Jungle Drums :2mana::symg:
Enchantment
As an additional cost to play ~, reveal your library. Target opponent chooses a revealed creature card. Shuffle your library.
When ~ comes into play and at the beginning of your upkeep, reveal the top card of your library. If the chosen creature card is revealed, put it into play. Otherwise, gain 1 life.
As an additional thought, what is the purpose of forcing us to use the mana symbols in our posts?
Open the Range: No problems as far as I can see. Worthy drawback for a potentially powerful, but risky and possibly damaging effect. This card might actually make me keep a 6-land hand, if Open the Range was the 7th card. Mmm, 6 lands on 2nd turn.
Apropos WUBRG
Instant
Choose one - Gain six life; draw two cards; target creature gets -2/-4 until end of turn, ~ deals five damage to target player; or target creature gets +4/+2 until end of turn.
Entwine 1 (Choose all if you paid the entwine cost.)
My only qualms on non-keywording the mechanic is how would we word Hijacker and Shipwreck?
Hijacker 2R
Creature - Human Pirate
When Hijacker comes into play, gain control of target vehicle, move all creatures out of it, and move Hijacker into it.
1/1
Shipwrech is a bit odder. Since my suggestion would be that the creatures are destroyed with the vehicle, it becomes somewhat outdated. However, whether you stick with the "tapping" concept, or go with the "same fate" route, this would work:
Shipwreck 2R
Sorcery
Destroy target vehicle. ~ deals 3 damage to each creature that was in that vehicle this turn.
(This way, even if the vehicles controller "moves" them out before the spell resolves, Shipwreck will mangle them. Remember that the spells themselves deal damage, you don't. ;))
Olveron has asked me about a title....um....we collaborated and came up with the Cantripmancing Cantripmancer Dandan of the Dandan Clan....but agreed that that's no good. Um....The Official Drawer of Cards? No, no, that makes me sound like I'm storage space or an artist....Um. Hm.
Brutality of War: Nice card. I think it's a tad cheap, as compared to Violent Eruption.
1RRR for 4 damage divided as you choose at instant speed + Madness.
1R for 5 damage divided as you choose at instant speed with a minimal drawback.
Suggestion:
Brutality of War 1RR OR 2R
Instant
If a creature you control has dealt damage to an opponent this turn, ~ deals five damage distributed among any number of target creatures and/or players.
Other than those three fixes (cost, slight wording, and target), looks great.
Barb-Wire Fence 3
Artifact Creature - Wall
Defender (This creature can't attack.)
Whenever ~ blocks, at end of turn, ~ deals damage equal to its power to each creature blocked by ~.
4/2
I know that I'm not a member of Clan Dandan, but I couldn't let you go on without at least putting in a mention of vehicles. I really like the idea, but I just can't see the concept as your current rules have it.
For the basic rundown, if you haven't seen it already, check out This Thread.
In particular, these are the points about your current system that bug me:
1) As pointed out by Nex3, attaching a keyword, whether it's "board" or "transit" to this does nothing but add text.
2) Why is there no way to "unboard" a creature from a vehicle? Creatures can't get back out?
3) While your card examples seem to indicate that you're moving in a different direction, having every vehicle have p/t equal to the number of creatures inside it adds baggage to the concept. As per your card examples, it seems much easier to assign a p/t for each card, allowing for greater variety in vehicles.
4) Flavorwise, I dislike the concept of creatures in vehicles becoming tapped if the vehicle leaves play. If I have two critters in an Airship and a Shatter mangles my Airship, they tap? It's easier to believe that they fall from the sky or get trapped in the Airship and get mangled, too. Granted, this point isn't always true. It's less believable if your creatures are riding a Tricycle. However, part of what I believe is essential to vehicles is that the player is taking a risk by playing them. This allows the costs to be slightly cheaper, but comes with an inherent card disadvantage. So, personally, I'm a big fan of the creatures leaving play in the same way as the vehicle.
5) I don't see any reason why, if a single-taloned sliver can wield four swords, a morningstar, and a longbow all at once, you couldn't put equipment on an animated vehicle. While it might not make a lot of sense, it follows the basic rules of magic much better.
6) Capacity seems like a good idea; I worked with several versions of Vehicles that had a capacity, but I ditched the concept due to the extra baggage and text. Vehicles already take up a lot of space; very few will be able to have flavor text, which is a shame. Capacity would be yet another thing that could be included in an individual card's rules.
And a few nitpicks about wording, regardless of whether you agree with me:
7) Non-creature artifacts don't have creature abilities. So when you say:
Wooden Rowboat 1
Artifact - Vehicle
Capacity 1
0: Board a creature you control onto ~. ~ becomes a 2/3 Artifact Creature - Vehicle as long as it's boarded. Islandwalk
You should really say:
~ becomes a 2/3 Artifact Creature - Vehicle with Islandwalk as long as it's boarded.
