I honestly tried a design similar to yours, having a Walker become a creature and remain as such for a full turn sequence, but it became an issue of balance. For one, turning into a creature and gaining Indestructible, along with the "~ cant lose loyalty when not a 'walker." makes it so that the only way to get rid of him is either an Exile/Bounce effect, or Hero's Downfall or Burn effects before we reach our main phase, which for some deck archetypes, could very well be impossible. At best, the self animating would need to be a 0 loyalty ability, so its not an active way to build up AND put forth a threat/self protecting ability.
LeShrach, Fallen One 3UBR
Creature - Angel Wizard
Flying, Hexproof UB, Discard a card: Put a 2/2 Black Zombie creature token onto the battlefield. BR, Sacrifice another creature: Destroy target creature. UR, Exile a card from your graveyard: Draw a card.
3/7
Next: A two color Planeswalker commander with an expensive (-15 or more) Emblem ultimate that breaks the color pie.
Seconding SecretInfiltrator's suggestion, make the Stockpile mechanic only function based on the exiled cards with the Stockpile keyword. That way it doesnt infringe upon Flashback/Delve unless you Delve'd a mass of cards with Stockpile, or figured out a way to give Stockpile cards Flaskback.
There is one flavor aspect about the mechanic though. A "Stockpile" generally is something that you'd be able to save up and access freely, as you need, not something that has been entirely removed from your plane of existence but still somehow miraculously able to contribute to your further efforts. Might I suggest a slight tweak/renaming of the mechanic to reflect this? Either a name better suited to functioning via the exile zone, or a mechanic shift to work off of the GY like older spells such as Kindle and Muscle Burst.
Example:
Healing Chime W
Sorcery {C}
You gain 2 life.
Stockpile-You also gain 2 life for each card you own in exile with Stockpile. Exile this spell after it resolves instead of putting it into your graveyard.
Well, the characters are already pre-made, I am basing these guys off of major players in Norse mythology, in a sorta Theros type set, and making a whole new ring of 5 walkers for each faction, to replace the "Llorwyn 5" as mainstays on standard environments. I am basing each of them off of the major leaders of the different factions I am setting up, Midgard, Asgard, Jotunheim, Elfheim, and Neiflheim. My issue, is that I am having some issues fitting 3 abilities that match the shard color combinations as well as fitting the character.
I might have to redesign these guys, and even the whole set, and have the factions only be 2 colors, or even monocolor just so the design process is a lot less headache inducing.
So here are the first drafts of the three 'Walkers I have designed so far. How balanced with the above rules, and mechanically sound for the color combos do they sound?
Lokith, the Trickster 2UBR
Planeswalker - Lokith (M)
+1: ~ deals 2 damage to up to one target creature or planeswalker. Draw a card.
-4: All creatures get -X/-X until end of turn, where X is equal to the number of cards in your hand.
-10: Search your library for up to four nonland cards with different names and exile them face down. An opponent chooses two of them. You may cast those cards without playing their mana costs.
(4)
Asator, Protector of the Realm 3RGW
Planeswalker - Asator (M)
+1: Reveal the top 5 cards of your library. You may put up to two Warrior creatures cards from among them into your hand. Put the rest onto the bottom of your library in any order.
-3: ~ deals 4 damage to target creature or player, and you gain 4 life.
-9: You get an Emblem with “Creatures you control get +1/+1 and have double strike, vigilance, trample, haste, and lifelink.”
(5)
Surt, Lord of Ignaheim 2BRG
Planeswalker - Surt (M)
+1: Put a 3/3 red Giant Berserker snow creature token with trample onto the battlefield.
+3: Destroy target artifact, creature, or land.
+7: You get an Emblem with “Attacking creatures you control may deal their combat damage to defending player as though they weren’t blocked.”
(3)
So, when designing planeswalkers, it's important to follow a few rules.
1. There should always be a + ability that is usable regardless of what else is on the field. This means you should avoid having a + ability that targets a permanent unless you have a second + ability that doesn't. If you really want an ability that targets, make sure you word it so that the target isn't required by saying something like "up to one target blah".
2. Whenever I give a planeswalker a removal ability, I make sure that it is costly enough that you can't easily repeat it. That means never putting it in the + slot. Removal is a good tool, especially for a planeswalker, but it's often too powerful to be reusable. I usually allow small amounts of burn in the + slot, but only if I don't think it'll kill very many things. Burn in the + slot should only be used to weaken the enemy creatures and should usually be coupled with additional effects. See Chandra, the Pyromaster for what I'm talking about.
