If we could talk about Dogma for a bit, I have been considering to condense it down to [draw two cards, then discard a card].
Although I do love the range, I still feel like it might not be preserving enough challenge. Costing you a card or not, you can only use it when everything in your hand is potentially useless compared to what you're looking for. There are players like me of course though, who will run 19 lands, and then can afford to have a good spell get burned off in order to land fetch off and effect like March of Reckless Joy or Dogma.
I really don't want it to be an instant win for the grab you're looking for, and that's what it feels like at this range.
There was originally a clause that said, "if you do, and a card is exiled this way". However, it makes no sense that you will get an effect without the conditions being fulfilled (a card being exiled). Also, a more elegant way to solve this would be to simply have it target the card in your hand, yes?
Otherwise, just [If a card is exiled, draw three cards then discard two cards].
Beyonder's Ring3 Legendary Artifact
Dogma (As you cast this spell, you may have an opponent look at your hand and exile a card from it. If a card is exiled this way, draw two cards, then discard a card.)
If you would tap a creature to pay for a spell or ability, it counts as three creatures tapped instead. (This effect doesn't copy abilities.)
Here's a concept that I came up with for today that wanted to breath new life into cards like Supreme Inquisitor and Catapult Master. It would work for Convoke also. Without the Deus Ex Machina, I would probably cost this effect at 2, but I wanted to do another thing here which was showcase the tapered version of Dogma. From the start, the aspect of drawing two full cards was a little unsettling because it holds so much domain, even despite your opponent gets to Coercion you. The fact that your opponent doesn't get to choose the time of coercion kinda dampens the worth of it, so I wanted to level off the drawing effect to something that would be square one for one, but still offer the using playing some kind of extended range. [Draw two cards then discard a card] was on and off the table very quickly before [Draw three cards then discard two cards] was selected to give more grandeur to the Dogma concept.
Only question left for me was, should this effect only double the number of creatures tapped. We get a lot of double and triple effects for abilities and copying and I kinda loathe them. I much prefer this because it's so much more creative and interactive. I still think there's potential for it to do too much for its own good though.
Beyonder's Ring3 Legendary Artifact
Dogma (As you cast this spell, you may have an opponent look at your hand and exile a card from it. If a card is exiled this way, draw three cards then discard two cards.)
If you would tap a creature to pay for a spell or ability, it counts as three creatures tapped instead. (This effect doesn't copy abilities.)
I think it's the type of effect that's going to have pop appeal.
Personally I kinda of wish there was a way to cash them in another way and then cast them for free.
Like, if an instant or sorcery with X or less is put into your graveyard from anywhere except the stack (covering discard and mill effects); when three or destroyed, exile and cast all.
Actually, was on the table for Crush Spirit, but functionally, that doesn't work as well because they're less pivotal colors to splash into.
Whereas blue and red are prime splashable colors. You get into green, and white, and black more proficiently than if it was the other way around.
White doesn't really benefit from the effect, and has very little in their arsenal to benefit from it. There's only first strike, and that's not saying much. White will always run exile instead if it can, and has too little incentive for the design due to the lack of support. When it was on the table for white/black one of the things I had considered was the challenge it adds as a splashable entry in those colors. It detracts away from exile effects and creates a more interactive face of removal. Blue and red get kinda landlock and depraved of creatures support like this, so it's more interestingly a gem placement there. The aspect of spiritually being dampened or razed also reflects well off the blue red hybrid. The spirit is doused—or the spirit is emblazoned.
When you put it in the white/black container, the dark side takes dominance, and then wants to cast shadow on the white side as a holder of the same darkness. This was one of the definitive flavor elements that drove me away from a white/black designation. It's something you just can't have because the contrast is so bad for business.
Reminder that on a bad scry, you actually end up fatesealing yourself 1. That add calamity to the fateseal your opponent gets.
