Consuming Contract
At the beginning of your upkeep, choose one—You draw two cards and lose 2 life; or destroy target creature; or __________; or you lose the game. You can't choose the same mode twice.
At the beginning of your upkeep, choose one—You draw two cards and lose 2 life; or destroy target creature; or __________; or you lose the game. You can't choose the same mode twice.
This is an interesting and hard-to-evaluate idea. The closest precedent I can think of is Final Fortune. However, this loses points for having a significant memory issue.
The real question here is one of balance. Balancing around a "you lose the game" drawback is tricky and there's a good chance that this will end up broken or unplayable.
Double Down
Exile two cards with the same name from graveyards: Draw a card.
Exile two cards with the same name from graveyards: Draw a card.
Sphinx of the Chimes has completely failed to impress. I don't like this mechanic because of how swingy it is: how much value you get for it changes dramatically based on the luck of the draw as well as what your opponent is playing. Unlike Sphinx, which does work as a creature even if you can't use the ability, you need to be able to use the ability at least twice to get value from this card. Another downside is that it doesn't work well in formats (such as Limited and Commander) where multiples are rare or nonexistent. Unlike Sphinx, which does work as a creature even if you can't use the ability, you need to be able to use the ability at least twice to get value from this card.
Also unlike Sphinx, this design doesn't restrict the cards to nonland cards. I'm not sure if this restriction is likely to get added to the final version of this card.
Blood in the Watering Can
At the beginning of each end step, if you've lost life this turn, you may return target creature card from your graveyard to your hand.
At the beginning of each end step, if you've lost life this turn, you may return target creature card from your graveyard to your hand.
Not the most exciting of mechanics, but a solid source of long-term card advantage. You don't need to build around it to get value, but you definitely can with things like fetches and shocks.
Mass Mummification
CARDNAME enters the battlefield with thirteen bandage counters on it.
At the beginning of your upkeep, each player's life total becomes the number of bandage counters on CARDNAME, then remove a bandage counter from CARDNAME.
CARDNAME enters the battlefield with thirteen bandage counters on it.
At the beginning of your upkeep, each player's life total becomes the number of bandage counters on CARDNAME, then remove a bandage counter from CARDNAME.
A cross between Touch of the Eternal and Havoc Festival, I guess.
How does this fit into a deck's game plan? Depending on the matchup and board state, this can be lifegain or lifeloss, followed by later later lifegain or lifeloss. And that's for each player. This strikes me as a sideboard card at best since a lot of the time it won't help you and might even help your opponent.
There's also combo potential, but with previous similar cards not being used much (or at all) in this regard I don't think it's that great in this regard.
There are a couple additional downsides. 13 counters is a lot if players don't have d20s. Additionally, in certain matchups this can easily cause drawn games.
Soulfeaster's Rising
Whenever a creature dies, exile it and put a risen counter on CARDNAME.
As long as CARDNAME has five or more risen counters, it's a 7/7 Demon creature and has "CARDNAME has all activated abilities of all creature cards exiled by CARDNAME."
Whenever a creature dies, exile it and put a risen counter on CARDNAME.
As long as CARDNAME has five or more risen counters, it's a 7/7 Demon creature and has "CARDNAME has all activated abilities of all creature cards exiled by CARDNAME."
Graveyard hate, a big creature, and combo potential all rolled into one. Clearly, this one is trying the "be everything to everyone" approach to winning this popularity contest.
The problem is that a card which does so much will have to cost a lot, relegating it to more casual play.
Revenge of Necromancy
Whenever an opponent discards a creature card, put a 2/2 black Zombie creature token onto the battlefield.
Whenever an opponent discards a land card, add BB to your mana pool.
Whenever an opponent discards a noncreature, nonland card, draw a card.
Whenever an opponent discards a creature card, put a 2/2 black Zombie creature token onto the battlefield.
Whenever an opponent discards a land card, add BB to your mana pool.
Whenever an opponent discards a noncreature, nonland card, draw a card.
This card has the opposite problem as the previous one: it's very narrow. Megrim effects do see play, but only in one very specific type of deck.
Eldritch Rites
Sacrifice a nontoken creature: You may cast target black instant or sorcery card from your graveyard. If that card would be put into your graveyard this turn, exile it instead.
Sacrifice a nontoken creature: You may cast target black instant or sorcery card from your graveyard. If that card would be put into your graveyard this turn, exile it instead.
Start with an exceptionally broken effect, then pile on restrictions until it becomes balanced.
The question is whether this has gone so far with the restrictions that it's too narrow. For this to work you need a deck with both enough nontoken creatures that you're okay with sacrificing and enough black instants and sorceries.
Demonic Bargain
CARDNAME enters the battlefield with X doom counters on it.
At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a doom counter from CARDNAME and draw a card. Then, if CARDNAME has no doom counters on it, sacrifice it and put a 5/5 black indestructible Demon token with flying onto the battlefield under an opponent's control.
CARDNAME enters the battlefield with X doom counters on it.
At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a doom counter from CARDNAME and draw a card. Then, if CARDNAME has no doom counters on it, sacrifice it and put a 5/5 black indestructible Demon token with flying onto the battlefield under an opponent's control.
I really want to like this card. It has excellent flavor and is certainly a neat concept. However, it is simply bad at any cost. As it's an X spell, the cheapest it can cost is . However, an enchantment which draws you a card during your upkeep for X turns simply isn't that good, even without the big downside of giving your opponent a 5/5 indestructible flier when it runs out of counters.
Recommendations
Consuming Contract vs. Double Down
Consuming Contract seems the clear choice here. I'm unsure if it will work out, but that's a lot better than Double Down, which I expect to be a failure.
Blood in the Watering Can vs. Mass Mummification
Blood in the Watering Can is my pick here. It's not as exciting, but I don't see enough potential in Mass Mummification to justify it.
Soulfeaster's Rising vs. Revenge of Necromancy
This is a choice between overbroad and overnarrow. I think the overbroad Soulfeaster's Rising has a better chance of turning into something lots of people enjoy.
Eldritch Rites vs. Demonic Bargain
The clear choice is Eldritch Rites here, given that there isn't much potential in Demonic Bargain unless they're willing to make radical changes.