What about equally threatening effects in the +1 ability slot if it is removal? For example, if I have a 5+ CMC walker and give him "+1: Each player sacrifices a creature." Would that be too strong of a loyalty builder to see print? Or maybe something like Electrolyze that has a bit of color hybrid effects in a single ability, but is really strong on its own. Im not planning on giving this guy a +2: Terminate or +1: Infest, but balanced effects like Innocent Blood on a high CMC walker to me seem balanced.
3. For cmc 4 or 5 planeswalkers, I've found that the best place to look for good - abilities is at 3 cmc sorceries. I've found plenty of good effects at 3 cmc that I would love to see as - abilities on planeswalkers, like Arc Lightning, Act of Treason, Call to Mind, etc. These abilities can usually go for -2 depending on the starting loyalty and the power of the individual ability. I usually make sure the - can't be used twice in a row, or if it can, it kills the planeswalker.
Whats your opinion on a 6 cmc, 4 loyalty, Grixis walker with a -3: Fact or Fiction? Its really strong, but at such a high CMC, and only being able to use it once every few turns should balance out right? So far for the Walkers that I have started making, I am looking at 5+ CMC creatures with etb abilities that might fit for a -X ability, or weaker PWers with a similar ability and rewording/buffing them to fit a little bit.
The Naya Walker I have right now, has +2: make two 1/1 tokens with "Bushido" 1(which ive renamed to fit the setting), -3: Warleader's Helix, and -9: Titanic Ultimatum. Does that sound at all balanced? He is 6cmc so, its not something that will be dropped turn 3-4 and take over the game.
4. For card draw abilities, I've noticed something. At 4 cmc, you could likely get away with a + ability that just says "Draw a card." For some reason, WotC likes to avoid that particular ability on planeswalkers. Usually, on 4 cmc walkers, they will give you a + that gives you some kind of top deck advantage without actually letting you draw the card (see Jace, the Living Guildpact), or give you conditional draw (see Narset Transcendant). On 5 cmc walkers, they will give you "Draw a card" plus a little extra (see Jace, Memory Adept and Sarkhan Unbroken). Take this as you will, but I usually stick with WotC on this one. I find conditional draw abilities more interesting anyway.
I assume at 6+ CMC, card draw abilities in the +X slot can be rather strong, or even borderline unfair? My Grixis guy above at one point had a +1: Tolarian Winds in the color shard combination that was using a "graveyard matters" theme, but that seemed REALLY strong as a way to repeatedly do it.
5. Ultimate abilities are tricky for a number of reasons. The strength of the ability depends on the cost visa versa. It also depends on the other abilities, and they usually depend on it. For example, if you have a particularly strong ult in mind for -9 and a starting loyalty of 4, a 5cmc planeswalker could likely get away with a weak +2 ability. It would take 3 turns to reach the ult, but getting there makes the planeswalker significantly more durable than, say, a 5cmc walker that starts at 4 with a +1 and a -7 ult. The latter could probably have a slightly more powerful +, but a bit weaker ult. That said, balancing this stuff takes a lot of fiddling and playtesting.
Additionally, you want to make sure that the ult isn't a "you pretty much win the game" ability. You want it to be big and flashy, and you want it to give you a significant advantage, but you still want the player on his toes. Also avoid abilities like Karn Liberated's. Some abilities, like ones that involve wiping the board clean, may seem flashy enough to be ults, but can just end up being "restart the game" abilities. Karn, in this respect, was a mistake. Players don't want to restart the game, especially after it's gone on long enough for a planeswalker to ult. That's just tiresome and usually causes players to just scoop. Tl;dr, the ult should signal the end drawing nearer, but it shouldn't bring about the end itself.
Anyway, that's my advice on building planeswalkers. I hope I helped.
The ultimates are the hardest part of this whole process, imo. Thats why I have kinda been trying to fit in the Ultimatum spells for each one, but they were not balanced between one-another, so certain ones are much more impactful than others. I am also debating making a series of Emblem ults based on powerful Enchantments from ages past, but again, it is difficult to find ones that fit each color combo.
One thing I noticed you didnt mention, was that many of your tips were based on 4-5 cmc Planeswalkers, What about 6-7 CMC 'walkers? Does such a high CMC change their power dynamics from the lower cmc versions? Obviously, Ral Zarek is on an entirely different power level than Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker, but how crazy can I get when making 6+ cmc abilities?
Whats your opinion on starting off trying to fit the Alara block Ultimatum spells and the ult for tri-colored Planeswalkers? Most notably, Cruel Ultimatum and Titanic Ultimatum ?
I know a few Garruk versions had an Overrun ult, but he was 4 and 5 cmc respectively, and Garruk, Apex Predator had a +5/+5 Emblem, so I dont see it being to unbalanced, on a walker I am positioning around the 5-6 cmc spot, probably 6 to be safe.
