This jumped into my head while driving home today.
Rootlock :3mana::symg::symg:
Enchantment - Aura
Enchant Permanent
You control enchanted permanent
Enchanted permanent is a Forest (It is a Land that has ":symtap:: add to your mana pool" and loses all other types and abilities)
I'm not sure if the reminder text is accurate/needed.
Paradox Glade
Land (R) T: Add to your mana pool one mana of any color a land you control could not produce.
I love this. It can never make mana, because any mana it could produce means that a land you control could produce it.
Then again, a while back I did make a perpetual motion machine card.
Spellcharged Weird1U
Creature - Weird (U)
Hexproof
Spellcharged Weird enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it for each spell cast after it this turn.
2/1
Eh. Not likely to get much except from your own spells. I'm not complaining about the card's power (it's fine as a 2-drop 2/1 hexproof), but a gimmicky effect needs to matter to make the card have a purpose.
Then again, breaking people's brains when they see the card could be a good enough reason to make it.
yes it can. only the Red ability says "other creature". The Black ability does not. You can sacrifice Tymaret himself to his own second ability.
While that may be true, an effect like the second ability can only be used in the graveyard. I can't remember the rule, but it was something like
"Abilities of cards only apply/trigger/can be activated from the battlefield, unless the ability would require the card to be in a different zone, in which case it can only be used from that/those zone(s)."
EDIT: Found it:
112.6j An ability whose cost or effect specifies that it moves the object it’s on out of a particular zone functions only in that zone, unless that ability’s trigger condition, or a previous part of that ability’s cost or effect, specifies that the object is put into that zone.
That bold part is critical - We're gonna need an official ruling for this guy, since there's an easy argument for whether or not that applies to him. Jury's gonna have to go into recess for now, it will reconvene when the FAQ's is posted.
Don't quote me on the wording there, but it was something like that.
As for the card itself, I love the idea of a B/R commander that will rarely have to pay it's commander tax. A deck that makes lots of tokens or loves its creature's dying seems perfect for him (He's going in my Thraximundar deck as soon as I get one)
For Standard? It's not much to talk about. A 2/2 that won't stay dead would be okay, but it needs a creature to die to come back, and playing lots of guys that are weaker than him is dangerous to do. Although it does work with his other effect.
Something that I thought of yesterday. Since it's still there, might as well post it:
Spellcatcher Goblin :2mana::symr:
Creature - Goblin Shaman (U)
Flash
When ~this~ enters the battlefield, change a target of target spell or ability to ~this~.
1/1
Thought about making it 3R, but thought that might be a bit too much.
Spellskite doesn't target anything but the spell. Vines doesn't help against it, as it doesn't give hexproof, instead just preventing your opponent from targeting the creature. The spells that Spellskite grabs are still controlled by you, so Spellskite is still a legal target for them.
If there's a pump spell that gives hexproof, that would be a good choice for dealing with Spellskite. Once it gains hexproof, it's no longer a legal target for the rest of your spells for the turn.
As for other options, Piracy Charm doesn't give as big a boost (and needs another boost before it to not kill the elf), but it also can make the elf unblockable against blue in a pinch. Perhaps sideboard?
Ranger's Guile gives hexproof and +1/+1. Might make an okay sideboard as an extra answer for Spellskite, or a weak pump for the win.
Phytoburst costs 2 mana and is a sorcery, but +5 damage could make the difference.
If you can dump your whole hand, Taste for Mayhem is +4 for one red. Aura might be a bit risky though, and without the hand dump it's a bit weak on the cost/power scale.
[Blinding] Tempo :xmana::symw::symw:
Sorcery (U)
Tap X target creatures. Return ~this~ to its owner's hand if less than 4 mana was spent to cast it.
[Scattering] Tempo :xmana::symu::symu:
Sorcery (U)
Return target non-land permanent with converted mana cost X or less to its owner's hand. Return ~this~ to its owner's hand if less than 4 mana was spent to cast it.
Crippling Tempo :xmana::symb::symb:
Sorcery (U)
Put X -1/-1 counters on target creature. Return ~this~ to its owner's hand if less than 4 mana was spent to cast it.
Thundering Tempo :xmana::symr::symr:
Sorcery (U)
~This~ deals X damage to target creature or player. Return ~this~ to its owner's hand if less than 4 mana was spent to cast it.
