Two nice generals. I really like the wording on their abilities, as it cuts the power of blink effects.
The Dragon is SCARY. Potentially swinging for 11 on it's first attack all by it's lonesome, it also completely clogs up the board with tons of blockers, as well as acting as a sac outlet. This guy does a LOT of things, and does them very well. A very powerful general in more standard metas.
The Vampire, on the other hand, is pretty bonkers. The stats, cost, and ability are VERY reminiscent of Zur, the Enchanter - Both fly, 1/3 is close to a 1/4, both cost 4, and both give you free cards. I look forward to playing with her QUITE a bit, and maybe exiling someone's Time Stretch or something.
It should be noted that your Angelic Accord allows you to continually Bubbling Cauldron/Trading Post. Sac a creature, gain 4, make a token. Next turn, you can turn a different creature into an angel or sac the angel you made, gain 4, and then end of turn make another angel. It's very resilient.
On Giant of Sunder Pass, Secret Training is Forced Adaptation. Not a card that sets the world on fire. If the Christmasland application for a card is a 12th pick in normal sets, it might just be a really bad card. Even if I have (one, rare) Giant, I'm never putting Secret Training in a deck.
Oh, you've misread Giant of Sunder Pass, my friend. Secret Training is MUCH better then a Forced Adaptation on it
Even on commons or uncommons, there are uses. My Serpent would appreciate being unblockable sooner, and it charges up my Rookie Firemage for his finale quicker as well.
Generally, of course, you are right. It's a bad card, and won't be played in most decks. But...It will sometimes make for INCREDIBLE stories.
More generally, are there other uses of cards in the graveyard beyond delving? One of the cool things about ISD was that you could self-mill into multiple purposes: skaabs, flashback, splinterfright, etc.
Selfmill-as-delve-ramp could certainly be useful occasionally, but I think it might help to have other uses for the GY.
Well, the skeleton tribal subtheme makes fairly extensive use of the graveyard, and would LOVE a few efficient ways to fill it.
For delve in general, do you expect for players to get other value from selfmill to make delve worth it? Or will there be very little selfmill so that delve cards are generally fueled by natural creature death/spell casting? What's the pricing like on your common/uncommon delve?
Millenial Flame is definitely big. Do you think it will be castable before turn 8 in your set/block format?
I wouldn't generally consider Mythic to be the spot to put "enablers". MFlame and Ruinstone seem kinda low on the playability scale, even if they're preposterously good together.
Drunken Rage seems like a card built to 1-for-2 yourself.
Secret Training seems awkward since some creatures only care about a single fame counter, and only a subset of all creatures even care about fame at all. You said you wanted it to be bad, but did you mean that bad?
Cool ideas overall. Hope you don't mind the specific feedback.
Don't mind the comments at all
There will be a few grave fueling cards at lower rarities, MOSTLY in blue, but not many. I'm thinking maybe something like this:
Not Strategic Planning 1U
Sorcery (C)
Look at the top 3 cards of your library. Put 1 into your hand and the rest into your graveyard.
Wasteful Spender 4U
Creature - Human (U)
When Wasteful Spender enters the battlefield, each player sends the top 5 cards of their library to the graveyard.
1/3
Maybe a mulch reprint. Just enough so that your delve cards can work in limited, with MAYBE a few good enough for competitive that I haven't thought up yet. Also, I want the limited format to have a mill deck, and wasteful spender would be part of that.
So, basically, a little of both. Delve will MOSTLY be fueled by your own spells, but there will be the tools so that a delve deck is possible in standard.
Millennial Flame - I imagine a dedicated delve deck to be able to cast this turn 7-8 with decent consistency...provided they draw it, and it doesn't get milled...and they don't get hit by graveyard hate.
Ruinstone - It's mythic because it's cool and splashy, and ABSURDLY good in limited, not because it's a delve enabler.
Drunken Rage - Yeah, sometimes, but it will often be removal for X/1s, which some of the weaker famed creatures are. Similarly, with the high toughness creatures in blue, white, or green, or with skeletons in black, this can easily make favorable trades happen. It may just be horribad, though. We'll see.
Secret Training - Yeah, I want it to be bad, except in that niche case where it's REALLY REALLY good...Like putting it on your Giant of Sunder Pass in limited.
How would you keep it a verevulf? Is casting this on a vulf the only vay?
Sacking1BR
Sorcery (U)
Target player sacrifices a permanent and then discards a card.
