Sacrificial Lambs
Instant
Cost : B1
Target player sacrifices 2 creatures, then draws a card for each creature sacrificed this way.
I don't think it is exceptionally powerful, but has some flexible play. I'd assume you would primarily play it as a tempo card in an aggro deck, taking out opposing creatures so you can swing through even though you are giving them card advantage, particularly brutal as an end of opponent turn play. Using it on yourself is situational, but that is why I made it an instant, so you can use it after chump blocking or on the wrong end of a Pyroclasm.
No, I would still call it absolutely brutal. Negating two turns of board development with one spell in the early game is of course possible with cards like Pyroclasm as well but this rids of the first two creatures no matter their toughness and is completely one-sided. Think of Dead Drop. Being instant makes this much, much better (Diabolic Edict vs. Chainer's Edict) and allowing the player to draw is not worth ~4 mana.
Barter in blood is also a hint that forcing someone to sacrifice two creatures should cost more than two mana.
Although compare these two scenarios:
You are on the draw.
1:They curve out with a two drop and a three drop, you play Lambs at the end of their turn, untap and play a three drop. =>You have a 3-drop in play, they have nothing. They are at card parity, you are at -2 cards (considering cards in hand).
2:They curve out with a two drop and a three drop, you play Fire Imp on your turn three, taking out their three drop. =>You have Fire Imp in play, they have a two drop. They are at -2 cards, you are at -1 card. Most likely their two drop is objectively stronger than the piker left behind by your imp.
So in the Lamb-scenario you have the board presence, but they have a one card advantage. In the Imp-scenario, they likely have a board advantage, but you are up one card. And even though their 2 drop is better than your 2/1, it is perfectly likely that your imp trades with it, leaving you at board parity but you are up one card. In the imp scenario you are also free to play a 2-drop of your own for the tempo.
But then on the other hand, consider when you both go two-drop-three-drop and there is no trading and then you drop Lambs+2-drop on turn 4. The tempo swing is likely too much. I also think it would be bonkers against midrange decks that play mana-intensive threats in constructed.
Yep, agree in hindsight that it costs too little for such a tempo hit. It's an interesting balance, as the higher mana you go, the more chance they have of then casting the cards they draw (simply because you can't cast it until a later turn) and renders the flexibility of casting it on yourself almost moot. Against some decks, it also allows them to get more creatures on the board, thus giving them choices to sacrifice their worst creatures.
So 2BB would be nice, but 3BB is probably fair. But possibly not at uncommon...
This was inspired by some discussion of Booster Tutor.
Hexahedron of Infinite Knowledge
Artifact
Cost : 3
At the beginning of your upkeep, exile a random undrafted card from your cube. You may play cards exiled by ~this~ as though they were in your hand/ (Return all cards exiled by ~this~ to your cube at the end of each game).
Would only work in drafts where you aren't going to draft all your cards in the draft of course.
So it is like a artifact version of Honden of Seeing Winds, but sometimes you will get stuff that is off-colour, sometimes you will get on-colour stuff that doesn't fit the deck you drafted, but I can imagine some fun plays where you get some unexpected synergy that you never built into your deck. Maybe 3 is too good for this sort of card advantage? But 4 feels like it might be too much for cards that are sometimes just going to be dead on arrival (...until it reveals the nonbasic land you need!)
It could be cool to play with something Burning Wishwish-like[/c] and had a house rule that allows you to select any card from the "rest of the cube".
Unfortunately, all cards with the text "Outside the game" have been printed at rare (Except perhaps Ring of Ma'ruf at U2, but 10 mana and two cards isn't really worth it in any case...)
The 'rare' factor is the reason I didn't make it search for what you want. I did consider making a cycle, but you probably don't want too many of these type of effects in your cube.
Examples
White creature "At the beginning of your upkeep, reveal etc, if it is an aura you may attach it to a creature in play"
Green creature "At the beginning of your upkeep, reveal etc, if it is a creature card you may sac this and put that card into play.
