Actually the intent was to target a spell your opponent was casting on themselves or their own stuff. Sorry if it was confusing. I gave it cycling because it was so narrow. I actually don't really like really narrow answers like this, but didn't have many other ideas yesterday.
No worries, so it was meant as an anti-goodstuff that my opponents are trying to use. i know a lot of spells that do good stuff for a player don't target. the just use the language "you (effect)." without target in the language they would get around this spell. there's no really easy way to fix that. you could add a "not" to the you or a teammate template, to change it to opponents or no one at all. But then that one mana spell could counter almost every board sweeper ever. As compensation since it is very narrow you could consider allowing it to see abilities along with spells. Either way, fixing the language on this one is pretty simple. I just added "is...ing" to clear up what this spell is focusing on.
Quell U
Instant (R)
Counter target spell that is targeting an opponent, or a permanent controlled by an opponent.
I saw a lot of great glimmers in today's submissions but had a few take-aways from the designs. A few templating concerns caught my eye along with some balancing. All these suggestions are in the spirit of constructive criticism.
QuellU
Instant (R)
Counter target spell that targets an opponent or a permanent controlled by an opponent.
Cycling 2
This was another one of those cards where i had to make sure i was comprehending the templating correctly. Wizards started using the templating "you or a teammate" when they designed surge, which i find to be good language when working with multiplayer cards. I adopted this templating when i design multiplayer enabled cards. Based on the language you used for Quell:
Quell U
Instant (R)
Counter target spell that targets you or a teammate, or a permanent controlled by you or teammate.
Cycling 2
I'm guessing that this is what your design is doing, just with different wording? I got tripped on who's 'opponent' is being referenced. my opponent, or my opponent's opponent. Then the internet broke when i tried googling that. Anyways, food for thought on templating.
Extract Punishment2WU
Enchantment (Rare)
Whenever an opponent pays mana or life for an effect you control, you may draw a card. "It is not enough for them to pay for their crimes. We must also learn why they commit them in first place."
- Tala, Azorius Judge
Just wanted to confirm if this is meant for a build around card in a specific limited set. Its hard to know how to evaluate this without some support cards. Since it is likely supporting an Azorius mechanical strategy in limited, white and blue being built around taxing an opponent with life payments felt out of color. I could see white having that when built in with black for orzhov, but it feels like a stretch to include it on an azorius design. The other issue is that cards such as Forbidding spirit don't actually use the stack to create the payments, simply the payment is conducted upon declaration of the attacks. most game state triggers are based on zone changes or game state changes (being declared as attacker/blocker). I think based on the games rules there's no way for an effect to see or trigger on mana being paid. there are cards that can reference colors of mana that were spend to cast them, but those triggers tend to be based on zone changes (ETB).
To make this card work how i'm guessing you want it to work, you need to have a keyword that this enchantment then can interact with. Here's an example (not necessarily a good one):
Tariff - X (Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under an opponent's control, you may pay this creature's tariff cost. If you do, that creature's controller may pay X, otherwise that creature enters the battlefield tapped.
This ability creatures a triggered event that other cards can see that still result in a potential mana payment, but the event is now tied to a trigger event and/or a keyword. combining this in an environment with an orzhov ability, in example (not necessarily a good one either):
Shake Down - (When this creature attacks, you may pay its shake down cost. If you do, until your next turn, target creature an opponent controls can't attack you or a planewalker you control unless its controller pays 1 life. If they do, you gain 1 life.)
Now that the environment has some specific trigger events, Extract Punishment has some specific events it can look for.
Extract Punishment 2WU
Enchantment (R)
Whenever you tariff or shake down a creature, you may draw a card. "It is not enough for them to pay for their crimes. We must also learn why they commit them in first place."
- Tala, Azorius Judge
Its certainly not as eloquent as the card you probably wanted it to be, but it's one option to solve some mechanical issues, though will be parasitic outside of limited. I think with more time and thought it might be possible to crack the necessary mechanical insight to get this card to react to things such as ghostly prison, but i'm not sure what all that would entail.
Dazzling DefenseU
Instant (U)
Target creature gets +0/+4 until end of turn. Creatures blocking or blocked by that creature lose all activated and triggered abilities. (This loss doens't end at end of turn.)
