve and Offering.
Offering was recieved unfavorably for a variety of reasons, one being that it's not usually a good investment (to spend mana on a creature permanent and then have to trade that creature and its card in for a discount on some other card.) That's not as much a problem with Dive, but it should be noted that cards in hand are an extremely valuable resource, certainly worth more than C. The comparison here favors Dive slightly because Dive is less selective about the resources it will accept, but it doesn't value those resources as highly — notice that Offering adds flash to a spell if you make an offering to it.
Delve was much loved and it compares favorably to Dive, unsurprisingly. The resource the Delve uses accumulates naturally — the trend is for the graveyard is increase over time, while the trend for the hand is to decline over time. On top of that, Khans block was filled with Delve enablers that allowed you to fill your yard faster. This is an important component of any alternative-resource strategy (examine Eldrazi Spawn, Scions, C mana, Convoke, Affinity, devotion in addition). You can't really make Dive enablers without unbalancing the game, because most of the time you're going to want to play your cards instead of pitching them.
The one situation where you're going to want to Dive your cards away is a problematic one, too — when your hand is full and your mana resources poor, i.e. in the beginning of the game. At this time Dive becomes very swingy; a turn-1 Abyssal Pulse is easily possible if you simply have that card and a Swamp in hand, setting your opponent back two random cards quite early in the game. (To be fair, that's 2-for-1-ing yourself, but I assume that you did in fact build in Dive support so the deck should be able to recover.) Is this a situation you want? I feel like allowing Dive to essentially reduce opening hand size is not very fun. The Dive Merfolk you showed can open the game early as a turn-2 tutor and large threatening body, if you're willing to take that risk.
Ultimately I think Dive is a very natural idea, but I don't think that it's necessarily a good idea to pursue because it's going to be impossible to develop.
I completely agree with you. Dive is a mechanic with distincts pros and cons to be considered. In one hand, discarding cards can be a waste of valuable resources. On he other, the speed you cast huge spells on he beginning of the game, while your hand is full and your mana base is low, can be overpower. I tried to balance these two characteristics the best I could.
First, I created cards that had some synergy with the discarding ability. Cards as Extincted Predator and Underworld Visions can benefits the player for being discarded, and the dive cards Highborn Inquisitor and Bless of the Sea Gods triggers whenever the player discards a card or if he or she has no cards in hand, respectively.
For the high speed on the early game, I tried to increase the number of colored mana in its mana cost, that can't be payed by discarding. I see that it was not enough for some cards, that are still too powerful. I'm sure I will revise it later.
In my original idea, I was thinking to add Madness as the UB for the next set, to help the dive deck. It can be a very difficult mechanic to develop, but I don't think it is impossible.
Your criticizes are appreciated. What do you think about the other mechanics?
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I decided to create my own ocean covered plane. This plane is Luvion, described by the card Celestine Reef.
Name: Luvion [LUV]
Block Structure: 1 set of 2
Mechanics: Journey, Hatred, Carnage, Diver, Community and Landwalk.
Mechanics:
GWU Journey <mana cost> - <mana cost>: Exile this card. Return it to the battlefield at the beginning of your next upkeep. It gain haste. Active this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.
Creature - Human Soldier (C)
When Venuzan Coastkeeper enters the battlefield, you may tap or untap target creature.
Journey 1W (Exile this card. Return it to the battlefield at the beginning of your next upkeep. It gain haste. Active this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.)
2/1
Barren Missionary 2U
Creature - Human Wizard (U)
When Barren Missionary enters the battlefield, put a 1/1 blue elemental creature token onto the battlefield.
Journey 1U (Exile this card. Return it to the battlefield at the beginning of your next upkeep. It gain haste. Active this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.)
2/2
WUB Dive - Each card you discard from your hand while casting this spell pays for 1.
Creature - Merfolk Wizard (C)
Dive (Each card you discard from your hand while casting this spell pays for 1.)
When Drowner of Madness enters the battlefield, search you library for a card, reveal it, and put it in your hand. Then shuffle your library.
