Actually, it occurred to me that the kicker for Pressure should probably only be 1; 2 CMC is probably better for the total cost of the kicked version. So then it becomes:
PressureB
Instant (U)
Pressure 1
Deal 1 damage to target player.
Kicker 1.
If Pressure was kicked, return it to your hand after it resolves. Who shall pay the price?
I had a few ideas for custom keywords, and thought I'd share them here, along with one or more cards (probably not all that well balanced) to showcase each one. Anyone is hereby given permission to use these keywords and ideas in any cards with no restrictions.
First: It seems that everybody hates banding would love banding if it weren't so complicated, so let's make something sort of similar but a bit simpler (at least until we get into the weird-ruling-type cases).
Pack X: If you attack with more than one creature that has the Pack ability, you can combine any such creatures into a pack of at most X creatures. Any creature that blocks one member of a pack automatically blocks them all.
Rule details:
-You can combine different pack numbers; in such case, the number of creatures in the pack can't be higher than the lowest one.
-If some members of the pack cannot be blocked normally for some reason (e.g. landwalk or flying), they can still be blocked due to the pack mechanic.
-If there is a limit on how many creatures a given blocking creature can block, creatures blocked due to the pack mechanic do not count toward the limit.
-If the original blocking is prevented by some effect, it also prevents all the Pack-caused blocking.
Suggested usage: There are a few ways this can be used on a card. On medium-sized tokens, it can prevent the opposing player from blocking with bigger creatures in order to destroy your token without losing anything. It synergizes well with certain other abilities, most notably First Strike and Protect (described below). It also can be good when put on both creatures you normally do not want to block (e.g. a 1/3 deathtoucher) and creatures you do (e.g. one with a nasty effect when it damages a player, or a 5/3 without trample)
Suggested color is green if not combined with another ability or combined with an ability generally found in green, white if combined with a usually-white ability, and multicolor green/X if used together with an ability that demands a different color.
Suggested color frequency: Primary green (typically on tokens, or on cards with Protect (below)), secondary white (typically in conjunction with some white-primary keyword that produces a useful synergy such as First Strike or Protect), tertiary blue.
Example cards: Wolf den
Land (R) G, T: Place a 2/1 green Creature - Wolf token with Pack 5 named Hungry Wolf onto the battlefield. 2G, T: Place two 2/1 green Creature - Wolf tokens with Pack 5 named Hungry Wolf onto the battlefield. Together, they can take down the largest prey.
Master Pikemen1WW
Creature — Human Soldier (U)
Pack 3
First Strike Skill plus numbers make a dangerous combination.
2/1
Protect X: The other half of banding. If an effect does damage distributed among a number of targets, and one of the valid targets has Protect X keyword, the owner of that target may choose to force up to X damage to be assigned to that target.
Rule details:
-This effect applies whenever damage is to be allocated. This is most commonly due to blocking alongside another creature, or more rarely being blocked alongside another creature, but also applies to spells such as Boulderfall or the on-entry effect of Bogardan Hellkite.
-All damage done in a single combat phase is considered a single effect; thus, if the creature with Protect is blocking or being blocked by multiple creatures, the owner of those creatures may choose how much of each blocker or attacker's damage is used to fulfill the Protect requirement.
-The damage assigned by the Protect keyword is a minimum; the controller of the damage source may assign more if they so wish.
-If the total damage available to be assigned is less than X, Protect does not allow more than the available amount to be assigned to the creature with Protect.
-If X is high enough, it is possible to force more than lethal damage to be assigned to the creature with Protect.
Suggested usage: This is very much a white keyword; the occasional green pack/protect creature may be appropriate, but even in conjunction with pack it should usually be white. It works well in conjunction with pack, but can be useful in its own right as well.
{plane source here; suggestions welcome} Defender1W
Creature - Soldier (C)
Protect 2 All soldiers welcome their presence.
0/4
MartyrdomW
Instant (R)
Target creature gains Protect 10. Sacrifice it at the end of this turn. Sacrifice is always remembered.
