Thanks for the response! First off I will remind you that this set is intended to be drafted alone; balance is really only considered as far as it applies to other cards within the set. That may seem a bit odd but I really don't see anyone in my playgroup wanting to play with these cards outside of an Eckara-only limited situation.
The issue with excavate pulling out necessary combo pieces is definitely something I've considered. I don't really see it being a big issue so far though, as the cards they excavate are generally a type that should be plentiful in a deck running those specific excavate spells. For example, black or red cards that excavate artifacts will be run in decks that have quite a few artifacts, and I can't think of an artifact that could be a guaranteed win if excavated. Same principle seems to apply to creatures and instants/sorceries (and obviously lands). Not saying it isn't possible, though, as I've yet to do any playtesting or searching for infinite/degenerate combos. Definitely let me know if you see any specific instances that this could cause problems, though!
Relay is definitely a problem. One suggestion I've had is to change it to a text-changing effect: "Change the text of all Auras you control enchanting this creature by replacing all instances of "enchanted creature" with "artifact creatures you control." This seems like a good solution, though it does cause a few minor grammar errors ("Enchanted creature gets +1/+1" becomes "artifact creatures you control gets +1/+1").
I've had a few people now say they don't like survey because it's a weaker scry, but that's actually a reason I like it. I personally find scry to be a rather blue mechanic, and putting it in every color has always seemed iffy to me. I like the idea of being able to see what is coming, but being ultimately unable to change it; this seems like a better fit with other colors. Also keep in mind that when combined with excavate, you can essentially scry by putting unwanted cards on top of the card you will excavate, sending them to the bottom of your library.
I'll also say right now that rust counters are getting the axe as a green mechanic and being replaced by spells/effects creating 0/1 Plant creature tokens, often keying off of artifacts. I will have a post up soon with the revised cards.
[center][size=20]Eckara[/size][/center]
[center][ECK][/center]
[center]250 cards[/center]
[center]Designed for drafting alone.[/center]
I originally posted this set over a year ago, and it was quite honestly a broken mess. It had numerous parasitic and silly mechanics as well as a total lack of real design goals. Since then, I've scrapped the entire thing and have been slowly working on rebuilding it from the ground up with a more coherent theme and playable mechanics.
Eckara. Endless miles of broken machines stretch towards the horizon. Pools of caustic fluids simmer and hiss in the suffocating summer heat. Great banks of smoggy gray clouds float slowly past overhead, bloated and sluggish in the still air. Countless artifacts draw your gaze, each more fascinatingly cryptic than the last, and all in various stages of decay. Awed by this surreal landscape, a thousand questions spring to your mind; where did the plains of rusted metal come from? Could life exist in this harsh and barren world? If so, what strange and savage forms would it take?
Some answers are more forthcoming than others.
Eckara is a world at the intersection between countless others, a place where detritus and debris seems to seep, depositing in drifts that cover the landscape. Life exists here, but it is a savage struggle for survival. In the endless, hostile Rustplains, food is scarce and awakening machinery and nomadic tribes alike pose deadly threats. The people of this realm must survive through a combination of ruthless self interest and canny intuition, salvaging what they can from the endless junkyard around them. Some areas of the Rustplains are avoided even by these hardy folk; the domains of the legion, the reawakening machinery of the scrapyard. Individually, a single legion machine is nothing more than a raging steel animal, shredding anything in its path. But as their numbers grow, so does their intelligence, and in masses they form unified armies and industrial centers, endlessly reproducing and sending out fearsome warbands to destroy the living. Plant life can grow here, amazingly, in hardy trees, shrubs and countless other forms adapted to break down the carpet of tarnished metal. In the past, only tiny oases of green broke the monotony of the Rustplains, but in more recent times, a wave of foliage has begun to spread. This is Eckara's first jungle, the Amari, and while its steaming fecund interior provides ample supplies of food, shelter and materials, its inhabitants are loath to share.
