Demented Knight-ErrantR
Creature - Human Knight
Whenever Demented Knight-Errant attacks, put a mirage counter on target non-creature artifact an opponent controls. It loses its abilities and becomes a 4/4 blue Giant Illusion creature with "Whenever this becomes the target of a spell, sacrifice it."
2/1
You still must protect Don Quixote from the windmills, but now any shock is good enough.
Seconded! I find many of your designs quite elegant, from the simple yet synergistic commons to the powerful and thematic rares. The multicolour cards, both standard and hybrid, are just fantastic! Lost in Eternity, Renegade Fortuneteller and Storytime are my standout favourites. Ribbon Whirler might be ahead of the times, though I could foresee this being acceptable at uncommon. I also found the common land cycle an ingenious design (though in a non-multicolour set I'd say they were uncommon).
Thank you for sharing. That was truly beautiful to read through.
I was looking back over the Great Designer Search challenges and came across the one which required players make 5 multicoloured Un-cards. This sounded like fun, so here are mine. I realise they have a lot of italicised text, but I figure in an Un-set you can take liberties with rules and hide important stuff in there.
Shelver of Secrets WU
Creature - Human Wizard
Rare
At the beginning of your upkeep, reveal the top card of your library. If the revealed card’s artwork features a book or scroll, Shelver of Secrets loses this ability and becomes an Angel with base power and toughness 4/4 and gains flying and vigilance. “NO TALKING IN THE LIBRARY!!”
2/2
Rule Smasher 1RG
Creature - Goblin Shaman
Rare
First fight (This creature has first strike and deals combat and fight damage before creatures without first strike or first fight.}
Instant and sorcery spells you cast have spell-trample. (Those spells can deal excess damage to a creature’s controller or to a planeswalker controlled by that creature’s controller.)
3/3
Toilet Break 5WB
Sorcery
Rare
If there are there or more players currently in the game, remove target player from the game. (Treat that player as though they weren’t playing the game. The game may be won by another player while that player is removed from the game. Treat all permanents and cards they control as though they were not there.)
Return that player to the game at the beginning of the next end step.
Phyrexian Revisionist 2BG
Creature - Phyrexian
Rare
Other Phyrexians you control get +1/+1.
All creatures you control with ‘Phyrexian’ in their name or with a Phyrexian watermark gain the creature type Phyrexian. The Phyrexians finally gained the ultimate power: retconning.
3/3
Mirror Match 3GU
Enchantment
Rare
You may spend mana as though it were mana of any colour.
Whenever an opponent casts a spell, you may pay its mana cost. If you do, copy it. (Copied permanent spells create tokens which enter the battlefield as copies of the permanent they’re copying.)
In reviewing what UB needs from an evergreen mechanic, I looked at what I thought an evergreen mechanic needed:
* Easy to understand
* Require few words to describe
* Can fit in multiple environments (mechanically and thematically)
* Have several commons per set
* Appear on a card by itself (or at least in a very simple form, such as Equip or Scry)
In addition, UB has some extra needs:
* Be a creature mechanic, preferably relating to combat
* Add to what the colours can do, rather than playing in existing space (i.e. evasion abilities)
* Fit both colours (this pair has some of the least crossover at common)
With this in mind, I tried out a whole range of ideas but kept returning to this:
To test out this mechanic in its simplest form, here are a bunch of French vanilla commons (obviously not all needing to appear in the same set). I want each to feel and play differently.
I think cycling from the battlefield (2, Sacrifice CARDNAME: Draw a card) would be the right move. The "cycling or discard" wording makes more sense, and MaRo has stated several times that he wishes he'd keyworded 'cycling from play' in Urza's block.
If you read carefully, Maro's complaints about exile are more about you reusing something you threw away / used up. That is quite different from this ability, which interacts with an opponent's cards in exile. Getting their stuff in exile is a task for you to do and relies on a fair bit of unknown information. Creating a "second graveyard" for yourself is quite different to whittling away your opponent's resources then using them against that opponent.
I find this quite funky design space, and it adds to the Eldrazi feeling alien. I also like that you don't know know what might happen, but if it's a big effect then it's HUGE!
Wow thanks for the love guys! So I came up with a better term for the ability. I'll call it Bury for now. Bury seems like a good ol' flavor kick to when you used to bury cards, and now this might revitalize the word. Also, I really like those suggestions!