8) There's no reason to add the - Vehicle type after the artifact animates. An Ensouled Scimitar is still an Artifact - Equipment after it animates, it just doesn't have a creaturetype of Equipment. That's on purpose. When you start mixing non-creature card subtypes with creature subtypes, you get all kinds of rules headaches. I would propose that Vehicle should never become a creature subtype. So your Wooden Rowboat should really say:
~ becomes a 2/3 Artifact Creature with Islandwalk as long as it's boarded.
9) You can clear up the concept a little by putting the condition for animation at the beginning. If [condition], then [effect]. So how about:
As long as ~ is boarded, it becomes a 2/3 Artifact Creature with Islandwalk.
10) Since you are working with a binary condition (boarded vs. not boarded), the vehicle shouldn't "become". Ensouled Scimitar "becomes" an artifact creature because of the Cost: Effect system, but vehicles have more of an On/Off switch.
As long as ~ is boarded, it is a 2/3 Artifact Creature with Islandwalk.
11) You don't need to capitalize Artifact Creature in the rules text. See Ensouled Scimitar.
As long as ~ is boarded, it is a 2/3 artifact creature with Islandwalk.
12) None of your cards have anything in the way of reminder text. I can understand the desire to drop it, but it really is necessary. Nine of the fourteen pieces of equipment in Kamigawa block have the equip reminder text, and the other five are all rare. (Note that being rare doesn't automatically drop the text, as Kusari-Gama and General's Kabuto have the reminder text. It seems to just be a space-saver.) So the final version of Wooden Rowboat that I would submit would be:
Wooden Rowboat 1
Artifact - Vehicle
Capacity 1
0: Board a creature you control onto ~.
As long as ~ is boarded, it is a 2/3 artifact creature with Islandwalk.
My argument boils down to making the following changes:
Wooden Rowboat 1
Artifact - Vehicle
0: Move a creature you control into or out of ~. (Creatures in vehicles can't attack or block. Whenever a vehicle leaves play, creatures in that vehicle leave play in the same way.)
As long as a creature is in ~, it is a 2/3 artifact creature with Islandwalk.
My version is longer; however, if you add appropriate reminder text to your version...
Wooden Rowboat 1
Artifact - Vehicle
Capacity 1
0: Board a creature you control onto ~. (Creatures boarded onto a vehicle can't attack or block. Whenever a vehicle leaves play, tap all creatures that were in that vehicle.)
As long as ~ is boarded, it is a 2/3 artifact creature with Islandwalk.
Mine comes out slightly ahead in space-saving.
I hope that I've given you something to think about, and perhaps I've been able to sway your opinion on some or all of these points. If not, my apologies for wasting your time.
1: Move a creature you control into or out of ~. Play this ability only when you could play a sorcery. (Creatures in vehicles can't attack or block. Whenever a vehicle leaves play, tap all creatures that were in that vehicle.)
1: Move a creature you control into or out of ~. (Creatures in vehicles can't attack or block. Whenever a vehicle leaves play, all creatures leave play in the same way.)
:X Blah.
I'd be ok with increased costs for vehicles if it meant instant speed creature moving, but I also agree that bailing at instant speed makes perfect sense, while entering does not. Hrm. Time to mock up some cards and see how either version works in playtest...
@ Blinking Spirit, just wanted to mention that I find Tattooed Monk incredibly cool. Nice concept.
Scion of Silence: Woo! 4 mana to counter all spells and abilities on the stack? And you get a warm body to chump block? Sounds broken to me. I actually don't like this as a creature, mostly due to the pain it would cause with Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker. Pay 4 mana once to counter their nice 5-drop, next turn drop that 3rd mountain and play Kiki....they may never get another spell cast. Make it a LEGENDARY creature, and I'll be fine with it.
Neurotic Windowsill 3
Artifact Creature - Portal
Defender (This creature can't attack.)
1: ~ deals 3 damage to each creature blocked by ~.
1/3
After a slight delay, I remember that I had a lot of interest in Vehicles, and return to thank everyone for posting their thoughts. I have to agree with Nex3; that was a very nice consolidation of the two trains of thought. I would like to suggest this slight change:
Instead of:
"As long as there is a creature in ~,"
Use:
"As long as a creature is in ~,"
It may not look like much of a difference, but all my vehicle cards are already very tight with barely enough room for the card itself, much less any flavor text. That small difference may be enough to help. If you see any problem with this, let me know.