Bolstering Tempo :xmana::symg::symg:
Sorcery (U)
Creatures you control get +X/+X until end of turn. Return ~this~ to its owner's hand if less than 4 mana was spent to cast it.
I considered making the blue one a counterspell (countered unless X is payed), but didn't feel like making only one an instant.
Could use a good name for the first two, naming in a cycle can get tricky.
And yes, I did mean for it to work with cost-reducing effects. That's why it isn't "If X is 1". I also considered "If 3 or less" but felt it read better as "Less than 4"
Got some fun and flavorful cards here! Just a couple that have a few problems:
Brushfire Elemental: Love the flavor, but the fact that it needs to be in a multicolor deck forces it into a set like Alara or Ravnica (Not that that's a bad thing!)
Verge Elemental: This needs a change, badly. As is, it's a monogreen creature that can't survive at all in a non-white deck. Perhaps give it a point of toughness to start with? Otherwise, I love it.
Daylight Elemental, Darkness Elemental : Great pair.
Underbrush Elemental: 6 mana for 12 power? Seems a bit much, methinks. Either drop the number of tokens made or up the cost a bit. I love cards that do this, but there is such thing as too much.
Surf Elemental: So much flavor, and great interaction with other sea monsters.
Jetstream Elemental: This feels red to me. Haste and self-bounce on a blue creature? Not impossible, but very, very rare.
Gravesoil Elemental: I like it, but it seems a bit weak for some reason.
Sun Elemental: A lot going on here, and somewhat odd with its flavor as well. Why do Islands tap for any color? Sun going through water causing a prism? The boost to green makes sense, but not quite as much for the white. I do like the blinding effect on red and black. Biggest issue is that it's a massive presence on the field without any of that; 5/5 flying vigilance can shut down a field quickly. Costing WWW also hurts the deck build, requiring blue and green as minor colors despite boosting them. All together, a nice card to read, but an annoyance on the field.
Rainbow Elemental: By all that is MAGIC, give this thing the anti-reanimator clause of Darksteel Colossus. Turn one entomb/reanimate on this is game over in a few situations, and likely worth the life lost to reanimate, as it gives you a 12/12 that makes it hard for your opponent to cast colored spells, protecting it.
With the clause, it's a nice beater that can come down early with the right setup.
Last time I made some runes, they were Auras with effects. I think I've got a better use for them: Enchant equipment!
These do seem a bit overpowered, I'll explain at the bottom.
Guardian Rune
Enchantment - Aura (U)
Enchant Equipment
Enchanted Equipment has "Equipped creature gets +2/+4 and has Vigilance"
Thoughtweft Rune
Enchantment - Aura (U)
Enchant Equipment
Enchanted Equipment has "Equipped creature gets +2/+2 and has Flying"
Darkpact Rune
Enchantment - Aura (U)
Enchant Equipment
Enchanted Equipment has "Equipped creature gets +3/-1 and has Intimidate"
Thunderstrike Rune
Enchantment - Aura (U)
Enchant Equipment
Enchanted Equipment has "Equipped creature gets +3/+0 and has Haste"
Stampeding Rune
Enchantment - Aura (U)
Enchant Equipment
Enchanted Equipment has "Equipped creature gets +4/+4 and has Trample"
The reason these give such a huge boost for so little is simple: Enchant Equipment is horrible. Only 2 exist as of M14, and both are for your opponent's equipment, for good reason. To get the effect for yourself, you need 3 cards: the enchantment, the equipment, and a creature. The boost needs to make up for the trouble, and the risk of losing either the creature or the equipment, on top of the enchantment getting destroyed. Of course, there is a way to bypass that part slightly:
Soul Bond :1mana::symb::symb:
Enchantment - Aura (R)
Enchant Equipment you control
Enchanted Equipment has "Equipped creature gets +0/+1."
At the beginning of your upkeep, if enchanted equipment isn't attached to a creature, you may put a 0/0 black Germ creature token onto the battlefield and attach enchanted equipment to it. If you do, the token gains Haste.
(Haste because you've had the Equipment since your last untap step. Not a part of the Germ itself in order to mirror Living Weapon)
I'll start by saying I love that you added short art descriptions. It gives the cards a great feeling, and putting it right under the title sets the mood while reading the effect. As for the cards themselves, I'll comment on each, then make my choice at the end:
(card grammar changes in bold, non-functional only)
Endless Imps: I think there was a reason that Basic wasn't used on Relentless Rats (or the new guy). I can't remember what, though, so it may have just been a flavor issue. Something that this has: "Basic" feels like it would be a simple cards, but a 1/1 flying, haste, ripple is anything but simple, and probably too good for common. For this to work in limited, it would have to stay common, so maybe drop the haste and boost the cost to 2B. You may be able to boost the ripple with that as well, maybe 2 or even 3.
