Oculus: Why not have this be "enchant opponent"? Other than that I like the design.
That was the original design. Things like Shared Fate tend to be extremely niche (read hardly playable) without some extra utility though (e.g. Stolen Goods, Daxos of Meletis) - in this case, the utility is being able to use it as a Phyrexian Arena deal.
Arcane MasteryUU
Enchantment (R)
Whenever a spell or ability you control counters a spell, you get a mastery counter. (A player with ten or more mastery counters wins the game.)
IIW: win-cons
Giving each other player a poison counter would be the same thing.
No. The interactions other cards have with mastery and poison are different. Flavorwise they are completely disconnected too.
Mage Hunt3R
Enchantment {R}
At the beginning of each end step, put an escalation counter on Mage Hunt.
Whenever a player casts a spell, remove all escalation counters from Mage Hunt. Mage Hunt deals damage to that player equal to the number of counters removed this way.
Gut reaction: I absolutely love this card!
Reality: It's... not great.
We were designing Tibalt things weren't we?
Pilfered Hoard2RR
Enchantment - Aura {R}
Enchant player
At the beginning of your draw step, exile the top card of enchanted player's library. You may play that card this turn.
I'd assume Dethrone is Tertiary in other colors, it's pretty agnostic color philosophy wise. And the use of the ability in one set =/= general usability in all sets (Exalted made perfect sense in black for M13, but not in Alara block).
But that is because black can corrupt anything, so eventually all abilities will be black. It started with bloodthirst, it moved on to exalted, and now it's convoke's turn. Expect black populate on m16.
Ghoul District4B
Enchantment {U}
When Ghoul District enters the battlefield, put a 2/2 black Zombie creature token onto the battlefield. B, Sacrifice a creature: Populate.
(Start the game with this conspiracy face up in the command zone.)
Whenever an opponent loses the game, if you caused that player to lose the game, you win the game.
IIW: #JustTibaltThings
'caused' is too ambiguous. I'm guessing Giant Growthing an attacker I don't control is not 'causing', but what if I bounce his platinum angel while he's at -1, does that count? what if I put him in -1 and someone bounces his platinum angel? what if I contributed to putting him at -5 instead? what if I killed him via the combo of having him copy a Summoner's Pact? if I milled his deck and he loses in his draw step?
The most elegant solution to this might be "Whenever an opponent loses the game during your turn, you win the game."
GameWorldLeader - Study is broken and you know it. Nothing to see here.
JuanCu - While a 2/1 haste for 1R with a (worse) card draw is too good, Improvise is a really neat and elegant action ability. I stand by my point that it shouldn't chain off basics though - even if you "whiff", you still get the advantage of not having to draw it next turn. Something something Laboratory Maniac. Tweak the cost or body a little and we have a winner.
admirableadmiral - Cute. The effect is fairly marginal, but a marginal effect on a strong body makes for a good card.
ManyCookies - This is actually a cool twist on Relic of Progenitus and friends. Probably not good enough to serve as a graveyard hosing tool, but excellent for protecting your own. Thumbs up. Sun-Forged Fortifications is something I'm surprised didn't happen.
maximumbuttitude - I like the card but it's a bit under the curve. Bump it to 3 and it's perfect.
Rudyard - Both those cards are amazing. Observatory may have to be 2 to activate, it's a little on the strong side as is.
SelesnyaNewLife - Solid. Not an overly innovative design but that's fine. Vigilance was an odd choice here - care to elaborate?
Ink-Treader - A cool mix of abilities. The recover cost on this bugs me a little - "free" recovering might make this quite oppressive in limited. Ditching it for a regular mana symbol allows a bit more of an out here.
scarbo - Seems solid, although there's not a whole lot of reason for it to be that color-restrictive. Make it 2W and maybe bump the life up to 4.
Stapler -
admirableadmiral -
Winner: Rudyard HM: Pretty much everyone. A lot of good, inspiring submissions. Next: Temporal Manipulation
Witch's Familiar5 Artifact Enchantment Creature - Golem (R)
Bestow 7(If you cast this card for its bestow cost, it's an Aura spell with enchant creature. It becomes a creature again if it's not attached to a creature.)
Enchanted creature gets +3/+3.
Witch's Familiar and enchanted creature have "X, T: Put a charge counter on this card and exile a nonland card from your hand. You may cast that card for as long as it remains exiled. Note the type and amount of mana spent to pay this activation cost. Activate this ability only if there are no charge counters on this card." and "T, Remove a charge counter from this card: Add this card's last noted type and amount of mana to your mana pool. Spend this mana only to cast the last card exiled with this card."
3/3
Battledancer1R
Creature - Human Warrior (R)
Haste
When Battledancer enters the battlefield, improvise. (Exile the top card of your library. You may play it this turn. When you play a basic land this way, improvise.)
