If I have 30 life and, while having a Scourge of the Skyclaves in my graveyard, mutate Nethroi, Apex of Death, does targeting Scourge allow me to return 20 power of creatures rather than 10?
If yes, would causing the highest life total to decrease or exiling Scourge with the mutate trigger on the stack cause the mutate ability to fizzle in that scenario?
It does come into play tapped, but it still produces Mana on the turn you play it. If you use it to produce white on etb, the only instance where it's not a plains is not being able to cast instants with it during that first turn cycle, which is negligible in most decks.
Negligible in most limited decks, maybe. Negligible for some aggro and midrange decks, maybe. But many decks in constructed like to spend mana outside of their main phases. Any control deck, any tempo deck, and any other deck that runs instants, permanents with flash, or activated abilities is going to prefer a basic. A land can't be strictly better than a basic if entire archetypes turn their noses up at it.
Cryptic Command would easily be an Arcane subtype. Arcane generally means 'generic magic' and would fulfill your criteria. I would also use what the card does when determining subtype more than I would the card's name. Function over flavor is a common design philosophy of WotC.
Giving Cryptic Command (and others) the Arcane subtype would be a power level errata of variable quality. Splice isn't the most powerful mechanic, but it can be competitive in someunexpectedlocations.
Also, in attempting to impose subtypes on preexisting cards, you actually do not have the privilege of using WoTC design philosophy because you are not designing anything new. If you create your own cards, you may apply any subtype you wish in that "function over flavor" approach because flavor can be determined after everything else is said and done.
On the other hand, preexisting cards already have their flavor in place. You cannot roll back the design process to before flavor was determined to find a subtype that fits the function if the perfect functional subtype does not jive with the name, art, and flavor text already in place. Simply charging ahead with subtypes without taking previously designed flavor elements into account risk bizarre choices that may jeopardize the merits of your project.
While the idea of expanding noncreature subtypes creates some very interesting design space - a Chandra that specializes in fire spells is one example that comes to mind - some spells are abstract and difficult to really pin down. For example, what would you call Cryptic Command? It doesn't fit neatly into water, or even mind magic. It's pure, distilled "blue" magic. You could give the spell a redundant "command" subtype, but that wouldn't describe anything other than the particular class of modular spell to which it belongs. Subtypes fill type lines and allow points of interactions, but their real duty is that they are evocative of whatever the card represents. It's easy to start from a subtype and work up, but, in trying to place every noncreature card into another level of classification, you may end up forcing square pegs into round holes.
I'm confused. People are saying this is the 31 option card. I thought people were kidding about that - is this the 31 option card? If so, how?
5 different options, you can either choose them or not -> 2 to the power of 5 = 32 and -1 because you have to choose at least one, not choosing any options is not allowed, so 31 options.
It's also easy to visualize in the form of color combinations, since they are both 5. 5 colors + 10 pairs + 10 arcs and wedges + 5 four color combinations + 1 of all five colors = 31.
There is probably a better way to phrase the cost on Meredith. Putting 3 "or"s into a cost is super clunky, and it's easy to miss that the ability on costs 1 mana (which is much too low with mass double strike added in). What if the ability were this, accounting for some power level balancing:
1: Creatures you control with defender lose defender and gain vigilance and first strike until end of turn. Activate this ability only if there are exactly two colors among permanents you control and cards in your graveyard. You may only pay blue, black, red, or green mana to activate this ability.
No, not unless your opponent lacks access to white mana when you try to destroy the enchantment. If you try to activate Elvish Lyrist, then the ability will go on the stack and give your opponent the chance to activate Shackles's ability. Even if your opponent tries to return the enchantment for some other reason, to which you respond with Lyrist, your opponent can simply activate the ability again, up to as many times as he has white mana.
You'd be better off bringing that to the custom card forum. This rulings forum deals with rules that already exist, as well as precendent. The precedent for uncharted territory is to write new rules that support the new mechanic.
