BB instant Sign in Blood plus graveyard hate mode still feels considerably worse than Night's Whisper or Read the Bones. At 2B or 1BB I'm super not interested.
I'd agree that the extra mana moves it into uncubeable territory.
I'm stealing a mechanic wholesale from elsewhere on the interwebz, which is essentially 'spell tokens', they called them scrolls. (Riptide forums; don't know if there are rules against posting about other places, but credit where it is due.) Strong applications as ETB on creatures, but they could be created by any means. Basically they sit in your command zone, and can be played like other spells.
Devoted Steward
Cost: W
Creature - Human Cleric
Prowess
When ~THIS~ enters the battlefield, create an Instant Scroll with cost 2W. It has 'Target creature gains doublestrike until end of turn'.
I think it opens up heaps of design space. It lets you give support to spells matters without needing to dedicate too much of your decks to actual spells. And there are plenty of knobs you can play with regarding power level. You could have well costed creatures with weak scrolls, but they are mostly extra upside. Or a creature a little below par on the base stats, but comes with a scroll costed like a normal spell. Or 3 minor effect scrolls for more flexibility. It lets you create effects that might be too powerful to be permanent activated abilities, but fine if it is only 1-3 activations.
You could even do stuff like: Ember Spray
Cost : R
Sorcery
Create 3 Instant Scrolls with a cost of R. They have 'Deal 1 damage to target creature or player.'
It looks like RRRR for 3 damage which isn't good, but I think the flexibility of spreading the damage over turns however you please probably makes it play a lot better than that. God forbid you turn 1 this into turn 2 Young Pyromancer...
Reciprocal Learning
Sorcery
Cost : 2U
Draw 3 cards. Each opponent gets 2 Sorcery Scrolls with a cost of 3. They have 'Draw a card'.
What role are you thinking about filling here? It works with sweepers, but elsewhere it seems a bit lacklustre. You COULD play it in aggro, but there is a reason we play carnophage but not... the 3/3 for 2 that does 2 damage each upkeep. You have more control over the life loss, but it still doesn't excite me. Maybe if it had a utility ability as well.
Too bad they are apparently not also doing gotcha cards - if that were the case, they could also have some gotcha linked to swearing. Speaking of swearing, I wonder if they will somehow spoof MTGO's interface problems and the misplays to which those easily lead.
Inpsired by the discussion of untapped lands for aggro decks (which probably pops up here every couple of pages or so).
Some land name
Land
When ~THIS~ enters the battlefield, choose a colour.
: Add one mana of the chosen colour to your mana pool.
At the beginning of your end step, lose 1 life unless you dealt damage to an opponent this turn.
I figure making it a true rainbow land is probably a bit too good.
And Fugue coming up in the Evaluate Everything thread made me think of a modal upgrade.
Sorcery
Cost : 3BB
Choose one:
- Target player discard 3 cards and loses 3 life
- Target player draws 3 cards and loses 3 life
Maybe adding the life loss against the opponent is excessive, but I like the symmetry.
Looking back through some recent sets, I keep finding cards that have really cool designs, but that are just too weak and/or overcosted. So I thought I'd try my hand at what good versions of these cards would be. Hopefully Wizards will print something close to these playable versions of these designs someday.
Nightsnare: A cool Thoughtseize and Mindrot modal card but 4 mana is just too much. I'd cube it at 2B, or alternatively what if after viewing their hand it gave the option of drawing a card and losing 1 life, for when the opponent has nothing of value to discard.
Dissension in the Ranks: I came close to attempting to cube this for how cool it was when it first released before you guys convinced me it was too expensive and conditional. For 5 mana, I think it would be fine and balanced if it dropped the blocking restriction and just let you choose any two creatures an opponent controlled.
Fortune's Favor: This card is like it's own little psychological minigame, but it's just worse than Fact or Fiction. To make it different enough, maybe make this 3UU and look at the top 6 cards? Or keep it as is except costed 2U?
Friendly Fire: Cool idea bogged down by being super random and high variance. I think a RB version of this card would work better. Maybe:
Friendly Fire - 2RB
Sorcery
Choose target creature an opponent controls. That creature's controller reveals their hand. You choose a nonland card and that player discards it. Friendly Fire deals damage to that creature and that player equal to that card's converted manacost.
Inner Struggle: Fun and flavorful effect, but a little weak. A 2R version that also gave +1/+0 would be fine right?
