When defeat is near and guidance is scarce, all eyes look in one direction.
Below you will find many great resources that will aid you in your custom card creations for the Commander format. You'll find articles written by Mark Rosewater aimed at educating rookie designers in the ways of elegant and simple card design. I've hard posted those rookie designer articles in a spoiler tag so you can reference it here at your convenience. You'll also find highly relevant design philosophy article links in the "Valuable Design Links" spoiler tag. Also, be sure to utilize the resources in the "Useful Software & Sites" spoiler tag to increase your card design and playtesting efficiency.
Great Articles Written by Mark Rosewater for Rookie Designers
Common Mistakes of Rookie Card Designers: From MaRo "Design 101" Article
This is far and away, hands down, the most common mistake made by novice designers. I’m going to break it down as this problem shows up in several different ways:
The card has too many abilities - For some reason, new designers feel a great need to take all their cool ideas and put them on the same card. This is problematic for several reasons. First, it aesthetically makes the card look bad. I strongly urge designers to mock up stickers so they can get an idea of how the card looks. Cards with excessively long rules text look bad.
Second, the more abilities on the card, the more complicated the card gets. While this okay occasionally on a random funky rare, the average Magic card needs to be simple and straightforward. The best example of this is for you to think of the Magic cards you like. More often than not, the more popular cards are not in our tiniest font sizes.
Third, too many abilities “pull focus.” In design lingo what this means is that it keeps the player from focusing on the aspect of the card you want them to focus on. If, for example, you have a neat new creature ability, you want the player to spend his energies thinking about that. Each other ability stuck on the card lessens that focus.
The card has too many flavor “add-ons” - This mistake is the adding of extra rules text that gives the card more flavor but complicates it as the condition seldom matters. As an example, imagine a Dragon that, In addition to its “normal” abilities, didn’t untap whenever a Knight was in play. There’s some flavor to the ability; maybe the Dragon is afraid of Knights and "hides" from them, but it just isn’t going to matter in the vast majority of the games. In addition, the ability is very swingy, meaning that once in a blue moon the card just gets randomly hosed.
As I talked about above, excess wordiness is bad. For that reason, a designer should not use “add-ons” unless they contribute enough to game play. A simple way to do this is keeping track of the abilities when you playtest the cards. If the ability never or very seldom comes up, it usually isn’t worth the space on the card.
The card is too hard to understand - A very common response to reading a card file from a new designer is, “Huh?” (Balduvian Shaman)
Quite often I’ll have to read a card multiple times to understand what it does. And sometimes, I never figure it out. Good design leans towards simplicity not complexity. If the people you show your cards to consistently get confused by the same card, that1s a sign that the card is too complicated. And don’t jump in and explain your card. Good design has to rest on the laurels of the rules text. If the card can’t explain itself, it’s inherently flawed.
The card has too many memory issues - As a general rule of thumb, cards that force a player to remember something are troublesome. That said, there is some valuable design space that requires memorization. The two biggest mistakes in this area are: One, cards that require a player to remember too many different things. And two, cards that require players to remember a detail unimportant enough that they are not constantly reminded. An enchantment where the opponent loses 3 life whenever he draws a card is memorable. One where he loses 1 life whenever a 1/1 creature comes into play is not.
As I explained above, rookie designers love loading their cards with lots of abilities. Besides being overwhelming, it also hits another major design snafu, lack of synergy. You see, when I design a card, I think of it as a single entity. That means that everything on the card needs to be working together for the greater good of the card. Remember, every card doesn’t need multiple abilities on it, but if you choose to use more than one, the abilities have to interconnect in some way.
For example, let’s suppose I wanted to design a multi-color white and green creature. Also suppose I want to give it one white ability and one green ability. For the white ability, I choose first strike. Now, when I look to the green ability, I’m looking for something that has synergy with first strike. Let's walk through some choices:
Basilisk Ability (Destroy any creature damaged by this creature) - This ability has synergy because hitting first is extra valuable when you get to destroy the creature before it can hit back. (Note that the synergy works with the newer template of the basilisk ability and not the older version that happens at end of combat.)
Block fliers - This has reasonable synergy as both abilities are combat abilities.
Cannot be countered - The two abilities have nothing to do with one another. Cannot be countered is good against blue decks. First strike is sort of irrelevant against blue decks as traditionally blue has weak creatures to start with.
Regeneration - This ability is actually non-synergistic. The reason is that first strike is an ability which helps keep a creature alive in combat. As is regeneration. While the two have slightly different utility, they overlap enough that they aren’t particularly interesting together. Alas, poor Ranger en-Vec.
Rootwalla ability (+X/+X once per turn) - This has synergy as an increase in power increases the strength of first strike.
Tap for mana - This is anti-synergistic as there is no easy way to make use of both abilities on the same turn. If you’re tapping to attack and use the first strike, you can’t get mana out of the card.
Trample - This one’s kind of neutral. While there’s no great synergy, it’s not anti-synergistic. Also, we tend to put trample on big creatures and first strike on small and medium creatures.
Untargetability (Cannot be the target of spells or abilities) - This has a little synergy. First strike enhances a creature in combat and untargetability lessens a creature’s chances of being destroyed outside of combat. Not the best fit, but okay.
As you can see, the higher the synergy, the better the overall card will feel.
This mistake plays into the major theme of “Making Magic”: Respect the rules. Way too often when I’m looking at cards by a new designer, I see cards we simply would never make. The reason we haven’t made much green creature kill or red enchantment destruction is not because it never dawned on us. It’s because the game shouldn’t have them.
Here are the major rule-breaking categories:
The Color Wheel - This is usually the biggest culprit. Magic colors are clearly defined. When you design a card that seems like a nice simple card that does something the color hasn’t done before (or at least hasn’t done since Magic’s early days), think twice about why it hasn’t been done yet. If it’s a new, unexplored area, that’s great. If it’s an obvious mechanic that you’ve seen done in other colors, odds are you’re about to make a mistake.
Card Type Rules - Each card type has certain rules about how it functions. Lands produce mana. Enchantments don’t tap. Artifacts have generic mana costs. If your card breaks one of the fundamental rules of a card type (meaning that it does something that no card of that type ever does), ask yourself if the card shouldn’t be of a different type.
General Flavor - Over the years Magic has built up a distinctive flavor. Some of this flavor has worked its way into card mechanics. These choices were made consciously, so be careful next time you design a card that flies in the face of history. Your non-flying male angel, for instance, might not be a perfect fit.
The point of this category is not that designers can’t break rules. It’s that rules shouldn’t be broken if they don’t need to be. As I’m fond of saying: Before you think outside the box, check inside the box first.
To be clear, I’m not talking about cards that attack virgin areas of the rules. This mistake is about cards that simply don’t work under the current existing rules. When you design a card, check with someone you know that’s good with the rules. Make sure the card works the way you think it works.
I understand that no one likes to make a weak card, but too often when looking at design files of new designers, I see cards that aren’t in the right stratosphere of power. I listed this last because I think this is one of the least important design mistakes. (Lord knows I’ve made my share of crazy overpowered cards.) But, if you’re serious about trying to design your own cards, I would recommend attempting to be somewhat close to reality. If this isn’t something you’re good at, use your friends that playtest the card. (Me, I just use the developers – “Hey Brian, cost this card for me.”)
Things You Should Be Doing to Become a Good Magic Designer: From MaRo "Design 102" Article
In college, I majored in broadcast & film with a minor in screenwriting. My very first screenwriting class, you know what I did? I watched films. Why? Because an important part of understanding any art form (and yes, I consider screenwriting and card design to be art forms) is understanding how it works. There is no better way to do this than looking at what has been done before.
Before you start designing your own Magic cards, take some time to learn what Magic cards have already been designed. With over seven thousand cards in existence, the designers have explored numerous facets of the game. Studying the cards will teach you several valuable things:
A) It will teach you what's been done. Quite often when I look at new designs, I see cards we've already made (or very, very similar to cards we've made.) To build the future, you need to understand the past. Also, if you choose to put repeats in your set, and personally I think it's a good idea, use their old names. Yes, we often change the names when we repeat cards (most often to fit into the current set's flavor), but everyone assumes we know what we've done. That assumption isn't made for a rookie designer. B) It will provide valuable templates. If you want your Magic cards to feel like the real thing, you need to have them read like the real thing. How do you do this? Copy existing cards. If existing cards don't do what you're doing, grab the closest thing you can find. Bad templates are another big thing that make cards feel amateurish. C) It will show you the lessons the designers have learned. Everyone gets better with practice. Even the designers of the game. By studying the games history, you will see the lessons that we have learned. There is a valuable tool for an aspiring designer.
Authors read. Directors watch films. Artists visit museums. If you want to grow in your craft, you have to start by learning the basics. When you look at a card, ask yourself the following questions:
A) What about this card is done well? The reason one studies the classics is to see what the top artists have done in the past. When you look at a card, figure out what you enjoy about it. These qualities will be things you want to copy in your cards. B) What about the card is done poorly? As the saying goes, “Failure is the ultimate teacher”. In general, artists learn much more from their mistakes than they do from their successes. Figure out what you don't like about the card. Keep this in mind when you're working on your own cards. C) What other cards are like this one? Magic design is very much about variation on a theme. Comparing similar cards will allow you to see the core of certain ideas. In addition, it's a means to watch the evolution of design. D) What doesn't this card do that you would like it to? There is no better brainstorming tool for new cards than old cards. If you feel a card is missing something, consider how to turn this idea into a new card. Just remember not to overwhelm the card with too many mechanics. If you add something, often that means you'll want to remove something else. E) What is this card's history? To learn the value of a card, you need to have an understanding of that card's history. Was it played in tournaments? A good way to learn this is to Google the card name along with the word “tournament”. Was it popular? A good indication of this is to look at the card's secondary card price versus others of its rarity. Was it a Timmy card, a Johnny card or a Spike card, or a combination of the three? (See my “Timmy, Johnny and Spike” column is this doesn't make any sense.) This is a little harder to learn but I find it helpful to ask many different types of players you know their opinion of the card. As a designer, I always watch how my cards are used by the public. This helps me greatly in making other cards I want to aim at the same group.
They say that those who do not learn history are forced to repeat it. The same is true of Magic design. If you don't take the time to learn what has been done, you'll most likely create cards that already exist.
Another important part of being a good designer is understanding the game. How do you do this? Play. Nothing helps a designer understand the game better than shuffling up and drawing a hand of seven cards. Next time you play, think about the following things:
a) What about this particular game is fun? The key to good design is making cards that other people want to play. If you find some aspect of the game you enjoy, start thinking about what makes it fun. This is an important first step. b) What about this particular game is not fun? Is there anything in the current game that you don't enjoy? Figure out why. Then think about why it has to be that way. Or does it? Designers in Magic are constantly retuning to old ideas. Most of that is shaving away the part that wasn't fun while maintaining the part that was. c) What is making this game tick? Another valuable lesson that can be learned is figuring out what the designers are up to? How is the current set put together? What kind of play experience does it create? Just as studying cards can help, so too can studying environments. d) Is there a card that you wish existed? A good trick for making new cards is finding moments in a game where a particular ability (especially one that doesn't exist) would be good. Whenever you're losing, for example, try this little mental game. If you could a design a card right now to dig yourself out of the hole, what would it be? The only rule is it has to be a card you think the current R&D team would print. (So no Ancestral for 4.)
Good design is about understanding what makes the game tick. There is no better way to learn this than by jumping in head first and playing.
In college, I took a class on short story writing. The teacher walked in the very first day and said, “There is one and only one way to get better at writing. Write. A lot. A lot!”
The vast of majority of cards I create are junk. (There's a line that I know will be quoted out of context.)
Card design is very similar. If you want to improve your skills, there is simply no better method than making a lot of cards. But here's the secret. A lot of the cards you make will suck. And I don't just mean in the beginning. This will always be true. I am currently the most prolific b card designer in R&D. I'm the lead Magic designer. And you know what? The vast of majority of cards I create are junk. (There's a line that I know will be quoted out of context.) Understand that most of these junky cards never see the light of day. (Most. I made Mudhole after all.) Heck, most of them aren't seen by the rest of R&D. But they exist.
Why? Because creative endeavors are not black and white. And the creative process is best suited when an artist doesn't self-censor himself. Some bad cards turn out to be not so bad. Others act as stepping stones to better cards. In addition, looking at your failed attempts helps guide you in the right direction. With experience, you'll find that you lessen your percentage of bad cards (partly because you learn to internalize your bad cards and partly because you recognize your mistakes faster) , but they never go away.
Design will lead to a lot of junk. But it is only by working through these cards that the true gems will be found. In addition, nothing will teach you the basics more than the repetition of design. So, you want to get better at design? Design. A lot. A lot!
Design actually begins before you start making cards. A good design has to know what it wants to be. Are you trying to make new cards to go in an existing deck? Are you trying to make a set like Wizards would make a set? Are you experimenting with a new mechanic to see how it would impact the game? If you do not understand what your design goals are, I guarantee you are handicapping yourself in your design.
