Menacing Effigy3R
Enchantment (U)
Creatures you control get +1/+0 and have menace. Stitch - If ~ is in your graveyard or your hand, you may pay 2 life and exile 2 creature cards with different names in your graveyard to play it without paying it's mana cost. Ithican Philosophers theorized Orcs appreciated the aesthetic value of the contrasting entrails. Orc artists, on the other hand, knew that efficient effigies contained many pungent aromas.
Great art!
There is a lot of text on that card. Why not just?:
Name~
Legendary creature.
Opponents cannot cast spells from their graveyard. You may cast spells from opponent's graveyard. If do you, exile them instead of putting them into their owner's graveyard.
Stitch is an ability word that signals an alternate casting cost of a permanent that can be played when the card is either in the graveyard or in a player's hand.
Rationale - It's fun to think of black stitching together pieces from a graveyard to make a zombie. Each card with stitch allows you to do just that - pay some life, exile some stuff in your 'yard, and have at it. Some of the cards with stitch are good in any deck, but some of the cards in stitch refer to creature types or keywords, and thus cards of those types - even if they wouldn't otherwise be tier 1 constructed playable - might see play as a way to fuel out stitch-casting creatures.
Stitch works both from your hand and from your graveyard; what this means is that you can cheat a bunch of creature cards from your hand into play by paying life and exiling graveyard cards - not unlike delve, but with a more specific cost - AND you can gain card advantage by playing them (multiple times) from your graveyard.
Stitch works well with the Spellshaper mechanic, as creatures can be discarded for powerful (or just decent) spellshaper effects that fuel stitch costs.
Cobbled Crawler2B
Creature - Scorpion Spider Zombie (C)
Deathtouch, Reach Stitch - If ~ is in your graveyard or your hand, you may pay 2 life and exile a scorpion and a spider card in your graveyard to play it without paying it's mana cost.
1/3
Twin-stitched Corpse1BB
Creature - Twin Zombie (C)
Menace Stitch - If ~ is in your graveyard or your hand, you may pay 2 life and exile 2 creature cards with the same name in your graveyard to play it without paying it's mana cost.
2/2
Raven Entrails1B
Sorcery (C)
Each opponent discards a card. Stitch - If ~ is in your graveyard or your hand, you may pay 1 life and exile a bird card in your graveyard to play it without paying it's mana cost.
Gravebind biterB
Creature - Goblin Zombie (U)
~ has Deathtouch if a creature card in your graveyard has deathtouch. The same is true for Menace, Haste, Trample, Lifelink, Vigilance, Flying, Reach, Hexproof, First Strike, Double Strike, and Skulk. Stitch - If ~ is in your graveyard or your hand, you may pay 1 life and exile 1 creature card in your graveyard to play it without paying it's mana cost.
1/1
Grave Mistake6BB
Creature - Chimera Zombie (R)
Flying, Haste, Deathtouch Stitch - If ~ is in your graveyard or your hand, you may pay 3 life and exile a creature card with deathtouch, a creature card with haste, and a creature card with flying in your graveyard to play it without paying it's mana cost.
6/6
Sickening Effigy1BB
Enchantment (R)
Pay 2 life, 1B, Sacrifice a creature: Draw a card
Whenever a player sacrifices a creature, put a 2/2 black zombie token onto the battlefield. Stitch - If ~ is in your graveyard or your hand, you may pay 3 life and exile three creature cards with different names in your graveyard to play it without paying it's mana cost.
Necrotic HydraXB
Creature - Hydra Zombie (M)
When you play ~ from your hand, you may search your library for up to X creature cards and put the into your graveyard. If you do, shuffle your library. Stitch - If ~ is in your graveyard or your hand, you may pay X life and exile X creature cards in your graveyard to play it without paying it's mana cost.
~ enters the battlefield with X +1/+1 counters.
0/0
Related: Unstable Chimera 3WGR
Creature - Chimera (R)
Flying, Hexproof, Haste
When ~ dies, you may exile it. If you do, you may choose a card named "Swarm Hawk", a card named "Hexscale Viper," and a card named "Ridgescale Tiger" from outside the game and reveal them. If 3 cards were revealed in this way, put them onto the battlefield. Otherwise, put them into your hand.