This seems bonkers against a control deck. Is one additional mana of a different color and no lifeloss enough to take away the symmetrical effect of Smallpox? I'm not sure, but I would lean on the safe side and print this at 4, just in case. Compare to Smallpox and Undercity Plague, 4 seems like a good spot for this...but it wouldn't do you any good at 4 mana usually, as they will likely have non-land permanents. Quite the conundrum.
My card:
This card is from my new set, still under contstruction. I recently decided to add the delve mechanic to the set, to try and capture the flavor of the magic of a crumbling empire - Grossly inefficient, but, for now at least, immensely powerful. Here is the utmost example of this:
Millennial Fire20R
Sorcery
Delve
Millennial Fire deals 20 damage to target player. Ten Thousand years of civilization, gone in an instant. Art is of a burning city, with a small mage in the foreground with arms upraised.
This card hits a lot of cylinders for a LOT of players. Timmy sees a spell that WINS YOU THE GAME when you cast it, Spike wants to break it, and Johnny wants to take advantage of the 20 converted mana cost with Kaboom!.
Design-wise, I like the 20 damage mixing with 20 converted mana cost, as well as the fact that this WILL inspire people to build decks, both casual and competitive. I also like the fact that it (probably) isn't very good in constructed, but will amaze and inspire people regardless.
Back with more cards. A lot of vanillas, some reprints, and playing with Delve a bit. Also, a couple cards that should elicit some discussion.
Tercius's Spear1
Legendary Artifact - Equipment (U)
Equipped Creature gains +3/+0, trample, and haste
Equip 4 It's not the spear that's important, but the man HOLDING the spear. Especially when that man is ME. - Tercius
I wanted to enable something like a Tercius deck in limited/constructed. You can potentially be swinging with a 5/2 trample first strike on the second turn, which is a little bonkers. This card essentially spawned from the flavor text - basically, this card is hilariously bad (in constructed) unless Tercius himself is holding the spear. Still quite a beating in limited, so I expect it to be a fairly high pick, so the times that you get this and Tercius in limited will be very few - But when you do, oh the stories you will tell.
Crossroads Legion3W
Creature - Human Townsfolk (C)
2/5
Alley Toughs1B
Creature - Human Townsfolk (C)
2/2
Fighting Drake2UU
Creature - Drake (C)
Fying
2/4
Abandoned Livestock4G
Creature - Boar (C)
4/5
Lowland Giant2RR
Creature - Giant (C)
4/3
Barbarians2R
Creature - Barbarians (C)
3/2
Some vanillas/french vanillas/reprints. Alley toughs and Barbarians are pretty bad in this set, while Fighting Drake, as you can imagine, is quite good.
Millennial Flame20R
Sorcery (M)
Delve
Millennial Flame deals 20 damage to target creature or player Ten Thousand years of civilization, gone in an instant.
Art is of a burning city, with a mage in the foreground, arms upstretched.
Epicurean FestivalXW
Sorcery (R)
Delve.
Gain X life. If you delved more than 4, Gain twice that much instead. Think not of tomorrow, for you might not live to see it.
Some interesting Delve cards. Millennial Flame accomplishes one of my secret goals in design - Print a card with Converted mana cost +20 for the johnnies to play with. It's also a fun mythic that people will build decks with, hoping to unlock the puzzle. It'll probably be pretty bad, in the end, though.
Epicurian Festival, on the other hand, I expect to be VERY good in constructed in control sideboards, especially for a lifegain card.
Ruinstone6
Artifact (M)
Ruinstone comes into play tapped.
T: Reveal a card in your hand. Each player sends the top X cards of their library to the graveyard, where X is equal to the converted manacost of the revealed card.
This card is THE delve enabler, fueling your spells and then some, while also acting as a potent win condition on it's own. Obviously, if you reveal a Millennial Fire from your hand with this card, then you can cast it for a single red mana. It comes into play tapped to prevent to give your opponent time to prepare. I personally think it's balanced, but would love a second opinion on it.
Also, the name is AWESOME.
Drunken RageR
Instant (C)
Target creature an opponent controls gets +1/-1 and attacks this turn if able.
More red tricks.
Secret TrainingG
Enchantment - Aura (C)
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a fame counter on enchanted creature.
Heroic Act2W
Instant (C)
Target creature you control gets +2/+2 until end of turn. Put a fame counter on that creature.
Every set has a horrible common aura and a bad white pump spell. These might not be so bad, though.
Lifebreather3G
Creature - Dryad (U) GG, Tap: Regenerate another target creature, or exile target skeleton.
2/2
Riffing on the idea of healing magic being deadly to the undead gives us this beauty. She can only heal other creatures to keep her from being OVERLY obnoxious.