A good exercise before you start design is to write a few paragraphs about what you hope to accomplish. This might sound silly, but, trust me, it will result in a much cleaner design.
Okay, you've made some cards. You know what, you're not done yet. Before Henry Stern joined R&D, you know what he did? He built rockets. (Hmm, I guess that does kind of make him a rocket scientist.) Do you know what he (and his fellow engineers) did after they designed a rocket? They tested it. And tested it. And tested it. Creation is just the first part of the design process. Next you need to actually play it.
With experience, you will get a better sense of how cards on paper will play, but nothing takes the place of shuffling the card into a deck and playing it. I can't tell you how many times I had a card that I had to completely reevaluate after playing with it. Here are the most common lessons:
a) The card doesn't work the way you think it does. When you're creating a card, you're focused on many aspects. When you're playing, you're focused on using the card. That focus often brings gaping flaws to light. b) The card's power level is much different than you expect. More often than not, the card is more powerful than you think. Experience has shown me that designers tend to push their own mechanics. When they dabble in something they don't understand they usually end up with super-juiced cards. Other times though, the card proves worthless in actual play. If you've played with a card in three or more games and never played it, you might want to rethink it. c) The card needs additional text. Games have a funny way of forcing you to see corner cases you might never have thought up by just looking at the card. And when these cases come up, you need to change the card to solve the problem. The net result of this effect is that most cards get wordier over time. (At least in design. Good templating can often save you text.) d) The card has a more elegant solution. Another perk about playing with cards is that it gives you time to think about them. I often find that some of my best design ideas come up during playtest. I'm not exactly sure why, but I think it has to do with the fact that you're forcing a different part of your brain to think about the card which spurs your brain to make connections it might not usually make.
Thinking is an important part of design. But thinking alone will not perfect the card. If you have not played with a designed card, you do not yet truly understand it.
This one is very important. You know why? Because your cards are your babies. And it's very hard to call your own babies ugly. But other people, they have less problem pointing out ugly babies. In addition, other people come to the cards without any preconceptions (which means by the way, do not talk about your cards before you let others play with them – do not taint their perception). There are things about your cards that you will never be able to clearly see. This is why good playtesters are crucial.
Here's what to look for in a good playtester:
a) Someone who knows how to play Magic. If you have to teach someone how to play Magic in order playtest your cards, you will not get much value back. If you want good feedback, you need players that already have a good understanding of the game. b) Someone who's willing to give you their honest opinion. Good friends often make bad playtesters. They have an incentive to like your cards and, failing that, they have an incentive to lie to you about it. What you want is someone who is willing to point out your cards' flaws yet whose opinion you can trust when they tell you things they like. c) Someone who understands what they do and don't like. The best playtesters are the ones that can explain why they don't like something (or why they do). Solving a design dilemma is much easier when you clearly understand the problem. d) Someone who has the time to playtest thoroughly. Good playtests take time. Having players play once with your card will teach you something. But it pales in comparison to having a player that has played the same cards game after game. Magic's play has a high variance. This means that the experience you have with a card one game could be radically different from another time. Thus, good playtesting requires numerous data points.
Your design is not a success until others (away from you) have had an opportunity to put the cards through their paces. Now, I have the luxury of having an entire development team to do my playtesting, but I think if you ask around, you'll find plenty of Magic players eager to try something new out. Just make sure you wait to use them until you're ready. (Burning good playtesters with premature versions of cards is a common rookie mistake.)
So you've made some cards, thought about them, played with them, watched others play with them. What next? Put the cards away. The final part of the design process is what I call the “breathing” time. Creative energies force you to become very intimate with your ideas. Once you are happy with your cards, you need to get some emotional distance from them. What you will find is that this time allows you to look at your cards with a fresh eye.
Good design is a lengthy process. In R&D we spend many, many months perfecting our designs. And we're the experts. Don't neglect the value of time. I'm always amazed how many good ideas I get about how to improve cards when I've stopped focusing on them.
There you go. The basics of Magic card design (or any artistic venture). If you're serious about design, please take all I've said in this column to heart. Many of my comments might sound silly or blatantly obvious, but I swear that they represent the most important elements of good design. Take each of the seven points above and really think about how it applies to your design work. If you take the time and energy to apply these principles to your design, I swear it will improve markedly.
Mistakes that Can Keep the Game form Being Fun: From MaRo "Design 103" Article
As the saying goes, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” In game design, think of the horse as the player and drinking as having fun. You, the designer, can make the player do anything you want, but you can’t make them enjoy it. A good designer makes the game fun because he lets the players essentially do what they want to do.
This doesn’t mean you have to let them do whatever they want, but it does mean that you have to walk them down paths that they want to walk down. Sometimes you can even lead them through something they won’t like if it’s on the way to something they really will. Too many designers try to force the players to enjoy something they don’t want to. You’re never going to win this fight, because when the player gets frustrated enough, they quit playing your game. My example for this point comes from Mark Globus. This was submitted as his common cycle:
Uncontainable LightningR
Sorcery {C}
Uncontainable Lightning deals 3 damage to target creature or player.
Revenge R (Opponents may play this card from your graveyard for its Revenge cost. Then remove it from the game.)
Uncontainable Delays1U
Sorcery {C}
Put target creature on top of its owner's library.
Revenge 1U (Opponents may play this card from your graveyard for its Revenge cost. Then remove it from the game.)
Uncontainable HealthW
Sorcery {C}
You gain 5 life.
Revenge W (Opponents may play this card from your graveyard for its Revenge cost. Then remove it from the game.)
Uncontainable Migraines1B
Sorcery {C}
Target player discards two cards.
Revenge B (Opponents may play this card from your graveyard for its Revenge cost. Then remove it from the game.)
Uncontainable GrowthG
Sorcery {C}
Search your library for a basic land card and put that card into play tapped. Then shuffle your library.
Revenge G (Opponents may play this card from your graveyard for its Revenge cost. Then remove it from the game.)
This cycle allows the player to get cheaper spells at the cost of a drawback. What’s wrong with this cycle? The drawback – allowing your opponent to play your spells. Why? Because players don’t want to do this. Who wants to let their opponent play their spells? Being on the receiving end of a Mindslicer or a Bribery is not too much fun, but then your opponent constantly does things to you that you don’t like. As a player you understand that in order for you to do things to your opponent that you enjoy, he or she is going to do them to you. The problem with this cycle is that it asks the player to bring this unhappy situation on themselves.
Making players do things they don’t want to do creates unfun moments. This isn’t homework. This isn’t a job. This is a game that people choose to play because they enjoy it. If it stops being fun, they’re going to stop playing, and that’s about a bad a response as you can get as a designer. This cycle fails because players don’t want to do what it’s asking them to do. Yes, you can bribe them with cheap spells, but in the end, you’re still making them do something they don’t want to do.
So does that mean that a designer should never design drawbacks? Of course not. Drawbacks can be fun, but the player has to be able to see ways they can navigate around the drawback. They have to imagine ways to design a deck that can handle the drawback. They have to see the drawback as something they are willing to do. Forcing players to do something they don’t want to do will almost always result in an unpleasant game experience. Don’t do it. (And yes, there are exceptions to this, but I would stress to a young designer to learn the craft, then break the rules.)
Imagine that you’re at work one day and your boss comes up to you and says, “You, grab a shovel.”
He then makes you go outside and start digging a hole. As soon as that hole is a few feet deep, he moves you to a new location and has you dig a new hole. He keeps doing this until you’ve spent a couple hours digging several dozen holes. Finally, you say to him, “Boss, why am I digging these holes?”
The boss then pulls out a small tree. He looks at all your holes and then puts it into the one nearest him. When you ask how many trees he is planting, he says “Just one.”
“So why did I dig so many holes?” you ask.
“To give us more options,” is his reply.
How do you feel in that moment? Pretty angry. Why? Because he wasted your time. He really only needed one hole. He made you do a lot of work that in the end was for nothing. People pretty much don’t like that. The same holds true for game design. Sure you can make your players do whatever you tell them. But come the game’s end, the players will be able to tell when you’ve wasted their time, and trust me, they won’t be happy about it.
The example of this comes from Christopher Jablonski. This is the common cycle he submitted:
Taboo Elves1G
Creature - Elf Shaman {C}
Corrupt 1, T: Add G to your mana pool. (Put a corruption counter on an uncorrupt card in play you control as an additional cost to play this ability.)
2/2
Student of the Occult2U
Creature - Bird Wizard {C}
Flying, Defender
Corrupt 1, T: Look at the top three cards of your library, then put them back in any order. (Put a corruption counter on an uncorrupt card in play you control as an additional cost to play this ability.)
2/2
Bankrupt Preacher3B
Creature - Human Cleric {C}
Fear
Whenever Bankrupt Preacher deals combat damage to a player, that player puts a corruption counter on an uncorrupt card in play he or she controls.
2/2
Remorseful Swordsman1W
Creature - Human Knight {C}
First Strike
Whenever Remorseful Swordsman deals combat damage to a player, put a corruption counter on an uncorrupt card in play you control.
2/2
Darkfire Channeler2R
Creature - Dwarf Wizard {C} R, Corrupt 1, T: Darkfire Channeler deals one damage to target creature or player. (Pay R and put a corruption counter on an uncorrupt card in play you control as an additional cost to play this ability.)
2/2
Let me start by saying that there is actually something interesting buried in this cycle. The idea of cards that need untainted material to work is flavorful and hints at a mechanical area that hasn’t been too deeply explored. But (there’s always a but), it creates a lot of busy work. As an example, let’s examine how this cycle would affect Sealed. Because the cards are common, you would often see them in Limited, but because there are only five, you will often get exactly one.
What does one of these cards do? It starts spreading counters over every card you own. While you occasionally might run out of permanents, most of the time, if you just have one card with this mechanic, you will add cards fast enough that the game will end before you deplete your supply. This means that you will often be doing busy work adding counters to every permanent you own for no payoff. Not a recipe for fun.
The lesson here is that you have to be very careful each and every time you ask something of your players. Make sure that there is a high correlation between how much work you ask of them and how much they get out of it. When the ratio gets too high, you have to reexamine why you’re using that mechanic.
Game players put a lot of trust in the hands of the designer. (Much in the same way that they put trust in a director when they sit themselves down in front of a movie screen.) They assume that the designer knows what they are doing and follow the paths laid out for them. This is why players get so upset when a game isn’t fun. It’s a betrayal of trust. They put up their time and attention and the designer didn’t come through with the goods.
This lesson is about a betrayal of this trust. Players are willing to go in blind to a game, or in the case of Magic to a new set of cards. They understand that things might not always be as they seem because good design, and especially good Magic design, throws curveballs at them. Things that might not seem like they would be fun often are once you get to start playing with the cards.
My metaphor for this mistake is to imagine that your friend asked you to close your eyes. He then tells you to follow his voice. At one point he walks you into a wall. It hurts. You get angry. Why? Because you trusted your friend to look out for you. When he asked you to close your eyes, you believed there was a trust that he would take steps to make sure you wouldn’t hurt yourself. Even if he didn’t mean to walk you into a wall, it still upsets you, because intentionally or no, he just walked you into a wall! Game design is similar to this in that we constantly ask players to metaphorically close their eyes.
My example for this mistake comes from Aaron Weiner. This was his rare cycle:
Weakness: PermanentU
Enchantment - Aura {R}
Enchant permanent
When ~ comes into play, draw 2 cards.
When ~ leaves play, you lose the game.
~ is indestructible.
Weakness: EnchantmentW
Enchantment - Aura {R}
Enchant enchantment
When ~ comes into play, gain 10 life.
When ~ leaves play, you lose the game.
~ is indestructible.
Weakness: ArtifactB
Enchant artifact
When ~ comes into play, each opponent discards a card, then discards a card at random.
When ~ leaves play, you lose the game.
~ is indestructible.
Weakness: CreatureR
Enchantment Aura {R}
Enchant creature
When ~ comes into play, destroy target land.
When ~ leaves play, you lose the game.
~ is indestructible.
Weakness: LandG
Enchantment - Aura {R}
Enchant land
When ~ comes into play, put a 3/3 green Spirit creature token into play.
When ~ leaves play, you lose the game.
~ is indestructible.
What’s wrong here? I watched multiple judges read this cycle for the first time and each said aloud the same thing: “Lose the game?”
“Lose the game” is the equivalent of dynamite in game design. Yes, used properly it can do good, but more than not it’s just going to blow up in your face. Why is this implementation so bad? Because it violates the player’s trust in a very fundamental way. It takes one of the things they care most about (winning the game) and puts its fate under the opponent’s control. Is having a very underpriced spell worth losing the game if the opponent has the proper removal spell in hand (remember these cards force you to destroy the thing being enchanted as these enchantments are themselves indestructible)? No, no it isn’t.
