I love enchantments! It's like they're giving you a constant passive boon as long as they're on the battlefield. The bad thing about them is they're not a body to protect you. Which is why I just love creature – enchantments.
Theros block was full of creature-enchantments which is why I'll always find it appealing. Unfortunately it did not provide any modern deck that was based on enchantments or enchantment creatures.
A quick comparison of modern artifact and enchantment decks:
Artifacts:
- affinity: it's an artifact-creature based deck with one of the most powerful mechanisms in modern that make it a tier 1 deck from the begining. It was so powerful that all artifact-lands were banned.
- Equipment Storm: utilizes bunch of equipment cards which are big combo piece
- Equipment Toolbox decks
- Lanter of Insight: contains a lot of artifacts for control
Enchantments:
- no enchantment-creature based deck
- Boggle: synergy of hexproof creature and bunch of auras to make it big
- no pure enchantment based deck
But unfortunately Theros block did NOT yield a non-aura enchantment based deck for competitive modern play. When one looks at the mechanisms of Theros block they are just not inherenently strong nor were they powered by numbers to be efficient in modern:
Constellation - For me it has a great flavor and it is just an ETB effect based on enchantments. I haven't seen a single card in competitive modern with this mechanism. ETB effects are easily shut down with Torbor Orb, Hushwing griphin or Tocatly Honour Guard. Bestow – an alternative mana cost and a clunky aura mechanism that could have been made powerful for modern only by substantially reducing its mana costs. That didn't happen. Personally, I wouldn't use it for modern either. Inspired – a slow mechanism dependent on passing of turns. Would not like to see it in modern.
By comparing artifacts and enchantments in general, many artifacts have a huge advantage of being colorless so they can be played in any deck and payed for with any mana. Affinity as a mechanism could have been created because of that. Enchantments don't have that advantage.
I have been inventing enchantment cards for MtG on MtG Cardsmith for probably 1-2 years. In this thread, I would like to present my cards to the community. Please provide a valuable feedback and if anyone wants to join me in creating similar cards, mechanisms, art for it, feel free to do so.
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Creature – enchantment based decks for modern
In order for these decks to be affective, my guess is that the following cards should be banned:
- Back to Nature
- Cleansfall
- Paraselene
- Patrician's Scorn
- Tempest of Light
- Spring Cleaning
- Primeval Light
These are all cards with CMC less than 4 in modern that destroy all enchantments with a notable exception of Primeval Light which selectively destroys enhcantments of a single player. When you look at the cards that destroy all artifacts on the battlefield they always cost 4 or more mana.
Mechanism: Mysticism – If you control 2 or more enchantments, something happens.
Mysticism in inspired by Metalcraft ofcourse. Metalcraft has the advantage of artifacts being really cheap, like 0 mana, so I reduced the number from 3 to 2 for enchantment based metalcraft I called mysticism. Naturally, I want to make powerful enchantments with 1-2-3 CMC since in modern nothin lasts long on the Alchemy – For each color among the permanents you control, something happens.
Alchemy is a reflection of my love for multicolored decks. It is not a powerful mechanims per se since modern is full of removal, so I will tend to make it extremely rewarding.
Constellation - Whenever this or another enchantment enters (or leaves) the battlefield under your control, something happens.
I think this mechanims from Theros holds a lot of potential hidden in numbers. I think it could also contain LTB effects.
With this edition I'm trying to do several things:
- create single-colored and a lot of multicolored enchantment-creature and enchantment cards that can be used to create competitive 2- or 3- colored modern decks. That means I have to create cards that can be used in 20 different color combinations: Golgari, Rakdos, Dimir, Orzhova, Gruul, Simic, Selesnya, Izzet, Boros, Azorious, Bant, Esper, Grixis, Jund, Naya, Abzan, Jeskai, Mardu, Sultai, Temur.
- create cards that can be effective for already existing modern decks
I've seen the rules for this thread and card creation. However, I prefer providing images that I download from my MtG account. Humans are visually creatures. I hope that is ok with the moderators, if not, please let me know and I will change that.