Quote from Lord of the Armpit »
Also, wouldn't we want to add to the rules that creatures in a vehicle cannot be the target of spells or abilities? It just seems to make sense flavorfully. It makes sense since the creatures would be killed by the vehicle dying that most destruction or protection should be targeting the vehicle anyways. I also think it's important to add that creature abilities that target themselves affect the vehicle instead.
As mentioned by others, flavor doesn't always drive equpment, and it wouldn't completely drive vehicles (pardon the pun).
As for creature abilities targeting the vehicles they're in vs. themselves, the rules headaches become prohibitive. Since creatures in vehicles can (normally) still be the target of spells and abilities, there's no reason that a Kabuto Moth inside an Iron Chariot wouldn't want to target itself if a Yamabushi's Flame streaked toward the Moth instead of the Chariot. Advanced Hoverguard has a personal anti-targeting field. Albino Troll can regenerate itself, but not the Warship he's commanding.
My thanks to Nex3 for his thoughtful and insightful melding of concepts. I'm happy with what you have.
Train of Thought 5
Artifact - Vehicle
3: Move a creature you control into or out of ~. (Creatures in a vehicle can't attack or block. Whenever a vehicle leaves play, all creatures in that vehicle leave play in the same way.)
As long as a creature is in ~, it becomes a 5/5 artifact creature that has "Whenever ~ deals combat damage to a player, draw a card for each creature in ~."
My last thought concerns whether the moving of creatures into or out of a vehicle should be instant or sorcery speed.
Instant Speed - Pros
1) Less baggage. If it can only be done at sorcery speed, then additional reminder text would probably be neccessary.
2) More flavorful. I do like the image of three Goblins in a tricycle pedaling like heck toward an opponent who suddenly splices a Torrent of Stone onto a First Volley. Seconds before the spell pulverizes the vehicle, two of the three goblins bail, leaving one poor goblin to go down with the ship.
3) Lessens the impact of the inherent card disadvantage of Vehicles.
Instant Speed - Cons
1) From a flavor standpoint, I suppose that if a vehicle was attacking and creatures in it were pulled out mid-combat, then the creatures would technically be tapped as they made their way back across the battlefield. Meh, I can live with this discrepancy.
2) This is the big one. Take my Goblin Tricycle example above. I have an animated Tricycle with 3 goblins in it, making it a 5/5 haste artifact creature. Through whatever means, damage that would be lethal to the Tricycle is on the stack. Before the damage is dealt, I pay 3 and pull all my goblins out of there. My Tricycle reverts to a non-creature artifact. The damage resolves, but it's no longer a creature, so it lives. Is this too powerful? Similar situations exist with spot removal. My Tricycle is animated and someone points a Rend Flesh at it. I pull all my creatures out, and the target becomes invalid and the Rend Flesh sizzles.
Unsung Hero: Wow. Nice concept. You might need the reminder text, as below, but other than that, a very nice, balanced card. I guess I'm not sure what the purpose of making a legendary creature that doesn't bend to the legendary rule is other than flavor, but it works for me.
Unsung Hero 2WW
Legendary Creature - Human Soldier
When ~ comes into play, it gains first strike, vigilance, or bushido 1. (This doesn't end at end of turn.)
The legendary rule doesn't apply to ~.
2/2
Chronomunch UR
Creature - Abomination
Flying, Haste
Whenever you play a spell, skip your next turn.
4/4
Slam Session: Nice. It might be a little cheap for instant speed, although compared to Pyroclasm, you're paying an extra 1 for instant speed and an extra R for it to not effect your creatures...maybe 4R for a cost? 2RR I could see at sorcery speed.
Sumeriosis 3WUB
Legendary Enchantment
When ~ comes into play, remove all creatures from the game.
Creature spells can't be played. Not a hare in the world.
Match #: 27
Name: Cantripmancer
Opponent: Unholy Carwash
Judge: Wanderer359
The Keystone
Legendary Artifact
When ~ leaves play, remove all permanents in play from the game. Then do the same with all cards in all hands, all cards in all graveyards, and all spells or effects that are on the stack.
When ~ comes into play, tap enchanted creature.
Enchanted creature does not untap during its controller's untap step.
Whenever enchanted creature is dealt damage, destroy it.
But nice card.
Daydream: "Target player chooses and shuffles any number of cards in his or her hand into his or her library, then draws that many cards." At least, I think that's what you mean. And, unlike Tolarian Winds, I don't think this would be too powerful.
Mind Exhaust U
Sorcery
If there are five or less cards in your library, draw your library.
Painstorm: Only real issue I have is that for 7 mana, you still have to have something else happen to make it matter. I'd like to see this at 3RR, maybe 2RRR. Wording: ~ deals damage to each creature equal to that creature's toughness minus one. This damage can't be prevented. Creatures dealt damage by ~ can't be regenerated this turn.
