This is a mechanic that allows you to abandon a color. In Ravnica flavor, you are burning your bridges with your guild. You lose access to half your colors, but not your expertise, and you could find a more painful but valuable workaround.
Mechanically, forfeit is great for splashing, mixing Mana fixing and Mana sinkage. In the late game, playing spells of a color you have forfeit can refill your hand, but you better be able to spare the extra mana and life. In the early game, if you are missing a splash color, you can forfeit that color and pay it as 1, but the rest of the splash will be delayed for much later turns.
On the color pie 'break', cards that forfeit must work as any of their colors (gruul defector couldn't destroy enchantments since it could be monored.) But after that, changing a color to colorless (but 3 mana more expensive) is very much in line with any number of mana rocks, so think of forfeiters as colored inefficient mana rocks that enable another color.
So the intent is that I could cast this spell as 2G or 2R, and then every time I have to pay the other color the rest of the I have to pay 4 and 1 life instead and draw a card.
This is trying to do a lot, and I'm not sure the payoff is worth the complexity. Its one of those mechanics that seems like it creates more design space but really isn't as wide as you'd want. I could see this more as a cycle like the Defilers than a full on keyword.
If my interpretation is correct. Then this will not be played as you envision it. Forfeiting a color that is an actual splash is too detrimental. After the first card, all splashed cards are essentially uncastable. As a result, these cards will either ignore forfeit when considering playing them or will be played as essentially mono-color cards.
I agree with Rowan that this would work as a cycle, not a keyword. Like:
Gruul Purity1RG
Enchantment
If you would pay R or G in the cost of a spell you cast, you may pay 1 and 1 life instead.
When Gruul Purity leaves the battlefield, destroy target artifact or enchantment.
You know, from a flavor perspective it's odd that cards would get stronger from giving up a color. If you were to retool this ability dropping the permanent effect. Forfeiting a color could still be a one to one trade but make the creature vanilla if you forfeit. You might want a counter to signifiy this lose but it's not strictly necessary.
You know, from a flavor perspective it's odd that cards would get stronger from giving up a color. If you were to retool this ability dropping the permanent effect. Forfeiting a color could still be a one to one trade but make the creature vanilla if you forfeit. You might want a counter to signifiy this lose but it's not strictly necessary.
Seems like it might end up pretty close to cleave.
This is a mechanic that allows you to abandon a color. In Ravnica flavor, you are burning your bridges with your guild. You lose access to half your colors, but not your expertise, and you could find a more painful but valuable workaround.
Mechanically, forfeit is great for splashing, mixing Mana fixing and Mana sinkage. In the late game, playing spells of a color you have forfeit can refill your hand, but you better be able to spare the extra mana and life. In the early game, if you are missing a splash color, you can forfeit that color and pay it as 1, but the rest of the splash will be delayed for much later turns.
On the color pie 'break', cards that forfeit must work as any of their colors (gruul defector couldn't destroy enchantments since it could be monored.) But after that, changing a color to colorless (but 3 mana more expensive) is very much in line with any number of mana rocks, so think of forfeiters as colored inefficient mana rocks that enable another color.
This is trying to do a lot, and I'm not sure the payoff is worth the complexity. Its one of those mechanics that seems like it creates more design space but really isn't as wide as you'd want. I could see this more as a cycle like the Defilers than a full on keyword.
Gruul Purity 1RG
Enchantment
If you would pay R or G in the cost of a spell you cast, you may pay 1 and 1 life instead.
When Gruul Purity leaves the battlefield, destroy target artifact or enchantment.
Seems like it might end up pretty close to cleave.
This one in particular I'd suggest won't have the ideal effect, because it's easily abused and thus disinvites challenge.