6/6
Star, Berserker Mage3RR
Legendary Creature - Goblin Berserker Wizard (M)
Haste
You may reveal three other creature cards with Haste in your hand instead of paying ~'s mana cost.
Whenever ~ or another creature with haste enters the battlefield under your control, you may have it deal 1 damage to target creature or player.
2/2
I actually like the 'outside of the game' part- It forces you to choose between frequency (more in deck) or impact (more in sideboard).
That's not to say if it's balanced or not though.
I like that dynamic as well in limited.
In constructed, though, I suspect the Swarm 3 cards will be 1:3, so not an issue. Still, it really feels clunky in constructed to drop a 2/2 for 3 on the 3rd turn - even if it does refill your hand.
I'll have to agree with the other posters that your mechanic falls short on constructed playability unless you're playing a casual format where cards that tutor from outside of the game actually let you comb your entire collection. Those kinds of effects are really only useful in constructed when you have a wish effect that acts as copies 4-7 of a key card. Not to mention, under-curve French vanilla creatures typically aren't worth sideboard space.
Their playability in "casual" unlimited outside-the-game seems interesting.
However, I think you're underestimating the power of drawing 3 cards, even if the 3 cards are absolute garbage. There are plenty of mechanics that love having a big hand size and cards to discard. This won't go in every deck, but there are plenty of constructed formats where this mechanic is at least in the running for being playable.
The one thing I worry is that, like Sweep, it's unlikely that you'll use many Swarm cards in your deck. You could run all 5 commons in constructed standard, but it'd eat your sideboard whole. So at most you'll run 1-3 different swarm cards in a single deck, and due to the nature of the mechanic it'll be more difficult to draw. There are "game play satisfaction" issues with this mechanic, but my goal is to make cards that fill the limited role of Wind Drake constructed playable, and I think an oddly-received constructed playable mechanic is preferable to an utterly disappointing only-playable-in-limited french vanilla.
Someone will stumble across Swarm creatures in X years and say "cool", and be able to pick up commons relatively cheap and run them in a deck. No one will do that for Wind Drake.
The swarm 3 cards are too good in draft. Seriously, unless someone is drafting against you, you can get realistically get 6 or so of a specific common in an 8 man draft. All you need is one in the deck, the rest in your infinitely sized sideboard, then simply casting this once and boom, then again! All your sample swarm 3 cards are undercosted by at least 2, an even then they'd still be first picks like mad even if only to deprive someone else of them.
I think the most direct parallel is Coldsnap's Ripple 4, which existed in a small set and put them into play. I drafted Cold Snap regularly, and the most I saw people draft was 7 of the white rippler; and that person won that one draft that one time. This is decidedly weaker than ripple in this regard in two ways - first, ripple put them into play (if you hit) while these don't, and second, if there is less of a chance you'll draw these thanks to the mechanic taking them out of your sideboard instead of main deck.
Getting more than 4 of a quality common card in limited is tough; and by itself this is subpar (but still limited playable); however if you draft a lot of them then it turns 1 or 2 cards in your deck into a bomb - and that's cool.
Squadron hawk at least occupied deck space, and ultimately they're 1/1s.
And it cost less. With Hawk you can get it more reliably and play multiple copies faster. Right now these are 1CC, but I bounce between 1CC and 2C for their cost. 1CC works better to make it harder to play, but - really - 2C isn't going to be that big a deal in constructed or limited. It'll still be one 2/2 for 3 a turn until turn 6, where you get to drop 2. If you get lucky and draw your 1 copy in constructed.
The uncommon swarm 1 ones, on the other hand, suck in limited, because realistically you can only get 1 of them even in draft. This makes orc brothers an annoying pick, because you pick it then it you don't pick another, you just wasted a pick without even the benefit of knowing if you counter picked correctly.
I agree the orc is pretty bad, but you could always clone it. In constructed, though, it represents an odd choice - on turn 4, this is two 4/3s that die to 1 piece of removal (well, not really since your 2nd still gets you a 3rd).
In constructed orc is kinda undercosted. It's a 2cc 4/3. I don't think the drawback (both combat and sideboard space) is enough.