Joraga Auxiliary: This type of design is the exact sort I'd like for my GW section for pushing +1/+1 counters, but this is just a below curve creature that requires 6 mana and 2 other creatures before it's decent. I think giving it a bigger butt so that you survive to use it's ability would be great, so a 3 mana 2/4 sounds good, and either make the activated ability 3GW or give support 3.
Magmaroth: Would this be too good if casting a non-creature spell removed all -1/-1 counters?
Shifting Loyalties: Cool idea, flavorful, but not fun at 6 mana. Would 4 mana be too good though? Maybe 5 and some incidental benefit like scry?
Silumgar Butcher: I'd like to make this a companion to Tooth Collector/Vengeful Rebel but with the best flavor. So a 2B 3/2 that still gave -3/-3 on exploit. If it were like that I'd cube it over the other aforementioned cards.
Harvest Hand: Another cool take on a living weapon type card, but this is just bad and tribal. Not sure what I'd make this.
Enthralling Victor: These abs deserve a card peasant cubers are falling over themselves to play. Really only needs to be slightly better: add a point of power to either Victor or his targets and that might do the trick?
I wasn't actually asking for purposes of our environment, I was asking because I have a custom cube project and if a card doesn't ring as unprintable to us, then it's probably reasonable.
Looking back through some recent sets, I keep finding cards that have really cool designs, but that are just too weak and/or overcosted. So I thought I'd try my hand at what good versions of these cards would be. Hopefully Wizards will print something close to these playable versions of these designs someday.
Friendly Fire: Cool idea bogged down by being super random and high variance. I think a RB version of this card would work better. Maybe:
Friendly Fire - 2RB
Sorcery
Choose target creature an opponent controls. That creature's controller reveals their hand. You choose a nonland card and that player discards it. Friendly Fire deals damage to that creature and that player equal to that card's converted manacost.
This reads as a rare to me. Kill a creature and get their (likely) best card?
Inner Struggle: Fun and flavorful effect, but a little weak. A 2R version that also gave +1/+0 would be fine right?
Probably fine power-wise, but this is a card that kinda bends the colour pie a little. Red "is supposed" to have trouble killing high toughness creatures, so I doubt we would get something that translates to "destroy target creature" a high % of the time any cheaper than this.
Harvest Hand: Another cool take on a living weapon type card, but this is just bad and tribal. Not sure what I'd make this.
I'd love a Harvest Hand with more playable halves. Say make the front half a 2/1 for 2 and the back a Trusty Machete (also 2/1-->+2/+1 symmetry) or is that too efficient?
On Leelue's Dude:
They might print it at rare, since it is probably rather good in retail drafts. Not sure about constructed. Curving out Falkenrath Gorger Voltaic Brawler Harnessed Lightning your blocker + play a 3/3 for G
sounds strong.
Arm the Troops
Cost : 2W
Enchantment
At the beginning of your upkeep, create a Leonin Scimitar (call it something else) token.
I'd guess you'd have to add a few mana to make this printable as an uncommon for modern limited, but probably ok for peasant. Flavorwise it seems odd that after 5 turns you can equip 5 scimitars to something, and I considered adding some restrictions but they just make it a lot less elegant (only create the token if you have more creatures than equipment, but doesn't stop you from loading them on one of them; adding restriction to the tokens themselves that they can't be equipped to a creature already wearing an equipment with the same name).
Takes a few turns to really start having an impact, but I'd guess once you hit the turning point it becomes inevitable pretty quickly. I haven't found a way to make artifact matters a thing, but this gives you a steady stream of them.
Just an idea since I was reminded of the existence of Brain Maggot by recent discussion: How about a Brain Maggot... with Bestow? Since that way, if it is enchanting something, its +1/+1 can still be relevant but more importantly, it will remain on the battlefield a bit longer since it will just become unattached if the creature dies. Obviously, paying 3+ mana for the strictly better version is not good so it needs to instead have a CC cost. Orzhov is not too stacked and has similar effects - notably Tidehollow Sculler. WB it is. Except I want to be special and make it 'more black' by excluding the white from the bestow cost. Thus, I know Wizards would never print this card but I am thinking along the lines of...
Memory-Curer Maggot
Enchantment Creature - Nightmare Insect
Bestow (If you cast this card for its bestow cost, it's an Aura spell with enchant creature. It becomes a creature again if it's not attached to a creature.)