With a few tweaks this is an absolute winner. These are the sort of combat tricks wizards need to adapt blue into. To balance the card i would expect the defense portion to drop to +2 or +3 for balancing. To keep it clean for memory issues i see it as perfectly valuable for it to only last until end of turn. Most times you cast it, are going to likely strategically lead to an opponent's creature's death. This is personal preference, but it seems perfectly fair to just wipe out all abilities until end of turn. It will turn off first strike, trample, triggers, activations, etc. Keeping it at one mana i can see this design looking like this:
Dazzling Defence U
Instant (U)
Target creature gets +0/+3 until end of turn. Creatures blocking or blocked by that creature lose all abilities until end of turn.
Feverstoker1RR
Creature - Insect Horror (R)
Flying, wither
Creatures with -1/-1 counters on them must attack each turn if able. "If you're bitten, you go see the Doc if you've got any good sense... But, good sense's often the first thing to go after those bloodsuckers get to you." - Verna, Lowdocks Innkeeper
1/4
I like the combination of abilities on this. It's like a boggart ram-gang, that creates a unique downside for creatures that have been weakened. (take that kitchen finks!) my only thought is that Red has never printed a 1/4 flyer. Not that their isn't a first time for everything, but it's not really a downside for your opponent's evasive creatures to attack you every turn unless you have additional air defenses on board. Considering the point of this card is to basically poison their creatures with rage, so that 28 days later they will mindlessly attack you. This feels stronger as a groundpounder that basically trades up because of wither. I could see this being a constructed 4 of if tweaked similar to:
Feverstoker 2RR
Creature - Elemental Horror (R)
Menace, Wither
Creatures with -1/-1 counters on them attack each turn if able. "If you're bitten, you go see the Doc if you've got any good sense... But, good sense's often the first thing to go after those bloodsuckers get to you." - Verna, Lowdocks Innkeeper
3/4
All good stuff everyone. hopefully i can help stir up some critical thinking about these designs, because i like what i was seeing!
Lilt of Restoration 1W
Instant (C)
Exile target attacking or blocking creature you control, then return it to the battlefield.
Draw a card. "Our music demonstrates a ballet of soulful grace, that the other chorus' can only gawk at with quiet jealousy and indignation. Perhaps one day they will find their true voice." - Celnika of the Helsuetta Chorus
Lilt of Efficacy 1R
Sorcery (C)
Add RR. Then add an additional R for each other spell named Lilt of Efficacy you cast this turn.
draw a card. "The Helsuetta burn their song into stone, but their disregard of the natural world renders their music as hollow as their deeds." -Fanteri, Whisperer of the Verdant Reed
Lilt of Dismissal 1U
Instant (C)
Counter target spell or ability that targets a permanent you control.
Draw a card. "The problems for the Monestara stem from their failure to apply science to their music. Through cadence and attenuation, even the most destructive of litany can be turned aside." -Tella, Laureate Engineer of the Akouo
Votes: Voidnothing, Indighost Underworld NightmareUB
Enchantment (R)
Whenever an opponent or a spell controlled by an opponent is targeted by a spell or ability, that player or that spell's controller loses 2 life. "In the depths of the maze of dreams, one's soul fades away."
the wording on this is difficult to parse. i had to read it several times to convince myself the trigger wasn't dealing damage to the owner of the targeting agent. i might recommend breaking it up into two triggers.
Whenever an opponent becomes the target of a spell, that player loses 2 life.
Whenever a spell or ability an opponent controls is countered, that player loses 2 life. (Assuming you're not concerned with the few corner cases where a spell is targeted and not being countered.)
Whenever a spell or ability an opponent controls becomes the target of a spell or ability they don't control, that opponent loses 2 life. (definitely more wordy)
Know your Audience2BB
Enchantment - Aura (Rare)
Spectacle 4BR
Enchant creature
You control enchanted creature. If Know your Audience's Spectacle cost was paid, enchanted creature also has trample and haste.
At the end of turn, sacrifice enchanted creature.
Just wondering if this was intended to untap a tapped creature, since it can potentially give haste to a tapped creature? there's no 'untap' in the description.