Library of Gemini 2UU
Legendary Enchantment
Separate your library into two piles and shuffle them. Treat each pile as a library. (Whenever you would draw a card, you may choose which library you draw from.)
When ~ leaves play, remove one of your libraries from the game.
The thought has occurred to me, as I'm sure it has to others, that if we can have equipment to attach to our critters, we should be able to have vehicles to put our critters in. This thread is dedicated to exhausting the concept of vehicles.
I'm sure that this concept has been explored, but I haven't been able to find anything more than a few scattered cards and "transport", which seems to be somewhat different, so forgive me if I step on anyone's creative toes. To the best of my knowledge, everything below is my original design. That doesn't mean that no one else has already thought of it, just that I haven't seen it. Of course, my memory is terrible, so if I've blatantly ripped someone off, my sincerest apologies.
I really like what I have so far barring the excessive wordiness of the concept that I've fleshed out. I'm looking for card ideas, better wording, alternate wording, alternate costs, condensed wording, anything at all that makes this concept pop. Feel free to put forth your own ideas, but be prepared to defend them. Also feel free to poke the current rules full of holes; this is the only way that the concept will grow.
My current rules and wording:
1) Vehicles are a subset of artifacts, much like equipment.
2) All vehicles are non-creature artifacts that turn into artifact creatures when a condition is satisfied.
3) Vehicles have a listed method of putting creatures into and taking creatures out of themselves. The generic term for this is Transit.
4) Transit wording is templated as follows: Transit [cost] ([cost]: Move a creature you control into or out of this vehicle.) Current wording for putting creatures into or removing them is "[cost]: Move a creature you control into or out of [this card]."
5) Transit Moving a creature into or out of a vehicle may be done any time you could play an instant.
6) Creatures that are in vehicles are still in play and can be affected and targeted by any spells, abilities, or effects that could normally target or affect them.
7) Creatures that are in vehicles cannot attack or block.
8) Creatures that are in vehicles can still generate triggered or activated abilities.
9) Whenever a vehicle leaves play, all creatures that are in that vehicle leave play in the same way. (i.e. - If a vehicle is returned to its owner's hand, all creatures in that vehicle are returned to their owner's hand.)
Ok, I'm sure that doesn't cover everything; I'll need help finding all the loopholes that need to be cut, but I think that's enough to get us started. One final note before I dive in would be that rule #9 makes Vehicles somewhat opposite of Equipment: There is an inherent card disadvantage to vehicles. This allows them to be a bit cheaper and more efficient. If this proves to be unpopular, rule #9 may go away, simply allowing creatures to remain in play when the vehicle leaves, but I'd like to try it this way for now.
Now here are a few cards. As mentioned before, the current rules create quite a bit of reminder text. I don't know how much of this needs to be on the cards themselves.
Iron Chariot 1
Artifact - Vehicle
1: Move a creature into or out of ~. (Creatures in a vehicle can't attack or block. Whenever a vehicle leaves play, all creatures in that vehicle leave play in the same way.)
As long as a creature is in ~, it is a 2/4 artifact creature.
Aerothopter 0
Artifact - Vehicle
2: Move a creature into or out of ~. (Creatures in a vehicle can't attack or block. Whenever a vehicle leaves play, all creatures in that vehicle leave play in the same way.)
As long as a creature is in ~, it is a 2/2 artifact creature with flying.
Sarcholian Wartank 2
Artifact - Vehicle
2: Move a creature into or out of ~. (Creatures in a vehicle can't attack or block. Whenever a vehicle leaves play, all creatures in that vehicle leave play in the same way.)
As long as a creature is in ~, it is an artifact creature with power and toughness each equal to 2 plus the number of creatures in it.
Goblin Tricycle 1
Artifact - Vehicle
1: Move a creature into or out of ~. (Creatures in a vehicle can't attack or block. Whenever a vehicle leaves play, all creatures in that vehicle leave play in the same way.)
As long as at least three creatures are in ~, it is a 5/5 artifact creature. If all those creatures are goblins, it has haste.
The following cards won't fit using Van Laarhoven's MSE, so, like other keywords, these cards would probably be rares and the reminder text for Transit would be dropped.
Magnetic Landrigger 3
Artifact - Vehicle
2: Move a creature into or out of ~.
As long as a creature is in ~, it is a 3/3 artifact creature.
Creatures in ~ can't be the target of spells or abilities.
Spined Juggernaut 4
Artifact - Vehicle
4: Move a creature into or out of ~.
As long as a creature is in ~, it is a 5/4 artifact creature that has "Whenever this creature blocks or is blocked, it deals 4 damage to each creature blocked by or blocking it."
Bandwagon 4
Artifact - Vehicle
When ~ comes into play, move all creatures you control into ~.
1: Move a creature into or out of ~.