Guessing GoblinR If a spell or ability an opponent controls would reveal one or more cards from their library, you may first name a card. When the cards are revealed, if at least one is the named card, ~ deals 1 damage to that opponent.
1/1
That feels like it should be a paired replacement and triggered ability. I took a guess at how that might work, but it definitely works better than a trigger that needs to do something before the action that triggered it resolves, but can't go on the stack until after that action is over.
Feels fine otherwise.
Lash Out: Ah, lash out. Such a fun card
Vigilant Sentry: Interesting, lets you untap your guy after combat or an ability. Seems good, though might be a bit cheap for that effect.
Burning Ritual: Without the burn, this would be fine at common. With the burn, it feels like an uncommon.
Reorder Thoughts: Bizzaro Telling Time. I love it.
Soil Scraping
Dreamcast - Return a basic land you control to its owner's hand. (If a spell or effect reveals ~ from your library you may play it for its dreamcast cost.)
Reveal the top four cards of your library. You may put a basic land revealed in this way onto the battlefield tapped, then put the rest of the revealed cards on the bottom of your library in any order.
The change up top is a functional change, but the first form was too vague. The best I could tell was that you could bounce any basic land on the field, but only if you owned it, which isn't very intuitive, something that's a requirement of commons. Also, fixed a slight error in the reminder text.
Card seems a bit weak, but I suppose it works with other Dreamcast cards.
Scrabbling Dead: Good common zombie.
Library Attendant: Another good early drop common.
Segmented Viper: Too many effects for a common. Needs to lose a keyword, which one depends on you.
Scramble Conscription: Good card
Liar's Pendulum: I never played with this, so I don't know how well it works. Pass on comment.
Creative Caretaker (similar change as above) If a spell or ability an opponent(?) controls would reveal one or more cards from a player's library, you may first put a creature card from that player's graveyard on top of their library.
2/2
This seems like a nice way to mess with people late game... so why is it set as an early drop uncommon? This effect could be on a cost-effective large beater, something that comes down after a while, and mess up your opponent.
Grave Choice: The wording seems off, but I can't figure out how. Interesting head game to play with someone, or a political trick in mulitplayer. But like the last one, this feels like it should cost more due to being better late-game.
An okay presentation, but the lack of anything big in the pack makes me worry. I'd probably grab the pendulum without knowing the rest of the set. Possible repeated card draw in any color is always good.
I can't make a call on most of those, but #3 is easy. Snow covered lands can only be used in a format where they are legal, that is either the Coldsnap or Ice Age sets need to be legal for them. Using them in a standard deck is not legal.
A whole lot of nothing. All the Imprint effects are linked abilities - The effect that does something with the imprinted card cares only about the imprint effect that put that card there. Switching the MT to a different artifact will break the connection between the abilities, leaving the imprinted card just hovering in exile, not doing anything.
Even switching back to the form it had when it imprinted the card won't help, as the ability isn't the same one technically.
Quote from Comprehensive Rules »
607.4. If an object acquires a pair of linked abilities as part of the same effect, the abilities will be similarly linked to one another on that object even though they weren't printed on that object. They can't be linked to any other ability, regardless of what other abilities the object may currently have or may have had in the past. Example: Arc-Slogger has the ability "{R}, Exile the top ten cards of your library: Arc-Slogger deals 2 damage to target creature or player." Sisters of Stone Death has the ability "{B}{G}: Exile target creature blocking or blocked by Sisters of Stone Death" and the ability "{2}{B}: Put a creature card exiled with Sisters of Stone Death onto the battlefield under your control." Quicksilver Elemental has the ability "{U}: Quicksilver Elemental gains all activated abilities of target creature until end of turn." If a player has Quicksilver Elemental gain Arc-Slogger's ability, activates it, then has Quicksilver Elemental gain Sisters of Stone Death's abilities, activates the exile ability, and then activates the return-to-the-battlefield ability, only the creature card Quicksilver Elemental exiled with Sisters of Stone Death's ability can be returned to the battlefield. Creature cards Quicksilver Elemental exiled with Arc-Slogger's ability can't be returned.
