As for the token, I don't think it is out of place, though I can see why others see it that way. It's an attempt to combine flavor and mechanic into one. Orzhov does that to those who are indebted to them.
Taken from Planeswalker's Guide to Gatecrash: Part 2
"When an Orzhov guild member dies, his or her debt to the guild is usually not paid. Servitude that persists into undeath is often a condition of membership, allowing the Orzhov to command hundreds of spirit servants at any one time."
So, I was trying to realize the idea above on a card. Hence I believe the Spirit token itself isn't out of place. On the other hand, Thrull part is indeed out of place.
I misunderstood what Orzhov Thrulls (well, Thrulls in general) are. Thrull is just a magically constructed servant made out of dead flesh. So, reanimating something then considering it to be Thrull doesn't really make much sense even in terms of flavor.
With that said and taking other advice, here is a simplified and refined take here...
Profane Rites :2mana::symw::symb:
Sorcery
As an additional cost to play Profane Rites, sacrifice a creature.
Put a 1/1 white Spirit creature token with flying into play, then put target creature card from a graveyard onto the battlefield under your control.
Now that I made the revision and took out the Thrull part, it appears that there is no correlation between sacrifice and reanimation since Orzhov probably doesn't necessarily need to sacrifice anything to reanimate something, as seen on Debtors' Knell. At this point, I can only say that I ended up creating a different kind of reanimation spell with a hint of Orzhov flavor, which isn't what I was trying to come up with originally.
I guess I am going back to the drawing board on this.
Seeing there is no actual reanimation spell in RTR, I suppose there could be one in GTC and Orzhov seems to be the best fit for that. Here is my take.
Profane Rites :1mana::symw::symb:
Sorcery
Sacrifice a creature. Put a 1/1 white Spirit creature token with flying onto the battlefield, then put target creature card from a graveyard onto the battlefield under your control. That creature is a white and black Thrull in addition to its other colors and types.
As it can be easily pointed out, its reanimation mechanic is borrowed from Rise from the Grave. This design started when I started pondering how Orzhov would utilize necromancy. Those are indebted to Orzhov is not freed from their debts even after death, and in fact, they're forever shackled until it is all paid to the point that their fate is under the thumb of Orzhov's high ranking members.
So, an unworthy living that is in debt to Orzhov is killed to provide material (flesh and such) to create a mindless thrull using more parts from various places. The killed one's soul is still not free, thus it serves Orzhov after death as well. It's like three birds with one stone in terms of Orzhov flavor.
Sacrificing a creature part is not only for flavor, but also to justify the spell's relatively low mana cost and its versatility.
As for the name, well, we all know Orzhov isn't really a religion anymore
Thank you all for the input I do like "Single-minded" better than "Focused." As for suggestions using other languages, I am already having a tough time picking the words combination that would convey just the right nuance to the players, for English isn't my first language
Again, I really appreciate all the inputs, for only way for me to get better at designing things is through trial and error with plenty of advice and constructive criticism.
Focused Rage :1mana::symr::symg:
Enchantment - Aura
Enchant creature you control
As Focused Rage enters the battlefield, choose an opponent.
Enchanted creature gets +2/+2, has trample and attacks the chosen player each turn if able.
At the beginning of combat on your turn, enchanted creature fights target creature the chosen player controls.
I originally tried to come up with an instant or sorcery card with this idea, but I wasn't able to come up with something clean enough. For flavor and mechanic, I think this fits Gruul (or just RG in general) pretty well. Your creature gets angry at your opponent first, so it fights a creature that player controls, and attacks him or her afterwards.
I am also kind of looking for a better name for the card because "Focused" may not be the right word (though that's what's happening) to illustrate how Gruul does its business.
Thank you for pointing it out. I realized about the card after I made my post. However, while it does graveyard manipulation quite well on its own, it wasn't quite the kind of graveyard manipulation mechanic I was trying to come up with.
Mainly, I wanted Lazav's ability to be more powerful. While Doppelganger's ability is fine, once it changes form, it won't be able to gain one of its previous forms (unless there were multiple copies of same creature card) since it exiles targeted cards from the graveyard. Besides, its ETB would not trigger since it's just changing shape while my design of Lazav is meant to abuse ETB trigger multiple times.