Red has gotten 4/4s for 1R with similar effects; the card advantage and drawbacks are supposed to balance it. Playtesting is needed; I could see making it 3/3 for 1R or R, or 4/4, etc.
Swarming thoughts is of dubious use unless you have cards that interact with it.
I like spellshapers (when done right), so I think they'll provide discard fodder primarily.
Because Swarm uses "outside the game" talk, it frees up room for cards that search your library more often - spellshapers, tutors - either of which could tutor up your 1 maindeck copy of the card. The big question, then, is whether these are worth giving up sideboard spots - but, spellshapers let you maindeck more answers and discard them if unneeded.
The problem with constructed application here is you are limited to getting cards from your sideboard, so you have to run it basically as a 1 of that occupies a lot of deck space for an occasional mildling payoff, or a 2 of with diminishing returns. In the meantime, they are insanely unbalanced in limited, even when counting just your pool as cards owned outside the game.
In limited, I could see you running 2:2 - that's a tough call.
In sealed, you'll get max, what? 6 of these, more likely 2-3. So 1 main and 2 side. (This requires the set to have less absolutely terrible filler cards, since swarm commons rarely take up maindeck space!)
In draft, (1) people need to learn to hate draft, and (2) if you can find yourself 4+ of these, then those 4+N cards count as 1+N bombs. And I'm okay with that, especially since (a) it's slow, and (b) the set will have removal like echoing decay which keep this kind of thing in check.
Squadron Hawk is a great card; in limited it's a 1/1 for 2 that you'd run on it's own (reluctantly), but if you had more than 1 it gets better. In constructed, however, it's great! You drop it on turn 2, and ancestral recall.
Mechanic: Swarm - N (When you play this card from your hand, you may choose up to N cards you own from outside the game with the same name as this card and put them into your hand.)
Common Cycle: Furscale Test Subject2U
Creature - Rat Lizard Beast (C)
Flash, Swarm - 3
2/2
Uncommon cycle: Orc Brothers1R
Creature - Orc Warrior (U)
Swarm - 1
~ cannot attack or block unless another card named ~ also attacks.
4/3
Tiny Clone2U
Creature - Clone (U)
Swarm - 1
You may have Endless Clone enter the battlefield as a copy of any creature on the battlefield, except it's base power and toughness is 1/1.
*/*
Disciple of Many1W
Creature - Human Cleric(U)
Lifelink, Vigilance, Swarm - 1
1/2
Lots of Rats1B
Creature - Rat (U)
Swarm 1
~ gets +1/+0 for each other rat you control.
You may have any number of ~ in your library or sideboard.
1/2
From the new boon cycle: Swarming ThoughtsU
Instant (C)
Swarm - 3
(no other text)
RerenderW
Instant (C)
Return target enchant card with a CMC of 3 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield.
Orcish ResearchR
Instant (C)
Discard up to 3 cards at random, then draw that many cards.
FetchbackG
Instant (C)
Return up to 3 land cards from your graveyard to your hand.
UncoveringB
Instant (C)
Return target creature card with converted mana cost 3 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield.
Related Mythic cycle: Cellesa, Tripart Angel3WW
Legendary Creature - Angel Cleric (M)
Flying, Lifelink, Vigilance
You may reveal three other creature cards with flying in your hand instead of paying ~'s mana cost.
3/3
Arknull, Merciless Assassin3BB
Legendary Creature - Human Rogue Assassin (M)
Deathtouch
You may reveal three other creature cards with deathtouch in your hand instead of paying ~'s mana cost.
Whenever a creature would deal combat damage to you, ~ deals 2 damage to that creature.
2/2
Spar, Hexback Hermit3GG
Legendary Creature - Troll Cleric (M)
Hexproof
You may reveal three other creature cards with Hexproof in your hand instead of paying ~'s mana cost.
Land creatures you control get +1/+1 1G: Target land you control becomes a 1/1 spirit creature until end of turn. (It is still a land)
2/2
Locullus, Dower Seeer3UU
Legendary Creature - Human Wizard (M)
Flash
You may reveal three other creature cards with Flash in your hand instead of paying ~'s mana cost.
Whenever a creature you control with flash deals combat damage to a player, draw a card.