Devotion: Excellent, though it's really just Metalcraft for color. No problem at all, though the effect would force players to go heavier on the color unless the set has a lot of multicolor cards in it.
Emboldened Thievery: Good use of the new Looting mechanic. Might want to drop to 3 cards with Devotion though, doubling card draw can get dangerous, even without card advantage.
EDIT: This effect gets a lot more dangerous in a set with threshold in it, though. Should still be okay at 2-cost, but should not be able to go from 2 cards in graveyard to threshold so easily.
Blazing Mallet: So, it's a Galvanic Blast with the new keyword instead. That was a nice limited card, this seems fine.
EDIT: I just noticed that it's a sorcery. Why? It could easily be an instant, just see the card I linked above.
Firestarter: Um, why an Elf? Is there some background story that's missing for this to make sense? Effect is simple, elegant, and not too problematic in limited, while great at the endgame. Excellent card, other than the creature type.
Coordinated Beasts: This could stand to be a bit bigger. Also, unless it's a heavy-multicolor block, I wouldn't recommend an off-color ability and devotion on a common. Could go a few ways to fix this, though in a multicolor block it might be fine, if underwhelming.
Surge of Evolution: And now Mirran Mettle. My only problem is the name. "Evolution" makes it seem like it should stay larger, unless we're evolving Digimon style.
A quick search for cards with Evolve, evolution or the like in their name all end up with permanent effects, save Cyclical Evolution, though that can be forgiven due to its pulsing nature. I'd recommend a new name, though the effect is fine.
Worlds Abound: Unlike timfreilly, I think this is quite good. Getting any land from your deck can be very useful, and throwing it right into play is rarely seen. Requiring threshold seems to balance it out, and just tutoring for any land has been seen on 2 drops. Based on the Odyssey block costing for threshold, this should be fine.
Nice presentation of commons for a set. Some context for their environment would be nice, though. Most commons only exist for limited or standard, so their effectiveness is based on the theme of the set and other cards. The devotion, for instance, could be very good with high amounts of token generation, color-shifting permanents, or just a multicolor block with plenty of hybrids. Threshold, on the other hand, needs self-milling to be good, making looting effects like your top card much more powerful. The effects look nice next to each other, although they don't have any synergy.
First, I'm not sure how well the "extra copies" effect would work in practice. The only non-basic card that breaks the 4-of rule is Relentless Rats, and that's self-referential to its rule-breaking. For cards that allow extra copies of another card, you'd have to prove you had them in the deck in order to prove the deck was legal.
All comments below this line are assuming the effect works as you intended.
I'm not fond of this idea. Having cards that work together this tightly stifles the creativity of players, forcing anyone who wants to use certain cards well to get specific other cards to go with them. I'm sure that there's a way to make this work less forcefully, but I can't think of it right now.
Individual card thoughts:
Hydra Tracker: I have a different comment for each location this grabs from:
From graveyard: Perfectly fine. Green loves to recycle its creatures.
From hand: This makes no sense on the card on its own. The effect does work nicely with what you described in the design notes, and would make the player want to find the card referenced in the last line in order to see why they would want to do that, so I guess it's okay.
From exile: This is a problem. Cards in exile are there for 2 reasons: they were put there by a card effect to be used later/are being referenced by the effect, or someone wanted it gone for good. Being able to grab from exile without the card having sent it there first is only seen on a total of 3 cards I can think of, all of which came from sets that had a block-wide mechanic that involved exile. This card can grab anything from exile and throw it on the bottom of the deck. While, admittedly, the only creature that can do that right now IS green, that's all it can do, and it's overcosted for its body for it. A bear that can get a card, and perhaps multiple copies of it back from exile? I just can't see it getting a pass in design.
Hydra Valley Expedition: A Rampant Growth with a small upside for one extra mana. Going back into the deck seems almost pointless when the point of these is not just mana ramp, but thinning the deck as well.
Hydra Valley: Eh. The boost is only for one card, although with so many extra copies it does seem like it will matter a lot. It's at odds with the first card, though. Why do you really need the extra mana when you're putting the extra copies back in the deck?
Branching Hydra 4GG
Creature - Hydra
As you are searching your library, you may reveal another card named Branching Hydra from your library and put it onto the battlefield.