Also with these short term gain control spells that result in a dead creature, does the Aura add to the design an element that wouldn't be achieved with a sorcery/instant?
I liked both of these, but they were causing me some head scratching to figure out.
Votes: Discardunearth, indighost (posted some notes in the discussion thread on card errors i saw)
Lilt of Attrition 1B
Sorcery (C)
Each opponent discards a card.
Draw a card.
"The rhythm of the Ventruia is accompanied only by the patter of tears. We pray to the Maestro to drown out their unforgivable sins." -Altruissa, Chorus of Faith.
Maximum Exertion G
Instant (U)
Target creature gets +4/+4 until end of turn. Tap that creature, it doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step.
Blighted Cliffs
Land (C)
Blighted Cliffs enters the battlefield tapped.
When Blighted Cliffs enters the battlefield, it deals 1 damage to each opponent. T: Add B or R.
Back Breaker 2BB
Instant (C)
Target creature an opponent controls gets -0/-X until end of turn, where X is that creature's power. You may have up to one target creature you control get +X/+0 until end of turn. "Nothing is worth anything, if it doesn't break a few backs to accomplish" -Braids, Cabal Minion
Unleash the Beast 2G
Instant (U)
Target creature loses all abilities and becomes a green beast with base power and toughness 3/3. "At the heart of all men lies the beast. I find cause to demonstrate hard truths to those whom dare forget." -Gallit, Arbiter Systema of Stellcennia
our tutors firmly believes that, to be a good videogame designer, one must first be a good game designer, and so he's urged us to try our hand at designing things meant for media other than videogames: thus, this project for a custom MtG block is meant to be my own submission for this assignment
It looks like you've already started to get some good feedback on your project. I think before i dig into card by card designs for you, i thought it might be good to cover some basics. Based on what you described, the goal of this project is the intent to practice game design? You may have already done this, but if you haven’t I recommend taking a structured approach at worldbuilding and establishing a timeline of goals.
1. What is the premise of the set?
Starting at the beginning is establishing all aspects of the premise of the game design. What do you want Seasons of Innistrad to do? What are the goals that you want the design of this set to deliver on for the players of this game? What is the intended gameplay flow, is it an aggressive format, a synergy based format, designed for limited play, designed for constructed play, Etc, Etc? Is it top down and the precedence of the design is in flavor of the cards vs a specific flow of the mechanics, or vise versa? Answering all of these questions should box in the design so that you basically have a skeleton blueprint for what you are going to create. It's easy to skip this step, but it will ensure you aren't walking back in later step after you realize you forgot to address one of these large picture questions. If you can answer all of these types of questions with ease you will always know what the smaller details are meant to be playing to, and how well smaller aspects of the project are living up to their intended potential. This is the big picture, and without it, its easy to get lost.
2. In what ways will the mechanics deliver on the premise?
At the next level down in view, what are the primary gameplay mechanics that are being incorporated? Do they support the vision of the set at large? This is the question that looks at the gameplay environment more closely. It's the checkpoint to determine if details make sense. In example, it asks if whether dredge is properly supporting your artifacts matter set. In this example I would say it absolutely does not. So it’s here that you have mentally explore whether you are setting up the game environment to succeed at communicating to your audience what you wanted to accomplish at stage 1. On the other side of that coin, you have to ask, are the mechanics and flavor of the set aligning and representing the world with cohesion? Whenever designing, or creating, or directing, it’s important to keep in mind, you can’t control how other people are going to ‘interpret’ what you create. What you can control is what focus you give them. It’s all about painting out what you don’t want your audience looking at, and painting in what you do. This ends up being the line that breaks good direction from bad direction. The more focused the design and direction, the more closely you can steer your audience’s focus on what you want them to see. Mechanics and flavor wrap up what comprises stage 2. The first stage asks you to see the big picture. Stage 2 asks you how you are going to direct your audience to see it.