2/3
Star, Berserker Mage3RR
Legendary Creature - Goblin Berserker Wizard (M)
Haste
You may reveal three other creature cards with Haste in your hand instead of paying ~'s mana cost.
Whenever ~ or another creature with haste enters the battlefield under your control, you may have it deal 1 damage to target creature or player. (Worded in such a way that a haste, deathtouch creature is a kill spell!)
2/2
Edit: I'm not sure of the flavor of a hero that attacks each turn if able. It's also very, very busy - why can't it just have vigilance (and lifelink?) naturally? Why do you have to pay for it? The attack clause feels very red.
Claws What May1R
Enchantment R: You may discard a creature card. If you do, that creature card deals 2 damage to target creature.
Note: I think this has synergy with lifelink and deathtouch, but I had to remove "or player" to avoid the Phage the Untouchable 2 card combo.
Menacing Effigy 3R
Enchantment (U)
Creatures you control get +1/+0 and have menace.
Stitch - If ~ is in your graveyard or your hand, you may pay 2 life and exile 2 creature cards with different names in your graveyard to play it without paying it's mana cost.
Ithican Philosophers theorized Orcs appreciated the aesthetic value of the contrasting entrails. Orc artists, on the other hand, knew that efficient effigies contained many pungent aromas.
Great art!
There is a lot of text on that card. Why not just?:
Name~
Legendary creature.
Opponents cannot cast spells from their graveyard. You may cast spells from opponent's graveyard. If do you, exile them instead of putting them into their owner's graveyard.
Rationale - It's fun to think of black stitching together pieces from a graveyard to make a zombie. Each card with stitch allows you to do just that - pay some life, exile some stuff in your 'yard, and have at it. Some of the cards with stitch are good in any deck, but some of the cards in stitch refer to creature types or keywords, and thus cards of those types - even if they wouldn't otherwise be tier 1 constructed playable - might see play as a way to fuel out stitch-casting creatures.
Stitch works both from your hand and from your graveyard; what this means is that you can cheat a bunch of creature cards from your hand into play by paying life and exiling graveyard cards - not unlike delve, but with a more specific cost - AND you can gain card advantage by playing them (multiple times) from your graveyard.
Stitch works well with the Spellshaper mechanic, as creatures can be discarded for powerful (or just decent) spellshaper effects that fuel stitch costs.
Cobbled Crawler 2B
Creature - Scorpion Spider Zombie (C)
Deathtouch, Reach
Stitch - If ~ is in your graveyard or your hand, you may pay 2 life and exile a scorpion and a spider card in your graveyard to play it without paying it's mana cost.
1/3
Twin-stitched Corpse 1BB
Creature - Twin Zombie (C)
Menace
Stitch - If ~ is in your graveyard or your hand, you may pay 2 life and exile 2 creature cards with the same name in your graveyard to play it without paying it's mana cost.
2/2
Raven Entrails 1B
Sorcery (C)
Each opponent discards a card.
Stitch - If ~ is in your graveyard or your hand, you may pay 1 life and exile a bird card in your graveyard to play it without paying it's mana cost.
Gravebind biter B
Creature - Goblin Zombie (U)
~ has Deathtouch if a creature card in your graveyard has deathtouch. The same is true for Menace, Haste, Trample, Lifelink, Vigilance, Flying, Reach, Hexproof, First Strike, Double Strike, and Skulk.
Stitch - If ~ is in your graveyard or your hand, you may pay 1 life and exile 1 creature card in your graveyard to play it without paying it's mana cost.
1/1
Grave Mistake 6BB
Creature - Chimera Zombie (R)
Flying, Haste, Deathtouch
Stitch - If ~ is in your graveyard or your hand, you may pay 3 life and exile a creature card with deathtouch, a creature card with haste, and a creature card with flying in your graveyard to play it without paying it's mana cost.
6/6
Sickening Effigy 1BB
Enchantment (R)
Pay 2 life, 1B, Sacrifice a creature: Draw a card
Whenever a player sacrifices a creature, put a 2/2 black zombie token onto the battlefield.
Stitch - If ~ is in your graveyard or your hand, you may pay 3 life and exile three creature cards with different names in your graveyard to play it without paying it's mana cost.
