Viena's Bondage Dungeon Legendary Land
: Add C to your mana pool.
Whenever a land deals damage to you, you may create a treasure token. If pain is love, her *SNIP* is heaven on earth.
Here's a reprise of a novelty design from back in 2012. The reprise here seeks to give it actual form. I like the context of [create] for general tokens, but I don't like it for creatures, because it devoids the essence of summoning and turns the whole aspect bland and monotone.
The concept is pretty simply in that it's an accelerator for Painlands.
Volrath's Dark Underground Legendary Land
Creatures with shadow and that are unblockable can block creatures as though they have no abilities.
: Add two mana of any color to your mana pool. Use this mana only to pay for abilities of creatures and enchantments you control.
Volrath the Shadow Master4BB Legendary Creature — Shapeshifter
Haste
If Volrath would deal damage to a player, create that many Blood tokens instead.
You may sacrifice Blood tokens to pay for Phyrexian mana or pay for colored mana in the costs of spells you cast. Scared of your own shadow? You should be...
6/5
Alt. Flavor Text 1
He is the monster that brings "scared of your own shadow" to life.
I think unblockable really pushes on the force majeure here. I would have really loved for this to have Changeling. It's being debated personally right now. Remember that my theory for replacement effects is that unless physical damage is dealt to a player (and say tokens are created instead) then it shouldn't count as combat damage being dealt. Thus, this wouldn't work with Tainted Strike.
As a land, Viena's Bondage Dungeon ability is way too powerful, and less interactive than a high end artifact which would be completely fine if it was, maybe at 4 or 5 mana value. Other than that the card is ok.
Super strange flavor on Volrath, with those abilities maybe the creature should be, idk someone else but the effects are okish, just need some better wording
(And if you still want it to be Volrath, remember he gained the Phyrexian Type via errata)
Volrath, the Shadow Master 4BB
Legendary Creature - Phyrexian Shapeshifter (Rogue)
Volrath cannot be blocked [As long as you control N blood tokens? for more flavor?]
If Volrath would deal to a player, create that many Blood tokens instead.
Sacrifice a blood token: Add a mana of any color. Use this mana only to cast Legendary Spells. This mana can’t be spent to pay generic mana costs. 6/6
The other land is super Odd as of now, we really don't have a card ingame that directly refers to phyrexian mana, and the mana ability on the land kinda defeats the purpose of Phyrexian Mana which is paying that part with life instead of mana. So it kinda doesn't work and is not really useful, except maybe for the first ability but even that ability need some sort of tweaking
The ability isn't too powerful. Painlands have been lost in time since their conception. They were totally overmastered by duals, which had types (where it matters) and cost you no life. The cost of life to mana fix makes them uncompetitive abroad. Only limited formats saw utility, because they had no other options. The caveat was that they don't enter the battlefield tapped, which used to want to suggest they were better than other duals that cost you time. A little life is better than a little time. This isn't to say that 1 life should have got you 2 mana, but that even another land (as a free play) that fixes this is only restoring balance.
Volrath is not actually a Phyrexian. The flavor here is in the sense of an encroachment on Phyrexia and their science (their magic).
The use of a comma isn't proper here since Volrath's name represents a designated title, not an adjective one. Many adjective titles in MTG are actually wrongly implemented without the use of "the" (when it should be there) and this can be confusing. The denomination of "the" denotes an official state of being here. Using a common would be to express a conditional, subjective, or temporary one.
You are correct about the replacement effect for the second ability, as to avoid confusion with things like Flaring Pain.
I see your take on the mana ability for Phyrexian mana. It's a potential color fix still, so that a player doesn't have to go into life. It's intended to be a very limited mana ability, since the life reduction is a very big deal on a land. It could just be colorless I suppose, but the prismatic mana ability (although extremely limited) adds flavor and wants to make the card more exciting. It doesn't really need that though, and could have equal flavor (representing the darkness of the underground) to have a colorless template.
For the colorless mana ability on Viena's Torture Dungeon, it could be "add one mana of any color-use this mana to pay for life". In order to put that one on a prismatic template. Might even be able to add that as a third ability, although it might start looking overbearing and tacky then.
Viena’s Bondage Dungeon seems kind of… inappropriate, ya know? Yes, “bondage” can refer to imprisonment. Yes, “slit” can refer to cuts. For a game rated 13+, though, that seems like a fairly explicit double entendres.
The ability isn't too powerful. Painlands have been lost in time since their conception. They were totally overmastered by duals, which had types (where it matters) and cost you no life. The cost of life to mana fix makes them uncompetitive abroad. Only limited formats saw utility, because they had no other options. The caveat was that they don't enter the battlefield tapped, which used to want to suggest they were better than other duals that cost you time. A little life is better than a little time. This isn't to say that 1 life should have got you 2 mana, but that even another land (as a free play) that fixes this is only restoring balance.