While I've not played with them, the existence of Conspiracy gives me a glimmer of hope their might cube-centric cards one day.
If you're going to be resurrecting abilities for the white one, or making them interesting, why not for the black one too? Also we could use a new red one
How about... for red...
3/2 and when you turn it on, if it entered the battlefield this turn, untap it and it gains haste until end of turn.
And for black...
I can't think of anything interesting off the top ha
black one could be a 2/1 with intimidate. or a cheaper, monocolour svogthos, the restless tomb. and tbh, if forbidding watchtower had vigilance or lifelink, i'd be happy with it (even if that made it a 1/4).
The red one isn't really that wordy.
Redland enters the battlefield tapped
t: Add R to your mana pool
1R: Redland becomes a 3/2 red Warrior creature with haste until end of turn. If Redland entered the battlefield this turn, untap it.
I think ghitu encampment is too low impact at the stages of the game when you'd consider using it. It's not useless and it makes your deck better, but it's marginal in my experience.
Considering the lamentation of green fatties. maybe some of these could be pushed a bit more with their cost or stats but I didn't want to go overboard.
Recursion Fatty
Cost : 4GG
5/5
Trample
Whenever ~this~ dies, put it into your hand at the beginning of the next end step.
I think this is a decent balance between a threatening recurring creature but not so big that it can't be dealt with.
Spellbane Fatty
Cost : 5GG
7/7
Whenever ~this~ becomes the target of a spell an opponent controls, you may return it to your hand.
Not as oppressive as hexproof, but makes it hard to deal with permanently. Can still be tapped down with the likes of Goldmeadow Harrier or other similar effects so still answerable, but avoids a lot of removal spells in peasant cube.
Spirit of the Forest
Enchantment
Cost : G 5GG : If you do not control an Elemental, put a 6/6 Elemental token into play.
The mana cost to get your first elemental isn't great value, but it gives you long-term value if they can deal with the first one. And enchantment removal would only cost you G, instead of losing you a creature.
The first one is not likely printable at uncommon. You'd need a super fast limited format to deal with this guy.
The second one is probably fine in limited (it dies to Oring variants and shriekmaws) but since there aren't actually a lot of spells that deal with 7/7s (I only have nine) the effect isn't all that protective and would possibly make quite the nuisance turning on all those burn spells and turning them into unsummons.
The last one, I think about "Do I want a 6/6 hexproof indestructible for 7" and... likely? But this is much worse than that, as it is answerable before it comes online, and it can be temporarily dealt with by anything that can disable a 6/6 token (blue stuff, can't block effects, etc). Also, nitpicking here, you have to pick a creature type like Avatar or something if you don't want your own mulldrifter to bite you.
--
I want something flexible that makes me feel ok about supporting reanimator, because it fits into many decks. 1B
Sorcery
As an additional cost to cast ~, discard a card.
Put two 2/2 black Zombie creature tokens onto the battlefield tapped.
Yeah, recurring creatures isn't something Peasant gets a lot of, I was trying to find a balance that might work at uncommon. Maybe an extra mana? Note that it is end of turn step, not immediately, which was intentional; so if you attack with it and they can kill it, you can't cast it again until your next turn, and can't attack with it until the turn after.
On the second, I made the effect 'may' so you can always ignore a non-lethal spell.
The last one was just trying to attack it from a different angle. You're right that it can be take offline, but my comparison was a standard fatty for 6+ mana that meets a Doom Blade, in this case you only invested 1 mana. I almost commented on your reference to non-lethal solutions, but I don't have an issue with them having some answers, just limiting them. I did consider adding some kind of sac ability, but felt it didn't need it. Change to Avatar is easy.
At first I felt like your card was too strong, but I suppose it is really just 2 Diregraf Ghouls stapled together; double the cost, double the cards, double the effect. Now it just looks like an elegant solution.
For three mana you'd easily get it without discarding a card.
That's 1 mana less than moan of the unhallowed, the tradeoffs being the lack of flashback and the etb tapped. I'd say discarding a card (as an additional cost, not as part of the resolution of the spell no less) is worth somewhere between one mana and 1.5 mana.
