Calling all rules experts! Is the following mechanic - or at least something like it - possible?
Ambush ([Cost], return a creature you control that's blocked or blocking to your hand. Put [this creature] from your hand onto the battlefield blocked by or blocking the same creature the opponent controls).
Sure it's pretty much the same format as create a blocker from cards like Brimaz, King of Oreskos. I'm not 100% if it's fully possible in the rules at the moment because of order of damage things, but nothing that would require more than a minor tweak.
The mechanic is functional and the reminder text is clear enough. The actual rules text would be more complicated but you don't usually worry about that unless it's actually nonfunctional.
An important distinction you will want to be clear about is if returning the creature is part of the cost or part of the effect. It should be part of the cost or written in such a way that it fails if the creature doesn't return to hand.
Ambush ([Cost], return a creature you control that's blocked or blocking to your hand: Put [this creature] from your hand onto the battlefield tapped, attacking and blocked by, or blocking the same creature the opponent controls.)
That colon solves most of the problems the previous poster mentioned. Probably should also have the tapped and attacking part as well with the current structure (otherwise it become quasi-vigilance since you'd be trading a tapped attacker for and untapped one).
That said, this ability will cause your environment to slow way down if its costed too low. Combat already heavily favors the defender, and this weighs it even more in that direction. Morph has a similar problem, and the answer was to make morph costs such that nothing with a morph cost less than 5 could flip and kill a 2/2 in combat without also dying. You'll need to find a similar costing point here.
The ability to return creatures as a cost also mean you'll need to cost enters the battlefield effects in the set with the understanding they are going to be usable repeatedly.
I'll definitely include the tapped and attacking clause. I don't want them to have pseudo-vigilance. I appreciate the tips you have about the ability costs as well. That's something I was just thinking about. The difference here though is that you are also returning a creature you control to hand, which is is a tempo loss that morph doesn't have associated with it. On the other hand, it can lead to abusing Etb's as a potential upside down the road, as you suggested. That also includes returning other ambusher's to hand. Yeah, this is gonna be tricky to balance...
You'll also get some wierd play states where one person ambushes, and then the other person ambushes the creature that just ambushed. I think it might be better if you only made the ability for blocking creatures and not ones that are attacking.
"Morph has a similar problem, and the answer was to make morph costs such that nothing with a morph cost less than 5 could flip and kill a 2/2 in combat without also dying."
that sounds really interesting, is there away I could learn more about it and stuff like that?
I can't remember where specifically, but Maro and some of the dev team spoke about it during Khans of Tarkir block. For balance stuff like that its usually best to look at the developer articles on Daily MTG, but Maro's articles are best for general design principles.
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Ambush ([Cost], return a creature you control that's blocked or blocking to your hand. Put [this creature] from your hand onto the battlefield blocked by or blocking the same creature the opponent controls).
An important distinction you will want to be clear about is if returning the creature is part of the cost or part of the effect. It should be part of the cost or written in such a way that it fails if the creature doesn't return to hand.
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StaffThat colon solves most of the problems the previous poster mentioned. Probably should also have the tapped and attacking part as well with the current structure (otherwise it become quasi-vigilance since you'd be trading a tapped attacker for and untapped one).
That said, this ability will cause your environment to slow way down if its costed too low. Combat already heavily favors the defender, and this weighs it even more in that direction. Morph has a similar problem, and the answer was to make morph costs such that nothing with a morph cost less than 5 could flip and kill a 2/2 in combat without also dying. You'll need to find a similar costing point here.
The ability to return creatures as a cost also mean you'll need to cost enters the battlefield effects in the set with the understanding they are going to be usable repeatedly.
@rowanalpha
I'll definitely include the tapped and attacking clause. I don't want them to have pseudo-vigilance. I appreciate the tips you have about the ability costs as well. That's something I was just thinking about. The difference here though is that you are also returning a creature you control to hand, which is is a tempo loss that morph doesn't have associated with it. On the other hand, it can lead to abusing Etb's as a potential upside down the road, as you suggested. That also includes returning other ambusher's to hand. Yeah, this is gonna be tricky to balance...
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Staffthat sounds really interesting, is there away I could learn more about it and stuff like that?
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Staff