Why not just make it scry 2 + draw whenever it connects? Or is there a reason why you want it to combo with your spells?
I'm confident enough to know that wizard would print something like this. They drop ridiculous mythic cards quite often, and that new white oreo king freak is more busted than over half the stuff I've ever posted here.
As for the rest, I didn't make it with any intention of being a combo with spells. I thought to myself, lets make a card, that is a trained bird, to go in and pilfer the enemy or gain access (represented by dealing damage to them), come back with the info, so when you cast your next spell, you can prepare just a bit ahead of time for the future.
When Wizard's makes cards, there is and has to be, some level of suspension of disbelief and logic, as the two don't translate equally when broken down.
I'd be perfectly ok with: (changes bolded)
Trained Elf Owl1UU
Creature - Bird M
Flying
Whenever Trained Elf Owl deals combat damage to an opponent, the next spell you cast has Scry X, where X is equal to the converted mana cost of that spell. Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.
- Salvador Dali
1/3
This adds more balance, more restriction, and doesn't make it much worse in anyway.
I'm confident enough to know that wizard would print something like this. They drop ridiculous mythic cards quite often, and that new white oreo king freak is more busted than over half the stuff I've ever posted here.
The only thing about you card that wizards would not print is the "X+1" clause. I don't think that is something you will ever see on a card now that NWO is in effect
So instead of EOTing something, they have to do it immediately, but you've tapped out, so really what's the difference? (Though, this card is great against Condemn.) It feels way too close to a "this can't be countered if your opponents lands are all tapped" clause.
The point of casting something like Plate Breaker is to do it before you do anything else on your turn. Including attack. So, if for example your opponent has a Wing Shards or Dispense Justice or something to that effect, you prevent from them playing that. It also stops them from blowing you out with a spell like Vapor Snag and then blocking you differently than you were expecting. Or from flashing in Vendilion Clique or Boon Satyr or Wolfir Avenger after you've declared your attackers and making a favorable trade.
So, yes. They still get to cast their Cryptic Command (which is generally a total blowout pre-combat) or other counterspell. Or they get to play their instant-speed kill spell or flash in their guy after (or even before) your guy resolves. But there are many other things that can potentially get blocked out or made suboptimal by forcing your opponent to do it in your pre-combat main phase.
I believe, if Wizards were ever to print Trained Elf Owl, they would make it say "...the next spell you cast this turn has..."
Spythrift Owl UU
Creature -- Bird
Flying
Whenever ~ deals combat damage to an opponent, put that many perception counters on it.
Remove X perception counters from ~: Scry X. Activate this ability only once per turn.
2/1
Spythrift Owl UU
Creature -- Bird
Flying
Whenever ~ deals combat damage to an opponent, put that many perception counters on it.
Remove X perception counters from ~: Scry X. Activate this ability only once per turn.
2/1
Is the once per turn thing really necessary? I can't imagine a lot of times where scry 1 2, 3, or 4 times is better than scry 4 once. I guess you could scry 1, brainstorm, then scry again or something, but that seems unlikely enough that once per turn is unnecessary, especially since hitting with this thing is clearly going to be the main limiting factor.
Plate Breaker1RR
Creature - Elemental
Haste
When Plate Breaker enters the battlefield, destroy all untapped lands. Act now, or not at all
3/3
I have a question. Why not change it to tapped lands?
Plate Breaker1RR
Creature - Elemental
Haste
When Plate Breaker enters the battlefield, destroy all tapped lands.
3/3
This way, you actually punish players who overcommit resources to non-permanent spells (i.e. most control decks), and you get to choose when to play it for maximum damage, while still balancing this powerful effect at the cost of your own lands. Bonus: Gets even more fun with mana rocks
Why don't you just make the Owl scry big when it connects? If it were to scry 2 or 3 instead of drawing a card, it would be close enough to Magpie that reducing it by 1 should still be okay, but powerful enough to really be worth considering.
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
I have a question. Why not change it to tapped lands?
Plate Breaker1RR
Creature - Elemental
Haste
When Plate Breaker enters the battlefield, destroy all tapped lands.
3/3
This way, you actually punish players who overcommit resources to non-permanent spells (i.e. most control decks), and you get to choose when to play it for maximum damage, while still balancing this powerful effect at the cost of your own lands. Bonus: Gets even more fun with mana rocks
R,t, Discard a creature: Bloodrite Shaman deals 2 damage to target player.
B,t, Discard an instant or sorcery: Target player discards a card. Activate this ability only any time you can activate a sorcery.
1/1
Not as busted as DRS, but I feel it is very rakdos flavored. Can't discard artifacts or enchantments for the third ability because it doesn't make sense for black or red to be able to deal with those.
It's cool, I like it. Maybe discard creatures to hurt creatures and spells to hurt players. Sort of opposite of what black's spells do for card advantage in black, but paralleling what red's stuff does, so it's more situational on that side.
