As you can use Bestow on opponents creatures aswell (yea it works) it might be viable to do some bestow cards that have exactly that in mind.
Last FNM i used Bestow just to make a creature of my opponent bigger to kill it with Vanquish the Foul.
Inspired by that, another player used his Bestow on the opponents Fabled hero just to gain control of it soon after with Portent of Betrayal (with double strike bonus to win the game).
That was quite cool, as Bestow is normally not used that way.
But why not ? It could be so easy.
D.Bestow W
Enchantment Creature - Nymph
Defender
Bestow WW
Enchanted creature gets +0/+4 and gains defender.
0/4
Either a defender or a removal against opponents creatures.
R.Bestow R
Enchantment Creature - Nymph
~ can't block and must attack each combat if able.
Bestow RR
Enchanted creature gets +2/+2 and can't block and must attack each combat if able.
2/2
Either an early threat, or you can use it to remove a blocker by forcing it to attack (which in return gives you this card as a creature again).
B.Bestow 2B
Enchantment Creature - Nymph
At the end of your turn, if ~ is a creature, sacrifice a creature.
Bestow 2BB
Enchanted creature gets +5/+5 and has "At the end of your turn, sacrifice a creature."
5/5
A huge boost, and a possible pretty nice removal if you can hit the only creature they have and they cant play another, so at some point your target is sacrificed and you get the little "demonic" nymph on your side to work with.
G.Bestow G
Enchantment Creature - Nymph
Whenever ~ attacks or blocks, you gain 3 life.
Bestow GG
Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and whenever it attacks or blocks, you gain 3 life.
1/1
Potentially gives a ton of life, and in worst you block for more life.
Kinda like the lifelink one we know, but cheaper to bestow and it might actual make sence to use this on the opponents creature to prevent it from attacking (if its just 2/2 for example).
U.Bestow U
Enchantment Creature - Nymph
Whenever ~ blocks draw a card.
Bestow UU
Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and whenever it blocks draw a card.
1/1
Might work best with blues Siren effects and reds forced attack, which could be quite a theme, also works good with untap effects to get blocks when the opponent doesnt see it comming (as every block with this card is value).
Peaceful Eidolon WWW
Enchantment Creature -- Eidolon
Bestow 2W
Peaceful Eidolon can't attack or block.
Enchanted creature gets +0/+1 and can't attack or block.
0/1
A fun pacifism effect that also gives you a cheaty way to raise devotion.
Problem i thought of thinking about this Bestow cards is that the card has to make sence in a way without Bestow and actual benefit from Bestow.
So your version turned into the Defender, which i think works as a Bestow card better, as the card can actual die in combat.
For Devotion bestow also works.
As a sub-idea i used to give the cards a single colored mana and double colored bestow cost, so you actual have an incentive to play them early and later if you struggle on finding the double color (or as an general option to get more value).
This means, splashing them is much harder, as double colored mana wont allow you to easily splash them.
*In Theros Bestow cards are so easy to splash, that everyone can take them, no bestow card really asks you for a commitment in terms of mana, at a cost of 5 they are also very cheap for what they do with pretty much no downside at all.
The bestow cards i did actual have drawbacks, so you cant just put them on every creature you have without thinking about it, they are much more reasonable to target the opponents cards.
For blue i came up with this one aswell:
UR.Bestow 1RR
Enchantment Creature - Nymph
~ doesnt untap during your untap step.
Bestow 1
Enchanted creature doesnt untap during its controllers untap step.
5/1
Might be a thing to give Bestow a different look.
Playing it as blue might tap down the creature. It also grants red devotion out of blue mana, which might be good for a multicolor approach for devotion.
Maybe such a stuff could work.
Also an "land" with bestow:
Olympica
Enchantment Land
~ is indestructible.
As long as ~ is a land it has : "T: Add one mana of any color to your manapool. Use this mana only to cast enchantment spells."
Bestow 0
Enchanted creature becomes an enchantment in addition to its other types.
Would be pretty strong to enable an enchantment heavy deck, enable heroic and provide mana fixing for all the bestow cards and accelerate into them. Also it can be used to make a creature of an opponent an enchantment to destroy it with enchantment removal.
Maybe use Bestow also as a means to "mirror" the actual effect of the creature.
Like this:
BG.Bestow 2BB
Enchantment Creature - Nymph
At the beginning of each players upkeep, if ~ is a creature, that player sacrifices a non-enchantment permanent.
Bestow BBGG
Enchanted creature has "At the beginning of each players upkeep, that player sacrifices an enchantment.".
4/4
UB.Bestow 1U
Enchantment Creature - Nymph
At the beginning of your upkeep, if ~ is a creature, each player draws a card.
Bestow 1B
Enchanted creature has "At the beginning of your upkeep, each player discards a card.".
