+1: You get an emblem that says if you control the same number or more of these emblems than player's in the game when a player would make a choice for an effect from an Amru planeswalker you control you make the choice instead.
0: Starting with you each player chooses one for the following player.
-Sacrifice a creature you control, draw a card, and gain 3 life.
-Discard a card, lose 1 life, and put 2 +1/+1 counter on up to one creature you control.
-4: You may active Amru Kai 2 additional times this turn.
5
This doesn't really feel "Planeswalker-y" to me, by which I mean there's not really much variance to how it plays. (I'm assuming the 0 means each player makes a choice for what the player next in turn order is doing)
Creature removal is always plentiful enough in commander that the discard/life loss option is always the better option unless the opponent has no cards in hand and a single hexproof or indestructible creature, so being able to choose for everyone else is a negligible bonus when it takes 3-4 activations to even be able to utilize that effect.
I'd suggest narrowing the emblem to affect a single player, changing the abilities to more narrower options, and revamping the third ability to be a real ultimate.
Amru Kai 2UBG
Legendary Planeswalker - Amru Kai (A planeswalker type has to be a single word)
+1: Starting with you each player chooses one for the following player.
-Sacrifice a creature and gain 3 life.
-Lose 3 life and draw a card.
-Discard a card and create a 2/2 green Elemental creature token.
-1: You get an emblem with "When you get this emblem, choose another player" and "Whenever the chosen player would make a choice for an Amru planeswalker you control, you make the choice instead."
-6: Each opponent chooses a non-land permanent they control and sacrifices the rest.
4
Rowanalpha, thank you for the reply. However we are going to have to disagree. This Planeswalker is created more for 1v1 than commander. It's actually way worse in multiple player games due to the time it takes to master it's abilities. That is what the emblems are suppose to represent. At first Amru just reads the weave, but later learns how to control it.
The options you suggested, while creative are not balanced enough for competitive play. In 1v1 the first option is generally the one you would choose.
The 2 options I give on mine are the correct ones, IMO. You didn't know, but the design (story for the block) is for Amru Kai to be a general in an army, but masters weave manipulation and rises to emperor of it's land. Controlling it like Amru does comes at a heavy price. In order to battle the BBG Amru must make sacrifice. Thus the sacrifice a creature to gain knowledge and life aspect. Then Amru gives a piece of power and lifeforce to embolden the soldiers.
I get that it doesn't seem flashy and planeswalker-y to you, and that is okay, the build is playing off of Gideon Jura and Sarkhan the Mad. Not only in structure, but also personalities. The white from Gideon is subbed to green since I did not want it to be a strictly control Esper style PW. The colors on the surface, (and I know you know but stating for everyone else) is life and death and knowledge. The life part is gaining life and the counters. Death is life loss and the sacrifice. Knowledge is the gaining of and loss of it due to the stress of manipulating the weave. In the beginning Amru is much more about fighting the BBG so the colors of Green and Blue stand out. But in the second set the "final battle" takes place and Amru's side prevails beating back the evil force. BUT it takes a twisted side afterwards. Amru has control of the land and goes mad with power. That's the black and blue part dominating. Then the evil force is left and has to gain traction in order to take down Amru. In the end Amru ends up being the BBG and the evil force is the only thing left to stop it.
I feel that is represented in the card. Yes, I'm willing to make changes as now with the backstory you know the plot, but the set of abilities I posted more accurately show the card off.
From a playability stand point you can play it do the "ultimate" and barter in blood style effect and leaves it very weak. Or you can take your time and plus it over and over to show it mastering the weave manipulation slowly. Keeps itself protected with a decently high loyalty. Or you can play it "ultimate" it and then plus it twice. This leaves it with moderate loyalty 3. But is ready to rock next turn if unanswered.
The colors are also very well selected as you want to play it with a long board, so the sacrifice won't kill your only dude and then you can grow the team over the next few turns at the cost of life and your draw.
The emblems, while your take was good, have to account for each player. First Amru learns how to empower itself then learns how to control the weave of it's enemies.
I will correct the wordage issues you pointed out.
Also the Planeswalker has to be a single word is mostly correct, but I want to point you to The Royal Scions and the Wanderer. One has 2 words and the other has 0. But in this case you were definitely correct. Amru Kai is a single known being. I wasn't correcting you as much as making sure you were aware of the 2 exceptions.
Also last cool point is you've probably noticed that I have not said he or she in reference to Amru Kai. The final set of the block the the buy a box promo reveals exactly what Amru Kai is. It's basically your subconscious force manifested. (At first we are weak children and are often bullied or controlled by parents or other children or siblings, but as we grow and get stronger we take life by the horns stand on our own 2 feet and shape our own destiny in a sense.)
