I'm designing a new tri colored faction set called Emarza. Each faction, or sect leader is a wizard of immense power that duels for the right the rule the plane every 7 years. Mechanically they do something that synergizes with their faction mechanic, but doesn't explicitly use them. Here are the current drafts:
Hondi, Irhandi of Awe2GWU
Legendary Creature - Spider Wizard (M)
Reach, vigilance
Whenever a creature attacks or blocks, you may swap that creature's power and toughness until end of turn.
4/7
Saraku, Irhandi of Brawn4RGW
Legendary Creature - Bear Wizard (M)
Haste, trample
Whenever Saraku, Irhandi of Brawn attacks, you may untap each creature defending player controls. If you do, you chose how those creatures block this turn.
7/7
Vavara, the Fallen Irhandi2WBR
Legendary Creature - Lamia Wraith Wizard (M)
Indestructible, lifelink
Whenever Vavara, the Fallen Idhandi attacks, you lose life equal to Vavara's power. Then put that many +1/+1 counters on her.
2/2
Parelle, Irhandi of Deception1GUB
Legendary Creature - Basilisk Wizard (M)
Prowess
Whenever you cast a spell on an opponents turn, you gain 4 life.
Whenever an opponent casts a spell on another players turn, that opponent loses 4 life.
4/4
Arken, Irhandi of Depravity1URB
Legendary Creature - Scorpion Wizard (M)
Deathtough
The first noncreature spell you cast each turn can't be countered.
The second noncreature spell you cast each turn costs URB less to cast. This effect reduces only the amount of colored mana you pay.
3/5
The whole asymmetric ally/enemy factions thing is something that's never been done before in real Magic but I think you can get away with it here because there's pretty much still color balance. Rosewater's gone on record as saying that ally and enemy colors only apply anymore in terms of colors' philosophies being close to or different from another as mono-colors and shouldn't influence multicolor design.
Hondi's possibly my favorite, as she(?) reminds me a bit of my all-time favorite commander, Doran. I'm intrigued as to what the faction mechanic is, too - something that pumps toughness maybe?
Saraku might be a little much considering you can force all of the opposing creatures to just not block. Maybe make them block if able, you just get to choose the assignments? Then again, you could just make everything block one creature and get most of the damage through... ehh, it's an expensive beater, so it should be largely okay, but I wish there were a way to make it so that the big Bear who wants to scrap with opposing creatures actually winds up doing that.
Vavara's typeline is a bit much; does she really need to be a Wraith? But Neheb, the Eternal exists. The life loss drawback seems completely irrelevant since you'll just gain back the life anyhow in a later step of the combat phase and indestructible means she barely even has the risk of her getting removed before the combat damage step or dying to a first striker anyhow. I like her in general but her ability suite might be just too powerful.
Parelle is very cool and I'm assuming there's a flash theme here. Prowess reads slightly odd on a creature that's black and green but it IS a blue mechanic so it's alright.
Arken looks like he goes crazy well with Parelle! However, he doesn't seem all that black, mechanically, other than deathtouch and I guess toughness higher than power. I can see it, however, with the cost reduction ability being similar to black's very old-school ability of rituals.
And yes, I hope to be able to judge these in the context of the faction mechanics themselves.
Mechanically they do something that synergizes with their faction mechanic, but doesn't explicitly use them.
It certainly could have helped to know the faction mechanics, then.
As standalone cards I'm not really tickled by any of them. Some feel more strongly like something you wouldn't want to see across the table. Saraku having haste with that attack ability is just a pre-assembled combo that is just back-breaking once so it doesn't feel like it should be pre-assembled. Vavara has a similar issue with lifelink/lifeloss and also indestructible/growing threat.
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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]
Without the mechanics they are meant to synergize with its harder to evaluate them.
Hondi, Irhandi of Awe, my first though was a toughness matters faction, but that can cause significant anti-synergy with this ability due to killing your fatties, A power reduction fation that cleverly tortures your opponent's creatures? Seems rather sadistic for Bant. The ability is really interesting, both effecting all creatures and being a may adds lots of depth.
Saraku, Irhandi of Brawn, the untap being linked to the Master Warcraft is strange. The only way to be punished is if there are lots of tap effects. I can't imagine the mechanic that this is meant to synergize with as it is its own oppressive mechanic itself.
Vavara, the Fallen Irhandi, I'm guessing a gain/pay life faction where it can get very brutal if you don't have both halves available. Unless there is a lot of instant speed exile, or damage prevention there is no downside on this creature. Its attack pay X life then gain twice X life, there are limited scenarios where it grows at a rate you can't pay due to trading, but then you just hang back on defense and gain back more than you ever lost. This combo is very oppressive and has almost no downside.
Parelle, Irhandi of Deception, the nonbo here is confusing. You are encouraged to play cards on opponent's turn while discouraging opponents playing cards on your turn. The reason to discourage acting on your turn is to get them to give you a free pass for you turn, but then you want to cast on their turn to gain the benefit. This feels like so much anti-synergy with itself I can't imagine what mechanic its supposed to synergize with.
Arken, Irhandi of Depravity, a creatureless Surge(Comparative Analysis) faction? The colors and abilities really want to swap Arken and Parelle's keywords. You give prowess to the two colors of deathtouch while you give deathtouch to the two colors of prowess, not to mention Arken's focus on noncreatures. Unless counters are showing up inforce for your set the first ability is very lack luster, though the second one could be insane so its a fair trade off.
I'm not giving the faction mechanics upfront to obtain opinions on how the cards stand on their own and outside of block before tainting initial impressions with in block synergies. I want both opinions separately. I'm out of town for the weekend, but I'll eleborate more soon on feedback.