The balance on these cards looks quite good overall, though the black one's Cabal Therapy mode does push the envelope on a 2cc instant. Putting rebound as one of the modes on the white one is a little strange, though I guess putting a static ability as a modular option technically works. You'd need to put the card into a set with rebound as a set mechanic, which does limit design if you intend these for a set. The modular options leave no room for reminder text, and rebound is a fairly complex mechanic.
The first design is far too strong; the going rate for a one-sided Rule of Law without the evasive, flying, flash body is four mana. It's not even easy to kill, since playing it after your opponent has already cast a spell means they have limited means to remove the thing until you untap and have Spell Queller mana. Being aggressively costed is bad enough, but flash makes this creature outright broken.
Your second design is more balanced and interactive, but putting casting restrictions on a titan trigger is super clunky and often useless. Your opponent will either cast their spells before the trigger resolves or save their one spell.
More specifically than "here's a really strong 2 CMC creature in red," what is your goal here? The four creatures you named get lumped together a lot, but they have nothing in common beyond their converted mana cost. Those four cards had their own design backgrounds. Bob and Snap are invitational cards created by different tournament champions, essentially born from the ideals of two people with competitive success at the highest level. Goyf is a card type showcase that was underestimated for some time before it got its reputation. Stoneforge is the lynchpin of a tribal archetype that managed to outgrow its intended role almost entirely thanks to the equipment printed in the following block.
In light of that, creating a card for the sake of "here are four great cards that share a CMC, shame red doesn't have one that good" means you aren't creating the card for its own sake. As a result, it will always stand in the shadow of the four cards you invoked. There's also something to be said for simplicity and flexibility, but that's another issue.
Then I suppose you didn't know the background story. Allow me to share it with you.
Ever since Modern became a thing, the four aforementioned cards also gained their popularity in the format. There were casual discussions in several forums where people found a (loosely) common ground for these cards because they are all 2cc (1 and one colored) and are all tournament worthy staples. At the same time, some curious people started to question, "Will WotC make a red one that'd complete the circle, the five most powerful 2cc creatures, one for each color?"
That was when some suggested perhaps Young Pyromancer could fit the bill, but it was obviously not as good as the rest, so the discussion went on to, "What would a 2cc red creature be like that could be on par with the four?"
That is where this thread came from. This a hypothetical continuation of those chit chat, to see what people imagine such as red creature would be, one would "complete the circle". Elegantly, if possible.
I knew that. I'm saying that isn't enough, that it doesn't give enough direction to actually achieve your goal.
More specifically than "here's a really strong 2 CMC creature in red," what is your goal here? The four creatures you named get lumped together a lot, but they have nothing in common beyond their converted mana cost. Those four cards had their own design backgrounds. Bob and Snap are invitational cards created by different tournament champions, essentially born from the ideals of two people with competitive success at the highest level. Goyf is a card type showcase that was underestimated for some time before it got its reputation. Stoneforge is the lynchpin of a tribal archetype that managed to outgrow its intended role almost entirely thanks to the equipment printed in the following block.
In light of that, creating a card for the sake of "here are four great cards that share a CMC, shame red doesn't have one that good" means you aren't creating the card for its own sake. As a result, it will always stand in the shadow of the four cards you invoked. There's also something to be said for simplicity and flexibility, but that's another issue.
I wouldn't be surprised to see variants of Rhystic Study in Commander supplements or Conspiracy or the like in the future. Maybe also cards that reward you for chump-blocking with card draw- "For the greater good" flavor. Sacrificing Plains for card draw could work well in concert with all of the Land Tax flavored stuff they keep printing; the problem with a critical mass of those abilities is that they do stop working.
I think taxing/punishing effects fit white very well in commander, as it falls within white flavorfully and mechanically. On the other hand, sacrificing lands for card draw fits white neither flavorfully nor mechanically. The land searchers you alluded to are certainly no justification for something in the line of Aggressive Mining no more than white's token strategies justify a white Goblin Bombardment. Sacrificing lands for resources is so indelibly red that it would take a fairly tortuous twist to cram such a mechanic into white. As far as lands themselves that draw cards, white-based EDH decks have access to a number of decent colorless options.
thx for the answer so, can I cast a spell like this:
Beginning phase
Casting spell
Pre-combat main phase
casting spell
Combat phase
casting spell
Post-combat main phase
casting spell
Ending phase
with his ability?
or Is't only one spell ?
