That's a false dichotomy. I don't use them instead of cash, because they aren't cash. They're credit towards other cards.
Dont' get me wrong, I use them all the time. I have a system for trading cards profitably, and Pucatrade is a vital component. First I trade on Deckbox for lower average value but higher total value (thus higher quantity of cards). Then I use Pucatrade to consolidate them back into "money" cards, generally at +25% of the most valuable card I'm currently holding. I keep cycling through these until I can buylist them at a good spread for either cash or store credit (which goes towards new boxes).
I rarely hold on to pucapoints for more than a day or two, very quickly turning them back into cards that I can then trade for even greater value. I could not possibly do what I do without a service like Pucatrade, which could be a good or bad thing to you depending on how you view the ethics of my trade-for-profit scheme
I've always felt that Black can be summed up by the Big Lebowski quote "You're not wrong, Walter. You're just an ********."
Even after much character development, he is still a selfish jerk who's as averse to the truth as Vampire Superman is to a kryptonite cross. He is motivated primarily by his own ego, he can be jealous and spiteful, and has a pathological need for attention. The fact he is so upbeat, witty, charming, and possesses a childlike glee at the world is the only thing that keeps him from being completely insufferable.
Sliver creatures you control have Annihilator 1.
Compleated Sliver
Sliver creatures you control have Infect.
Tell me that either of those (regardless of P/T or mana cost) isn't bring-my-brown-pants terrifying.
He wanders the wasteland searching for Raoh, who is undoubtedly a monster that the world would be better without. When he sees people getting hurt (as happens all the freaking time in the wasteland) he shows great emotion, as he is the originator of the "Manly Tears" meme, and goes into a state of tranquil rage, utterly destroying those responsible. However, someone points out to him that his quest to find and defeat Raoh might be misguided. He does so much good fighting other threats and saving people in the wastes. He frees slaves and saves lives. Last time they fought, Raoh utterly destroyed him and left him for dead. So, if he goes to fight Raoh, there's the very real possibility he will die. When Kenshiro says that his own good is so limited, he points out that Raoh's evil is just as limited. If he dies, there won't be anyone doing as much good as Kenshiro, and all the good he's done will be for nothing. Kenshiro acknowledges he's right, and then says it doesn't matter. His personal goal is to defeat Raoh, and thus prove himself stronger (Black). All his altruism (White) and his passion and compassion (Red) is just what he does on his way to that goal.
Imagine what would happen if the Slivers managed to "learn" from either of those two.
The first is one of my favorite games of all time. The second I have yet to play because I don't have a WiiU, but I've watched playthroughs and it's epic. Not putting a coin in the jar, epic is an apt word to describe it.
And yes, I can definitely see her as a Black heroine. She is, technically, the good guy because she, like Liliana, is cancelling the apocalypse. The first game just turns the traditional apocalyptic narrative on its head by having the church essentially welcoming the apocalypse as a way to bring about a perfect harmonious paradise (a very White goal). Bayonetta gets involved purely for selfish reasons--finding a rare gem--but it discards that plotline in favor of another selfish plot of restoring her lost memories. Even her protection of the little Cereza (who mistakes Bayonetta for her mother) is ultimately self-serving, though for reasons that are complicated and unclear until pretty late in the game. Still, no reason why a Black character can't take a liking to someone, and Bayonetta is far from coddling ("If there's two things I can't stand it's crying children and cockroaches. Though crying baby cockroaches would just be dreadful...")
The second game continues this trend. She gets involved out of an Orphic quest to save her lover, Jeanne (Oh, don't even pretend she isn't). Then when the apocalyptic plotline kicks in, we oddly see demons throwing in with the angels on this. Demons have also traditionally been Red as well as Black, so it's fitting that the villain's plot is rather Green. He once ruled the world, but not in a traditional sense: He saw through to the truth of the world, and made that truth reality. That is, he didn't rule by making decisions for the world and humanity, rather by simply removing other options with his gaze of simple truth. He wants to return to that: a world without the illusion of free will. It's odd because his appearance and powers are so Blue (time manipulation, mainly), but his goals are so Green.