One of the easiest shortcuts to figuring out if the player is going to like the card is to imagine the following two things. What is their first impression of the card? How do they feel when the card in play doesn’t go their way? For these cards, I believe both go badly. The first impression will be one of disbelief. I assume you’d get variations on “Why did they print this card?”
The worst part, though, is the reaction to the second part. When a player plays this card and then their opponent Terrors their creature and they lose, they are going to start cussing. Usually when a player’s own cards make him regularly curse, there’s signs that something’s wrong. This is why the card Lich never took off (and yes, I know there are Lich lovers out there). Yeah, it’s cool, but who wants to lose the game if their opponent plays enchantment removal?
The lesson here is that you have to think about how the player feels when they play your cards. One real negative experience will wipe out lots of positive ones.
This next mistake walks a subtle line. Players like being led to a certain extent, but they don’t like being led too much. A while back I talked about one spectrum to look at cards (“Come Together”) that had to do with how much the card forced you to play with other cards. Modular cards were very open ended and could be mixed and matched with other card easily. Linear cards forced you to play with certain other cards.
Linear cards aren’t by their nature bad (Slivers, as an example, are very popular linear cards), but they do have more inherent problems than modular cards. The biggest one is this. Players like to feel in charge of their destiny. Especially in a trading card game that has a deckbuilding component, players want to have the feeling of endless possibilities (but not too endless – one of many great challenges of card design). When linear cards get too narrow, they run this problem.
You’ll notice during the first two weeks’ worth of judge reviews, Aaron has used the word “parasitic” several times. This is a term used by R&D that means that an idea is too self-contained. We want players to be able to look at cards and imagine many things they can do with them. Cards that are too parasitic say, “No, just look at this tiny subset of cards.” When we do this, we start getting the “You’re building our decks for us” comments. And you know what? They’re right. Magic isn’t fun if the players aren’t given options.
This mistake has two examples. The first comes from Landon Winkler’s rare cycle:
Beyond the Gate2G
Astral Sorcery {R}
Search your library for any number of astral land cards and remove them from the game. Then shuffle your library. Remove CARDNAME from the game.
Whisper – 1GG: Put target astral land card you own that's removed from the game into play. (During your upkeep you may activate one Whisper ability from a card you own that is removed from the game.)
Call of the Gatekeeper3WW
Astral Sorcery {R}
Remove all astral creatures and CARDNAME from the game.
Whisper - 4WWW: Put a legendary X/X white Angel creature token with flying named The Gatekeeper into play, where X is the number of astral cards you own removed from the game. (During your upkeep you may activate one Whisper ability from a card you own that is removed from the game.)
Gatekeeper's WisdomXUU
Astral Sorcery {R}
Search your library for up to X astral cards and remove them from the game. Then shuffle your library. Remove CARDNAME from the game.
Whisper – 2UU: Put target astral instant card that's removed from the game into its owner's hand. (During your upkeep you may activate one Whisper ability from a card you own that is removed from the game.)
GatestormR
Astral Sorcery {R}
Return CARDNAME to your hand, then remove from the game a card at random from your hand.
Whisper – 1RR: Put target astral creature card that's removed from the game into play. It gains haste. Sacrifice it at end of turn. (During your upkeep you may activate one Whisper ability from a card you own that is removed from the game.)
Voice in the Mists1B
Astral Sorcery {R}
Remove CARDNAME and all astral cards in all graveyards from the game.
Whisper - 3BB: Search your deck for a card with the same name as target astral card that's removed from the game, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library. (During your upkeep you may activate one Whisper ability from a card you own that is removed from the game.)
The second cycle is Andrew Emmott’s rare cycle:
Light RiftX1W
Instant - Rift {R}
Search your hand, graveyard and library for up to X Rift cards and remove them from the game. For each card removed this way, remove target attacking creature from the game. Shuffle your library.
Wind RiftX3U
Instant - Rift {R}
Search your hand, graveyard and library for up to X Rift cards and remove them from the game. For each card removed this way, put target permanent on top of its owner's library. Shuffle your library.
Shadow RiftXB
Instant - Rift {R}
Search your hand, graveyard and library for up to X Rift cards and remove them from the game. For each card removed this way, creatures get -1/-1 until end of turn. Shuffle your library.
Plasma RiftX1R
Instant - Rift {R}
Search your hand, graveyard and library for up to X Rift cards and remove them from the game. For each card removed this way, add RRR to your mana pool.
Shuffle your library.
Force RiftX2G
Instant - Rift {R}
Search your hand, graveyard and library for up to X Rift cards and remove them from the game. For each card removed this way, search your library for a creature or land card and put it into your hand.
Shuffle your library.
The problem with Astral and Rift as mechanics is that they are too parasitic. The worst part is that the power comes from playing more of the mechanics meaning that once you commit, you’re forced to filled your deck with them (note that both mechanics need to have common and uncommon support). This is one of the hardest mistakes to avoid, and I’ll be blunt – R&D doesn’t always avoid it. (This basic problem was one of my biggest issues with the Champions of Kamigawa block.)
Nonetheless, if you are designing cards, this is an important mistake to understand. Players come because they want to play the game. Designers shouldn’t play it for them.
My last mistake for today is one of the most subtle and one of the most egregious. I often talk in my column about how designers have to understand their audience. I also talk often about how different cards are made for different audiences. Sometimes a designer intends a card for one audience but unknowingly designs it for a different one.
The best example I can use with Magic is the coin flip card. Certain players love coin flipping. (These are basically Timmies with a few Johnnies) Others despise it. (Spikes most of all.) This means that the designers have to be very careful to make coin flipping cards that will appeal to the right player. This is why we avoid making tournament relevant coin flipping cards, because if they’re good enough, we force Spike to play them. He doesn’t like playing them. He doesn’t want his skill-testing to be trumped by factors that he has zero control over (Krark’s Thumb excepted – but that’s really Johnny’s card).
It is not enough to know the audience for each card. You have to make sure to design that card for that audience. The example for this mistake comes from Mark Globus (yes, poor Mark gets two examples today). This was his uncommon cycle:
The Last go the Elves2G
Enchantment {U}
Non-token Elves are Legendary.
Elves get +1/+1 and cannot be targeted by opponents' spells or effects.
The Last of the Humans2W
Enchantment {U}
Non-token Humans are Legendary.
Humans get +1/+1 and first strike.
The Last of the Wizards2U
Enchantment {U}
Non-token Wizards are Legendary.
Wizards get +1/+1 and flying.
The Last of the Zombies2B
Enchantment {U}
Non-token Zombies are Legendary.
Zombies get +1/+1 and B:Regenerate.
The Last of the Goblins2R
Enchantment {U}
Whenever a non-token Goblin is put in the graveyard from play put two 1/1 red Goblin creature tokens into play.
So what’s wrong here? As I said above, this mistake is subtler than many of the others seen today. Tribal at its heart is a Timmy theme. Before we made Spike care in Onslaught, Spike didn’t touch tribal decks with a ten-foot pole (and yes, there are a few notable exceptions, but only a few) This cycle is a Spike treatment of what want to be Timmy cards.
Timmy is the one attracted by the lords (Goblin King, Lord of the Undead, Elvish Champion, etc.) So making Lord-ish enchantments that put a non-Timmy restriction creates bad tension. Timmy likes to play four cards of the ones he wants. Timmy wants to make the game as fun as possible. This means putting as many of the fun cards in his deck as possible.
The problem with this cycle is that Timmy is attracted to one part of the card and dislikes the other part. This isn’t a recipe for success. I should stress that this cycle isn’t horrible. There are definitely neat ideas at work, but in the end, I feel that they would create a net negative feeling. The people that most want them to be fun wouldn’t find them fun.
The takeaway from today’s column is this: Don’t forget why you’re designing your cards. You’re making a game. Games are intended to be fun, and you can’t force fun. It’s easy to get so caught up in the details of your “tree” that you forget about the “forest.” Don’t. If a card doesn’t pass the litmus of fun, nothing else matters because the audience won’t play it.
Nuts & Bolts Series
Dedicated to the players who are interested in designing their own personal Magic sets. It's a much more technical inside look at how we design Magic sets, but even if you aren't interested in making your own, this series will help you get a better sense of how we do it behind the scenes.
Nuts & Bolts #1: CARD CODES
The first article was about the card codes we use to make our files. While very detail oriented, it was information that was important to explain so we could build upon it.
Nuts & Bolts #2:DESIGN SKELETONS
The second article talks about one of the most valuable tools for building a design file, something known as a design skeleton.
Nuts & Bolts #3:FILLING IN THE DESIGN SKELETON
The third article talks about how to start filling in the design skeleton focusing on the commons.
Nuts & Bolts #4:HIGHER RARITIES
The fourth article then focuses on filling in the rest of the rarities.
Nuts & Bolts #5:INITIAL PLAYTESTING
The fifth article talked about how to best playtest your set.
Nuts & Bolts #6:ITERATION
The sixth article talks about the concept of iteration. It is the process through which you improve your set over time.
Nuts & Bolts #7:THREE STAGES OF DESIGN
It's very easy to think of design as being one long, singular process. This seventh article explains that there are actually three distinct stages and walks you through what the focus of each one is.
Nuts & Bolts #8:TROUBLESHOOTING
The eighth column answered a number of questions about common problems that can happen in early-to-mid design.
Nuts & Bolts #9:EVALUATION
Now we've gotten to the point where we need to put our pencils down, step back from the set, and evaluate it with a fresh eye.
LINK - State of Design 2017 LINK - Mechanical Color Pie as of 2017 LINK - Vision Design, Set Design, and Play Design 2017
The method by which we make the game—what we call design and development. That's been a constant from the day I joined Wizards R&D 22 years ago. Today, I explain how and why that system is finally changing as well.
A look at the five basic conflicts of the color pie. I'll not only explain what the conflicts are but how they overlap with one another.
LINK - Twenty Years, Twenty Lessons Part 1 LINK - Twenty Years, Twenty Lessons Part 2 LINK - Twenty Years, Twenty Lessons Part 3 LINK - Because Salt Makes Mistakes Taste Great
A talk about a bunch of big lessons I've learned concerning Magic and how in each case one or more larger mistakes led me to the breakthrough.
An open-source, multiplatform program for playing Magic: the Gathering over the internet. The program's server design prevents users from manipulating the game for unfair advantage. It can be used to play with your custom cards and it also provides a single-player mode, which allows users to brew while offline.
For your reference I've listed and visually spoiled every card printed specifically for the Commander format. Hopefully by looking at what Wizards has designed for Commander you'll get a better idea of what may or may not work within your creations.
Not Just a Great Resource: Purpose and What to Post in Command Tower
In the main Custom Card Creation forum, threads can sometimes get passed over or only visited a single time. One main purpose of Command Tower is to consolidate all threads that would contain Commander specific designs into one thread. This will increase the views your card designs get while also being conveniently located in a thread where people visit with Commander already in mind. Keep in mind that posting your own threads is still 100% acceptable. Command Tower is not trying to monopolize custom Commander content, only make it easier for you to give and get feedback.Posting Guidelines:
Post cards (no quantity or time restrictions)
Critique cards (don't assume a card is posted in its final form. Guide design down a constructive path)
Share design knowledge and experience (some people, including myself, don't have the design experience other posters may have. If you have the time, share your deeper understanding of a certain design situation including relevant examples, comparisons, and so on.)
Ask questions!
Share your playtesting experiences!
Maintain positive tone (All designer levels are and should feel welcomed at all times)
Reference who you're talking to or what you're talking about when posting.
Have fun and thanks for coming by!
Matata, Loa of Curses2BB Legendary Creature - Elf Spirit (MR)
As long as Matata is your commander, you may have any Curse cards in your deck.
At the beginning of your end step, you may pay 3 life. If you do, return target Curse card in your graveyard to your hand. 4B, Discard a Curse card: Target creature gets -3/-3 until end of turn. 3/3
I wanted Matata to interact with all curses but wanted his color identity to be for the most part mono-black so as to avoid one of the biggest traps known where the more colors you add to a commander the more you are encouraged into a multicolor goodstuff deck. As a five-color commander that interacted with curses would also need to build with basic enchantments like Enchantress's Presence, Copy Enchantment, Sterling Grove, Enchanted Evening or Opalescence .
While recovering enchantments in general is not black's wheelhouse, interacting with a very small subset of enchantments could be within that wheelhouse. Just like how every color can interact with equipment but its white specifically that focuses in a positive manner with equipment like Sram, Senior Edificer, Steelshaper's Gift or Sigarda's Aid as quick examples
@31F I followed your thread dedicated to Matata and the other Curse cards and with all of the advice you applied to his card, it really tightened up the design as far as I can see. There is only a single aspect that I would like to see you implement. The activated ability should not gain you back 3 life in my opinion. Matata is a extremely neat card and I've already added it to my private thread of cards to proxy out for playtesting but I included my proposed change. I won't be back into the swing of playtesting for another two months but Matata will see play!