Would love some critique on these cards, as well as the direction the set is going.
I love the idea behind this set. There are some changes that I think that you should make.
First, it seems like Famed would be an ability word like threshold or battalion, not a keyword ability.
Second, Skeleton Chain is overpowered. The flavor is good, but reanimation whenever you attack for a one-time cost of 3 mana isn't balanced. And because it moves to another creature whenever it reanimates, it can't be destroyed by combat.
Third, the names need a little bit of work. The Barbarian King definitely looks like he needs a name. Pirates and The Publicist just don't sound right. Mass Skeletonize needs to sound far more bone-chilling and evil. And Epic Fail is funny and conveys some flavor, but the only real cards that sound as strange as it are Urza's Sunglasses and Phelddagriff.
Finally, the set needs more direction. Famed is amazing. It seems like exactly what level up should have been. But one keyword does not make a set. Some existing ones that might be of use to you are Reinforce, Battalion, and Fortify for the empire, Exalted for the gladiators, and Unearth, Morbid, Madness, and Undying for the skeletons.
1. Famed, as it currently reads, should BE an ability word. That was certainly the intention!
2. It's a strong card, but I haven't found it to be super overpowered yet. There simply aren't any enablers for the card in the set that would make it very powerful. It can certainly take over a game, though, but the fragile nature of skeletons limits it's effectiveness. As I have mostly tested with myself, my opinions may be slanted, so I'll definitely be watching this when I start testing with people.
3. Of course, but I can flavor them later. For now, they each convey the sort of flavor that I want. Epic Fail, for instance, will eventually have some sort of name like "Public Misfortune" or something, but for now it's Epic Fail. Think of it like the playtest name or something.
4. Agreed. Simply put, I haven't gotten there yet. First, I can't use any mechanic that involves non-fame counters. Proliferate, Dredge, Delve - All could work mechanically/flavorfully in the set. I would lean towards delve - It's a spell-based mechanic (Well, I'd limit it to spells) that counters my creature based fame mechanic, and I can work the flavor to be pretty good - Here's a decent shot at a mythic delve card:
Relive the Past8UU
Sorcery (R)
Delve.
Take an Extra Turn after this one.
This was just a shot in the dark. This card CAN be time walk, but you need to exile 8 cards from your graveyard. May be too strong, perhaps in legacy, but I doubt it, and including one or two decent ways to self mill a bit would allow people to live the dream, and help fuel skeletons a bit.
With Delve (Or another mechanic) the set will actually have a lot going on - Fame, Fame Interactions, Gladiator Tribal, Skeleton Tribal, and the Classical Monster theme, which I personally think is enough for one set, and leaves me a decent amount of room to grow.
Thanks a lot for the comments! I appreciate it, and sorry to wait until now to reply.
Well, if you put it that way rules-wise, good point, but considering that when the enchanted creature dies or being revived, it still remains a valid target for the aura, so it shouldn't fall off.
Georg.... well, we also have Olivia Voldaren who can permanently give some traits to another creature, this probably is ok. The ability is also decent; You lose attackers, but if the guy you give defender is indestructible (hello, Tajic), have fun.
Counterspell madness
Vitalomancer5GU
Creature - Human Wizard (R)
Flash
Whenever Vitalomancer or another creature enters the battlefield under your control, you may counter target noncreature spell. "Life energy is far more potent than arcane prowess."
3/5
Rather expensive sudden blocker, but if you have enough instant token generators, your opponent will never be playing noncreatures anymore. COmments?
I would much prefer either nontoken or "When you cast a creature spell" as opposed to this. As it is, it's pretty broken with blinking effects or, say, Whitemane Lion. Making it an on cast trigger would allow you to lower the cost, even.
I don't like the feel of the card, honestly.
My card:
Epic Fail1B
Instant
Target creature gets -2/-2 until end of turn. Remove two counters of any type from that creature.
The especially-low-power thing you're going for can be fine, though if that is your intention I have some other feedback on your cards.
What's your expectations for the speed of the format? Slow? How good do you expect evasion to be?
The "Pirates" card is going to have a hard time getting even one hit in with no evasion and low removal in a set. On the other end, a no-drawback, occasionally evasive Craw Wurm seems a bit out of place in the weakest creature color.
It's not so much low power level, but more average. To put it into perspective, RtR has a high power to cost ratio on it's creatures, with all of the multicolor, as well as evolve and scavenge also increasing the size of its creatures. Innistrad, on the other hand, had a much lower power to cost ratio. We'll be closer to Innistrad in the power to cost ratio, but a little below that - No Vorstclaws, for instance. We'll also be a little slower - We have to be, so that famed creatures have a decent shot at getting famous.
