Try not to get hung up on the prototypes. Think of them as seeds that will grow into a full set when planted in fertile imaginations.
Judge's Apprentice (Common) [Designed by Dice Rifel] (W/U)
Creature - Human Advisor
0/4 Austere - 2(W/U): Tap or untap target creature. Activate this ability only if creatures you control have total toughness 10 or greater.
Guilty Verdict (Uncommon) WU
Instant
Put target attacking or blocking creature on top of its owner's library. Austere - If creatures you control have total toughness 10 or greater, you may exile that creature instead.
No, it has not been playtested (yet).
Dimir Assassin (Common) [Designed by TurboJustice] UB
Creature – Shapeshifter Assassin
1/3
Deathtouch Sabotage - Whenever you cast a spell during an opponent's turn, untap Dimir Assassin.
Psychic Surgery (Uncommon) 1(U/B)
Instant
Look at target player's hand. You may choose a nonland card from it. If you do, that player reveals the chosen card and puts it on the bottom of his or her library. Sabotage – If you cast Psychic Surgery during an opponent's turn, that player draws a card.
No, it has not been playtested (yet).
Rakdos Reveler (Common) [Designed by Megiddo] (B/R)
Creature - Devil
1/1
Haste Malicious - As long as a player has 10 or less life, Rakdos Reveler gets +2/+1.
Intimidation Tactics (Uncommon) BR
Sorcery
Target creature gains intimidate until end of turn.
Draw a card. Malicious - If a player has 10 or less life, that creature also gets +2/+1 until end of turn.
No, it has not been playtested (yet).
Yes, it's a riff of the Zendikar Vampire mechanic.
Gruul Berserker (Common) [Designed by Guesswork] (R/G)
Creature - Human Berserker
1/1
Trample
Berserk (R/G)(R/G)((R/G)(R/G): Double this creature's base power. Sacrifice it at end of turn.)
Rhinosaur (Uncommon) 4RG
Creature - Rhino
5/4 Berserk2RG(2RG: Double this creature's base power. Sacrifice it at end of turn.)
Whenever Rhinosaur goes berserk, destroy target nonbasic land.
Yes, it has been playtested (a little).
Yes, it might wind up only triggering when it attacks.
Yes, it might wind up only triggering when it's blocked.
Selesnya Squire (Common) [Designed by Rudyard] (G/W)
Creature - Dryad Soldier
1/1
Thrive (Whenever a nontoken creature enters the battlefield under your control, put a +1+1 counter on it.)
Loxodon Dawnbringer (Uncommon) 4GW
Creature - Elephant Warrior
4/4
Protection from black Thrive(Whenever a nontoken creature enters the battlefield under your control, put a +1/+1 counter on it.)
Yes, it has been playtested (but not enough).
Yes, it could end up with an activation cost, but it isn't likely.
Yes, it has the potential to be better than Graft depending on how it's developed.
Orzhov Acolyte (Common) [Designed by Silvercut] (W/B)
Creature - Human
1/2 Umbra – When Orzhov Acolyte dies, put a 2/1 white and black Thrull creature token onto the battlefield.
Avenging Angel (Uncommon) 4W
Creature - Angel
3/4
Flying Umbra – When Avenging Angel dies, put a 4/3 black Demon creature token onto the battlefield. It has flying.
No, it hasn't been playtested (yet).
Golgari Swarm-Warden (Common) [Designed by Creedmore] (B/G)
Creature - Elf Shaman
1/1
Deathtouch
Harvest 2BG(2BG, T: Exile target card from a graveyard. Put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. Creatures can’t harvest during combat.)
Whenever Golgari Swarm-Warden harvests a creature card, put a 1/1 black and green Insect creature token onto the battlefield.
Golgari Gardener (Uncommon) BG
Creature - Elf Shaman
2/2 Harvest(B/G)((B/G), T: Exile target card from a graveyard. Put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. Creatures can’t harvest during combat.)
Whenever Golgari Gardener harvests a land card, add one mana of any color to your mana pool.
No, it has not been playtested (yet).
Natural Aptitude (Common) [Designed by Harlannowick] 2GU
Sorcery
Draw two cards, refresh 2. (Untap up to two lands you control.)
Psychic Serpent (Uncommon) 2(G/U)
Creature - Snake
1/3
Whenever Psychic Serpent deals combat damage to a player, draw a card and refresh 1. (Untap up to one land you control.)
No, it has not been playtested (yet).
Izzet Wierd (Common) [Designed by deidarakoon] 3(U/R)
Creature - Wierd
2/1
Impulse (Each card you exile from the top of your library as you cast this spell pays for 1.) Yes it is.
Shocking Revelation (Uncommon) 2UR
Instant Impulse(Each card you exile from the top of your library as you cast this spell pays for 1.)
Shocking Revelation deals 2 damage to target creature or player.
Draw a card.
No, it has not been playtested (yet).
Yes, it poses significant design and development issues.
Boros Recruiter (Common) [Designed by Bravelion] 2(R/W)
Creature - Human Soldier
2/2 Warcraft - When Boros Recruiter enters the battlefield, choose one -
Put a 1/1 red and white Soldier creature token onto the battlefield.
Target creature you control gets +2/+2 until end of turn.
Boros Tactician (Uncommon) 1RW
Creature - Human Knight
2/2
First Strike Warcraft - When Boros Tactician enters the battlefield, choose one -
Put a 1/1 red and white Soldier creature token onto the battlefield.
Creatures you control gain first strike until end of turn.
After twelve months and countless private messages with this forum's best and brightest, these are the ten mechanics that we ironed out and playtested ad nauseam. I'd like to thank everyone that shared one insight after the next via private message in a respectful patient manner. And to thank all of the dedicated playtesters that also made this possible. Now that everyone finally agrees on them, we can start designing the cards for them.
Thanks again to all of the other amazing unmentioned designers and playtesters who had a part in designing each of these mechanics. The list of names is too long to mention, but you know who you are. Thank you all.
Charm doesn't feel very Azorius. It feels white and blue, yes, but not Azorius in flavor.
Sabotage does not seem like an effect you want to see on more than a few cards. For one, it doesn't really do anything exciting for the player - it's not super fun or interesting. And for two, it will be really feel-bad for the opponent.
Bloodlust is cool.
Enforce seems nuts, especially in multiples.
Subjugate is interesting. I like it, but I worry about its memory issues, and whether it really makes sense for these colors. (Though, it's such an odd 'cost', that it probably would theoretically make sense in any color.)
Exhume seems like it will have terribly repetitive and unfun gameplay.
Mutate is Transmute on creatures with variable CMC lookup. Transmute was unfun and lead to repetitive gameplay, and caused a lot of shuffling. Mutate will have the exact same issues.
Duplicate, again, is not a mechanic you'd want to print in such a quantity. For one, Reverberate and Twincast are rare for a reason. If a theoretical card was printed that was like Twincast but copied only your own spells, I could maybe see it being uncommon. But I couldn't see a set printing 10 to 15 of them that were also another card at the same time.
For example, your card presents a choice between Fork and a 1/1 Flash creature. That is pretty much a modal card, where one option is a rare card, for many reasons. And yet, your card is common? Even though it's an 'improvement' (it does cost more and require two colors, I know) on Fork, in that it lets you cast that OR another option? I just don't think that is possibly common.
Reinforcements is interesting. It's basically 1/1-cycling. How many variations of this are in the set? I'd honestly prefer if this was a keyword and consistently gave you two 1/1s.
