All else being equal, I think the best spell shapers are designed to be "on curve"; IE, spellshapers you can use their ability on the following turn; that is to say a creature with a spellshaper effect that costs the same or +1 to it's mana cost.
Two of my favorite spellshapers of this philosophy are Greenseeker and Kris Mage; neither of which saw serious constructed play, but both of which were relevant in limited and are fringe-constructed playable - any set that rewarded you for ditching cards to the 'yard would have to think about these as "slow" (IE, t) discard outlets. Trickster Mage is cool for flavor reasons, even if it's not very competitive.
In any case, here are some proposals for "on curve" spellahapers:
Servo BuilderW
Creature - Dwarf Artificer Spellshaper (U) 1W, T, discard a card: Servo Exhibition Play this ability as a sorcery.
1/2
Icatian Crier always bugged me - so fragile. This fella is far more limited than Icatian Crier, producing a less-useful tribe of tokens, and - worse still - at sorcery speed, robbing the spellshaper of some of its flexibility.
Not traditionally "on curve", this fella is interesting and aggressive. A certifiable bomb in limited, this is a fun homage to two fun magic cards that brings one up to par with current creature levels while bringing one down low to current nerfed spell status.
Backalley Murderer1B
Creature - Human Rogue Spellshaper (R) 1BB, T, discard a card: Murder
2/1
An absolute bomb in any format without decent creature removal, this is easy enough to remove and mana-intensive enough to make it difficult to splash. Throw in some flash, and a healthy amount of burn and hexproof, and this isn't terrible.
Inspired Instructor2U
Creature - Human Wizard Spellshaper (U) 3U, T, discard a card: Inspiration
2/4
A complete house in limited, yet probably not constructed playable. Inspiration costs so much normally that it makes an ideal candidate for spellshaping, but coming up with a 3 drop spellshaper that has a chance in constructed is tough.
Quicken MageU
Creature - Human Wizard Spellshaper (U) U, T, discard a card: Quicken
1/1
In contrast, this fella seems fun, and fringe playable. A weird merfolk looter, this guy brings the fun of quicken to the masses. I've long championed quicken at common, just because it makes printing sorcery speed removal and card draw more interesting in limited. The fact you can play this on turn 1, then on your opponent's turn 2 play a sorcery at instant speed at the end of turn is quite interesting. All while looting.
Lol, fixed. I'm not going to goof and say "I thought it goes without saying," I was just distracted. Thanks. w/o the discard, these really would be aggressively costed.
I like all of these. My favorite is obviously the quicken one, and I guess the only one I think maybe goes too far is the murder one. I feel like that one might be better as "discard two cards." But I'm all for exploring the limits of spellshaper space.
Two of my favorite spellshapers of this philosophy are Greenseeker and Kris Mage; neither of which saw serious constructed play, but both of which were relevant in limited and are fringe-constructed playable - any set that rewarded you for ditching cards to the 'yard would have to think about these as "slow" (IE, t) discard outlets. Trickster Mage is cool for flavor reasons, even if it's not very competitive.
In any case, here are some proposals for "on curve" spellahapers:
Servo Builder W
Creature - Dwarf Artificer Spellshaper (U)
1W, T, discard a card: Servo Exhibition Play this ability as a sorcery.
1/2
Icatian Crier always bugged me - so fragile. This fella is far more limited than Icatian Crier, producing a less-useful tribe of tokens, and - worse still - at sorcery speed, robbing the spellshaper of some of its flexibility.
Hurloon Lightning Caller 1RR
Creature - Minotaur Shaman Spellshaper (R)
Haste
R, T, discard a card: lightning bolt
2/3
Not traditionally "on curve", this fella is interesting and aggressive. A certifiable bomb in limited, this is a fun homage to two fun magic cards that brings one up to par with current creature levels while bringing one down low to current nerfed spell status.
Backalley Murderer 1B
Creature - Human Rogue Spellshaper (R)
1BB, T, discard a card: Murder
2/1
An absolute bomb in any format without decent creature removal, this is easy enough to remove and mana-intensive enough to make it difficult to splash. Throw in some flash, and a healthy amount of burn and hexproof, and this isn't terrible.
Inspired Instructor2U
Creature - Human Wizard Spellshaper (U)
3U, T, discard a card: Inspiration
2/4
A complete house in limited, yet probably not constructed playable. Inspiration costs so much normally that it makes an ideal candidate for spellshaping, but coming up with a 3 drop spellshaper that has a chance in constructed is tough.
Quicken Mage U
Creature - Human Wizard Spellshaper (U)
U, T, discard a card: Quicken
1/1
In contrast, this fella seems fun, and fringe playable. A weird merfolk looter, this guy brings the fun of quicken to the masses. I've long championed quicken at common, just because it makes printing sorcery speed removal and card draw more interesting in limited. The fact you can play this on turn 1, then on your opponent's turn 2 play a sorcery at instant speed at the end of turn is quite interesting. All while looting.
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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