Cruel might be a little bit too strong, as the walker itll be on is only 5cmc, with a +2 ability, but if I position him to need 4 uses before using the ult, it might self balance.
The other Ultimatums, I am unsure whether theyd make strong enough ultimates, Brilliant is ok, but Violent and Clarion seem a little bit on the weaker side. What do you think?
Trying to design a series of 3 color Planeswalkers for the Shard combinations from Alara. (RGW,GWU,BRG,WUB,UBR) And I am trying to figure out how I should manage the ability distribution. I only have Sarkhan Unbroken and Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker as a reference for 3-color 'walkers, so I am unsure how to place the abilities without them being extremely broken.
Also, I was wondering if 1 for 1 removal is too strong on a 5+ CMC Walker. Or if hard removal has to be defaulted to the "negative tier" abilities. Looking back through all of Black walkers, all of the removal abilities were minus abilities, but Chandra has had several versions that had creature removal in the + slot.
Would something like "+1: Up to one target creature you control fights up to one target creature you dont control." or "+1: Up to one target creature gets -3/-3 until end of turn." be too strong? The planesalkers in question with these abilities will be at minimum 5 cmc, maybe higher, so its not like im designing the next walker on Liliana of the Veil's level of awesome.
Any other opinions/critiques on the cards/mechanic changes themselves? Been a few days since anyone responded, Id like atleast a few opinions on where I am aiming the power level of what I am considering the "pushed" cards of the set.
I guess I was pretty vague in the set background, let me expand upon it a bit, as well as answer some questions.
First, the criteria that I have listed were randomly generated for each of us who have volunteered to design the sets for this project. We were given the ability to veto one of the mechanics, which at this point I am debating using on the "Shard factions" just to make it simpler. I can deal with just adding Snow as a super-type to 75% of the cards, and the rest are pretty simple. Plus, Snow as a mechanic, thematically fits the setting, Since Scandinavia and the other various Norse regions were rather rough and arctic environments.
Second, the faction mechanics have been chosen for a reason. "Undying" which I am changing into my own take on, is there for the Human faction ascending to Valhalla and returning as great warriors. It is more narrow than Undying/Persist, only being triggerable via taking place in combat prior to death, but each instance of it is unique, some creatures return with 2+ +1/+1 counters, and/or gaining extra abilities when they return. I honestly debated making this mechanic being Transform like Innistrad werewolves/Origins Walkers, but I am using MSE and dont have the template for a flip card.
Morph, I am using as a narrow faction unique mechanic for Loki, representing his mastery of Illusions and Trickery. What sets it apart from previous incarnations, is that I am not having creatures using morph. What makes it new and exciting, is that Loki has Spells with morph, allowing him to deploy incognito agents as the 2/2 morph creatures, then when needed flipping them up as a spell which goes onto the stack immediately.
Bloodthirst is the core mechanic of the Jund faction for the set, which is representative of the Fire Giants and Trolls, lead by Surt. They play the role of the "aggro" tribe, but I am trying to still keep the format rather slow. I am tweaking Bloodthirst, and having it not just give +1/+1 counters, Many of the better cards will have etb effects triggering from Bloodthirst, instead of just being slightly larger creatures.
The Esper and Bant factions will be the featured theme of the small set, so I still have some time tobrainstorm on them. Also, I should mention that I am not attempting to fit the Norse mythos into the pre-existing Shard themes/background, it is merely the colors that I figured fit best for each one. The factions in my set will not have similar themes to the ones from Alara, so for example, Naya won't be about huge monsters and the savageness of nature, Jund wont be a bunch of man-eating dragons and barbarian tribes, Esper wont be entirely artifact themed, etc.
As far as the "Equipment Matters" part, I am planning on having about half a dozen "equipment sets" cycles that should be playable in some way, think like watered down versions of the Helm of Kaldra equipments, each piece being somewhat mediocre on its own, but if used together, will be much more potent. Also, Mjollnir will be a legendary equipment, because Mjollnir.
What I am aiming for, are each faction being lead by a Planeswalker, similar to Sarkhan Unbroken but on the game ending power level of Elspeth, Sun's Chamption level. Each one, potentially being able to take over the game on its own if you allow it to continually tick up unharassed.
Right now, my mechanics ideas for the factions are as follows:
Naya - The "Midgard Humanity" faction. with heavy Emphasis on Warriors as the main tribe. Humans are about 75% of the creature types, but there are a handful of Aesir, which are the beings from the Asgard equivalent in the setting, as well as Dwarves making a small cameo appearance on a handful of cards. The faction is lead by Asator, which is the Thor equivalent character.
The Naya mechanic is my adaptation of Undying, which I am calling Chosen.
Chosen X (Whenever this creature dies, if it attacked or blocked this turn and is not a Spirit, return it to the battlefield with X +1/+1 counters on it. It is a Spirit in addition to its other creature types.