Your other cards that will see play are:
Matata's Harbinger1B
Creature - Elf Shaman (U)
When Matata's Harbinger enters the battlefield, you may search your library for a Curse card, reveal it, then shuffle your library and put that card on top of it.
3/1
Matata's BokorB
Creature - Elf Shaman (C)
1, Pay 1 life, T: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool. Spend this mana only to cast Curse spells.
1/2
(^ I've changed mine to not have pay 1 but still the life)
Curse of Locusts2BG
Enchantment - Aura Curse (R)
Enchant Player
At the beginning of the enchanted player's upkeep, put a devastation counter on target land they control. For as long as that land has a devastation counter on it, it can only produce C mana rather than any mana it could normally produce.
When ~ leaves the battlefield, remove all devastation counters from lands.
Curse of GreedBB
Enchantment - Aura Curse (C)
Enchant Player
Whenever the enchanted player draws a card, they lose 1 life
Jo, the Militant ArtificerUUR Legendary Creature - Human Artificer (MR)
Haste, flying
Whenever Jo, the Militant Artificer deals combat damage to an opponent, reduce the cost of artifact spells you cast this turn by X, where X is equal to the amount of combat damage she dealt. 2/1
Mostly decided to repost this as I remember it got posted by another user, with permission of course, in a thread in the commander subsection. It was also well received by the users there.
The original design philosphy was an artificer that was more active and got in the red zone. As opposed to established artificers that simply sat back and either had a triggered or activated ability.
Name was changed mostly as I liked the other users naming scheme for it.
@31F I was looking at Matata again and I think that she should return the Curse card to your hand as to increase synergy with her activated ability. Here is a render if you're interested:
@Sam-Eldristein I can see why Jo was popular over there. It has a Silas Renn, Seeker Adept vibe to it but with a lot more potential build strategies in my opinion. In the right build Jo, the Militant Artificer becomes a kill on sight creature. Low p/t on base Jo is perfect and the 2 power is is great for the first time you cast her. There are a lot of plays that open up on turn 3 if you drop a mana rock turn 1 or 2.
@Ruggley Changed Matata so it brings the curse to the hand rather than to the field. Didn't decide a gender for them, but girl works. Also the art is very nice.
Polyhulk4UG
Creature - Ooze {M}
When Polyhulk dies create two 2/2 green Ooze creature tokens with "When this dies, reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a creature card with converted mana cost 3 or less. Put that card onto the battlefield then shuffle your library."
4/4
@Ruggley I honestly think that your interpretation is a more balanced version of Protean Hulk for many reasons. Fairer P/T, can only get two creatures unless token shenanigans are also in play, can only fetch 3cmc or less creatures. Yet it definitely has a Johnny vibe to it still.
Another card out of me:
Alia, the Peaceful One1WUG Legendary Creature - Elder Plant (M)
Creatures have defender, base power and toughness 0/1, and "At the beginning of your end step, draw a card." 0/1
Logic in Design: Peace's color identity is often in W/G/U color combination.
Peace is always fragile, 1 toughness.
Peace never advocates for violence, 0 power and static ability grants each creature defender.
Peace often can cause many individuals to not be as battle-hardy as past generations and older generations to not always be in shape as they once were, static ability that alters base P/T.
Peace often allows for people to contemplate and learn new things, card draw for each creature with defender.
Peace becomes harder to maintain against those wish to extend conflict, 4cmc.
Peace has often had plants symbolize peace, plant subtype.
Elders on various planes are individuals who wield much power in some manner, typically dragons and now dinosaurs, but what about other sorts of elders like plants?
In its current form Alia, the Peaceful One might read better as:
Alia, the Peaceful One1GWU
Legendary Creature - Elder Plant {M}
Creatures have defender, base power and toughness 0/1, and "At the beginning of your end step, draw a card."
0/1
I can't argue with your design philosophy for Alia but I'm worried about what the 99 might look like with it as your Commander. What do you do while all creatures are these passive plants? How are you pushing toward your victory? Alia feels like an enchantment but with an ability that does feel like justification for the Elder type. I can see and feel the flavor you intened to convey. There's no reason some plane doesn't have something like an elder plant and, if it did, Alia is likely a good representation of that (for a peaceful plant anyway. A BG elder plant would be a different story!)
The effects will produce wildly different situations from game to game depending on the boards of each player. Aggro will try to strangle Alia on sight but the next game Aggro might want to take the chance to replenish their hand and then kill Alia. it's hard to predict every weird situation Alia would produce.
Alia is a powerful effect to have ready in the Command Zone.
In its current form Alia, the Peaceful One might read better as:
Alia, the Peaceful One1GWU
Legendary Creature - Elder Plant {M}
Creatures have defender, base power and toughness 0/1, and "At the beginning of your end step, draw a card."
0/1
I can't argue with your design philosophy for Alia but I'm worried about what the 99 might look like with it as your Commander. What do you do while all creatures are these passive plants? How are you pushing toward your victory? Alia feels like an enchantment but with an ability that does feel like justification for the Elder type. I can see and feel the flavor you intened to convey. There's no reason some plane doesn't have something like an elder plant and, if it did, Alia is likely a good representation of that (for a peaceful plant anyway. A BG elder plant would be a different story!)
The effects will produce wildly different situations from game to game depending on the boards of each player. Aggro will try to strangle Alia on sight but the next game Aggro might want to take the chance to replenish their hand and then kill Alia. it's hard to predict every weird situation Alia would produce.
Alia is a powerful effect to have ready in the Command Zone.
Modified the wording as you suggested.
It also creates some situations that can make boardwipes into unfavorable states even when all Alia might have equippied is Lightning Greaves. As it can also wipe out their own creatures.
There is also some fun to be had such as animating everyones lands with Living Plane. Players now draw a card for each creature they control and each land they control, so if a Goblin player has 5 goblins and 5 lands they now draw 10 cards during their end step. If a "go wide" strategy runs into this, they may want to be hesitant about how many creatures they have out as each body makes them draw harder. While "go tall" strategies won't suffer as much from the backbreaking card draw.
Yet on the flip side, I see this commander also being weak versus strategies that don't necessarily go for the throat via combat damage. Startegies that keep a low creature count on the board and try to win through alternate methods. But yeah, the end game I see with this is winning the game through over-draw/kindness. Group Hug that wins by exhausting everyone else of their libraries. I can also imagine that Wheel of Sun and Moon would be staple in the deck in order to keep the library healthy. Thinking of which, a Reliquary Tower might be a bad idea for some to have in this situation as it would prevent them from discarding library reseters like Emrakul, the Aeons Torn.
If kept in check I would see Alia being manageable, but if allowed to run rampant I can see Alia being a show stealer. As I've always noticed people would let the group hug decks just run rampant and even protect them because of the benefits provided. As politically such decks are beneficial and allow people time to build up their board state and plans. But if cranked into over drive when the group hugger wills it, it becomes the biggest threat at the table, group smothering if you will.
Commanding PresenceW
Instant {C}
Prevent all damage that would be dealt from up to X sources this turn, where X is equal to your current commander tax.
Commanding ThoughtsU
Instant {C}
Counter target spell unless its controller pays X, where X is equal to half your current commander tax.
Commanding TithesB
Instant {C}
Each opponent loses X life, where X is equal to your current commander tax. You gain life equal to the life lost this way.
Commanding StrikesR
Instant {C}
Deal X damage to target creature or player, where X is equal to twice your current commander tax.
Commanding SummonsG
Instant {C}
Search your library for a creature card with converted mana cost of X or less, put it on the battlefield, then shuffle your library. Where X is equal to your current commander tax.
Wow a very well thought out and organized thread dedicated to my favorite card formst to design for. Excellent work here and I look forward to using this and seeing some interesting designs filter through here.
Command(You can only cast this card if you control a commander)
EnlightenmentU Sorcery {C}
Command (You can only cast this card if you control a commander)
Each player draws cards until they each have seven cards in hand. Put Enlightenment on the bottom of your library instead of your graveyard after resolving. The Forest God Legendary Land Creature - Forest God (MR)
The Forest God’s power and toughness are each equal to the number of forests you control.
When The Forest God deals combat damage, search your library for a forest and put that card onto battlefield. Shuffle your library. XGG: The Forest God enters the battlefield from your command zone. X is always equal to his commander tax. You may only activate this ability only during your turn.
Color Indicator: Green
Hidden Rules Text: The Forest God has "T: Add G to your mana pool." due to the fact he is land creature with the forest subtype. This has been treated as reminder text just like with Dryad Arbor or Murmuring Bosk.
Welcome to Salvation Sadida and thanks for joining us in the Command Tower! Let me comment on your previously posted cycle first:
Commanding PresenceW
Instant {C}
Prevent all damage that would be dealt from up to X sources this turn, where X is equal to your current commander tax.
First, I'll say, about all of these, that I like how they encourage you to play your Commander and along with that, includes a built in balancing device. The W has strong political potential since you can target perms you don't control in a multiplayer game. I think the "this turn" bit I added is needed.
Commanding ThoughtsU
Instant {C}
Counter target spell unless its controller pays X, where X is equal to your current commander tax.
I think this ought to cost U or even UU more to cast. If your Commander hasn't been cast and eliminated in some way you wont be able to cast this anyway but when you can cast it the X would automatically be 2 (assuming no house rules on Commander Tax). Just my thoughts. Others have way more knowledge on things like this.
Commanding TithesB
Instant {C}
Each opponent loses X life, where X is equal to your current commander tax. You gain life equal to the life lost this way.
Would not change this. Good to go. Think about the flavor built into this for all of the death required to build it up. Fantastic!
Commanding StrikesR
Instant {C}
Deal X damage to target creature or player, where X is equal to twice your current commander tax.
I'm glad you included the "twice" in this or it would have been terrible. Still not a great multiplayer card but not all cards have to be
Commanding SummonsG
Instant {C}
Search your library for a creature card with converted mana cost of X or less, put in on the battlefield, then shuffle your library. Where X is equal to your current commander tax.
Instant helps this but I think it's still not very strong in comparison to the others. fine because it puts the creature onto the battlefield
Command reminder text should read (Cast this only if you control your Commander.) or (Cast this only if you control a Commander.) if you want to be able to cast even if you steal an opponents Commander
The Forest God needs a few different rewordings but the biggest thing I'd considering is whether or not you should be able to activate its ability at instant or sorcery speed. I'd say Sorcery speed but it's up to you.
Can you play this as your Land for the turn? If so, can you add an additional cost to play a land? Lots of questions for others to help answer.
@Ruggley: Thank you. Fixed the ones you wanted changed, specifically Commanding Thoughts now only counts for half of commander tax.
As for The Forest God, if he was in your hand it would be your land for the turn. He now can only be cast during your turn. I remember a similar concept during my lurking yet there was a problem with it. You couldn't cast it from the command zone so it would remain forever stuck there. To fix that, my version includes an activated ability that cheats him into play but also doubles as his base mana cost and commander tax.
Also you're welcome.
Father WinterWURG Legendary Creature - Avatar (MR)
Haste, flying
At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep they create a colorless Gift artifact token with "T, Sacrifice this artifact: Choose One - Add one mana of any color to your mana pool; or draw a card; or gain 5 life." 3/6 "Walking through the walls was good Father Winter."
Yuletide SeasonWURG Enchantment (R)
Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt to and dealt by creatures.
At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player draws a card.
At the beginning of each player's main phase, that player gains 5 life.
At the beginning of each players end step, untap all creatures.
Aspect of the Mind1UU Enchantment - Aura (C)
Enchant Player
At the beginning of your upkeep, if your commander is in your command zone, Scry 3.
Quiver of Ten-Thousand Arrows7 Artifact - Equipment (R)
The equipped creature has "T: Deal damage equal to the equipped creature's power to each attacking or blocking creature."
The equip cost for Quiver of Ten-Thousand Arrows is 0 when equipping your commander.
Equip 7
Aegis of the Empire1WW Legendary Creature - Golem Flagbearer (MR)
Indestructible, reach
While choosing targets as part of casting a spell or activating an ability, your opponents must choose at least one Flagbearer on the battlefield if able.
Aegis of the Empire can't attack. 0/6
Necrotic Spellplasm2GUB
Legendary Creature — Ooze (M)
Deathtouch
Whenever an instant or sorcery card is put into a graveyard from anywhere, you may exile it. If you do, return each other card exiled with Necrotic Spellplasm to its owner's graveyard.
Whenever Necrotic Spellplasm deals combat damage to a player, you may cast a copy of the exiled card without paying its mana cost.
5/5
Lin, Tornsea TinkererUR Legendary Creature - Merfolk Artificer (Mythic)
The first time an artifact card is put into your graveyard from anywhere on your turn, draw a card.
Tap three untapped artificers you control: Return target artifact card in your graveyard to the battlefield, then sacrifice an artifact.
