Hello, MTG Salvation! I'm new here, but I have lurked the forums here & there over the past years. I have also played MTG on & off since Torment since was released.
While working today, I stumbled across an interesting idea on how to Assemble a Contraption!
First, one must ask: what is a Contraption? According to Merriam-Webster, a Contraption is a machine that appears strange or unnecessarily complicated, often times haphazardly made & unsafe. Sounds right up Steamflogger Boss' alley! Here is my proposal.
To make a Contraption, first, you must obtain some Scrap Metal artifact tokens. Since artifact tokens are now a thing thanks to Theros' Gold tokens & the upcoming Clue tokens from Shadows over Innistrad, this would be the perfect place to start. Then you Assemble them into Contraptions with the Assemble Mechanic, as proposed here with a sample card:
Back To The Industry
Enchantment
1R
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may Assemble 1.
(If you control a Scrap Metal token, you may sacrifice it to put a
1/1 colorless Contraption artifact creature token onto the battlefield)
The Assemble mechanic allows you to turn those Scrap Metal tokens into a Contraption, an artifact creature with the Contraption creature type. (I know that Contraptions are listed in the Comp. Rules as an Artifact subtype along the lines of Equipment, but that would be easy to change since no Contraptions exist yet). Cards with the Assemble Mechanic almost always have a number after the word Assemble. A card with Assemble 2 would allow you to sacrifice 2 Scrap Metal tokens into a 2/2 Contraption. And so forth. The Assemble mechanic would range anywhere from Assemble 1 to Assemble 4 in most cases. Here's an idea that could possibly fit the "Red Uber rare" in the same vein as Tarmogoyf, Dark Confidant, Snapcaster Mage & Stoneforge Mystic.
Goblin Junkmaster
Creature - Goblin Rigger
1R
2/1
Haste
When Goblin Junkmaster enters the battlefield, put 2 Scrap Metal tokens onto the battlefield under your control.
Tap: Assemble X (You may sacrifice any number of Scrap Metal tokens to put an X/X colorless Contraption artifact creature token onto the battlefield, whose power & toughness are
equal to the number of Scrap Metal tokens sacrificed).
Some more sample cards.
Slag Shot
Instant
R
Slag Shot deals 2 damage to target creature. Put a Scrap Metal artifact token onto the battlefield under your control.
One Man's Trash
Enchantment
2U
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a Scrap Metal token onto the battlefield under your control.
I feel like changing Contraption from an artifact subtype to a creature subtype is sort of cheating the system. The thrill of coming up with ideas for Contraptions is to make them work within the rules and templating of existing cards, and changing Contraption to a creature subtype kind of defeats the purpose.
That being said, the implementation itself seems decent. Keep in mind that because this uses a noncreature token, there shouldn't be too many other kinds of tokens prevalent in the set, so that the presence of these noncreature tokens can be highlighted.
Before anyone else mentions it, yes, this templating works with Steamflogger Boss's wording, in that creatures can be credit for actions performed by players, as long as the creature is the object responsible for the player having performed the action.
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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
What's that BFG 2 part unglued card? Couldn't you have a contraption be a "combo" card like that?
Alternatively, maybe you do a series of normal artifacts with a "Contraption" line below the normal text box. Assembling a contraption would be lining 2 or more of these normal artifacts up, which would activate their Contraption text.
Maybe:
Flux Generator2
Artifact
Sacrifice an artifact: Add C to your mana pool.
[Left Contraption text] X, T: ->
Output Exhaust2
Artifact
Whenever a source you control deals damage to an opponent, it deals that much damage plus one.
[Right Contraption text]
<-: This contraption deals X damage to target creature or player. Disassemble it.
Contraptions tap as one card, so once assembled it has "X, T:This contraption deals X damage to target creature or player. Disassemble it." And it deals +1 damage because of the Output Exhaust Main text.
You're on to something there, though I wouldn't necessarily go for the rules text fusion you suggested. Perhaps assembling Contraptions works similar to pairing creatures, where you join two Contraptions together and they create some kind of combo effect?
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MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
Component 12
Artifact - Component (C) T: Gain 1 life.
Assemble 2 (2: Assemble a contraption with ~ as the lead component. Subcomponents cannot be tapped.)
[Contraption Text Box]: Gain 2 life. (If this is a part of a contraption, whenever that contraption becomes tapped, gain 2 life.)
Component 22
Artifact - Component (C)
Pay 1 life, T: Add R to your mana pool.
Assemble 2 (2: Assemble a contraption with ~ as the lead component. Subcomponents cannot be tapped.)
[Contraption Text Box]: Add R to your mana pool.
Component 24
Artifact - Component (C) 3, T: Put a 1/1 green insect token onto the battelfield.
Assemble 2 (2: Assemble a contraption with ~ as the lead component. Subcomponents cannot be tapped.)
[Contraption Text Box]: Put a 3/3 green beast token onto the battelfield.
The idea here is that if you assemble a contraption, you attach other components to it, leaving the bottom text displayed. You can't tap subcomponents.
Goblin Rigger Dude1R
Creature - Goblin Rigger T: Choose a component you control. Assemble a contraption with that component as the lead component.
2/1
I think the Soulbond idea is a little too complicated for its own good.
I think requiring Scrap Metal tokens would severely limit the viability of the Assemble mechanic outside of whatever set/block in was released in. If it just required any Artifact be sacrificed as part of the activation cost the Assemble ability that would be a lot more approachable across all formats.