Here's my view of how limited will work out. Average game length will be around the 8-9 turn mark (Closer to Rise of the Eldrazi, but a little faster). Creatures are generally smaller. There will be lots of excellent blockers, as well as lots of tricks to get through blockers. Instant speed Tricks will (mostly) be narrow, while sorcery speed removal will be quite powerful. I'm trying to emphasize combat as much as possible. As would be expected in a mythical set, there is an above average amount of flying.
Also, that's a valid criticism on the Serpent. What do you think of a 5UU 6/6? Might be more interesting, and is certainly more likely to eventually get famous.
Could the mechanic work if it used (and checked for) +1/+1 counters? From your sample cards, I could see it working flavor-wise. That would reduce counter complexity (on board), and perhaps even tie into some of the other comments I had on your "cares about famed" cards. It also adds some of the flavor of a hero or villain growing stronger as they become more experienced and famous. A common creature can grow into a famous and powerful one by fulfilling its potential and growing strong.
Short Answer: Yes, it could.
Long Answer: Yes, it could, but it would make for a dramatically different limited environment then what I'm planning. This set is going to go for a LOT of untraditional removal, with VERY few instant speed tricks of the sort we are used to in limited. Here's an example:
Sucker Punch1R
Sorcery
Until end of turn, Target creature you control gains first strike and must be blocked, if able. An effective way to get what you want - provided what you want is to fight a man and seven of his friends.
This card, while interesting in the average limited set due to it's potential as removal, in THIS set is a premier common removal spell, along with Rookie Gladiator. Instant speed tricks that would blow this out, such as Epic Fail, are few and far between.
The point being, all of my combat tomfoolery would essentially be thrown out the window if there was an entire set of creatures that could grow beyond the effective range of my tricks. It would also require creatures in general to be larger to cope with the presence of +1/+1 counters, which would in turn require stronger removal. Pretty vicious cycle, all in all.
From the sounds of it, why not just use the level up mechanic? You could make the leveling a non-mana ability (like tapping), and then the card could gain powers as it gained levels. Level up feels quite similar to the feel you're going for anyways, in my humble opinion.
Thanks for responding!
There are indeed flavor similarities, I'll give you that.
Play-wise, however, the abilities are worlds apart. Level Up is EXTREMELY passive - you put multiple turns and HUGE amounts of mana into your creatures so that you can finally break through to the opponent. Basically, it takes 2-3 turns until you finally get your awesome creature. I suppose you could leave your guy underleveled, and that may often be the correct play, but it's such a letdown not to fully level up your guy - It makes you feel like you failed your creature.
With Famed, you are still doing everything that you would normally do in a magic game - Attacking, blocking, playing spells, making mana - All very reasonable things. However, once you hit the threshold, you suddenly kick into overdrive...Actually, Threshold is a good analogy. Werebear is a fine card to play in general, but it's only once you hit seven cards in your graveyard that it becomes exciting. Some cards, like Krosan Beast, are bad to the point that you won't even PLAY them without Threshold. Famed is sort of a happy medium between these two abilities - Your creatures start acceptable, but kick into overdrive once you get them famous.
It's not that they are too difficult to understand, it's that there's a lot to remember when you have 30+ different famed creatures. Some of them will be memorable, but not all of them (especially commons, if you're going for NWO-style commons). It's the sort of thing that Battalion/Evolve/Bloodrush address: all creatures with the same ability have the same basic beginning clause (3 attackers/bigger guy/cast on attacker). Two of those abilities (Evolve and Bloodrush) even doing very consistent things. Evolve always puts a +1/+1 counter on the creature and little else. Bloodrush always gives the P/T and keywords of the creature.
If you want to have a variety of Famed conditions, maybe standardize to 2 different setups? Combat damage and tapping, for example. That sort of tightness will help bring it to commons. Rares can always do crazy things beyond the core mechanic, like rares always do.
Side comment: Could some (not all) of Slanderer/Publicist/Epic Fail affect general counters? Would help them be useful in general. I feel like Epic Fail would be tons of fun if it affected counters in general.
I see your point. I'm also not the person to judge for this sort of thing, as I'm too close to the project. It's definitely something to consider.
My personal opinion/prediction is that Famed will work out something like a mix of level up and Cards like Blademane Baku from Kamigawa. Level Up certainly adds complexity to a board position, but the simple fact that essentially all of the Famed cards can only level up once a turn should cut back on the headaches. Still, it is a potential issue, and once I get the set done and get some testers, I'll see if it's a problem.
