I feel like this idea has come up before, but I wanna throw it out there anyway. I want to experiment with tap abilities and attack triggers that care about which direction the card is tapped in. For example:
Vamp DudeB
Creature - Vampire (C)
1/1 Duality - Whenever ~ is tapped to the left, it gains lifelink until end of turn. Whenever it's tapped to the right, it gains deathtouch until end of turn.
Electromancer3UR
Creature - Wizard U
1/1 Duality - Whenever ~ is tapped to the left, draw a card. Whenever it's tapped to the right, it deals 2 damage divided as you choose among one or two targets.
I especially like this as a two-color mechanic. Choosing between two triggers is more flexible when two colors are involved. I feel like it would fit especially well on Ravnica.
I know it could be worded as a simple "choose one" ability, but the directional tapping acts as a memory aid. Not only that, but it can be expanded on to include effects that care about the direction other creatures are tapped in:
Social Justice WarriorWW
2/2
Creature - Human Knight R
Creatures you control that are tapped to the left get +1/+1 and have first strike.
This sort of thing only works well when there's a good mix of incentives to tap in both directions in the same deck, as that maximizes decision-making. I think it has a lot of potential, though.
One thing to note is that these abilities couldn't really care about which direction your opponent's creatures are tapped in, as they would look upside-down. Even then, it might be a little difficult for your opponent to keep track of your triggers without asking you. I don't think that would be too much of an issue though.
No thanks. Left and Right would cause too much confusion.
Pokémon TCG does this. Tap counterclockwise for sleeping Pokémon. Tap clockwise for poisoned Pokémon. I don't play much Pokémon with my kids anymore, but I haven't seen any new cards that do this for a while now. I think the sleep mechanic was retired (or was it the other one? I forget).
!
Honestly, I think the game is better off that way and I feel the same about MtG.
Edit: I re-read what I posted and it sounds a little harsh. So let me clarify.
Tapping directionality matters opens up a can of worms on par with Dryad Arbor and misrepresentation of game state. If there's squawking over the FTV edition. How much *****ing do you think is going to happen with tap direction?
I think these abilities can be better served as 0 cost abilities or another template.
This sounds like a nightmare to keep track of, and raises rules questions.
What if the player is playing with their cards upside down? (Giving the opponent the direct view of the card, I see experienced players do this to help new players learn)
In what direction does a permanent tap if it is forced to do so by an effect controlled by the opponent?
If you tap a tapped creature, can you reverse the tap direction?
There is a massive distinction between "is tapped" and "becomes tapped" and you cannot use them interchangeably. "is tapped" is a card's state,and can be used to define continuous static effects, used correctly on Social Justice Warrior (Ha ha, funny joke). For the other two, you would need to use "becomes tapped" to define the moment of the trigger.
This sounds like an Un-mechanic to me, caring about physical positioning of the cards on the table.
Pokémon TCG does this. Tap counterclockwise for sleeping Pokémon. Tap clockwise for poisoned Pokémon. I don't play much Pokémon with my kids anymore, but I haven't seen any new cards that do this for a while now. I think the sleep mechanic was retired (or was it the other one? I forget).
Pokémon that are Asleep are turned to the left, and Pokémon that are Paralyzed are turned to the right. This is easily remembered because "AsLeep = Left" and "PaRalyzed = Right" (yes, I know "Paralyzed" also has an "L" in it). Pokémon that are Confused are turned 180 degrees, because "ConFused = flipped over" or something like that.
Pokémon that are Poisoned are denoted with a poison marker. Pokémon that are Burned are denoted with a burn marker.
As of the current sets, none of them are discontinued. Burned was phased out for awhile but was eventually brought back.
-----
Anyway, I really don't like directional tapping as an enforced mechanic. Generally, the direction in which a player orients their cards when tapping them is habitual; a player who is used to turning their cards clockwise will continue to turn their cards clockwise. The time they learned what tapping meant didn't involve any functional difference between tapping in one direction or the other, so the difference in tapping direction is just a question of comfort more than a question of game function.
Putting rules meaning behind each tapping direction involves players willingly needing to break their habitual tapping direction. Just like other habits, part of the process in breaking that habit is to recognize that the habit is being performed. The problem is that since tapping is done so often in Magic, this recognition stage probably doesn't even happen, since it's such a mindless and quick re-orientation of the card. When it comes to players needing to ask their opponent whether they actually mean to tap in the direction they tapped, or players saying "gotcha" to players who mean to tap one way but instinctively tap the other way, there's a problem.
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How to use card tags (please use them for everybody's sanity)
[c]Lightning Bolt[/c] -> Lightning Bolt
[c=Lightning Bolt]Apple Pie[/c] -> Apple Pie
Vowels-Only Format Minimum deck size: 60 Maximum number of identical cards: 4 Ban list: Cards whose English names begin with a consonant, Unglued and Unhinged cards, cards involving ante, Ancestral Recall
Pokémon TCG does this. Tap counterclockwise for sleeping Pokémon. Tap clockwise for poisoned Pokémon. I don't play much Pokémon with my kids anymore, but I haven't seen any new cards that do this for a while now. I think the sleep mechanic was retired (or was it the other one? I forget).
Pokémon that are Asleep are turned to the left, and Pokémon that are Paralyzed are turned to the right. This is easily remembered because "AsLeep = Left" and "PaRalyzed = Right" (yes, I know "Paralyzed" also has an "L" in it). Pokémon that are Confused are turned 180 degrees, because "ConFused = flipped over" or something like that.
Pokémon that are Poisoned are denoted with a poison marker. Pokémon that are Burned are denoted with a burn marker.
As of the current sets, none of them are discontinued. Burned was phased out for awhile but was eventually brought back.
