Could this be a functional set keyword? I got the idea from the title of another thread here on the CCC forum.
Keyword Name (As you cast this spell, each card you discard exile from your hand pays for two mana of any of that cards colors.)
I've set the value of a card fed into the spell to two mana, since the value of a card in hand is generally thought to be rather high, but spells that carry this mechanic would also naturally cost a bit more than another functionally identical spell without the keyword.
It would allow spells to be cast for no mana, and would allow spells to be cast without actually having access to mana of its color, and these features concern me, but having to stock your deck with other cards of the necessary color should offset that, as otherwise you'd be stuck with a bunch of other uncastable cards.
So for example: Removal Spell4WW
Instant
Keyword Name
Exile target artifact, creature, or enchantment.
If you discard exile a white card, it would pay for WW, any other card would be able to pay for 2, and a total of three cards discarded exiled would pay for the entire spell free of charge.
A multicolored example: Land Time4RG
Sorcery
Keyword Name
Destroy target land.
Search your library for a basic land card and put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle your library.
Here, a red card would pay for 1R, a green card would pay for 1G, but a card that is both red and green can pay RG, and the same 2 for any other or additional card fed to it.
Cost reduction mechanics are already pretty dangerous, but this would be especially broken in modern. Faithless Looting is actually getting some ban talk because the discard part is just so beneficial. A free version that trades the card draw for some other significant advantage would be very easy to break.
Land Time, in particular, is legacy playable, and a free land destruction/ramp spell that also has the bonus of discarding Vengevine and Flamewake Phoenix and instantly reducing Hollow One's casting cost to 0 would make that deck tier 0, on par with Eldrazi Winter.
Ok, if the primary hitch is filling the graveyard, changing the mechanic to exiling the cards from hand rather than discarding them should fix it. It was already sort of an homage to the SpiritGuides, and exile from hand is how Force of Will works, so the concept isn't alien. It would wind up being almost Delve, but eating from the hand rather than the graveyard.
As for the examples, I just picked two random existingcards, raised their costs by 1 and attached the keyword, without consideration to color appropriateness for the mechanic or relative power level.
Ok, if the primary hitch is filling the graveyard, changing the mechanic to exiling the cards from hand rather than discarding them should fix it. It was already sort of an homage to the SpiritGuides, and exile from hand is how Force of Will works, so the concept isn't alien. It would wind up being almost Delve, but eating from the hand rather than the graveyard.
As for the examples, I just picked two random existingcards, raised their costs by 1 and attached the keyword, without consideration to color appropriateness for the mechanic or relative power level.
Exile definitely cuts down on abuse. Allosaurus Rider and company were no problem. I'm still a little concerned about balance and design space, since there's so much that can go wrong with cost reduction, especially if it can go all the way down to zero.
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Keyword Name (As you cast this spell, each card you
discardexile from your hand pays for two mana of any of that cards colors.)I've set the value of a card fed into the spell to two mana, since the value of a card in hand is generally thought to be rather high, but spells that carry this mechanic would also naturally cost a bit more than another functionally identical spell without the keyword.
It would allow spells to be cast for no mana, and would allow spells to be cast without actually having access to mana of its color, and these features concern me, but having to stock your deck with other cards of the necessary color should offset that, as otherwise you'd be stuck with a bunch of other uncastable cards.
So for example:
Removal Spell 4WW
Instant
Keyword Name
Exile target artifact, creature, or enchantment.
If you
discardexile a white card, it would pay for WW, any other card would be able to pay for 2, and a total of three cardsdiscardedexiled would pay for the entire spell free of charge.A multicolored example:
Land Time 4RG
Sorcery
Keyword Name
Destroy target land.
Search your library for a basic land card and put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle your library.
Here, a red card would pay for 1R, a green card would pay for 1G, but a card that is both red and green can pay RG, and the same 2 for any other or additional card fed to it.
Land Time, in particular, is legacy playable, and a free land destruction/ramp spell that also has the bonus of discarding Vengevine and Flamewake Phoenix and instantly reducing Hollow One's casting cost to 0 would make that deck tier 0, on par with Eldrazi Winter.
As for the examples, I just picked two random existing cards, raised their costs by 1 and attached the keyword, without consideration to color appropriateness for the mechanic or relative power level.
Exile definitely cuts down on abuse. Allosaurus Rider and company were no problem. I'm still a little concerned about balance and design space, since there's so much that can go wrong with cost reduction, especially if it can go all the way down to zero.