1/3
BW.Bestow 3WW
Enchantment Creature - Nymph
At the beginning of your upkeep, if ~ is a creature, each player returns a creature card from his or her graveyard to his or her hand.
Bestow 3BB
Enchanted creature has "At the beginning of your upkeep, each player sacrifices a creature."
4/4
GR.Bestow GG
Enchantment Creature - Nymph
At the beginning of your upkeep, if ~ is a creature, it fights target creature.
Bestow GGRR
Enchanted creature has "At the beginning of your upkeep, this creature fights target creature."
3/3
I am not decided which wording would be better:
As long as ~ is a creature it has "At the beginning of your upkeep, ... "
At the beginning of your upkeep, if ~ is a creature, ...
Olympica doesn't work. You don't cast land cards, even if they have other types that would be cast (for example, you don't cast Dryad Arbor or Great Furnace; you play them). Since choosing whether to cast something for its bestow cost requires it to be a spell, bestow is useless.
As for the others, why not cut out the "if ~ is a creature" clause? That way, you would have an extra bonus that applies to both the enchantment itself (bestowed or not), as well as the enchanted creature (that may or may not exist depending on if the enchantment with bestow is an Aura or not). Obviously, the mana costs of each of them would have to increase dramatically, but still.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How to use card tags (please use them for everybody's sanity)
[c]Lightning Bolt[/c] -> Lightning Bolt
[c=Lightning Bolt]Apple Pie[/c] -> Apple Pie
Vowels-Only Format Minimum deck size: 60 Maximum number of identical cards: 4 Ban list: Cards whose English names begin with a consonant, Unglued and Unhinged cards, cards involving ante, Ancestral Recall
Olympica doesn't work. You don't cast land cards, even if they have other types that would be cast (for example, you don't cast Dryad Arbor or Great Furnace; you play them). Since choosing whether to cast something for its bestow cost requires it to be a spell, bestow is useless.
True, but i thought of Bestow as an "alternative casting method" kinda like morph, which does work with Zoetic Cavern, even as its a land.
That way Bestow should work with lands, but as no land with bestow currently exists, the rules dont really recognize this possibility.
Which means it would need an exception in the rules, which kinda means, if you cast this "land" with bestow, it actual is not a land (like Bestow creatures are not creatures when cast as Auras).
However, as this is the only card of its kind, it might be more trouble than its worth.
As for the others, why not cut out the "if ~ is a creature" clause? That way, you would have an extra bonus that applies to both the enchantment itself (bestowed or not), as well as the enchanted creature (that may or may not exist depending on if the enchantment with bestow is an Aura or not). Obviously, the mana costs of each of them would have to increase dramatically, but still.
Yea it changes what the cards do quite a lot, especially the ones that like to have the mirror of bestow and the effect.
Overall it felt more intuitive to have the effect as a creature and not be active while its an aura.
On the current Bestow creatures, the effects are basic creature keywords, which simply do nothing on the enchantment (except lifelink, in super crazy situations when the enchantment deal damage).
With a Bestow card that has "hexproof" it might also become unintuitive that the "aura" itself still has hexproof, even if it also grants hexproof to the creature, so that might be a little bit odd (same deal for indestructible granting Bestow).
So i feel the "if it is a creature" part is necessary to make sure the cards work the way someone expects them to work.
In addition as you said, most become too much if all effects are active all the time (they overall feel like flip cards in a way and probably could be aswell, even if it feels highly forced).
Bestow seems to allow a lot of potential for Aura cards, that otherwise end up quite generic p/t boost.
I'm not sure though, if WotC would consider that unwanted complexity, or a neat "discovery moment" build in for those players.
Nymph is kinda placeholder create type, could be replaced by anything that fits a better flavour for a potential set (could even be just spirits).
The ability itself, especially as Bestow is known would probably be require a different name that better reflects that you might use it on opponents creatures (i mean its kinda obvisious for any half advanced player, but a proper name like "possession" might do the trick.)
Especially the black kind of creatures could easily be "demons", as they are more often than not about sacrifice effects that eat among all players or creatures.
Overall, complexity of the cards is for sure higher than the ordinary Bestow card in Theors, which are pretty straight forward + p/t boost and just a ordinary creature ability. Its more or less the opposite of the cards here, for these the ability to actual target the opponents creatures is a very viable thing, for the Theros Bestow cards its incredible niche to have any reason to Bestow the opponents creature (most players wont even know its possible to beginn with, as it makes so little sence to do so, even less flavourwise).
If it comes down to cards, i am a huge fan of the cards that actual allow "build in" secrets to get value out of them, while the cards offer easy and "obvisious" ways, combinations of abilities and mechanics makes the card stronger (kinda like Time Spiral did in a bunch of the cards, just great to have a player experience that they can combine cycle + madness into granting a sorcery speed spell instant speed, but doing that too often would make it boring, such cards are great as they do something players dont expect).
