Scarabmush, Live-Exorcist3BB
Legendary Creature - Spirit Assassin
Haste, Deathtouch 1B, Reveal Scarabmush from your hand: Choose a card name and note it. Activate only as a sorcery.
When Scarabmush enters the battlefield, you may destroy target creature or planeswaker if its name was noted.
If Scarabmush's name has been noted 3 or more times, its costs 3BB less to cast, and can't be countered.
4/5
Ratlefinskin, Villanous Weaver2BB
Legendary Creature - Fairy Imp Advisor Foiled - You can't cast Ratlefinskin if its name has been chosen for an effect.
Pay 2 life, T: Create two Treasure tokens. B, Return Ratlefinskin to its owner's hand: Draw a card, then put a card from your hand on the bottom of your library. Then an opponent chooses one: they investigate, or they name a card.
3/2
Honestly I don't love either of these. The first one seems like a card that is complex just to be complex, not because its better if it is. Its either 7 or 8 mana to cast it and destroy a creature, or 5 or 6 to cast it without destroying a creature. Jumping though the hoops gets you the same result as not, just for 1 more mana to break it up over several turns.
The latter is really trying to play a mind game, and kinda works at it, but making "Foiled" into an ability word implies it appears on more cards and that's not an ability that will be easily iterated on. Creating two treasures is just an ability that seems disconnected; the card wants something combat relevant to force them to block or expend removal so you have a reason to activate ability 3.
I feel like there are some interesting concepts here, but they aren't playing out in the way that might be best to highlight them so that they are fun to use.
Great analysis like always, thanks! I had tinkered a lot with Scarabmush, trying to streamline the ideas. With Beetlejuice as the inspiration, it's all about the "Call my name 3 times." That forces the Naming ability, and I wanted it to have a real effect, not just for him, so that needs the EtB trigger. About the balance, it's all about Commander. Sure, it's +1 mana when calling 3 times, but then it's -5 mana every time. Maybe...
Scarabmush, Live-Exorcist3BB
Legendary Creature - Spirit Assassin 1B, Reveal Scarabmush from your hand: Choose a card name and note it.
When Scarabmush enters the battlefield, you may destroy target creature if its name was noted.
If Scarabmush's name has been noted 3 or more times, its costs 3BB less to cast and has Haste.
5/5
Now the naming can be instant (much more appealing) and some other abilities were removed. Haste replaced Can't be countered in the third ability, a bonus I feel it needs.
--
About Ratlefinskin, (Rumpelstiltskin) the first version was a 5/5 for 2BB, but I prioritized the flavor (a tiny guy who spins gold.) I thought about making it a 3/3 flier, but that seemed too similar to rankle (who reminds me of Rumple already), but anyways, here is a new version:
Ratlefinskin, Villanous Weaver2BB
Legendary Creature - Fairy Imp Advisor
Flying
You can't cast Ratlefinskin if its name has been chosen for an effect. B, Return Ratlefinskin to its owner's hand: Draw two cards, then put a card from your hand on the bottom of your library. Then an opponent chooses one: they investigate, or they name a card.
4/2
More streamlined. Now it has evasion, and is more fragile (an incentive for removal), and the ability is actually card advantage. Still, you wouldn't want to repeatedly spend 5 mana just to draw 1 card (plus they'd just name Ratlefinskin after a while.) Also removed the flavour word, I still like them a lot in AFR, but they probably produce a lot of confusion at other times.
Giving what the cards were referencing makes the cards make a lot more sense.
Scarab is going to be tough to balance. As written, you can curve into casting it on turn 4 with haste and killing one of their creatures. Sorcery activation actually is better because it means you can't hold up removal/counterspell and then activate this at end of their turn. Your point about being able to cast it free rest of the game also makes it tough. Maybe sorcery speed and BB to activate it so its harder to double activate on turn 4.
For Rat, I'd switch to Menace instead of flying, so more creatures can block and force the choice of activation to happen. Templatingwise, the "foiled" effect should be first, since its relevant in gameplay before flying.
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Legendary Creature - Spirit Assassin
Haste, Deathtouch
1B, Reveal Scarabmush from your hand: Choose a card name and note it. Activate only as a sorcery.
When Scarabmush enters the battlefield, you may destroy target creature or planeswaker if its name was noted.
If Scarabmush's name has been noted 3 or more times, its costs 3BB less to cast, and can't be countered.
4/5
Ratlefinskin, Villanous Weaver 2BB
Legendary Creature - Fairy Imp Advisor
Foiled - You can't cast Ratlefinskin if its name has been chosen for an effect.
Pay 2 life, T: Create two Treasure tokens.
B, Return Ratlefinskin to its owner's hand: Draw a card, then put a card from your hand on the bottom of your library. Then an opponent chooses one: they investigate, or they name a card.
3/2
The latter is really trying to play a mind game, and kinda works at it, but making "Foiled" into an ability word implies it appears on more cards and that's not an ability that will be easily iterated on. Creating two treasures is just an ability that seems disconnected; the card wants something combat relevant to force them to block or expend removal so you have a reason to activate ability 3.
I feel like there are some interesting concepts here, but they aren't playing out in the way that might be best to highlight them so that they are fun to use.
Scarabmush, Live-Exorcist 3BB
Legendary Creature - Spirit Assassin
1B, Reveal Scarabmush from your hand: Choose a card name and note it.
When Scarabmush enters the battlefield, you may destroy target creature if its name was noted.
If Scarabmush's name has been noted 3 or more times, its costs 3BB less to cast and has Haste.
5/5
Now the naming can be instant (much more appealing) and some other abilities were removed. Haste replaced Can't be countered in the third ability, a bonus I feel it needs.
--
About Ratlefinskin, (Rumpelstiltskin) the first version was a 5/5 for 2BB, but I prioritized the flavor (a tiny guy who spins gold.) I thought about making it a 3/3 flier, but that seemed too similar to rankle (who reminds me of Rumple already), but anyways, here is a new version:
Ratlefinskin, Villanous Weaver 2BB
Legendary Creature - Fairy Imp Advisor
Flying
You can't cast Ratlefinskin if its name has been chosen for an effect.
B, Return Ratlefinskin to its owner's hand: Draw two cards, then put a card from your hand on the bottom of your library. Then an opponent chooses one: they investigate, or they name a card.
4/2
More streamlined. Now it has evasion, and is more fragile (an incentive for removal), and the ability is actually card advantage. Still, you wouldn't want to repeatedly spend 5 mana just to draw 1 card (plus they'd just name Ratlefinskin after a while.) Also removed the flavour word, I still like them a lot in AFR, but they probably produce a lot of confusion at other times.
Scarab is going to be tough to balance. As written, you can curve into casting it on turn 4 with haste and killing one of their creatures. Sorcery activation actually is better because it means you can't hold up removal/counterspell and then activate this at end of their turn. Your point about being able to cast it free rest of the game also makes it tough. Maybe sorcery speed and BB to activate it so its harder to double activate on turn 4.
For Rat, I'd switch to Menace instead of flying, so more creatures can block and force the choice of activation to happen. Templatingwise, the "foiled" effect should be first, since its relevant in gameplay before flying.