The general idea for this character and planeswalker card are interesting. I just think the gameplay you are designing isn't landing where you want it to.
Between the emblem requiring a number of players to be relevant and the 0 ability causing decisions to chain around the table, this reads far more like a commander planeswalker than for 1v1. Yes, the abilities can play in a two-player game, but it creates a far more political (or as you put it "masters weave manipulation") potential when there a more players for your decisions to impact. With your theme of him being politically manipulative, that fit even better in a multiplayer game than 1v1.
As written (the emblem needs templating, but that's dependent on the final effect) the +1 does absolutely nothing until you've activated it twice in a two player game and then you have a slight bonus when activating the 0 after that. So you are waiting three turns to get a slight advantage or burn 4 loyalty to get that slight advantage twice.
Put another way, you're paying 5 mana for something that does nothing or, at best, hurts you as much as it does your opponent.
To the wording of the emblems themselves, since emblems don't have names, types or subtypes, there's not a way for the game to count how many of a given emblem there are. The effect that creates the emblem also needs to specify in quotes the rules text that would appear on that emblem (as in the example I wrote above). You'd need either a separate marker to count (like the ability can grant you - the player - a counter of some type when it creates the emblem) or you need to tie thee emblem to a specific player to control.
And, yes, a planewalker card can have multiple or zero types, but a planeswalker type can only be one word which is what I was specifying.
As a five mana walker you need them to be able to impact the board and take over the game via card advantage. This doesn't do that.
If you're staring down multiple threats and you 0 right away you get untargeted removal alongside losing a life and discarding a card. That is a really bad rate at 5. Even if they have a single threat. Discarding a card and losing life while they draw a card to deal with the threat is still a really bad rate.
Even if they are dropped on an empty board if you go - then + it likely eats a removal. So it accomplishes nothing which you can't afford a 5 drop to do. Your 5 drop at least has to get you +1 card advantage. Even if you 0 this right away making everyone discard. It has done a good impression of a powerful three mana walker but it costs 5.
The only way this card shines is in a no creature deck against a creature deck that is able to drop them on an empty board. That way you can take the time to -4 so you can +1 twice. Which will allow you to use their 0 as draw a card gain 3 life with your choice of untargeted removal or discard.
Overall it feels overly designed. It does a lot of things but it only wants to do one of them and that one requires cooperation from the opponent.
The first fix would be swaping the life gain and loss. This makes it play better in the different match ups but it doesn't do enough to fix its problems.
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Legendary Planeswalker - Amru
+1: You get an emblem that says if you control the same number or more of these emblems than player's in the game when a player would make a choice for an effect from an Amru planeswalker you control you make the choice instead.
0: Starting with you each player chooses one for the following player.
-Sacrifice a creature you control, draw a card, and gain 3 life.
-Discard a card, lose 1 life, and put 2 +1/+1 counter on up to one creature you control.
-4: You may active Amru Kai 2 additional times this turn.
5
Creature removal is always plentiful enough in commander that the discard/life loss option is always the better option unless the opponent has no cards in hand and a single hexproof or indestructible creature, so being able to choose for everyone else is a negligible bonus when it takes 3-4 activations to even be able to utilize that effect.
I'd suggest narrowing the emblem to affect a single player, changing the abilities to more narrower options, and revamping the third ability to be a real ultimate.
Amru Kai 2UBG
Legendary Planeswalker - Amru
Kai(A planeswalker type has to be a single word)+1: Starting with you each player chooses one for the following player.
-Sacrifice a creature and gain 3 life.
-Lose 3 life and draw a card.
-Discard a card and create a 2/2 green Elemental creature token.
-1: You get an emblem with "When you get this emblem, choose another player" and "Whenever the chosen player would make a choice for an Amru planeswalker you control, you make the choice instead."
-6: Each opponent chooses a non-land permanent they control and sacrifices the rest.
4
The options you suggested, while creative are not balanced enough for competitive play. In 1v1 the first option is generally the one you would choose.
The 2 options I give on mine are the correct ones, IMO. You didn't know, but the design (story for the block) is for Amru Kai to be a general in an army, but masters weave manipulation and rises to emperor of it's land. Controlling it like Amru does comes at a heavy price. In order to battle the BBG Amru must make sacrifice. Thus the sacrifice a creature to gain knowledge and life aspect. Then Amru gives a piece of power and lifeforce to embolden the soldiers.