Painlands are pretty useful in many formats (Specially Commander where losing life at 40 starting LP is a minimal issue), and there is still cards like mana confluence, city of brass, threshold lands, grand coliseum, murmuring bosk, tempest painlands, Tomb of Urami, among cards that land work with.
Compare this card with Bootleggers' Stash a new card (and a 6 mana colored artifact) that made most of us go WTF at the sheer power it has, sure it affects all lands but different from your card this one negates (Sort of) the ability of the land to procude mana on its own when you use it to create a treasure, your card gives you 2 mana for one life and if you put that in a lands is WAY too powerful, even if it limited to a modest group of cards.
Volrath is not actually a Phyrexian. The flavor here is in the sense of an encroachment on Phyrexia and their science (their magic).
The use of a comma isn't proper here since Volrath's name represents a designated title, not an adjective one. Many adjective titles in MTG are actually wrongly implemented without the use of "the" (when it should be there) and this can be confusing. The denomination of "the" denotes an official state of being here. Using a common would be to express a conditional, subjective, or temporary one.
IDK about this but if anything, remove the "the" and add a coma or something
You are correct about the replacement effect for the second ability, as to avoid confusion with things like Flaring Pain.
I see your take on the mana ability for Phyrexian mana. It's a potential color fix still, so that a player doesn't have to go into life. It's intended to be a very limited mana ability, since the life reduction is a very big deal on a land. It could just be colorless I suppose, but the prismatic mana ability (although extremely limited) adds flavor and wants to make the card more exciting. It doesn't really need that though, and could have equal flavor (representing the darkness of the underground) to have a colorless template.
For the colorless mana ability on Viena's Torture Dungeon, it could be "add one mana of any color-use this mana to pay for life". In order to put that one on a prismatic template. Might even be able to add that as a third ability, although it might start looking overbearing and tacky then.
That doesn't make sense, you can't use mana to pay for life, you use life to pay for life.
The ability isn't too powerful. Painlands have been lost in time since their conception. They were totally overmastered by duals, which had types (where it matters) and cost you no life. The cost of life to mana fix makes them uncompetitive abroad. Only limited formats saw utility, because they had no other options. The caveat was that they don't enter the battlefield tapped, which used to want to suggest they were better than other duals that cost you time. A little life is better than a little time. This isn't to say that 1 life should have got you 2 mana, but that even another land (as a free play) that fixes this is only restoring balance.
Painlands are pretty useful in many formats (Specially Commander where losing life at 40 starting LP is a minimal issue), and there is still cards like mana confluence, city of brass, threshold lands, grand coliseum, murmuring bosk, tempest painlands, Tomb of Urami, among cards that land work with.
Compare this card with Bootleggers' Stash a new card (and a 6 mana colored artifact) that made most of us go WTF at the sheer power it has, sure it affects all lands but different from your card this one negates (Sort of) the ability of the land to procude mana on its own when you use it to create a treasure, your card gives you 2 mana for one life and if you put that in a lands is WAY too powerful, even if it limited to a modest group of cards.
[/snip]
5ColorsEDH got most of the lands this is good with, but I want to flag Ancient Tomb as a particular concern. This (along with its sibling, City of Traitors) powers multiple Legacy decks. I think you're right that this effect should probably be on a land, because it's easier to get mana for an artifact than more land drops, but it very much has the feel of the kind of card that is either broken (because it pushes already strong stuff like Tomb over the edge) or so narrow as to be useless (because it interacts with ~20 cards in Magic's history).
For your Volrath's name, I take your point, but 'Volrath, Shadow Master' would be more consistent with Wizards' house style. Flavour-wise, I'm not sure about him using Blood tokens - dude's not a vampire or otherwise associated with blood. His thing has always been controlling people's minds and shapeshifting.
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"Did you think to kill me? There's no flesh and blood within this cloak to kill. There is only an idea. Ideas are bulletproof." - V, V for Vendetta. Alan Moore
I am reconsidering Underground. It seems over-the-top restrictive on the second ability. There's very little room to do something new. I am currently considering a painland effect. Super City of Brass would be the most cliche. Meaning, colorless; or prismatic if you have it deal damage to you. Blending that down to just producing black was my first thought, but that seems too monotone. Two mana to use only on abilities of creatures wouldn't be over the top, so I guess that's a thought also. It would go with the Volrath better then, since then you'd have utility towards things like Arcanis the Omnipotent // Silvos, Rogue Elemental.
