I think this will mirror Dominaria a bit, with a cycle or two of Planeswalkers at Uncommon at a much lower power level. Much like that set, the majority of the Walkers pulled will be Uncommon in the prerelease packs.
I guess. I got my money off the masters 2017, and if I was in the market to buy a box of this, I likely wouldnt regret it, but...yeah. There are tons of good cards in this set, anyone unhappy has hilariously high expectations.
Cracking packs is never a sure thing, nor a wise thing!
I mean, I wouldn't say that I'm unhappy, but it's definitely disappointing that, even with a much higher price point, they still managed to sneak in Talrand, Reya, Magus of the Bazaar, and Desolate Lighthouse as total value whiffs with no real interested parties. I think the latter three could've easily been cut, and Talrand could've been downshifted to Uncommon, and you'd free up room for four rare cards that, while maybe not super high value, at least can generate some interest.
I just stumbled upon this thread today, as well as stumbling upon the concept of Micro Cubes / Travel Cubes. Very interested in making one of my own. Most likely going to start with an Innistrad-themed Cube.
So analyzing these cards, I'm guessing if they are from an upcoming Masters set, we can basically figure out which fifteen of these cards will be mythics in the set. The following twelve seem like locks:
Alright, my finalized version (before I simply give up on the mechanic). Storyteller is now just a Threshold variant:
Nezumi Assassin3B Creature - Rat Assassin (C)
Storyteller (If you have seven or more cards in your graveyard, you become a storyteller for the rest of the game.)
When Nezumi Assassin enters the battlefield, if you are a storyteller, target creature an opponent controls gets -3/-3 until end of turn.
3/3
The Ascend mechanic giving you a permanent check made sense partly because controlling a large number of permanents continuously is difficult. Continuously having a large number of cards in your graveyard is not.
Also, what's the point of the mechanic now? Why just keep changing the original mechanic to make something that works? What are you trying to preserve? Is there some set you want a mechanic for?
I'm using it for my custom Kamigawa sequel block. The set is centered on Tamiyo and her knowledge of the past, and trying to continue on the history and traditions of her world as Tibalt runs amok trying to get the denizens to forget the past and break the bond between spirits and mortals. Storyteller is the mechanic that represents the past.
Alright, my finalized version (before I simply give up on the mechanic). Storyteller is now just a Threshold variant:
Nezumi Assassin3B Creature - Rat Assassin (C)
Storyteller (If you have seven or more cards in your graveyard, you become a storyteller for the rest of the game.)
When Nezumi Assassin enters the battlefield, if you are a storyteller, target creature an opponent controls gets -3/-3 until end of turn.
Here's the newest version of the ability, after converting it to the single-time check ala Ascend.
Nezumi Assassin3B Creature - Rat Assassin (C)
Storyteller (If you have the most cards in a graveyard, you gain the storyteller’s mark for the rest of the game.)
When Nezumi Assassin enters the battlefield, if you have the storyteller’s mark, target creature an opponent controls gets -3/-3 until end of turn.
3/3
I feel the fact that you can get the storyteller's mark permanently makes it even worse that you can sometimes get it for a single card (if your opponent just drops defensive creatures and/or has a slow start) while other times your opponent is also a playing a story teller deck (or one otherwise graveyard focussed etc.) and will always be ahead.
So what would be your advice to modify this mechanic to make it a bit better for gameplay?
Here's the newest version of the ability, after converting it to the single-time check ala Ascend.
Nezumi Assassin3B Creature - Rat Assassin (C)
Storyteller (If you have the most cards in a graveyard, you gain the storyteller’s mark for the rest of the game.)
When Nezumi Assassin enters the battlefield, if you have the storyteller’s mark, target creature an opponent controls gets -3/-3 until end of turn.
Again: Run me through the exact example where the "or equal" part of the "equation [sic]" comes in. When exactly does an opponent have "fewer cards in their graveyard than you", but you don't "have more cards in your graveyard than an opponent" or vice versa?
There is no such scenario. I was saying it helped because it looked cleaner and took up less space.
