Following up on Modify, I've hit upon an action word to capture the feel of combining mecha.
Swiftclaw Felidon2W
Artifact Creature - Cat Construct
First strike 3: Combine ~ with another artifact creature you control. (If this creature isn't a combined artifact creature, it becomes part of one. This artifact isn't a creature as long as it's part of a combined artifact creature.)
As long as ~ is part of a combined artifact creature, that creature gets +2/+2 and has first strike.
2/2
Jetwing Ornithon2U
Artifact Creature - Bird Construct
Flying 3: Combine ~ with another artifact creature you control. (If this creature isn't a combined artifact creature, it becomes part of one. This artifact isn't a creature as long as it's part of a combined artifact creature.)
As long as ~ is part of a combined artifact creature, the combined artifact creature gets +2/+2 and has flying.
2/2
Skull-Hood Ophidon2B
Artifact Creature - Snake Construct
Menace 3: Combine ~ with another artifact creature you control. (If this creature isn't a combined artifact creature, it becomes part of one. This artifact isn't a creature as long as it's part of a combined artifact creature.)
As long as ~ is part of a combined artifact creature, the combined artifact creature gets +2/+2 and has menace.
2/2
Thunderhoof Tauron2R
Artifact Creature - Ox Construct
Trample 3: Combine ~ with another artifact creature you control. (If this creature isn't a combined artifact creature, it becomes part of one. This artifact isn't a creature as long as it's part of a combined artifact creature.)
As long as ~ is part of a combined artifact creature, the combined artifact creature gets +3/+1 and has trample.
3/1
Shell-Shield Diapsidon2G
Artifact Creature - Turtle Construct
Hexproof 3: Combine ~ with another artifact creature you control. (If this creature isn't a combined artifact creature, it becomes part of one. This artifact isn't a creature as long as it's part of a combined artifact creature.)
As long as ~ is part of a combined artifact creature, the combined artifact creature gets +1/+3 and has hexproof.
1/3
Combining is a new relationship akin to pairing, but with one party's creature status being disabled for as long as the relationship remains in effect.
Combining one artifact creature with another causes the second creature to become a combined artifact creature for as long as one or more artifacts are part of it.
Combined artifact creatures can't be part of other combined artifact creatures.
If a combined artifact creature leaves the battlefield, all artifacts that were part of it are no longer part of it. If those artifacts are artifact creatures by default, they will revert to being artifact creatures, much like enchantment creatures with Bestow.
I could in theory see Combine being adapted to nonartifact creatures as well, creating combined creatures. Would be perfect for the Simic.
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
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.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
So... they're Licids that can't pop off? Or I guess Visions Chimeras (Brass-Talon Chimera, etc.) that are a bit more flexible (though not graveyard shenanigans compliant)?
I think it would play nicer with existing rules if the activated ability caused them to Imprint on the targeted creature, with all the necessary templating to make that work, as opposed to having cards on the table that aren't actually in any zone.
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...as opposed to having cards on the table that aren't actually in any zone.
I get what you're saying, but it's the same thing as meld - the result is just multiple cards representing a single permanent. So the cards are not in no zone, which is not possible, it's just not a 1:1 correspondence between card on the battlefield and permanent on the battlefield.
You're right that "Exile this combined to target artifact creature" would be better and allow you to explain the whole ability in the reminder text (maybe something more like "Exile this until target artifact creature you control leaves the battlefield. It's combined to that creature").
So... what's the base creature then? "This artifact isn't a creature as long as it's part of a combined artifact creature." makes it sound like, if I join one combine creature to another, they both stop being creatures and I end up with two useless non-creature artifacts stuck to eachother.
It also doesn't state what happens if the base creature, whichever one that is, dies. Do the others also go into your graveyard, or do they go back to being their own thing like with Bestow creatures?
I think this idea would be better implemented by just using or re-hashing bestow. Maybe if you cast them for their combine cost they become equipment with no equip cost instead of auras?
Or it's an activated ability with a cost, and is basically just equip but with the added "this becomes a non-creature equipment, attach it to target creature, it becomes a creature again when it is not attached to anything." rules and so on?
The second target of the Combine ability becomes the combined creature. It's like creatures fighting or pairing, but one-way. I started with an effect that turns the artifact creature into an Equipment, or possibly a Modification Equipment, but I had a hard time making the reminder text clean and easy to comprehend. I opted for a more straightforward approach.
Seems I need to rework the definition of a combined artifact creature:
Swiftclaw Felidon2W
Artifact Creature - Cat Construct
First strike
Combine artifact creatures 3(3: Join this artifact creature with another target artifact creature you control. That creature becomes a combined artifact creature. This permanent isn't a creature as long as it's part of another creature.)
As long as ~ is part of a combined artifact creature, that creature gets +2/+2 and has first strike.
2/2
The templating allows you to limit the combinations to specific types of creatures (artifact, enchantment, Ooze, etc.) or opt for a generic Combine that works for any kind of creature. Though, without a second card type I'm not sure what part creatures count as typewise. Maybe they're just permanents with no card types? Or maybe part itself is a new card type added by combine specifically?