Very few of them give a hard gain, if any. That's not ideally how they want to work. They have to cost a little extra for what you get, because it enables base effects to stay on hard curve positions for whatever their effects are. The beauty of Deus ex machina was not to overclock spells, but to enable you to do more with less, and lesser effects in place of hard cantrips, and where those cantrips can force their cost up. This again coincides with the fact they tend to have a magic "home" on the mana curve, and will only see play in cards costing in that range; or that home can reposition if accompanied by a much lesser effect. That is the magic of it all.
Halving power and toughness is an -X/-X effect, well within the realm of monoblack. Manipulating p/t has legendarily been in the realm of red and blue. I'm not sure where you're going with all that you stated. Crush Spirit is a one-sided +/- to PT. Well within the realm and spirit of red blue. You even claimed this yourself. The softness even of the effect, that doesn't outright destroy anything except 0 CMC creatures, furthers juxtaposition with hard death spells, burn spells, return spells to heavily question where anyone could say one has gone wrong (or gone too far) here.
With that said, I was really close to giving Crucible of Souls Enchantmentcycling instead of Clairvoyance.
I had also considered for a moment, Contravoyance (look at top 5, put 1 on top, rest on bottom library); but all the Deus Ex Machina kinda have a magic "home" on the mana curve, and that one's home is the 4/5 range.
Crush Spirit Instant
Omen (As you cast this spell, you may scry 1, then draw a card. If you do, your opponent may fateseal 1.)
Target creature's base power or toughness becomes equal to its converted mana cost until end of turn. Fate wants you to be its chosen—in perseverance or persecution.
Alt Flavor Text
Fate wants you to be its chosen—but will you be in persecution or perseverance?
Crucible of Souls1 Enchantment
Clairvoyant (As you cast this spell, you may put a card from your hand on the bottom of your library. If you do, scry 2.)
Halve the power and toughness, rounded up, of creatures without any counters on them. Behold your new existence, beyond the vision of your suffering.
Here's a couple of spells that push the envelope on what's good and what's not. Crush Spirit is an effect significantly lesser than both pump and death spells, yet has the versatility to work as both, while also potentially housing Omen to give it incredible incentive for potential where it would be such an undercard otherwise.
Crucible of Souls was an effect that I came up with along with the other Cenobite designs. It continues that theme, and that of other effects from designs of mine in the past like Mental Giant and Agonist, Archon of Suffering. Interestingly enough, I had pondered using the colorless phyrexian mana (2 or 2 life) for Crush Spirit's mana cost. It would have a fine place in an Eldrazi vs. Phyrexia setting.
An Über is a term that describes a deck of top level power or performance. They're the super super archetypes.
A three card combo with a payoff like that doesn't necessarily matter, what's more important is there are multiple pathways to victory for the card and its combo potential, thus constituting extremely favorable mathematical proportion, and thus holding definitive Über potential.
I wouldn't exactly say never. And I don't know what you mean by jank, the thing is a house of pain.
Visage of Pain works with Persist, which will bring it back with a -1/-1 counter, killing it; triggering Undying, which will bring it back with the +1/+1 counter instead, and give you 6 off the next Scarecrow.
And it's already possible with any Undying or Persist creature; Kitchen Finks or Murderous Redcap both greater options than Visage of Pain, since its mana ability doesn't do anything in the suggested combo.
Ashnod's Altar and Visage Pain enables a 3 to 10 spike, which can allow you to cast Reaper King or Morophon, the Boundless. Additionally, Changeling Titan can be used to Champion Visage of Pain after Undying, in order to reset it, because Champion doesn't carry over the counters on the creature when it exiles or brings it back.
Visage of Pain ETB = 3 off the next Scarecrow/Changeling
Sac Visage of Pain to Ashnod's Altar = 2 + 3 = 5
Undying triggers Visage of Pain ETB = 3 + 5 = 8
And you can sac it again to Ashnod's Altar for 2 more, totaling 10 (6 in discounts off Scarecrow spells and 4 from Ashnod's Altar). Then bring it back with Scarecrone if you have it; or you could reset Undying on Visage of Pain by casting a Champion changeling instead, like Titan. Changeling Berserker would also be excellent in aggro.