Additionally, seeing how my first design of Lazav turned out, it felt more blue than black (like 7:3), thus I was looking for something to add more black flavor/mechanic to it without complicating its design too much, and graveyard manipulation seemed like a good choice.
With that, below is what I come up with this time.
Lazav, Dimir Mastermind :symu::symu::symb::symb:
Legendary Creature - Shapeshifter Rogue [M]
You may have Lazav, Dimir Mastermind enter the battlefield as a copy of any creature card in a graveyard, except its name is still Lazav, Dimir Mastermind, it's legendary in addition to its other types, and it gains ":1mana::symu::symb:: Exile up to one target card in a graveyard, then each opponent puts the top three cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard. Exile Lazav, Dimir Mastermind, then return it (Lazav) to the battlefield under your control."
3/3
Even with the tweak to combine the two previous abilities and the addition of a new ability, I admit that it still does look wordy, but I believe once it's understood, there is no excessive complexity beyond expected degree from a Mythic rare of an expert level set. Also, I feel that it's gotten a bit stronger due to this change since its mill ability can be used multiple times and it now has a graveyard purging ability as well. I think the flavor of Dimir has gotten a bit stronger as well.
Lazav, Dimir Mastermind :symu::symu::symb::symb:
Legendary Creature - Shapeshifter Rogue [M]
You may have Lazav, Dimir Mastermind enter the battlefield as a copy of any creature in a graveyard, except its name is still Lazav, Dimir Mastermind, it's legendary in addition to its other types, and it gains "At the beginning of your upkeep, each opponent puts the top three cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard" and ":1mana::symu::symb::Exile Lazav, Dimir Mastermind. Return it to the battlefield under your control."
3/3
Notes: Now, this may seem very wordy (mainly because the whole thing is done in one sentence-ish), but it's essentially an amalgam of (among creatures) Sakashima the Impostor, Body Double and Argent Sphinx (kind of).
Overall, though it may appear clunky at first glance, I don't think it's so, for it's Sakashima's oracle text plus one extra ability (milling, for it fits Dimir and it also provides more potential power for this card).
I think it's a fairly neat execution on how to bring the flavors and mechanics together onto one card. I wanted to find a way to add an ability to exile a card from graveyard to pepper it with more black flavor/mechanic, but I am not really sure how to add another ability onto that without making it a true wall of text on a card.
Looking at the Name and Number Crunch thread it would appear to me that the logical choice would be to reprint the M10 duals, and Reflecting Pool or Mutavault.
According to the Name and Number Crunch post at the moment, it's possible that either Fetch Lands cycle (either Onslaught or Zendikar one; can't be both since there isn't enough space) or Shocklands cycle (again, either allied or enemy pair works, but not both due to space limit) is in. It all hinges on #220 slot. If it's an artifact, it rules out all of the above because of the following conflicts:
Onslaught Fetches: Bloodstained Mire must occupy #220 for this cycle to be in.
Zendikar Fetches: Arid Mesa
Allied Color Shocklands: Blood Crypt
Enemy Color Shocklands: Breeding Pool
Of course, this speculation is solely based on number crunching. Imho, even if new players don't like to pay life to do anything, it is something that they end up learning relatively soon after they start playing, so I don't think it's crossing the line too much. Besides, WotC Devs have said many things in the past, then changed their design/development policy over time even though it may go against what they said before at the time. MtG has always been evolving.
I'd like to see Onslaught Fetch cycle, but I am not counting on it.
Anyone know why they stopped printing in Korean in the first place?
Lack of demand, as stated above by Makaro, is probably one reason, but I believe the major reason was the decline of MtG in general in Korea. MtG was quite popular when it first started in Korea (around 4th edition), and there were few editions printed in Korean as well. However, for whatever reason, MtG in Korea did not grow big enough to host big events, such as GP, and eventually became a hobby for a relatively small group of ppl compare to other countries'.
Last time I played/checked in one of the PTQ's, GPT's and/or Nationals in Korea, I believe there were less than 60-70 players attended. Then again, that was about 5 or so yrs ago. So, I am not sure if the MtG population in Korea has grown back to its popular days again now.