I am reconsidering Underground. It seems over-the-top restrictive on the second ability. There's very little room to do something new. I am currently considering a painland effect. Super City of Brass would be the most cliche. Meaning, colorless; or prismatic if you have it deal damage to you. Blending that down to just producing black was my first thought, but that seems too monotone. Two mana to use only on abilities of creatures wouldn't be over the top, so I guess that's a thought also. It would go with the Volrath better then, since then you'd have utility towards things like Arcanis the Omnipotent // Silvos, Rogue Elemental.
Hardly dificult since strip mine is banned in legacy and restricted in vintage, it is only legal in commander where you can only run 1 copy.
Let's not forget that 90% of Magic gameplay is casual. Ignoring that is basically putting you on the other end of the extremism (a leftist opposed to a rightist).
In other news, I've gone ahead and updated the ability on Volrath's Dark Underground. The ability now is still very limited, but has enough application that it's redeemable as a viable resource. An example of this is how it can now power something like Breeding Pit, which has always been incredibly taxing and is now long out-dated. The fact that it also opens up functionality for Volrath the Shadow Master to be used with a color-splashing strategy is much needed. It currently would struggle to see that potential given how much resource assignment would go into ramping for Volrath and securing the board-state to ensure he's viable when it does hit the table.
Let's not forget that 90% of Magic gameplay is casual. Ignoring that is basically putting you on the other end of the extremism (a leftist opposed to a rightist).
I mean, if your idea of casual is running 4x Strip Mine and 4x Wasteland I can see why you don't get to play Magic very often. Wizards don't print land destruction much any more, so people are less likely to own copies of even Stone Rain, let alone a card like Strip Mine that last saw a wide-scale printing in 1998.
I know you're just gonna say "well, casual groups play 4x Strip Mine." And it's hard to refute that because there's almost no data on casual play. I only have my own anecdotal evidence which is 1) I've never seen a Strip Mine at a casual table in my 19 years of playing this game. That's across 6 playgroups and three cities. And 2) my current local EDH group bans it.
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"Did you think to kill me? There's no flesh and blood within this cloak to kill. There is only an idea. Ideas are bulletproof." - V, V for Vendetta. Alan Moore
It has an alternative casting cost, that makes it seem like it could be broken, especially with the presence of shroud. It is kind of odd to be that it has an alternative casting cost when it only costs 6—it would probably be something like 5BBB. Anyways, discarding three cards might at first seem too good, too easy. But really, when you're running a tight ship, against a competitive scene, every removal and technical spell is important. Will one just play this on turn one, when their opponent's resources are fully loaded? Considering this, what three cards do you have immediately that you can afford to discard? Ahhhh, now it shows better that the utility of this (in good strategy) involves a longplay. It's a more intricate puzzle than it first leads on. You probably want to try returning some cards to your hand (No Rest for the Wicked)—to give you a few expendable cards—maybe after you sweep (Damnation).
Compared to tokens (Demon of Death's Gate), three cards is a much less expendable resource. They can't be gained so effortlessly (Bitterblossom), while allowing you to hold all your valuable removal resources and board-state securities. Now, when it does hit the table, it might seem very formidable with flying and shroud. But considering reach and deathtouch and other flyers, or disruption (Innocent Blood), or prevention (Story Circle); quickly the favorability narrows down. It's really favorable against red and green (lightly). How broken is a card that's only favorable against a fraction of the color wheel? Certainly, with that turn-one strategy, you won't be winning any tournaments with this. You can't take this to Worlds and take the trophy.
The principal here is exactly the same. Synergy is present—but too trivial of extents to stand the broad test of time or challenge. How broken is it really? One should think deeper, and not limit themselves (or others) so oppressively about trivial synergies. More important—is creating the beginning of new archtypes with such content; this that breathes new life into the game, and for the benefit of all with this new dynamic new experience that is born (and made possible) with this new content.
Yep. A free 5/5 with evasion and shroud? Can't see anyone playing that. Oh, and it's got first strike and regeneration too, even. Wouldn't want it to be underpowered.
You ever playtest any of your cards? Like, take a deck in Standard and swap out four of a thing and put your designs in? Or is this really just trolling/performance art and I get to see my posts in a book one day?
I have your reply fully formed in my mind, btw:
"Avatar of Discord is very weak, therefore this is fine." Yes, because it costs mana and dies to Lightning Bolt, StP etc., unlike your thing.
"I playtested it and it was absolutely fine." No, you didn't.
"[a load of nonsense about pseudo-philosophical design stuff.]" Spare us all the effort, please.
"I'm right and you're wrong." Boring. Pedestrian. Come up with a new line.
"Did you think to kill me? There's no flesh and blood within this cloak to kill. There is only an idea. Ideas are bulletproof." - V, V for Vendetta. Alan Moore
You realize you can't discard lands for that ability, right?
Yet, unless you want to use it to setup something in your Graveayard or do some Madness stuff, that alternative cost is cute but unnecessary in most cases.
