I was thinking of what kinds of mechanics I would have given the guilds during the first trip to Ravnica, and I came up with this simple mechanic for the Boros, designed to play into their general aggro theme as well as their military theme.
Goblin War-Trumpeter1R
Creature - Goblin Soldier (C) Formation - Whenever ~ attacks, each attacking creature you control gets +1/+0 until end of turn. "He's certainly enthusiastic. Not the most harmonious, but enthusiastic." - Pierakor, Legion Firemane
1/1
Concentrated Fire2R
Instant (C) Formation - ~ deals damage to any target equal to the number of attacking creatures you control.
Gung-Ho Commando3R
Creature - Goblin Soldier (U) Formation - Whenever ~ attacks, creatures defending player controls can't block attacking creatures you control this combat unless that player pays 1 for each blocking creature they control. He's going commando in more ways than one.
2/1
At first, the name and flavor text belonged to Goblin War-Trumpeter, but I felt this fit much better.
Flame-Kin2RR
Creature - Elemental Soldier (U) Formation - Whenever ~ attacks, each attacking creature you control gains menace until end of turn. The flame-kin's comrades each bear a lit torch. The combined light of so many flames reflecting off armor makes the squad appear to be one massive wildfire charging toward the enemy.
3/2
Thunderhoof Sergeant4R
Creature - Minotaur Soldier (U) Formation - Whenever ~ attacks, each attacking creature you control gains trample until end of turn. When a minotaur leads the attack, a charging squad becomes a stampeding herd.
4/3
Warboss Strategist3RR
Creature - Goblin Soldier (R) Formation - Whenever ~ attacks, you may discard up to X cards, then draw that many cards, where X is the number of attacking creatures you control. "If you want to find a goblin's secret stash, you have to think like one."
3/3
Sunhome Shieldmate1W
Creature - Human Soldier (C) Formation - Whenever ~ attacks, each attacking creature you control gets +0/+1 until end of turn. "An arrow in your shield is one that isn't in your head."
1/1
Charge in FormationW
Instant (C) Formation - Each attacking creature you control gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
Skyjek Officer2W
Creature - Human Knight (U) Formation - Whenever ~ attacks, each attacking creature you control gains flying until end of turn.
2/2
Boros War-Priest2W
Creature - Human Cleric (U) Formation - Whenever ~ attacks, each attacking creature you control gains lifelink until end of turn.
2/2
Arm the Legion4WW
Instant (R) Formation - For each attacking creature you control, search your library for an Aura card that could enchant that creature or an Equipment card and put it onto the battlefield attached to that creature. Then shuffle your library.
Frontline Halberdier1RW
Creature - Human Soldier (C) Formation - Whenever ~ attacks, each attacking creature you control gains first strike until end of turn.
2/2
Swiftblade3RW
Creature - Human Soldier (U) Formation - Whenever ~ attacks, each attacking creature you control gains double strike until end of turn.
2/2
Implacable Assault2RW
Instant (R) Formation - Untap each attacking creature you control. Those creatures gain indestructible until end of turn. After this phase, there is an additional combat phase.
Pierakor, Legion Firemane4RW
Legendary Creature - Angel (R)
Flying, haste
Whenever ~ attacks, the next spell you cast this turn costs 1 less to cast for each creature you control that attacked this turn.
4/4
Pierakor, aka Feather, doesn't have Formation per se as Formation only cares about creatures that are currently attacking, but her ability works well with creatures and spells that have Formation.
Firemane Assault6RRWW
Instant (M)
Cast this spell only during combat before blockers are declared. Formation - For each attacking creature you control, create a 4/4 white Angel creature token with flying that's tapped and attacking. Exile those tokens at end of combat.
Formation is kind of a proto-Battalion that applies an effect to each attacking creature you control, or more rarely generates an effect for each attacking creature you control.
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
Radiance was pretty bad as a mechanic. Ability word. Cared about color. Sometimes backfired. Formation is better... kind of. I don't like that your creatures play one way, and spells play another. I think you'd be a lot better off restricting it to creatures; perhaps even keywording it. As is, it plays like a mix between Battle cry and a generic "when this attacks" trigger, which I'd hate to associate with Boros.