Necrotic Hydra XB
Creature - Hydra Zombie (M)
When you play ~ from your hand, you may search your library for up to X creature cards and put the into your graveyard. If you do, shuffle your library.
Stitch - If ~ is in your graveyard or your hand, you may pay X life and exile X creature cards in your graveyard to play it without paying it's mana cost.
~ enters the battlefield with X +1/+1 counters.
0/0
Related:
Unstable Chimera 3WGR
Creature - Chimera (R)
Flying, Hexproof, Haste
When ~ dies, you may exile it. If you do, you may choose a card named "Swarm Hawk", a card named "Hexscale Viper," and a card named "Ridgescale Tiger" from outside the game and reveal them. If 3 cards were revealed in this way, put them onto the battlefield. Otherwise, put them into your hand.
6/6
Related thread:
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/creativity/custom-card-creation/768855-making-limited-cards-constructed-playable-mechanic
Star, Berserker Mage 3RR
Legendary Creature - Goblin Berserker Wizard (M)
Haste
You may reveal three other creature cards with Haste in your hand instead of paying ~'s mana cost.
Whenever ~ or another creature with haste enters the battlefield under your control, you may have it deal 1 damage to target creature or player.
2/2
BTG:
I like that dynamic as well in limited.
In constructed, though, I suspect the Swarm 3 cards will be 1:3, so not an issue. Still, it really feels clunky in constructed to drop a 2/2 for 3 on the 3rd turn - even if it does refill your hand.
BR:
Their playability in "casual" unlimited outside-the-game seems interesting.
However, I think you're underestimating the power of drawing 3 cards, even if the 3 cards are absolute garbage. There are plenty of mechanics that love having a big hand size and cards to discard. This won't go in every deck, but there are plenty of constructed formats where this mechanic is at least in the running for being playable.
The one thing I worry is that, like Sweep, it's unlikely that you'll use many Swarm cards in your deck. You could run all 5 commons in constructed standard, but it'd eat your sideboard whole. So at most you'll run 1-3 different swarm cards in a single deck, and due to the nature of the mechanic it'll be more difficult to draw. There are "game play satisfaction" issues with this mechanic, but my goal is to make cards that fill the limited role of Wind Drake constructed playable, and I think an oddly-received constructed playable mechanic is preferable to an utterly disappointing only-playable-in-limited french vanilla.
Someone will stumble across Swarm creatures in X years and say "cool", and be able to pick up commons relatively cheap and run them in a deck. No one will do that for Wind Drake.
Mondu
[/quote]
I think the most direct parallel is Coldsnap's Ripple 4, which existed in a small set and put them into play. I drafted Cold Snap regularly, and the most I saw people draft was 7 of the white rippler; and that person won that one draft that one time. This is decidedly weaker than ripple in this regard in two ways - first, ripple put them into play (if you hit) while these don't, and second, if there is less of a chance you'll draw these thanks to the mechanic taking them out of your sideboard instead of main deck.
Getting more than 4 of a quality common card in limited is tough; and by itself this is subpar (but still limited playable); however if you draft a lot of them then it turns 1 or 2 cards in your deck into a bomb - and that's cool.
And it cost less. With Hawk you can get it more reliably and play multiple copies faster. Right now these are 1CC, but I bounce between 1CC and 2C for their cost. 1CC works better to make it harder to play, but - really - 2C isn't going to be that big a deal in constructed or limited. It'll still be one 2/2 for 3 a turn until turn 6, where you get to drop 2. If you get lucky and draw your 1 copy in constructed.
I agree the orc is pretty bad, but you could always clone it.
Red has gotten 4/4s for 1R with similar effects; the card advantage and drawbacks are supposed to balance it. Playtesting is needed; I could see making it 3/3 for 1R or R, or 4/4, etc.
I like spellshapers (when done right), so I think they'll provide discard fodder primarily.
Because Swarm uses "outside the game" talk, it frees up room for cards that search your library more often - spellshapers, tutors - either of which could tutor up your 1 maindeck copy of the card. The big question, then, is whether these are worth giving up sideboard spots - but, spellshapers let you maindeck more answers and discard them if unneeded.
Lucasbpc
In limited, I could see you running 2:2 - that's a tough call.