As for the side comment - They certainly COULD. I don't know if I especially WANT them two, though, as if I made any of them effect any type of counter I might feel compelled to make all of them do so...I'll need to think about it
Famed is in the right direction, but it's really wordy/reading intensive at the moment. Would it be possible to standardize some part of famed? Maybe fame counters always get added when damage is dealt?
Glad you like the ability I don't think it's possible to standardize the way creatures get fame counters, as different creatures have different ways to become "famous", as well as different applications for their fame. The Giant that eats people (Giant of Sunder Pass) becomes more powerful and deadly with each victim. The druid (Disciple of Etrusc) moves on from restoring the land to cultivating new land. Here's another example:
Famed Researcher2UU
Creature - Human Wizard (R)
Famed - T: Put a famed counter on Famed Researcher, then Draw X cards, where X is equal to the number of Famed Counters on Famed Researcher.
1/1
(Art - Scholarly Wizard, directing other robed wizards about their tasks)
Flavor-wise, Think a Plato figure whose wisdom attracts students and accelerates his work.
I understand that most of these cards are wordy, but in essence they all are EXTREMELY easy to understand abilities. The card above, for instance, is essentially an Archivist that grows each turn. Very neat, potentially VERY powerful if unanswered.
Famed basically takes two forms (1) Where the creature has to reach a certain threshold to get it's bonus and (2) Where Famed scales. To deal with potential complexity, Common (And most uncommon) instances of famed will be of the first variety, whereas rare versions can be either, but generally scale.
Some cards:
Back-Alley Slanderer1B
Creature - Human Rogue (U)
B, T: Remove a Famed counter from target creature.
2/2
The Publicist1U
Creature - Human Townsfolk (U)
When the publicist enters the battlefield under your control, put a famed counter on each creature with a fame counter on it under your control.
1/2
Epic Fail1B
Instant (C)
Target creature gets -2/-2 until end of turn. Remove 2 famed counters from that creature.
TerciusRW
Creature - Human Gladiator (R)
First Strike 0: Equip target equipment you control to Tercius.
2/2 Few are able to make the transition from slave to hero.
Beginner's Shield2
Artifact - Equipment (C)
Equipped Creature gets +0/+2.
Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, you may equip Beginner's Shield to it.
Equip 3
Net and Trident3
Artifact - Equipment (U)
Equipped creature gains first strike.
Whenever Equipped creature attacks, tap target creature defending player controls.
Equip 2
The Barbarian King4RRR
Legendary Creature - Human Barbarian (M)
First Strike
Whenever The Barbarian King attacks, untap all creatures your opponent controls. Those creatures block The Barbarian King, if able.
7/7
Mass SkeletonizeX3BB
Sorcery (U)
Destroy X target creatures, then put X 1/1 Skeleton tokens into play, where X is equal to the number of creatures destroyed in this way.
The Dragon is SCARY. Potentially swinging for 11 on it's first attack all by it's lonesome, it also completely clogs up the board with tons of blockers, as well as acting as a sac outlet. This guy does a LOT of things, and does them very well. A very powerful general in more standard metas.
The Vampire, on the other hand, is pretty bonkers. The stats, cost, and ability are VERY reminiscent of Zur, the Enchanter - Both fly, 1/3 is close to a 1/4, both cost 4, and both give you free cards. I look forward to playing with her QUITE a bit, and maybe exiling someone's Time Stretch or something.
Oh, you've misread Giant of Sunder Pass, my friend. Secret Training is MUCH better then a Forced Adaptation on it
Even on commons or uncommons, there are uses. My Serpent would appreciate being unblockable sooner, and it charges up my Rookie Firemage for his finale quicker as well.
Generally, of course, you are right. It's a bad card, and won't be played in most decks. But...It will sometimes make for INCREDIBLE stories.
Well, the skeleton tribal subtheme makes fairly extensive use of the graveyard, and would LOVE a few efficient ways to fill it.
Don't mind the comments at all
There will be a few grave fueling cards at lower rarities, MOSTLY in blue, but not many. I'm thinking maybe something like this:
Not Strategic Planning 1U
Sorcery (C)
Look at the top 3 cards of your library. Put 1 into your hand and the rest into your graveyard.
Wasteful Spender 4U
Creature - Human (U)
When Wasteful Spender enters the battlefield, each player sends the top 5 cards of their library to the graveyard.