At first, Formation was limited to creatures, but I found that it worked better if it could also go on spells, not to mention putting it on instants as well as creatures allows it to play better with Izzet, and so the ability wording changed from "Whenever ~ attacks, [effect] for each attacking creature you control" to "[effect] for each attacking creature you control." The terminology is consistent across the cards, it's just that creatures with Formation use the attack trigger, while spells need no such trigger.
Can you explain in detail why Pierakor goes out of its way not to use formation?
At first, she did use Formation. But I determined that the ability was much easier to word if her ability tracked creatures that attacked that turn as opposed to creatures that are attacking. If Pierakor's cost reduction only tracked attacking creatures, it would be limited to instants and permanents with flash. Worded as is, you can cast the spell during your postcombat main phase and still get the cost reduction.
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
Can you explain in detail why Pierakor goes out of its way not to use formation?
At first, she did use Formation. But I determined that the ability was much easier to word if her ability tracked creatures that attacked that turn as opposed to creatures that are attacking. If Pierakor's cost reduction only tracked attacking creatures, it would be limited to instants and permanents with flash. Worded as is, you can cast the spell during your postcombat main phase and still get the cost reduction.
So? It's an ability word, so you're not actually bound by exact wording. Formation's unifying characteristics are that it is an attack trigger that counts/affects attackers. Sure, you had to tinker a bit with the wording to get the card to function the way you want, but the result is still true to the theme.
And let's not even talk about how Charge in Formation is just a much worse charge
Huh, I'd thought Glorious Charge was still the standard for common limited wide pump spells. I originally thought to try something more like In Oketra's Name, with attacking creatures getting a bigger boost. How about this?
Charge in Formation1W
Instant (C) Formation - Attacking creatures you control get +2/+1 until end of turn. Other creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn.
Again, Formation cares about attacking creatures you control, so it isn't working differently between creatures and spells.
Designing common Formation creatures is the tricky part, because of the necessity for wide effects that are repeatable at common (unless you want some creatures with Flash that have one-shot ETB Formation triggers). Would Goblin War-Trumpter and Sunhome Shieldmate be safe at 1 cmc each? War-Trumpter is the kind of card that can quickly win the game with a few copies left unchecked. First it's 2 damage, then it's 6, then 16, and with four copies on the field you're swinging for 20. Not that commons haven't managed this before, but almost always at 2 cmc or higher.
As for the spells, what if they created Soldier tokens that enter the battlefield tapped and attacking?
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
You keep focusing on the attack trigger, when the point behind Formation is that it cares about the number of attacking creatures you control. The attack trigger on creatures is how Formation makes the most sense on creatures, but when you put it on an instant, it doesn't need the attack trigger because it's already being cast during combat on your turn. Formation is not working differently on different card types any more than Ferocious is working differently on Heir of the Wilds versus Feed the Clan.
I will remind you that not every card is designed for Constructed play, including the commons. The primary job of commons is to be your main playing pieces in Limited. Rares are the cards most designed for Constructed. However, most guild mechanics do appear on at least two cards in each color at common, and while my Formation instants help meet that requirement on a technical level, I also acknowledge that putting Formation on creatures is preferable since it rewards playing a higher volume of creatures.
Incidentally, your Recruit mechanic is very similar to a mechanic I'd pitched for Boros in the past, which I called Mobilize N. Every time the creature attacked, you'd get N Soldier tokens, but just for that combat to avoid overrunning the opponent too easily. Much like how Orzhov got a one-shot token creation keyword in Afterlife, I could see Boros getting something similar. Perhaps an alternate cost that has you create the tokens when the creature or permanent enters the battlefield? The problem with putting a token-making keyword in Boros is that it works a little too well with Selesnya, something that has been a frequent problem for the two guilds according to Maro. This wouldn't have been as big of an issue in RTR block since Boros and Selesnya would only be drafted together in DGM, but in both RAV and GRN it was a big concern.
