Wish the ultimate was -5 to exile their graveyards; -10 for a mind rot is never going to happen. "Yeah! I minus 10 mah guy! Now I can use all your sweet creatures with mah.... .... ... .. .. 1 Loyalty."
His obvious use is in a deck heavy on the Excommunicate stuff, under the condition that the other player is playing beefy creatures. Proactive, he obviously isn't.
Edit: I kind of wish the Ashiok exiled pool persisted between instances of Ashiok cards. It'd be kind of flufftastic if he could cark it, you cast him again, and he'd be all like "Ah, sorry about that. Had to come back from hell. Again. Now... where was I?"
Uh... +1/+1 counter combos are probably slightly better, but still awful since they only get one activation. You, you'd be surprised how 90% of the masochist enchantments are just "Kill this thing if it takes damage" or "Deal damage to this creature controller when it's damaged."
T, there has to be Monstrous tribal enablers or it's just a meh card.
Modern Masters draft was insanely popular; no reason at all for an average set not to have that power level. No reason at all.
But then Modern Masters couldn't be a product any more. And they wouldn't be able to push the power level of sets they feel are "experimental" and might need a little extra bait to draw sales.
The problem of the ladder mentality is you always think there's something better out there. When there usually isn't. (A better action movie than Terminator 2? Impossible. Only a different action movie is possible.)
Further, perhaps the day might come that Modern Masters will finally morph into Advanced Core - a biennial expansion that's reprints and new, powerful cards that's cruelly still more expensive than basic.
There could be room for a niche, prestige product. It's not always a zero sum game, and sometimes you can get what you want. As long as you keep asking for it, and only buy the things you like.
Wizards doesn't understand that there is a difference between bad cards and cards that don't see play. A bad card is one that couldn't see play.
Oh trust me, they know Hoodlums is 0/5: Not a MTG card. It would have to be able to block to be 1/5.
There are people out there who like Bad Cube. Or dream about winning a game with a joke card. Even the hate the norms feel for the things is important. We call these things... emotions.
There's also the philosophy that there's nothing so pitiable as a tepid failure (though there are annoyingly enough of those already); if you're going to make a bad card, make it as memorably, spectacularly bad as possible.
That's... going a little far. It's 2/5 in a vacuum (the Rings from M13 humble this), 3/5 if you have ~5 or 6 small evasive critters to use it on. In limited.
Even if there are a few powerful sacrifice outlets; better auras for the same cost or less are out there.
The +1/+1 counter craze being centerstage might be wearing a little thin, agreed. Slith vampires + undying, Peak Counter in RTR... hopefully this is a tampering off.
and the monstrosity abbility, we will see what other creatures do. so really noone can say if the abbility is good or bad, since we dont know much about it.
The ability itself is just fine. A kicker variant? Just fine.
Make the numbers high enough on anything and it becomes powerful. I'm excited about seeing Gorgons that can petrify guys, once.
also, waste of cardboard and ink? the card is reasonable and fair for it's cost. what's really a waste of printing material is Primal Visitation. pretty much every other card in standard is ok compared to that.
Man does that card get under my skin.
"This gives you haste!"
"Ok... but how am I going to cast another card this turn when this costs 5 freakin' mana?"
"...This gives you haste!"
Good for being a top-tier card in a Bad Cube and nothing else. Can't all be Arcanum Wings..
If you're playing a flyer just to put this onto, the 2-for-1 is still going to hurt you just as badly.
Yeah because I feel so terrible when an opponent burns one of his limited Smite the Monstrouseses to remove two turn zeroty cards in sealed. >_>
And don't expect all decks in the next meta to be 3 colors. There are probably going to be more than a few reasons why being 1 or 2 colors is optimal.
I thought we were talking about limited here. Removal has been hobbled at common. The average Sealed deck from here until the end of time is now three color.
Jeezurs, New Ravnica block would have been unplayable without the gates often enabling four color abominations..
This isn't even that good in Limited. If you've got a creature that can attack twice without dying, you're probably in good enough shape that you want more creatures, not a risk that your opponent can get rid of this spell by killing one of your creatures that was big enough to get in for damage anyway.
Realistically using it as an awkward Searing Spear really is less than ideal. Even in this brave new world where Doom Blade is this scarce, rare thing and everyone has to play three colors minimum always to ever stand a chance.