I think even if the player doesnt get the initial idea of "bestow the opponent cards" , they work well enough, the cards are usefull even if you just cast them or use them on your own cards ; they just offer you the flexibility to hit the opponent with the drawback aswell (and as the drawback is actual visible, players might be much more able to see that option and use it not just once in a moon).
Last FNM i used Bestow just to make a creature of my opponent bigger to kill it with Vanquish the Foul.
Inspired by that, another player used his Bestow on the opponents Fabled hero just to gain control of it soon after with Portent of Betrayal (with double strike bonus to win the game).
That was quite cool, as Bestow is normally not used that way.
But why not ? It could be so easy.
D.Bestow W
Enchantment Creature - Nymph
Defender
Bestow WW
Enchanted creature gets +0/+4 and gains defender.
0/4
Either a defender or a removal against opponents creatures.
R.Bestow R
Enchantment Creature - Nymph
~ can't block and must attack each combat if able.
Bestow RR
Enchanted creature gets +2/+2 and can't block and must attack each combat if able.
2/2
Either an early threat, or you can use it to remove a blocker by forcing it to attack (which in return gives you this card as a creature again).
B.Bestow 2B
Enchantment Creature - Nymph
At the end of your turn, if ~ is a creature, sacrifice a creature.
Bestow 2BB
Enchanted creature gets +5/+5 and has "At the end of your turn, sacrifice a creature."
5/5
A huge boost, and a possible pretty nice removal if you can hit the only creature they have and they cant play another, so at some point your target is sacrificed and you get the little "demonic" nymph on your side to work with.
G.Bestow G
Enchantment Creature - Nymph
Whenever ~ attacks or blocks, you gain 3 life.
Bestow GG
Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and whenever it attacks or blocks, you gain 3 life.
1/1
Potentially gives a ton of life, and in worst you block for more life.
Kinda like the lifelink one we know, but cheaper to bestow and it might actual make sence to use this on the opponents creature to prevent it from attacking (if its just 2/2 for example).
U.Bestow U
Enchantment Creature - Nymph
Whenever ~ blocks draw a card.
Bestow UU
Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and whenever it blocks draw a card.
1/1
Might work best with blues Siren effects and reds forced attack, which could be quite a theme, also works good with untap effects to get blocks when the opponent doesnt see it comming (as every block with this card is value).
WUBRG#BlackLotusMatterWUBRG
👮👮👮 #BlueLivesMatter 👮👮👮
Peaceful Eidolon WWW
Enchantment Creature -- Eidolon
Bestow 2W
Peaceful Eidolon can't attack or block.
Enchanted creature gets +0/+1 and can't attack or block.
0/1
A fun pacifism effect that also gives you a cheaty way to raise devotion.
Problem i thought of thinking about this Bestow cards is that the card has to make sence in a way without Bestow and actual benefit from Bestow.
So your version turned into the Defender, which i think works as a Bestow card better, as the card can actual die in combat.
For Devotion bestow also works.
As a sub-idea i used to give the cards a single colored mana and double colored bestow cost, so you actual have an incentive to play them early and later if you struggle on finding the double color (or as an general option to get more value).
This means, splashing them is much harder, as double colored mana wont allow you to easily splash them.
*In Theros Bestow cards are so easy to splash, that everyone can take them, no bestow card really asks you for a commitment in terms of mana, at a cost of 5 they are also very cheap for what they do with pretty much no downside at all.
The bestow cards i did actual have drawbacks, so you cant just put them on every creature you have without thinking about it, they are much more reasonable to target the opponents cards.
For blue i came up with this one aswell:
UR.Bestow 1RR
Enchantment Creature - Nymph
~ doesnt untap during your untap step.
Bestow 1
Enchanted creature doesnt untap during its controllers untap step.
5/1
Might be a thing to give Bestow a different look.
Playing it as blue might tap down the creature. It also grants red devotion out of blue mana, which might be good for a multicolor approach for devotion.
Maybe such a stuff could work.
Also an "land" with bestow:
Olympica
Enchantment Land
~ is indestructible.
As long as ~ is a land it has : "T: Add one mana of any color to your manapool. Use this mana only to cast enchantment spells."
Bestow 0
Enchanted creature becomes an enchantment in addition to its other types.
Would be pretty strong to enable an enchantment heavy deck, enable heroic and provide mana fixing for all the bestow cards and accelerate into them. Also it can be used to make a creature of an opponent an enchantment to destroy it with enchantment removal.
Maybe use Bestow also as a means to "mirror" the actual effect of the creature.
Like this:
BG.Bestow 2BB
Enchantment Creature - Nymph
At the beginning of each players upkeep, if ~ is a creature, that player sacrifices a non-enchantment permanent.