3. How do the details bring to life the premise?
This is the final level of detail, where card by card designs should be analyzed. Before getting here you should understand the world with crystal clarity. The proper mechanics should have been explored, and support that vision. Each card design should breath life into that vision, and together as a whole create a cohesive environment. The devil’s in the details, so even at this point the card by card details can make or break all the work that has been put into the design. But skipping stages 1 and 2 will countermine much of the effort to craft cohesion. Stage 1 asks you to see the big picture. Stage 2 asks you to design and direct that vision. Stage 3 is what asks you to execute on that design and vision. This is where the bulk of the work is done.
I have a feeling your instructor will generally agree with laying out a path through the design. Even when you don’t have deadlines, it’s good to establish expectations for when milestones should be accomplished. Discovery is in the journey, and even though you know where you are going to end up, there’s a lot of miles between where you are and where you’ll end up, and on that path there is a lot of room to find the unexpected. And if you feel you’ve already accomplished these stages, then I’d be happy to dive right in and start looking over the environment.
It was brought up about tribal being a large part of Innistrad. Rosewater talks a lot about how return sets in Magic need to strike a balance between what’s old and expected, and what’s new and different. Since tribes have been a big part of innistrad paying attention to what you want to return is important. Tension between the humans and whatever threat you want to bounce them against should play a big part in the flavor behind the mechanics. Regardless, since you’re crafting a return to, rather than a new IP, keeping in mind balancing new with old will end up being something your direction is judged against.
Best of luck on this project. I look forward to seeing the complete set.
Mystifying Charm 2U
Instant (C)
Choose one —
* Target creature gains hexproof until end of turn
* Target creature gets -2/-0 until end of turn
* Target creature gains flying until end of turn
Déjà Vu (At the beginning of your upkeep you may cast this card from your graveyard
without paying its mana cost. Choose a mode not selected this game. When all three
modes have been cast, exile this spell as it resolves.)
No worries, so it was meant as an anti-goodstuff that my opponents are trying to use. i know a lot of spells that do good stuff for a player don't target. the just use the language "you (effect)." without target in the language they would get around this spell. there's no really easy way to fix that. you could add a "not" to the you or a teammate template, to change it to opponents or no one at all. But then that one mana spell could counter almost every board sweeper ever. As compensation since it is very narrow you could consider allowing it to see abilities along with spells. Either way, fixing the language on this one is pretty simple. I just added "is...ing" to clear up what this spell is focusing on.
This was another one of those cards where i had to make sure i was comprehending the templating correctly. Wizards started using the templating "you or a teammate" when they designed surge, which i find to be good language when working with multiplayer cards. I adopted this templating when i design multiplayer enabled cards. Based on the language you used for Quell:
I'm guessing that this is what your design is doing, just with different wording? I got tripped on who's 'opponent' is being referenced. my opponent, or my opponent's opponent. Then the internet broke when i tried googling that. Anyways, food for thought on templating.
Just wanted to confirm if this is meant for a build around card in a specific limited set. Its hard to know how to evaluate this without some support cards. Since it is likely supporting an Azorius mechanical strategy in limited, white and blue being built around taxing an opponent with life payments felt out of color. I could see white having that when built in with black for orzhov, but it feels like a stretch to include it on an azorius design. The other issue is that cards such as Forbidding spirit don't actually use the stack to create the payments, simply the payment is conducted upon declaration of the attacks. most game state triggers are based on zone changes or game state changes (being declared as attacker/blocker). I think based on the games rules there's no way for an effect to see or trigger on mana being paid. there are cards that can reference colors of mana that were spend to cast them, but those triggers tend to be based on zone changes (ETB).
To make this card work how i'm guessing you want it to work, you need to have a keyword that this enchantment then can interact with. Here's an example (not necessarily a good one):
Tariff -
This ability creatures a triggered event that other cards can see that still result in a potential mana payment, but the event is now tied to a trigger event and/or a keyword. combining this in an environment with an orzhov ability, in example (not necessarily a good one either):
Shake Down -
Now that the environment has some specific trigger events, Extract Punishment has some specific events it can look for.
Its certainly not as eloquent as the card you probably wanted it to be, but it's one option to solve some mechanical issues, though will be parasitic outside of limited. I think with more time and thought it might be possible to crack the necessary mechanical insight to get this card to react to things such as ghostly prison, but i'm not sure what all that would entail.