Collapse: This keyword means "when this spell is countered", and can do pretty much anything in such situation. A collapse effect is considered part of resolving the counter; as such, it cannot itself be countered or interrupted except by doing the same to the countering effect.
Suggested usage: There are plenty of possibilities here. The collapse may be a simple card draw to make it harder for a counterspell-focused opponent to maintain card advantage, or untapping the lands used to produce the spell. A weakened form of the original effect can work. On a non-instant spell, a Silence effect as a collapse can also force the opponent to choose whether this is really the spell he wants to counter. Even more interesting mind games can come if the regular effect and collapse effect are each potentially useful and potentially weak or useless, depending on what is in your hand (see below for a sort of example).
Suggested colors: Much like "cannot be countered": Green for creatures (and occasional creature-supporting spells), red for sorceries or instants. Blue may be suitable if you want to make a counterspell effect with a collapse.
Example card: Replacement2GG
Enchantment (R)
All green creature spells you cast gain Collapse: Reveal your hand; if there is a green creature spell in it that shares a creature type with this, your opponent must choose one such spell. Cast that spell without paying its mana cost. It cannot be countered. If you do, place 2 +1/+1 tokens and a hexproof token on that creature, then draw a card.
Collapse: Cast a green creature spell without paying its mana cost. It cannot be countered.
Vicious X: When this deals damage to a player, it deals X extra damage to that player.
Suggested use: Red creatures, to make them more "rush-y".
Pressure X: When this deals damage to a player, that player may, up to X times, draw a card or untap one permanent they control. Rule details:
-If X is more than 1, the player may choose to look at each drawn card before choosing if and how to gain the next Pressure effect.
Suggested usage: This can be a good balancer for low-cost red creatures, or fit well on black sorceries or instants that deal damage to "target player".
Example cards: Goblin ManiacsR
Creature - Goblin (C)
Vicious 2
Pressure 1 I need help, now!
2/1
PressureB
Instant (U)
Pressure 1
Deal 1 damage to target player.
Kicker 1B.
If Pressure was kicked, return it to your hand after it resolves. Who shall pay the price?
Pressure B
Instant (U)
Pressure 1
Deal 1 damage to target player.
Kicker 1.
If Pressure was kicked, return it to your hand after it resolves.
Who shall pay the price?
First: It seems that everybody
hates bandingwould love banding if it weren't so complicated, so let's make something sort of similar but a bit simpler (at least until we get into the weird-ruling-type cases).Pack X: If you attack with more than one creature that has the Pack ability, you can combine any such creatures into a pack of at most X creatures. Any creature that blocks one member of a pack automatically blocks them all.
Rule details:
-You can combine different pack numbers; in such case, the number of creatures in the pack can't be higher than the lowest one.
-If some members of the pack cannot be blocked normally for some reason (e.g. landwalk or flying), they can still be blocked due to the pack mechanic.
-If there is a limit on how many creatures a given blocking creature can block, creatures blocked due to the pack mechanic do not count toward the limit.
-If the original blocking is prevented by some effect, it also prevents all the Pack-caused blocking.
Suggested usage: There are a few ways this can be used on a card. On medium-sized tokens, it can prevent the opposing player from blocking with bigger creatures in order to destroy your token without losing anything. It synergizes well with certain other abilities, most notably First Strike and Protect (described below). It also can be good when put on both creatures you normally do not want to block (e.g. a 1/3 deathtoucher) and creatures you do (e.g. one with a nasty effect when it damages a player, or a 5/3 without trample)
Suggested color is green if not combined with another ability or combined with an ability generally found in green, white if combined with a usually-white ability, and multicolor green/X if used together with an ability that demands a different color.
Suggested color frequency: Primary green (typically on tokens, or on cards with Protect (below)), secondary white (typically in conjunction with some white-primary keyword that produces a useful synergy such as First Strike or Protect), tertiary blue.