4/4
The big boy of this setup. He seems lackluster, as a 4/4 for 6. Sure, if you can search your deck a few times after he shows up, you get an army, but getting him out in the first place might not be so easy, even with the extra mana and land tutors. I'd just as well throw a Thrumming Stone in the deck with it.
Taken as a whole, the concept does seem interesting, but the lack of much thought for deck construction just makes me cringe at it. A less obvious setup, perhaps just based around the creature type, might be a bit nicer.
Compost Elemental - 2GG
Creature - Elemental (U)
When Compost Elemental dies, add four mana of any color combination to your mana pool.
4/4
No real problem, other than one-shot mana production doesn't show up in green much now.
NAME - GGG
Creature - Elemental (R)
When NAME enters the battlefield, add three mana of any color combination to your mana pool.
3/3
At 3/3 I fear green decks dropping out 2 of these turn 2 off a mana dork. Bit more aggro than I think anything should have. Note that the creatures that have done this before were all small (didn't bother to look that up, I could be wrong), so dropping a swarm of them once their cost was hit wasn't too dangerous. At that size, it starts hitting the fast aggro clock with more than 1.
Llanowar's Beloved - G
Legendary Creature - Elf Druid (R)
At the beginning of each player's precombat main phase, add G to your mana pool.
1/1
Um... Magus of the Vineyard, but legendary and only 1 mana instead of 2? I don't think anyone uses the Magus now that he can't mana burn an unprepared player.
Wow, reading is tech. Seems fine then, but it needs a better name if it's going to be legendary.
Rootlock :3mana::symg::symg:
Enchantment - Aura
Enchant Permanent
You control enchanted permanent
Enchanted permanent is a Forest (It is a Land that has ":symtap:: add
I'm not sure if the reminder text is accurate/needed.
Opinions?
Land (R)
T: Add to your mana pool one mana of any color a land you control could not produce.
I love this. It can never make mana, because any mana it could produce means that a land you control could produce it.
Then again, a while back I did make a perpetual motion machine card.
Spellcharged Weird 1U
Creature - Weird (U)
Hexproof
Spellcharged Weird enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it for each spell cast after it this turn.
2/1
Eh. Not likely to get much except from your own spells. I'm not complaining about the card's power (it's fine as a 2-drop 2/1 hexproof), but a gimmicky effect needs to matter to make the card have a purpose.
Then again, breaking people's brains when they see the card could be a good enough reason to make it.
While that may be true, an effect like the second ability can only be used in the graveyard. I can't remember the rule, but it was something like
"Abilities of cards only apply/trigger/can be activated from the battlefield, unless the ability would require the card to be in a different zone, in which case it can only be used from that/those zone(s)."
EDIT: Found it:
112.6j An ability whose cost or effect specifies that it moves the object it’s on out of a particular zone functions only in that zone, unless that ability’s trigger condition, or a previous part of that ability’s cost or effect, specifies that the object is put into that zone.
That bold part is critical - We're gonna need an official ruling for this guy, since there's an easy argument for whether or not that applies to him. Jury's gonna have to go into recess for now, it will reconvene when the FAQ's is posted.
Don't quote me on the wording there, but it was something like that.
As for the card itself, I love the idea of a B/R commander that will rarely have to pay it's commander tax. A deck that makes lots of tokens or loves its creature's dying seems perfect for him (He's going in my Thraximundar deck as soon as I get one)
For Standard? It's not much to talk about. A 2/2 that won't stay dead would be okay, but it needs a creature to die to come back, and playing lots of guys that are weaker than him is dangerous to do. Although it does work with his other effect.
Spellcatcher Goblin :2mana::symr:
Creature - Goblin Shaman (U)
Flash
When ~this~ enters the battlefield, change a target of target spell or ability to ~this~.
1/1
Thought about making it 3R, but thought that might be a bit too much.
If there's a pump spell that gives hexproof, that would be a good choice for dealing with Spellskite. Once it gains hexproof, it's no longer a legal target for the rest of your spells for the turn.
As for other options, Piracy Charm doesn't give as big a boost (and needs another boost before it to not kill the elf), but it also can make the elf unblockable against blue in a pinch. Perhaps sideboard?
Ranger's Guile gives hexproof and +1/+1. Might make an okay sideboard as an extra answer for Spellskite, or a weak pump for the win.
Phytoburst costs 2 mana and is a sorcery, but +5 damage could make the difference.