Another way to look at it: This card is essentially burning-tree emissarying for you. Only it never misses, can't be played with bigger things late, you don't want to cast it with only good cards in your hand, and only puts bad cards into play.
I've definitely talked myself into thinking for certain that the card is perfectly fine.
I noticed that, ha, but to be fair you can actually cast it with no cards in hand. It's really not a robust point, which is why I left it off of my list before.
Delay costs 1U, but it does have to be cast at the time you want to counter the spell, which gives your spell more flexibility. 2U sounds about right. I think 1U is probably too aggressively costed, but maybe.
I want more spells that can fix mana early. Something like thebasiclandcyclingcycle in Modern Masters. But more playable.
I had an idea of creatures you could exile for mana early, or play as a creature if you don't need it. Not quite Elvish Spirit Guide, I'd like them to be more playable in limited and less abusable in combo-decks in constructed.
So perhaps something like:
Green manasmoother 2GG
Creature - Type
Exile this creature from your hand: Add G to your mana pool, draw a card. You cannot play lands this turn. Play this ability only during your turn, and only if you haven't played a land this turn.
4/3
The idea is that if you are missing a land-drop, you can exile this guy to help you be on curve for at least one more turn, plus it helps you dig towards that land. I am imagining a cycle, probably the easiest thing is to go for the typical colour-keywords; trample for green, haste for red, etc. The green one could perhaps have fixing as its special ability, exiling for any colour of mana.
Unsure about the stats, I believe they must be fairly pushed, but the flexibility will be worth a lot in itself.
that ability seems way too abusable. there are so many loopholes that lead to utterly broken interactions.
just give the basic landcyclers more relevant spell modes imo. the spells themselves are so expensive or narrow that they're not that great outside of their early game application.
As palingensia said, that thing is busted, and contrary to your intent is insane in combo decks because of the card draw. Play 4 Elvish Spirit Guides, you are down 4 cards. Play these guys, draw into more combo gas. I think the problem is that you have to add too many other restrictions to make exiling for mana not broken that they then become unplayable.
Maybe something like;
Green Manasmoother
Creature - Type
Cost G
1/1
Sacrifice ~this~: Reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a land, and put that card into play. Put the rest of the cards revealed this way into your graveyard (or bottom of library, wherever). You can't play lands this turn. Play this ability only whenever you could play a sorcery, and only if you haven't played a land this turn.
Gives you something to attack with early while being a pseudo-land.
Divining Rod
Artifact - 1
At the beginning of your end step, if you did not play any lands this turn, sacrifice Divining Rod. If you do, search your library for a basic land card and put it into play. Shuffle your library.
That didn't come out how I was initially thinking. It's a bit weird. You have to be stunted for one turn to activate it (at least if you are casting stuff at sorcery speed) but then can keep your curve if you draw another land next turn. Late game it almost guarantees to turn into a land, which is not too bad given how cheap it is. It's probably not better than the 1 mana land searching artifact whose name eludes me.
This came to mind recently;
Sacrificial Lambs
Instant
Cost : B1
Target player sacrifices 2 creatures, then draws a card for each creature sacrificed this way.
I don't think it is exceptionally powerful, but has some flexible play. I'd assume you would primarily play it as a tempo card in an aggro deck, taking out opposing creatures so you can swing through even though you are giving them card advantage, particularly brutal as an end of opponent turn play. Using it on yourself is situational, but that is why I made it an instant, so you can use it after chump blocking or on the wrong end of a Pyroclasm.
Although compare these two scenarios:
You are on the draw.
1:They curve out with a two drop and a three drop, you play Lambs at the end of their turn, untap and play a three drop. =>You have a 3-drop in play, they have nothing. They are at card parity, you are at -2 cards (considering cards in hand).
2:They curve out with a two drop and a three drop, you play Fire Imp on your turn three, taking out their three drop. =>You have Fire Imp in play, they have a two drop. They are at -2 cards, you are at -1 card. Most likely their two drop is objectively stronger than the piker left behind by your imp.