1/3
Maybe a mulch reprint. Just enough so that your delve cards can work in limited, with MAYBE a few good enough for competitive that I haven't thought up yet. Also, I want the limited format to have a mill deck, and wasteful spender would be part of that.
So, basically, a little of both. Delve will MOSTLY be fueled by your own spells, but there will be the tools so that a delve deck is possible in standard.
Millennial Flame - I imagine a dedicated delve deck to be able to cast this turn 7-8 with decent consistency...provided they draw it, and it doesn't get milled...and they don't get hit by graveyard hate.
Ruinstone - It's mythic because it's cool and splashy, and ABSURDLY good in limited, not because it's a delve enabler.
Drunken Rage - Yeah, sometimes, but it will often be removal for X/1s, which some of the weaker famed creatures are. Similarly, with the high toughness creatures in blue, white, or green, or with skeletons in black, this can easily make favorable trades happen. It may just be horribad, though. We'll see.
Secret Training - Yeah, I want it to be bad, except in that niche case where it's REALLY REALLY good...Like putting it on your Giant of Sunder Pass in limited.
Thanks for the comments!
This seems bonkers against a control deck. Is one additional mana of a different color and no lifeloss enough to take away the symmetrical effect of Smallpox? I'm not sure, but I would lean on the safe side and print this at 4, just in case. Compare to Smallpox and Undercity Plague, 4 seems like a good spot for this...but it wouldn't do you any good at 4 mana usually, as they will likely have non-land permanents. Quite the conundrum.
My card:
This card is from my new set, still under contstruction. I recently decided to add the delve mechanic to the set, to try and capture the flavor of the magic of a crumbling empire - Grossly inefficient, but, for now at least, immensely powerful. Here is the utmost example of this:
Millennial Fire 20R
Sorcery
Delve
Millennial Fire deals 20 damage to target player.
Ten Thousand years of civilization, gone in an instant. Art is of a burning city, with a small mage in the foreground with arms upraised.
This card hits a lot of cylinders for a LOT of players. Timmy sees a spell that WINS YOU THE GAME when you cast it, Spike wants to break it, and Johnny wants to take advantage of the 20 converted mana cost with Kaboom!.
Design-wise, I like the 20 damage mixing with 20 converted mana cost, as well as the fact that this WILL inspire people to build decks, both casual and competitive. I also like the fact that it (probably) isn't very good in constructed, but will amaze and inspire people regardless.
Anyways, what do you think of the card?
Tercius's Spear 1
Legendary Artifact - Equipment (U)
Equipped Creature gains +3/+0, trample, and haste
Equip 4
It's not the spear that's important, but the man HOLDING the spear. Especially when that man is ME. - Tercius
I wanted to enable something like a Tercius deck in limited/constructed. You can potentially be swinging with a 5/2 trample first strike on the second turn, which is a little bonkers. This card essentially spawned from the flavor text - basically, this card is hilariously bad (in constructed) unless Tercius himself is holding the spear. Still quite a beating in limited, so I expect it to be a fairly high pick, so the times that you get this and Tercius in limited will be very few - But when you do, oh the stories you will tell.
Crossroads Legion 3W
Creature - Human Townsfolk (C)
2/5
Alley Toughs 1B
Creature - Human Townsfolk (C)
2/2
Fighting Drake 2UU
Creature - Drake (C)
Fying
2/4
Abandoned Livestock 4G
Creature - Boar (C)
4/5
Lowland Giant 2RR
Creature - Giant (C)
4/3
Barbarians 2R
Creature - Barbarians (C)
3/2
Some vanillas/french vanillas/reprints. Alley toughs and Barbarians are pretty bad in this set, while Fighting Drake, as you can imagine, is quite good.
Millennial Flame 20R
Sorcery (M)
Delve
Millennial Flame deals 20 damage to target creature or player
Ten Thousand years of civilization, gone in an instant.
Art is of a burning city, with a mage in the foreground, arms upstretched.
Epicurean Festival XW
Sorcery (R)
Delve.
Gain X life. If you delved more than 4, Gain twice that much instead.
Think not of tomorrow, for you might not live to see it.
Some interesting Delve cards. Millennial Flame accomplishes one of my secret goals in design - Print a card with Converted mana cost +20 for the johnnies to play with. It's also a fun mythic that people will build decks with, hoping to unlock the puzzle. It'll probably be pretty bad, in the end, though.
Epicurian Festival, on the other hand, I expect to be VERY good in constructed in control sideboards, especially for a lifegain card.
Ruinstone 6
Artifact (M)
Ruinstone comes into play tapped.