Meh... can't expect me to remember those details, can you?
Saneatali brings up a good point though. This is something that might work in a future unset but I would find it absurd to even try in any other format.
Yeah, any mechanic that dictates how one should manually perform certain actions (excluding anti-cheating mechanisms like shuffling and board state clarity) is un-set worthy.
The one major problem with this mechanic is a situation when you take someone's card to read it, and then you put it back. I very often catch myself and others forgetting if it was tapped before, and remembering which way is definitely too much.
On one or two cards in Unsound, though, I would be happy to see it done like this.
It should be clockwise or anticlockwise, IMO, as that remains consistent regardless of whether it was rotated 180 degrees (from being on the other side of the board) beforehand.
It has the same issues as the Untap mechanic. All players know that a card can be tapped or untapped while on the battelfield, but adding "clockwise" or "counterclockwise" to the game makes the board much more complex. For ex:
T: Do A. T: Do B.
It's not worth making it tap clockwise to do A or tap counterclockwise to do B.
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Vamp Dude B
Creature - Vampire (C)
1/1
Duality - Whenever ~ is tapped to the left, it gains lifelink until end of turn. Whenever it's tapped to the right, it gains deathtouch until end of turn.
Electromancer 3UR
Creature - Wizard U
1/1
Duality - Whenever ~ is tapped to the left, draw a card. Whenever it's tapped to the right, it deals 2 damage divided as you choose among one or two targets.
I especially like this as a two-color mechanic. Choosing between two triggers is more flexible when two colors are involved. I feel like it would fit especially well on Ravnica.
I know it could be worded as a simple "choose one" ability, but the directional tapping acts as a memory aid. Not only that, but it can be expanded on to include effects that care about the direction other creatures are tapped in:
Social Justice Warrior WW
2/2
Creature - Human Knight R
Creatures you control that are tapped to the left get +1/+1 and have first strike.
This sort of thing only works well when there's a good mix of incentives to tap in both directions in the same deck, as that maximizes decision-making. I think it has a lot of potential, though.
One thing to note is that these abilities couldn't really care about which direction your opponent's creatures are tapped in, as they would look upside-down. Even then, it might be a little difficult for your opponent to keep track of your triggers without asking you. I don't think that would be too much of an issue though.
What do you guys think?
Pokémon TCG does this. Tap counterclockwise for sleeping Pokémon. Tap clockwise for poisoned Pokémon. I don't play much Pokémon with my kids anymore, but I haven't seen any new cards that do this for a while now. I think the sleep mechanic was retired (or was it the other one? I forget).
!
Honestly, I think the game is better off that way and I feel the same about MtG.
Edit: I re-read what I posted and it sounds a little harsh. So let me clarify.
Tapping directionality matters opens up a can of worms on par with Dryad Arbor and misrepresentation of game state. If there's squawking over the FTV edition. How much *****ing do you think is going to happen with tap direction?
I think these abilities can be better served as 0 cost abilities or another template.
What if the player is playing with their cards upside down? (Giving the opponent the direct view of the card, I see experienced players do this to help new players learn)
In what direction does a permanent tap if it is forced to do so by an effect controlled by the opponent?
If you tap a tapped creature, can you reverse the tap direction?
There is a massive distinction between "is tapped" and "becomes tapped" and you cannot use them interchangeably. "is tapped" is a card's state,and can be used to define continuous static effects, used correctly on Social Justice Warrior (Ha ha, funny joke). For the other two, you would need to use "becomes tapped" to define the moment of the trigger.
This sounds like an Un-mechanic to me, caring about physical positioning of the cards on the table.
Pokémon that are Asleep are turned to the left, and Pokémon that are Paralyzed are turned to the right. This is easily remembered because "AsLeep = Left" and "PaRalyzed = Right" (yes, I know "Paralyzed" also has an "L" in it). Pokémon that are Confused are turned 180 degrees, because "ConFused = flipped over" or something like that.
Pokémon that are Poisoned are denoted with a poison marker. Pokémon that are Burned are denoted with a burn marker.
As of the current sets, none of them are discontinued. Burned was phased out for awhile but was eventually brought back.
-----
Anyway, I really don't like directional tapping as an enforced mechanic. Generally, the direction in which a player orients their cards when tapping them is habitual; a player who is used to turning their cards clockwise will continue to turn their cards clockwise. The time they learned what tapping meant didn't involve any functional difference between tapping in one direction or the other, so the difference in tapping direction is just a question of comfort more than a question of game function.
Putting rules meaning behind each tapping direction involves players willingly needing to break their habitual tapping direction. Just like other habits, part of the process in breaking that habit is to recognize that the habit is being performed. The problem is that since tapping is done so often in Magic, this recognition stage probably doesn't even happen, since it's such a mindless and quick re-orientation of the card. When it comes to players needing to ask their opponent whether they actually mean to tap in the direction they tapped, or players saying "gotcha" to players who mean to tap one way but instinctively tap the other way, there's a problem.
[c]Lightning Bolt[/c] -> Lightning Bolt
[c=Lightning Bolt]Apple Pie[/c] -> Apple Pie
Vowels-Only Format
Minimum deck size: 60
Maximum number of identical cards: 4
Ban list: Cards whose English names begin with a consonant, Unglued and Unhinged cards, cards involving ante, Ancestral Recall
Meh... can't expect me to remember those details, can you?
Saneatali brings up a good point though. This is something that might work in a future unset but I would find it absurd to even try in any other format.
Art is life itself.
On one or two cards in Unsound, though, I would be happy to see it done like this.
T: Do A.
T: Do B.
It's not worth making it tap clockwise to do A or tap counterclockwise to do B.