The second choice I would have picked for Boros would have been a cost reduction keyword I call Warfare. A spell with warfare costs 1 less to cast for each creature that has attacked the turn you cast the spell. Of course Warfare would be highly unlikely with Convoke already in the set, but it's a mechanic I'd like to use in a future set (currently leaning toward my Pirates of Maris or Depths of Maris sets, themed on naval warfare). Alternatively, Warfare could instead be an alternate cost like Surge or Spectacle, with the condition being tied to attacking with creatures. Basically a subset of Raid. But again, fiddling with costs is something Selesnya was doing in RAV and GRN, so Boros wouldn't likely have gotten their own cost-related mechanic in either of those sets.
In the end, Formation is meant to capture the basic essence of the Boros, much like how Undergrowth captures the basic essence of the Golgari. The biggest problem I see with it is not Constructed viability (honestly, that isn't a big concern of mine anyway) but the difficulty of using the mechanic at common on the card type that wants it most, for both complexity and development reasons. At common, you'd more likely see creatures that grant a keyword or other benefit to one other attacking creature, like Mentor. You could also see creatures who strengthen themselves based on the number of attacking creatures you control, like "Whenever ~ attacks, it gets +1/+0 until end of turn for each attacking creature you control." Incidentally, a reverse Battle Cry is itself a mechanic I'd thought of before for a RWB faction themed around combat as a sport, playing into the idea of mixing red's aggro, white's team focus, and black's selfishness.
In the end, maybe reverse Battle Cry is the proper direction for Formation, with secondary benefits appearing on higher rarities.
Charging Sergeant2RR
Creature - Minotaur Soldier
Menace
Formation (Whenever this creature attacks, it gets +1/+0 until end of turn for each attacking creature you control.)
2/3
Zealous Frontliner1R
Creature - Goblin Soldier
Haste
~ attacks each turn if able.
Formation (Whenever this creature attacks, it gets +1/+0 until end of turn for each attacking creature you control.)
1/1
Skyjek Champion1W
Creature - Human Knight
Flying
Formation (Whenever this creature attacks, it gets +1/+0 until end of turn for each attacking creature you control.)
1/3
Sunhome Sentry4WW
Creature - Giant Soldier
Vigilance
Formation (Whenever this creature attacks, it gets +1/+0 until end of turn for each attacking creature you control.)
3/5
Goblin Spearmaster1(R/W)
Creature - Goblin Soldier
First strike
Formation (Whenever this creature attacks, it gets +1/+0 until end of turn for each attacking creature you control.) Most goblins know how to use a pointy stick, but only the Legion teaches them how to master it.
1/1
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
The best support is a few tokens with the ability. That also lets you interplay with other guilds, whose identity may include tokens.
Boros BattlematesRW
Creature- Human Soldier (U)
Formation (When this creature attacks, it gets +1/+0 until end of turn for each other attacking creature you control.)
When Boros Battlemates enters the battlefield, create a 1/1 red and white Soldier creature token with formation. "We are the Legion."
1/1
Goblin Front-Guard1R
Creature- Goblin Soldier (C)
Haste, Formation (When this creature attacks, it gets +1/+0 until end of turn for each other attacking creature you control.)
When Goblin Front-Guard dies during combat, create a 1/1 red and white Soldier creature token with formation. When one falls, another takes their place.
1/1
Boros Gatestone3
Artifact (U) T: Add R or W. 2RW,T: Create a 1/1 red and white Soldier creature token with formation. (When it attacks, it gets +1/+0 until end of turn for each other attacking creature you control.)
Formation does not care about the number of attacking creatures. Most of your triggers actually just did blanket effects that boosted all attacking creatures. Thunderhoof Sergeant gives trample to all your (attacking) creatures when it attacks. It doesn't care how many actually attack.
(Also, on that note, suppose this just said "Creatures you control have trample," this is 1/3rd the text, but usually plays identically.)
Of course you're right, Formation is no more complex than other ability words. You mention Ferocious. Did you enjoy that mechanic? Also, compare Feed the Clan to Nourish. Ignoring their CMC, which would help draft go smoother? My vote is on the latter, as it's one line of text rather than 4.