1/1
Making a post apocalyptic set with Artifact and graveyard themes (think salvaging for lost devices). Needed a good "build around me legend" and figured this fit well. Thoughts?
@Ruggley: Has a very toolbox feel to it. Depending on what instants or sorcerys are used, it can be cute or game ending. Like the difference between a Explore and a Time Warp. I've experimented as well with legends that manipulate instant and sorcerys. Conclusion I came to was that it needs a power ceiling.
Ven'tai, Mobius Master2WUR Legendary Creature - Efreet Monk (R)
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery with a converted mana cost of 2 or less, draw card.
Whenever an instant or sorcery with converted mana cost of 2 or less would enter your graveyard from anywhere, place it on the bottom of your library instead. 4/4
Is my version perfect? I personally doubt that. Even at only 2cmc its still very powerful despite the limiters. set in place.
@PhyrexianBolas: Could work, depends on what other artificers there are. Has a Seton, Krosan Protector vibe for its activated ability. The triggered ability appears fair enough as artifacts tend to have tricks for multiple recursions in a turn.
Eternity7BGW
Legendary Creature - Incarnation (MR)
When you cast Eternity, search your library for a instant card, add it to your hand, then shuffle your library afterwards. Then do the same for a enchantment card and then a creature card.
10/10
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Below you will find many great resources that will aid you in your custom card creations for the Commander format. You'll find articles written by Mark Rosewater aimed at educating rookie designers in the ways of elegant and simple card design. I've hard posted those rookie designer articles in a spoiler tag so you can reference it here at your convenience. You'll also find highly relevant design philosophy article links in the "Valuable Design Links" spoiler tag. Also, be sure to utilize the resources in the "Useful Software & Sites" spoiler tag to increase your card design and playtesting efficiency.
The card has too many abilities - For some reason, new designers feel a great need to take all their cool ideas and put them on the same card. This is problematic for several reasons. First, it aesthetically makes the card look bad. I strongly urge designers to mock up stickers so they can get an idea of how the card looks. Cards with excessively long rules text look bad.
Second, the more abilities on the card, the more complicated the card gets. While this okay occasionally on a random funky rare, the average Magic card needs to be simple and straightforward. The best example of this is for you to think of the Magic cards you like. More often than not, the more popular cards are not in our tiniest font sizes.
Third, too many abilities “pull focus.” In design lingo what this means is that it keeps the player from focusing on the aspect of the card you want them to focus on. If, for example, you have a neat new creature ability, you want the player to spend his energies thinking about that. Each other ability stuck on the card lessens that focus.
The card has too many flavor “add-ons” - This mistake is the adding of extra rules text that gives the card more flavor but complicates it as the condition seldom matters. As an example, imagine a Dragon that, In addition to its “normal” abilities, didn’t untap whenever a Knight was in play. There’s some flavor to the ability; maybe the Dragon is afraid of Knights and "hides" from them, but it just isn’t going to matter in the vast majority of the games. In addition, the ability is very swingy, meaning that once in a blue moon the card just gets randomly hosed.
As I talked about above, excess wordiness is bad. For that reason, a designer should not use “add-ons” unless they contribute enough to game play. A simple way to do this is keeping track of the abilities when you playtest the cards. If the ability never or very seldom comes up, it usually isn’t worth the space on the card.
The card is too hard to understand - A very common response to reading a card file from a new designer is, “Huh?” (Balduvian Shaman)
Quite often I’ll have to read a card multiple times to understand what it does. And sometimes, I never figure it out. Good design leans towards simplicity not complexity. If the people you show your cards to consistently get confused by the same card, that1s a sign that the card is too complicated. And don’t jump in and explain your card. Good design has to rest on the laurels of the rules text. If the card can’t explain itself, it’s inherently flawed.
The card has too many memory issues - As a general rule of thumb, cards that force a player to remember something are troublesome. That said, there is some valuable design space that requires memorization. The two biggest mistakes in this area are: One, cards that require a player to remember too many different things. And two, cards that require players to remember a detail unimportant enough that they are not constantly reminded. An enchantment where the opponent loses 3 life whenever he draws a card is memorable. One where he loses 1 life whenever a 1/1 creature comes into play is not.
For example, let’s suppose I wanted to design a multi-color white and green creature. Also suppose I want to give it one white ability and one green ability. For the white ability, I choose first strike. Now, when I look to the green ability, I’m looking for something that has synergy with first strike. Let's walk through some choices:
Basilisk Ability (Destroy any creature damaged by this creature) - This ability has synergy because hitting first is extra valuable when you get to destroy the creature before it can hit back. (Note that the synergy works with the newer template of the basilisk ability and not the older version that happens at end of combat.)
Block fliers - This has reasonable synergy as both abilities are combat abilities.
Cannot be countered - The two abilities have nothing to do with one another. Cannot be countered is good against blue decks. First strike is sort of irrelevant against blue decks as traditionally blue has weak creatures to start with.
Regeneration - This ability is actually non-synergistic. The reason is that first strike is an ability which helps keep a creature alive in combat. As is regeneration. While the two have slightly different utility, they overlap enough that they aren’t particularly interesting together. Alas, poor Ranger en-Vec.
Rootwalla ability (+X/+X once per turn) - This has synergy as an increase in power increases the strength of first strike.
Tap for mana - This is anti-synergistic as there is no easy way to make use of both abilities on the same turn. If you’re tapping to attack and use the first strike, you can’t get mana out of the card.
Trample - This one’s kind of neutral. While there’s no great synergy, it’s not anti-synergistic. Also, we tend to put trample on big creatures and first strike on small and medium creatures.
Untargetability (Cannot be the target of spells or abilities) - This has a little synergy. First strike enhances a creature in combat and untargetability lessens a creature’s chances of being destroyed outside of combat. Not the best fit, but okay.
As you can see, the higher the synergy, the better the overall card will feel.
Here are the major rule-breaking categories:
The Color Wheel - This is usually the biggest culprit. Magic colors are clearly defined. When you design a card that seems like a nice simple card that does something the color hasn’t done before (or at least hasn’t done since Magic’s early days), think twice about why it hasn’t been done yet. If it’s a new, unexplored area, that’s great. If it’s an obvious mechanic that you’ve seen done in other colors, odds are you’re about to make a mistake.
Card Type Rules - Each card type has certain rules about how it functions. Lands produce mana. Enchantments don’t tap. Artifacts have generic mana costs. If your card breaks one of the fundamental rules of a card type (meaning that it does something that no card of that type ever does), ask yourself if the card shouldn’t be of a different type.
General Flavor - Over the years Magic has built up a distinctive flavor. Some of this flavor has worked its way into card mechanics. These choices were made consciously, so be careful next time you design a card that flies in the face of history. Your non-flying male angel, for instance, might not be a perfect fit.
The point of this category is not that designers can’t break rules. It’s that rules shouldn’t be broken if they don’t need to be. As I’m fond of saying: Before you think outside the box, check inside the box first.
Before you start designing your own Magic cards, take some time to learn what Magic cards have already been designed. With over seven thousand cards in existence, the designers have explored numerous facets of the game. Studying the cards will teach you several valuable things:
A) It will teach you what's been done. Quite often when I look at new designs, I see cards we've already made (or very, very similar to cards we've made.) To build the future, you need to understand the past. Also, if you choose to put repeats in your set, and personally I think it's a good idea, use their old names. Yes, we often change the names when we repeat cards (most often to fit into the current set's flavor), but everyone assumes we know what we've done. That assumption isn't made for a rookie designer.
B) It will provide valuable templates. If you want your Magic cards to feel like the real thing, you need to have them read like the real thing. How do you do this? Copy existing cards. If existing cards don't do what you're doing, grab the closest thing you can find. Bad templates are another big thing that make cards feel amateurish.
C) It will show you the lessons the designers have learned. Everyone gets better with practice. Even the designers of the game. By studying the games history, you will see the lessons that we have learned. There is a valuable tool for an aspiring designer.
Authors read. Directors watch films. Artists visit museums. If you want to grow in your craft, you have to start by learning the basics. When you look at a card, ask yourself the following questions:
A) What about this card is done well? The reason one studies the classics is to see what the top artists have done in the past. When you look at a card, figure out what you enjoy about it. These qualities will be things you want to copy in your cards.
B) What about the card is done poorly? As the saying goes, “Failure is the ultimate teacher”. In general, artists learn much more from their mistakes than they do from their successes. Figure out what you don't like about the card. Keep this in mind when you're working on your own cards.
C) What other cards are like this one? Magic design is very much about variation on a theme. Comparing similar cards will allow you to see the core of certain ideas. In addition, it's a means to watch the evolution of design.
D) What doesn't this card do that you would like it to? There is no better brainstorming tool for new cards than old cards. If you feel a card is missing something, consider how to turn this idea into a new card. Just remember not to overwhelm the card with too many mechanics. If you add something, often that means you'll want to remove something else.
E) What is this card's history? To learn the value of a card, you need to have an understanding of that card's history. Was it played in tournaments? A good way to learn this is to Google the card name along with the word “tournament”. Was it popular? A good indication of this is to look at the card's secondary card price versus others of its rarity. Was it a Timmy card, a Johnny card or a Spike card, or a combination of the three? (See my “Timmy, Johnny and Spike” column is this doesn't make any sense.) This is a little harder to learn but I find it helpful to ask many different types of players you know their opinion of the card. As a designer, I always watch how my cards are used by the public. This helps me greatly in making other cards I want to aim at the same group.
They say that those who do not learn history are forced to repeat it. The same is true of Magic design. If you don't take the time to learn what has been done, you'll most likely create cards that already exist.
a) What about this particular game is fun? The key to good design is making cards that other people want to play. If you find some aspect of the game you enjoy, start thinking about what makes it fun. This is an important first step.
b) What about this particular game is not fun? Is there anything in the current game that you don't enjoy? Figure out why. Then think about why it has to be that way. Or does it? Designers in Magic are constantly retuning to old ideas. Most of that is shaving away the part that wasn't fun while maintaining the part that was.
c) What is making this game tick? Another valuable lesson that can be learned is figuring out what the designers are up to? How is the current set put together? What kind of play experience does it create? Just as studying cards can help, so too can studying environments.
d) Is there a card that you wish existed? A good trick for making new cards is finding moments in a game where a particular ability (especially one that doesn't exist) would be good. Whenever you're losing, for example, try this little mental game. If you could a design a card right now to dig yourself out of the hole, what would it be? The only rule is it has to be a card you think the current R&D team would print. (So no Ancestral for 4.)
Good design is about understanding what makes the game tick. There is no better way to learn this than by jumping in head first and playing.
The vast of majority of cards I create are junk. (There's a line that I know will be quoted out of context.)
Card design is very similar. If you want to improve your skills, there is simply no better method than making a lot of cards. But here's the secret. A lot of the cards you make will suck. And I don't just mean in the beginning. This will always be true. I am currently the most prolific b card designer in R&D. I'm the lead Magic designer. And you know what? The vast of majority of cards I create are junk. (There's a line that I know will be quoted out of context.) Understand that most of these junky cards never see the light of day. (Most. I made Mudhole after all.) Heck, most of them aren't seen by the rest of R&D. But they exist.
Why? Because creative endeavors are not black and white. And the creative process is best suited when an artist doesn't self-censor himself. Some bad cards turn out to be not so bad. Others act as stepping stones to better cards. In addition, looking at your failed attempts helps guide you in the right direction. With experience, you'll find that you lessen your percentage of bad cards (partly because you learn to internalize your bad cards and partly because you recognize your mistakes faster) , but they never go away.
Design will lead to a lot of junk. But it is only by working through these cards that the true gems will be found. In addition, nothing will teach you the basics more than the repetition of design. So, you want to get better at design? Design. A lot. A lot!
A good exercise before you start design is to write a few paragraphs about what you hope to accomplish. This might sound silly, but, trust me, it will result in a much cleaner design.
With experience, you will get a better sense of how cards on paper will play, but nothing takes the place of shuffling the card into a deck and playing it. I can't tell you how many times I had a card that I had to completely reevaluate after playing with it. Here are the most common lessons:
a) The card doesn't work the way you think it does. When you're creating a card, you're focused on many aspects. When you're playing, you're focused on using the card. That focus often brings gaping flaws to light.
b) The card's power level is much different than you expect. More often than not, the card is more powerful than you think. Experience has shown me that designers tend to push their own mechanics. When they dabble in something they don't understand they usually end up with super-juiced cards. Other times though, the card proves worthless in actual play. If you've played with a card in three or more games and never played it, you might want to rethink it.
c) The card needs additional text. Games have a funny way of forcing you to see corner cases you might never have thought up by just looking at the card. And when these cases come up, you need to change the card to solve the problem. The net result of this effect is that most cards get wordier over time. (At least in design. Good templating can often save you text.)
d) The card has a more elegant solution. Another perk about playing with cards is that it gives you time to think about them. I often find that some of my best design ideas come up during playtest. I'm not exactly sure why, but I think it has to do with the fact that you're forcing a different part of your brain to think about the card which spurs your brain to make connections it might not usually make.