("Situational" isn't a word now? What the hookah?)
Primal Sands
Land T: Add 1 to your mana pool. 3, T, sacrifice ~: Put target land on top of it's owners' library.
Patience - You may not draft this card unless this is the second time you've seen this pack.
I don't think that is enforceable. How can you prove you didn't just take the card out of the first pack you opened? Unless every other player remembers passing it, but by then its too late
How do you feel about this land cycle:
Big Blue
Land
Enters tapped T: Add U T, return Big Blue to your hand: add UU
Oh, for sure. That was mostly a thought exercise. I think a printable and cubeable version could remove haste and cost 2RR without changing the goal too much
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
A Primal Sands + Crucible/Loam lock seems like loads of fun!
You're probably being sarcastic, but I hope you're not. Durdly, ragequit-worthy, putting-expensive-cards-at-risk-of-being-torn-to-bits locks are kinda my thing.
Braindead - B
Instant
Target opponent draws 2 cards. That player reveals his or her hand, then you choose 3 cards from that players hand and put them on top of that player's library in any order.
Stick - 0
Artifact - Equipment
When equipped creature attacks, that creature gets +1/+0 until end of turn.
Equip: 0
Demonic Pact - 0
Sorcery
Search your library for a card and put that card into your hand. You lose 5 life.
At the beginning of your next upkeep, pay 3BB. If you don't, you lose the game.
Slightly Less Broken Tutor? - B
Sorcery
Search your library for a card and put that card into your hand. You lose 2 life.
At the beginning of your next upkeep, pay 2BB. If you don't, you lose the game.
Bolt - R
Sorcery
Deals 3 damage to target creature and 1 damage to that creatures controller.
Bolt - 1R
Sorcery
Deals 4 Damage to target creature or player.
Bolt - 1R
Instant
Deals 2 damage to target creature or 4 damage to target player
Beast of Discord needs another mana in its cost and I'd still cube it most likely.
I like the second two Bolt ideas there, though they are a bit pushed.
So assuming that there will be a G/W Ajani in Journey into Nyx, what would it take to crack the already highly competitive GW sections in cubes?
I don't really have any great ideas but I'd love to see what people come up with!
Ajani of the Meadows - 1WG
+1: Each creature you control gets +1/+1 and Vigilance until your next turn.
+1: Untap target land. Until the end of turn, if you tap that land for mana, gain one life.
-6: You gain an emblem with "During each upkeep, put one 2/2 White Cat creature tokens with vigilance onto the battlefield. Then, gain 2 life for each creature you control."
Starting Loyalty: 3
You're probably being sarcastic, but I hope you're not. Durdly, ragequit-worthy, putting-expensive-cards-at-risk-of-being-torn-to-bits locks are kinda my thing.
No, I wasn't being sarcastic at all. I'd love to have that card floating around to try and assemble that soft lock. It looks good/fun to me.
I'm confident enough to know that wizard would print something like this. They drop ridiculous mythic cards quite often, and that new white oreo king freak is more busted than over half the stuff I've ever posted here.
As for the rest, I didn't make it with any intention of being a combo with spells. I thought to myself, lets make a card, that is a trained bird, to go in and pilfer the enemy or gain access (represented by dealing damage to them), come back with the info, so when you cast your next spell, you can prepare just a bit ahead of time for the future.
When Wizard's makes cards, there is and has to be, some level of suspension of disbelief and logic, as the two don't translate equally when broken down.
I'd be perfectly ok with: (changes bolded)
Trained Elf Owl 1UU
Creature - Bird M
Flying
Whenever Trained Elf Owl deals combat damage to an opponent, the next spell you cast has Scry X, where X is equal to the converted mana cost of that spell.
Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.
- Salvador Dali
1/3
This adds more balance, more restriction, and doesn't make it much worse in anyway.
The only thing about you card that wizards would not print is the "X+1" clause. I don't think that is something you will ever see on a card now that NWO is in effect
Nothing about its power level
The new version they could easily print
The point of casting something like Plate Breaker is to do it before you do anything else on your turn. Including attack. So, if for example your opponent has a Wing Shards or Dispense Justice or something to that effect, you prevent from them playing that. It also stops them from blowing you out with a spell like Vapor Snag and then blocking you differently than you were expecting. Or from flashing in Vendilion Clique or Boon Satyr or Wolfir Avenger after you've declared your attackers and making a favorable trade.
So, yes. They still get to cast their Cryptic Command (which is generally a total blowout pre-combat) or other counterspell. Or they get to play their instant-speed kill spell or flash in their guy after (or even before) your guy resolves. But there are many other things that can potentially get blocked out or made suboptimal by forcing your opponent to do it in your pre-combat main phase.
I believe, if Wizards were ever to print Trained Elf Owl, they would make it say "...the next spell you cast this turn has..."