Leaving all their removal and counterspells in their hand?
With what? After discarding a large majority of your hand, that you'd want/need to be removal or disruption or reanimation to finalize that setup (and/or protect whatever else you bring out with that setup).
You must mean with something like Oversold Cemetery? That sounds neat and fun—but not gamebreaking.
turn one that 5/5 and the oppponent has to have exactly force of will in hand. so it doesnt matter how many cards your down. and as soon its out the removal is narrow as in edict or bust. You can try to go for the wipe but by the time you better hope the player doesn't have triple black open or your wipe stops from regeneration.
And since its discard not exile it is a great card in Reanimatior , dredge (yes despite what you say there are drege versions out there that could benefit from this greatly) , madness and general graveyad stuff like bloodghast et al.
So a card that is insanely strog on its own and doesn't need more upside just gets more upside.
Namedropping One with Nothing explains a lot.
And the fact that the only GY interaction that came to your mind is Oversold cemetry Dawn of the dead and dredge just shows that you dont have any expierience playing the game.
Baron Sengir the Pitch Black4BBB Legendary Creature — Vampire
You may discard three Black cards and pay 6 life instead of paying Baron Sengir the Pitch Black's mana cost. If you do, you may also cast it as though it has flash.
Flying, first strike BBB: Exile target Vampire. Then return it to the battlefield tapped at end of your next upkeep. "We all have origins—some much darker than others; imbued in blood, sweat, and tears; the desperate clawing from the grave to the top of world."
5/5
Now you make make something like the Fearless Hyena [Heaven & Earth] Kung-Fu duo out of it and the original Baron Sengir.
Just want to clarify that the unfortunately double entendre'd pain land only works with the lands that deal damage to you, not ones that you pay 1 life for. So City of Brass works but Mana Confluence doesn't.
I also think it's too powerful and counter play existing isn't enough to make that balanced. It gives the ancient tomb decks another set of lands that allows it to reach 4 mana on T2. I know that is beside the point for you because you're interested in powering up weaker cards but I think this would have a real chance to push Painter Decks back to that frame despite Urza's Saga cutting down on City of Traitors usage for them.
Baron Sengir the Pitch Black4BBB Legendary Creature — Vampire
You may discard three Black cards and pay 6 life instead of paying Baron Sengir the Pitch Black's mana cost. If you do, you may also cast it as though it has flash.
Flying, first strike BBB: Exile target Vampire. Then return it to the battlefield tapped at end of your next upkeep. "We all have origins—some much darker than others; imbued in blood, sweat, and tears; the desperate clawing from the grave to the top of world."
5/5
Comments on your changes
Better, definitely. Yes, I know the cards have to be black. Do you know about the London Mulligan rule? That is not as high a barrier as you think. I still don't see this in anything Standard-legal. The variance is too high.
So I'll consider it for the format I probably know the most about, Legacy. Not having Shroud means your opponent can actually answer it without FoW, Run Afoul, Sudden Edict or the handful of other answers that see mainstream play in Legacy. (Innocent Blood and Wrath of God don't). It's also good you took the Lifelink off so it's vaguely conceivable for Burn to race, and good that Flash is gone too. Is it still too strong? Maybe. But I appreciate that you've taken some feedback on and made changes. I know you hate doing that.
Usual templating stuff: you need to specify "under its owners control" in the Vampire exile ability, and you know it should trigger at the beginning of the upkeep. And it needs a comma in the name. That's not just Wizards' house style you're not following there, but the rules of English grammar too.
Comments on Legacy
I think you generally underestimate how willing Legacy decks are to go all-in on combos on turn one and make their opponents have the answer or lose. Oops, All Spells! is probably the most prominent example. ANT and TES do that. I haven't seen Belcher in ages, but it does that too. Those are all decks that are full combo, trying to win asap.
But there's loads of decks that include combos and can win on T1/T2 with the right draw. Grapefruit21 mentioned Painter, which has some variants that go for the combo on turn 1. Most Doomsday decks can. The new Manabond-powered Lands variants can attack with Marit Lage on T2.
Reanimator has variants that win outright on turn one, but any stock list features multiple lines that can get a Griselbrand or Archon of Cruelty into play on turn one. If the opponent can't answer it in a turn or two, or if their answer can get discarded to Grief or Unmask, they lose. Separately, I also want to point out that Reanimator is quite happy to lose 8 life to Reanimate stuff, then a further 7 to draw. Your 6 life cost is relatively cheap.
That's just the tier 1 and tier 2/3 stuff (and Belcher), but there's plenty of other fringe decks running stuff like Helm of Obedience and Rest in Peace/Leyline of the Void and other combos designed to go off early and win if the opponent doesn't have an answer.