Thinking is an important part of design. But thinking alone will not perfect the card. If you have not played with a designed card, you do not yet truly understand it.
Here's what to look for in a good playtester:
a) Someone who knows how to play Magic. If you have to teach someone how to play Magic in order playtest your cards, you will not get much value back. If you want good feedback, you need players that already have a good understanding of the game.
b) Someone who's willing to give you their honest opinion. Good friends often make bad playtesters. They have an incentive to like your cards and, failing that, they have an incentive to lie to you about it. What you want is someone who is willing to point out your cards' flaws yet whose opinion you can trust when they tell you things they like.
c) Someone who understands what they do and don't like. The best playtesters are the ones that can explain why they don't like something (or why they do). Solving a design dilemma is much easier when you clearly understand the problem.
d) Someone who has the time to playtest thoroughly. Good playtests take time. Having players play once with your card will teach you something. But it pales in comparison to having a player that has played the same cards game after game. Magic's play has a high variance. This means that the experience you have with a card one game could be radically different from another time. Thus, good playtesting requires numerous data points.
Your design is not a success until others (away from you) have had an opportunity to put the cards through their paces. Now, I have the luxury of having an entire development team to do my playtesting, but I think if you ask around, you'll find plenty of Magic players eager to try something new out. Just make sure you wait to use them until you're ready. (Burning good playtesters with premature versions of cards is a common rookie mistake.)
Good design is a lengthy process. In R&D we spend many, many months perfecting our designs. And we're the experts. Don't neglect the value of time. I'm always amazed how many good ideas I get about how to improve cards when I've stopped focusing on them.
This doesn’t mean you have to let them do whatever they want, but it does mean that you have to walk them down paths that they want to walk down. Sometimes you can even lead them through something they won’t like if it’s on the way to something they really will. Too many designers try to force the players to enjoy something they don’t want to. You’re never going to win this fight, because when the player gets frustrated enough, they quit playing your game. My example for this point comes from Mark Globus. This was submitted as his common cycle:
Sorcery {C}
Uncontainable Lightning deals 3 damage to target creature or player.
Revenge R (Opponents may play this card from your graveyard for its Revenge cost. Then remove it from the game.)
Sorcery {C}
Put target creature on top of its owner's library.
Revenge 1U (Opponents may play this card from your graveyard for its Revenge cost. Then remove it from the game.)
Sorcery {C}
You gain 5 life.
Revenge W (Opponents may play this card from your graveyard for its Revenge cost. Then remove it from the game.)
Sorcery {C}
Target player discards two cards.
Revenge B (Opponents may play this card from your graveyard for its Revenge cost. Then remove it from the game.)
Sorcery {C}
Search your library for a basic land card and put that card into play tapped. Then shuffle your library.
Revenge G (Opponents may play this card from your graveyard for its Revenge cost. Then remove it from the game.)
This cycle allows the player to get cheaper spells at the cost of a drawback. What’s wrong with this cycle? The drawback – allowing your opponent to play your spells. Why? Because players don’t want to do this. Who wants to let their opponent play their spells? Being on the receiving end of a Mindslicer or a Bribery is not too much fun, but then your opponent constantly does things to you that you don’t like. As a player you understand that in order for you to do things to your opponent that you enjoy, he or she is going to do them to you. The problem with this cycle is that it asks the player to bring this unhappy situation on themselves.
Making players do things they don’t want to do creates unfun moments. This isn’t homework. This isn’t a job. This is a game that people choose to play because they enjoy it. If it stops being fun, they’re going to stop playing, and that’s about a bad a response as you can get as a designer. This cycle fails because players don’t want to do what it’s asking them to do. Yes, you can bribe them with cheap spells, but in the end, you’re still making them do something they don’t want to do.
So does that mean that a designer should never design drawbacks? Of course not. Drawbacks can be fun, but the player has to be able to see ways they can navigate around the drawback. They have to imagine ways to design a deck that can handle the drawback. They have to see the drawback as something they are willing to do. Forcing players to do something they don’t want to do will almost always result in an unpleasant game experience. Don’t do it. (And yes, there are exceptions to this, but I would stress to a young designer to learn the craft, then break the rules.)
He then makes you go outside and start digging a hole. As soon as that hole is a few feet deep, he moves you to a new location and has you dig a new hole. He keeps doing this until you’ve spent a couple hours digging several dozen holes. Finally, you say to him, “Boss, why am I digging these holes?”
The boss then pulls out a small tree. He looks at all your holes and then puts it into the one nearest him. When you ask how many trees he is planting, he says “Just one.”
“So why did I dig so many holes?” you ask.
“To give us more options,” is his reply.
How do you feel in that moment? Pretty angry. Why? Because he wasted your time. He really only needed one hole. He made you do a lot of work that in the end was for nothing. People pretty much don’t like that. The same holds true for game design. Sure you can make your players do whatever you tell them. But come the game’s end, the players will be able to tell when you’ve wasted their time, and trust me, they won’t be happy about it.
The example of this comes from Christopher Jablonski. This is the common cycle he submitted:
Creature - Elf Shaman {C}
Corrupt 1, T: Add G to your mana pool. (Put a corruption counter on an uncorrupt card in play you control as an additional cost to play this ability.)
2/2
Creature - Bird Wizard {C}
Flying, Defender
Corrupt 1, T: Look at the top three cards of your library, then put them back in any order. (Put a corruption counter on an uncorrupt card in play you control as an additional cost to play this ability.)
2/2
Creature - Human Cleric {C}
Fear
Whenever Bankrupt Preacher deals combat damage to a player, that player puts a corruption counter on an uncorrupt card in play he or she controls.
2/2
Creature - Human Knight {C}
First Strike
Whenever Remorseful Swordsman deals combat damage to a player, put a corruption counter on an uncorrupt card in play you control.
2/2
Creature - Dwarf Wizard {C}
R, Corrupt 1, T: Darkfire Channeler deals one damage to target creature or player. (Pay R and put a corruption counter on an uncorrupt card in play you control as an additional cost to play this ability.)
2/2
Let me start by saying that there is actually something interesting buried in this cycle. The idea of cards that need untainted material to work is flavorful and hints at a mechanical area that hasn’t been too deeply explored. But (there’s always a but), it creates a lot of busy work. As an example, let’s examine how this cycle would affect Sealed. Because the cards are common, you would often see them in Limited, but because there are only five, you will often get exactly one.
What does one of these cards do? It starts spreading counters over every card you own. While you occasionally might run out of permanents, most of the time, if you just have one card with this mechanic, you will add cards fast enough that the game will end before you deplete your supply. This means that you will often be doing busy work adding counters to every permanent you own for no payoff. Not a recipe for fun.
The lesson here is that you have to be very careful each and every time you ask something of your players. Make sure that there is a high correlation between how much work you ask of them and how much they get out of it. When the ratio gets too high, you have to reexamine why you’re using that mechanic.
This lesson is about a betrayal of this trust. Players are willing to go in blind to a game, or in the case of Magic to a new set of cards. They understand that things might not always be as they seem because good design, and especially good Magic design, throws curveballs at them. Things that might not seem like they would be fun often are once you get to start playing with the cards.
My metaphor for this mistake is to imagine that your friend asked you to close your eyes. He then tells you to follow his voice. At one point he walks you into a wall. It hurts. You get angry. Why? Because you trusted your friend to look out for you. When he asked you to close your eyes, you believed there was a trust that he would take steps to make sure you wouldn’t hurt yourself. Even if he didn’t mean to walk you into a wall, it still upsets you, because intentionally or no, he just walked you into a wall! Game design is similar to this in that we constantly ask players to metaphorically close their eyes.
My example for this mistake comes from Aaron Weiner. This was his rare cycle:
Enchantment - Aura {R}
Enchant permanent
When ~ comes into play, draw 2 cards.
When ~ leaves play, you lose the game.
~ is indestructible.
Enchantment - Aura {R}
Enchant enchantment
When ~ comes into play, gain 10 life.
When ~ leaves play, you lose the game.
~ is indestructible.
Enchant artifact
When ~ comes into play, each opponent discards a card, then discards a card at random.
When ~ leaves play, you lose the game.
~ is indestructible.
Enchantment Aura {R}
Enchant creature
When ~ comes into play, destroy target land.
When ~ leaves play, you lose the game.
~ is indestructible.
Enchantment - Aura {R}
Enchant land
When ~ comes into play, put a 3/3 green Spirit creature token into play.
When ~ leaves play, you lose the game.
~ is indestructible.
What’s wrong here? I watched multiple judges read this cycle for the first time and each said aloud the same thing: “Lose the game?”
“Lose the game” is the equivalent of dynamite in game design. Yes, used properly it can do good, but more than not it’s just going to blow up in your face. Why is this implementation so bad? Because it violates the player’s trust in a very fundamental way. It takes one of the things they care most about (winning the game) and puts its fate under the opponent’s control. Is having a very underpriced spell worth losing the game if the opponent has the proper removal spell in hand (remember these cards force you to destroy the thing being enchanted as these enchantments are themselves indestructible)? No, no it isn’t.
One of the easiest shortcuts to figuring out if the player is going to like the card is to imagine the following two things. What is their first impression of the card? How do they feel when the card in play doesn’t go their way? For these cards, I believe both go badly. The first impression will be one of disbelief. I assume you’d get variations on “Why did they print this card?”
The worst part, though, is the reaction to the second part. When a player plays this card and then their opponent Terrors their creature and they lose, they are going to start cussing. Usually when a player’s own cards make him regularly curse, there’s signs that something’s wrong. This is why the card Lich never took off (and yes, I know there are Lich lovers out there). Yeah, it’s cool, but who wants to lose the game if their opponent plays enchantment removal?
The lesson here is that you have to think about how the player feels when they play your cards. One real negative experience will wipe out lots of positive ones.
Linear cards aren’t by their nature bad (Slivers, as an example, are very popular linear cards), but they do have more inherent problems than modular cards. The biggest one is this. Players like to feel in charge of their destiny. Especially in a trading card game that has a deckbuilding component, players want to have the feeling of endless possibilities (but not too endless – one of many great challenges of card design). When linear cards get too narrow, they run this problem.
You’ll notice during the first two weeks’ worth of judge reviews, Aaron has used the word “parasitic” several times. This is a term used by R&D that means that an idea is too self-contained. We want players to be able to look at cards and imagine many things they can do with them. Cards that are too parasitic say, “No, just look at this tiny subset of cards.” When we do this, we start getting the “You’re building our decks for us” comments. And you know what? They’re right. Magic isn’t fun if the players aren’t given options.
This mistake has two examples. The first comes from Landon Winkler’s rare cycle:
Astral Sorcery {R}
Search your library for any number of astral land cards and remove them from the game. Then shuffle your library. Remove CARDNAME from the game.
Whisper – 1GG: Put target astral land card you own that's removed from the game into play. (During your upkeep you may activate one Whisper ability from a card you own that is removed from the game.)
Astral Sorcery {R}
Remove all astral creatures and CARDNAME from the game.
Whisper - 4WWW: Put a legendary X/X white Angel creature token with flying named The Gatekeeper into play, where X is the number of astral cards you own removed from the game. (During your upkeep you may activate one Whisper ability from a card you own that is removed from the game.)
Astral Sorcery {R}
Search your library for up to X astral cards and remove them from the game. Then shuffle your library. Remove CARDNAME from the game.
Whisper – 2UU: Put target astral instant card that's removed from the game into its owner's hand. (During your upkeep you may activate one Whisper ability from a card you own that is removed from the game.)
Astral Sorcery {R}
Return CARDNAME to your hand, then remove from the game a card at random from your hand.
Whisper – 1RR: Put target astral creature card that's removed from the game into play. It gains haste. Sacrifice it at end of turn. (During your upkeep you may activate one Whisper ability from a card you own that is removed from the game.)
Astral Sorcery {R}
Remove CARDNAME and all astral cards in all graveyards from the game.
Whisper - 3BB: Search your deck for a card with the same name as target astral card that's removed from the game, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library. (During your upkeep you may activate one Whisper ability from a card you own that is removed from the game.)
The second cycle is Andrew Emmott’s rare cycle:
Instant - Rift {R}
Search your hand, graveyard and library for up to X Rift cards and remove them from the game. For each card removed this way, remove target attacking creature from the game. Shuffle your library.
Instant - Rift {R}
Search your hand, graveyard and library for up to X Rift cards and remove them from the game. For each card removed this way, put target permanent on top of its owner's library. Shuffle your library.
Instant - Rift {R}
Search your hand, graveyard and library for up to X Rift cards and remove them from the game. For each card removed this way, creatures get -1/-1 until end of turn. Shuffle your library.