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Mutate: The reminder text really should be as generic as possibly. Nothing on the mutate ability itself tells me what the "two" is coming from, which means I can't take the reminder text and put it on a different card without assuming it would also be two. I assume it's supposed to be "this creature's converted mana cost plus one".
I agree with most of what TurboJustice has said:
- Charm doesn't feel very Azorius.
- Sabotage is okay, but I feel this just feels unfun for an opponent who is too far behind and desperately needs to play that one card in their hand that they need just one more mana for.
- Enforce also doesn't seem very Selesnya to me. It encourages going tall after getting a bunch of enforce creatures out, rather than going wide.
- Agreed with exhume and mutate.
- The idea of casting a creature card as an instant is cool, but the effect itself doesn't seem to fit common.
- I don't know what the ability word templating for reinforcements is, but it seems like it should be a keyword with a parameter for how many tokens are put onto the battlefield.
- Malicious is definitely win-more, but I'm aware that it isn't a single-handed reason against a mechanic. In addition, it feels very Rakdos-like, which is a plus.
- Subjugate is weird. You're essentially tapping a creature for the entirety of a creature's duration on the battlefield for a generally small effect. It also seems rather counter-intuitive with effects like Savage Surge that untap the subjugated creature. Does a subjugated creature untap during the untap step? What happens if it untaps, becomes tapped again, and then the creature subjugating it dies? What happens if the subjugating creature is returned to the hand?
- Bloodlust doesn't seem very Gruul-like to me. Why would Gruul care about whether it's attacking a player with a higher life total?
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How to use card tags (please use them for everybody's sanity)
[c]Lightning Bolt[/c] -> Lightning Bolt
[c=Lightning Bolt]Apple Pie[/c] -> Apple Pie
Vowels-Only Format Minimum deck size: 60 Maximum number of identical cards: 4 Ban list: Cards whose English names begin with a consonant, Unglued and Unhinged cards, cards involving ante, Ancestral Recall
Protect- Feels like a downside mechanic w/o any ETB creatures. I feel the protector should gain a bonus for exiling one of your creatures because Protect's really limited in design space otherwise. However, in that case, it feels less Azorius and more Simic. Wait, why don't you do that as your Simic mechanic instead?
Vex- Seems to range from ineffectual to frustrating.
Malicious- So an ability word for the Zendikar Vampire mechanic? Sounds good to me.
Bloodlust- Hmmm, this one just doesn't make sense. RG isn't a color that enjoys being behind on life. That sounds more B to me. Maybe give Malicious to Gruul, then give Rakdos this and supplement B and R with lots of cards that have life payment and self-damage? Either way, this doesn't seem too noob-friendly and pretty hard to mix with other guilds.
Enforce- Woah, is this mechanic ripe for abuse! It's like all your Enforce creatures are super Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirits. I would put a mana requirement so the trigger is more controlled, akin to Extort. The mana requirement would have to vary, though. Paying even just 1 mana per turn means that your later drops can curve out too well for limited.
Possess- Ehhh, I get the B, but this doesn't feel very W (then again, nor did Extort). This feels more fitting to Golgari since they love the graveyard far more than Orzhov. It should definitely exile when it leaves the battlefield as an aura since then a player could Possess their creatures till the cows come home.
Exhume- Is this just an attempt at a fixed Dredge? Recycling the same card over and over is not something you'd want to see on multiple commons, especially when the recycling requires such a heavy cost like sacrificing lands.
Mutate- Transmute was no fun, and nor is this. I guess you could do "Reveal cards from top of library until you reveal a creature card with converted mana cost X plus one, put it into the battlefield, then shuffle the rest into your library" to make it more variable. I'm not too thrilled about this though. Your Mutate creatures are effectively just expensive deck thinners with this reading.
Duplicate- This should absolutely NOT be something a common card could do.
Reinforcements- Really cool, but it ought to be sorcery speed, I think. Making instant speed chumpers isn't something that R does too often (Young Pyromancer notwithstanding).
Protect: I like it. I like it a lot. This should typically give an Exploit style effect, in my opinion, but this is really cool, and so very Azorius! On second thought, I don't like it - I may just love it. (:
Vex: I have no idea what this keyword is. If it's "effect unless you pay X or X life", then it seems a bit narrow and not super blue. It is interesting, though.
Possess: Perfect. I liked Subjugate, but this is better.
Deathrite: Why can't this just be "you may exile a creature card from a graveyard. If you do..." With that change, I think this would be an excellent mechanic that plays interestingly with old Golgari cards.
Adapt: This isn't fitting for a two-color set. And, even worse, these effects shut off for ALL Adapt creatures at some point. It's not like Evolve where individuals hit a max - for Adapt, at some point, you'll never be able to adapt any creature again. And that point is way more easily reached than Evolve.
Volt: You forgot to actually write any text for this one. (:
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Just how many creatures will have protect and flash? attacking would get pretty annoying on a set with protect and reinforcements.
Also, if enforce doesn't get a 'nontoken' in there, everyone will want to go selesnya-boros (or are they in different sets? anyways, it would even apply for block/standard.)
I don't like that adapt gets harder and harder. I don't want to draft simic if it means being 5-color (or gate heavy?) and eventually (turn 5?) my mechanic doesn't work anymore!
Shadowfate, I think he forgot to update the credits.
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Adapt- If I were a Simic fan, I wouldn't like my guild mechanic to push me at playing non GU mana. It's also highly variable in limited where a player can get a lucky snowball win or an unlucky wienie. More importantly it's a dangerous mechanic to balance for older formats. Simic Slime makes Wild Nacatl look like a harmless kitty and gets Tarmogoyf nervous, and that's a tall order!
Another nitpick, I think either Reinforcements or Enforce should be renamed. They're too similar sounding.
Azorius Protectorate (Common) [Designed by Shadowfate] (W/U)
Creature - Vedalken Soldier
1/1
Flash
Protect (When this creature enters the battlefield, you may exile another creature you control until this creature dies.)
How did you playtest this? Ever without flash?
I think this can carry a small amount of cards like a guild mechanic should. It just seems like the flavor requires it to be instant speed trickery (I just see a few designs that work without flash.)
Dimir Spy (Common) [Designed by Manite] (U/B)
Creature - Human Rogue
1/1
Dimir Spy can't block or be blocked. Vex - Whenever Dimir Spy deals combat damage to a player, draw a card unless that player pays 1 or 1 life.
So vex is a sabotage ability?
Rakdos Reveler (Common) [Designed by TurboJustice] (B/R)
Creature - Devil
1/1
Haste Malicious - As long as a player has 10 or less life, Rakdos Reveler gets +1/+1.
This seems like a nice choice, but I said so already the first time around.
Gruul Rager (Common) [Designed by Guesswork] (R/G)
Creature - Human Warrior
1/1
Trample
Bloodlust (Whenever this creature attacks a player with more life than you, put a +1/+1 counter on it.)
I am not sure taking the nickname of an existing mechanic and adding the nearly identical effect of another existing mechanic is a good choice. Aside from that dethrone obviously a nice mechanic.
Selesnya Squire (Common) [Designed by Rudyard] (G/W)
Creature - Dryad Soldier
1/1
Vigilance
Enforce (Whenever another nontoken creature enters the battlefield under your control, put a +1/+1 counter on it.)