My cube list on CubeTutor.
Both are very much under construction. Please stop by and talk about it!
Spythrift Owl UU
Creature -- Bird
Flying
Whenever ~ deals combat damage to an opponent, put that many perception counters on it.
Remove X perception counters from ~: Scry X. Activate this ability only once per turn.
2/1
Is the once per turn thing really necessary? I can't imagine a lot of times where scry 1 2, 3, or 4 times is better than scry 4 once. I guess you could scry 1, brainstorm, then scry again or something, but that seems unlikely enough that once per turn is unnecessary, especially since hitting with this thing is clearly going to be the main limiting factor.
I like the card though.
375 unpowered cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/601ac624832cdf1039947588
I have a question. Why not change it to tapped lands?
Plate Breaker 1RR
Creature - Elemental
Haste
When Plate Breaker enters the battlefield, destroy all tapped lands.
3/3
This way, you actually punish players who overcommit resources to non-permanent spells (i.e. most control decks), and you get to choose when to play it for maximum damage, while still balancing this powerful effect at the cost of your own lands. Bonus: Gets even more fun with mana rocks
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
so this just looks silly broken.
You are a bad bad man.
And I would take this card in a heart beat.
Creature - Devil
T, discard a card: Add BR to your mana pool
1/1
I was thinking about a Grim Lavamancer/Deathrite Shaman hybrid just this morning... You got half of it down.
Bloodrite Shaman -
Creature - Zombie Shaman
t, Discard a land card: Add RB to your mana pool.
R,t, Discard a creature: Bloodrite Shaman deals 2 damage to target player.
B,t, Discard an instant or sorcery: Target player discards a card. Activate this ability only any time you can activate a sorcery.
1/1
Not as busted as DRS, but I feel it is very rakdos flavored. Can't discard artifacts or enchantments for the third ability because it doesn't make sense for black or red to be able to deal with those.
("Situational" isn't a word now? What the hookah?)
Primal Sands
Land
T: Add 1 to your mana pool.
3, T, sacrifice ~: Put target land on top of it's owners' library.
I don't think that is enforceable. How can you prove you didn't just take the card out of the first pack you opened? Unless every other player remembers passing it, but by then its too late
How do you feel about this land cycle:
Big Blue
Land
Enters tapped
T: Add U
T, return Big Blue to your hand: add UU
Oh, for sure. That was mostly a thought exercise. I think a printable and cubeable version could remove haste and cost 2RR without changing the goal too much
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
i really dig this, but i don't know if wizards would print it. because it's temporary maybe it would be ok.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
You're probably being sarcastic, but I hope you're not. Durdly, ragequit-worthy, putting-expensive-cards-at-risk-of-being-torn-to-bits locks are kinda my thing.
Cubetutor Link
Creature - Devil
When Beast of Discord enters the battlefield, discard a card.
3/3
Mini avatar of discord, but I didn't think the avatar was very good
Instant
Scry X+3.
Braindead - B
Instant
Target opponent draws 2 cards. That player reveals his or her hand, then you choose 3 cards from that players hand and put them on top of that player's library in any order.
Stick - 0
Artifact - Equipment
When equipped creature attacks, that creature gets +1/+0 until end of turn.
Equip: 0
Demonic Pact - 0
Sorcery
Search your library for a card and put that card into your hand. You lose 5 life.
At the beginning of your next upkeep, pay 3BB. If you don't, you lose the game.
Slightly Less Broken Tutor? - B
Sorcery
Search your library for a card and put that card into your hand. You lose 2 life.
At the beginning of your next upkeep, pay 2BB. If you don't, you lose the game.
Bolt - R
Sorcery
Deals 3 damage to target creature and 1 damage to that creatures controller.
Bolt - 1R
Sorcery
Deals 4 Damage to target creature or player.
Bolt - 1R
Instant
Deals 2 damage to target creature or 4 damage to target player
I like the second two Bolt ideas there, though they are a bit pushed.
So assuming that there will be a G/W Ajani in Journey into Nyx, what would it take to crack the already highly competitive GW sections in cubes?
I don't really have any great ideas but I'd love to see what people come up with!
+1: Each creature you control gets +1/+1 and Vigilance until your next turn.
+1: Untap target land. Until the end of turn, if you tap that land for mana, gain one life.
-6: You gain an emblem with "During each upkeep, put one 2/2 White Cat creature tokens with vigilance onto the battlefield. Then, gain 2 life for each creature you control."
Starting Loyalty: 3
No, I wasn't being sarcastic at all. I'd love to have that card floating around to try and assemble that soft lock. It looks good/fun to me.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
1, T, sacrifice ~: Choose a permanent, then flip a coin. If you win the flip, that permanent's controller sacrifices it.
It's kind of color-breaking, but it's a modern Chaos Orb.