As long as five or more creatures are in ~, it is a 7/3 artifact creature with trample and haste.
Of course, just as there were creatures that benefitted from equipment, there would be creatures that benefit vehicles.
Drastic Commander 1W
Creature - Human Soldier
If ~ is in a vehicle that is also a creature, that vehicle gets +2/+2 and has vigilance.
1/2
Sarcholian Tactitian U
Creature - Human Wizard
If ~ is in a vehicle that is also a creature, that vehicle has "Whenever this creature deals damage, draw a card."
1/1
And other vehicle-related cards:
Transport Implosion 1RR
Instant
Destroy target artifact. If that artifact was a vehicle, ~ deals 1 damage to target player for each creature that was in that vehicle.
And etc.
Let's see if this idea can go somewhere.
EDIT: Cards and rules changed due to discussion. Thanks to Nex3 for positive and constructive feedback.
Recycle was the card that started me down the dark path to becoming the Cantripmancer. Such a powerhouse, especially with Spellbook and others of its ilk. And Phil Foglio's art is hilarious.
Contestant: Cantripmancer (#54)
Opponent: Silver Seraph (#57)
Judge: Wanderer359
Card:
Jungle Drums :2mana::symg:
Enchantment
As an additional cost to play ~, reveal your library. Target opponent chooses a revealed creature card. Shuffle your library.
When ~ comes into play and at the beginning of your upkeep, reveal the top card of your library. If the chosen creature card is revealed, put it into play. Otherwise, gain 1 life.
As an additional thought, what is the purpose of forcing us to use the mana symbols in our posts?
Apropos WUBRG
Instant
Choose one - Gain six life; draw two cards; target creature gets -2/-4 until end of turn, ~ deals five damage to target player; or target creature gets +4/+2 until end of turn.
Entwine 1 (Choose all if you paid the entwine cost.)
Hijacker 2R
Creature - Human Pirate
When Hijacker comes into play, gain control of target vehicle, move all creatures out of it, and move Hijacker into it.
1/1
Shipwrech is a bit odder. Since my suggestion would be that the creatures are destroyed with the vehicle, it becomes somewhat outdated. However, whether you stick with the "tapping" concept, or go with the "same fate" route, this would work:
Shipwreck 2R
Sorcery
Destroy target vehicle. ~ deals 3 damage to each creature that was in that vehicle this turn.
(This way, even if the vehicles controller "moves" them out before the spell resolves, Shipwreck will mangle them. Remember that the spells themselves deal damage, you don't. ;))
Olveron has asked me about a title....um....we collaborated and came up with the Cantripmancing Cantripmancer Dandan of the Dandan Clan....but agreed that that's no good. Um....The Official Drawer of Cards? No, no, that makes me sound like I'm storage space or an artist....Um. Hm.
Nadnad, the Mad.
1RRR for 4 damage divided as you choose at instant speed + Madness.
1R for 5 damage divided as you choose at instant speed with a minimal drawback.
Suggestion:
Brutality of War 1RR OR 2R
Instant
If a creature you control has dealt damage to an opponent this turn, ~ deals five damage distributed among any number of target creatures and/or players.
Other than those three fixes (cost, slight wording, and target), looks great.
Barb-Wire Fence 3
Artifact Creature - Wall
Defender (This creature can't attack.)
Whenever ~ blocks, at end of turn, ~ deals damage equal to its power to each creature blocked by ~.
4/2
EDIT: At Olveron's calling me a dork, I humbly retract my request for admittance, and overly-humbly request to be a friend of the clan.
EDIT2: At Olveron's general Gr-ing, I humbly retract my retraction and ask to be the official Member of Clan Dandan (Who's Just a Friend).
I know that I'm not a member of Clan Dandan, but I couldn't let you go on without at least putting in a mention of vehicles. I really like the idea, but I just can't see the concept as your current rules have it.
For the basic rundown, if you haven't seen it already, check out This Thread.
In particular, these are the points about your current system that bug me:
1) As pointed out by Nex3, attaching a keyword, whether it's "board" or "transit" to this does nothing but add text.
2) Why is there no way to "unboard" a creature from a vehicle? Creatures can't get back out?
3) While your card examples seem to indicate that you're moving in a different direction, having every vehicle have p/t equal to the number of creatures inside it adds baggage to the concept. As per your card examples, it seems much easier to assign a p/t for each card, allowing for greater variety in vehicles.
4) Flavorwise, I dislike the concept of creatures in vehicles becoming tapped if the vehicle leaves play. If I have two critters in an Airship and a Shatter mangles my Airship, they tap? It's easier to believe that they fall from the sky or get trapped in the Airship and get mangled, too. Granted, this point isn't always true. It's less believable if your creatures are riding a Tricycle. However, part of what I believe is essential to vehicles is that the player is taking a risk by playing them. This allows the costs to be slightly cheaper, but comes with an inherent card disadvantage. So, personally, I'm a big fan of the creatures leaving play in the same way as the vehicle.