If you can dump your whole hand, Taste for Mayhem is +4 for one red. Aura might be a bit risky though, and without the hand dump it's a bit weak on the cost/power scale.
That's all I can think of for additional boosts,
[Blinding] Tempo :xmana::symw::symw:
Sorcery (U)
Tap X target creatures. Return ~this~ to its owner's hand if less than 4 mana was spent to cast it.
[Scattering] Tempo :xmana::symu::symu:
Sorcery (U)
Return target non-land permanent with converted mana cost X or less to its owner's hand. Return ~this~ to its owner's hand if less than 4 mana was spent to cast it.
Crippling Tempo :xmana::symb::symb:
Sorcery (U)
Put X -1/-1 counters on target creature. Return ~this~ to its owner's hand if less than 4 mana was spent to cast it.
Thundering Tempo :xmana::symr::symr:
Sorcery (U)
~This~ deals X damage to target creature or player. Return ~this~ to its owner's hand if less than 4 mana was spent to cast it.
Bolstering Tempo :xmana::symg::symg:
Sorcery (U)
Creatures you control get +X/+X until end of turn. Return ~this~ to its owner's hand if less than 4 mana was spent to cast it.
I considered making the blue one a counterspell (countered unless X is payed), but didn't feel like making only one an instant.
Could use a good name for the first two, naming in a cycle can get tricky.
And yes, I did mean for it to work with cost-reducing effects. That's why it isn't "If X is 1". I also considered "If 3 or less" but felt it read better as "Less than 4"
Brushfire Elemental: Love the flavor, but the fact that it needs to be in a multicolor deck forces it into a set like Alara or Ravnica (Not that that's a bad thing!)
Verge Elemental: This needs a change, badly. As is, it's a monogreen creature that can't survive at all in a non-white deck. Perhaps give it a point of toughness to start with? Otherwise, I love it.
Daylight Elemental, Darkness Elemental : Great pair.
Underbrush Elemental: 6 mana for 12 power? Seems a bit much, methinks. Either drop the number of tokens made or up the cost a bit. I love cards that do this, but there is such thing as too much.
Surf Elemental: So much flavor, and great interaction with other sea monsters.
Jetstream Elemental: This feels red to me. Haste and self-bounce on a blue creature? Not impossible, but very, very rare.
Gravesoil Elemental: I like it, but it seems a bit weak for some reason.
Sun Elemental: A lot going on here, and somewhat odd with its flavor as well. Why do Islands tap for any color? Sun going through water causing a prism? The boost to green makes sense, but not quite as much for the white. I do like the blinding effect on red and black. Biggest issue is that it's a massive presence on the field without any of that; 5/5 flying vigilance can shut down a field quickly. Costing WWW also hurts the deck build, requiring blue and green as minor colors despite boosting them. All together, a nice card to read, but an annoyance on the field.
Rainbow Elemental: By all that is MAGIC, give this thing the anti-reanimator clause of Darksteel Colossus. Turn one entomb/reanimate on this is game over in a few situations, and likely worth the life lost to reanimate, as it gives you a 12/12 that makes it hard for your opponent to cast colored spells, protecting it.
With the clause, it's a nice beater that can come down early with the right setup.
These do seem a bit overpowered, I'll explain at the bottom.
Guardian Rune
Enchantment - Aura (U)
Enchant Equipment
Enchanted Equipment has "Equipped creature gets +2/+4 and has Vigilance"
Thoughtweft Rune
Enchantment - Aura (U)
Enchant Equipment
Enchanted Equipment has "Equipped creature gets +2/+2 and has Flying"
Darkpact Rune
Enchantment - Aura (U)
Enchant Equipment
Enchanted Equipment has "Equipped creature gets +3/-1 and has Intimidate"
Thunderstrike Rune
Enchantment - Aura (U)
Enchant Equipment
Enchanted Equipment has "Equipped creature gets +3/+0 and has Haste"
Stampeding Rune
Enchantment - Aura (U)
Enchant Equipment
Enchanted Equipment has "Equipped creature gets +4/+4 and has Trample"
The reason these give such a huge boost for so little is simple: Enchant Equipment is horrible. Only 2 exist as of M14, and both are for your opponent's equipment, for good reason. To get the effect for yourself, you need 3 cards: the enchantment, the equipment, and a creature. The boost needs to make up for the trouble, and the risk of losing either the creature or the equipment, on top of the enchantment getting destroyed. Of course, there is a way to bypass that part slightly:
Soul Bond :1mana::symb::symb:
Enchantment - Aura (R)
Enchant Equipment you control
Enchanted Equipment has "Equipped creature gets +0/+1."