Specific rules questions are best asked in the rules forum. Anything in this game that refers to "your turn" is talking about a period between your untap step and the end of the end phase. That is what a turn is. Lurrus lets you cast one permanent spell with converted mana cost 2 or less in that period.
Mairsil's reappearance in card form absolutely can be a coincidence because Commander products are a dumping ground for neglected legendary figures, the vast majority of whom are irrelevant to contemporary sets.
While its value probably won't spike, I disagree with your assessment of Bygone Bishop. It has applications outside of clue-based decks; for example, it makes every creature that Collected Company decks hardcast replace themselves. If any sort of white weenie crops up (human or spirit tribal?), Bishop would give the deck crucial staying power in the mid and late games.
If yes, would causing the highest life total to decrease or exiling Scourge with the mutate trigger on the stack cause the mutate ability to fizzle in that scenario?
Negligible in most limited decks, maybe. Negligible for some aggro and midrange decks, maybe. But many decks in constructed like to spend mana outside of their main phases. Any control deck, any tempo deck, and any other deck that runs instants, permanents with flash, or activated abilities is going to prefer a basic. A land can't be strictly better than a basic if entire archetypes turn their noses up at it.
Giving Cryptic Command (and others) the Arcane subtype would be a power level errata of variable quality. Splice isn't the most powerful mechanic, but it can be competitive in some unexpected locations.
Also, in attempting to impose subtypes on preexisting cards, you actually do not have the privilege of using WoTC design philosophy because you are not designing anything new. If you create your own cards, you may apply any subtype you wish in that "function over flavor" approach because flavor can be determined after everything else is said and done.
On the other hand, preexisting cards already have their flavor in place. You cannot roll back the design process to before flavor was determined to find a subtype that fits the function if the perfect functional subtype does not jive with the name, art, and flavor text already in place. Simply charging ahead with subtypes without taking previously designed flavor elements into account risk bizarre choices that may jeopardize the merits of your project.
It's also easy to visualize in the form of color combinations, since they are both 5. 5 colors + 10 pairs + 10 arcs and wedges + 5 four color combinations + 1 of all five colors = 31.
1: Creatures you control with defender lose defender and gain vigilance and first strike until end of turn. Activate this ability only if there are exactly two colors among permanents you control and cards in your graveyard. You may only pay blue, black, red, or green mana to activate this ability.
Your second design is more balanced and interactive, but putting casting restrictions on a titan trigger is super clunky and often useless. Your opponent will either cast their spells before the trigger resolves or save their one spell.
I knew that. I'm saying that isn't enough, that it doesn't give enough direction to actually achieve your goal.
In light of that, creating a card for the sake of "here are four great cards that share a CMC, shame red doesn't have one that good" means you aren't creating the card for its own sake. As a result, it will always stand in the shadow of the four cards you invoked. There's also something to be said for simplicity and flexibility, but that's another issue.
I think taxing/punishing effects fit white very well in commander, as it falls within white flavorfully and mechanically. On the other hand, sacrificing lands for card draw fits white neither flavorfully nor mechanically. The land searchers you alluded to are certainly no justification for something in the line of Aggressive Mining no more than white's token strategies justify a white Goblin Bombardment. Sacrificing lands for resources is so indelibly red that it would take a fairly tortuous twist to cram such a mechanic into white. As far as lands themselves that draw cards, white-based EDH decks have access to a number of decent colorless options.
Specific rules questions are best asked in the rules forum. Anything in this game that refers to "your turn" is talking about a period between your untap step and the end of the end phase. That is what a turn is. Lurrus lets you cast one permanent spell with converted mana cost 2 or less in that period.