5) I don't see any reason why, if a single-taloned sliver can wield four swords, a morningstar, and a longbow all at once, you couldn't put equipment on an animated vehicle. While it might not make a lot of sense, it follows the basic rules of magic much better.
6) Capacity seems like a good idea; I worked with several versions of Vehicles that had a capacity, but I ditched the concept due to the extra baggage and text. Vehicles already take up a lot of space; very few will be able to have flavor text, which is a shame. Capacity would be yet another thing that could be included in an individual card's rules.
And a few nitpicks about wording, regardless of whether you agree with me:
7) Non-creature artifacts don't have creature abilities. So when you say:
Wooden Rowboat 1
Artifact - Vehicle
Capacity 1
0: Board a creature you control onto ~.
~ becomes a 2/3 Artifact Creature - Vehicle as long as it's boarded.
Islandwalk
You should really say:
~ becomes a 2/3 Artifact Creature - Vehicle with Islandwalk as long as it's boarded.
8) There's no reason to add the - Vehicle type after the artifact animates. An Ensouled Scimitar is still an Artifact - Equipment after it animates, it just doesn't have a creature type of Equipment. That's on purpose. When you start mixing non-creature card subtypes with creature subtypes, you get all kinds of rules headaches. I would propose that Vehicle should never become a creature subtype. So your Wooden Rowboat should really say:
~ becomes a 2/3 Artifact Creature with Islandwalk as long as it's boarded.
9) You can clear up the concept a little by putting the condition for animation at the beginning. If [condition], then [effect]. So how about:
As long as ~ is boarded, it becomes a 2/3 Artifact Creature with Islandwalk.
10) Since you are working with a binary condition (boarded vs. not boarded), the vehicle shouldn't "become". Ensouled Scimitar "becomes" an artifact creature because of the Cost: Effect system, but vehicles have more of an On/Off switch.
As long as ~ is boarded, it is a 2/3 Artifact Creature with Islandwalk.
11) You don't need to capitalize Artifact Creature in the rules text. See Ensouled Scimitar.
As long as ~ is boarded, it is a 2/3 artifact creature with Islandwalk.
12) None of your cards have anything in the way of reminder text. I can understand the desire to drop it, but it really is necessary. Nine of the fourteen pieces of equipment in Kamigawa block have the equip reminder text, and the other five are all rare. (Note that being rare doesn't automatically drop the text, as Kusari-Gama and General's Kabuto have the reminder text. It seems to just be a space-saver.) So the final version of Wooden Rowboat that I would submit would be:
Wooden Rowboat 1
Artifact - Vehicle
Capacity 1
0: Board a creature you control onto ~.
As long as ~ is boarded, it is a 2/3 artifact creature with Islandwalk.
My argument boils down to making the following changes:
Wooden Rowboat 1
Artifact - Vehicle
0: Move a creature you control into or out of ~. (Creatures in vehicles can't attack or block. Whenever a vehicle leaves play, creatures in that vehicle leave play in the same way.)
As long as a creature is in ~, it is a 2/3 artifact creature with Islandwalk.
My version is longer; however, if you add appropriate reminder text to your version...
Wooden Rowboat 1
Artifact - Vehicle
Capacity 1
0: Board a creature you control onto ~. (Creatures boarded onto a vehicle can't attack or block. Whenever a vehicle leaves play, tap all creatures that were in that vehicle.)
As long as ~ is boarded, it is a 2/3 artifact creature with Islandwalk.
Mine comes out slightly ahead in space-saving.
I hope that I've given you something to think about, and perhaps I've been able to sway your opinion on some or all of these points. If not, my apologies for wasting your time.
Unfortunately, this adds quite a bit of text.
1: Move a creature you control into or out of ~. Play this ability only when you could play a sorcery. (Creatures in vehicles can't attack or block. Whenever a vehicle leaves play, tap all creatures that were in that vehicle.)
1: Move a creature you control into or out of ~. (Creatures in vehicles can't attack or block. Whenever a vehicle leaves play, all creatures leave play in the same way.)
:X Blah.
I'd be ok with increased costs for vehicles if it meant instant speed creature moving, but I also agree that bailing at instant speed makes perfect sense, while entering does not. Hrm. Time to mock up some cards and see how either version works in playtest...
Scion of Silence: Woo! 4 mana to counter all spells and abilities on the stack? And you get a warm body to chump block? Sounds broken to me.
Neurotic Windowsill 3
Artifact Creature - Portal
Defender (This creature can't attack.)