T: Reveal a card in your hand. Each player sends the top X cards of their library to the graveyard, where X is equal to the converted manacost of the revealed card.
This card is THE delve enabler, fueling your spells and then some, while also acting as a potent win condition on it's own. Obviously, if you reveal a Millennial Fire from your hand with this card, then you can cast it for a single red mana. It comes into play tapped to prevent to give your opponent time to prepare. I personally think it's balanced, but would love a second opinion on it.
Also, the name is AWESOME.
Drunken Rage R
Instant (C)
Target creature an opponent controls gets +1/-1 and attacks this turn if able.
More red tricks.
Secret Training G
Enchantment - Aura (C)
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a fame counter on enchanted creature.
Heroic Act 2W
Instant (C)
Target creature you control gets +2/+2 until end of turn. Put a fame counter on that creature.
Every set has a horrible common aura and a bad white pump spell. These might not be so bad, though.
Lifebreather 3G
Creature - Dryad (U)
GG, Tap: Regenerate another target creature, or exile target skeleton.
2/2
Riffing on the idea of healing magic being deadly to the undead gives us this beauty. She can only heal other creatures to keep her from being OVERLY obnoxious.
Would love some critique on these cards, as well as the direction the set is going.
1. Famed, as it currently reads, should BE an ability word. That was certainly the intention!
2. It's a strong card, but I haven't found it to be super overpowered yet. There simply aren't any enablers for the card in the set that would make it very powerful. It can certainly take over a game, though, but the fragile nature of skeletons limits it's effectiveness. As I have mostly tested with myself, my opinions may be slanted, so I'll definitely be watching this when I start testing with people.
3. Of course, but I can flavor them later. For now, they each convey the sort of flavor that I want. Epic Fail, for instance, will eventually have some sort of name like "Public Misfortune" or something, but for now it's Epic Fail. Think of it like the playtest name or something.
4. Agreed. Simply put, I haven't gotten there yet. First, I can't use any mechanic that involves non-fame counters. Proliferate, Dredge, Delve - All could work mechanically/flavorfully in the set. I would lean towards delve - It's a spell-based mechanic (Well, I'd limit it to spells) that counters my creature based fame mechanic, and I can work the flavor to be pretty good - Here's a decent shot at a mythic delve card:
Relive the Past 8UU
Sorcery (R)
Delve.
Take an Extra Turn after this one.
This was just a shot in the dark. This card CAN be time walk, but you need to exile 8 cards from your graveyard. May be too strong, perhaps in legacy, but I doubt it, and including one or two decent ways to self mill a bit would allow people to live the dream, and help fuel skeletons a bit.
With Delve (Or another mechanic) the set will actually have a lot going on - Fame, Fame Interactions, Gladiator Tribal, Skeleton Tribal, and the Classical Monster theme, which I personally think is enough for one set, and leaves me a decent amount of room to grow.
Thanks a lot for the comments! I appreciate it, and sorry to wait until now to reply.
I would much prefer either nontoken or "When you cast a creature spell" as opposed to this. As it is, it's pretty broken with blinking effects or, say, Whitemane Lion. Making it an on cast trigger would allow you to lower the cost, even.
I don't like the feel of the card, honestly.
My card:
Epic Fail 1B
Instant
Target creature gets -2/-2 until end of turn. Remove two counters of any type from that creature.
Variation of a card from my set. Thoughts?
It's not so much low power level, but more average. To put it into perspective, RtR has a high power to cost ratio on it's creatures, with all of the multicolor, as well as evolve and scavenge also increasing the size of its creatures. Innistrad, on the other hand, had a much lower power to cost ratio. We'll be closer to Innistrad in the power to cost ratio, but a little below that - No Vorstclaws, for instance. We'll also be a little slower - We have to be, so that famed creatures have a decent shot at getting famous.
Here's my view of how limited will work out. Average game length will be around the 8-9 turn mark (Closer to Rise of the Eldrazi, but a little faster). Creatures are generally smaller. There will be lots of excellent blockers, as well as lots of tricks to get through blockers. Instant speed Tricks will (mostly) be narrow, while sorcery speed removal will be quite powerful. I'm trying to emphasize combat as much as possible. As would be expected in a mythical set, there is an above average amount of flying.
Also, that's a valid criticism on the Serpent. What do you think of a 5UU 6/6? Might be more interesting, and is certainly more likely to eventually get famous.
Short Answer: Yes, it could.
Long Answer: Yes, it could, but it would make for a dramatically different limited environment then what I'm planning. This set is going to go for a LOT of untraditional removal, with VERY few instant speed tricks of the sort we are used to in limited. Here's an example:
Sucker Punch 1R
Sorcery
Until end of turn, Target creature you control gains first strike and must be blocked, if able.