The creatures of higher rarities or intended playability, will also have a clause akin to "If this creature is a Spirit, it has [keyword]. Or other activated abilities.
Grixis - The faction of Loki and his various allies of multiple creature types. Representative of the Vanir race, which are the more magically inclined beings of Asgard. His forces are masters of various Illusions, Subterfuge, and Trickery, which can overwhelm his opponents by surprising them with false creatures which are actually hidden spells.
The unique mechanic for this shard is my take on Morph, which is as follows:
Machination (cost) (You may play ~ facedown as a 2/2 colorless creature. You may cast this spell at anytime by flipping it face up and paying its its Machination cost. Face up spells cease being creatures and go onto the stack as normal.)
As is, I am going to only have Instants/Sorceries with this ability, so it wont be present on creatures, outside of a few which enhance the face down/surprise casting aspect of them.
Jund - The shard faction representing the savage groups of Fire Giants and Trolls that are attacking Humanity attempting to destroy the world, and bring about Ragnarok early. They are lead by Surtur, a brash and destructive Fire Giant planeswalker, that is set on Burning the world to ash. Mechanically, I have given this shard the Bloodthirst mechanic, but instead of simply growing larger, they have extra etb effects like making token creatures, fighting other creatures, or other sources of card advantage that triggers off of an opponent having lost life.
Bloodthirst - Whenever ~ etb, if an opponent lost life this turn, that player sacrifices a creature. As one example, but a majority will also have the usual +1/+1 counters.
I am designing a custom set following the new structure, Large/Small, for a custom standard season that a few of my friends are doing and I would like some opinions on what I have done so far.
The background for each of our sets was randomly determined by a computer program, determining how to design, and this is what I was given:
1) Combat Matters
2) Snow Set (Snow Covered basic lands, and Snow as a supertype, ala Ice Age/Cold Snap)
3) Shard factions (Naya, Jund, Grixis, etc)
4) Expand upon pre-existing keywords (I chose Morph, Bloodthirst, and Undying, as they were my favorites from previous formats)
5) Equipment matters
With those criteria as my basis, I have chosen a gritty Norse mythology themed set, focusing on the ever constant disputes between Loki and Thor, while also including the Jotun/Giants assaulting the mortal world, before culminating in "Ragnarok"
These are some of the cards I have created so far for the set:
Asator, the Thunder King 3RWG
Planeswalker-Asator (M)
+2: Asator, the Thunder King deals 3 damage to target creature or player.
+1: Until end of turn, Asator, the Thunder King becomes a legendary 2/2 red, green, and white Aesir Warrior snow creature with indestructable, first strike, vigilance, trample, haste, and lifelink. Attach Mjollnir, Hammer of Asator to him. (He can’t lose loyalty while he’s not a Planeswalker.)
0: Search your library for a card named Mjollnir, Hammer of Asator and put it onto the battlefield attached to a creature you control. If you do, shuffle your library.
-11: You get an Emblem with “Creatures you control have first strike, vigilance, trample, haste, and lifelink.”
Loyalty [4]
Mjollnir, Hammer of Asator 6
Legendary Artifact - Equipment
Equipped creature gets +5/+5 and has Trample.
Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage to a player, Mjollnir, Hammer of Asator deals that much damage to target creature or planewalker that player controls.
Equip 4
Eingard Champion RGW
Snow Creature - Human Warrior (M)
Trample, Vigilance
Chosen 2 (Whenever this creature dies, if it attacked or blocked this turn and isn’t a Spirit return it to the battlefield with two +1/+1 counters on it. It becomes a Spirit in addition to its other creature types.)
As long as Eingard Champion is a Spirit, it has Haste.
3/3
Lokith, the Trickster 2UBR
Planeswalker - Lokith (M)
+1: Draw two cards, then discard a card from your hand.
-2: Manifest the top card of your library. If it doesn’t have morph, its morph cost is equal to its mana cost.
-9: Return all instant and sorcery cards from your graveyard to the battlefield face down as 2/2 colorless creatures. If they don’t have morph, they gain a morph cost equal to their mana costs.
Loyalty [4]
Lokithan Runescribe 1UBR
Snow Creature - Vanir Wizard (M)
At the beginning of your end step manifest the top a card of your library. If that card doesn't have Morph, its gains a Morph cost equal to its mana cost.
2/5
Surt Jotunking BRG
Planeswalker - Surt (M)
+1: Put a 3/3 black, red, and green Giant Berserker snow creature token onto the battlefield.
-1: Regenerate target Giant you control . Then that creature fights target creature you don’t control.
-7: You get an Emblem with “Whenever an opponent taps a snow land for mana, it deals 1 damage to them.”