Mobilize's temporary tokens is interesting, but I'm actually okay with them overwhelming an opponent, post wrath of god. Wrath effects are strong, so if my opponent thinks he can wrath to stabilize, my common 1/3 for 1W with vigilance and Recruit 1 is going to put him in check - he needs to have a body on the board w/ some power to kill my tokens, or he's in trouble. Mobilize gets to cost less than Recruit, though, so that's relevant. This means that the average Boros recruit creature fumbles against the average golgari or selesynia creature of the same CMC, and probably trades with an average creature at 1 less CMC. In other words, you're paying for the resiliency against wrath effects.
Warfare is interesting, but this would play like the prototype Bloodthirst - reducing the cost = amount of damage dealt. WOTC nixed that because late game, you had no problem paying the normal CMC. Unless all Warfare spells had an X, this would be quite unsatisfying (at least according to WOTC's original Ravnica design team).
I wouldn't go comparing Formation to Undergrowth, largely because I think Undergrowth was obviously the worst GRN mechanic. It played inconsistently, often just didn't fire, and added so much text to cards that its not even funny. Hatchery Spider never fired. Kraul Harpooner sucks to play on Arena. Molderhulk "Affinity for creature cards in your graveyard" is less text... and still affinity. Vigorspore Wurm Oh, look, one of my creatures gets +0/+0... and vigilance! But the wurm itself has stalking. Woo. Izoni, Thousand-Eyed and the harpooner see fringe play, but this feels like a dud.
Reverse-Battle Cry, or (nontribal) Piledriver, is cool. However, make it each other attacking creature you control.
Charging Sergeant - At 4 mana, I wish this was a 2/4 (giant?) with trample. Seems strictly limited either way, nothing to see here.
Zealous Frontliner - Interesting design! But like Goblin Piledriver, I'm going to suggest making this a 1/2. I don't think this is good enough for regular standard, but I like it!
Skyjek Champion - Gotta say, making this a 1/2 would put my mind at ease.
Sunhome Sentry - Oh, I wanted to see Vigilance on a 1/3 w/ no evasion at like 2 mana.
Goblin Spearmaster - "each other" (as with above), but yeah, I'm okay with this.
I actually kind of like this version of the keyword. I suggest making R creatures have higher power than toughness (suicidal) and W creatures have higher toughness (cost more, but more likely to survive combat). Menace and Trample play well with R formation creatures, flying and vigilance with W. Maybe have more W creatures with 0 power:
Sunhome Honor GuardW
Creature - Human Soldier (C)
Vigilance
Formation (When this creature attacks, it gets +1/+0 until end of turn for each other attacking creature you control.)
0/3
Sunhome Ball Kicker1R
Creature - Human Soldier (C)
Haste, Formation (When this creature attacks, it gets +1/+0 until end of turn for each other attacking creature you control.)
2/1
Okay, I was incorrect in saying that it cared about the number of attacking creatures. But the point is that Formation cares about attacking creatures you control, whether or not the effect is attack-triggered. I was using Ferocious as an example of how the attack trigger is a subset.
Formation and Undergrowth both would have been good mechanics for the first trip to help establish the basic mechanical identities of Boros and Golgari. I probably wouldn't do Formation for the Boros now, but I think Formation could work in a set with, say, a sports theme (especially that RWB sport combat faction).
And changing "reverse Battle Cry" Formation to say "other attacking creatures" a la Battle Cry does help encourage multiple creature aggro, which is what Boros wants. I would be tempted to make it "+1/+1 until end of turn for each other attacking creature" to simplify the math, not to mention capture the flavor of formations improving defense as well as offense. This of course means no spells with Formation, barring those that grant Formation, but the upside is that designing common creatures should be easier.
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
The best support is a few tokens with the ability. That also lets you interplay with other guilds, whose identity may include tokens.
I don't know. Formation already synergizes well enough with any token that can attack even if the token itself doesn't have formation.