Enforce sounds Boros-y. In context of Ravnica guilds it's a poor choice of terminology, but there are many synonyms out there, that will serve well... boost, consolidate, strengthen, invigorate... bolster has hence been taken unfortunately.
Having used a very similar mechanic before I can imagine this playtests well though, so mechanically this seems sound. I personally put an additional cost on it (like extort), but that's an option that can be postponed until a second round of playtesting with a bunch of cards using the same theme (but should assuage those thinking this mechanic is "nuts" - IMO it is, but it can be easily fixed).
Orzhov Spirit (Common) [Designed by Silvecut] (W/B)
Creature - Spirit
1/1
Lifelink
Possess WB(You may cast this card for its possess cost from your graveyard as an Aura enchantment with enchant creature.)
Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and has lifelink.
It's repeatable on purpose? I expected an unearth clause upon leaving the battlefield as Aura. As long as it is only used with positive effects, I can see it not needing such a clause though.
Better haunt is always nice.
Golgari Harvester (Common) [Designed by Harlannowick] (B/G)
Creature - Plant Zombie
1/1
Deathtouch
Harvest (Whenever a creature dealt damage by this creature dies this turn, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.)
Terrible example common - would be showcased better with regenerate (or similar ability) than deathtouch.
Otherwise fine. Not great, but serviceable and with a nice flavor fit.
Simic Slime (Common) [Designed by Piar] (G/U)
Creature - Mutant Ooze
1/1
Hexproof
Adapt (Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, if it's unique among lands you control, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.)
When Simic Slime adapts
This sentence misses an
I also cannot intuit the meaning of "unique" from the context. Or if I can, I have to wonder what the playtest for this went like.
Izzet Wierd (Common) [Designed by IcariiFA] (U/R)
Creature - Wierd
1/1
Volt (Whenever you cast an artifact, instant, or sorcery spell, this deals 1 damage to target player.)
Duplicate 1UR(You may cast this as an instant spell for its duplicate cost. If you do, copy target instant or sorcery spell. You may choose new targets for the copy.)
So Izzet gets two new keywords? EDIT: And one of them does not fit into blues color pie?
Boros Recruiter (Common) [Designed by Bravelion] (R/W)
Creature - Human Soldier
1/1
First strike
Reinforcements RW(RW, Discard this card: Put two 1/1 red and white Soldier creature tokens onto the battlefield.)
Mechanically an exact replica of my mobilize (well depending on how the reminder text looks on monocolored cards, but that's a minor difference at most). I am really happy with mobilize, so no surprise here that it tests well with you.
Two keywords in the same expansion containing "force" is bound to cause confusion, but then again the Selesnya keyword should change name anyway (s. a.)
On the other hand this has also almost the same name (and quiet similar function) as reinforce. I considered the same terms for mobilize, but obviously decided against it for the mentioned reasons. I suggest the same to you. Mobilize works flavorwise for Boros, too.
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Have you tested these mechanics in bulk or just on the presented designs?
Harvest- The Sengir Vampire mechanic is pretty feel-bad on both sides. If the Harvest creature trades, the ability is nil. Plus, the opponent would never want to unfavorably trade with the Sengir creature. What if instead whenever the Harvest creature or a creature dealt damage by the Harvest creature dies, you put a counter on a creature you control? That way small creatures can be good chump blockers and sac outlets like Elder Cathar while big creatures stay dominating like Sengir Vampire.
Harvest- The Sengir Vampire mechanic is pretty feel-bad on both sides. If the Harvest creature trades, the ability is nil. Plus, the opponent would never want to unfavorably trade with the Sengir creature. What if instead whenever the Harvest creature or a creature dealt damage by the Harvest creature dies, you put a counter on a creature you control? That way small creatures can be good chump blockers and sac outlets like Elder Cathar while big creatures stay dominating like Sengir Vampire.
So: (Whenever this creature or a creature dealt damage by this creature this turn dies, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control) ?
Yep. Thinking about it more, it feels better like this:
(Whenever a creature dealt damage by this creature this turn dies, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. Whenever this creature dies, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control.)
With the old version, A Harvest creature that kills itself and another creature in combat would distribute two counters in one turn, which seems pretty overwhelming for common creatures to do.
Seems too complicated in that it does different things and cares about different things. . . maybe just the Cathar ability?
[i](Whenever this creature dies, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control.)[/i]
You can even put a number on it
N (Whenever this creature dies, put N +1/+1 counters on target creature you control.)[/i]
And it still feeds on the whole BG sacrifice creature aspect and has the whole "don't block me" effect that sengir has.
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Other keyword comments
Possess: Maybe make it more like Moon-E's legacy? That way it's still repeatable but requires that you cast a creature. . . which limits its repeatability.
[i](Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under you control, you may may cast this card for its possess cost from your graveyard as an Aura enchantment with enchant creature targeting that creature.)[/i]
Vex: I don't like the rhystic mechanic . . . but going with your idea - why not make it the ophidian ability? That way its your choice between effect or damage?
[i]Sabotage[/i] - Whenever ~ attacks and isn't blocked, you may [Effect]. If you do, ~ assigns no combat damage this turn.
Thanks for all the crits. I'm in the process of a revamp. In the mean time please feel free to share ideas. Thanks.
Generally speaking, guild mechanics follow the same design principles as all block mechanics.
Good guild mechanics...
...mustn't be parasitic.
...mustn't be a hoser mechanic.
...mustn't be a disadvantage mechanic.
...mustn't objectively outshine other guild mechanics.
...mustn't inherently conflict with another guild mechanic.
...mustn't interact so well with another guild mechanic that it eclipses all other guild mechanic interactions.
...shouldn't be too splashy.
...shouldn't generate raw card advantage.
...shouldn't be perceived as a disadvantage.
...needn't be of the same tempo as other guild mechanics/archetypes.
...should have little design space.
...should express its guild's flavor.
...should interact positively with its predecessors.
...should showcase its guild's intended primary archetype.
...should encourage drafters to draft and play two colors.
...should interact positively alongside other guild mechanics with which it shares a color.
...must be proactive.
...must be interactive.
...must be distinct from other guild mechanics.
...must have its own unique way of winning.
You're very dedicated to this project - to all of your projects, really - and I think that sometimes gives you tunnel vision, to be honest. You're trying really hard to find a suite of exciting, simple, fun mechanics, and your search sometimes drives you to weird ends, like Volt, where you seemed blinded by a 'solution' and couldn't see it where it fell apart. That's completely natural when your pursuit is one like this, having to improve upon what came before and remain innovative at the same time.
When I get tunnel vision in a design - which happens often, I'm the kind to sit down and try to hash it out all at once - I usually like to either take a break, or zoom out and see it as a whole. Maybe one or both of those things will help you out.
Anyway, here is some random, chicken-scratch brainstorming...
Protection is interesting, if used along the lines of Exploit. Protect creatures to get bonuses. It's a little 'softer' than Exploit because you get the creature back and can retrigger its ETB, but at the same time, exploit lets you do other interesting stuff. Protect has a VERY nice bonus of having an automatic 'attachment' though, so you can say "As long as ~ is protecting a creature, it has KEYWORD and/or BONUS." How fun!
Other ideas:
Something that interacts with instant speed sounds fitting, but we also want to make it something the Azorius player builds around, rather than reacts to. So, for example, something like Traps wouldn't work as a guild mechanic.
Could it be as simple as keywording the Rout ability? Speedy Trial(You may cast this spell as though it had flash if you pay 2 more to cast it.)