3/4
Sink to Oblivion XW
Insntant
Dive (Each card you discard from your hand while casting this spell pays for 1.)
Exile target nonland permanent with converted mana cost X or less. You gain X life.
UBR Hatred - Whenever you cast a spell that targets a creature an opponent controls, <effect>.
Creature - Human Pirate (C)
Hatred — Whenever you cast a spell that targets a creature an opponent controls, you may return target permanent from your graveyard to the top of your library.
2/2
Party Pooper 1R
Creature - Human Pirate(U)
Haste
Hatred — Whenever you cast a spell that targets a creature an opponent controls, put a +1/+1 counter on Party Pooper.
1/1
BRG Carnage - This spell cost 1 less to cast for each creature that died this turn.
Sorcery
Carnage (This spell cost 1 less to cast for each creature that died this turn.)
Trashing Tentacles deals 2 damage to each creature and player.
Titan's Presence 5G
Sorcery (R)
Carnage (This spell cost 1 less to cast for each creature that died this turn.)
Put a creature card from your hand onto the battlefield. Put a +1/+1 counter on that creature for each creature that died this turn.
RGW Community - Other creatures you control have <ability> as long as this creature has <ability>.
Creature - Bear (C)
Community — Other creatures you control have trample as long as Grizzly Familiar has trample.
3/3
Daru Sporelord 2GG
Creature - Elemental (R)
Community — Whenever a +1/+1 counter is put on Daru Sporelord, put a +1/+1 counter on each other creature you control.
3/3
Until the end of the week I'll make a text version.
Feedback is always wanted.
We have two basic points for comparison: Delve and Offering.
Offering was recieved unfavorably for a variety of reasons, one being that it's not usually a good investment (to spend mana on a creature permanent and then have to trade that creature and its card in for a discount on some other card.) That's not as much a problem with Dive, but it should be noted that cards in hand are an extremely valuable resource, certainly worth more than C. The comparison here favors Dive slightly because Dive is less selective about the resources it will accept, but it doesn't value those resources as highly — notice that Offering adds flash to a spell if you make an offering to it.
Delve was much loved and it compares favorably to Dive, unsurprisingly. The resource the Delve uses accumulates naturally — the trend is for the graveyard is increase over time, while the trend for the hand is to decline over time. On top of that, Khans block was filled with Delve enablers that allowed you to fill your yard faster. This is an important component of any alternative-resource strategy (examine Eldrazi Spawn, Scions, C mana, Convoke, Affinity, devotion in addition). You can't really make Dive enablers without unbalancing the game, because most of the time you're going to want to play your cards instead of pitching them.
The one situation where you're going to want to Dive your cards away is a problematic one, too — when your hand is full and your mana resources poor, i.e. in the beginning of the game. At this time Dive becomes very swingy; a turn-1 Abyssal Pulse is easily possible if you simply have that card and a Swamp in hand, setting your opponent back two random cards quite early in the game. (To be fair, that's 2-for-1-ing yourself, but I assume that you did in fact build in Dive support so the deck should be able to recover.) Is this a situation you want? I feel like allowing Dive to essentially reduce opening hand size is not very fun. The Dive Merfolk you showed can open the game early as a turn-2 tutor and large threatening body, if you're willing to take that risk.
Ultimately I think Dive is a very natural idea, but I don't think that it's necessarily a good idea to pursue because it's going to be impossible to develop.
First, I created cards that had some synergy with the discarding ability. Cards as Extincted Predator and Underworld Visions can benefits the player for being discarded, and the dive cards Highborn Inquisitor and Bless of the Sea Gods triggers whenever the player discards a card or if he or she has no cards in hand, respectively.
For the high speed on the early game, I tried to increase the number of colored mana in its mana cost, that can't be payed by discarding. I see that it was not enough for some cards, that are still too powerful. I'm sure I will revise it later.
In my original idea, I was thinking to add Madness as the UB for the next set, to help the dive deck. It can be a very difficult mechanic to develop, but I don't think it is impossible.
Your criticizes are appreciated. What do you think about the other mechanics?