Interesting with this kind of ability (the +1/+0 version) is whether it should be triggered or static. Static abilities are simpler in digital, but come with additional combat complexisty. I personally prefer triggered in paper.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Planar Chaos was not a mistake neither was it random. You might want to look at it again.
[thread=239793][Game] Level Up - Creature[/thread]
Creature - Goblin Soldier (C)
Formation - Whenever ~ attacks, each attacking creature you control gets +1/+0 until end of turn.
"He's certainly enthusiastic. Not the most harmonious, but enthusiastic." - Pierakor, Legion Firemane
1/1
Concentrated Fire 2R
Instant (C)
Formation - ~ deals damage to any target equal to the number of attacking creatures you control.
Gung-Ho Commando 3R
Creature - Goblin Soldier (U)
Formation - Whenever ~ attacks, creatures defending player controls can't block attacking creatures you control this combat unless that player pays 1 for each blocking creature they control.
He's going commando in more ways than one.
2/1
At first, the name and flavor text belonged to Goblin War-Trumpeter, but I felt this fit much better.
Flame-Kin 2RR
Creature - Elemental Soldier (U)
Formation - Whenever ~ attacks, each attacking creature you control gains menace until end of turn.
The flame-kin's comrades each bear a lit torch. The combined light of so many flames reflecting off armor makes the squad appear to be one massive wildfire charging toward the enemy.
3/2
Thunderhoof Sergeant 4R
Creature - Minotaur Soldier (U)
Formation - Whenever ~ attacks, each attacking creature you control gains trample until end of turn.
When a minotaur leads the attack, a charging squad becomes a stampeding herd.
4/3
Warboss Strategist 3RR
Creature - Goblin Soldier (R)
Formation - Whenever ~ attacks, you may discard up to X cards, then draw that many cards, where X is the number of attacking creatures you control.
"If you want to find a goblin's secret stash, you have to think like one."
3/3
Sunhome Shieldmate 1W
Creature - Human Soldier (C)
Formation - Whenever ~ attacks, each attacking creature you control gets +0/+1 until end of turn.
"An arrow in your shield is one that isn't in your head."
1/1
Charge in Formation W
Instant (C)
Formation - Each attacking creature you control gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
Skyjek Officer 2W
Creature - Human Knight (U)
Formation - Whenever ~ attacks, each attacking creature you control gains flying until end of turn.
2/2
Boros War-Priest 2W
Creature - Human Cleric (U)
Formation - Whenever ~ attacks, each attacking creature you control gains lifelink until end of turn.
2/2
Arm the Legion 4WW
Instant (R)
Formation - For each attacking creature you control, search your library for an Aura card that could enchant that creature or an Equipment card and put it onto the battlefield attached to that creature. Then shuffle your library.
Frontline Halberdier 1RW
Creature - Human Soldier (C)
Formation - Whenever ~ attacks, each attacking creature you control gains first strike until end of turn.
2/2
Swiftblade 3RW
Creature - Human Soldier (U)
Formation - Whenever ~ attacks, each attacking creature you control gains double strike until end of turn.
2/2
Implacable Assault 2RW
Instant (R)
Formation - Untap each attacking creature you control. Those creatures gain indestructible until end of turn. After this phase, there is an additional combat phase.
Pierakor, Legion Firemane 4RW
Legendary Creature - Angel (R)
Flying, haste
Whenever ~ attacks, the next spell you cast this turn costs 1 less to cast for each creature you control that attacked this turn.
4/4
Pierakor, aka Feather, doesn't have Formation per se as Formation only cares about creatures that are currently attacking, but her ability works well with creatures and spells that have Formation.
Firemane Assault 6RRWW
Instant (M)
Cast this spell only during combat before blockers are declared.
Formation - For each attacking creature you control, create a 4/4 white Angel creature token with flying that's tapped and attacking. Exile those tokens at end of combat.
Formation is kind of a proto-Battalion that applies an effect to each attacking creature you control, or more rarely generates an effect for each attacking creature you control.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
Finally a good white villain quote: "So, do I ever re-evaluate my life choices? Never, because I know what I'm doing is a righteous cause."