I am glad that MtG is being printed in Korean again. Language barrier is one thing (though I don't think it's as big of a deal as it was back then about 10 or so yrs ago since Koreans nowadays learn English a lot more) that turns off some ppl, so this looks like a sign of good things to come, mainly the growth of MtG population in Korea once again.
As for the token, I don't think it is out of place, though I can see why others see it that way. It's an attempt to combine flavor and mechanic into one. Orzhov does that to those who are indebted to them.
Taken from Planeswalker's Guide to Gatecrash: Part 2
"When an Orzhov guild member dies, his or her debt to the guild is usually not paid. Servitude that persists into undeath is often a condition of membership, allowing the Orzhov to command hundreds of spirit servants at any one time."
So, I was trying to realize the idea above on a card. Hence I believe the Spirit token itself isn't out of place. On the other hand, Thrull part is indeed out of place.
I misunderstood what Orzhov Thrulls (well, Thrulls in general) are. Thrull is just a magically constructed servant made out of dead flesh. So, reanimating something then considering it to be Thrull doesn't really make much sense even in terms of flavor.
With that said and taking other advice, here is a simplified and refined take here...
Profane Rites :2mana::symw::symb:
Sorcery
As an additional cost to play Profane Rites, sacrifice a creature.
Put a 1/1 white Spirit creature token with flying into play, then put target creature card from a graveyard onto the battlefield under your control.
Now that I made the revision and took out the Thrull part, it appears that there is no correlation between sacrifice and reanimation since Orzhov probably doesn't necessarily need to sacrifice anything to reanimate something, as seen on Debtors' Knell. At this point, I can only say that I ended up creating a different kind of reanimation spell with a hint of Orzhov flavor, which isn't what I was trying to come up with originally.
I guess I am going back to the drawing board on this.
Thank you all again for the valuable inputs.
Profane Rites :1mana::symw::symb:
Sorcery
Sacrifice a creature. Put a 1/1 white Spirit creature token with flying onto the battlefield, then put target creature card from a graveyard onto the battlefield under your control. That creature is a white and black Thrull in addition to its other colors and types.
As it can be easily pointed out, its reanimation mechanic is borrowed from Rise from the Grave. This design started when I started pondering how Orzhov would utilize necromancy. Those are indebted to Orzhov is not freed from their debts even after death, and in fact, they're forever shackled until it is all paid to the point that their fate is under the thumb of Orzhov's high ranking members.
So, an unworthy living that is in debt to Orzhov is killed to provide material (flesh and such) to create a mindless thrull using more parts from various places. The killed one's soul is still not free, thus it serves Orzhov after death as well. It's like three birds with one stone in terms of Orzhov flavor.
Sacrificing a creature part is not only for flavor, but also to justify the spell's relatively low mana cost and its versatility.
As for the name, well, we all know Orzhov isn't really a religion anymore
As always, inputs are welcome
Again, I really appreciate all the inputs, for only way for me to get better at designing things is through trial and error with plenty of advice and constructive criticism.
Enchantment - Aura
Enchant creature you control
As Focused Rage enters the battlefield, choose an opponent.
Enchanted creature gets +2/+2, has trample and attacks the chosen player each turn if able.
At the beginning of combat on your turn, enchanted creature fights target creature the chosen player controls.
I originally tried to come up with an instant or sorcery card with this idea, but I wasn't able to come up with something clean enough. For flavor and mechanic, I think this fits Gruul (or just RG in general) pretty well. Your creature gets angry at your opponent first, so it fights a creature that player controls, and attacks him or her afterwards.
I am also kind of looking for a better name for the card because "Focused" may not be the right word (though that's what's happening) to illustrate how Gruul does its business.
Thank you for pointing it out. I realized about the card after I made my post. However, while it does graveyard manipulation quite well on its own, it wasn't quite the kind of graveyard manipulation mechanic I was trying to come up with.
Mainly, I wanted Lazav's ability to be more powerful. While Doppelganger's ability is fine, once it changes form, it won't be able to gain one of its previous forms (unless there were multiple copies of same creature card) since it exiles targeted cards from the graveyard. Besides, its ETB would not trigger since it's just changing shape while my design of Lazav is meant to abuse ETB trigger multiple times.