[spoiler=Basic Design Goals][list]
[*]Design a world that evokes a strong feeling of decay and mystery through use of strong artifact and graveyard-related themes.
[/list][list]
[*]Create a fun and interesting limited environment with a moderate power level and numerous interactive decisions during drafting and play.
[/list][list]
[*]Create viable archetypes for limited play within all two-color combinations.
[/list][list]
[*]Evoke strong flavor through use of some original artwork and flavor text.
[/spoiler]
Mechanical Flavor
Eckara is a world in a constant state of falling apart. The only thing staving off total collapse is the continuous input of materials and people from other worlds, brought into Eckara by unknown means. The sun is pale and weak, giving little energy. Life feeds off of the breakdown of material, both living and otherwise, that finds its way onto Eckara. Because of this, the mechanics should give a feeling of continual decay, destruction and entropy.
Mechanics Overview
This is a -1/-1 counters set. No cards will utilize +1/+1 counters.
Graveyard and sacrifice effects will be everywhere, at higher densities than in most sets.
Colored artifacts return. Artifacts will play very important roles in some strategies.
Specific Mechanics:
Decompose ([i]Decompose --[/i]When this card is put into your graveyard from anywhere, you may pay COST. If you do, EFFECT.)
This mechanic functions in numerous ways. On creatures, it provides a death-triggered effect. On instants and sorceries, it works rather like kicker. On all cards, it provides extra value from discard and self-mill. So far this mechanic seems to fit best in BUG but I may expand it into all colors.
Scrap (As an additional cost to cast this spell, you may sacrifice an artifact.)
A kicker-like mechanic, scrap provides extra power to a spell at the cost of sacrificing an artifact. It is found on creature and noncreature spells. It is primarily in R but also found in B and potentially W. This is the only returning mechanic from the original set design.
Collective ([i]Collective--[/i]Do X EFFECT, where X is the number of artifact creatures you control.)
This mechanic is found only in W and obviously promotes playing large numbers of artifact creatures. To help with this, all of white's creatures in the set are artifact creatures.
List tags are malformed.
The issue with excavate pulling out necessary combo pieces is definitely something I've considered. I don't really see it being a big issue so far though, as the cards they excavate are generally a type that should be plentiful in a deck running those specific excavate spells. For example, black or red cards that excavate artifacts will be run in decks that have quite a few artifacts, and I can't think of an artifact that could be a guaranteed win if excavated. Same principle seems to apply to creatures and instants/sorceries (and obviously lands). Not saying it isn't possible, though, as I've yet to do any playtesting or searching for infinite/degenerate combos. Definitely let me know if you see any specific instances that this could cause problems, though!
Relay is definitely a problem. One suggestion I've had is to change it to a text-changing effect: "Change the text of all Auras you control enchanting this creature by replacing all instances of "enchanted creature" with "artifact creatures you control." This seems like a good solution, though it does cause a few minor grammar errors ("Enchanted creature gets +1/+1" becomes "artifact creatures you control gets +1/+1").
I've had a few people now say they don't like survey because it's a weaker scry, but that's actually a reason I like it. I personally find scry to be a rather blue mechanic, and putting it in every color has always seemed iffy to me. I like the idea of being able to see what is coming, but being ultimately unable to change it; this seems like a better fit with other colors. Also keep in mind that when combined with excavate, you can essentially scry by putting unwanted cards on top of the card you will excavate, sending them to the bottom of your library.
I'll also say right now that rust counters are getting the axe as a green mechanic and being replaced by spells/effects creating 0/1 Plant creature tokens, often keying off of artifacts. I will have a post up soon with the revised cards.
[center][ECK][/center]
[center]250 cards[/center]
[center]Designed for drafting alone.[/center]
I originally posted this set over a year ago, and it was quite honestly a broken mess. It had numerous parasitic and silly mechanics as well as a total lack of real design goals. Since then, I've scrapped the entire thing and have been slowly working on rebuilding it from the ground up with a more coherent theme and playable mechanics.