So in the Lamb-scenario you have the board presence, but they have a one card advantage. In the Imp-scenario, they likely have a board advantage, but you are up one card. And even though their 2 drop is better than your 2/1, it is perfectly likely that your imp trades with it, leaving you at board parity but you are up one card. In the imp scenario you are also free to play a 2-drop of your own for the tempo.
Ban Fire Imp?
But then on the other hand, consider when you both go two-drop-three-drop and there is no trading and then you drop Lambs+2-drop on turn 4. The tempo swing is likely too much. I also think it would be bonkers against midrange decks that play mana-intensive threats in constructed.
Cubetutor Peasant'ish-Funbox
Project: Khans of Tarkir Cube (cubetutor)
So 2BB would be nice, but 3BB is probably fair. But possibly not at uncommon...
Hexahedron of Infinite Knowledge
Artifact
Cost : 3
At the beginning of your upkeep, exile a random undrafted card from your cube. You may play cards exiled by ~this~ as though they were in your hand/ (Return all cards exiled by ~this~ to your cube at the end of each game).
Would only work in drafts where you aren't going to draft all your cards in the draft of course.
So it is like a artifact version of Honden of Seeing Winds, but sometimes you will get stuff that is off-colour, sometimes you will get on-colour stuff that doesn't fit the deck you drafted, but I can imagine some fun plays where you get some unexpected synergy that you never built into your deck. Maybe 3 is too good for this sort of card advantage? But 4 feels like it might be too much for cards that are sometimes just going to be dead on arrival (...until it reveals the nonbasic land you need!)
Unfortunately, all cards with the text "Outside the game" have been printed at rare (Except perhaps Ring of Ma'ruf at U2, but 10 mana and two cards isn't really worth it in any case...)
Cubetutor Peasant'ish-Funbox
Project: Khans of Tarkir Cube (cubetutor)
Examples
White creature "At the beginning of your upkeep, reveal etc, if it is an aura you may attach it to a creature in play"
Green creature "At the beginning of your upkeep, reveal etc, if it is a creature card you may sac this and put that card into play.
While I've not played with them, the existence of Conspiracy gives me a glimmer of hope their might cube-centric cards one day.
How about... for red...
3/2 and when you turn it on, if it entered the battlefield this turn, untap it and it gains haste until end of turn.
And for black...
I can't think of anything interesting off the top ha
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
The red one isn't really that wordy.
Redland enters the battlefield tapped
t: Add R to your mana pool
1R: Redland becomes a 3/2 red Warrior creature with haste until end of turn. If Redland entered the battlefield this turn, untap it.
I think ghitu encampment is too low impact at the stages of the game when you'd consider using it. It's not useless and it makes your deck better, but it's marginal in my experience.
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
Recursion Fatty
Cost : 4GG
5/5
Trample
Whenever ~this~ dies, put it into your hand at the beginning of the next end step.
I think this is a decent balance between a threatening recurring creature but not so big that it can't be dealt with.
Spellbane Fatty
Cost : 5GG
7/7
Whenever ~this~ becomes the target of a spell an opponent controls, you may return it to your hand.
Not as oppressive as hexproof, but makes it hard to deal with permanently. Can still be tapped down with the likes of Goldmeadow Harrier or other similar effects so still answerable, but avoids a lot of removal spells in peasant cube.
Spirit of the Forest
Enchantment
Cost : G
5GG : If you do not control an Elemental, put a 6/6 Elemental token into play.
The mana cost to get your first elemental isn't great value, but it gives you long-term value if they can deal with the first one. And enchantment removal would only cost you G, instead of losing you a creature.
The second one is probably fine in limited (it dies to Oring variants and shriekmaws) but since there aren't actually a lot of spells that deal with 7/7s (I only have nine) the effect isn't all that protective and would possibly make quite the nuisance turning on all those burn spells and turning them into unsummons.