Azorius also likes flickering. Perhaps we could do something like:
Adjourn 1W(1W: Exile this creature. Return it to its owner's control at the beginning of your next upkeep. Adjourn only as a sorcery.)
Whenever ~ returns from adjournment, EFFECT
Dimir are really tough, as their two colors are just not naturally compatible. I'm still a fan of:
Sabotage - Whenever you cast a spell during an opponent's turn, EFFECT
Mystery (When you cast this, target opponent chooses a number, then puts that many cards from the top of his or her library into his or her graveyard. If no basic land card was put into his or her graveyard this way, this is unsolved.)
If ~ is unsolved, EFFECT
I think Dimir really fits best into the 'mind-games' of blue and black. You want to emphasize that it's tough decisions, and/or unknowns. For this reason, playing around with instants - Sabotage - really feels fitting for me. But I think Mystery is totally possible as well, since it really allows you to attack on two different angles.
We could also do this mechanic:
Psionic (Whenever this creature would deal combat damage to a player, that player instead puts a number of cards from the top of his or library into his or her graveyard equal to this creature's combined power and toughness.)
I can't remember who suggested this version of combining P/T for the mill, but I love it.
I have to get going, so I'll finish my musing later.
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I've been following your Ravnica posts for awhile and I never bothered to make an account until now, but I've been working on a Ravnica themed set too. I have a few mechanics that I've been using and I'd be curious on your opinion of them. I'm fairly new to designing cards.
(W/B)(W/B)
Creature Spirit Knight
Appeasement At the beginning of your upkeep, any player may pay 1 life. If no player does CARDNAME gets +2/+0 until the beginning of your next upkeep.
2/2
(Appeasement can give many different kinds of a effects, but opponent may always pay exactly 1 life to negate that effect.)
R
Instant
CARDNAME deals 2 damage to target creature or player.
Breakthrough (When you cast this spell name a card, then reveal a card at random from your hand. If it is the named card put a copy of this spell on the stack. You may choose new targets for the copy.)
(Plays very well when behind in cards)
RW
Human Soldier
Unblocked creatures you control have first strike.
Phalanx (If this creature would deal combat damage to a player, you may instead deal that combat damage to a blocking creature that player controls.)
2/2
(three 1/1 Phalanx blocked by a single 3/3 beast would result in one of the 1/1's trading with the 3/3 and no damage to the player.)
2GU
Drake
Each creature with a +1/+1 counters on it has flying and trample.
Discover (As you draw this card reveal it. Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control.
2/1
(This removes the need for simic to flood the board. It causes Simic to function similarly to slivers when you need to get results immediately.)
I also have a golgari mechanic (I did enemy colored guilds) but i found out it was already basically done as retrace.
I've been considering making Breakthrough into a Dimir Mechanic but I want it to do something other than copy the spell. (counters, removal) and then it gets way too wordy.
Infiltrate (When you cast this spell name a card, then any number of target players reveal a card at random from their hand. For each player who reveals the named card this way, that player discards it and you draw a card.)
Thankyou for your time! If you actually like any of these mechanics feel free to steal them.
Okay wow thanks yall. The op has been revamped and updated. I still view this as a forum project so I'm still gladly accepting ideas and crits. Also, still looking for a Simic mechanic.
Meanwhile, I am in the process of compiling a list of every single mechanic proposed for this project so far (from the first thread last year to this very thread). I will then cross examine each mechanic with my list of requirements (which is a summary of what I've read about guild mechanic design) and post the results. I'm doing it so everyone that contributed a mechanic will know that they weren't ignored and know why his or her mechanic did or didn't make the cut.
I will also be cleaning up my ridiculously messy set threads, but that's another story.
I know its complicated, but I always though soulbond would be an interesting ability for simic.
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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.
- Manite
I know its complicated, but I always though soulbond would be an interesting ability for simic.
I think this is a project for 10 new named mechanics. I have experimented somewhat with placing existing mechanics in the guilds. You could get probably two full cycles of ten named mechanics for the guild without overlap between them or named mechanics previously used for guilds. It's rather interesting.
Mechanical you might be right (not without room for debate); soulbond has flavor issues with Simic though.
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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]
Something playing in the same space maybe? Using +1/+1 counters as a suitable marker?
'Simicbond' 1 (When this creature enters the battlefield, you may put a +1/+1 counter on another creature you control. That creature becomes bonded to this creature.)
Try not to get hung up on the prototypes. Think of them as seeds that will grow into a full set when planted in fertile imaginations.
Azorius Skyguard (Common) [Designed by Piar] 2(W/U)
Creature - Griffin
2/2
Flying Austere - As long as you control the least amount creatures, Azorius Skyguard gets +1/+1.
Guilty Verdict (Uncommon) WU
Instant
Return target creature to its owner's hand. Austere - If you control the least amount of creatures, exile that creature instead.
No, it has not been playtested (yet).
Counter Espionage (Common) [Designed by Legend] (U/B)
Instant Vex - Counter target spell unless it's controller pays 1 or 1 life.
Information Leak (Uncommon) 1UB
Enchantment - Aura
Enchant opponent Vex - Whenever enchanted player casts a spell, draw a card unless enchanted player pays 1 or 1 life.
No, it has not been playtested (yet).
Yes, it's a riff of the "Rhystic" mechanic.
Yes, it's a punisher mechanic.
Rakdos Reveler (Common) [Designed by TurboJustice] (B/R)
Creature - Devil
1/1
Haste Malicious - As long as a player has 10 or less life, Rakdos Reveler gets +2/+1.
Intimidation Tactics (Uncommon) BR
Sorcery
Target creature gains intimidate until end of turn.
Draw a card. Malicious - If a player has 10 or less life, that creature also gets +2/+1 until end of turn.
No, it has not been playtested (yet).
Yes, it's a riff of the Zendikar Vampire mechanic.
Gruul Berserker (Common) [Designed by Guesswork] (R/G)
Creature - Human Berserker
1/1
Trample
Berserk RG(RG: Double this creature's base power. Sacrifice it at end of turn.)
Rhinosaur (Uncommon) 4RG
Creature - Rhino
5/4
Berserk 2RG(2RG: Double this creature's base power. Sacrifice it at end of turn.)
Whenever Rhinosaur goes berserk, destroy target nonbasic land.
Yes, it has been playtested (a little).
Yes, it may be a challenge to develop but not impossible and worth the effort.
Yes, it might wind up only triggering when it attacks.
Yes, it might wind up only triggering when it's blocked.
Selesnya Squire (Common) [Designed by Rudyard] 2(G/W)
Creature - Dryad Soldier
2/2
Thrive (Whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control, put a +1+1 counter on it.)
Loxodon Dawnbringer (Uncommon) 4GW
Creature - Elephant Warrior
4/4
Protection from black
Thrive (Whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control, put a +1/+1 counter on it.)
Yes, it has been playtested (but not enough).
Yes, it might wind up with an activation cost, but it isn't likely.
Yes, it buffs tokens. It might wind up with a "nontoken" clause, but it isn't likely.
Yes, it has the potential to be better than Graft depending on how it's developed.
Yes, it interacts quite well with Swarm and Warcraft.
Orzhov Spirit (Common) [Designed by Silvercut] (W/B)
Creature - Spirit
1/1
Lifelink
Possess WB(You may cast this card for its possess cost from your graveyard as an Aura enchantment with enchant creature.)
Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and has lifelink.
Ancestor of Prahv (Uncommon) WB
Creature - Spirit
2/2
Flying
Possess 2WB(You may cast this card for its possess cost from your graveyard as an Aura enchantment with enchant creature.)
Enchanted creature gets +2/+2 and has flying.
No, it hasn't been playtested (yet).
Yes, the recursive element is deliberate.
No, an "exile this Aura when it leaves the battlefield" clause will not be added.
Golgari Swarm-Warden (Common) [Designed by Creedmore] (B/G)
Creature - Elf Shaman
1/1
Deathtouch
Swarm 2 - BG, Discard this card: Put two 1/1 black and green Insect creature tokens onto the battlefield. Swarm only as a sorcery.
Leech Strength (Uncommon) 1BG
Sorcery
Creatures your opponents control get -1/-1 until end of turn. Creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn.
Swarm 4 - 4BG, Discard this card: Put four 1/1 black and green Leech creature tokens onto the battlefield. Swarm only as a sorcery.
No, it has not been playtested (yet).
Natural Aptitude (Common) [Designed by Harlannowick] 2GU
Sorcery
Draw two cards, refresh 2. (Untap up to two lands you control.)
Psychic Serpent (Uncommon) 2(G/U)
Creature - Snake
1/3
Whenever Psychic Serpent deals combat damage to a player, draw a card and refresh 1. (Untap up to one land you control.)
Simic Reader
No, it has not been playtested (yet).
Izzet Wierd (Common) [Designed by deidarakoon] 3(U/R)
Creature - Wierd
1/3
Impulse (Each card you exile from the top of your library as you cast this spell pays for 1.)
Izzet Wierd can't be blocked by creatures with toughness 2 or greater. Yes it is.
Shocking Revelation (Uncommon) 2UR
Instant
Impulse (Each card you exile from the top of your library as you cast this spell pays for 1.)
Shocking Revelation deals 2 damage to target creature or player.
Draw a card.
No, it has not been playtested (yet).
Yes, it is inspired by Rout.
Yes, it will also be on other card types.
Boros Recruiter (Common) [Designed by Bravelion] 1(R/W)
Creature - Human Soldier
1/2 Warcraft - When Boros Recruiter enters the battlefield, choose one -
Put a 1/1 red and white Soldeir creature token onto the battlefield.
Creatures you control get +1/+0 until end of turn.
Boros Tactician (Uncommon) RW
Creature - Human Knight
2/2
First Strike Warcraft - When Boros Tactician enters the battlefield, choose one -
Put a 1/1 red and white Soldeir creature token onto the battlefield.
Creatures you control get +1/+0 until end of turn.
No, it has not been playtested (yet).
Yes, it's inspired by Sunhome Guildmage.
FINALLY
After twelve months and countless private messages with this forum's best and brightest, these are the ten mechanics that we ironed out and playtested ad nauseam. I'd like to thank everyone that shared one insight after the next via private message in a respectful patient manner. And to thank all of the dedicated playtesters that also made this possible. Now that everyone finally agrees on them, we can start designing the cards for them.
Thanks again to all of the other amazing unmentioned designers and playtesters who had a part in designing each of these mechanics. The list of names is too long to mention, but you know who you are. Thank you all.
Austere - I don't understand why having the fewest creatures should be Azorius. This also has counter synergy with Boros's mechanic and Selesnya's mechanic that both reward going wide.
Vex - I feel like taxing is an Azorius thing to do, though obviously this specific tax mechanic is inappropriate for UW. This feels complicated and I'm not sure I understand the flavor.
Malicious - Great.
Beserk - Assuming this isn't developmentally broken, it should be great.
Thrive - Assuming this isn't developmentally broken, seems great.
Posses - Very cool. Not the best flavor hit, but workable.
Swarm - I don't see much design space here. I'm also very concerned about the interaction between swarm and Thrive
Refresh - Not going to lie, I still like refresh
Impulse - I'm not a fan of this mechanic due to its inherent balancing issues. To demonstrate, imagine how broken dredge would be if you started every game with a 30 card graveyard.
Warcraft - I'm worried about lack of interesting design space and complexity here. I'm pretty sure every card with warcraft gets red-flagged for having too many lines of text. I'm also worried about the interaction with thrive.
After looking through the mechanics, I think the one that I like lest is impulse. So lets go ahead and try to make an interesting izzet mechanic. As with Simic, I'll start by digging through the mothership to understand izzet flavor. The izzet are all about experimentation. They are famously shortsighted and erratic in their pursuit of knowledge. Their role on ravnica is in designing public works projects. I think with izzet we need to either take the guild in some new direction or else take advantage of the experimentation flavor. Alternatively, we could just go with a generic spell mechanic. Something like fixed storm. Going back through the disqualified mechanics, I think innovate and fient deserve a second look. Fient may not fit the flavor of Izzet particularly well, but it fits UR very well. Keeping in mind that I don't have any particularly good ideas, here are some potential mechanics...
Innovate N (Discard up to N cards then draw that many cards.) - I didn't design this. I also think this could just lose the N and always be discard 1 then draw 1.
Outsmart (When this attacks, you may switch its power and toughness until end of turn.) - Inspired by the disqualified feint.
BetterStorm - If this is not the first spell cast this turn, [effect]. - Obviously needs a better name.
Rift [cost] (If you cast this for its rift cost, lands you control don't untap during your next untap step.) - Plays around with izzets screwing with magic flavor.
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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.
- Manite
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Judge's Apprentice (Common) [Designed by Dice Rifel]
(W/U)
Creature - Human Advisor
0/4
Austere - 2(W/U): Tap or untap target creature. Activate this ability only if creatures you control have total toughness 10 or greater.
Guilty Verdict (Uncommon)
WU
Instant
Put target attacking or blocking creature on top of its owner's library.
Austere - If creatures you control have total toughness 10 or greater, you may exile that creature instead.
No, it has not been playtested (yet).
Dimir Assassin (Common) [Designed by TurboJustice]
UB
Creature – Shapeshifter Assassin
1/3
Deathtouch
Sabotage - Whenever you cast a spell during an opponent's turn, untap Dimir Assassin.
Psychic Surgery (Uncommon)
1(U/B)
Instant
Look at target player's hand. You may choose a nonland card from it. If you do, that player reveals the chosen card and puts it on the bottom of his or her library.
Sabotage – If you cast Psychic Surgery during an opponent's turn, that player draws a card.
No, it has not been playtested (yet).
Rakdos Reveler (Common) [Designed by Megiddo]
(B/R)
Creature - Devil
1/1
Haste
Malicious - As long as a player has 10 or less life, Rakdos Reveler gets +2/+1.
Intimidation Tactics (Uncommon)
BR
Sorcery
Target creature gains intimidate until end of turn.
Draw a card.
Malicious - If a player has 10 or less life, that creature also gets +2/+1 until end of turn.
No, it has not been playtested (yet).
Yes, it's a riff of the Zendikar Vampire mechanic.
Gruul Berserker (Common) [Designed by Guesswork]
(R/G)
Creature - Human Berserker
1/1
Trample
Berserk (R/G)(R/G) ((R/G)(R/G): Double this creature's base power. Sacrifice it at end of turn.)
Rhinosaur (Uncommon)
4RG
Creature - Rhino
5/4
Berserk 2RG (2RG: Double this creature's base power. Sacrifice it at end of turn.)
Whenever Rhinosaur goes berserk, destroy target nonbasic land.