With a few tweaks this is an absolute winner. These are the sort of combat tricks wizards need to adapt blue into. To balance the card i would expect the defense portion to drop to +2 or +3 for balancing. To keep it clean for memory issues i see it as perfectly valuable for it to only last until end of turn. Most times you cast it, are going to likely strategically lead to an opponent's creature's death. This is personal preference, but it seems perfectly fair to just wipe out all abilities until end of turn. It will turn off first strike, trample, triggers, activations, etc. Keeping it at one mana i can see this design looking like this:
I like the combination of abilities on this. It's like a boggart ram-gang, that creates a unique downside for creatures that have been weakened. (take that kitchen finks!) my only thought is that Red has never printed a 1/4 flyer. Not that their isn't a first time for everything, but it's not really a downside for your opponent's evasive creatures to attack you every turn unless you have additional air defenses on board. Considering the point of this card is to basically poison their creatures with rage, so that 28 days later they will mindlessly attack you. This feels stronger as a groundpounder that basically trades up because of wither. I could see this being a constructed 4 of if tweaked similar to:
All good stuff everyone. hopefully i can help stir up some critical thinking about these designs, because i like what i was seeing!
Lilt of Restoration 1W
Instant (C)
Exile target attacking or blocking creature you control, then return it to the battlefield.
Draw a card.
"Our music demonstrates a ballet of soulful grace, that the other chorus' can only gawk at with quiet jealousy and indignation. Perhaps one day they will find their true voice." - Celnika of the Helsuetta Chorus
Lilt of Efficacy 1R
Sorcery (C)
Add RR. Then add an additional R for each other spell named Lilt of Efficacy you cast this turn.
draw a card.
"The Helsuetta burn their song into stone, but their disregard of the natural world renders their music as hollow as their deeds." -Fanteri, Whisperer of the Verdant Reed
Lilt of Dismissal 1U
Instant (C)
Counter target spell or ability that targets a permanent you control.
Draw a card.
"The problems for the Monestara stem from their failure to apply science to their music. Through cadence and attenuation, even the most destructive of litany can be turned aside." -Tella, Laureate Engineer of the Akouo
the wording on this is difficult to parse. i had to read it several times to convince myself the trigger wasn't dealing damage to the owner of the targeting agent. i might recommend breaking it up into two triggers.
Whenever an opponent becomes the target of a spell, that player loses 2 life.
Whenever a spell or ability an opponent controls is countered, that player loses 2 life. (Assuming you're not concerned with the few corner cases where a spell is targeted and not being countered.)
Whenever a spell or ability an opponent controls becomes the target of a spell or ability they don't control, that opponent loses 2 life. (definitely more wordy)
Just wondering if this was intended to untap a tapped creature, since it can potentially give haste to a tapped creature? there's no 'untap' in the description.
Also with these short term gain control spells that result in a dead creature, does the Aura add to the design an element that wouldn't be achieved with a sorcery/instant?
I liked both of these, but they were causing me some head scratching to figure out.
Lilt of Attrition 1B
Sorcery (C)
Each opponent discards a card.
Draw a card.
"The rhythm of the Ventruia is accompanied only by the patter of tears. We pray to the Maestro to drown out their unforgivable sins." -Altruissa, Chorus of Faith.
Maximum Exertion G
Instant (U)
Target creature gets +4/+4 until end of turn. Tap that creature, it doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step.
Blighted Cliffs
Land (C)
Blighted Cliffs enters the battlefield tapped.
When Blighted Cliffs enters the battlefield, it deals 1 damage to each opponent.
T: Add B or R.
Back Breaker 2BB
Instant (C)
Target creature an opponent controls gets -0/-X until end of turn, where X is that creature's power. You may have up to one target creature you control get +X/+0 until end of turn.
"Nothing is worth anything, if it doesn't break a few backs to accomplish" -Braids, Cabal Minion
Unleash the Beast 2G
Instant (U)
Target creature loses all abilities and becomes a green beast with base power and toughness 3/3.
"At the heart of all men lies the beast. I find cause to demonstrate hard truths to those whom dare forget." -Gallit, Arbiter Systema of Stellcennia
It looks like you've already started to get some good feedback on your project. I think before i dig into card by card designs for you, i thought it might be good to cover some basics. Based on what you described, the goal of this project is the intent to practice game design? You may have already done this, but if you haven’t I recommend taking a structured approach at worldbuilding and establishing a timeline of goals.