I get that it doesn't seem flashy and planeswalker-y to you, and that is okay, the build is playing off of Gideon Jura and Sarkhan the Mad. Not only in structure, but also personalities. The white from Gideon is subbed to green since I did not want it to be a strictly control Esper style PW. The colors on the surface, (and I know you know but stating for everyone else) is life and death and knowledge. The life part is gaining life and the counters. Death is life loss and the sacrifice. Knowledge is the gaining of and loss of it due to the stress of manipulating the weave. In the beginning Amru is much more about fighting the BBG so the colors of Green and Blue stand out. But in the second set the "final battle" takes place and Amru's side prevails beating back the evil force. BUT it takes a twisted side afterwards. Amru has control of the land and goes mad with power. That's the black and blue part dominating. Then the evil force is left and has to gain traction in order to take down Amru. In the end Amru ends up being the BBG and the evil force is the only thing left to stop it.
I feel that is represented in the card. Yes, I'm willing to make changes as now with the backstory you know the plot, but the set of abilities I posted more accurately show the card off.
From a playability stand point you can play it do the "ultimate" and barter in blood style effect and leaves it very weak. Or you can take your time and plus it over and over to show it mastering the weave manipulation slowly. Keeps itself protected with a decently high loyalty. Or you can play it "ultimate" it and then plus it twice. This leaves it with moderate loyalty 3. But is ready to rock next turn if unanswered.
The colors are also very well selected as you want to play it with a long board, so the sacrifice won't kill your only dude and then you can grow the team over the next few turns at the cost of life and your draw.
The emblems, while your take was good, have to account for each player. First Amru learns how to empower itself then learns how to control the weave of it's enemies.
I will correct the wordage issues you pointed out.
Also the Planeswalker has to be a single word is mostly correct, but I want to point you to The Royal Scions and the Wanderer. One has 2 words and the other has 0. But in this case you were definitely correct. Amru Kai is a single known being. I wasn't correcting you as much as making sure you were aware of the 2 exceptions.
Also last cool point is you've probably noticed that I have not said he or she in reference to Amru Kai. The final set of the block the the buy a box promo reveals exactly what Amru Kai is. It's basically your subconscious force manifested. (At first we are weak children and are often bullied or controlled by parents or other children or siblings, but as we grow and get stronger we take life by the horns stand on our own 2 feet and shape our own destiny in a sense.)
Between the emblem requiring a number of players to be relevant and the 0 ability causing decisions to chain around the table, this reads far more like a commander planeswalker than for 1v1. Yes, the abilities can play in a two-player game, but it creates a far more political (or as you put it "masters weave manipulation") potential when there a more players for your decisions to impact. With your theme of him being politically manipulative, that fit even better in a multiplayer game than 1v1.
As written (the emblem needs templating, but that's dependent on the final effect) the +1 does absolutely nothing until you've activated it twice in a two player game and then you have a slight bonus when activating the 0 after that. So you are waiting three turns to get a slight advantage or burn 4 loyalty to get that slight advantage twice.
Put another way, you're paying 5 mana for something that does nothing or, at best, hurts you as much as it does your opponent.
To the wording of the emblems themselves, since emblems don't have names, types or subtypes, there's not a way for the game to count how many of a given emblem there are. The effect that creates the emblem also needs to specify in quotes the rules text that would appear on that emblem (as in the example I wrote above). You'd need either a separate marker to count (like the ability can grant you - the player - a counter of some type when it creates the emblem) or you need to tie thee emblem to a specific player to control.
And, yes, a planewalker card can have multiple or zero types, but a planeswalker type can only be one word which is what I was specifying.
As a five mana walker you need them to be able to impact the board and take over the game via card advantage. This doesn't do that.
If you're staring down multiple threats and you 0 right away you get untargeted removal alongside losing a life and discarding a card. That is a really bad rate at 5. Even if they have a single threat. Discarding a card and losing life while they draw a card to deal with the threat is still a really bad rate.
Even if they are dropped on an empty board if you go - then + it likely eats a removal. So it accomplishes nothing which you can't afford a 5 drop to do. Your 5 drop at least has to get you +1 card advantage. Even if you 0 this right away making everyone discard. It has done a good impression of a powerful three mana walker but it costs 5.
The only way this card shines is in a no creature deck against a creature deck that is able to drop them on an empty board. That way you can take the time to -4 so you can +1 twice. Which will allow you to use their 0 as draw a card gain 3 life with your choice of untargeted removal or discard.
Overall it feels overly designed. It does a lot of things but it only wants to do one of them and that one requires cooperation from the opponent.
The first fix would be swaping the life gain and loss. This makes it play better in the different match ups but it doesn't do enough to fix its problems.