Closing thoughts
All these decks go all-in because it's powerful and it wins games. Yes, sometimes you get blown out by the Force, or Swords or whatever and you lose. But they win often enough to make the risk worthwhile. If it didn't win games, they wouldn't do it.
I don't expect you to know every card in every deck. It was nice to see you listen to other people who are more familiar with Magic's competitive scene and take their feedback on board. Thank you for surprising me with your reply. I hope that continues.
"Did you think to kill me? There's no flesh and blood within this cloak to kill. There is only an idea. Ideas are bulletproof." - V, V for Vendetta. Alan Moore
I've expressed before that the London Mulligan rule was, in my opinion, a cheap attempt to fix the aspect of inept player's being deterred from the product for their inability to structure properly proportioned decks (allowing them essentially to cheat a favorable hand with endless mulligans). This was opposed to teaching proper deck structuring and proportions so that they could play by honest means, without a cheaty mulligan.
Absolutely irresponsible. I do not believe in this mulligan rule, and please omit all mention of it in as a considerable aspect of challenge or balance.
You should not be able to cheat a favorable hand. No casino will do this for you. Why not? It's cheating.
Certainly, your reanimator suggestion neglected to mention what becomes of those discard spells when you'd have to discard them to play Baron for free.
Another shameful attempt to make a cheap pass on reason. I don't think much else needs to be said here.
The fact that you always answer feedback with and excuse of why it’s not your fault is the reason you are a bad designer and will never improve.
I play landless dredge in Legacy and I can say unequivocally this would be an automatic inclusion in the deck because it fuels the deck’s need to fill the graveyard while simultaneously putting a threat on the board potentially on turn 1.
There’s a reason Force of Will, Grief, etc all exile rather than discard - because filling your graveyard intentionally can be just as powerful as drawing in many instances.
Tell your ego to shut up. Listen. Learn. Stop sucking at this.
I've expressed before that the London Mulligan rule was, in my opinion, a cheap attempt to fix the aspect of inept player's being deterred from the product for their inability to structure properly proportioned decks (allowing them essentially to cheat a favorable hand with endless mulligans). This was opposed to teaching proper deck structuring and proportions so that they could play by honest means, without a cheaty mulligan.
Absolutely irresponsible. I do not believe in this mulligan rule, and please omit all mention of it in as a considerable aspect of challenge or balance.
You should not be able to cheat a favorable hand. No casino will do this for you. Why not? It's cheating.
Amazing how you revert to type so fast.
Magic is a game that includes variance. Wizards (and most players) agree that some variance is good for the game. But they also agree that if you can't play your cards, the game is not balanced and not fun. Mulligans are part of the game. The London mulligan is the best version of the rule to date and is pretty popular. It's stronger in constructed, but it's such an improvement for limited that I can't see it changing any time soon.
The bottom line is, if you don't design for it, you're not designing for Magic (although, with your approach to the rules, I guess maybe you don't really do that anyway). You're always telling us to open our minds to embrace new ideas - why not open yours too and embrace the London mulligan?
Certainly, your reanimator suggestion neglected to mention what becomes of those discard spells when you'd have to discard them to play Baron for free.
Another shameful attempt to make a cheap pass on reason. I don't think much else needs to be said here.
I think you misunderstood this. I didn't say it would see play in Reanimator, I was pointing out that there are decks that pay 15 life on turn one, so a cost of 6 life is high, but small in comparison. My point was a life payment on the card doesn't balance it.
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"Did you think to kill me? There's no flesh and blood within this cloak to kill. There is only an idea. Ideas are bulletproof." - V, V for Vendetta. Alan Moore
Legendary Land
: Add C to your mana pool.
Whenever a land deals damage to you, you may create a treasure token.
If pain is love, her *SNIP* is heaven on earth.
Here's a reprise of a novelty design from back in 2012. The reprise here seeks to give it actual form. I like the context of [create] for general tokens, but I don't like it for creatures, because it devoids the essence of summoning and turns the whole aspect bland and monotone.
The concept is pretty simply in that it's an accelerator for Painlands.
Volrath's Dark Underground
Legendary Land
Creatures with shadow and that are unblockable can block creatures as though they have no abilities.
: Add two mana of any color to your mana pool. Use this mana only to pay for abilities of creatures and enchantments you control.
Volrath the Shadow Master 4BB
Legendary Creature — Shapeshifter
Haste
If Volrath would deal damage to a player, create that many Blood tokens instead.
You may sacrifice Blood tokens to pay for Phyrexian mana or pay for colored mana in the costs of spells you cast.
Scared of your own shadow? You should be...
6/5
Alt. Flavor Text 1
He is the monster that brings "scared of your own shadow" to life.