Enchanted creature gets +1/+1.
When Memory-Curer Maggot enters the battlefield, target opponent reveals his or her hand and you choose a nonland card from it. Exile that card until Memory-Curer Maggot leaves the battlefield.
1/1
I know the ambiguity makes it awkward but the fluff is that the maggot cures - i.e. preserves - memories it collects and it can nest in someone's head, granting them additional power in the form of insight derived from the stolen memories.
Mechanically it makes little sense for the bestow cost to be mono-colored and the casting cost to be gold; it should be the other way around. There might be times when you really need to hard cast it, but from a design perspective, it just makes more sense to say 'if you want the full benefit of this card, you have to work a little harder'. I don't know why making it 3 mana is such a big problem, just make it a 2/1.
Something I thought up the other day. I don't know if it is bad, decent, or potentially busted.
Enter the Shadows
Enchantment
Cost : 2
Creatures you control have skulk.
Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to a player, you may pay B. If you do, that player discard a card.
Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to a player, you may pay U. If you do, draw a card.
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
I'm stealing a mechanic wholesale from elsewhere on the interwebz, which is essentially 'spell tokens', they called them scrolls. (Riptide forums; don't know if there are rules against posting about other places, but credit where it is due.) Strong applications as ETB on creatures, but they could be created by any means. Basically they sit in your command zone, and can be played like other spells.
Devoted Steward
Cost: W
Creature - Human Cleric
Prowess
When ~THIS~ enters the battlefield, create an Instant Scroll with cost 2W. It has 'Target creature gains doublestrike until end of turn'.
I think it opens up heaps of design space. It lets you give support to spells matters without needing to dedicate too much of your decks to actual spells. And there are plenty of knobs you can play with regarding power level. You could have well costed creatures with weak scrolls, but they are mostly extra upside. Or a creature a little below par on the base stats, but comes with a scroll costed like a normal spell. Or 3 minor effect scrolls for more flexibility. It lets you create effects that might be too powerful to be permanent activated abilities, but fine if it is only 1-3 activations.
You could even do stuff like:
Ember Spray
Cost : R
Sorcery
Create 3 Instant Scrolls with a cost of R. They have 'Deal 1 damage to target creature or player.'
It looks like RRRR for 3 damage which isn't good, but I think the flexibility of spreading the damage over turns however you please probably makes it play a lot better than that. God forbid you turn 1 this into turn 2 Young Pyromancer...
Reciprocal Learning
Sorcery
Cost : 2U
Draw 3 cards. Each opponent gets 2 Sorcery Scrolls with a cost of 3. They have 'Draw a card'.
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
leadfeather, small efects like that (assume +1/+1 until end of turn) that aren't generally worth a card are a good fit.
Artifact
Pay 2 life: Lumbering Totem becomes a 3/2 Construct artifact creature until end of turn.
My Peasant Cube thread !!! (380 cards)
Draft my Peasant Cube on Cube Cobra !!!
My Peasant Cube thread !!! (380 cards)
Draft my Peasant Cube on Cube Cobra !!!
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
My Peasant Cube thread !!! (380 cards)
Draft my Peasant Cube on Cube Cobra !!!
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
Some land name
Land
When ~THIS~ enters the battlefield, choose a colour.
: Add one mana of the chosen colour to your mana pool.
At the beginning of your end step, lose 1 life unless you dealt damage to an opponent this turn.
I figure making it a true rainbow land is probably a bit too good.
And Fugue coming up in the Evaluate Everything thread made me think of a modal upgrade.
Sorcery
Cost : 3BB
Choose one:
- Target player discard 3 cards and loses 3 life
- Target player draws 3 cards and loses 3 life
Maybe adding the life loss against the opponent is excessive, but I like the symmetry.
Nightsnare: A cool Thoughtseize and Mindrot modal card but 4 mana is just too much. I'd cube it at 2B, or alternatively what if after viewing their hand it gave the option of drawing a card and losing 1 life, for when the opponent has nothing of value to discard.
Dissension in the Ranks: I came close to attempting to cube this for how cool it was when it first released before you guys convinced me it was too expensive and conditional. For 5 mana, I think it would be fine and balanced if it dropped the blocking restriction and just let you choose any two creatures an opponent controlled.