The last one, I think about "Do I want a 6/6 hexproof indestructible for 7" and... likely? But this is much worse than that, as it is answerable before it comes online, and it can be temporarily dealt with by anything that can disable a 6/6 token (blue stuff, can't block effects, etc). Also, nitpicking here, you have to pick a creature type like Avatar or something if you don't want your own mulldrifter to bite you.
--
I want something flexible that makes me feel ok about supporting reanimator, because it fits into many decks.
1B
Sorcery
As an additional cost to cast ~, discard a card.
Put two 2/2 black Zombie creature tokens onto the battlefield tapped.
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
On the second, I made the effect 'may' so you can always ignore a non-lethal spell.
The last one was just trying to attack it from a different angle. You're right that it can be take offline, but my comparison was a standard fatty for 6+ mana that meets a Doom Blade, in this case you only invested 1 mana. I almost commented on your reference to non-lethal solutions, but I don't have an issue with them having some answers, just limiting them. I did consider adding some kind of sac ability, but felt it didn't need it. Change to Avatar is easy.
At first I felt like your card was too strong, but I suppose it is really just 2 Diregraf Ghouls stapled together; double the cost, double the cards, double the effect. Now it just looks like an elegant solution.
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
That's 1 mana less than moan of the unhallowed, the tradeoffs being the lack of flashback and the etb tapped. I'd say discarding a card (as an additional cost, not as part of the resolution of the spell no less) is worth somewhere between one mana and 1.5 mana.
To illuminate what I mean, look at some of the strong 3 drops we have that are easy to evaluate.
Oblivion ring, Man-o'-war, compulsive research, dauthi marauder, fire imp, civic wayfinder.
Of these, I'm only considering fire imp and compulsive research if they cost 2 with a discard a card cost.
Another way to look at it: This card is essentially burning-tree emissarying for you. Only it never misses, can't be played with bigger things late, you don't want to cast it with only good cards in your hand, and only puts bad cards into play.
I've definitely talked myself into thinking for certain that the card is perfectly fine.
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
Exile target creature and place three time counters on it. It gains suspend.
My cube discussion thread
I had an idea of creatures you could exile for mana early, or play as a creature if you don't need it. Not quite Elvish Spirit Guide, I'd like them to be more playable in limited and less abusable in combo-decks in constructed.
So perhaps something like:
Creature - Type
Exile this creature from your hand: Add G to your mana pool, draw a card. You cannot play lands this turn. Play this ability only during your turn, and only if you haven't played a land this turn.
4/3
The idea is that if you are missing a land-drop, you can exile this guy to help you be on curve for at least one more turn, plus it helps you dig towards that land. I am imagining a cycle, probably the easiest thing is to go for the typical colour-keywords; trample for green, haste for red, etc. The green one could perhaps have fixing as its special ability, exiling for any colour of mana.
Unsure about the stats, I believe they must be fairly pushed, but the flexibility will be worth a lot in itself.
Cubetutor Peasant'ish-Funbox
Project: Khans of Tarkir Cube (cubetutor)
just give the basic landcyclers more relevant spell modes imo. the spells themselves are so expensive or narrow that they're not that great outside of their early game application.
Maybe something like;
Green Manasmoother
Creature - Type
Cost G
1/1
Sacrifice ~this~: Reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a land, and put that card into play. Put the rest of the cards revealed this way into your graveyard (or bottom of library, wherever). You can't play lands this turn. Play this ability only whenever you could play a sorcery, and only if you haven't played a land this turn.
Gives you something to attack with early while being a pseudo-land.
Divining Rod
Artifact - 1
At the beginning of your end step, if you did not play any lands this turn, sacrifice Divining Rod. If you do, search your library for a basic land card and put it into play. Shuffle your library.
That didn't come out how I was initially thinking. It's a bit weird. You have to be stunted for one turn to activate it (at least if you are casting stuff at sorcery speed) but then can keep your curve if you draw another land next turn. Late game it almost guarantees to turn into a land, which is not too bad given how cheap it is. It's probably not better than the 1 mana land searching artifact whose name eludes me.