Factions: Sleeping
Remnants: Valheim
Legendary Journey: Heroes & Planeswalkers
Saga: Shards of Rabiah
Legends: The Elder Dragons
Read up on Red Flags & NWO
At first, Formation was limited to creatures, but I found that it worked better if it could also go on spells, not to mention putting it on instants as well as creatures allows it to play better with Izzet, and so the ability wording changed from "Whenever ~ attacks, [effect] for each attacking creature you control" to "[effect] for each attacking creature you control." The terminology is consistent across the cards, it's just that creatures with Formation use the attack trigger, while spells need no such trigger.
At first, she did use Formation. But I determined that the ability was much easier to word if her ability tracked creatures that attacked that turn as opposed to creatures that are attacking. If Pierakor's cost reduction only tracked attacking creatures, it would be limited to instants and permanents with flash. Worded as is, you can cast the spell during your postcombat main phase and still get the cost reduction.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
So? It's an ability word, so you're not actually bound by exact wording. Formation's unifying characteristics are that it is an attack trigger that counts/affects attackers. Sure, you had to tinker a bit with the wording to get the card to function the way you want, but the result is still true to the theme.
Huh, I'd thought Glorious Charge was still the standard for common limited wide pump spells. I originally thought to try something more like In Oketra's Name, with attacking creatures getting a bigger boost. How about this?
Charge in Formation 1W
Instant (C)
Formation - Attacking creatures you control get +2/+1 until end of turn. Other creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn.
Again, Formation cares about attacking creatures you control, so it isn't working differently between creatures and spells.
Designing common Formation creatures is the tricky part, because of the necessity for wide effects that are repeatable at common (unless you want some creatures with Flash that have one-shot ETB Formation triggers). Would Goblin War-Trumpter and Sunhome Shieldmate be safe at 1 cmc each? War-Trumpter is the kind of card that can quickly win the game with a few copies left unchecked. First it's 2 damage, then it's 6, then 16, and with four copies on the field you're swinging for 20. Not that commons haven't managed this before, but almost always at 2 cmc or higher.
As for the spells, what if they created Soldier tokens that enter the battlefield tapped and attacking?
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
I will remind you that not every card is designed for Constructed play, including the commons. The primary job of commons is to be your main playing pieces in Limited. Rares are the cards most designed for Constructed. However, most guild mechanics do appear on at least two cards in each color at common, and while my Formation instants help meet that requirement on a technical level, I also acknowledge that putting Formation on creatures is preferable since it rewards playing a higher volume of creatures.
Incidentally, your Recruit mechanic is very similar to a mechanic I'd pitched for Boros in the past, which I called Mobilize N. Every time the creature attacked, you'd get N Soldier tokens, but just for that combat to avoid overrunning the opponent too easily. Much like how Orzhov got a one-shot token creation keyword in Afterlife, I could see Boros getting something similar. Perhaps an alternate cost that has you create the tokens when the creature or permanent enters the battlefield? The problem with putting a token-making keyword in Boros is that it works a little too well with Selesnya, something that has been a frequent problem for the two guilds according to Maro. This wouldn't have been as big of an issue in RTR block since Boros and Selesnya would only be drafted together in DGM, but in both RAV and GRN it was a big concern.
The second choice I would have picked for Boros would have been a cost reduction keyword I call Warfare. A spell with warfare costs 1 less to cast for each creature that has attacked the turn you cast the spell. Of course Warfare would be highly unlikely with Convoke already in the set, but it's a mechanic I'd like to use in a future set (currently leaning toward my Pirates of Maris or Depths of Maris sets, themed on naval warfare). Alternatively, Warfare could instead be an alternate cost like Surge or Spectacle, with the condition being tied to attacking with creatures. Basically a subset of Raid. But again, fiddling with costs is something Selesnya was doing in RAV and GRN, so Boros wouldn't likely have gotten their own cost-related mechanic in either of those sets.