Instant - Rift {R}
Search your hand, graveyard and library for up to X Rift cards and remove them from the game. For each card removed this way, add RRR to your mana pool.
Shuffle your library.
Instant - Rift {R}
Search your hand, graveyard and library for up to X Rift cards and remove them from the game. For each card removed this way, search your library for a creature or land card and put it into your hand.
Shuffle your library.
The problem with Astral and Rift as mechanics is that they are too parasitic. The worst part is that the power comes from playing more of the mechanics meaning that once you commit, you’re forced to filled your deck with them (note that both mechanics need to have common and uncommon support). This is one of the hardest mistakes to avoid, and I’ll be blunt – R&D doesn’t always avoid it. (This basic problem was one of my biggest issues with the Champions of Kamigawa block.)
Nonetheless, if you are designing cards, this is an important mistake to understand. Players come because they want to play the game. Designers shouldn’t play it for them.
The best example I can use with Magic is the coin flip card. Certain players love coin flipping. (These are basically Timmies with a few Johnnies) Others despise it. (Spikes most of all.) This means that the designers have to be very careful to make coin flipping cards that will appeal to the right player. This is why we avoid making tournament relevant coin flipping cards, because if they’re good enough, we force Spike to play them. He doesn’t like playing them. He doesn’t want his skill-testing to be trumped by factors that he has zero control over (Krark’s Thumb excepted – but that’s really Johnny’s card).
It is not enough to know the audience for each card. You have to make sure to design that card for that audience. The example for this mistake comes from Mark Globus (yes, poor Mark gets two examples today). This was his uncommon cycle:
Enchantment {U}
Non-token Elves are Legendary.
Elves get +1/+1 and cannot be targeted by opponents' spells or effects.
Enchantment {U}
Non-token Humans are Legendary.
Humans get +1/+1 and first strike.
Enchantment {U}
Non-token Wizards are Legendary.
Wizards get +1/+1 and flying.
Enchantment {U}
Non-token Zombies are Legendary.
Zombies get +1/+1 and B:Regenerate.
Enchantment {U}
Whenever a non-token Goblin is put in the graveyard from play put two 1/1 red Goblin creature tokens into play.
So what’s wrong here? As I said above, this mistake is subtler than many of the others seen today. Tribal at its heart is a Timmy theme. Before we made Spike care in Onslaught, Spike didn’t touch tribal decks with a ten-foot pole (and yes, there are a few notable exceptions, but only a few) This cycle is a Spike treatment of what want to be Timmy cards.
Timmy is the one attracted by the lords (Goblin King, Lord of the Undead, Elvish Champion, etc.) So making Lord-ish enchantments that put a non-Timmy restriction creates bad tension. Timmy likes to play four cards of the ones he wants. Timmy wants to make the game as fun as possible. This means putting as many of the fun cards in his deck as possible.
The problem with this cycle is that Timmy is attracted to one part of the card and dislikes the other part. This isn’t a recipe for success. I should stress that this cycle isn’t horrible. There are definitely neat ideas at work, but in the end, I feel that they would create a net negative feeling. The people that most want them to be fun wouldn’t find them fun.
The first article was about the card codes we use to make our files. While very detail oriented, it was information that was important to explain so we could build upon it.
Nuts & Bolts #2: DESIGN SKELETONS
The second article talks about one of the most valuable tools for building a design file, something known as a design skeleton.
Nuts & Bolts #3: FILLING IN THE DESIGN SKELETON
The third article talks about how to start filling in the design skeleton focusing on the commons.
Nuts & Bolts #4: HIGHER RARITIES
The fourth article then focuses on filling in the rest of the rarities.
Nuts & Bolts #5: INITIAL PLAYTESTING
The fifth article talked about how to best playtest your set.
Nuts & Bolts #6: ITERATION
The sixth article talks about the concept of iteration. It is the process through which you improve your set over time.
Nuts & Bolts #7: THREE STAGES OF DESIGN
It's very easy to think of design as being one long, singular process. This seventh article explains that there are actually three distinct stages and walks you through what the focus of each one is.
Nuts & Bolts #8: TROUBLESHOOTING
The eighth column answered a number of questions about common problems that can happen in early-to-mid design.
Nuts & Bolts #9: EVALUATION
Now we've gotten to the point where we need to put our pencils down, step back from the set, and evaluate it with a fresh eye.
LINK - Mechanical Color Pie as of 2017
LINK - Vision Design, Set Design, and Play Design 2017
LINK - Twenty Years, Twenty Lessons Part 2
LINK - Twenty Years, Twenty Lessons Part 3
LINK - Because Salt Makes Mistakes Taste Great
Be sure to participate in MTGSalvation Custom Card Games and Contests! Some are specifically for Commander cards! Relevant links below.
Commander Game
The Commander's Tool Game
Daily Card Contest
Planeswalker Game
Club Flamingo
For your reference I've listed and visually spoiled every card printed specifically for the Commander format. Hopefully by looking at what Wizards has designed for Commander you'll get a better idea of what may or may not work within your creations.
Gahiji, Honored One
Prossh, Skyraider of Kher
Oloro, Ageless Ascetic
Sydri, Galvanic Genius
Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge
Nekusar, the Mindrazer
Derevi, Empyrial Tactician
Roon of the Hidden Realm
Ezuri, Claw of Progress
Kaseto, Orochi Archmage
Kalemne, Disciple of Iroas
Anya, Merciless Angel
Meren of Clan Nel Toth
Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest
Mizzix of the Izmagnus
Arjun, the Shifting Flame
Daxos the Returned
Karlov of the Ghost Council
Nahiri, the Lithomancer
Jazal Goldmane
Teferi, Temporal Archmage
Stitcher Geralf
Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath
Ghoulcaller Gisa
Daretti, Scrap Savant
Feldon of the Third Path
Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury
Titania, Protector of Argoth
Animar, Soul of Elements
Basandra, Battle Seraph
Damia, Sage of Stone
Edric, Spymaster of Trest
Ghave, Guru of Spores
Kaalia of the Vast
Karador, Ghost Chieftain
The Mimeoplasm
Nin, the Pain Artist
Riku of Two Reflections
Ruhan of the Fomori
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
Tariel, Reckoner of Souls
Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter
Zedruu the Greathearted
Akiri, Line-Slinger
Atraxa, Praetors' Voice
Breya, Etherium Shaper
Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder
Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper
Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker
Kraum, Ludevic's Opus
Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix
Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis
Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist
Ravos, Soultender
Reyhan, Last of the Abzan
Saskia the Unyielding
Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa
Silas Renn, Seeker Adept
Tana, the Bloodsower
Thrasios, Triton Hero
Tymna the Weaver
Vial Smasher the Fierce
Yidris, Maelstrom Wielder
Arahbo, Roar of the World
Balan, Wandering Knight
Edgar Markov
Inalla, Archmage Ritualist
Kess, Dissident Mage
Licia, Sanguine Tribune
Mairsil, the Pretender
Mathas, Fiend Seeker
Mirri, Weatherlight Duelist
Nazahn, Revered Bladesmith
O-Kagachi, Vengeful Kami
Ramos, Dragon Engine
Taigam, Ojutai Master
Taigam, Sidisi's Hand
The Ur-Dragon
Wasitora, Nekoru Queen
Oreskos Explorer
Angelic Field Marshal
Scalelord Reckoner
Stalking Leonin
Orzhov Advokist
Angel of the Dire Hour
Containment Priest
Archangel of Strife
Selfless Squire
Celestial Force
Herald of the Host
Bastion Protector
Serene Master
Dawnbreak Reclaimer
Angel of Finality
Hallowed Spiritkeeper
Kalemne's Captain
Benevolent Offering
Alliance of Arms
Unexpectedly Absent
Tempt with Glory
Deploy to the Front
Fortunate Few
Comeuppance
Teferi's Protection
Entrapment Maneuver
Sublime Exhalation
Righteous Confluence
Mystic Barrier
Crescendo of War
Martyr's Bond
Soul Snare
Vow of Duty
Kindred Boon
Darksteel Mutation
Duelist's Heritage
Curse of the Forsaken
Shielded by Faith
Act of Authority
Grasp of Fate
Portal Mage
True-Name Nemesis
Breaching Leviathan
Galecaster Colossus
Djinn of Infinite Deceits
Tidal Force
Stormsurge Kraken
Faerie Artisans
Diviner Spirit
Deepglow Skate
Reef Worm
Broodbirth Viper
Gigantoplasm
Riddlekeeper
Trench Gorger
Dulcet Sirens
Illusory Ambusher
Spell Crumple
Flusterstorm
Minds Aglow
Intellectual Offering
Manifold Insights
Coastal Breach
Illusionist's Gambit
Order of Succession
Tempt with Reflections
Mystic Confluence
Aether Gale
Synthetic Destiny
Domineering Will
Aethersnatch
Mirror Match
Vow of Flight
Curse of Verbosity
Curse of Inertia
Well of Ideas
Corpse Augur
Demon of Wailing Agonies
Scourge of Nel Toth
Boneyard Scourge
Dread Cacodemon
Kheru Mind-Eater
Sewer Nemesis
Scythe Specter
Patron of the Vein
Fell Shepherd
Flesh Carver
Baleful Force
Raving Dead
Overseer of the Damned
Ophiomancer
Bloodline Necromancer
Hooded Horror
Magus of the Will
Banshee of the Dread Choir
Thief of Blood
Shared Trauma
Syphon Flesh
Toxic Deluge
Tempt with Immortality
Wake the Dead
Infernal Offering
Spoils of Blood
Kindred Dominance
Necromantic Selection
Curtains' Call
Parting Thoughts
Cruel Entertainment
Malicious Affliction
Wretched Confluence
Dread Summons
Deadly Tempest
Price of Knowledge
Vow of Malice
Curse of Disturbance
Curse of Shallow Graves
Daxos's Torment
Avatar of Slaughter
Magus of the Wheel
Dream Pillager
Bloodsworn Steward
Tyrant's Familiar
Terra Ravager
Dualcaster Mage
Crimson Honor Guard
Magmatic Force
Mana-Charged Dragon
Warchief Giant
Territorial Hellkite
Warmonger Hellkite
Runehorn Hellkite
Goblin Spymaster
Charging Cinderhorn
From the Ashes
Sudden Demise
Chaos Warp
Death by Dragons
Mizzix's Mastery
Impact Resonance
Tempt with Vengeance
Disrupt Decorum
Meteor Blast
Scrap Mastery
Volcanic Offering
Divergent Transformations
Incite Rebellion
Fiery Confluence
Rite of the Raging Storm
Shifting Shadow
Frenzied Fugue
Witch Hunt
Stranglehold
Vow of Lightning
Widespread Panic
Curse of Chaos
Bitter Feud
Awaken the Sky Tyrant
Hornet Queen
Hungry Lynx
Bloodspore Thrinax
Thunderfoot Baloth
Creeperhulk
Naya Soulbeast
Pathbreaker Ibex
Caller of the Pack
Centaur Vinecrasher
Siege Behemoth
Skullwinder
Lifeblood Hydra
Primeval Protector
Hydra Omnivore
Grave Sifter
Scavenging Ooze
Bane of Progress
Great Oak Guardian
Stonehoof Chieftain
Collective Voyage
Tempt with Discovery
Tribute to the Wild
Wave of Vitriol
Restore
Verdant Confluence
Traverse the Outlands
Arachnogenesis
Sylvan Offering
Ezuri's Predation
Seeds of Renewal
Benefactor's Draught
Curse of Predation
Primal Vigor
Spawning Grounds
Evolutionary Escalation
Song of the Dryads
Vow of Wildness
Wolfcaller's Howl
Migratory Route
Ancient Excavation
Grave Upheaval
Treacherous Terrain
Sylvan Reclamation
Bloodforged Battle-Axe
Hammer of Nazahn
Herald's Horn
Heirloom Blade
Eye of Doom
Surveyor's Scope
Acorn Catapult
Champion's Helm
Unstable Obelisk
Commander's Sphere
Assault Suit
Armory Automaton
Loreseeker's Stone
Crown of Doom
Masterwork of Ingenuity
Boompile
Conqueror's Flail
Crystalline Crawler
Blade of Selves
Thought Vessel
Scytheclaw
Prismatic Geoscope
Seal of the Guildpact
Sandstone Oracle
Ash Barrens
Command Beacon
Flamekin Village
Command Tower
Homeward Path
Arcane Lighthouse
Opal Palace
Myriad Landscape
In the main Custom Card Creation forum, threads can sometimes get passed over or only visited a single time. One main purpose of Command Tower is to consolidate all threads that would contain Commander specific designs into one thread. This will increase the views your card designs get while also being conveniently located in a thread where people visit with Commander already in mind. Keep in mind that posting your own threads is still 100% acceptable. Command Tower is not trying to monopolize custom Commander content, only make it easier for you to give and get feedback.