I think unblockable really pushes on the force majeure here. I would have really loved for this to have Changeling. It's being debated personally right now. Remember that my theory for replacement effects is that unless physical damage is dealt to a player (and say tokens are created instead) then it shouldn't count as combat damage being dealt. Thus, this wouldn't work with Tainted Strike.
Super strange flavor on Volrath, with those abilities maybe the creature should be, idk someone else but the effects are okish, just need some better wording
(And if you still want it to be Volrath, remember he gained the Phyrexian Type via errata)
Volrath, the Shadow Master 4BB
Legendary Creature - Phyrexian Shapeshifter (Rogue)
Volrath cannot be blocked [As long as you control N blood tokens? for more flavor?]
If Volrath would deal to a player, create that many Blood tokens instead.
Sacrifice a blood token: Add a mana of any color. Use this mana only to cast Legendary Spells. This mana can’t be spent to pay generic mana costs.
6/6
The other land is super Odd as of now, we really don't have a card ingame that directly refers to phyrexian mana, and the mana ability on the land kinda defeats the purpose of Phyrexian Mana which is paying that part with life instead of mana. So it kinda doesn't work and is not really useful, except maybe for the first ability but even that ability need some sort of tweaking
Volrath is not actually a Phyrexian. The flavor here is in the sense of an encroachment on Phyrexia and their science (their magic).
The use of a comma isn't proper here since Volrath's name represents a designated title, not an adjective one. Many adjective titles in MTG are actually wrongly implemented without the use of "the" (when it should be there) and this can be confusing. The denomination of "the" denotes an official state of being here. Using a common would be to express a conditional, subjective, or temporary one.
You are correct about the replacement effect for the second ability, as to avoid confusion with things like Flaring Pain.
I see your take on the mana ability for Phyrexian mana. It's a potential color fix still, so that a player doesn't have to go into life. It's intended to be a very limited mana ability, since the life reduction is a very big deal on a land. It could just be colorless I suppose, but the prismatic mana ability (although extremely limited) adds flavor and wants to make the card more exciting. It doesn't really need that though, and could have equal flavor (representing the darkness of the underground) to have a colorless template.
For the colorless mana ability on Viena's Torture Dungeon, it could be "add one mana of any color-use this mana to pay for life". In order to put that one on a prismatic template. Might even be able to add that as a third ability, although it might start looking overbearing and tacky then.
5ColorsEDH got most of the lands this is good with, but I want to flag Ancient Tomb as a particular concern. This (along with its sibling, City of Traitors) powers multiple Legacy decks. I think you're right that this effect should probably be on a land, because it's easier to get mana for an artifact than more land drops, but it very much has the feel of the kind of card that is either broken (because it pushes already strong stuff like Tomb over the edge) or so narrow as to be useless (because it interacts with ~20 cards in Magic's history).
For your Volrath's name, I take your point, but 'Volrath, Shadow Master' would be more consistent with Wizards' house style. Flavour-wise, I'm not sure about him using Blood tokens - dude's not a vampire or otherwise associated with blood. His thing has always been controlling people's minds and shapeshifting.
People (like myself) will run 7 copies between Strip Mine & Wasteland.
I am reconsidering Underground. It seems over-the-top restrictive on the second ability. There's very little room to do something new. I am currently considering a painland effect. Super City of Brass would be the most cliche. Meaning, colorless; or prismatic if you have it deal damage to you. Blending that down to just producing black was my first thought, but that seems too monotone. Two mana to use only on abilities of creatures wouldn't be over the top, so I guess that's a thought also. It would go with the Volrath better then, since then you'd have utility towards things like Arcanis the Omnipotent // Silvos, Rogue Elemental.
Hardly dificult since strip mine is banned in legacy and restricted in vintage, it is only legal in commander where you can only run 1 copy.
In other news, I've gone ahead and updated the ability on Volrath's Dark Underground. The ability now is still very limited, but has enough application that it's redeemable as a viable resource. An example of this is how it can now power something like Breeding Pit, which has always been incredibly taxing and is now long out-dated. The fact that it also opens up functionality for Volrath the Shadow Master to be used with a color-splashing strategy is much needed. It currently would struggle to see that potential given how much resource assignment would go into ramping for Volrath and securing the board-state to ensure he's viable when it does hit the table.
I mean, if your idea of casual is running 4x Strip Mine and 4x Wasteland I can see why you don't get to play Magic very often. Wizards don't print land destruction much any more, so people are less likely to own copies of even Stone Rain, let alone a card like Strip Mine that last saw a wide-scale printing in 1998.
I know you're just gonna say "well, casual groups play 4x Strip Mine." And it's hard to refute that because there's almost no data on casual play. I only have my own anecdotal evidence which is 1) I've never seen a Strip Mine at a casual table in my 19 years of playing this game. That's across 6 playgroups and three cities. And 2) my current local EDH group bans it.