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
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.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
If you have Modify already, why not make artifact creatures that become noncreature Modifications that attach themselves to artifacts? With the right wording they also become creatures automatically once the base artifact creature is destroyed.
The big thing about combining creatures is that you usually want them to become one, which meld provides by turning multiple cards into one permanent. The same is true for host/augment. This doesn't provide tihs. It provides two permanents - one of which is the base creature and the other affecting the base creature's stats. But we have that in Auras/Euqipment/Modification/Module/etc. so it seems more straightforward to use this here since you go already out of your way to create a mechanic that sticks a permanent to another one.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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]
Artifact Creature - Cat Construct
First strike
3: Combine ~ with another artifact creature you control. (If this creature isn't a combined artifact creature, it becomes part of one. This artifact isn't a creature as long as it's part of a combined artifact creature.)
As long as ~ is part of a combined artifact creature, that creature gets +2/+2 and has first strike.
2/2
Jetwing Ornithon 2U
Artifact Creature - Bird Construct
Flying
3: Combine ~ with another artifact creature you control. (If this creature isn't a combined artifact creature, it becomes part of one. This artifact isn't a creature as long as it's part of a combined artifact creature.)
As long as ~ is part of a combined artifact creature, the combined artifact creature gets +2/+2 and has flying.
2/2
Skull-Hood Ophidon 2B
Artifact Creature - Snake Construct
Menace
3: Combine ~ with another artifact creature you control. (If this creature isn't a combined artifact creature, it becomes part of one. This artifact isn't a creature as long as it's part of a combined artifact creature.)
As long as ~ is part of a combined artifact creature, the combined artifact creature gets +2/+2 and has menace.
2/2
Thunderhoof Tauron 2R
Artifact Creature - Ox Construct
Trample
3: Combine ~ with another artifact creature you control. (If this creature isn't a combined artifact creature, it becomes part of one. This artifact isn't a creature as long as it's part of a combined artifact creature.)
As long as ~ is part of a combined artifact creature, the combined artifact creature gets +3/+1 and has trample.
3/1
Shell-Shield Diapsidon 2G
Artifact Creature - Turtle Construct
Hexproof
3: Combine ~ with another artifact creature you control. (If this creature isn't a combined artifact creature, it becomes part of one. This artifact isn't a creature as long as it's part of a combined artifact creature.)
As long as ~ is part of a combined artifact creature, the combined artifact creature gets +1/+3 and has hexproof.
1/3
Combining is a new relationship akin to pairing, but with one party's creature status being disabled for as long as the relationship remains in effect.
Combining one artifact creature with another causes the second creature to become a combined artifact creature for as long as one or more artifacts are part of it.
Combined artifact creatures can't be part of other combined artifact creatures.
If a combined artifact creature leaves the battlefield, all artifacts that were part of it are no longer part of it. If those artifacts are artifact creatures by default, they will revert to being artifact creatures, much like enchantment creatures with Bestow.
I could in theory see Combine being adapted to nonartifact creatures as well, creating combined creatures. Would be perfect for the Simic.
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.
I think it would play nicer with existing rules if the activated ability caused them to Imprint on the targeted creature, with all the necessary templating to make that work, as opposed to having cards on the table that aren't actually in any zone.
My Friend Code is: 0146-9645-8893
You're right that "Exile this combined to target artifact creature" would be better and allow you to explain the whole ability in the reminder text (maybe something more like "Exile this until target artifact creature you control leaves the battlefield. It's combined to that creature").
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
It also doesn't state what happens if the base creature, whichever one that is, dies. Do the others also go into your graveyard, or do they go back to being their own thing like with Bestow creatures?
I think this idea would be better implemented by just using or re-hashing bestow. Maybe if you cast them for their combine cost they become equipment with no equip cost instead of auras?
Or it's an activated ability with a cost, and is basically just equip but with the added "this becomes a non-creature equipment, attach it to target creature, it becomes a creature again when it is not attached to anything." rules and so on?
- Rabid Wombat
Seems I need to rework the definition of a combined artifact creature:
Swiftclaw Felidon 2W
Artifact Creature - Cat Construct
First strike
Combine artifact creatures 3 (3: Join this artifact creature with another target artifact creature you control. That creature becomes a combined artifact creature. This permanent isn't a creature as long as it's part of another creature.)
As long as ~ is part of a combined artifact creature, that creature gets +2/+2 and has first strike.
2/2
The templating allows you to limit the combinations to specific types of creatures (artifact, enchantment, Ooze, etc.) or opt for a generic Combine that works for any kind of creature. Though, without a second card type I'm not sure what part creatures count as typewise. Maybe they're just permanents with no card types? Or maybe part itself is a new card type added by combine specifically?
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.
The big thing about combining creatures is that you usually want them to become one, which meld provides by turning multiple cards into one permanent. The same is true for host/augment. This doesn't provide tihs. It provides two permanents - one of which is the base creature and the other affecting the base creature's stats. But we have that in Auras/Euqipment/Modification/Module/etc. so it seems more straightforward to use this here since you go already out of your way to create a mechanic that sticks a permanent to another one.
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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