In the end, Formation is meant to capture the basic essence of the Boros, much like how Undergrowth captures the basic essence of the Golgari. The biggest problem I see with it is not Constructed viability (honestly, that isn't a big concern of mine anyway) but the difficulty of using the mechanic at common on the card type that wants it most, for both complexity and development reasons. At common, you'd more likely see creatures that grant a keyword or other benefit to one other attacking creature, like Mentor. You could also see creatures who strengthen themselves based on the number of attacking creatures you control, like "Whenever ~ attacks, it gets +1/+0 until end of turn for each attacking creature you control." Incidentally, a reverse Battle Cry is itself a mechanic I'd thought of before for a RWB faction themed around combat as a sport, playing into the idea of mixing red's aggro, white's team focus, and black's selfishness.
In the end, maybe reverse Battle Cry is the proper direction for Formation, with secondary benefits appearing on higher rarities.
Charging Sergeant 2RR
Creature - Minotaur Soldier
Menace
Formation (Whenever this creature attacks, it gets +1/+0 until end of turn for each attacking creature you control.)
2/3
Zealous Frontliner 1R
Creature - Goblin Soldier
Haste
~ attacks each turn if able.
Formation (Whenever this creature attacks, it gets +1/+0 until end of turn for each attacking creature you control.)
1/1
Skyjek Champion 1W
Creature - Human Knight
Flying
Formation (Whenever this creature attacks, it gets +1/+0 until end of turn for each attacking creature you control.)
1/3
Sunhome Sentry 4WW
Creature - Giant Soldier
Vigilance
Formation (Whenever this creature attacks, it gets +1/+0 until end of turn for each attacking creature you control.)
3/5
Goblin Spearmaster 1(R/W)
Creature - Goblin Soldier
First strike
Formation (Whenever this creature attacks, it gets +1/+0 until end of turn for each attacking creature you control.)
Most goblins know how to use a pointy stick, but only the Legion teaches them how to master it.
1/1
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
Boros Battlemates RW
Creature- Human Soldier (U)
Formation (When this creature attacks, it gets +1/+0 until end of turn for each other attacking creature you control.)
When Boros Battlemates enters the battlefield, create a 1/1 red and white Soldier creature token with formation.
"We are the Legion."
1/1
Goblin Front-Guard 1R
Creature- Goblin Soldier (C)
Haste, Formation (When this creature attacks, it gets +1/+0 until end of turn for each other attacking creature you control.)
When Goblin Front-Guard dies during combat, create a 1/1 red and white Soldier creature token with formation.
When one falls, another takes their place.
1/1
Boros Gatestone 3
Artifact (U)
T: Add R or W.
2RW,T: Create a 1/1 red and white Soldier creature token with formation. (When it attacks, it gets +1/+0 until end of turn for each other attacking creature you control.)
Low-power cube enthusiast!
My 1570 card cube (no longer updated)
My 415 Peasant+ Artifact and Enchantment Cube
Ever-Expanding "Just throw it in" cube.
Okay, I was incorrect in saying that it cared about the number of attacking creatures. But the point is that Formation cares about attacking creatures you control, whether or not the effect is attack-triggered. I was using Ferocious as an example of how the attack trigger is a subset.
Formation and Undergrowth both would have been good mechanics for the first trip to help establish the basic mechanical identities of Boros and Golgari. I probably wouldn't do Formation for the Boros now, but I think Formation could work in a set with, say, a sports theme (especially that RWB sport combat faction).
And changing "reverse Battle Cry" Formation to say "other attacking creatures" a la Battle Cry does help encourage multiple creature aggro, which is what Boros wants. I would be tempted to make it "+1/+1 until end of turn for each other attacking creature" to simplify the math, not to mention capture the flavor of formations improving defense as well as offense. This of course means no spells with Formation, barring those that grant Formation, but the upside is that designing common creatures should be easier.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
I don't know. Formation already synergizes well enough with any token that can attack even if the token itself doesn't have formation.
Interesting with this kind of ability (the +1/+0 version) is whether it should be triggered or static. Static abilities are simpler in digital, but come with additional combat complexisty. I personally prefer triggered in paper.
Finally a good white villain quote: "So, do I ever re-evaluate my life choices? Never, because I know what I'm doing is a righteous cause."
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