Please note, that the pictures I use and names for the card are less important. Wizards have artist at their disposal, I don't. The mechanims are important to me and if the art depicts it well, that's fine.
Some of the multicolored enchantments I've created so far.
Belligerent Peacekeeper - for boros burn type enchantment decks. Would go well with Explosive Ward and Flamefury Eidolon.
Blistercoil Elemental - an ode to Counterbalance. I think it's a broad card that can fit into any kind of Izzet, Grixis, Jeskai, Temur strategies
Pyretic Tomb-Keeeper - some similarity to Grim Lavamancer but is more explosive and requires to built deck around creatures instead of other cards. Could go well into 5C humans decks
Frost-rune Lampade and Springflow Dryad - imagine them with Cathartic reuion...
Enchanter's Blast - The idea is that Enchanter draws energy (mana) from all the enchantments he created and uses to for burst of damage. The enchantments are still there but not functioning (hence, exile), they just need some time to draw mana from surrounding space and then they are on again (hence, they return to battlefield after some time, at the begining of the end step on the nex turn.) Combinig this with explosive ward, flamfury eidolon, hive avenger...
Flamefury Eidolon is basically my improvement of Forgeborn Oreads, a card I love so much but is useless anywhere.
I was thinking about changing the description rules for Mysticism to.
Mysticism - If you control more enchantments than any opponent, ...
I would like this ability to be playable in commander too. I am not sure if I got the wording right. The ability should be able to detect at any moment are you the player who controls the biggest number of enchantments. For example: you control 4 enchantments, second player controls 3 enchantments and yet another player controls 2 enchantments. Together they control 5 but the ability would not calculate it that way but takes into account only one player and his or her enchantments separately.
Theros block was full of creature-enchantments which is why I'll always find it appealing. Unfortunately it did not provide any modern deck that was based on enchantments or enchantment creatures.
A quick comparison of modern artifact and enchantment decks:
Artifacts:
- affinity: it's an artifact-creature based deck with one of the most powerful mechanisms in modern that make it a tier 1 deck from the begining. It was so powerful that all artifact-lands were banned.
- Equipment Storm: utilizes bunch of equipment cards which are big combo piece
- Equipment Toolbox decks
- Lanter of Insight: contains a lot of artifacts for control
Enchantments:
- no enchantment-creature based deck
- Boggle: synergy of hexproof creature and bunch of auras to make it big
- no pure enchantment based deck
In my opinion, Theros block offered some interesting cards for modern play:
- Eidolon of Great Revel (a staple in burn decks)
- Courser of Kruphix
- Thoughtseize (just a reprint)
- Master of Waves (addition to Merfolk decks, yet another lord for blue decks which totally doesn't make sense to me)
- Anger of the Gods (a good sweeper)
- Mana Confluence and Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
- Destructive Revelry (sideboard hate against enchantments and artifacts)
- Swan Song
- Eidolon of Rhetoric (sideboard hate against storm decks)
- Springleaf Drum (a reprint)
- Spirit of the Labyrinth (for Death and Taxes)
But unfortunately Theros block did NOT yield a non-aura enchantment based deck for competitive modern play. When one looks at the mechanisms of Theros block they are just not inherenently strong nor were they powered by numbers to be efficient in modern:
Constellation - For me it has a great flavor and it is just an ETB effect based on enchantments. I haven't seen a single card in competitive modern with this mechanism. ETB effects are easily shut down with Torbor Orb, Hushwing griphin or Tocatly Honour Guard.
Bestow – an alternative mana cost and a clunky aura mechanism that could have been made powerful for modern only by substantially reducing its mana costs. That didn't happen. Personally, I wouldn't use it for modern either.
Inspired – a slow mechanism dependent on passing of turns. Would not like to see it in modern.
By comparing artifacts and enchantments in general, many artifacts have a huge advantage of being colorless so they can be played in any deck and payed for with any mana. Affinity as a mechanism could have been created because of that. Enchantments don't have that advantage.