The ideal is using it on a tiny flier in the early game, 1/1 or 2/2. It's less likely to be chump blocked after the initial +1 pump, and the 2 for 1 is really killing the enchantment and not the creature so much in that case. A deck light on fliers, this would be a no-go for me.
The slith mechanic goes on fliers. Guys with the slith mechanic wear wings in order to slith. It's kind of how it goes.
So if this guy goes on a World Eater, Kalonian Hydra or a Scooze with 3 counters do you instantly sacrifice the enchantment?
Yes, right after it grants a counter. In which case it's a sorcery speed Searing Spear. That gives you a +1 to monsters/vampires/bloodthirst jerks/simic beasts.
Which is a lot more attractive than trying to make anything grow; wienies would be blocked to death and midrange would be a sitting 2 for one.
Gives a +1/+1 each time you attack, except you sac your creature when you attack with it. Aggro doesn't want this, it wants another good 2 drop beater. If your opponent has high toughness creatures he'll just block until you blow up your own creature. Will see occasional play in limited at best.
Hurm, okay you've convinced me. I'm on the "Elder Dragons aren't in this" train:
* Some of them really are kind of lame
* It's unlikely to have TWO legendary three color dragon generals in a deck. I appeal to the god of variety on that one.
but when they figure it out(not if) I would love to see 4 color legendaries.
Well I think Mark has the right idea. It's more of a matter of finding the best time to make some of them.
My long neckbeard thoughts on the matter below:
The typical card only does at a max about three things. (Akroma of Wrath does two things for example: It beats face and refuses to die to Many Things.) The concept avenue of "it has four colors, let's make it do four things" is therefore largely a dead end. And due to overlap, it's difficult to come up with four things that are relevant together anyway. Deathtouch + Flying + Vigilance + Haste; that could be done in WBR.
The other popular idea of "they reaaaaally hate the color they're not" often leads to "so what" ideas. The quad that hates green, what do they get? Super-duper flying? The ability to destroy anything green automagically? Boooring.
Mark's "use abilities that are defined to color pairs" idea is definitely the best place to springboard off of. Check it:
Keyword Vanilla:
Convoke + Unleash + Trample, you have the outline of a wurm.
Bloodthirst + Detain, you have a super angry judge guy/lady
Graft + Extort = A haunted tree. Maybe gains +1 counters whenever you gain life. I call him Super Hat.
Keyword + a thing:
Convoke + Flying, you have the outline of an angel or demon or avatar that comes into play cheaper due to your creatures "worshipping" them. Hell I'll go one further than an outline: The number of creatures tapped by this creature's convoke will count as X. X would be used in an appropriate comes-into-play ability that isn't in the WG Convoke's share of the pie.
Evolve. Same verse as the Convoke example above, but the guy does things with the +1/+1 counters on him. BWGU would remove counters to drain life as an example.
Hell, these things design themselves. You can also design a generic ability that works in a color pair as well, such as using "Fixed Haunt" for a WB guy.
(Fixed Haunt is when a creature dies, it's exiled and acts like an enchantment to some creature.)
His obvious use is in a deck heavy on the Excommunicate stuff, under the condition that the other player is playing beefy creatures. Proactive, he obviously isn't.
Edit: I kind of wish the Ashiok exiled pool persisted between instances of Ashiok cards. It'd be kind of flufftastic if he could cark it, you cast him again, and he'd be all like "Ah, sorry about that. Had to come back from hell. Again. Now... where was I?"
Rite of Passage
Soul Link
Druid's Call
Uh... +1/+1 counter combos are probably slightly better, but still awful since they only get one activation. You, you'd be surprised how 90% of the masochist enchantments are just "Kill this thing if it takes damage" or "Deal damage to this creature controller when it's damaged."
T, there has to be Monstrous tribal enablers or it's just a meh card.
But then Modern Masters couldn't be a product any more. And they wouldn't be able to push the power level of sets they feel are "experimental" and might need a little extra bait to draw sales.
The problem of the ladder mentality is you always think there's something better out there. When there usually isn't. (A better action movie than Terminator 2? Impossible. Only a different action movie is possible.)
Further, perhaps the day might come that Modern Masters will finally morph into Advanced Core - a biennial expansion that's reprints and new, powerful cards that's cruelly still more expensive than basic.