1: ~ deals 3 damage to each creature blocked by ~.
1/3
Instead of:
"As long as there is a creature in ~,"
Use:
"As long as a creature is in ~,"
It may not look like much of a difference, but all my vehicle cards are already very tight with barely enough room for the card itself, much less any flavor text. That small difference may be enough to help. If you see any problem with this, let me know.
As mentioned by others, flavor doesn't always drive equpment, and it wouldn't completely drive vehicles (pardon the pun).
As for creature abilities targeting the vehicles they're in vs. themselves, the rules headaches become prohibitive. Since creatures in vehicles can (normally) still be the target of spells and abilities, there's no reason that a Kabuto Moth inside an Iron Chariot wouldn't want to target itself if a Yamabushi's Flame streaked toward the Moth instead of the Chariot. Advanced Hoverguard has a personal anti-targeting field. Albino Troll can regenerate itself, but not the Warship he's commanding.
My thanks to Nex3 for his thoughtful and insightful melding of concepts. I'm happy with what you have.
Train of Thought 5
Artifact - Vehicle
3: Move a creature you control into or out of ~. (Creatures in a vehicle can't attack or block. Whenever a vehicle leaves play, all creatures in that vehicle leave play in the same way.)
As long as a creature is in ~, it becomes a 5/5 artifact creature that has "Whenever ~ deals combat damage to a player, draw a card for each creature in ~."
My last thought concerns whether the moving of creatures into or out of a vehicle should be instant or sorcery speed.
Instant Speed - Pros
1) Less baggage. If it can only be done at sorcery speed, then additional reminder text would probably be neccessary.
2) More flavorful. I do like the image of three Goblins in a tricycle pedaling like heck toward an opponent who suddenly splices a Torrent of Stone onto a First Volley. Seconds before the spell pulverizes the vehicle, two of the three goblins bail, leaving one poor goblin to go down with the ship.
3) Lessens the impact of the inherent card disadvantage of Vehicles.
Instant Speed - Cons
1) From a flavor standpoint, I suppose that if a vehicle was attacking and creatures in it were pulled out mid-combat, then the creatures would technically be tapped as they made their way back across the battlefield. Meh, I can live with this discrepancy.
2) This is the big one. Take my Goblin Tricycle example above. I have an animated Tricycle with 3 goblins in it, making it a 5/5 haste artifact creature. Through whatever means, damage that would be lethal to the Tricycle is on the stack. Before the damage is dealt, I pay 3 and pull all my goblins out of there. My Tricycle reverts to a non-creature artifact. The damage resolves, but it's no longer a creature, so it lives. Is this too powerful? Similar situations exist with spot removal. My Tricycle is animated and someone points a Rend Flesh at it. I pull all my creatures out, and the target becomes invalid and the Rend Flesh sizzles.
Any thoughts?
Unsung Hero 2WW
Legendary Creature - Human Soldier
When ~ comes into play, it gains first strike, vigilance, or bushido 1. (This doesn't end at end of turn.)
The legendary rule doesn't apply to ~.
2/2
Chronomunch UR
Creature - Abomination
Flying, Haste
Whenever you play a spell, skip your next turn.
4/4
Sumeriosis 3WUB
Legendary Enchantment
When ~ comes into play, remove all creatures from the game.
Creature spells can't be played.
Not a hare in the world.
Name: Cantripmancer
Opponent: Unholy Carwash
Judge: Wanderer359
The Keystone
Legendary Artifact
When ~ leaves play, remove all permanents in play from the game. Then do the same with all cards in all hands, all cards in all graveyards, and all spells or effects that are on the stack.
EDIT: Image added.
When ~ comes into play, tap enchanted creature.
Enchanted creature does not untap during its controller's untap step.
Whenever enchanted creature is dealt damage, destroy it.
But nice card.
Daydream: "Target player chooses and shuffles any number of cards in his or her hand into his or her library, then draws that many cards." At least, I think that's what you mean.
Mind Exhaust U
Sorcery
If there are five or less cards in your library, draw your library.
Library of Gemini 2UU
Legendary Enchantment
Separate your library into two piles and shuffle them. Treat each pile as a library. (Whenever you would draw a card, you may choose which library you draw from.)
When ~ leaves play, remove one of your libraries from the game.
I'm sure that this concept has been explored, but I haven't been able to find anything more than a few scattered cards and "transport", which seems to be somewhat different, so forgive me if I step on anyone's creative toes. To the best of my knowledge, everything below is my original design. That doesn't mean that no one else has already thought of it, just that I haven't seen it. Of course, my memory is terrible, so if I've blatantly ripped someone off, my sincerest apologies.