Yes, it has been playtested (a little).
Yes, it might wind up only triggering when it attacks.
Yes, it might wind up only triggering when it's blocked.
Selesnya Squire (Common) [Designed by Rudyard]
(G/W)
Creature - Dryad Soldier
1/1
Thrive (Whenever a nontoken creature enters the battlefield under your control, put a +1+1 counter on it.)
Loxodon Dawnbringer (Uncommon)
4GW
Creature - Elephant Warrior
4/4
Protection from black
Thrive (Whenever a nontoken creature enters the battlefield under your control, put a +1/+1 counter on it.)
Yes, it has been playtested (but not enough).
Yes, it could end up with an activation cost, but it isn't likely.
Yes, it has the potential to be better than Graft depending on how it's developed.
Orzhov Acolyte (Common) [Designed by Silvercut]
(W/B)
Creature - Human
1/2
Umbra – When Orzhov Acolyte dies, put a 2/1 white and black Thrull creature token onto the battlefield.
Avenging Angel (Uncommon)
4W
Creature - Angel
3/4
Flying
Umbra – When Avenging Angel dies, put a 4/3 black Demon creature token onto the battlefield. It has flying.
No, it hasn't been playtested (yet).
Golgari Swarm-Warden (Common) [Designed by Creedmore]
(B/G)
Creature - Elf Shaman
1/1
Deathtouch
Harvest 2BG (2BG, T: Exile target card from a graveyard. Put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. Creatures can’t harvest during combat.)
Whenever Golgari Swarm-Warden harvests a creature card, put a 1/1 black and green Insect creature token onto the battlefield.
Golgari Gardener (Uncommon)
BG
Creature - Elf Shaman
2/2
Harvest (B/G) ((B/G), T: Exile target card from a graveyard. Put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. Creatures can’t harvest during combat.)
Whenever Golgari Gardener harvests a land card, add one mana of any color to your mana pool.
No, it has not been playtested (yet).
Natural Aptitude (Common) [Designed by Harlannowick]
2GU
Sorcery
Draw two cards, refresh 2. (Untap up to two lands you control.)
Psychic Serpent (Uncommon)
2(G/U)
Creature - Snake
1/3
Whenever Psychic Serpent deals combat damage to a player, draw a card and refresh 1. (Untap up to one land you control.)
No, it has not been playtested (yet).
Izzet Wierd (Common) [Designed by deidarakoon]
3(U/R)
Creature - Wierd
2/1
Impulse (Each card you exile from the top of your library as you cast this spell pays for 1.)
Yes it is.
Shocking Revelation (Uncommon)
2UR
Instant
Impulse (Each card you exile from the top of your library as you cast this spell pays for 1.)
Shocking Revelation deals 2 damage to target creature or player.
Draw a card.
No, it has not been playtested (yet).
Yes, it poses significant design and development issues.
Boros Recruiter (Common) [Designed by Bravelion]
2(R/W)
Creature - Human Soldier
2/2
Warcraft - When Boros Recruiter enters the battlefield, choose one -
1RW
Creature - Human Knight
2/2
First Strike
Warcraft - When Boros Tactician enters the battlefield, choose one -
No, it has not been playtested (yet).
Yes, it's inspired by Sunhome Guildmage and Master Warcraft.
After twelve months and countless private messages with this forum's best and brightest, these are the ten mechanics that we ironed out and playtested ad nauseam. I'd like to thank everyone that shared one insight after the next via private message in a respectful patient manner. And to thank all of the dedicated playtesters that also made this possible. Now that everyone finally agrees on them, we can start designing the cards for them.
Thanks again to all of the other amazing unmentioned designers and playtesters who had a part in designing each of these mechanics. The list of names is too long to mention, but you know who you are. Thank you all.
Sabotage does not seem like an effect you want to see on more than a few cards. For one, it doesn't really do anything exciting for the player - it's not super fun or interesting. And for two, it will be really feel-bad for the opponent.
Bloodlust is cool.
Enforce seems nuts, especially in multiples.
Subjugate is interesting. I like it, but I worry about its memory issues, and whether it really makes sense for these colors. (Though, it's such an odd 'cost', that it probably would theoretically make sense in any color.)
Exhume seems like it will have terribly repetitive and unfun gameplay.
Mutate is Transmute on creatures with variable CMC lookup. Transmute was unfun and lead to repetitive gameplay, and caused a lot of shuffling. Mutate will have the exact same issues.
Duplicate, again, is not a mechanic you'd want to print in such a quantity. For one, Reverberate and Twincast are rare for a reason. If a theoretical card was printed that was like Twincast but copied only your own spells, I could maybe see it being uncommon. But I couldn't see a set printing 10 to 15 of them that were also another card at the same time.
For example, your card presents a choice between Fork and a 1/1 Flash creature. That is pretty much a modal card, where one option is a rare card, for many reasons. And yet, your card is common? Even though it's an 'improvement' (it does cost more and require two colors, I know) on Fork, in that it lets you cast that OR another option? I just don't think that is possibly common.
Reinforcements is interesting. It's basically 1/1-cycling. How many variations of this are in the set? I'd honestly prefer if this was a keyword and consistently gave you two 1/1s.
Lead Tesla, a community set designed by everyone and led by me, over at Goblin Artisans. Index of articles here!
- Charm doesn't feel very Azorius.
- Sabotage is okay, but I feel this just feels unfun for an opponent who is too far behind and desperately needs to play that one card in their hand that they need just one more mana for.
- Enforce also doesn't seem very Selesnya to me. It encourages going tall after getting a bunch of enforce creatures out, rather than going wide.
- Agreed with exhume and mutate.
- The idea of casting a creature card as an instant is cool, but the effect itself doesn't seem to fit common.
- I don't know what the ability word templating for reinforcements is, but it seems like it should be a keyword with a parameter for how many tokens are put onto the battlefield.
- Malicious is definitely win-more, but I'm aware that it isn't a single-handed reason against a mechanic. In addition, it feels very Rakdos-like, which is a plus.
- Subjugate is weird. You're essentially tapping a creature for the entirety of a creature's duration on the battlefield for a generally small effect. It also seems rather counter-intuitive with effects like Savage Surge that untap the subjugated creature. Does a subjugated creature untap during the untap step? What happens if it untaps, becomes tapped again, and then the creature subjugating it dies? What happens if the subjugating creature is returned to the hand?
- Bloodlust doesn't seem very Gruul-like to me. Why would Gruul care about whether it's attacking a player with a higher life total?
[c]Lightning Bolt[/c] -> Lightning Bolt
[c=Lightning Bolt]Apple Pie[/c] -> Apple Pie
Vowels-Only Format
Minimum deck size: 60
Maximum number of identical cards: 4
Ban list: Cards whose English names begin with a consonant, Unglued and Unhinged cards, cards involving ante, Ancestral Recall
Vex- Seems to range from ineffectual to frustrating.
Malicious- So an ability word for the Zendikar Vampire mechanic? Sounds good to me.
Bloodlust- Hmmm, this one just doesn't make sense. RG isn't a color that enjoys being behind on life. That sounds more B to me. Maybe give Malicious to Gruul, then give Rakdos this and supplement B and R with lots of cards that have life payment and self-damage? Either way, this doesn't seem too noob-friendly and pretty hard to mix with other guilds.