In sealed, you'll get max, what? 6 of these, more likely 2-3. So 1 main and 2 side. (This requires the set to have less absolutely terrible filler cards, since swarm commons rarely take up maindeck space!)
In draft, (1) people need to learn to hate draft, and (2) if you can find yourself 4+ of these, then those 4+N cards count as 1+N bombs. And I'm okay with that, especially since (a) it's slow, and (b) the set will have removal like echoing decay which keep this kind of thing in check.
Mechanic: Swarm - N (When you play this card from your hand, you may choose up to N cards you own from outside the game with the same name as this card and put them into your hand.)
Common Cycle:
Furscale Test Subject 2U
Creature - Rat Lizard Beast (C)
Flash, Swarm - 3
2/2
Swarm Hawk 2W
Creature - Bird (C)
Flying, Swarm - 3
2/2
Hexscale Viper 2G
Creature - Snake (C)
Hexproof, Swarm - 3
2/2
Ridgescale Tiger 2R
Creature - Cat (C)
Haste, Swarm - 3
2/2
Scorpion Husk 2B
Creature - Scorpion Zombie (C)
Deathtouch, Swarm - 3
2/2
Uncommon cycle:
Orc Brothers 1R
Creature - Orc Warrior (U)
Swarm - 1
~ cannot attack or block unless another card named ~ also attacks.
4/3
Tiny Clone 2U
Creature - Clone (U)
Swarm - 1
You may have Endless Clone enter the battlefield as a copy of any creature on the battlefield, except it's base power and toughness is 1/1.
*/*
Disciple of Many 1W
Creature - Human Cleric(U)
Lifelink, Vigilance, Swarm - 1
1/2
Lots of Rats 1B
Creature - Rat (U)
Swarm 1
~ gets +1/+0 for each other rat you control.
You may have any number of ~ in your library or sideboard.
1/2
Spider Brood 1G
Creature - Spider (U)
Reach, Swarm - 1
1/3
From the new boon cycle:
Swarming Thoughts U
Instant (C)
Swarm - 3
(no other text)
Rerender W
Instant (C)
Return target enchant card with a CMC of 3 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield.
Orcish Research R
Instant (C)
Discard up to 3 cards at random, then draw that many cards.
Fetchback G
Instant (C)
Return up to 3 land cards from your graveyard to your hand.
Uncovering B
Instant (C)
Return target creature card with converted mana cost 3 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield.
Related Mythic cycle:
Cellesa, Tripart Angel3WW
Legendary Creature - Angel Cleric
(M)Flying, Lifelink, Vigilance
You may reveal three other creature cards with flying in your hand instead of paying ~'s mana cost.
3/3
Arknull, Merciless Assassin3BB
Legendary Creature - Human Rogue Assassin (M)
Deathtouch
You may reveal three other creature cards with deathtouch in your hand instead of paying ~'s mana cost.
Whenever a creature would deal combat damage to you, ~ deals 2 damage to that creature.
2/2
Spar, Hexback Hermit3GG
Legendary Creature - Troll Cleric (M)
Hexproof
You may reveal three other creature cards with Hexproof in your hand instead of paying ~'s mana cost.
Land creatures you control get +1/+1
1G: Target land you control becomes a 1/1 spirit creature until end of turn. (It is still a land)
2/2
Locullus, Dower Seeer3UU
Legendary Creature - Human Wizard (M)
Flash
You may reveal three other creature cards with Flash in your hand instead of paying ~'s mana cost.
Whenever a creature you control with flash deals combat damage to a player, draw a card.
2/3
Star, Berserker Mage3RR
Legendary Creature - Goblin Berserker Wizard (M)
Haste
You may reveal three other creature cards with Haste in your hand instead of paying ~'s mana cost.
Whenever ~ or another creature with haste enters the battlefield under your control, you may have it deal 1 damage to target creature or player. (Worded in such a way that a haste, deathtouch creature is a kill spell!)
2/2
Claws What May 1R
Enchantment
R: You may discard a creature card. If you do, that creature card deals 2 damage to target creature.
Note: I think this has synergy with lifelink and deathtouch, but I had to remove "or player" to avoid the Phage the Untouchable 2 card combo.