Loyalty [3]
Jotunir Maulers 2BRG
Snow Creature - Giant Berserker (M)
Trample, Haste
Bloodthirst - Whenever ~ enters the battlefield, if an opponent lost life this turn, put a 4/4 red Giant snow creature token with Trample and Haste onto the battlefield.
4/4
Spring's Thaw
Land (R)
T, Pay 1 life, Sacrifice Spring’s Thaw: Search your library for a snow land and put it onto the battlefield. Then shuffle your library.
I am debating on including the etb tapped Snow Duals, along with the "Snow Fetch" for decent mana fixing. I dont want this set to turn ino super aggro id prefer it to be sort of a longer, drawn out environment. I have included several previous cards from the ICE Age/Cold Snap sets that were good/fit the set, including Scrying Sheets and a few types of Aurochs but theyre filling in the "meh" slots of commons/uncommons right now. Any input or critiques would be welcome, as well as suggestions on possible thematic cards that would fit a Norse theme. So far, I have been looking up song/album titles from Amon Amarth and turning them into cards.
Mechanically, for Einherjar, the requirement of having attacked/blocked is mostly a nod to the Norse mythology that only those who died in battle would be taken to Valhalla as an Einherjar. Someone walking through a village and getting blasted by a Lightning Bolt or Murdered wouldnt be deemed worthy, but someone who stood toe-to-toe with a Hill Giant would earn their place in the afterlife.
Also, good catch on the translation. I probably should find an English equivalent to the term, for those whom arent as familiar with the Norse mythos. How does "Chosen" sound? Or Glory?
Hmm, thanks fro the assistance, I completely forgot about what to do with the cards that you dont Spellsculpt. Thinking on it, I may just use Manifest text/ruling, but change it to "instants or sorceries" instead of creatures. Its not exactly what I was originally aiming for, but the logistics of that route seem simpler.
Actual game effect question - As I have it written now, without changing anything. How powerful do you think it would end up being, the whole "free creature that you can turn into a spell later" effect. Im really trying to capture the feeling of Loki's trickery and mastery of illusions/mind affecting magic, but thats sorta difficult to do within Magic game mechanics.
Also A have a 2nd mechanic I wouldnt mind a small critique on, if you wouldnt mind:
Whenever this creature dies, if it attacked or blocked this turn and isn’t a Spirit return it to the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it. It becomes a Spirit in addition to its other creature types.
Its pretty much a slightly more narrow version of Undying. I am debating making it Einherjar X, and have it come back with more than 1 counter, but thatd probably require the base creatures be slightly weaker.
Im also combining it with the Renown/Monstrous mechanic, and the creatures so far have had some kind of clause akin to "If ~ is a Spirit, it has [keyword]."
Hey all, im dillying around with MSE, and designing my own custom set/block just as something to pass the time. I've come up with a new mechanic for the set, and I am trying to figure out the proper phrasing that doesnt require 3 cards to fit all of the reminder text. So, Im here to see if anyone here could lend a hand.
The set is loosely based on Norse mythology, and the mechanic in question is for the UR faction of the set, which is aligned with the "Loki" figure of the story. I tried to get a good grasp on his Trickery and Illusion theme from stories and even some of the Marvel comics/movies.
Heres how I have it now, in its entirely too wordy version:
Spellsculpt {param1} - Look at the top {param1} card(s) of your library. If any of them are Instants and/or Sorceries, you may put any of them onto the battlefield as a 0/0 Illusion creature with two +1/+1 counters on them. You may cast those spells as though they were in your hand for as long as they remain on the battlefield. If you do, sacrifice that creature.
I am trying to capture the same essence as Manifest did for Morph, but bringing a new paradigm of having "living spells" for virtual card advantage. The mechanic may be a bit strong for initial testing, but hopefully it will self-balance by having weak/overcosted instants/sorceries in the set.
If youre going to be spending 3 mana on removal, whether its black conditional, or damage based, wouldnt Exquisite Firecraft just be better? Or Arc Lightning Even, since you can clear out multiple creatures and/or hit your opponent for any left over damage.
I like the idea of Disregard, for early game removal, or as Tech vs weenie decks, but I would personally prefer hard removal, or unconditional if im investing 3 mana into it. The only time I can see Touch of the Void/Complete Disregard being better than Firecraft, would be against Hangarback Walker.
Creature - Angel Wizard
Flying, Hexproof
UB, Discard a card: Put a 2/2 Black Zombie creature token onto the battlefield.
BR, Sacrifice another creature: Destroy target creature.
UR, Exile a card from your graveyard: Draw a card.
3/7
Next: A two color Planeswalker commander with an expensive (-15 or more) Emblem ultimate that breaks the color pie.