In fact, the two characters make a very excellent counterpoint to each other and the difference between Red and Black in essentially similar actions. Castle wants Beckett, and he recognizes that he needs her respect first. When he doesn't get the respect he feels he's owed, his response is to redouble his efforts, force systems to bend to him, and to simply refuse to go away. Star-Lord's response to disrespect is comedic indignation. Also, Castle is very goal-oriented, he wants to "have" Beckett and pursues her respect as a means to get her. Star-Lord wants people to be impressed with him right now, because of what he just did.
Black protagonists are tricky, because you have to understand that the good they do is incidental to their goals. Look at Liliana in Innistrad. Her goal was to kill Griselbrand, that's it. She did some pretty horrific stuff to achieve her goal. Then, by achieving her goal, she wound up saving the world, something she didn't give a flying flip about. A good way to make a Black protagonist is to give them a goal, and then put something bad in their way. Not even necessarily worse, just bad. Tokyo cheers Godzilla when he defeats the other monster, even if he wrecks everything on the way out.
Got a lot more to say on this subject, but my posts can easily turn into essays if I don't reign myself in.
Actually, I do like that idea. The current symbol was the best that I could find in MSE extensions (the other one literally looking like a rainbow turd), but a gold symbol may work too. I'd have to do the edits manually though.
Lasso: You're right, this is more of an uncommon effect. I'll adjust accordingly.
Cider Press: You are right that the symbol, in this case, probably isn't strictly necessary. I could get the same thing across with just 1. However, I have cards in the works that rely on that symbol as their prime mana cost, and a lot of nonbasic lands that produce colorless unless you do something about it. I may need to make this concept its own thread and show one at each rarity and each supertype.
As for its power level, you are right it does seem a bit more than the others, though it doesn't work as well for mana fixing if you aren't getting the mana you need. I think this one may depend heavily on the Limited environment, so I'll just err on bumping it up to Uncommon for now unless someone has an idea on how to drop the power level.
Return to Sender UU
Instant {C}
Return target creature to its owner's hand. If that creature was a token, return this card to its owner's hand.
One down, 98 to go...
Lasso 2
Artifact - Equipment {C}
Equip 1
Equipped creature has “:symtap:: Tap target creature. It does not untap during its controller’s next untap step.”
Both of these feel pretty straightforward to me, but you may see problems I don't.
This one is a problem child. I'll tell you about my first version later which was Skullclamp-broken instead of Jace-broken.
Dreamwalk 3UUU
Enchantment {R}
At the beginning of each player's upkeep, you may look at the top card of that player's library. You may put that card on the bottom of that player's library.
Awakened from her nightmare, Luna once more guarded the dreams of others.
First version had the top two cards. Yeesh...
This one is special. It's showing my first "unique" mechanic. I honestly can't even format it properly for this forum, so I'm just gonna post the image:
Prismatic mana. Right here it's just used as an activation cost, but in other cards it may be the main cost. I'm trying to get it to behave properly as a main cost, but I'm still working on that. What do you think? Is this something that should exist or not? Also, how are the card mechanics?
Finally, here are the images for all, plus a reprint of Befoul, last seen in Kamigawa.
Apple Family Cider Press 2
Artifact {C}
(WUBRG), T: Add two mana of the color spent to pay for (WUBRG) to your mana pool.
((WUBRG) can be paid with any colored mana. It can not be paid with colorless mana.)
This is a very loose idea of mine. I'm not in love with this particular card, but I have other ideas for cards using (WUBRB). So, tell me what you think about this card specifically and the concept in general.
"Ignore the flavor"?
Hah! Yeah, that's kinda missing the point of this set. I have absolutely no problem with people not liking MLP, but saying it's okay if you ignore the flavor is like saying Twizzlers are okay if you ignore the flavor. Some people (me) love them, you're not wrong if you hate them, but honestly if you don't like Twizzlers you're better off getting popcorn at the movie theater.
Ahem. Anyway. Looks like Group Hug is okay. Forgiveness may need colorshifting. Motivational Minotaur needs to have the ability made asymmetrical. First post updated with new versions, are these better?