I'm working on some incentives to run snow lands, and one is a cycle of spells that get better when you pay snow mana to cast them. These are designed for a pauper themed set with a Modern Horizons power level limited environment, but only having snow lands a little more often than 1 in 3 packs.
I also don't have names for all of them.
1W
Sorcery
Create two 1/1 white Soldier creature tokens.
If SS was spent to cast this spell, create five of those tokens instead.
Rimewind Denial
1U
Counter target spell unless its controller pays 3.
If SS was spent to cast Rimewind Denial, draw a card.
1B
Instant
Choose one—
• Target creature gets -3/-3 until the end of turn.
• Target creature gets +1/+0 and gains lifelink and indestructible until the end of turn.
If SS was spent to cast this spell, choose one or both.
1R
Sorcery
As an additional cost to cast this spell, discard a card.
CARDNAME deals damage to target creature equal to the discarded card’s converted mana cost.
If SS was spent to cast CARDNAME, draw two cards.
Peaceful Snowfall
1G
Instant
Creatures your opponents control deal no combat damage this turn.
Creatures you control deal no combat damage this turn, unless SS was spent to cast Peaceful Snowfall.
White, completely broken. With such a simple ability and such a low-cost making 1 more token is a fairly hefty upgrade.
Blue, also completely broken. Mana Leak was too strong for Modern Horizons, the power level you are aiming for. So I don't understand how you can start with a strickly better Mana Leak.
Black, this is laughable weak compared to the previous two. Though with those being completely broken weak by comparison is where you should be. Still, this is a bit underpowered simply because it isn't easy to make the most of both effects. This is more like a good version of Skulduggery. It might be at a good place but if all of your other cards turn out better it may need some umph.
Red, this is a trap. You only want to play this for the bonus effect but you need a target and can lose out on card draw with simple trickery. With that said swap the base ability and the bonus and make it up to one target so you can just loot at a normal rate.
Green, this is another good card but it also contains a trap. Because it functions differently from the other similar cards people will assume it functions the same and miss out on the bonus. Make it a full-on replacement Winds of Qal Sisma.
First, I should have noted that there is also a cycle of cards to punish committing to a snow manabase, so its going for a high payoff with risk.
My mindset was to pick cards that are legal and good in pauper and then give them an upside if you can cast them with all snow mana.
For the white one, I was going off Gather the Townsfolk as a starting point and switching Fateful hour for the snow bonus. I can see how it would be strong though. I can see switching it to two/three instead of two/five
Mana leak is pauper legal, and so is counterspell, so this is a worse counterspell and better mana leak. I'm not tied to the draw though, it was just the first thing I came up with. What would be a different trinket text I could use other that Draw a card? Scry 2 maybe?
Black is basically Rush of Vitality and Last Gasp with an and/or. I like this card pretty much where it is.
I hadn't thought about the targeting wrinkle on the Red one. If I take the draw off the blue one, I like this better as a draw spell first also.
Thank you for Winds of Qual Sisma. I remembered there was a card with that functionality, but I couldn't find it to adapt the templating.
Mana leak is pauper legal, and so is counterspell, so this is a worse counterspell and better mana leak. I'm not tied to the draw though, it was just the first thing I came up with. What would be a different trinket text I could use other that Draw a card? Scry 2 maybe?
Are you going for a pauper theme with Modern Horizons power level or Modern Horizons theme with a pauper power level? Because you said you wanted the first one but this argument is for the second one. Mana Leak was too good for Modern Horizons. If you are going to ignore this then you aren't shooting for a Modern Horizons power level you are aiming much higher. For example, BrainStorm is pauper Legal and it is of significantly higher power level than Modern Horizons, its probably too strong for Legacy but being a sacred Cow it remains there.
If we're talking more reasonable cards then Scry 2 on a mana leak isn't insane.
The blue one, I'd either make scry 1 on mana leak (any upgrade to mana leak is extremely powerful) or scry 2 on quench. The reason is, these don't just exist in draft, but also in constructed, where it is pretty easy to run enough snow when you decide to.