The synergy is too trivial, and there's no way to prevent playing around it.
Let me critique another design that I made to give you a better perspective.
https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/magic-fundamentals/custom-card-creation/817584-baron-sengir-sanguine-lord?comment=5
Baron Sengir the Pitch Black
It has an alternative casting cost, that makes it seem like it could be broken, especially with the presence of shroud. It is kind of odd to be that it has an alternative casting cost when it only costs 6—it would probably be something like 5BBB. Anyways, discarding three cards might at first seem too good, too easy. But really, when you're running a tight ship, against a competitive scene, every removal and technical spell is important. Will one just play this on turn one, when their opponent's resources are fully loaded? Considering this, what three cards do you have immediately that you can afford to discard? Ahhhh, now it shows better that the utility of this (in good strategy) involves a longplay. It's a more intricate puzzle than it first leads on. You probably want to try returning some cards to your hand (No Rest for the Wicked)—to give you a few expendable cards—maybe after you sweep (Damnation).
Compared to tokens (Demon of Death's Gate), three cards is a much less expendable resource. They can't be gained so effortlessly (Bitterblossom), while allowing you to hold all your valuable removal resources and board-state securities. Now, when it does hit the table, it might seem very formidable with flying and shroud. But considering reach and deathtouch and other flyers, or disruption (Innocent Blood), or prevention (Story Circle); quickly the favorability narrows down. It's really favorable against red and green (lightly). How broken is a card that's only favorable against a fraction of the color wheel? Certainly, with that turn-one strategy, you won't be winning any tournaments with this. You can't take this to Worlds and take the trophy.
The principal here is exactly the same. Synergy is present—but too trivial of extents to stand the broad test of time or challenge. How broken is it really? One should think deeper, and not limit themselves (or others) so oppressively about trivial synergies. More important—is creating the beginning of new archtypes with such content; this that breathes new life into the game, and for the benefit of all with this new dynamic new experience that is born (and made possible) with this new content.
You ever playtest any of your cards? Like, take a deck in Standard and swap out four of a thing and put your designs in? Or is this really just trolling/performance art and I get to see my posts in a book one day?
I have your reply fully formed in my mind, btw:
"Avatar of Discord is very weak, therefore this is fine." Yes, because it costs mana and dies to Lightning Bolt, StP etc., unlike your thing.
"I playtested it and it was absolutely fine." No, you didn't.
"[a load of nonsense about pseudo-philosophical design stuff.]" Spare us all the effort, please.
"I'm right and you're wrong." Boring. Pedestrian. Come up with a new line.
Yet, unless you want to use it to setup something in your Graveayard or do some Madness stuff, that alternative cost is cute but unnecessary in most cases.
Leaving all their removal and counterspells in their hand?
With what? After discarding a large majority of your hand, that you'd want/need to be removal or disruption or reanimation to finalize that setup (and/or protect whatever else you bring out with that setup).
You must mean with something like Oversold Cemetery? That sounds neat and fun—but not gamebreaking.
Maybe Dawn of the Dead. Why not just One with Nothing though?
Dredge doesn't need this—and could only have a place for it in place of centerpiece content.
And since its discard not exile it is a great card in Reanimatior , dredge (yes despite what you say there are drege versions out there that could benefit from this greatly) , madness and general graveyad stuff like bloodghast et al.
So a card that is insanely strog on its own and doesn't need more upside just gets more upside.
Namedropping One with Nothing explains a lot.
And the fact that the only GY interaction that came to your mind is Oversold cemetry Dawn of the dead and dredge just shows that you dont have any expierience playing the game.
Baron Sengir the Pitch Black 4BBB
Legendary Creature — Vampire
You may discard three Black cards and pay 6 life instead of paying Baron Sengir the Pitch Black's mana cost. If you do, you may also cast it as though it has flash.
Flying, first strike
BBB: Exile target Vampire. Then return it to the battlefield tapped at end of your next upkeep.
"We all have origins—some much darker than others; imbued in blood, sweat, and tears; the desperate clawing from the grave to the top of world."
5/5
Now you make make something like the Fearless Hyena [Heaven & Earth] Kung-Fu duo out of it and the original Baron Sengir.
I also think it's too powerful and counter play existing isn't enough to make that balanced. It gives the ancient tomb decks another set of lands that allows it to reach 4 mana on T2. I know that is beside the point for you because you're interested in powering up weaker cards but I think this would have a real chance to push Painter Decks back to that frame despite Urza's Saga cutting down on City of Traitors usage for them.
Comments on your changes
Better, definitely. Yes, I know the cards have to be black. Do you know about the London Mulligan rule? That is not as high a barrier as you think. I still don't see this in anything Standard-legal. The variance is too high.