At the beginning of your upkeep, if enchanted equipment isn't attached to a creature, you may put a 0/0 black Germ creature token onto the battlefield and attach enchanted equipment to it. If you do, the token gains Haste.
(Haste because you've had the Equipment since your last untap step. Not a part of the Germ itself in order to mirror Living Weapon)
(card grammar changes in bold, non-functional only)
Endless Imps: I think there was a reason that Basic wasn't used on Relentless Rats (or the new guy). I can't remember what, though, so it may have just been a flavor issue. Something that this has: "Basic" feels like it would be a simple cards, but a 1/1 flying, haste, ripple is anything but simple, and probably too good for common. For this to work in limited, it would have to stay common, so maybe drop the haste and boost the cost to 2B. You may be able to boost the ripple with that as well, maybe 2 or even 3.
Guessing GoblinR
If a spell or ability an opponent controls would reveal one or more cards from their library, you may first name a card. When the cards are revealed, if at least one is the named card, ~ deals 1 damage to that opponent.
1/1
That feels like it should be a paired replacement and triggered ability. I took a guess at how that might work, but it definitely works better than a trigger that needs to do something before the action that triggered it resolves, but can't go on the stack until after that action is over.
Feels fine otherwise.
Lash Out: Ah, lash out. Such a fun card
Vigilant Sentry: Interesting, lets you untap your guy after combat or an ability. Seems good, though might be a bit cheap for that effect.
Burning Ritual: Without the burn, this would be fine at common. With the burn, it feels like an uncommon.
Reorder Thoughts: Bizzaro Telling Time. I love it.
Soil Scraping
Dreamcast - Return a basic land you control to its owner's hand. (If a spell or effect reveals ~ from your library you may play it for its dreamcast cost.)
Reveal the top four cards of your library. You may put a basic land revealed in this way onto the battlefield tapped, then put the rest of the revealed cards on the bottom of your library in any order.
The change up top is a functional change, but the first form was too vague. The best I could tell was that you could bounce any basic land on the field, but only if you owned it, which isn't very intuitive, something that's a requirement of commons. Also, fixed a slight error in the reminder text.
Card seems a bit weak, but I suppose it works with other Dreamcast cards.
Scrabbling Dead: Good common zombie.
Library Attendant: Another good early drop common.
Segmented Viper: Too many effects for a common. Needs to lose a keyword, which one depends on you.
Scramble Conscription: Good card
Liar's Pendulum: I never played with this, so I don't know how well it works. Pass on comment.
Creative Caretaker (similar change as above)
If a spell or ability an opponent(?) controls would reveal one or more cards from a player's library, you may first put a creature card from that player's graveyard on top of their library.
2/2
This seems like a nice way to mess with people late game... so why is it set as an early drop uncommon? This effect could be on a cost-effective large beater, something that comes down after a while, and mess up your opponent.
Grave Choice: The wording seems off, but I can't figure out how. Interesting head game to play with someone, or a political trick in mulitplayer. But like the last one, this feels like it should cost more due to being better late-game.
An okay presentation, but the lack of anything big in the pack makes me worry. I'd probably grab the pendulum without knowing the rest of the set. Possible repeated card draw in any color is always good.
Even switching back to the form it had when it imprinted the card won't help, as the ability isn't the same one technically.
Emboldened Thievery: Good use of the new Looting mechanic. Might want to drop to 3 cards with Devotion though, doubling card draw can get dangerous, even without card advantage.
EDIT: This effect gets a lot more dangerous in a set with threshold in it, though. Should still be okay at 2-cost, but should not be able to go from 2 cards in graveyard to threshold so easily.
Blazing Mallet: So, it's a Galvanic Blast with the new keyword instead. That was a nice limited card, this seems fine.
EDIT: I just noticed that it's a sorcery. Why? It could easily be an instant, just see the card I linked above.
Firestarter: Um, why an Elf? Is there some background story that's missing for this to make sense? Effect is simple, elegant, and not too problematic in limited, while great at the endgame. Excellent card, other than the creature type.
Coordinated Beasts: This could stand to be a bit bigger. Also, unless it's a heavy-multicolor block, I wouldn't recommend an off-color ability and devotion on a common. Could go a few ways to fix this, though in a multicolor block it might be fine, if underwhelming.