Current trend in R&D is not having mechanics that demand from you constantly checking if the condition is met. Thus, Ascend was "Once you get it, you have it forever" and Undergrowth is mainly on spells or as ETB. This way, there's less counting needed and fewer possibilities to be wrong about a game state (i.e. attacking with a 4/4 into 4/5 Tarmogoyf when you thought it's 3/4). It was not true for Delirium in Eldritch Moon because they wanted to have a feeling of dread. It doesn't sound like that's what you are going for. You wrote as Storyteller was only ETB, and it follows this trend, but suggested in OP it is not. So, which one is true?
Notice that in multiplayer one opponent who has less card is enough to turn this on. Also, this version is still a<b, not a<=b. If you want to have it being equal, while not writing this word, it could be: "... if no opponent has more cards in their graveyard than you...", but then it's no longer "one opponent is enough".
The idea, for me, was that at Common and Uncommon, Storyteller would be single shot effects. The flavor being, if you've experienced more than the opponent, you can tell a great story and inspire your creatures with your history and wisdom.
I'm contemplating changing it to match Ascend templating.
Obligatory mention that abilities where players (can/assymmetrically) compete with each other to have the most/least of something compared to the other player generally play bad, whether it's cards in hand, life totals, cards in graveyard, total power etc. The double-whammy of turning the condition off for player A while turning it (likely or with just one more step) turning it on for player B makes it swingy.
Scaled abilities and static thresholds or just thresholds dependent on your own board state alone exist.
Unfortunately, there is no way to shorten this. That's the shortest you're going to get with this kind of effect.
If you want ties to count, maybe flip the condition?
Storyteller - When ~ enters the battlefield, if an opponent has fewer cards in their graveyard than you, [effect].
Can somebody explain to me how flipping the condition works? In what scenario is it different? "∃ b : a > b" Is equivalent to "∃ b : b < a", right?
Flipping the condition allowed it to take up slightly less space in the text box while also including the "or equal" part of the equation.
I'm wondering if it would be better to make Storyteller a 1-time "emblem" ala Ascend, where you get the boon permanently after casting a spell with the ability a single time.
I mean, I wouldn't say that I'm unhappy, but it's definitely disappointing that, even with a much higher price point, they still managed to sneak in Talrand, Reya, Magus of the Bazaar, and Desolate Lighthouse as total value whiffs with no real interested parties. I think the latter three could've easily been cut, and Talrand could've been downshifted to Uncommon, and you'd free up room for four rare cards that, while maybe not super high value, at least can generate some interest.
- Vengevine
- Ulamog
- Emrakul
- Tarmogoyf
- Snapcaster
- Karakas
- Cavern of Souls
- Demonic Tutor
- Liliana
- Temporal Manipulation
- Leovold
- Bitterblossom
I'm using it for my custom Kamigawa sequel block. The set is centered on Tamiyo and her knowledge of the past, and trying to continue on the history and traditions of her world as Tibalt runs amok trying to get the denizens to forget the past and break the bond between spirits and mortals. Storyteller is the mechanic that represents the past.
Nezumi Assassin 3B
Creature - Rat Assassin (C)
Storyteller (If you have seven or more cards in your graveyard, you become a storyteller for the rest of the game.)
When Nezumi Assassin enters the battlefield, if you are a storyteller, target creature an opponent controls gets -3/-3 until end of turn.
3/3
So what would be your advice to modify this mechanic to make it a bit better for gameplay?
Nezumi Assassin 3B
Creature - Rat Assassin (C)
Storyteller (If you have the most cards in a graveyard, you gain the storyteller’s mark for the rest of the game.)
When Nezumi Assassin enters the battlefield, if you have the storyteller’s mark, target creature an opponent controls gets -3/-3 until end of turn.
3/3
There is no such scenario. I was saying it helped because it looked cleaner and took up less space.
The idea, for me, was that at Common and Uncommon, Storyteller would be single shot effects. The flavor being, if you've experienced more than the opponent, you can tell a great story and inspire your creatures with your history and wisdom.
I'm contemplating changing it to match Ascend templating.
Flipping the condition allowed it to take up slightly less space in the text box while also including the "or equal" part of the equation.
I'm wondering if it would be better to make Storyteller a 1-time "emblem" ala Ascend, where you get the boon permanently after casting a spell with the ability a single time.