So I'll consider it for the format I probably know the most about, Legacy. Not having Shroud means your opponent can actually answer it without FoW, Run Afoul, Sudden Edict or the handful of other answers that see mainstream play in Legacy. (Innocent Blood and Wrath of God don't). It's also good you took the Lifelink off so it's vaguely conceivable for Burn to race, and good that Flash is gone too. Is it still too strong? Maybe. But I appreciate that you've taken some feedback on and made changes. I know you hate doing that.
Usual templating stuff: you need to specify "under its owners control" in the Vampire exile ability, and you know it should trigger at the beginning of the upkeep. And it needs a comma in the name. That's not just Wizards' house style you're not following there, but the rules of English grammar too.
Comments on Legacy
I think you generally underestimate how willing Legacy decks are to go all-in on combos on turn one and make their opponents have the answer or lose. Oops, All Spells! is probably the most prominent example. ANT and TES do that. I haven't seen Belcher in ages, but it does that too. Those are all decks that are full combo, trying to win asap.
But there's loads of decks that include combos and can win on T1/T2 with the right draw. Grapefruit21 mentioned Painter, which has some variants that go for the combo on turn 1. Most Doomsday decks can. The new Manabond-powered Lands variants can attack with Marit Lage on T2.
Reanimator has variants that win outright on turn one, but any stock list features multiple lines that can get a Griselbrand or Archon of Cruelty into play on turn one. If the opponent can't answer it in a turn or two, or if their answer can get discarded to Grief or Unmask, they lose. Separately, I also want to point out that Reanimator is quite happy to lose 8 life to Reanimate stuff, then a further 7 to draw. Your 6 life cost is relatively cheap.
Heck, even the Red Prison decks often go for a Blood Moon or Magus of the Moon on turn one, and decks without an answer have to scoop.
That's just the tier 1 and tier 2/3 stuff (and Belcher), but there's plenty of other fringe decks running stuff like Helm of Obedience and Rest in Peace/Leyline of the Void and other combos designed to go off early and win if the opponent doesn't have an answer.
Closing thoughts
All these decks go all-in because it's powerful and it wins games. Yes, sometimes you get blown out by the Force, or Swords or whatever and you lose. But they win often enough to make the risk worthwhile. If it didn't win games, they wouldn't do it.
I don't expect you to know every card in every deck. It was nice to see you listen to other people who are more familiar with Magic's competitive scene and take their feedback on board. Thank you for surprising me with your reply. I hope that continues.
Absolutely irresponsible. I do not believe in this mulligan rule, and please omit all mention of it in as a considerable aspect of challenge or balance.
You should not be able to cheat a favorable hand. No casino will do this for you. Why not? It's cheating.
Certainly, your reanimator suggestion neglected to mention what becomes of those discard spells when you'd have to discard them to play Baron for free.
Another shameful attempt to make a cheap pass on reason. I don't think much else needs to be said here.
I play landless dredge in Legacy and I can say unequivocally this would be an automatic inclusion in the deck because it fuels the deck’s need to fill the graveyard while simultaneously putting a threat on the board potentially on turn 1.
There’s a reason Force of Will, Grief, etc all exile rather than discard - because filling your graveyard intentionally can be just as powerful as drawing in many instances.
Tell your ego to shut up. Listen. Learn. Stop sucking at this.
It allows you to cherry pick, and frolic about.
At the point we're discarding three, it's unnecessary and only hopes to open up new archtypes for the game.
You don't read good do you?
I said Landless Dredge. No land cards, more than 50% are black, and they all actively want to be in the graveyard.
You card would make the deck immediately more consistent at getting cards into the GY even if they Force of Will the creature.
Learn about the game you want to design for or you may as well be making cars with square wheels.
Amazing how you revert to type so fast.
Magic is a game that includes variance. Wizards (and most players) agree that some variance is good for the game. But they also agree that if you can't play your cards, the game is not balanced and not fun. Mulligans are part of the game. The London mulligan is the best version of the rule to date and is pretty popular. It's stronger in constructed, but it's such an improvement for limited that I can't see it changing any time soon.
The bottom line is, if you don't design for it, you're not designing for Magic (although, with your approach to the rules, I guess maybe you don't really do that anyway). You're always telling us to open our minds to embrace new ideas - why not open yours too and embrace the London mulligan?
I think you misunderstood this. I didn't say it would see play in Reanimator, I was pointing out that there are decks that pay 15 life on turn one, so a cost of 6 life is high, but small in comparison. My point was a life payment on the card doesn't balance it.
And they used to be fair.
You'd probably think the same things were said about Lord of Tresserhorn...before it was printed.
What a time that was to be alive, and 10/4 with regenerate for 4.