Although I do love the range, I still feel like it might not be preserving enough challenge. Costing you a card or not, you can only use it when everything in your hand is potentially useless compared to what you're looking for. There are players like me of course though, who will run 19 lands, and then can afford to have a good spell get burned off in order to land fetch off and effect like March of Reckless Joy or Dogma.
I really don't want it to be an instant win for the grab you're looking for, and that's what it feels like at this range.
Cards like Cryptic Gateway, Symbiotic Deployment, Shacklegeist, Giantbaiting, Honeymoon Hearse, Heritage Druid, Siege Zombie, and Burn at the Stake. Check the sets. This interaction still sees a lot of implementation.
Have it target, or simply [If a card is exiled].
Otherwise, just [If a card is exiled, draw three cards then discard two cards].
Legendary Artifact
Dogma (As you cast this spell, you may have an opponent look at your hand and exile a card from it. If a card is exiled this way, draw two cards, then discard a card.)
If you would tap a creature to pay for a spell or ability, it counts as three creatures tapped instead. (This effect doesn't copy abilities.)
Here's a concept that I came up with for today that wanted to breath new life into cards like Supreme Inquisitor and Catapult Master. It would work for Convoke also. Without the Deus Ex Machina, I would probably cost this effect at 2, but I wanted to do another thing here which was showcase the tapered version of Dogma. From the start, the aspect of drawing two full cards was a little unsettling because it holds so much domain, even despite your opponent gets to Coercion you. The fact that your opponent doesn't get to choose the time of coercion kinda dampens the worth of it, so I wanted to level off the drawing effect to something that would be square one for one, but still offer the using playing some kind of extended range. [Draw two cards then discard a card] was on and off the table very quickly before [Draw three cards then discard two cards] was selected to give more grandeur to the Dogma concept.
Only question left for me was, should this effect only double the number of creatures tapped. We get a lot of double and triple effects for abilities and copying and I kinda loathe them. I much prefer this because it's so much more creative and interactive. I still think there's potential for it to do too much for its own good though.
Legendary Artifact
Dogma (As you cast this spell, you may have an opponent look at your hand and exile a card from it. If a card is exiled this way, draw three cards then discard two cards.)
If you would tap a creature to pay for a spell or ability, it counts as three creatures tapped instead. (This effect doesn't copy abilities.)
Personally I kinda of wish there was a way to cash them in another way and then cast them for free.
Like, if an instant or sorcery with X or less is put into your graveyard from anywhere except the stack (covering discard and mill effects); when three or destroyed, exile and cast all.
Whereas blue and red are prime splashable colors. You get into green, and white, and black more proficiently than if it was the other way around.
White doesn't really benefit from the effect, and has very little in their arsenal to benefit from it. There's only first strike, and that's not saying much. White will always run exile instead if it can, and has too little incentive for the design due to the lack of support. When it was on the table for white/black one of the things I had considered was the challenge it adds as a splashable entry in those colors. It detracts away from exile effects and creates a more interactive face of removal. Blue and red get kinda landlock and depraved of creatures support like this, so it's more interestingly a gem placement there. The aspect of spiritually being dampened or razed also reflects well off the blue red hybrid. The spirit is doused—or the spirit is emblazoned.
When you put it in the white/black container, the dark side takes dominance, and then wants to cast shadow on the white side as a holder of the same darkness. This was one of the definitive flavor elements that drove me away from a white/black designation. It's something you just can't have because the contrast is so bad for business.
Very few of them give a hard gain, if any. That's not ideally how they want to work. They have to cost a little extra for what you get, because it enables base effects to stay on hard curve positions for whatever their effects are. The beauty of Deus ex machina was not to overclock spells, but to enable you to do more with less, and lesser effects in place of hard cantrips, and where those cantrips can force their cost up. This again coincides with the fact they tend to have a magic "home" on the mana curve, and will only see play in cards costing in that range; or that home can reposition if accompanied by a much lesser effect. That is the magic of it all.
