I'm working on a deck for a friend. He has a 60 card deck that he refers to as "Bad Choices", so I thought I'd try and make a Commander deck for him along the same theme. The idea is that the cards invovle opponents needing to make a number of "lesser of two evils" decisions. Some of the cards, like Browbeat, emphasize this more obviously than others, such as Dark Suspicions. I've got a lot of cards I've found that are on theme. I'd like to get some commentary on how well people have found these cards have worked. Feel free to suggest additional cards. I also need support cards for the deck, which may not be on theme, but still should go in this kind of deck. The deck is meant for casual play, either dual or multiplayer.
Expanding on marking your territory... I find it easier to concentrate when my play space is confined to a specific area. Technically, I could also achieve this by applying masking tape to the table, but a playmat is easier when I'm not confined to one seat all night.
The only solution that remains is kicker without kicker
Add one dose of "think about how MaRo likes to phrase things for the effect it has."
I.e., imagine MaRo running around R&D (or at least, in his version of the story, he's running around R&D) telling his fellow card designers about this great idea he has, "I'm making cards that have Kicker without Kicker!" Upon which his fellow Magic designers look at him funny, then he explains what's really going on.
Let me come up with a refined red version of what 777 has:
Kicking Flame
Enchantment (Rare)
Red instant and sorcery spells you cast have "Kicker RRX" and "If this spell was kicked with its RRx kicker, it deals X damage to target creature or player."
And voila... my red spells now have "Kicker without kicker."
The reason Bond + Tribute is an instant combo and Hellkite + Rite isn't is that Bond + Tribute will reduce your opponent's life to 0 now matter how high it is, whereas Hellkite + Rite or Bloodwitch + Rite will just make them lose 20 or more life, which won't kill them if they gained life. (Obviously you could argue that Bond + Tribute won't win if they have Platinum Angel out etc. but you're just be a jerk :P)
If the Rite is kicked, you can use one of the Hellkites to kill Platinum Angel.
Also you could really keep the topic clean and move any discussion of Trap permanents to its own thread, if you really think it is a worthy speculation.
It's my indirect way of saying I agree there will more likely be permanents that deal with traps than there will be off-color costs. This set is fairly clearly non-gold, and I suspect not having off-color costs will be part of that. Which I hope is the case, too. After five straight years of gold and/or other forms of color-mixing, I've been looking forward to a block where everything is mono-colored.
I thought so at first, too, but now I realize that that isn't likely. Trap only makes sense on Instants, because otherwise, your opponent can easily see what to avoid doing in order not to activate the Trap. Oh, sure, Flash could help, but then Trap wouldn't really mean anything.
Caltrops Trap3
Artifact - Trap
Flash
You may only play ~ on an opponent's turn. T: ~ deals 1 damage to target attacking creature.
Certainly not how the card would look, but it gives you a rough idea of how it could work.
WoTC is in a phase where they are trying to recruit new players into playing the game. Land destruction is a very harsh mechanic that new players will not find fun, because they won't get to play their spells. I think severely reducing the amount of LD in Magic is nothing more than a temporary design strategy to go along with their current marketing strategy. As the marketing strategy shifts, I'm sure LD will again make more of an appearance. It's all part of the swing of the pendulum.
Do a lot of people buy these things? I've never been even remotely interested in them... what's the appeal, exactly?
Some not-so-new players don't have a tremendous amount of time and/or money to refine and pimp decks to their liking. The Duel Decks are a way of acquiring fun decks, with some cards that are at least half-way decent, and without having to spend a fortune for them. They can keep kitchen-table casual Magic fresh without the players having to play the same decks they've had for five years over and over again.
In the Rules / Errata Updates column posted yesterday by Mark Gottlieb, one of the (smaller) rules changes is that CR 420.5q is getting an official label, the "planeswalker uniqueness rule". Similar to the "legend rule", this is the rule that states if two PW's with the same PW type are in play, they're put in the graveyard as a state based effect.
This begs the question, why did they choose only now to give the rule a label?
I realize the likely answer is a continuation of making the rules easier for newer players. By giving it a label, it will be easier for new players to understand.
But it also suggests the possibility of cards similar to Mirror Gallery and Brothers Yamazaki that would need such a label to refer to (these were cards that played with ways to ignore the legend rule). Turning off the planeswalker uniqueness rule could theoretically be interesting design space, but I don't recall it being taken advantage of much during Kamigawa.
So, does anyone think the new label is about exploring that design space, or do you think it's simply for the convenience that having a label provides?
