Unrivaled Metashark2UU Creature — Shark
Unrivaled Metashark can't be countered as long as you control as basic Island.
Unrivaled Metashark has protection from red and from green as long as you control a nonbasic Island. "An apex predator unlike any of its kind. It will fight you to the death with territorial rage. It will drag you to your end."
4/3
"Blood flows from the deepest depths and stains the shoreline. Tinted crimson amongst the dark red sunset. It sends an ominous message to all who can be next."
Supersonic Archavian1UU Creature — Bird
Flying
Protection from instants and from enchantments "Its hollow bones are frail and would shatter easily upon impact. Given its unrivaled dexterity though—it only begs the question—how?"
4/1
Just an evasive tech aggro creature for blue—such as Great Sable Stag. Something long overdue for this color I think.
Very flavorful that it can still run into a wall, and for white being defensive and warding, it can still be subject to such defenses (Sunweb—Wall of Nets). No protection from artifact—such as Scarecrows.
1. Most card hosers hose 2 colors because each color has 2 enemy colors. This card hoses two enemy colors AND an allied color, which is stylistically messy.
2. Color hosers who can’t be countered have thusfar been red or green because both of those colors are the enemy of blue. Having this card gain resistance to counter spelling means that this card is actually good against 4 colors (even if one of those colors can bounce and block it).
3. Why protection from sources rather than just the colors. There is no “green source” that would be blocked by this protection and not “protection from green”.
While this card isn’t overly egregious from a rules standpoint (other than protection from sources?), this card strikes me as something haphazardly thrown together to resemble a previous style of card but that did not understand while the previous versions were the precise way that they are.
While we do not wish to block innovation, we only wish to promote innovation made with full mindfulness of what has come before and not “blind innovation” made by someone with no grasp of the rules to start with.
Blue doesn't get haste.
Blue doesn't multiple protections for other colors (especially not from black)
"Cannot be countered unless you control a Basic Island" is creative, but the odds of casting a spell with double blue without and Island out is so small that the restriction will almost never be meaningful.
A 4/3 flyer with three kinds of protection will, at the lowest, cost 5 but probably more likely 6-7
"Protection from ... sources your opponents control" is overly complicated and further unbalances your design, since you can buff with those colors but your opponent cannot remove.
A 4/1 flyer that dodges two of the three most common types of removal will cost more than 3 mana, more likely 5 than 4.
These cardnames sound like you'd rather be designing for Yu-Gi-Oh
These designs show a lack of understanding of color balance, the importance of interactivity in gameplay, and appropriate costing for power level. Whatever creativity these do try to showcase ends up actively working against the playability of the cards.
I see your argument for it having protection from black... BUTTT I got to say it's very unblue to have protection from black. I did a not so complete search and found the only blue creature to ever have protection from black was Questing Phalfagrif. And it's blue, green, and white and the ability is the white ability.
That and also the only blue creature to ever mention protection from black actually removed protection from black. So not only is it unprecedented but it goes against every other creature.
Gotta go with fail on this one my guy.
Necro on this thread to show a creative update to the Metashark.
The protection has been blended down from the psuedo-hexproof style into a solid state protection, and the entire ability has been blended up with a new restriction enabler to provide more interactivity and force majeure to the design. Each of the abilities are counter-intuitive to the others in ways that suggest a player may have to pick and choose between which of the abilities they can reach for when coupled with their Fetchland play in the natural progression of the game.
I really wish I could have got haste in there on that thing. So so tempted to throw haste in there with the protection abilities alongside the new conditional enabler.
Creature — Shark
Unrivaled Metashark can't be countered as long as you control as basic Island.
Unrivaled Metashark has protection from red and from green as long as you control a nonbasic Island.
"An apex predator unlike any of its kind. It will fight you to the death with territorial rage. It will drag you to your end."
4/3
"Blood flows from the deepest depths and stains the shoreline. Tinted crimson amongst the dark red sunset. It sends an ominous message to all who can be next."
Supersonic Archavian 1UU
Creature — Bird
Flying
Protection from instants and from enchantments
"Its hollow bones are frail and would shatter easily upon impact. Given its unrivaled dexterity though—it only begs the question—how?"
4/1
Just an evasive tech aggro creature for blue—such as Great Sable Stag. Something long overdue for this color I think.
Very flavorful that it can still run into a wall, and for white being defensive and warding, it can still be subject to such defenses (Sunweb—Wall of Nets). No protection from artifact—such as Scarecrows.
2. Color hosers who can’t be countered have thusfar been red or green because both of those colors are the enemy of blue. Having this card gain resistance to counter spelling means that this card is actually good against 4 colors (even if one of those colors can bounce and block it).
3. Why protection from sources rather than just the colors. There is no “green source” that would be blocked by this protection and not “protection from green”.
While this card isn’t overly egregious from a rules standpoint (other than protection from sources?), this card strikes me as something haphazardly thrown together to resemble a previous style of card but that did not understand while the previous versions were the precise way that they are.
While we do not wish to block innovation, we only wish to promote innovation made with full mindfulness of what has come before and not “blind innovation” made by someone with no grasp of the rules to start with.
Possibly, I can change the creature type concept, and move it to another design.
Blue doesn't multiple protections for other colors (especially not from black)
"Cannot be countered unless you control a Basic Island" is creative, but the odds of casting a spell with double blue without and Island out is so small that the restriction will almost never be meaningful.
A 4/3 flyer with three kinds of protection will, at the lowest, cost 5 but probably more likely 6-7
"Protection from ... sources your opponents control" is overly complicated and further unbalances your design, since you can buff with those colors but your opponent cannot remove.
A 4/1 flyer that dodges two of the three most common types of removal will cost more than 3 mana, more likely 5 than 4.
These cardnames sound like you'd rather be designing for Yu-Gi-Oh
These designs show a lack of understanding of color balance, the importance of interactivity in gameplay, and appropriate costing for power level. Whatever creativity these do try to showcase ends up actively working against the playability of the cards.
Overall score: 3 out of 10
Although since you had a lot to say, it's fair to consider you missed it for that reason.
Giving blue protection from black is not a bad thing. Don't limit yourself like that. Here it has incredible fantasy value as well.
That and also the only blue creature to ever mention protection from black actually removed protection from black. So not only is it unprecedented but it goes against every other creature.
Gotta go with fail on this one my guy.
Almost tempted to feel like it could even cost 5, but it's not really doing that much.
The protection has been blended down from the psuedo-hexproof style into a solid state protection, and the entire ability has been blended up with a new restriction enabler to provide more interactivity and force majeure to the design. Each of the abilities are counter-intuitive to the others in ways that suggest a player may have to pick and choose between which of the abilities they can reach for when coupled with their Fetchland play in the natural progression of the game.
I really wish I could have got haste in there on that thing. So so tempted to throw haste in there with the protection abilities alongside the new conditional enabler.