Halving power and toughness is an -X/-X effect, well within the realm of monoblack. Manipulating p/t has legendarily been in the realm of red and blue. I'm not sure where you're going with all that you stated. Crush Spirit is a one-sided +/- to PT. Well within the realm and spirit of red blue. You even claimed this yourself. The softness even of the effect, that doesn't outright destroy anything except 0 CMC creatures, furthers juxtaposition with hard death spells, burn spells, return spells to heavily question where anyone could say one has gone wrong (or gone too far) here.
The same can actually be said for blue; time-shifted aside. Shattered Ego // Hard Cover // Inside Out
With that said, I was really close to giving Crucible of Souls Enchantmentcycling instead of Clairvoyance.
I had also considered for a moment, Contravoyance (look at top 5, put 1 on top, rest on bottom library); but all the Deus Ex Machina kinda have a magic "home" on the mana curve, and that one's home is the 4/5 range.
Instant
Omen (As you cast this spell, you may scry 1, then draw a card. If you do, your opponent may fateseal 1.)
Target creature's base power or toughness becomes equal to its converted mana cost until end of turn.
Fate wants you to be its chosen—in perseverance or persecution.
Alt Flavor Text
Fate wants you to be its chosen—but will you be in persecution or perseverance?
Crucible of Souls 1
Enchantment
Clairvoyant (As you cast this spell, you may put a card from your hand on the bottom of your library. If you do, scry 2.)
Halve the power and toughness, rounded up, of creatures without any counters on them.
Behold your new existence, beyond the vision of your suffering.
Here's a couple of spells that push the envelope on what's good and what's not. Crush Spirit is an effect significantly lesser than both pump and death spells, yet has the versatility to work as both, while also potentially housing Omen to give it incredible incentive for potential where it would be such an undercard otherwise.
Crucible of Souls was an effect that I came up with along with the other Cenobite designs. It continues that theme, and that of other effects from designs of mine in the past like Mental Giant and Agonist, Archon of Suffering. Interestingly enough, I had pondered using the colorless phyrexian mana (2 or 2 life) for Crush Spirit's mana cost. It would have a fine place in an Eldrazi vs. Phyrexia setting.
A three card combo with a payoff like that doesn't necessarily matter, what's more important is there are multiple pathways to victory for the card and its combo potential, thus constituting extremely favorable mathematical proportion, and thus holding definitive Über potential.
This would probably create a new Über—if that's what you mean by jank.
Visage of Pain works with Persist, which will bring it back with a -1/-1 counter, killing it; triggering Undying, which will bring it back with the +1/+1 counter instead, and give you 6 off the next Scarecrow.
You can cast Reaper King for any two colored. Morophon, the Boundless for 1.
Also, Changeling Titan or Changeling Berserker for one solid mana, which can then be used via Champion to reset Undying.; with Virulent Swipe, Distortion Strike, and Assault Strobe as playable linears.
Not to mention there's Ephemerate and Changeling Hero in white, where you can play five color creatures and multicolor angels off Morophon; and also have Emerge Unscathed.
And it's already possible with any Undying or Persist creature; Kitchen Finks or Murderous Redcap both greater options than Visage of Pain, since its mana ability doesn't do anything in the suggested combo.
Visage of Pain ETB = 3 off the next Scarecrow/Changeling
Sac Visage of Pain to Ashnod's Altar = 2 + 3 = 5
Undying triggers Visage of Pain ETB = 3 + 5 = 8
And you can sac it again to Ashnod's Altar for 2 more, totaling 10 (6 in discounts off Scarecrow spells and 4 from Ashnod's Altar). Then bring it back with Scarecrone if you have it; or you could reset Undying on Visage of Pain by casting a Champion changeling instead, like Titan. Changeling Berserker would also be excellent in aggro.