I really like what I have so far barring the excessive wordiness of the concept that I've fleshed out. I'm looking for card ideas, better wording, alternate wording, alternate costs, condensed wording, anything at all that makes this concept pop. Feel free to put forth your own ideas, but be prepared to defend them. Also feel free to poke the current rules full of holes; this is the only way that the concept will grow.
My current rules and wording:
1) Vehicles are a subset of artifacts, much like equipment.
2) All vehicles are non-creature artifacts that turn into artifact creatures when a condition is satisfied.
3) Vehicles have a listed method of putting creatures into and taking creatures out of themselves.
The generic term for this is Transit.4) Transit wording is templated as follows: Transit [cost] ([cost]: Move a creature you control into or out of this vehicle.)Current wording for putting creatures into or removing them is "[cost]: Move a creature you control into or out of [this card]."5)
TransitMoving a creature into or out of a vehicle may be done any time you could play an instant.6) Creatures that are in vehicles are still in play and can be affected and targeted by any spells, abilities, or effects that could normally target or affect them.
7) Creatures that are in vehicles cannot attack or block.
8) Creatures that are in vehicles can still generate triggered or activated abilities.
9) Whenever a vehicle leaves play, all creatures that are in that vehicle leave play in the same way. (i.e. - If a vehicle is returned to its owner's hand, all creatures in that vehicle are returned to their owner's hand.)
Ok, I'm sure that doesn't cover everything; I'll need help finding all the loopholes that need to be cut, but I think that's enough to get us started. One final note before I dive in would be that rule #9 makes Vehicles somewhat opposite of Equipment: There is an inherent card disadvantage to vehicles. This allows them to be a bit cheaper and more efficient. If this proves to be unpopular, rule #9 may go away, simply allowing creatures to remain in play when the vehicle leaves, but I'd like to try it this way for now.
Now here are a few cards. As mentioned before, the current rules create quite a bit of reminder text. I don't know how much of this needs to be on the cards themselves.
Iron Chariot 1
Artifact - Vehicle
1: Move a creature into or out of ~. (Creatures in a vehicle can't attack or block. Whenever a vehicle leaves play, all creatures in that vehicle leave play in the same way.)
As long as a creature is in ~, it is a 2/4 artifact creature.
Aerothopter 0
Artifact - Vehicle
2: Move a creature into or out of ~. (Creatures in a vehicle can't attack or block. Whenever a vehicle leaves play, all creatures in that vehicle leave play in the same way.)
As long as a creature is in ~, it is a 2/2 artifact creature with flying.
Sarcholian Wartank 2
Artifact - Vehicle
2: Move a creature into or out of ~. (Creatures in a vehicle can't attack or block. Whenever a vehicle leaves play, all creatures in that vehicle leave play in the same way.)
As long as a creature is in ~, it is an artifact creature with power and toughness each equal to 2 plus the number of creatures in it.
Goblin Tricycle 1
Artifact - Vehicle
1: Move a creature into or out of ~. (Creatures in a vehicle can't attack or block. Whenever a vehicle leaves play, all creatures in that vehicle leave play in the same way.)
As long as at least three creatures are in ~, it is a 5/5 artifact creature. If all those creatures are goblins, it has haste.
The following cards won't fit using Van Laarhoven's MSE, so, like other keywords, these cards would probably be rares and the reminder text
for Transitwould be dropped.Magnetic Landrigger 3
Artifact - Vehicle
2: Move a creature into or out of ~.
As long as a creature is in ~, it is a 3/3 artifact creature.
Creatures in ~ can't be the target of spells or abilities.
Spined Juggernaut 4
Artifact - Vehicle
4: Move a creature into or out of ~.
As long as a creature is in ~, it is a 5/4 artifact creature that has "Whenever this creature blocks or is blocked, it deals 4 damage to each creature blocked by or blocking it."
Bandwagon 4
Artifact - Vehicle
When ~ comes into play, move all creatures you control into ~.
1: Move a creature into or out of ~.
As long as five or more creatures are in ~, it is a 7/3 artifact creature with trample and haste.
Of course, just as there were creatures that benefitted from equipment, there would be creatures that benefit vehicles.
Drastic Commander 1W
Creature - Human Soldier
If ~ is in a vehicle that is also a creature, that vehicle gets +2/+2 and has vigilance.
1/2
Sarcholian Tactitian U
Creature - Human Wizard
If ~ is in a vehicle that is also a creature, that vehicle has "Whenever this creature deals damage, draw a card."
1/1
And other vehicle-related cards:
Transport Implosion 1RR
Instant
Destroy target artifact. If that artifact was a vehicle, ~ deals 1 damage to target player for each creature that was in that vehicle.
And etc.
Let's see if this idea can go somewhere.
EDIT: Cards and rules changed due to discussion. Thanks to Nex3 for positive and constructive feedback.