Eckara. Endless miles of broken machines stretch towards the horizon. Pools of caustic fluids simmer and hiss in the suffocating summer heat. Great banks of smoggy gray clouds float slowly past overhead, bloated and sluggish in the still air. Countless artifacts draw your gaze, each more fascinatingly cryptic than the last, and all in various stages of decay. Awed by this surreal landscape, a thousand questions spring to your mind; where did the plains of rusted metal come from? Could life exist in this harsh and barren world? If so, what strange and savage forms would it take?
Some answers are more forthcoming than others.
Eckara is a world at the intersection between countless others, a place where detritus and debris seems to seep, depositing in drifts that cover the landscape. Life exists here, but it is a savage struggle for survival. In the endless, hostile Rustplains, food is scarce and awakening machinery and nomadic tribes alike pose deadly threats. The people of this realm must survive through a combination of ruthless self interest and canny intuition, salvaging what they can from the endless junkyard around them. Some areas of the Rustplains are avoided even by these hardy folk; the domains of the legion, the reawakening machinery of the scrapyard. Individually, a single legion machine is nothing more than a raging steel animal, shredding anything in its path. But as their numbers grow, so does their intelligence, and in masses they form unified armies and industrial centers, endlessly reproducing and sending out fearsome warbands to destroy the living. Plant life can grow here, amazingly, in hardy trees, shrubs and countless other forms adapted to break down the carpet of tarnished metal. In the past, only tiny oases of green broke the monotony of the Rustplains, but in more recent times, a wave of foliage has begun to spread. This is Eckara's first jungle, the Amari, and while its steaming fecund interior provides ample supplies of food, shelter and materials, its inhabitants are loath to share.
[spoiler=Basic Design Goals][list]
[*]Design a world that evokes a strong feeling of decay and mystery through use of strong artifact and graveyard-related themes.
[/list][list]
[*]Create a fun and interesting limited environment with a moderate power level and numerous interactive decisions during drafting and play.
[/list][list]
[*]Create viable archetypes for limited play within all two-color combinations.
[/list][list]
[*]Evoke strong flavor through use of some original artwork and flavor text.
[/spoiler]
Mechanical Flavor
Eckara is a world in a constant state of falling apart. The only thing staving off total collapse is the continuous input of materials and people from other worlds, brought into Eckara by unknown means. The sun is pale and weak, giving little energy. Life feeds off of the breakdown of material, both living and otherwise, that finds its way onto Eckara. Because of this, the mechanics should give a feeling of continual decay, destruction and entropy.
Mechanics Overview
This is a -1/-1 counters set. No cards will utilize +1/+1 counters.
Graveyard and sacrifice effects will be everywhere, at higher densities than in most sets.
Colored artifacts return. Artifacts will play very important roles in some strategies.
Specific Mechanics:
Decompose ([i]Decompose --[/i]When this card is put into your graveyard from anywhere, you may pay COST. If you do, EFFECT.)
This mechanic functions in numerous ways. On creatures, it provides a death-triggered effect. On instants and sorceries, it works rather like kicker. On all cards, it provides extra value from discard and self-mill. So far this mechanic seems to fit best in BUG but I may expand it into all colors.
Scrap (As an additional cost to cast this spell, you may sacrifice an artifact.)
A kicker-like mechanic, scrap provides extra power to a spell at the cost of sacrificing an artifact. It is found on creature and noncreature spells. It is primarily in R but also found in B and potentially W. This is the only returning mechanic from the original set design.
Collective ([i]Collective--[/i]Do X EFFECT, where X is the number of artifact creatures you control.)
This mechanic is found only in W and obviously promotes playing large numbers of artifact creatures. To help with this, all of white's creatures in the set are artifact creatures.
List tags are malformed.