An effective way to get what you want - provided what you want is to fight a man and seven of his friends.
This card, while interesting in the average limited set due to it's potential as removal, in THIS set is a premier common removal spell, along with Rookie Gladiator. Instant speed tricks that would blow this out, such as Epic Fail, are few and far between.
The point being, all of my combat tomfoolery would essentially be thrown out the window if there was an entire set of creatures that could grow beyond the effective range of my tricks. It would also require creatures in general to be larger to cope with the presence of +1/+1 counters, which would in turn require stronger removal. Pretty vicious cycle, all in all.
Thanks for responding!
There are indeed flavor similarities, I'll give you that.
Play-wise, however, the abilities are worlds apart. Level Up is EXTREMELY passive - you put multiple turns and HUGE amounts of mana into your creatures so that you can finally break through to the opponent. Basically, it takes 2-3 turns until you finally get your awesome creature. I suppose you could leave your guy underleveled, and that may often be the correct play, but it's such a letdown not to fully level up your guy - It makes you feel like you failed your creature.
With Famed, you are still doing everything that you would normally do in a magic game - Attacking, blocking, playing spells, making mana - All very reasonable things. However, once you hit the threshold, you suddenly kick into overdrive...Actually, Threshold is a good analogy. Werebear is a fine card to play in general, but it's only once you hit seven cards in your graveyard that it becomes exciting. Some cards, like Krosan Beast, are bad to the point that you won't even PLAY them without Threshold. Famed is sort of a happy medium between these two abilities - Your creatures start acceptable, but kick into overdrive once you get them famous.
I see your point. I'm also not the person to judge for this sort of thing, as I'm too close to the project. It's definitely something to consider.
My personal opinion/prediction is that Famed will work out something like a mix of level up and Cards like Blademane Baku from Kamigawa. Level Up certainly adds complexity to a board position, but the simple fact that essentially all of the Famed cards can only level up once a turn should cut back on the headaches. Still, it is a potential issue, and once I get the set done and get some testers, I'll see if it's a problem.
As for the side comment - They certainly COULD. I don't know if I especially WANT them two, though, as if I made any of them effect any type of counter I might feel compelled to make all of them do so...I'll need to think about it
Glad you like the ability
Famed Researcher 2UU
Creature - Human Wizard (R)
Famed - T: Put a famed counter on Famed Researcher, then Draw X cards, where X is equal to the number of Famed Counters on Famed Researcher.
1/1
(Art - Scholarly Wizard, directing other robed wizards about their tasks)
Flavor-wise, Think a Plato figure whose wisdom attracts students and accelerates his work.
I understand that most of these cards are wordy, but in essence they all are EXTREMELY easy to understand abilities. The card above, for instance, is essentially an Archivist that grows each turn. Very neat, potentially VERY powerful if unanswered.
Famed basically takes two forms (1) Where the creature has to reach a certain threshold to get it's bonus and (2) Where Famed scales. To deal with potential complexity, Common (And most uncommon) instances of famed will be of the first variety, whereas rare versions can be either, but generally scale.
Some cards:
Back-Alley Slanderer 1B
Creature - Human Rogue (U)
B, T: Remove a Famed counter from target creature.
2/2
The Publicist 1U
Creature - Human Townsfolk (U)
When the publicist enters the battlefield under your control, put a famed counter on each creature with a fame counter on it under your control.
1/2
Epic Fail 1B
Instant (C)
Target creature gets -2/-2 until end of turn. Remove 2 famed counters from that creature.
Tercius RW
Creature - Human Gladiator (R)
First Strike
0: Equip target equipment you control to Tercius.
2/2
Few are able to make the transition from slave to hero.
Beginner's Shield 2
Artifact - Equipment (C)
Equipped Creature gets +0/+2.
Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, you may equip Beginner's Shield to it.
Equip 3
Net and Trident 3
Artifact - Equipment (U)
Equipped creature gains first strike.
Whenever Equipped creature attacks, tap target creature defending player controls.
Equip 2
The Barbarian King 4RRR
Legendary Creature - Human Barbarian (M)
First Strike
Whenever The Barbarian King attacks, untap all creatures your opponent controls. Those creatures block The Barbarian King, if able.
7/7
Mass Skeletonize X3BB
Sorcery (U)
Destroy X target creatures, then put X 1/1 Skeleton tokens into play, where X is equal to the number of creatures destroyed in this way.