Bestow BBGG
Enchanted creature has "At the beginning of each players upkeep, that player sacrifices an enchantment.".
4/4
UB.Bestow 1U
Enchantment Creature - Nymph
At the beginning of your upkeep, if ~ is a creature, each player draws a card.
Bestow 1B
Enchanted creature has "At the beginning of your upkeep, each player discards a card.".
1/3
BW.Bestow 3WW
Enchantment Creature - Nymph
At the beginning of your upkeep, if ~ is a creature, each player returns a creature card from his or her graveyard to his or her hand.
Bestow 3BB
Enchanted creature has "At the beginning of your upkeep, each player sacrifices a creature."
4/4
GR.Bestow GG
Enchantment Creature - Nymph
At the beginning of your upkeep, if ~ is a creature, it fights target creature.
Bestow GGRR
Enchanted creature has "At the beginning of your upkeep, this creature fights target creature."
3/3
I am not decided which wording would be better:
WUBRG#BlackLotusMatterWUBRG
👮👮👮 #BlueLivesMatter 👮👮👮
As for the others, why not cut out the "if ~ is a creature" clause? That way, you would have an extra bonus that applies to both the enchantment itself (bestowed or not), as well as the enchanted creature (that may or may not exist depending on if the enchantment with bestow is an Aura or not). Obviously, the mana costs of each of them would have to increase dramatically, but still.
[c]Lightning Bolt[/c] -> Lightning Bolt
[c=Lightning Bolt]Apple Pie[/c] -> Apple Pie
Vowels-Only Format
Minimum deck size: 60
Maximum number of identical cards: 4
Ban list: Cards whose English names begin with a consonant, Unglued and Unhinged cards, cards involving ante, Ancestral Recall
True, but i thought of Bestow as an "alternative casting method" kinda like morph, which does work with Zoetic Cavern, even as its a land.
That way Bestow should work with lands, but as no land with bestow currently exists, the rules dont really recognize this possibility.
Which means it would need an exception in the rules, which kinda means, if you cast this "land" with bestow, it actual is not a land (like Bestow creatures are not creatures when cast as Auras).
However, as this is the only card of its kind, it might be more trouble than its worth.
Yea it changes what the cards do quite a lot, especially the ones that like to have the mirror of bestow and the effect.
Overall it felt more intuitive to have the effect as a creature and not be active while its an aura.
On the current Bestow creatures, the effects are basic creature keywords, which simply do nothing on the enchantment (except lifelink, in super crazy situations when the enchantment deal damage).
With a Bestow card that has "hexproof" it might also become unintuitive that the "aura" itself still has hexproof, even if it also grants hexproof to the creature, so that might be a little bit odd (same deal for indestructible granting Bestow).
So i feel the "if it is a creature" part is necessary to make sure the cards work the way someone expects them to work.
In addition as you said, most become too much if all effects are active all the time (they overall feel like flip cards in a way and probably could be aswell, even if it feels highly forced).
Bestow seems to allow a lot of potential for Aura cards, that otherwise end up quite generic p/t boost.
WUBRG#BlackLotusMatterWUBRG
👮👮👮 #BlueLivesMatter 👮👮👮
Nymph is kinda placeholder create type, could be replaced by anything that fits a better flavour for a potential set (could even be just spirits).
The ability itself, especially as Bestow is known would probably be require a different name that better reflects that you might use it on opponents creatures (i mean its kinda obvisious for any half advanced player, but a proper name like "possession" might do the trick.)
Especially the black kind of creatures could easily be "demons", as they are more often than not about sacrifice effects that eat among all players or creatures.
Overall, complexity of the cards is for sure higher than the ordinary Bestow card in Theors, which are pretty straight forward + p/t boost and just a ordinary creature ability. Its more or less the opposite of the cards here, for these the ability to actual target the opponents creatures is a very viable thing, for the Theros Bestow cards its incredible niche to have any reason to Bestow the opponents creature (most players wont even know its possible to beginn with, as it makes so little sence to do so, even less flavourwise).
If it comes down to cards, i am a huge fan of the cards that actual allow "build in" secrets to get value out of them, while the cards offer easy and "obvisious" ways, combinations of abilities and mechanics makes the card stronger (kinda like Time Spiral did in a bunch of the cards, just great to have a player experience that they can combine cycle + madness into granting a sorcery speed spell instant speed, but doing that too often would make it boring, such cards are great as they do something players dont expect).
I think even if the player doesnt get the initial idea of "bestow the opponent cards" , they work well enough, the cards are usefull even if you just cast them or use them on your own cards ; they just offer you the flexibility to hit the opponent with the drawback aswell (and as the drawback is actual visible, players might be much more able to see that option and use it not just once in a moon).
WUBRG#BlackLotusMatterWUBRG
👮👮👮 #BlueLivesMatter 👮👮👮