Additionally, seeing how my first design of Lazav turned out, it felt more blue than black (like 7:3), thus I was looking for something to add more black flavor/mechanic to it without complicating its design too much, and graveyard manipulation seemed like a good choice.
With that, below is what I come up with this time.
Lazav, Dimir Mastermind :symu::symu::symb::symb:
Legendary Creature - Shapeshifter Rogue [M]
You may have Lazav, Dimir Mastermind enter the battlefield as a copy of any creature card in a graveyard, except its name is still Lazav, Dimir Mastermind, it's legendary in addition to its other types, and it gains ":1mana::symu::symb:: Exile up to one target card in a graveyard, then each opponent puts the top three cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard. Exile Lazav, Dimir Mastermind, then return it (Lazav) to the battlefield under your control."
3/3
Even with the tweak to combine the two previous abilities and the addition of a new ability, I admit that it still does look wordy, but I believe once it's understood, there is no excessive complexity beyond expected degree from a Mythic rare of an expert level set. Also, I feel that it's gotten a bit stronger due to this change since its mill ability can be used multiple times and it now has a graveyard purging ability as well. I think the flavor of Dimir has gotten a bit stronger as well.
Lazav, Dimir Mastermind :symu::symu::symb::symb:
Legendary Creature - Shapeshifter Rogue [M]
You may have Lazav, Dimir Mastermind enter the battlefield as a copy of any creature in a graveyard, except its name is still Lazav, Dimir Mastermind, it's legendary in addition to its other types, and it gains "At the beginning of your upkeep, each opponent puts the top three cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard" and ":1mana::symu::symb::Exile Lazav, Dimir Mastermind. Return it to the battlefield under your control."
3/3
Notes: Now, this may seem very wordy (mainly because the whole thing is done in one sentence-ish), but it's essentially an amalgam of (among creatures) Sakashima the Impostor, Body Double and Argent Sphinx (kind of).
Overall, though it may appear clunky at first glance, I don't think it's so, for it's Sakashima's oracle text plus one extra ability (milling, for it fits Dimir and it also provides more potential power for this card).
I think it's a fairly neat execution on how to bring the flavors and mechanics together onto one card. I wanted to find a way to add an ability to exile a card from graveyard to pepper it with more black flavor/mechanic, but I am not really sure how to add another ability onto that without making it a true wall of text on a card.
According to the Name and Number Crunch post at the moment, it's possible that either Fetch Lands cycle (either Onslaught or Zendikar one; can't be both since there isn't enough space) or Shocklands cycle (again, either allied or enemy pair works, but not both due to space limit) is in. It all hinges on #220 slot. If it's an artifact, it rules out all of the above because of the following conflicts:
Onslaught Fetches: Bloodstained Mire must occupy #220 for this cycle to be in.
Zendikar Fetches: Arid Mesa
Allied Color Shocklands: Blood Crypt
Enemy Color Shocklands: Breeding Pool
Of course, this speculation is solely based on number crunching. Imho, even if new players don't like to pay life to do anything, it is something that they end up learning relatively soon after they start playing, so I don't think it's crossing the line too much. Besides, WotC Devs have said many things in the past, then changed their design/development policy over time even though it may go against what they said before at the time. MtG has always been evolving.
I'd like to see Onslaught Fetch cycle, but I am not counting on it.
Lack of demand, as stated above by Makaro, is probably one reason, but I believe the major reason was the decline of MtG in general in Korea. MtG was quite popular when it first started in Korea (around 4th edition), and there were few editions printed in Korean as well. However, for whatever reason, MtG in Korea did not grow big enough to host big events, such as GP, and eventually became a hobby for a relatively small group of ppl compare to other countries'.
Last time I played/checked in one of the PTQ's, GPT's and/or Nationals in Korea, I believe there were less than 60-70 players attended. Then again, that was about 5 or so yrs ago. So, I am not sure if the MtG population in Korea has grown back to its popular days again now.
I am glad that MtG is being printed in Korean again. Language barrier is one thing (though I don't think it's as big of a deal as it was back then about 10 or so yrs ago since Koreans nowadays learn English a lot more) that turns off some ppl, so this looks like a sign of good things to come, mainly the growth of MtG population in Korea once again.
I'd like to see Lord of Tresserhorn as well, but meh, I doubt it'd appeal to many.