1. What is the premise of the set?
Starting at the beginning is establishing all aspects of the premise of the game design. What do you want Seasons of Innistrad to do? What are the goals that you want the design of this set to deliver on for the players of this game? What is the intended gameplay flow, is it an aggressive format, a synergy based format, designed for limited play, designed for constructed play, Etc, Etc? Is it top down and the precedence of the design is in flavor of the cards vs a specific flow of the mechanics, or vise versa? Answering all of these questions should box in the design so that you basically have a skeleton blueprint for what you are going to create. It's easy to skip this step, but it will ensure you aren't walking back in later step after you realize you forgot to address one of these large picture questions. If you can answer all of these types of questions with ease you will always know what the smaller details are meant to be playing to, and how well smaller aspects of the project are living up to their intended potential. This is the big picture, and without it, its easy to get lost.
2. In what ways will the mechanics deliver on the premise?
At the next level down in view, what are the primary gameplay mechanics that are being incorporated? Do they support the vision of the set at large? This is the question that looks at the gameplay environment more closely. It's the checkpoint to determine if details make sense. In example, it asks if whether dredge is properly supporting your artifacts matter set. In this example I would say it absolutely does not. So it’s here that you have mentally explore whether you are setting up the game environment to succeed at communicating to your audience what you wanted to accomplish at stage 1. On the other side of that coin, you have to ask, are the mechanics and flavor of the set aligning and representing the world with cohesion? Whenever designing, or creating, or directing, it’s important to keep in mind, you can’t control how other people are going to ‘interpret’ what you create. What you can control is what focus you give them. It’s all about painting out what you don’t want your audience looking at, and painting in what you do. This ends up being the line that breaks good direction from bad direction. The more focused the design and direction, the more closely you can steer your audience’s focus on what you want them to see. Mechanics and flavor wrap up what comprises stage 2. The first stage asks you to see the big picture. Stage 2 asks you how you are going to direct your audience to see it.
3. How do the details bring to life the premise?
This is the final level of detail, where card by card designs should be analyzed. Before getting here you should understand the world with crystal clarity. The proper mechanics should have been explored, and support that vision. Each card design should breath life into that vision, and together as a whole create a cohesive environment. The devil’s in the details, so even at this point the card by card details can make or break all the work that has been put into the design. But skipping stages 1 and 2 will countermine much of the effort to craft cohesion. Stage 1 asks you to see the big picture. Stage 2 asks you to design and direct that vision. Stage 3 is what asks you to execute on that design and vision. This is where the bulk of the work is done.
I have a feeling your instructor will generally agree with laying out a path through the design. Even when you don’t have deadlines, it’s good to establish expectations for when milestones should be accomplished. Discovery is in the journey, and even though you know where you are going to end up, there’s a lot of miles between where you are and where you’ll end up, and on that path there is a lot of room to find the unexpected. And if you feel you’ve already accomplished these stages, then I’d be happy to dive right in and start looking over the environment.
It was brought up about tribal being a large part of Innistrad. Rosewater talks a lot about how return sets in Magic need to strike a balance between what’s old and expected, and what’s new and different. Since tribes have been a big part of innistrad paying attention to what you want to return is important. Tension between the humans and whatever threat you want to bounce them against should play a big part in the flavor behind the mechanics. Regardless, since you’re crafting a return to, rather than a new IP, keeping in mind balancing new with old will end up being something your direction is judged against.
Best of luck on this project. I look forward to seeing the complete set.
Mystifying Charm 2U
Instant (C)
Choose one —
* Target creature gains hexproof until end of turn
* Target creature gets -2/-0 until end of turn
* Target creature gains flying until end of turn
Déjà Vu (At the beginning of your upkeep you may cast this card from your graveyard
without paying its mana cost. Choose a mode not selected this game. When all three
modes have been cast, exile this spell as it resolves.)
Corsair Windwalker 4
Artifact - Vehicle (C)
Crew 1.
Skirmish - 2U: Tap target vehicle, it doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step.
2/4