There could be room for a niche, prestige product. It's not always a zero sum game, and sometimes you can get what you want. As long as you keep asking for it, and only buy the things you like.
Oh trust me, they know Hoodlums is 0/5: Not a MTG card. It would have to be able to block to be 1/5.
There are people out there who like Bad Cube. Or dream about winning a game with a joke card. Even the hate the norms feel for the things is important. We call these things... emotions.
There's also the philosophy that there's nothing so pitiable as a tepid failure (though there are annoyingly enough of those already); if you're going to make a bad card, make it as memorably, spectacularly bad as possible.
That's... going a little far. It's 2/5 in a vacuum (the Rings from M13 humble this), 3/5 if you have ~5 or 6 small evasive critters to use it on. In limited.
Even if there are a few powerful sacrifice outlets; better auras for the same cost or less are out there.
The ability itself is just fine. A kicker variant? Just fine.
Make the numbers high enough on anything and it becomes powerful. I'm excited about seeing Gorgons that can petrify guys, once.
Man does that card get under my skin.
"This gives you haste!"
"Ok... but how am I going to cast another card this turn when this costs 5 freakin' mana?"
"...This gives you haste!"
Good for being a top-tier card in a Bad Cube and nothing else. Can't all be Arcanum Wings..
Yeah because I feel so terrible when an opponent burns one of his limited Smite the Monstrouseses to remove two turn zeroty cards in sealed. >_>
I thought we were talking about limited here. Removal has been hobbled at common. The average Sealed deck from here until the end of time is now three color.
Jeezurs, New Ravnica block would have been unplayable without the gates often enabling four color abominations..
Realistically using it as an awkward Searing Spear really is less than ideal. Even in this brave new world where Doom Blade is this scarce, rare thing and everyone has to play three colors minimum always to ever stand a chance.
The ideal is using it on a tiny flier in the early game, 1/1 or 2/2. It's less likely to be chump blocked after the initial +1 pump, and the 2 for 1 is really killing the enchantment and not the creature so much in that case. A deck light on fliers, this would be a no-go for me.
The slith mechanic goes on fliers. Guys with the slith mechanic wear wings in order to slith. It's kind of how it goes.
Yes, right after it grants a counter. In which case it's a sorcery speed Searing Spear. That gives you a +1 to monsters/vampires/bloodthirst jerks/simic beasts.
Which is a lot more attractive than trying to make anything grow; wienies would be blocked to death and midrange would be a sitting 2 for one.
Wat.
* Some of them really are kind of lame
* It's unlikely to have TWO legendary three color dragon generals in a deck. I appeal to the god of variety on that one.
Well I think Mark has the right idea. It's more of a matter of finding the best time to make some of them.
My long neckbeard thoughts on the matter below:
The typical card only does at a max about three things. (Akroma of Wrath does two things for example: It beats face and refuses to die to Many Things.) The concept avenue of "it has four colors, let's make it do four things" is therefore largely a dead end. And due to overlap, it's difficult to come up with four things that are relevant together anyway. Deathtouch + Flying + Vigilance + Haste; that could be done in WBR.
The other popular idea of "they reaaaaally hate the color they're not" often leads to "so what" ideas. The quad that hates green, what do they get? Super-duper flying? The ability to destroy anything green automagically? Boooring.
Mark's "use abilities that are defined to color pairs" idea is definitely the best place to springboard off of. Check it:
Keyword Vanilla:
Convoke + Unleash + Trample, you have the outline of a wurm.
Bloodthirst + Detain, you have a super angry judge guy/lady
Graft + Extort = A haunted tree. Maybe gains +1 counters whenever you gain life. I call him Super Hat.
Keyword + a thing:
Convoke + Flying, you have the outline of an angel or demon or avatar that comes into play cheaper due to your creatures "worshipping" them. Hell I'll go one further than an outline: The number of creatures tapped by this creature's convoke will count as X. X would be used in an appropriate comes-into-play ability that isn't in the WG Convoke's share of the pie.
Evolve. Same verse as the Convoke example above, but the guy does things with the +1/+1 counters on him. BWGU would remove counters to drain life as an example.
Hell, these things design themselves. You can also design a generic ability that works in a color pair as well, such as using "Fixed Haunt" for a WB guy.
(Fixed Haunt is when a creature dies, it's exiled and acts like an enchantment to some creature.)
Rampage and no Trample. So sad.
Yaaay. : party :