User_938036, sorry, I was being confusing. The goal of the set is to introduce cards to Pauper the way Modern Horizons did for Modern, so I'm expecting the power level of the limited environment will be higher than a Standard set.
The blue one, I'd either make scry 1 on mana leak (any upgrade to mana leak is extremely powerful) or scry 2 on quench. The reason is, these don't just exist in draft, but also in constructed, where it is pretty easy to run enough snow when you decide to.
That was actually part of my reasoning for these. Right now, people in pauper run all snow manabases for just Skred. I wanted to make more incentives like these cards to run snow, but also sideboadable cards (different post) to run against them and discourage the all-snow-for-one-card decklists.
With the explanation being it wouldn't be allowed into anything other than commander, pauper, legacy, and ventage then all the cards are fine.,.. other than the white one. That is just busted. I'd do the 2/4 split with really really pushing the power level.
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I also don't have names for all of them.
1W
Sorcery
Create two 1/1 white Soldier creature tokens.
If SS was spent to cast this spell, create five of those tokens instead.
Rimewind Denial
1U
Counter target spell unless its controller pays 3.
If SS was spent to cast Rimewind Denial, draw a card.
1B
Instant
Choose one—
• Target creature gets -3/-3 until the end of turn.
• Target creature gets +1/+0 and gains lifelink and indestructible until the end of turn.
If SS was spent to cast this spell, choose one or both.
1R
Sorcery
As an additional cost to cast this spell, discard a card.
CARDNAME deals damage to target creature equal to the discarded card’s converted mana cost.
If SS was spent to cast CARDNAME, draw two cards.
Peaceful Snowfall
1G
Instant
Creatures your opponents control deal no combat damage this turn.
Creatures you control deal no combat damage this turn, unless SS was spent to cast Peaceful Snowfall.
Blue, also completely broken. Mana Leak was too strong for Modern Horizons, the power level you are aiming for. So I don't understand how you can start with a strickly better Mana Leak.
Black, this is laughable weak compared to the previous two. Though with those being completely broken weak by comparison is where you should be. Still, this is a bit underpowered simply because it isn't easy to make the most of both effects. This is more like a good version of Skulduggery. It might be at a good place but if all of your other cards turn out better it may need some umph.
Red, this is a trap. You only want to play this for the bonus effect but you need a target and can lose out on card draw with simple trickery. With that said swap the base ability and the bonus and make it up to one target so you can just loot at a normal rate.
Green, this is another good card but it also contains a trap. Because it functions differently from the other similar cards people will assume it functions the same and miss out on the bonus. Make it a full-on replacement Winds of Qal Sisma.
My mindset was to pick cards that are legal and good in pauper and then give them an upside if you can cast them with all snow mana.
For the white one, I was going off Gather the Townsfolk as a starting point and switching Fateful hour for the snow bonus. I can see how it would be strong though. I can see switching it to two/three instead of two/five
Mana leak is pauper legal, and so is counterspell, so this is a worse counterspell and better mana leak. I'm not tied to the draw though, it was just the first thing I came up with. What would be a different trinket text I could use other that Draw a card? Scry 2 maybe?
Black is basically Rush of Vitality and Last Gasp with an and/or. I like this card pretty much where it is.
I hadn't thought about the targeting wrinkle on the Red one. If I take the draw off the blue one, I like this better as a draw spell first also.
Thank you for Winds of Qual Sisma. I remembered there was a card with that functionality, but I couldn't find it to adapt the templating.
If we're talking more reasonable cards then Scry 2 on a mana leak isn't insane.
User_938036, sorry, I was being confusing. The goal of the set is to introduce cards to Pauper the way Modern Horizons did for Modern, so I'm expecting the power level of the limited environment will be higher than a Standard set.
That was actually part of my reasoning for these. Right now, people in pauper run all snow manabases for just Skred. I wanted to make more incentives like these cards to run snow, but also sideboadable cards (different post) to run against them and discourage the all-snow-for-one-card decklists.