Posting Guidelines:
Post cards (no quantity or time restrictions)
Critique cards (don't assume a card is posted in its final form. Guide design down a constructive path)
Share design knowledge and experience (some people, including myself, don't have the design experience other posters may have. If you have the time, share your deeper understanding of a certain design situation including relevant examples, comparisons, and so on.)
Ask questions!
Share your playtesting experiences!
Maintain positive tone (All designer levels are and should feel welcomed at all times)
Reference who you're talking to or what you're talking about when posting.
Have fun and thanks for coming by!
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Legendary Creature - Elf Spirit (MR)
As long as Matata is your commander, you may have any Curse cards in your deck.
At the beginning of your end step, you may pay 3 life. If you do, return target Curse card in your graveyard to your hand.
4B, Discard a Curse card: Target creature gets -3/-3 until end of turn.
3/3
I wanted Matata to interact with all curses but wanted his color identity to be for the most part mono-black so as to avoid one of the biggest traps known where the more colors you add to a commander the more you are encouraged into a multicolor goodstuff deck. As a five-color commander that interacted with curses would also need to build with basic enchantments like Enchantress's Presence, Copy Enchantment, Sterling Grove, Enchanted Evening or Opalescence .
While recovering enchantments in general is not black's wheelhouse, interacting with a very small subset of enchantments could be within that wheelhouse. Just like how every color can interact with equipment but its white specifically that focuses in a positive manner with equipment like Sram, Senior Edificer, Steelshaper's Gift or Sigarda's Aid as quick examples
Your other cards that will see play are:
Creature - Elf Shaman (U)
When Matata's Harbinger enters the battlefield, you may search your library for a Curse card, reveal it, then shuffle your library and put that card on top of it.
3/1
Matata's Bokor B
Creature - Elf Shaman (C)
1, Pay 1 life, T: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool. Spend this mana only to cast Curse spells.
1/2
(^ I've changed mine to not have pay 1 but still the life)
Curse of Locusts 2BG
Enchantment - Aura Curse (R)
Enchant Player
At the beginning of the enchanted player's upkeep, put a devastation counter on target land they control. For as long as that land has a devastation counter on it, it can only produce C mana rather than any mana it could normally produce.
When ~ leaves the battlefield, remove all devastation counters from lands.
Curse of Greed BB
Enchantment - Aura Curse (C)
Enchant Player
Whenever the enchanted player draws a card, they lose 1 life
So yeah, lots to try. Nice stuff
Legendary Creature - Human Artificer (MR)
Haste, flying
Whenever Jo, the Militant Artificer deals combat damage to an opponent, reduce the cost of artifact spells you cast this turn by X, where X is equal to the amount of combat damage she dealt.
2/1
The original design philosphy was an artificer that was more active and got in the red zone. As opposed to established artificers that simply sat back and either had a triggered or activated ability.
Name was changed mostly as I liked the other users naming scheme for it.
@Sam-Eldristein I can see why Jo was popular over there. It has a Silas Renn, Seeker Adept vibe to it but with a lot more potential build strategies in my opinion. In the right build Jo, the Militant Artificer becomes a kill on sight creature. Low p/t on base Jo is perfect and the 2 power is is great for the first time you cast her. There are a lot of plays that open up on turn 3 if you drop a mana rock turn 1 or 2.
Creature - Ooze {M}
When Polyhulk dies create two 2/2 green Ooze creature tokens with "When this dies, reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a creature card with converted mana cost 3 or less. Put that card onto the battlefield then shuffle your library."
4/4
Another card out of me:
Legendary Creature - Elder Plant (M)
Creatures have defender, base power and toughness 0/1, and "At the beginning of your end step, draw a card."
0/1
Peace is always fragile, 1 toughness.
Peace never advocates for violence, 0 power and static ability grants each creature defender.
Peace often can cause many individuals to not be as battle-hardy as past generations and older generations to not always be in shape as they once were, static ability that alters base P/T.
Peace often allows for people to contemplate and learn new things, card draw for each creature with defender.
Peace becomes harder to maintain against those wish to extend conflict, 4cmc.
Peace has often had plants symbolize peace, plant subtype.
Elders on various planes are individuals who wield much power in some manner, typically dragons and now dinosaurs, but what about other sorts of elders like plants?
Legendary Creature - Elder Plant {M}
Creatures have defender, base power and toughness 0/1, and "At the beginning of your end step, draw a card."
0/1
I can't argue with your design philosophy for Alia but I'm worried about what the 99 might look like with it as your Commander. What do you do while all creatures are these passive plants? How are you pushing toward your victory? Alia feels like an enchantment but with an ability that does feel like justification for the Elder type. I can see and feel the flavor you intened to convey. There's no reason some plane doesn't have something like an elder plant and, if it did, Alia is likely a good representation of that (for a peaceful plant anyway. A BG elder plant would be a different story!)
The effects will produce wildly different situations from game to game depending on the boards of each player. Aggro will try to strangle Alia on sight but the next game Aggro might want to take the chance to replenish their hand and then kill Alia. it's hard to predict every weird situation Alia would produce.
Alia is a powerful effect to have ready in the Command Zone.
It also creates some situations that can make boardwipes into unfavorable states even when all Alia might have equippied is Lightning Greaves. As it can also wipe out their own creatures.
There is also some fun to be had such as animating everyones lands with Living Plane. Players now draw a card for each creature they control and each land they control, so if a Goblin player has 5 goblins and 5 lands they now draw 10 cards during their end step. If a "go wide" strategy runs into this, they may want to be hesitant about how many creatures they have out as each body makes them draw harder. While "go tall" strategies won't suffer as much from the backbreaking card draw.
Yet on the flip side, I see this commander also being weak versus strategies that don't necessarily go for the throat via combat damage. Startegies that keep a low creature count on the board and try to win through alternate methods. But yeah, the end game I see with this is winning the game through over-draw/kindness. Group Hug that wins by exhausting everyone else of their libraries. I can also imagine that Wheel of Sun and Moon would be staple in the deck in order to keep the library healthy. Thinking of which, a Reliquary Tower might be a bad idea for some to have in this situation as it would prevent them from discarding library reseters like Emrakul, the Aeons Torn.
If kept in check I would see Alia being manageable, but if allowed to run rampant I can see Alia being a show stealer. As I've always noticed people would let the group hug decks just run rampant and even protect them because of the benefits provided. As politically such decks are beneficial and allow people time to build up their board state and plans. But if cranked into over drive when the group hugger wills it, it becomes the biggest threat at the table, group smothering if you will.
Instant {C}
Prevent all damage that would be dealt from up to X sources this turn, where X is equal to your current commander tax.
Commanding Thoughts U
Instant {C}
Counter target spell unless its controller pays X, where X is equal to half your current commander tax.
Commanding Tithes B
Instant {C}
Each opponent loses X life, where X is equal to your current commander tax. You gain life equal to the life lost this way.
Commanding Strikes R
Instant {C}
Deal X damage to target creature or player, where X is equal to twice your current commander tax.
Commanding Summons G
Instant {C}
Search your library for a creature card with converted mana cost of X or less, put it on the battlefield, then shuffle your library. Where X is equal to your current commander tax.
Dunes of Zairo
SHANDALAR
Innistrad - The Darkest Night
~THE RAVNICAN CONSORTIUM~
A Community Set
Commander: Allies & Adversaries
Enlightenment U
Sorcery {C}
Command (You can only cast this card if you control a commander)
Each player draws cards until they each have seven cards in hand. Put Enlightenment on the bottom of your library instead of your graveyard after resolving.
The Forest God
Legendary Land Creature - Forest God (MR)
The Forest God’s power and toughness are each equal to the number of forests you control.
When The Forest God deals combat damage, search your library for a forest and put that card onto battlefield. Shuffle your library.
XGG: The Forest God enters the battlefield from your command zone. X is always equal to his commander tax. You may only activate this ability only during your turn.
Color Indicator: Green
Hidden Rules Text: The Forest God has "T: Add G to your mana pool." due to the fact he is land creature with the forest subtype. This has been treated as reminder text just like with Dryad Arbor or Murmuring Bosk.
Instant {C}
Prevent all damage that would be dealt from up to X sources this turn, where X is equal to your current commander tax.
First, I'll say, about all of these, that I like how they encourage you to play your Commander and along with that, includes a built in balancing device. The W has strong political potential since you can target perms you don't control in a multiplayer game. I think the "this turn" bit I added is needed.
Commanding Thoughts U
Instant {C}
Counter target spell unless its controller pays X, where X is equal to your current commander tax.
I think this ought to cost U or even UU more to cast. If your Commander hasn't been cast and eliminated in some way you wont be able to cast this anyway but when you can cast it the X would automatically be 2 (assuming no house rules on Commander Tax). Just my thoughts. Others have way more knowledge on things like this.
Commanding Tithes B
Instant {C}
Each opponent loses X life, where X is equal to your current commander tax. You gain life equal to the life lost this way.
Would not change this. Good to go. Think about the flavor built into this for all of the death required to build it up. Fantastic!
Commanding Strikes R
Instant {C}
Deal X damage to target creature or player, where X is equal to twice your current commander tax.
I'm glad you included the "twice" in this or it would have been terrible. Still not a great multiplayer card but not all cards have to be
Commanding Summons G
Instant {C}
Search your library for a creature card with converted mana cost of X or less, put in on the battlefield, then shuffle your library. Where X is equal to your current commander tax.
Instant helps this but I think it's
still not very strong in comparison to the others.fine because it puts the creature onto the battlefieldCommand reminder text should read (Cast this only if you control your Commander.) or (Cast this only if you control a Commander.) if you want to be able to cast even if you steal an opponents Commander
The Forest God needs a few different rewordings but the biggest thing I'd considering is whether or not you should be able to activate its ability at instant or sorcery speed. I'd say Sorcery speed but it's up to you.
Can you play this as your Land for the turn? If so, can you add an additional cost to play a land? Lots of questions for others to help answer.
Thanks for your designs!!
As for The Forest God, if he was in your hand it would be your land for the turn. He now can only be cast during your turn. I remember a similar concept during my lurking yet there was a problem with it. You couldn't cast it from the command zone so it would remain forever stuck there. To fix that, my version includes an activated ability that cheats him into play but also doubles as his base mana cost and commander tax.
Also you're welcome.
Father Winter WURG
Legendary Creature - Avatar (MR)
Haste, flying
At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep they create a colorless Gift artifact token with "T, Sacrifice this artifact: Choose One - Add one mana of any color to your mana pool; or draw a card; or gain 5 life."
3/6
"Walking through the walls was good Father Winter."
Yuletide Season WURG
Enchantment (R)
Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt to and dealt by creatures.
At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player draws a card.
At the beginning of each player's main phase, that player gains 5 life.
At the beginning of each players end step, untap all creatures.
Aspect of the Mind 1UU
Enchantment - Aura (C)
Enchant Player
At the beginning of your upkeep, if your commander is in your command zone, Scry 3.
Quiver of Ten-Thousand Arrows 7
Artifact - Equipment (R)
The equipped creature has "T: Deal damage equal to the equipped creature's power to each attacking or blocking creature."
The equip cost for Quiver of Ten-Thousand Arrows is 0 when equipping your commander.
Equip 7
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Legendary Creature - Golem Flagbearer (MR)
Indestructible, reach
While choosing targets as part of casting a spell or activating an ability, your opponents must choose at least one Flagbearer on the battlefield if able.
Aegis of the Empire can't attack.
0/6
Legendary Creature — Ooze (M)
Deathtouch
Whenever an instant or sorcery card is put into a graveyard from anywhere, you may exile it. If you do, return each other card exiled with Necrotic Spellplasm to its owner's graveyard.
Whenever Necrotic Spellplasm deals combat damage to a player, you may cast a copy of the exiled card without paying its mana cost.
5/5
Legendary Creature - Merfolk Artificer (Mythic)
The first time an artifact card is put into your graveyard from anywhere on your turn, draw a card.
Tap three untapped artificers you control: Return target artifact card in your graveyard to the battlefield, then sacrifice an artifact.
1/1
Making a post apocalyptic set with Artifact and graveyard themes (think salvaging for lost devices). Needed a good "build around me legend" and figured this fit well. Thoughts?
Legendary Creature - Efreet Monk (R)
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery with a converted mana cost of 2 or less, draw card.
Whenever an instant or sorcery with converted mana cost of 2 or less would enter your graveyard from anywhere, place it on the bottom of your library instead.
4/4
Is my version perfect? I personally doubt that. Even at only 2cmc its still very powerful despite the limiters. set in place.
@PhyrexianBolas: Could work, depends on what other artificers there are. Has a Seton, Krosan Protector vibe for its activated ability. The triggered ability appears fair enough as artifacts tend to have tricks for multiple recursions in a turn.
Legendary Creature - Incarnation (MR)
When you cast Eternity, search your library for a instant card, add it to your hand, then shuffle your library afterwards. Then do the same for a enchantment card and then a creature card.
10/10