I have been inventing enchantment cards for MtG on MtG Cardsmith for probably 1-2 years. In this thread, I would like to present my cards to the community. Please provide a valuable feedback and if anyone wants to join me in creating similar cards, mechanisms, art for it, feel free to do so.
---------------------------------------
Creature – enchantment based decks for modern
In order for these decks to be affective, my guess is that the following cards should be banned:
- Back to Nature
- Cleansfall
- Paraselene
- Patrician's Scorn
- Tempest of Light
- Spring Cleaning
- Primeval Light
These are all cards with CMC less than 4 in modern that destroy all enchantments with a notable exception of Primeval Light which selectively destroys enhcantments of a single player. When you look at the cards that destroy all artifacts on the battlefield they always cost 4 or more mana.
Mechanism:
Mysticism – If you control 2 or more enchantments, something happens.
Mysticism in inspired by Metalcraft ofcourse. Metalcraft has the advantage of artifacts being really cheap, like 0 mana, so I reduced the number from 3 to 2 for enchantment based metalcraft I called mysticism. Naturally, I want to make powerful enchantments with 1-2-3 CMC since in modern nothin lasts long on the
Alchemy – For each color among the permanents you control, something happens.
Alchemy is a reflection of my love for multicolored decks. It is not a powerful mechanims per se since modern is full of removal, so I will tend to make it extremely rewarding.
Constellation - Whenever this or another enchantment enters (or leaves) the battlefield under your control, something happens.
I think this mechanims from Theros holds a lot of potential hidden in numbers. I think it could also contain LTB effects.
With this edition I'm trying to do several things:
- create single-colored and a lot of multicolored enchantment-creature and enchantment cards that can be used to create competitive 2- or 3- colored modern decks. That means I have to create cards that can be used in 20 different color combinations: Golgari, Rakdos, Dimir, Orzhova, Gruul, Simic, Selesnya, Izzet, Boros, Azorious, Bant, Esper, Grixis, Jund, Naya, Abzan, Jeskai, Mardu, Sultai, Temur.
- create cards that can be effective for already existing modern decks
I've seen the rules for this thread and card creation. However, I prefer providing images that I download from my MtG account. Humans are visually creatures. I hope that is ok with the moderators, if not, please let me know and I will change that.
Please note, that the pictures I use and names for the card are less important. Wizards have artist at their disposal, I don't. The mechanims are important to me and if the art depicts it well, that's fine.
Belligerent Peacekeeper - for boros burn type enchantment decks. Would go well with Explosive Ward and Flamefury Eidolon.
Blistercoil Elemental - an ode to Counterbalance. I think it's a broad card that can fit into any kind of Izzet, Grixis, Jeskai, Temur strategies
Pyretic Tomb-Keeeper - some similarity to Grim Lavamancer but is more explosive and requires to built deck around creatures instead of other cards. Could go well into 5C humans decks
Frost-rune Lampade and Springflow Dryad - imagine them with Cathartic reuion...
Enchanter's Blast - The idea is that Enchanter draws energy (mana) from all the enchantments he created and uses to for burst of damage. The enchantments are still there but not functioning (hence, exile), they just need some time to draw mana from surrounding space and then they are on again (hence, they return to battlefield after some time, at the begining of the end step on the nex turn.) Combinig this with explosive ward, flamfury eidolon, hive avenger...
Flamefury Eidolon is basically my improvement of Forgeborn Oreads, a card I love so much but is useless anywhere.
Mysticism - If you control more enchantments than any opponent, ...
I would like this ability to be playable in commander too. I am not sure if I got the wording right. The ability should be able to detect at any moment are you the player who controls the biggest number of enchantments. For example: you control 4 enchantments, second player controls 3 enchantments and yet another player controls 2 enchantments. Together they control 5 but the ability would not calculate it that way but takes into account only one player and his or her enchantments separately.