Okay, I'm curious (assuming anyone is still reading here). It's not that I didn't like Dragoon's card - I did, a lot (hence, in part, the 5 on flavor). But I'm curious why other judges didn't feel:
1) Because the drawback was so easily overcome, the balance wasn't in question.
2) Because this is allowing mono-black to remove enchantments and artifacts, there wasn't a problem in balance, here, too.
Mystical Vanishing2WW
Sorcery
Remove all enchanted creatures from the game. At end of turn, return to play all creature cards you own that were removed this way.
Daru Protectorate2WW
Creature - Human Cleric
Morph 1WW
When Daru Protectorate is turned face up, prevent all damage that would be dealt to creatures with morph this turn.
3/3
Commander: Tetsuo Umezawa
Browbeat
Flame-Wreathed Phoenix
Oracle of Bones
Pharagax Giant
Shrike Harpy
Siren of the Fanged Coast
Thunder Brute
Desecration Demon
Distant Memories
Longhorn Firebeast
Soul Ransom
Vexing Devil
Æther Storm
Breaking Point
Carrion Wurm
Dash Hopes
Excavation
Flailing Manticore
Flailing Ogre
Flailing Soldier
Land's Edge
Lethal Vapors
Lightning Storm
Nakaya Shade
Oona's Prowler
Ribbon Snake
Sailmonger
Scandalmonger
Shivan Wumpus
Task Mage Assembly
Temporal Extortion
Tidal Control
Volrath's Dungeon
Wall of Vipers
Warmonger
Worms of the Earth
Callous Oppressor
Choice of Damnations
Gifts Ungiven
Eunuchs' Intrigues
Goblin War Cry
Imperial Edict
Intuition
Library of Lat-Nam
Murmurs from Beyond
Scrounge
Shrouded Lore
Steam Augury
Truth or Tale
Tyrant of Discord
Wei Assassins
Fatespinner
Mist of Stagnation
Monomania
Oath of Ghouls
Oath of Mages
Oath of Scholars
Order of Succession
Stronghold Gambit
Teferi's Realm
Thieves' Auction
Whims of the Fates
Curse of the Cabal
Deep-Sea Kraken
Phthisis
Dark Suspicions
Add one dose of "think about how MaRo likes to phrase things for the effect it has."
I.e., imagine MaRo running around R&D (or at least, in his version of the story, he's running around R&D) telling his fellow card designers about this great idea he has, "I'm making cards that have Kicker without Kicker!" Upon which his fellow Magic designers look at him funny, then he explains what's really going on.
Let me come up with a refined red version of what 777 has:
Kicking Flame
Enchantment (Rare)
Red instant and sorcery spells you cast have "Kicker RRX" and "If this spell was kicked with its RRx kicker, it deals X damage to target creature or player."
And voila... my red spells now have "Kicker without kicker."
If the Rite is kicked, you can use one of the Hellkites to kill Platinum Angel.
It's my indirect way of saying I agree there will more likely be permanents that deal with traps than there will be off-color costs. This set is fairly clearly non-gold, and I suspect not having off-color costs will be part of that. Which I hope is the case, too. After five straight years of gold and/or other forms of color-mixing, I've been looking forward to a block where everything is mono-colored.
Caltrops Trap 3
Artifact - Trap
Flash
You may only play ~ on an opponent's turn.
T: ~ deals 1 damage to target attacking creature.
Certainly not how the card would look, but it gives you a rough idea of how it could work.
Some not-so-new players don't have a tremendous amount of time and/or money to refine and pimp decks to their liking. The Duel Decks are a way of acquiring fun decks, with some cards that are at least half-way decent, and without having to spend a fortune for them. They can keep kitchen-table casual Magic fresh without the players having to play the same decks they've had for five years over and over again.
This begs the question, why did they choose only now to give the rule a label?
I realize the likely answer is a continuation of making the rules easier for newer players. By giving it a label, it will be easier for new players to understand.
But it also suggests the possibility of cards similar to Mirror Gallery and Brothers Yamazaki that would need such a label to refer to (these were cards that played with ways to ignore the legend rule). Turning off the planeswalker uniqueness rule could theoretically be interesting design space, but I don't recall it being taken advantage of much during Kamigawa.
So, does anyone think the new label is about exploring that design space, or do you think it's simply for the convenience that having a label provides?
1) Because the drawback was so easily overcome, the balance wasn't in question.
2) Because this is allowing mono-black to remove enchantments and artifacts, there wasn't a problem in balance, here, too.
Sorcery
Remove all enchanted creatures from the game. At end of turn, return to play all creature cards you own that were removed this way.
Creature - Human Cleric
Morph 1WW
When Daru Protectorate is turned face up, prevent all damage that would be dealt to creatures with morph this turn.
3/3