Enforce- Woah, is this mechanic ripe for abuse! It's like all your Enforce creatures are super Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirits. I would put a mana requirement so the trigger is more controlled, akin to Extort. The mana requirement would have to vary, though. Paying even just 1 mana per turn means that your later drops can curve out too well for limited.
Possess- Ehhh, I get the B, but this doesn't feel very W (then again, nor did Extort). This feels more fitting to Golgari since they love the graveyard far more than Orzhov. It should definitely exile when it leaves the battlefield as an aura since then a player could Possess their creatures till the cows come home.
Exhume- Is this just an attempt at a fixed Dredge? Recycling the same card over and over is not something you'd want to see on multiple commons, especially when the recycling requires such a heavy cost like sacrificing lands.
Mutate- Transmute was no fun, and nor is this. I guess you could do "Reveal cards from top of library until you reveal a creature card with converted mana cost X plus one, put it into the battlefield, then shuffle the rest into your library" to make it more variable. I'm not too thrilled about this though. Your Mutate creatures are effectively just expensive deck thinners with this reading.
Duplicate- This should absolutely NOT be something a common card could do.
Reinforcements- Really cool, but it ought to be sorcery speed, I think. Making instant speed chumpers isn't something that R does too often (Young Pyromancer notwithstanding).
Vex: I have no idea what this keyword is. If it's "effect unless you pay X or X life", then it seems a bit narrow and not super blue. It is interesting, though.
Possess: Perfect. I liked Subjugate, but this is better.
Deathrite: Why can't this just be "you may exile a creature card from a graveyard. If you do..." With that change, I think this would be an excellent mechanic that plays interestingly with old Golgari cards.
Adapt: This isn't fitting for a two-color set. And, even worse, these effects shut off for ALL Adapt creatures at some point. It's not like Evolve where individuals hit a max - for Adapt, at some point, you'll never be able to adapt any creature again. And that point is way more easily reached than Evolve.
Volt: You forgot to actually write any text for this one. (:
Lead Tesla, a community set designed by everyone and led by me, over at Goblin Artisans. Index of articles here!
Also, if enforce doesn't get a 'nontoken' in there, everyone will want to go selesnya-boros (or are they in different sets? anyways, it would even apply for block/standard.)
I don't like that adapt gets harder and harder. I don't want to draft simic if it means being 5-color (or gate heavy?) and eventually (turn 5?) my mechanic doesn't work anymore!
Lead Tesla, a community set designed by everyone and led by me, over at Goblin Artisans. Index of articles here!
Another nitpick, I think either Reinforcements or Enforce should be renamed. They're too similar sounding.
How did you playtest this? Ever without flash?
I think this can carry a small amount of cards like a guild mechanic should. It just seems like the flavor requires it to be instant speed trickery (I just see a few designs that work without flash.)
So vex is a sabotage ability?
This seems like a nice choice, but I said so already the first time around.
I am not sure taking the nickname of an existing mechanic and adding the nearly identical effect of another existing mechanic is a good choice. Aside from that dethrone obviously a nice mechanic.
Enforce sounds Boros-y. In context of Ravnica guilds it's a poor choice of terminology, but there are many synonyms out there, that will serve well... boost, consolidate, strengthen, invigorate... bolster has hence been taken unfortunately.
Having used a very similar mechanic before I can imagine this playtests well though, so mechanically this seems sound. I personally put an additional cost on it (like extort), but that's an option that can be postponed until a second round of playtesting with a bunch of cards using the same theme (but should assuage those thinking this mechanic is "nuts" - IMO it is, but it can be easily fixed).
It's repeatable on purpose? I expected an unearth clause upon leaving the battlefield as Aura. As long as it is only used with positive effects, I can see it not needing such a clause though.
Better haunt is always nice.
Terrible example common - would be showcased better with regenerate (or similar ability) than deathtouch.
Otherwise fine. Not great, but serviceable and with a nice flavor fit.
This sentence misses an
I also cannot intuit the meaning of "unique" from the context. Or if I can, I have to wonder what the playtest for this went like.
So Izzet gets two new keywords? EDIT: And one of them does not fit into blues color pie?
Mechanically an exact replica of my mobilize (well depending on how the reminder text looks on monocolored cards, but that's a minor difference at most). I am really happy with mobilize, so no surprise here that it tests well with you.
Two keywords in the same expansion containing "force" is bound to cause confusion, but then again the Selesnya keyword should change name anyway (s. a.)
On the other hand this has also almost the same name (and quiet similar function) as reinforce. I considered the same terms for mobilize, but obviously decided against it for the mentioned reasons. I suggest the same to you. Mobilize works flavorwise for Boros, too.
---
Have you tested these mechanics in bulk or just on the presented designs?
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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Read up on Red Flags & NWO
Harvest- The Sengir Vampire mechanic is pretty feel-bad on both sides. If the Harvest creature trades, the ability is nil. Plus, the opponent would never want to unfavorably trade with the Sengir creature. What if instead whenever the Harvest creature or a creature dealt damage by the Harvest creature dies, you put a counter on a creature you control? That way small creatures can be good chump blockers and sac outlets like Elder Cathar while big creatures stay dominating like Sengir Vampire.
So: (Whenever this creature or a creature dealt damage by this creature this turn dies, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control) ?
(Whenever a creature dealt damage by this creature this turn dies, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. Whenever this creature dies, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control.)
With the old version, A Harvest creature that kills itself and another creature in combat would distribute two counters in one turn, which seems pretty overwhelming for common creatures to do.
[i](Whenever this creature dies, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control.)[/i]
You can even put a number on it
N (Whenever this creature dies, put N +1/+1 counters on target creature you control.)[/i]
And it still feeds on the whole BG sacrifice creature aspect and has the whole "don't block me" effect that sengir has.
----
Other keyword comments
Possess: Maybe make it more like Moon-E's legacy? That way it's still repeatable but requires that you cast a creature. . . which limits its repeatability.
[i](Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under you control, you may may cast this card for its possess cost from your graveyard as an Aura enchantment with enchant creature targeting that creature.)[/i]
Vex: I don't like the rhystic mechanic . . . but going with your idea - why not make it the ophidian ability? That way its your choice between effect or damage?
[i]Sabotage[/i] - Whenever ~ attacks and isn't blocked, you may [Effect]. If you do, ~ assigns no combat damage this turn.
Generally speaking, guild mechanics follow the same design principles as all block mechanics.
Good guild mechanics...
...mustn't be parasitic.
...mustn't be a hoser mechanic.
...mustn't be a disadvantage mechanic.
...mustn't objectively outshine other guild mechanics.
...mustn't inherently conflict with another guild mechanic.
...mustn't interact so well with another guild mechanic that it eclipses all other guild mechanic interactions.
...shouldn't be too splashy.
...shouldn't generate raw card advantage.
...shouldn't be perceived as a disadvantage.
...needn't be of the same tempo as other guild mechanics/archetypes.
...should have little design space.
...should express its guild's flavor.
...should interact positively with its predecessors.
...should showcase its guild's intended primary archetype.
...should encourage drafters to draft and play two colors.
...should interact positively alongside other guild mechanics with which it shares a color.
...must be proactive.
...must be interactive.
...must be distinct from other guild mechanics.
...must have its own unique way of winning.
You're very dedicated to this project - to all of your projects, really - and I think that sometimes gives you tunnel vision, to be honest. You're trying really hard to find a suite of exciting, simple, fun mechanics, and your search sometimes drives you to weird ends, like Volt, where you seemed blinded by a 'solution' and couldn't see it where it fell apart. That's completely natural when your pursuit is one like this, having to improve upon what came before and remain innovative at the same time.