Surge of Evolution: And now Mirran Mettle. My only problem is the name. "Evolution" makes it seem like it should stay larger, unless we're evolving Digimon style.
A quick search for cards with Evolve, evolution or the like in their name all end up with permanent effects, save Cyclical Evolution, though that can be forgiven due to its pulsing nature. I'd recommend a new name, though the effect is fine.
Worlds Abound: Unlike timfreilly, I think this is quite good. Getting any land from your deck can be very useful, and throwing it right into play is rarely seen. Requiring threshold seems to balance it out, and just tutoring for any land has been seen on 2 drops. Based on the Odyssey block costing for threshold, this should be fine.
Nice presentation of commons for a set. Some context for their environment would be nice, though. Most commons only exist for limited or standard, so their effectiveness is based on the theme of the set and other cards. The devotion, for instance, could be very good with high amounts of token generation, color-shifting permanents, or just a multicolor block with plenty of hybrids. Threshold, on the other hand, needs self-milling to be good, making looting effects like your top card much more powerful. The effects look nice next to each other, although they don't have any synergy.
All comments below this line are assuming the effect works as you intended.
I'm not fond of this idea. Having cards that work together this tightly stifles the creativity of players, forcing anyone who wants to use certain cards well to get specific other cards to go with them. I'm sure that there's a way to make this work less forcefully, but I can't think of it right now.
Individual card thoughts:
Hydra Tracker: I have a different comment for each location this grabs from:
From graveyard: Perfectly fine. Green loves to recycle its creatures.
From hand: This makes no sense on the card on its own. The effect does work nicely with what you described in the design notes, and would make the player want to find the card referenced in the last line in order to see why they would want to do that, so I guess it's okay.
From exile: This is a problem. Cards in exile are there for 2 reasons: they were put there by a card effect to be used later/are being referenced by the effect, or someone wanted it gone for good. Being able to grab from exile without the card having sent it there first is only seen on a total of 3 cards I can think of, all of which came from sets that had a block-wide mechanic that involved exile. This card can grab anything from exile and throw it on the bottom of the deck. While, admittedly, the only creature that can do that right now IS green, that's all it can do, and it's overcosted for its body for it. A bear that can get a card, and perhaps multiple copies of it back from exile? I just can't see it getting a pass in design.
Hydra Valley Expedition: A Rampant Growth with a small upside for one extra mana. Going back into the deck seems almost pointless when the point of these is not just mana ramp, but thinning the deck as well.
Hydra Valley: Eh. The boost is only for one card, although with so many extra copies it does seem like it will matter a lot. It's at odds with the first card, though. Why do you really need the extra mana when you're putting the extra copies back in the deck?
Branching Hydra 4GG
Creature - Hydra
As you are searching your library, you may reveal another card named Branching Hydra from your library and put it onto the battlefield.
4/4
The big boy of this setup. He seems lackluster, as a 4/4 for 6. Sure, if you can search your deck a few times after he shows up, you get an army, but getting him out in the first place might not be so easy, even with the extra mana and land tutors. I'd just as well throw a Thrumming Stone in the deck with it.
Taken as a whole, the concept does seem interesting, but the lack of much thought for deck construction just makes me cringe at it. A less obvious setup, perhaps just based around the creature type, might be a bit nicer.
Creature - Elemental (U)
When Compost Elemental dies, add four mana of any color combination to your mana pool.
4/4
No real problem, other than one-shot mana production doesn't show up in green much now.
NAME - GGG
Creature - Elemental (R)
When NAME enters the battlefield, add three mana of any color combination to your mana pool.
3/3
At 3/3 I fear green decks dropping out 2 of these turn 2 off a mana dork. Bit more aggro than I think anything should have. Note that the creatures that have done this before were all small (didn't bother to look that up, I could be wrong), so dropping a swarm of them once their cost was hit wasn't too dangerous. At that size, it starts hitting the fast aggro clock with more than 1.
Llanowar's Beloved - G
Legendary Creature - Elf Druid (R)
At the beginning of each player's precombat main phase, add G to your mana pool.
1/1
Um... Magus of the Vineyard, but legendary and only 1 mana instead of 2? I don't think anyone uses the Magus now that he can't mana burn an unprepared player.Wow, reading is tech. Seems fine then, but it needs a better name if it's going to be legendary.