Fortune's Favor: This card is like it's own little psychological minigame, but it's just worse than Fact or Fiction. To make it different enough, maybe make this 3UU and look at the top 6 cards? Or keep it as is except costed 2U?
Friendly Fire: Cool idea bogged down by being super random and high variance. I think a RB version of this card would work better. Maybe:
Friendly Fire - 2RB
Sorcery
Choose target creature an opponent controls. That creature's controller reveals their hand. You choose a nonland card and that player discards it. Friendly Fire deals damage to that creature and that player equal to that card's converted manacost.
Inner Struggle: Fun and flavorful effect, but a little weak. A 2R version that also gave +1/+0 would be fine right?
Joraga Auxiliary: This type of design is the exact sort I'd like for my GW section for pushing +1/+1 counters, but this is just a below curve creature that requires 6 mana and 2 other creatures before it's decent. I think giving it a bigger butt so that you survive to use it's ability would be great, so a 3 mana 2/4 sounds good, and either make the activated ability 3GW or give support 3.
Magmaroth: Would this be too good if casting a non-creature spell removed all -1/-1 counters?
Shifting Loyalties: Cool idea, flavorful, but not fun at 6 mana. Would 4 mana be too good though? Maybe 5 and some incidental benefit like scry?
Silumgar Butcher: I'd like to make this a companion to Tooth Collector/Vengeful Rebel but with the best flavor. So a 2B 3/2 that still gave -3/-3 on exploit. If it were like that I'd cube it over the other aforementioned cards.
Harvest Hand: Another cool take on a living weapon type card, but this is just bad and tribal. Not sure what I'd make this.
Enthralling Victor: These abs deserve a card peasant cubers are falling over themselves to play. Really only needs to be slightly better: add a point of power to either Victor or his targets and that might do the trick?
Channel Harm: I'd love a super Harm's Way like this at 3W.
Dude G
Dude gets +2/+2 if you control 3 or more lands.
1/1
unprintable?
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
This reads as a rare to me. Kill a creature and get their (likely) best card?
Probably fine power-wise, but this is a card that kinda bends the colour pie a little. Red "is supposed" to have trouble killing high toughness creatures, so I doubt we would get something that translates to "destroy target creature" a high % of the time any cheaper than this.
I'd love a Harvest Hand with more playable halves. Say make the front half a 2/1 for 2 and the back a Trusty Machete (also 2/1-->+2/+1 symmetry) or is that too efficient?
On Leelue's Dude:
They might print it at rare, since it is probably rather good in retail drafts. Not sure about constructed. Curving out
Falkenrath Gorger
Voltaic Brawler
Harnessed Lightning your blocker + play a 3/3 for G
sounds strong.
Cubetutor Peasant'ish-Funbox
Project: Khans of Tarkir Cube (cubetutor)
Cost : 2W
Enchantment
At the beginning of your upkeep, create a Leonin Scimitar (call it something else) token.
I'd guess you'd have to add a few mana to make this printable as an uncommon for modern limited, but probably ok for peasant. Flavorwise it seems odd that after 5 turns you can equip 5 scimitars to something, and I considered adding some restrictions but they just make it a lot less elegant (only create the token if you have more creatures than equipment, but doesn't stop you from loading them on one of them; adding restriction to the tokens themselves that they can't be equipped to a creature already wearing an equipment with the same name).
Takes a few turns to really start having an impact, but I'd guess once you hit the turning point it becomes inevitable pretty quickly. I haven't found a way to make artifact matters a thing, but this gives you a steady stream of them.
Memory-Curer Maggot
Enchantment Creature - Nightmare Insect
Bestow (If you cast this card for its bestow cost, it's an Aura spell with enchant creature. It becomes a creature again if it's not attached to a creature.)
Enchanted creature gets +1/+1.
When Memory-Curer Maggot enters the battlefield, target opponent reveals his or her hand and you choose a nonland card from it. Exile that card until Memory-Curer Maggot leaves the battlefield.
1/1
I know the ambiguity makes it awkward but the fluff is that the maggot cures - i.e. preserves - memories it collects and it can nest in someone's head, granting them additional power in the form of insight derived from the stolen memories.
Something I thought up the other day. I don't know if it is bad, decent, or potentially busted.
Enter the Shadows
Enchantment
Cost : 2
Creatures you control have skulk.
Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to a player, you may pay B. If you do, that player discard a card.
Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to a player, you may pay U. If you do, draw a card.