I see your point. Although, a card that could Assemble 1 could sacrifice a 1/1 Contraption to make another 1/1 Contraption. That could be problematic if, say, an Assemble 1 card has an activation cost of 1. A Contraption equipped with any decent piece of Equipment such as a Sword, or a Jitte, becomes A LOT more difficult to ever truly get rid of. I think noncreature artifacts would work out better.
I do appreciate your suggestion though! I was trying to come up with a powerful, artifact based mechanic that wasn't just Affinity 2.0. I wanted to try to tie the idea of taking unwanted junk & turning it into something better.
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():
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While working today, I stumbled across an interesting idea on how to Assemble a Contraption!
First, one must ask: what is a Contraption? According to Merriam-Webster, a Contraption is a machine that appears strange or unnecessarily complicated, often times haphazardly made & unsafe. Sounds right up Steamflogger Boss' alley! Here is my proposal.
To make a Contraption, first, you must obtain some Scrap Metal artifact tokens. Since artifact tokens are now a thing thanks to Theros' Gold tokens & the upcoming Clue tokens from Shadows over Innistrad, this would be the perfect place to start. Then you Assemble them into Contraptions with the Assemble Mechanic, as proposed here with a sample card:
Back To The Industry
Enchantment
1R
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may Assemble 1.
(If you control a Scrap Metal token, you may sacrifice it to put a
1/1 colorless Contraption artifact creature token onto the battlefield)
The Assemble mechanic allows you to turn those Scrap Metal tokens into a Contraption, an artifact creature with the Contraption creature type. (I know that Contraptions are listed in the Comp. Rules as an Artifact subtype along the lines of Equipment, but that would be easy to change since no Contraptions exist yet). Cards with the Assemble Mechanic almost always have a number after the word Assemble. A card with Assemble 2 would allow you to sacrifice 2 Scrap Metal tokens into a 2/2 Contraption. And so forth. The Assemble mechanic would range anywhere from Assemble 1 to Assemble 4 in most cases. Here's an idea that could possibly fit the "Red Uber rare" in the same vein as Tarmogoyf, Dark Confidant, Snapcaster Mage & Stoneforge Mystic.
Goblin Junkmaster
Creature - Goblin Rigger
1R
2/1
Haste
When Goblin Junkmaster enters the battlefield, put 2 Scrap Metal tokens onto the battlefield under your control.
Tap: Assemble X (You may sacrifice any number of Scrap Metal tokens to put an X/X colorless Contraption artifact creature token onto the battlefield, whose power & toughness are
equal to the number of Scrap Metal tokens sacrificed).
Some more sample cards.
Slag Shot
Instant
R
Slag Shot deals 2 damage to target creature. Put a Scrap Metal artifact token onto the battlefield under your control.
One Man's Trash
Enchantment
2U
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a Scrap Metal token onto the battlefield under your control.
Let me know what you think!
That being said, the implementation itself seems decent. Keep in mind that because this uses a noncreature token, there shouldn't be too many other kinds of tokens prevalent in the set, so that the presence of these noncreature tokens can be highlighted.
Before anyone else mentions it, yes, this templating works with Steamflogger Boss's wording, in that creatures can be credit for actions performed by players, as long as the creature is the object responsible for the player having performed the action.
[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
Alternatively, maybe you do a series of normal artifacts with a "Contraption" line below the normal text box. Assembling a contraption would be lining 2 or more of these normal artifacts up, which would activate their Contraption text.
Maybe:
Flux Generator2
Artifact
Sacrifice an artifact: Add C to your mana pool.
[Left Contraption text]
X, T: ->
Output Exhaust2
Artifact
Whenever a source you control deals damage to an opponent, it deals that much damage plus one.
[Right Contraption text]
<-: This contraption deals X damage to target creature or player. Disassemble it.
Contraptions tap as one card, so once assembled it has "X, T:This contraption deals X damage to target creature or player. Disassemble it." And it deals +1 damage because of the Output Exhaust Main text.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
How about something like this:
Component 1 2
Artifact - Component (C)
T: Gain 1 life.
Assemble 2 (2: Assemble a contraption with ~ as the lead component. Subcomponents cannot be tapped.)
[Contraption Text Box]: Gain 2 life. (If this is a part of a contraption, whenever that contraption becomes tapped, gain 2 life.)
Component 2 2
Artifact - Component (C)
Pay 1 life, T: Add R to your mana pool.
Assemble 2 (2: Assemble a contraption with ~ as the lead component. Subcomponents cannot be tapped.)
[Contraption Text Box]: Add R to your mana pool.
Component 2 4
Artifact - Component (C)
3, T: Put a 1/1 green insect token onto the battelfield.
Assemble 2 (2: Assemble a contraption with ~ as the lead component. Subcomponents cannot be tapped.)
[Contraption Text Box]: Put a 3/3 green beast token onto the battelfield.
The idea here is that if you assemble a contraption, you attach other components to it, leaving the bottom text displayed. You can't tap subcomponents.
Goblin Rigger Dude1R
Creature - Goblin Rigger
T: Choose a component you control. Assemble a contraption with that component as the lead component.
2/1
Steamflogger Boss
I think requiring Scrap Metal tokens would severely limit the viability of the Assemble mechanic outside of whatever set/block in was released in. If it just required any Artifact be sacrificed as part of the activation cost the Assemble ability that would be a lot more approachable across all formats.
I do appreciate your suggestion though! I was trying to come up with a powerful, artifact based mechanic that wasn't just Affinity 2.0. I wanted to try to tie the idea of taking unwanted junk & turning it into something better.