There is one flavor aspect about the mechanic though. A "Stockpile" generally is something that you'd be able to save up and access freely, as you need, not something that has been entirely removed from your plane of existence but still somehow miraculously able to contribute to your further efforts. Might I suggest a slight tweak/renaming of the mechanic to reflect this? Either a name better suited to functioning via the exile zone, or a mechanic shift to work off of the GY like older spells such as Kindle and Muscle Burst.
Example:
Healing Chime W
Sorcery {C}
You gain 2 life.
Stockpile-You also gain 2 life for each card you own in exile with Stockpile. Exile this spell after it resolves instead of putting it into your graveyard.
I might have to redesign these guys, and even the whole set, and have the factions only be 2 colors, or even monocolor just so the design process is a lot less headache inducing.
Lokith, the Trickster 2UBR
Planeswalker - Lokith (M)
+1: ~ deals 2 damage to up to one target creature or planeswalker. Draw a card.
-4: All creatures get -X/-X until end of turn, where X is equal to the number of cards in your hand.
-10: Search your library for up to four nonland cards with different names and exile them face down. An opponent chooses two of them. You may cast those cards without playing their mana costs.
(4)
Asator, Protector of the Realm 3RGW
Planeswalker - Asator (M)
+1: Reveal the top 5 cards of your library. You may put up to two Warrior creatures cards from among them into your hand. Put the rest onto the bottom of your library in any order.
-3: ~ deals 4 damage to target creature or player, and you gain 4 life.
-9: You get an Emblem with “Creatures you control get +1/+1 and have double strike, vigilance, trample, haste, and lifelink.”
(5)
Surt, Lord of Ignaheim 2BRG
Planeswalker - Surt (M)
+1: Put a 3/3 red Giant Berserker snow creature token with trample onto the battlefield.
+3: Destroy target artifact, creature, or land.
+7: You get an Emblem with “Attacking creatures you control may deal their combat damage to defending player as though they weren’t blocked.”
(3)
What about equally threatening effects in the +1 ability slot if it is removal? For example, if I have a 5+ CMC walker and give him "+1: Each player sacrifices a creature." Would that be too strong of a loyalty builder to see print? Or maybe something like Electrolyze that has a bit of color hybrid effects in a single ability, but is really strong on its own. Im not planning on giving this guy a +2: Terminate or +1: Infest, but balanced effects like Innocent Blood on a high CMC walker to me seem balanced.
Whats your opinion on a 6 cmc, 4 loyalty, Grixis walker with a -3: Fact or Fiction? Its really strong, but at such a high CMC, and only being able to use it once every few turns should balance out right? So far for the Walkers that I have started making, I am looking at 5+ CMC creatures with etb abilities that might fit for a -X ability, or weaker PWers with a similar ability and rewording/buffing them to fit a little bit.
The Naya Walker I have right now, has +2: make two 1/1 tokens with "Bushido" 1(which ive renamed to fit the setting), -3: Warleader's Helix, and -9: Titanic Ultimatum. Does that sound at all balanced? He is 6cmc so, its not something that will be dropped turn 3-4 and take over the game.
I assume at 6+ CMC, card draw abilities in the +X slot can be rather strong, or even borderline unfair? My Grixis guy above at one point had a +1: Tolarian Winds in the color shard combination that was using a "graveyard matters" theme, but that seemed REALLY strong as a way to repeatedly do it.
The ultimates are the hardest part of this whole process, imo. Thats why I have kinda been trying to fit in the Ultimatum spells for each one, but they were not balanced between one-another, so certain ones are much more impactful than others. I am also debating making a series of Emblem ults based on powerful Enchantments from ages past, but again, it is difficult to find ones that fit each color combo.
One thing I noticed you didnt mention, was that many of your tips were based on 4-5 cmc Planeswalkers, What about 6-7 CMC 'walkers? Does such a high CMC change their power dynamics from the lower cmc versions? Obviously, Ral Zarek is on an entirely different power level than Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker, but how crazy can I get when making 6+ cmc abilities?
I know a few Garruk versions had an Overrun ult, but he was 4 and 5 cmc respectively, and Garruk, Apex Predator had a +5/+5 Emblem, so I dont see it being to unbalanced, on a walker I am positioning around the 5-6 cmc spot, probably 6 to be safe.
Cruel might be a little bit too strong, as the walker itll be on is only 5cmc, with a +2 ability, but if I position him to need 4 uses before using the ult, it might self balance.
The other Ultimatums, I am unsure whether theyd make strong enough ultimates, Brilliant is ok, but Violent and Clarion seem a little bit on the weaker side. What do you think?
My first idea, was to use each of the Ultimatum spells: Cruel Ultimatum Clarion Ultimatum Titanic Ultimatum Violent Ultimatum and Brilliant Ultimatum. However a few of these are entirely too weak compared to others.