When I get tunnel vision in a design - which happens often, I'm the kind to sit down and try to hash it out all at once - I usually like to either take a break, or zoom out and see it as a whole. Maybe one or both of those things will help you out.
Anyway, here is some random, chicken-scratch brainstorming...
Protection is interesting, if used along the lines of Exploit. Protect creatures to get bonuses. It's a little 'softer' than Exploit because you get the creature back and can retrigger its ETB, but at the same time, exploit lets you do other interesting stuff. Protect has a VERY nice bonus of having an automatic 'attachment' though, so you can say "As long as ~ is protecting a creature, it has KEYWORD and/or BONUS." How fun!
Other ideas:
Something that interacts with instant speed sounds fitting, but we also want to make it something the Azorius player builds around, rather than reacts to. So, for example, something like Traps wouldn't work as a guild mechanic.
Could it be as simple as keywording the Rout ability? Speedy Trial (You may cast this spell as though it had flash if you pay 2 more to cast it.)
Azorius also likes flickering. Perhaps we could do something like:
Adjourn 1W (1W: Exile this creature. Return it to its owner's control at the beginning of your next upkeep. Adjourn only as a sorcery.)
Whenever ~ returns from adjournment, EFFECT
Dimir are really tough, as their two colors are just not naturally compatible. I'm still a fan of:
Sabotage - Whenever you cast a spell during an opponent's turn, EFFECT
Mystery (When you cast this, target opponent chooses a number, then puts that many cards from the top of his or her library into his or her graveyard. If no basic land card was put into his or her graveyard this way, this is unsolved.)
If ~ is unsolved, EFFECT
I think Dimir really fits best into the 'mind-games' of blue and black. You want to emphasize that it's tough decisions, and/or unknowns. For this reason, playing around with instants - Sabotage - really feels fitting for me. But I think Mystery is totally possible as well, since it really allows you to attack on two different angles.
We could also do this mechanic:
Psionic (Whenever this creature would deal combat damage to a player, that player instead puts a number of cards from the top of his or library into his or her graveyard equal to this creature's combined power and toughness.)
I can't remember who suggested this version of combining P/T for the mill, but I love it.
I have to get going, so I'll finish my musing later.
Lead Tesla, a community set designed by everyone and led by me, over at Goblin Artisans. Index of articles here!
(W/B)(W/B)
Creature Spirit Knight
Appeasement At the beginning of your upkeep, any player may pay 1 life. If no player does CARDNAME gets +2/+0 until the beginning of your next upkeep.
2/2
(Appeasement can give many different kinds of a effects, but opponent may always pay exactly 1 life to negate that effect.)
R
Instant
CARDNAME deals 2 damage to target creature or player.
Breakthrough (When you cast this spell name a card, then reveal a card at random from your hand. If it is the named card put a copy of this spell on the stack. You may choose new targets for the copy.)
(Plays very well when behind in cards)
RW
Human Soldier
Unblocked creatures you control have first strike.
Phalanx (If this creature would deal combat damage to a player, you may instead deal that combat damage to a blocking creature that player controls.)
2/2
(three 1/1 Phalanx blocked by a single 3/3 beast would result in one of the 1/1's trading with the 3/3 and no damage to the player.)
2GU
Drake
Each creature with a +1/+1 counters on it has flying and trample.
Discover (As you draw this card reveal it. Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control.
2/1
(This removes the need for simic to flood the board. It causes Simic to function similarly to slivers when you need to get results immediately.)
I also have a golgari mechanic (I did enemy colored guilds) but i found out it was already basically done as retrace.
I've been considering making Breakthrough into a Dimir Mechanic but I want it to do something other than copy the spell. (counters, removal) and then it gets way too wordy.
Infiltrate (When you cast this spell name a card, then any number of target players reveal a card at random from their hand. For each player who reveals the named card this way, that player discards it and you draw a card.)
Thankyou for your time! If you actually like any of these mechanics feel free to steal them.
Meanwhile, I am in the process of compiling a list of every single mechanic proposed for this project so far (from the first thread last year to this very thread). I will then cross examine each mechanic with my list of requirements (which is a summary of what I've read about guild mechanic design) and post the results. I'm doing it so everyone that contributed a mechanic will know that they weren't ignored and know why his or her mechanic did or didn't make the cut.
I will also be cleaning up my ridiculously messy set threads, but that's another story.
- Manite
I think this is a project for 10 new named mechanics. I have experimented somewhat with placing existing mechanics in the guilds. You could get probably two full cycles of ten named mechanics for the guild without overlap between them or named mechanics previously used for guilds. It's rather interesting.
Mechanical you might be right (not without room for debate); soulbond has flavor issues with Simic though.
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
'Simicbond' 1 (When this creature enters the battlefield, you may put a +1/+1 counter on another creature you control. That creature becomes bonded to this creature.)
And such.
RUNIN: Norse mythology set (awaiting further playtesting)
FATE of ALARA: Multicolour factions (currently on hiatus)
Contibutor to the Pyrulea community set
I'm here to tell you that all your set mechanics are bad
#Defundthepolice
Austere - I don't understand why having the fewest creatures should be Azorius. This also has counter synergy with Boros's mechanic and Selesnya's mechanic that both reward going wide.
Vex - I feel like taxing is an Azorius thing to do, though obviously this specific tax mechanic is inappropriate for UW. This feels complicated and I'm not sure I understand the flavor.
Malicious - Great.
Beserk - Assuming this isn't developmentally broken, it should be great.
Thrive - Assuming this isn't developmentally broken, seems great.
Posses - Very cool. Not the best flavor hit, but workable.
Swarm - I don't see much design space here. I'm also very concerned about the interaction between swarm and Thrive
Refresh - Not going to lie, I still like refresh
Impulse - I'm not a fan of this mechanic due to its inherent balancing issues. To demonstrate, imagine how broken dredge would be if you started every game with a 30 card graveyard.
Warcraft - I'm worried about lack of interesting design space and complexity here. I'm pretty sure every card with warcraft gets red-flagged for having too many lines of text. I'm also worried about the interaction with thrive.
After looking through the mechanics, I think the one that I like lest is impulse. So lets go ahead and try to make an interesting izzet mechanic. As with Simic, I'll start by digging through the mothership to understand izzet flavor. The izzet are all about experimentation. They are famously shortsighted and erratic in their pursuit of knowledge. Their role on ravnica is in designing public works projects. I think with izzet we need to either take the guild in some new direction or else take advantage of the experimentation flavor. Alternatively, we could just go with a generic spell mechanic. Something like fixed storm. Going back through the disqualified mechanics, I think innovate and fient deserve a second look. Fient may not fit the flavor of Izzet particularly well, but it fits UR very well. Keeping in mind that I don't have any particularly good ideas, here are some potential mechanics...
Innovate N (Discard up to N cards then draw that many cards.) - I didn't design this. I also think this could just lose the N and always be discard 1 then draw 1.
Outsmart (When this attacks, you may switch its power and toughness until end of turn.) - Inspired by the disqualified feint.
BetterStorm - If this is not the first spell cast this turn, [effect]. - Obviously needs a better name.
Rift [cost] (If you cast this for its rift cost, lands you control don't untap during your next untap step.) - Plays around with izzets screwing with magic flavor.
- Manite