Why are people saying this can be used for mana fixing? The spell affects the text of a permanent, not the type or name. The text of a card is anything in the textbox that isn't flavor-text or reminder-text.
I dimly recall reading a spoiler list before the Mirage pre-release back in the day. Of course, my 26.6 modem had to work in the snow back then, uphill, both ways.
The card should add its own seed zombies to start the breeding. Maybe bump the cost up, and add: "When ~ enters the battlefield, put two 2/2 black zombie tokens onto the battlefield."
Later games in the tournament would get slow (mana flood for people who've had all their spells removed, or mana screw for people who've had a bunch of land taken out), but it's a cool idea.
You could allow removal / addition of basic land after every "cap", so players could re-balance their manabase. I disagree with Stille_Nacht that this format stifles creativity, but I'm not going to argue the point.
Another semi-crazy idea, similar to what jclrb describes but with monetary values instead of points: Pick a price guide (say, middle price given on MagicCards.info) and pick a max dollar amount. The value of each deck + sideboard must be less than or equal to that amount. This should have a significantly different card pool from Pauper due to the plethora of dirt-cheap uncommons and rares. There are many rares with interesting effects that would allow for a lot more than homogeneous aggro. And the most played cards are usually more expensive, so a low enough value cap would promote the use of under-used cards, which would necessarily mean unusual decks.
If you want some really wacky ideas, try one of these:
#1
For each letter of the alphabet, each deck can have only one card whose English name begins with that letter. You may have between 1 and 4 copies of that card, but no other cards that begin with that letter. (Exceptions for basic land, of course.) I don't know exactly how this would play out, but it would be fun to see!
Variation: Each player is assigned two or three letters of the alphabet. All cards in their deck (other than basic lands) must begin with one of those letters. (Try to assign letters like "T" and "B", and not "Q" and "V".)
#2
Predetermine a sequence of small numbers - I suggest rolling a 6-sided die several times. Keep this list of numbers handy, but hidden from the players. During the games, keep track of how many turns have passed. Once X turns have passed, where X is the next number on the list, the players exchange places / decks. Play continues as normal from there until the next Y turns have passed. Players will have to have a good memory for what's in their decks, as well as be able to think on their feet when control suddenly shifts.
Possible problem: Although I'd personally find this a blast many players don't like this level of randomness in games, especially in a tournament setting. Use with caution.
#3
Each player gets a free "cap" effect before each match begins. (That is, they look through their opponent's deck and remove 3 (or whatever) cards.) After each match, the decks are restored to their original form. Instead of relying on some cheap combo, players will have to consider what happens when their opponent removes a key card. In fact, you'd have to try to build a deck with as few "key" cards and as many back-up plans as possible.
Variation: Instead of "cap"ing at the start of every match, do it every game. And make it cumulative between games. In other words, if you make it to the finals your deck will be a shell of its former self - as will your opponent's!
I definitely agree with Arachnus Spider (and, by extension, Arachnus Web). Not only are they extremely flavorful, they're both very balanced, playable cards. (At least in Limited. I don't play much constructed these days.)
An online channel could work. However, it would need moderately good production values in order to be worth watching, and that costs money. I don't know how much money I'd be willing to pay just to watch other people play Magic.
Maybe they could make a package deal - for $XX a year, you get access to streaming video of Pro Tours and drafts (with expert commentary), exclusive interviews, maybe a special-art promo card of some sort sent to you in the mail, access to Orbs of Insight a few days early, etc. You get the idea. No one thing is worth paying much for, but lump them together and it might work.
Or was this changed sometime recently?
The entire thing is filled with creamy nougat.
(Compare that horns of the lich with the art of, say, this.)
Creature - Angel
Flying, vigilance.
You can't cast Serra Avenger during your last, second-to-last, or third-to-last turns of the game.
3/3
You could allow removal / addition of basic land after every "cap", so players could re-balance their manabase. I disagree with Stille_Nacht that this format stifles creativity, but I'm not going to argue the point.
Another semi-crazy idea, similar to what jclrb describes but with monetary values instead of points: Pick a price guide (say, middle price given on MagicCards.info) and pick a max dollar amount. The value of each deck + sideboard must be less than or equal to that amount. This should have a significantly different card pool from Pauper due to the plethora of dirt-cheap uncommons and rares. There are many rares with interesting effects that would allow for a lot more than homogeneous aggro. And the most played cards are usually more expensive, so a low enough value cap would promote the use of under-used cards, which would necessarily mean unusual decks.
#1
For each letter of the alphabet, each deck can have only one card whose English name begins with that letter. You may have between 1 and 4 copies of that card, but no other cards that begin with that letter. (Exceptions for basic land, of course.) I don't know exactly how this would play out, but it would be fun to see!
Variation: Each player is assigned two or three letters of the alphabet. All cards in their deck (other than basic lands) must begin with one of those letters. (Try to assign letters like "T" and "B", and not "Q" and "V".)
#2
Predetermine a sequence of small numbers - I suggest rolling a 6-sided die several times. Keep this list of numbers handy, but hidden from the players. During the games, keep track of how many turns have passed. Once X turns have passed, where X is the next number on the list, the players exchange places / decks. Play continues as normal from there until the next Y turns have passed. Players will have to have a good memory for what's in their decks, as well as be able to think on their feet when control suddenly shifts.
Possible problem: Although I'd personally find this a blast many players don't like this level of randomness in games, especially in a tournament setting. Use with caution.
#3
Each player gets a free "cap" effect before each match begins. (That is, they look through their opponent's deck and remove 3 (or whatever) cards.) After each match, the decks are restored to their original form. Instead of relying on some cheap combo, players will have to consider what happens when their opponent removes a key card. In fact, you'd have to try to build a deck with as few "key" cards and as many back-up plans as possible.
Variation: Instead of "cap"ing at the start of every match, do it every game. And make it cumulative between games. In other words, if you make it to the finals your deck will be a shell of its former self - as will your opponent's!
There's also sometimes-sweepers like Chain Reaction in red, which in many cases will work essentially just like Day of Judgment.
Maybe they could make a package deal - for $XX a year, you get access to streaming video of Pro Tours and drafts (with expert commentary), exclusive interviews, maybe a special-art promo card of some sort sent to you in the mail, access to Orbs of Insight a few days early, etc. You get the idea. No one thing is worth paying much for, but lump them together and it might work.
"Yo dawg, I hear you like Lords ... "