Also, I was wondering if 1 for 1 removal is too strong on a 5+ CMC Walker. Or if hard removal has to be defaulted to the "negative tier" abilities. Looking back through all of Black walkers, all of the removal abilities were minus abilities, but Chandra has had several versions that had creature removal in the + slot.
Would something like "+1: Up to one target creature you control fights up to one target creature you dont control." or "+1: Up to one target creature gets -3/-3 until end of turn." be too strong? The planesalkers in question with these abilities will be at minimum 5 cmc, maybe higher, so its not like im designing the next walker on Liliana of the Veil's level of awesome.
First, the criteria that I have listed were randomly generated for each of us who have volunteered to design the sets for this project. We were given the ability to veto one of the mechanics, which at this point I am debating using on the "Shard factions" just to make it simpler. I can deal with just adding Snow as a super-type to 75% of the cards, and the rest are pretty simple. Plus, Snow as a mechanic, thematically fits the setting, Since Scandinavia and the other various Norse regions were rather rough and arctic environments.
Second, the faction mechanics have been chosen for a reason. "Undying" which I am changing into my own take on, is there for the Human faction ascending to Valhalla and returning as great warriors. It is more narrow than Undying/Persist, only being triggerable via taking place in combat prior to death, but each instance of it is unique, some creatures return with 2+ +1/+1 counters, and/or gaining extra abilities when they return. I honestly debated making this mechanic being Transform like Innistrad werewolves/Origins Walkers, but I am using MSE and dont have the template for a flip card.
Morph, I am using as a narrow faction unique mechanic for Loki, representing his mastery of Illusions and Trickery. What sets it apart from previous incarnations, is that I am not having creatures using morph. What makes it new and exciting, is that Loki has Spells with morph, allowing him to deploy incognito agents as the 2/2 morph creatures, then when needed flipping them up as a spell which goes onto the stack immediately.
Bloodthirst is the core mechanic of the Jund faction for the set, which is representative of the Fire Giants and Trolls, lead by Surt. They play the role of the "aggro" tribe, but I am trying to still keep the format rather slow. I am tweaking Bloodthirst, and having it not just give +1/+1 counters, Many of the better cards will have etb effects triggering from Bloodthirst, instead of just being slightly larger creatures.
The Esper and Bant factions will be the featured theme of the small set, so I still have some time tobrainstorm on them. Also, I should mention that I am not attempting to fit the Norse mythos into the pre-existing Shard themes/background, it is merely the colors that I figured fit best for each one. The factions in my set will not have similar themes to the ones from Alara, so for example, Naya won't be about huge monsters and the savageness of nature, Jund wont be a bunch of man-eating dragons and barbarian tribes, Esper wont be entirely artifact themed, etc.
As far as the "Equipment Matters" part, I am planning on having about half a dozen "equipment sets" cycles that should be playable in some way, think like watered down versions of the Helm of Kaldra equipments, each piece being somewhat mediocre on its own, but if used together, will be much more potent. Also, Mjollnir will be a legendary equipment, because Mjollnir.
What I am aiming for, are each faction being lead by a Planeswalker, similar to Sarkhan Unbroken but on the game ending power level of Elspeth, Sun's Chamption level. Each one, potentially being able to take over the game on its own if you allow it to continually tick up unharassed.
Right now, my mechanics ideas for the factions are as follows:
The Naya mechanic is my adaptation of Undying, which I am calling Chosen.
The creatures of higher rarities or intended playability, will also have a clause akin to "If this creature is a Spirit, it has [keyword]. Or other activated abilities.
The unique mechanic for this shard is my take on Morph, which is as follows:
As is, I am going to only have Instants/Sorceries with this ability, so it wont be present on creatures, outside of a few which enhance the face down/surprise casting aspect of them.
The background for each of our sets was randomly determined by a computer program, determining how to design, and this is what I was given:
2) Snow Set (Snow Covered basic lands, and Snow as a supertype, ala Ice Age/Cold Snap)
3) Shard factions (Naya, Jund, Grixis, etc)
4) Expand upon pre-existing keywords (I chose Morph, Bloodthirst, and Undying, as they were my favorites from previous formats)
5) Equipment matters
With those criteria as my basis, I have chosen a gritty Norse mythology themed set, focusing on the ever constant disputes between Loki and Thor, while also including the Jotun/Giants assaulting the mortal world, before culminating in "Ragnarok"
These are some of the cards I have created so far for the set:
Planeswalker-Asator (M)
+2: Asator, the Thunder King deals 3 damage to target creature or player.