2/1
I file this under utility because its ability doesn't matter if you wanna be on curve. But if you are a land drop behind, it's great. (Plus, in the late game.) On the other hand, I did push it to be the awesome red 2 drop. Also, I like that improvise is a recursive action word.
[spoiler=You dun did it now]
This is a home run flavorfully, even if the card honestly seems more black than white to me.
I partially agree, chiefly due to its flavorful similarities to Life's Finale, but the flavor of the environment does have some input here - in a vacuum, Phyrexian Rebirth doesn't make much sense flavorwise in any color outside of black, and Merciless Eviction doesn't have much reason to be black either.
Render Lifeless3WW
Sorcery {R}
Destroy all creatures. Until your next turn, players can't cast creature spells. "Atrocity? This is no atrocity, Northener. This is justice."
Am Shegar - I like Split the Loot a lot, but this isn't really something that should happen turn 3 never mind, you still have to pay. Not quite as exciting. Grixis makes sense, but you possibly could've reduced it to two colors or even one.
JuanCu - Not a fan of the card but it's a cute mechanic. It really needs to be something more impactful than a 3/3 to be worth using ("the player who bid the least life sacrifices two creatures", "the player who bid the most like draws four cards" etc.). You need to state what happens with the bid life - does everyone lose it or just the person who bid the highest?
admirableadmiral - Beseech the Evangelists is amazing. The name doesn't fit but otherwise it's pretty spot-on.
Stapler - So you either get four cards or a free spell? It's an interesting take on Fact or Fiction, although I'm again left uncertain about having to use all three colors. Four mana *should* be fine given the color restriction.
ManyCookies - Cute. I don't draft a lot so I couldn't tell you how useful that is, but at least it's good enough to just be picked for its body.
SelesnyaNewLife - I love cards like this. Even if everyone pays the life it's not bad, otherwise it's at least 5 hasty power for four mana. Cards like this tend to have interesting interactions with people who have outs as well. My only suggestion would be to have it deal damage to the opponents (see Longhorn Firebeast).
admirableadmiral - What you've already gone. Mildly interesting but too cheap.
DoomedLich - Why is this red? There's nothing really red about this. Make it loss of life and black. A bump a turn is also kind of harsh - at three mana, 2 life should be fair.
iphanx - Not a fan. Endless supplies of counterspell are rarely a good idea, giving everyone them and encouraging their use less so.
Winterspring - Yessss. I need to get this game. Seems like a decent card - doesn't excite me but it does the trick.
AmShegar - This has good mechanical flavor. I was considering how badly this would stall the game - probably a lot less in multiplayer, where you can release the tension by ragging on the guy playing blue.
maximumbuttitude - Meeting of the Minds is cute - it's a little hard to evaluate when rivalry will happen (it's quite dependent on how many agressive decks there are and the stage of the game), which makes this interesting. Would be funny in Nekusar. Spiteful Lobbyist could easily be common.
admirableadmiral - I assume this is meant to be an enchantment. An interesting idea, although not so much bargaining as discouraging.
Spinejack3UB
Sorcery {U}
Choose one - Gain control of target creature; or put target creature card in an opponent's graveyard onto the battlefield under your control.
That was the original design. Things like Shared Fate tend to be extremely niche (read hardly playable) without some extra utility though (e.g. Stolen Goods, Daxos of Meletis) - in this case, the utility is being able to use it as a Phyrexian Arena deal.
No. The interactions other cards have with mastery and poison are different. Flavorwise they are completely disconnected too.
Mage Hunt 3R
Enchantment {R}
At the beginning of each end step, put an escalation counter on Mage Hunt.
Whenever a player casts a spell, remove all escalation counters from Mage Hunt. Mage Hunt deals damage to that player equal to the number of counters removed this way.
IIW: Slumbering Monsters.
We were designing Tibalt things weren't we?
Pilfered Hoard 2RR
Enchantment - Aura {R}
Enchant player
At the beginning of your draw step, exile the top card of enchanted player's library. You may play that card this turn.
IIW: Slumbering monsters.
Instant {R}
Each opponent loses life equal to half the amount of life you lost this turn, rounded up.
IIW: A slumbering monster.
Ghoul District 4B
Enchantment {U}
When Ghoul District enters the battlefield, put a 2/2 black Zombie creature token onto the battlefield.
B, Sacrifice a creature: Populate.
The most elegant solution to this might be "Whenever an opponent loses the game during your turn, you win the game."
GameWorldLeader - Study is broken and you know it. Nothing to see here.