Example cards:
Wolf den
Land (R)
G, T: Place a 2/1 green Creature - Wolf token with Pack 5 named Hungry Wolf onto the battlefield.
2G, T: Place two 2/1 green Creature - Wolf tokens with Pack 5 named Hungry Wolf onto the battlefield.
Together, they can take down the largest prey.
Master Pikemen 1WW
Creature — Human Soldier (U)
Pack 3
First Strike
Skill plus numbers make a dangerous combination.
2/1
Protect X: The other half of banding. If an effect does damage distributed among a number of targets, and one of the valid targets has Protect X keyword, the owner of that target may choose to force up to X damage to be assigned to that target.
Rule details:
-This effect applies whenever damage is to be allocated. This is most commonly due to blocking alongside another creature, or more rarely being blocked alongside another creature, but also applies to spells such as Boulderfall or the on-entry effect of Bogardan Hellkite.
-All damage done in a single combat phase is considered a single effect; thus, if the creature with Protect is blocking or being blocked by multiple creatures, the owner of those creatures may choose how much of each blocker or attacker's damage is used to fulfill the Protect requirement.
-The damage assigned by the Protect keyword is a minimum; the controller of the damage source may assign more if they so wish.
-If the total damage available to be assigned is less than X, Protect does not allow more than the available amount to be assigned to the creature with Protect.
-If X is high enough, it is possible to force more than lethal damage to be assigned to the creature with Protect.
Suggested usage: This is very much a white keyword; the occasional green pack/protect creature may be appropriate, but even in conjunction with pack it should usually be white. It works well in conjunction with pack, but can be useful in its own right as well.
{plane source here; suggestions welcome} Defender 1W
Creature - Soldier (C)
Protect 2
All soldiers welcome their presence.
0/4
Martyrdom W
Instant (R)
Target creature gains Protect 10. Sacrifice it at the end of this turn.
Sacrifice is always remembered.
Collapse: This keyword means "when this spell is countered", and can do pretty much anything in such situation. A collapse effect is considered part of resolving the counter; as such, it cannot itself be countered or interrupted except by doing the same to the countering effect.
Suggested usage: There are plenty of possibilities here. The collapse may be a simple card draw to make it harder for a counterspell-focused opponent to maintain card advantage, or untapping the lands used to produce the spell. A weakened form of the original effect can work. On a non-instant spell, a Silence effect as a collapse can also force the opponent to choose whether this is really the spell he wants to counter. Even more interesting mind games can come if the regular effect and collapse effect are each potentially useful and potentially weak or useless, depending on what is in your hand (see below for a sort of example).
Suggested colors: Much like "cannot be countered": Green for creatures (and occasional creature-supporting spells), red for sorceries or instants. Blue may be suitable if you want to make a counterspell effect with a collapse.
Example card:
Replacement 2GG
Enchantment (R)
All green creature spells you cast gain Collapse: Reveal your hand; if there is a green creature spell in it that shares a creature type with this, your opponent must choose one such spell. Cast that spell without paying its mana cost. It cannot be countered. If you do, place 2 +1/+1 tokens and a hexproof token on that creature, then draw a card.
Collapse: Cast a green creature spell without paying its mana cost. It cannot be countered.
Vicious X: When this deals damage to a player, it deals X extra damage to that player.
Suggested use: Red creatures, to make them more "rush-y".
Pressure X: When this deals damage to a player, that player may, up to X times, draw a card or untap one permanent they control.
Rule details:
-If X is more than 1, the player may choose to look at each drawn card before choosing if and how to gain the next Pressure effect.
Suggested usage: This can be a good balancer for low-cost red creatures, or fit well on black sorceries or instants that deal damage to "target player".
Example cards:
Goblin Maniacs R
Creature - Goblin (C)
Vicious 2
Pressure 1
I need help, now!
2/1
Pressure B
Instant (U)
Pressure 1
Deal 1 damage to target player.
Kicker 1B.
If Pressure was kicked, return it to your hand after it resolves.
Who shall pay the price?
So...thoughts on these keywords or the cards?