+1: Until end of turn, Asator, the Thunder King becomes a legendary 2/2 red, green, and white Aesir Warrior snow creature with indestructable, first strike, vigilance, trample, haste, and lifelink. Attach Mjollnir, Hammer of Asator to him. (He can’t lose loyalty while he’s not a Planeswalker.)
0: Search your library for a card named Mjollnir, Hammer of Asator and put it onto the battlefield attached to a creature you control. If you do, shuffle your library.
-11: You get an Emblem with “Creatures you control have first strike, vigilance, trample, haste, and lifelink.”
Loyalty [4]
Mjollnir, Hammer of Asator 6
Legendary Artifact - Equipment
Equipped creature gets +5/+5 and has Trample.
Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage to a player, Mjollnir, Hammer of Asator deals that much damage to target creature or planewalker that player controls.
Equip 4
Eingard Champion RGW
Snow Creature - Human Warrior (M)
Trample, Vigilance
Chosen 2 (Whenever this creature dies, if it attacked or blocked this turn and isn’t a Spirit return it to the battlefield with two +1/+1 counters on it. It becomes a Spirit in addition to its other creature types.)
As long as Eingard Champion is a Spirit, it has Haste.
3/3
Planeswalker - Lokith (M)
+1: Draw two cards, then discard a card from your hand.
-2: Manifest the top card of your library. If it doesn’t have morph, its morph cost is equal to its mana cost.
-9: Return all instant and sorcery cards from your graveyard to the battlefield face down as 2/2 colorless creatures. If they don’t have morph, they gain a morph cost equal to their mana costs.
Loyalty [4]
Lokithan Runescribe 1UBR
Snow Creature - Vanir Wizard (M)
At the beginning of your end step manifest the top a card of your library. If that card doesn't have Morph, its gains a Morph cost equal to its mana cost.
2/5
Planeswalker - Surt (M)
+1: Put a 3/3 black, red, and green Giant Berserker snow creature token onto the battlefield.
-1: Regenerate target Giant you control . Then that creature fights target creature you don’t control.
-7: You get an Emblem with “Whenever an opponent taps a snow land for mana, it deals 1 damage to them.”
Loyalty [3]
Jotunir Maulers 2BRG
Snow Creature - Giant Berserker (M)
Trample, Haste
Bloodthirst - Whenever ~ enters the battlefield, if an opponent lost life this turn, put a 4/4 red Giant snow creature token with Trample and Haste onto the battlefield.
4/4
Land (R)
T, Pay 1 life, Sacrifice Spring’s Thaw: Search your library for a snow land and put it onto the battlefield. Then shuffle your library.
I am debating on including the etb tapped Snow Duals, along with the "Snow Fetch" for decent mana fixing. I dont want this set to turn ino super aggro id prefer it to be sort of a longer, drawn out environment. I have included several previous cards from the ICE Age/Cold Snap sets that were good/fit the set, including Scrying Sheets and a few types of Aurochs but theyre filling in the "meh" slots of commons/uncommons right now. Any input or critiques would be welcome, as well as suggestions on possible thematic cards that would fit a Norse theme. So far, I have been looking up song/album titles from Amon Amarth and turning them into cards.
Also, good catch on the translation. I probably should find an English equivalent to the term, for those whom arent as familiar with the Norse mythos. How does "Chosen" sound? Or Glory?
Actual game effect question - As I have it written now, without changing anything. How powerful do you think it would end up being, the whole "free creature that you can turn into a spell later" effect. Im really trying to capture the feeling of Loki's trickery and mastery of illusions/mind affecting magic, but thats sorta difficult to do within Magic game mechanics.
Also A have a 2nd mechanic I wouldnt mind a small critique on, if you wouldnt mind:
Its pretty much a slightly more narrow version of Undying. I am debating making it Einherjar X, and have it come back with more than 1 counter, but thatd probably require the base creatures be slightly weaker.
Im also combining it with the Renown/Monstrous mechanic, and the creatures so far have had some kind of clause akin to "If ~ is a Spirit, it has [keyword]."
The set is loosely based on Norse mythology, and the mechanic in question is for the UR faction of the set, which is aligned with the "Loki" figure of the story. I tried to get a good grasp on his Trickery and Illusion theme from stories and even some of the Marvel comics/movies.
Heres how I have it now, in its entirely too wordy version:
I am trying to capture the same essence as Manifest did for Morph, but bringing a new paradigm of having "living spells" for virtual card advantage. The mechanic may be a bit strong for initial testing, but hopefully it will self-balance by having weak/overcosted instants/sorceries in the set.
I like the idea of Disregard, for early game removal, or as Tech vs weenie decks, but I would personally prefer hard removal, or unconditional if im investing 3 mana into it. The only time I can see Touch of the Void/Complete Disregard being better than Firecraft, would be against Hangarback Walker.