JuanCu - While a 2/1 haste for 1R with a (worse) card draw is too good, Improvise is a really neat and elegant action ability. I stand by my point that it shouldn't chain off basics though - even if you "whiff", you still get the advantage of not having to draw it next turn. Something something Laboratory Maniac. Tweak the cost or body a little and we have a winner.
admirableadmiral - Cute. The effect is fairly marginal, but a marginal effect on a strong body makes for a good card.
ManyCookies - This is actually a cool twist on Relic of Progenitus and friends. Probably not good enough to serve as a graveyard hosing tool, but excellent for protecting your own. Thumbs up. Sun-Forged Fortifications is something I'm surprised didn't happen.
maximumbuttitude - I like the card but it's a bit under the curve. Bump it to 3 and it's perfect.
Rudyard - Both those cards are amazing. Observatory may have to be 2 to activate, it's a little on the strong side as is.
SelesnyaNewLife - Solid. Not an overly innovative design but that's fine. Vigilance was an odd choice here - care to elaborate?
Ink-Treader - A cool mix of abilities. The recover cost on this bugs me a little - "free" recovering might make this quite oppressive in limited. Ditching it for a regular mana symbol allows a bit more of an out here.
scarbo - Seems solid, although there's not a whole lot of reason for it to be that color-restrictive. Make it 2W and maybe bump the life up to 4.
Stapler -
admirableadmiral -
Winner: Rudyard
HM: Pretty much everyone. A lot of good, inspiring submissions.
Next: Temporal Manipulation
Bestow it, get two Ice Cauldrons, profit!
Bestow's fine as long as you don't go around bestowing walking Ice Cauldrons.
I actually meant it shouldn't chain at all. Improvise is an elegant mechanic, making it sift through basics is an unnecessary addon.
I agree with this. A card's a card's a card.
I partially agree, chiefly due to its flavorful similarities to Life's Finale, but the flavor of the environment does have some input here - in a vacuum, Phyrexian Rebirth doesn't make much sense flavorwise in any color outside of black, and Merciless Eviction doesn't have much reason to be black either.
The challenge should probably read "utility meets simplicity and balance". That last part is usually implied though
Sorcery {R}
Destroy all creatures. Until your next turn, players can't cast creature spells.
"Atrocity? This is no atrocity, Northener. This is justice."
IIW: Utility meets simplicity.
Yes.
Am Shegar - I like Split the Loot a lot,
but this isn't really something that should happen turn 3never mind, you still have to pay. Not quite as exciting. Grixis makes sense, but you possibly could've reduced it to two colors or even one.JuanCu - Not a fan of the card but it's a cute mechanic. It really needs to be something more impactful than a 3/3 to be worth using ("the player who bid the least life sacrifices two creatures", "the player who bid the most like draws four cards" etc.). You need to state what happens with the bid life - does everyone lose it or just the person who bid the highest?
admirableadmiral - Beseech the Evangelists is amazing. The name doesn't fit but otherwise it's pretty spot-on.
Stapler - So you either get four cards or a free spell? It's an interesting take on Fact or Fiction, although I'm again left uncertain about having to use all three colors. Four mana *should* be fine given the color restriction.
ManyCookies - Cute. I don't draft a lot so I couldn't tell you how useful that is, but at least it's good enough to just be picked for its body.
SelesnyaNewLife - I love cards like this. Even if everyone pays the life it's not bad, otherwise it's at least 5 hasty power for four mana. Cards like this tend to have interesting interactions with people who have outs as well. My only suggestion would be to have it deal damage to the opponents (see Longhorn Firebeast).
admirableadmiral - What you've already gone. Mildly interesting but too cheap.
DoomedLich - Why is this red? There's nothing really red about this. Make it loss of life and black. A bump a turn is also kind of harsh - at three mana, 2 life should be fair.
iphanx - Not a fan. Endless supplies of counterspell are rarely a good idea, giving everyone them and encouraging their use less so.
Winterspring - Yessss. I need to get this game. Seems like a decent card - doesn't excite me but it does the trick.
AmShegar - This has good mechanical flavor. I was considering how badly this would stall the game - probably a lot less in multiplayer, where you can release the tension by ragging on the guy playing blue.
maximumbuttitude - Meeting of the Minds is cute - it's a little hard to evaluate when rivalry will happen (it's quite dependent on how many agressive decks there are and the stage of the game), which makes this interesting. Would be funny in Nekusar. Spiteful Lobbyist could easily be common.
admirableadmiral - I assume this is meant to be an enchantment. An interesting idea, although not so much bargaining as discouraging.
Winner: admirableadmiral
HM: AmShegar, maximumbuttitude
Next: White's hypocrisy
Sorcery {U}
Choose one - Gain control of target creature; or put target creature card in an opponent's graveyard onto the battlefield under your control.
IIW: Bargain with your opponent(s).