The problem is, Bury already has existing rules text (Destroy and can't regenerate). Inhume? Sounds too black. Stash? Inter? Engulf?
This mechanic seems to have a wide array of uses, and has good internal synergy (i.e. with itself( as well as combining nicely with other card abilities (i..e attacking with small creatures, self-sacrifice, chump blocking, spell-casting, etc.).
1
Haha this is a fantastic flavourful design!
1
1
1
Thank you for sharing. That was truly beautiful to read through.
1
Shelver of Secrets
WU
Creature - Human Wizard
Rare
At the beginning of your upkeep, reveal the top card of your library. If the revealed card’s artwork features a book or scroll, Shelver of Secrets loses this ability and becomes an Angel with base power and toughness 4/4 and gains flying and vigilance.
“NO TALKING IN THE LIBRARY!!”
2/2
Rule Smasher
1RG
Creature - Goblin Shaman
Rare
First fight (This creature has first strike and deals combat and fight damage before creatures without first strike or first fight.}
Instant and sorcery spells you cast have spell-trample. (Those spells can deal excess damage to a creature’s controller or to a planeswalker controlled by that creature’s controller.)
3/3
Toilet Break
5WB
Sorcery
Rare
If there are there or more players currently in the game, remove target player from the game. (Treat that player as though they weren’t playing the game. The game may be won by another player while that player is removed from the game. Treat all permanents and cards they control as though they were not there.)
Return that player to the game at the beginning of the next end step.
Phyrexian Revisionist
2BG
Creature - Phyrexian
Rare
Other Phyrexians you control get +1/+1.
All creatures you control with ‘Phyrexian’ in their name or with a Phyrexian watermark gain the creature type Phyrexian.
The Phyrexians finally gained the ultimate power: retconning.
3/3
Mirror Match
3GU
Enchantment
Rare
You may spend mana as though it were mana of any colour.
Whenever an opponent casts a spell, you may pay its mana cost. If you do, copy it. (Copied permanent spells create tokens which enter the battlefield as copies of the permanent they’re copying.)
2
* Easy to understand
* Require few words to describe
* Can fit in multiple environments (mechanically and thematically)
* Have several commons per set
* Appear on a card by itself (or at least in a very simple form, such as Equip or Scry)
In addition, UB has some extra needs:
* Be a creature mechanic, preferably relating to combat
* Add to what the colours can do, rather than playing in existing space (i.e. evasion abilities)
* Fit both colours (this pair has some of the least crossover at common)
With this in mind, I tried out a whole range of ideas but kept returning to this:
Syphon (When this dies, draw a card.)
Blue has this in quantity already (e.g. Kingfisher, Jeskai Sage, Exultant Cultist, Darkslick Drake), though currently in black it's generally at higher rarities and focused on other creatures (e.g. Duck Urchins, Infernal Scarring, Harvester of Souls, Grim Haruspex,
To test out this mechanic in its simplest form, here are a bunch of French vanilla commons (obviously not all needing to appear in the same set). I want each to feel and play differently.
Dream Fragment
U
Creature - Illusion
Syphon
0/2
Creeping Shadow
B
Creature - Horror
Syphon
~ can't block.
1/1
Dashing Messenger
1U
Creature - Human Scout
Flash
Syphon
1/1
Brain Chomper
1B
Creature - Zombie
Syphon
2/1
Curious Turtle
2U
Creature - Turtle
Syphon
1/4
Thirsty Vampire
2B
Creature - Vampire
Lifelink
Syphon
2/1
Hunting Osprey
3U
Creature - Bird
Flying
Syphon
3/1
Scavenger Scarab
3B
Creature - Beetle
Syphon
3/2
1
Plus, sacrificing things feels very Bolas-y.
1
3
I find this quite funky design space, and it adds to the Eldrazi feeling alien. I also like that you don't know know what might happen, but if it's a big effect then it's HUGE!
1
The problem is, Bury already has existing rules text (Destroy and can't regenerate). Inhume? Sounds too black. Stash? Inter? Engulf?
This mechanic seems to have a wide array of uses, and has good internal synergy (i.e. with itself( as well as combining nicely with other card abilities (i..e attacking with small creatures, self-sacrifice, chump blocking, spell-casting, etc.).