Before I comment on feedback, here are the faction mechanics:
GWU: Ensnare - Ensnare target creature. (That creature has 0 base power until end of turn.)
RGW: Purge X - Purge 1 (Whenever this blocks or becomes blocked, it deals 1 damage to each creature blocking or blocked by it.)
WBR: Rebuke - [Effect] as long as you've lost life this turn.
GUB: Traps
UBR: Cripple - Cripple target creature. (To cripple a creature, tap it. The next time that creature is dealt damage or targeted by a spell or ability this turn, destroy it.)
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Hondi, Irhandi of Awe 2GWU
Legendary Creature - Spider Wizard (M)
Reach, vigilance
Whenever a creature attacks or blocks, you may swap that creature's power and toughness until end of turn.
4/7
Saraku, Irhandi of Brawn 4RGW
Legendary Creature - Bear Wizard (M)
Haste, trample
Whenever Saraku, Irhandi of Brawn attacks, you may untap each creature defending player controls. If you do, you chose how those creatures block this turn.
7/7
Vavara, the Fallen Irhandi 2WBR
Legendary Creature - Lamia Wraith Wizard (M)
Indestructible, lifelink
Whenever Vavara, the Fallen Idhandi attacks, you lose life equal to Vavara's power. Then put that many +1/+1 counters on her.
2/2
Parelle, Irhandi of Deception 1GUB
Legendary Creature - Basilisk Wizard (M)
Prowess
Whenever you cast a spell on an opponents turn, you gain 4 life.
Whenever an opponent casts a spell on another players turn, that opponent loses 4 life.
4/4
Arken, Irhandi of Depravity 1URB
Legendary Creature - Scorpion Wizard (M)
Deathtough
The first noncreature spell you cast each turn can't be countered.
The second noncreature spell you cast each turn costs URB less to cast. This effect reduces only the amount of colored mana you pay.
3/5
Hondi's possibly my favorite, as she(?) reminds me a bit of my all-time favorite commander, Doran. I'm intrigued as to what the faction mechanic is, too - something that pumps toughness maybe?
Saraku might be a little much considering you can force all of the opposing creatures to just not block. Maybe make them block if able, you just get to choose the assignments? Then again, you could just make everything block one creature and get most of the damage through... ehh, it's an expensive beater, so it should be largely okay, but I wish there were a way to make it so that the big Bear who wants to scrap with opposing creatures actually winds up doing that.
Vavara's typeline is a bit much; does she really need to be a Wraith? But Neheb, the Eternal exists. The life loss drawback seems completely irrelevant since you'll just gain back the life anyhow in a later step of the combat phase and indestructible means she barely even has the risk of her getting removed before the combat damage step or dying to a first striker anyhow. I like her in general but her ability suite might be just too powerful.
Parelle is very cool and I'm assuming there's a flash theme here. Prowess reads slightly odd on a creature that's black and green but it IS a blue mechanic so it's alright.
Arken looks like he goes crazy well with Parelle! However, he doesn't seem all that black, mechanically, other than deathtouch and I guess toughness higher than power. I can see it, however, with the cost reduction ability being similar to black's very old-school ability of rituals.
And yes, I hope to be able to judge these in the context of the faction mechanics themselves.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
It certainly could have helped to know the faction mechanics, then.
As standalone cards I'm not really tickled by any of them. Some feel more strongly like something you wouldn't want to see across the table. Saraku having haste with that attack ability is just a pre-assembled combo that is just back-breaking once so it doesn't feel like it should be pre-assembled. Vavara has a similar issue with lifelink/lifeloss and also indestructible/growing threat.
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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Hondi, Irhandi of Awe, my first though was a toughness matters faction, but that can cause significant anti-synergy with this ability due to killing your fatties, A power reduction fation that cleverly tortures your opponent's creatures? Seems rather sadistic for Bant. The ability is really interesting, both effecting all creatures and being a may adds lots of depth.
Saraku, Irhandi of Brawn, the untap being linked to the Master Warcraft is strange. The only way to be punished is if there are lots of tap effects. I can't imagine the mechanic that this is meant to synergize with as it is its own oppressive mechanic itself.
Vavara, the Fallen Irhandi, I'm guessing a gain/pay life faction where it can get very brutal if you don't have both halves available. Unless there is a lot of instant speed exile, or damage prevention there is no downside on this creature. Its attack pay X life then gain twice X life, there are limited scenarios where it grows at a rate you can't pay due to trading, but then you just hang back on defense and gain back more than you ever lost. This combo is very oppressive and has almost no downside.
Parelle, Irhandi of Deception, the nonbo here is confusing. You are encouraged to play cards on opponent's turn while discouraging opponents playing cards on your turn. The reason to discourage acting on your turn is to get them to give you a free pass for you turn, but then you want to cast on their turn to gain the benefit. This feels like so much anti-synergy with itself I can't imagine what mechanic its supposed to synergize with.
Arken, Irhandi of Depravity, a creatureless Surge(Comparative Analysis) faction? The colors and abilities really want to swap Arken and Parelle's keywords. You give prowess to the two colors of deathtouch while you give deathtouch to the two colors of prowess, not to mention Arken's focus on noncreatures. Unless counters are showing up inforce for your set the first ability is very lack luster, though the second one could be insane so its a fair trade off.
GWU: Ensnare - Ensnare target creature. (That creature has 0 base power until end of turn.)
RGW: Purge X - Purge 1 (Whenever this blocks or becomes blocked, it deals 1 damage to each creature blocking or blocked by it.)
WBR: Rebuke - [Effect] as long as you've lost life this turn.
GUB: Traps
UBR: Cripple - Cripple target creature. (To cripple a creature, tap it. The next time that creature is dealt damage or targeted by a spell or ability this turn, destroy it.)