It's been quite a while since I've posted anywhere on these forums. In fact, I've been away from Magic for quite some time, but when I heard that the new set was back in Ravnica and that Selesnya was getting a new mechanic, my heart leapt like a bridesmaid at the bouquet. And like the chubby bridesmaid in the group, not only was I disappointed when my dreams of catching the bouquet were dashed against the jagged rocks of reality I landed awkwardly, twisted my ankle, and swore quietly to myself for getting my hopes up again.
You see, friends, I love Green-White. It has been by favorite color combination since myearlydays. But I will be the first to admit that R&D musthateSelesnya. I won't go into any details concerning the new Selesnya Mechanic - for spoiler reasons, of course - but needless to say, I am not pleased. Allow me to explain why by examining the state of Green-White.
First things first, there is no GW Planeswalker. Unacceptable. Period. Every other friendly color pair has one (as does every unfriendly pair except for UG and, technically, UR if you don't count Bolas.
Second, let's talk mechanics. GW likes to go aggro, but unfortunately, it's creatures don't have haste, and it doesn't get direct damage. It makes up for this with modestly efficent creature and permenant control. However, one-for-onetrades are the preponderance of these effects, and they rarely manifest as effecientuses of deck-space in beatdown. Sure, it gets under-pricedbeaters, but how often and how well are these beaters capable of takingcare of themselves? Moreover, they aren't really any better or more efficent than anyothercolor.
That highlights the next problem: resilience. Green-White should be number one in creature protection and resource conservation, and onpaperitcertainlyis. But in practice, GW beatdown decks (which are pretty much all GW decks save Eternal Slide [2004] and probably some Glare of Subdual deck that was good for maybe 3 weeks in Ravnica Block Constructed) suffer from not being able to juggle protecting their creatures with applying sufficent pressure on the opponent. To remedy this, R&D (in it's infinite wisdom) has decided that GW is going to be the color combination that cares about the 2 most fragile ineffectual strategies in the whole of Magic: Tokens and EnchantCreatures - and when they are feeling particularly spunky, both.
And herein lies the proverbial rub: the flavor of GW as a whole is building a better mousetrap. And by "mousetrap" I mean "creature." It's about making small, resilient dudes at low costs and going all-in with big, unstoppable monstrosities. Frankly, I don't have a problem with tokens or with Auras. Actually, I like them quite a bit (Phantom Nishoba + Serra's Embrace anyone?), but GW is sort of the small business of the Magic Color Wheel: it wants to save on overhead while delivering the greatest possible product with great customer service. And while R&D seems to grasp the notion of "charging less" they rarely deliver on the "great customer service" part - and when they do, only in Green.
But somehow, all of this would be okay if when I got to play with my Selesnya guild cards, they felt like what Selesnya claims to be: an evangelical cult with a paramilitary bent. But they don't. Not in 2005, not now. So here's where I get to the "Custom Card Creation" portion of my rant. The following cards are roughly divided into two groups. The first few cards are some that I feel capture the flavor of Selesnya better than anything that has yet been printed. The second group is comprised mostly of card which address some of the grievances I voiced above about the sorry state of GW design. I came up with these in less than an hour, while napping.
I will be focusing largely on Convoke if only to demonstrate that convoke was a fantastic ability that never realized its potential. It was used mostly as a gimmick to encourage you to play tokens (meaning that it was only good if you were already winning, but if that's the case, why aren't you just attacking with all these token you have?). It should have been used to (a) present players with the difficult choice between playing a creature a turn or two earlier or attacking with the creatures they already have in play and (b) examining the flavor of the Guild's sense of communal thinking and conversion. Besides, Convoke has a built in limitation that you need a reasonable bord position already for the ability to matter. Most of these card would probably not be constructed playable, but then again, that's not really my point. The point is to show what can be done in GW and, yet, hasn't.
Moment of Heroism
Instant (C)
Convoke
Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt this turn. For generations Conclave initiates would be told of Horatius' brave defense of that nameless bridge as the highest form of dedication to the guild.
Many Hands, Light Work 1GG
Instant (C)
Convoke
Target creature gets +2/+2 and an additional +1/+1 for each creature tapped as an additional cost to play Many Hands, Light Work. If no mana was spent to play Many Hands, Light Work, that creature gains trample until end of turn.
Thicker than Blood 4GW
Enchantment (R)
Convoke
Each creature tapped as an additonal cost to play Thicker than Blood is indestructable. "Not even death can challenge the Brotherhood of Selesnya."
Overzealous Convert 1GW
Creature - Human Soldier (C)
2/1
Convoke; flash; deathtouch "Please re-emphasis to the initiates that violence is only a last resort. We do not want a repeat of yesterday's... incident."
See the Light 2GGWW
Instant (R)
Convoke
The next time target creature you don't control would die this turn, instead tap it and gain control of it. "I awoke convalescing in the arms of a beautiful dryad, and from that moment on, I knew that my only family was the Conclave."
Master Rhetorician 1GW
Creature - Human Advisor (R)
3/3
Convoke; hexproof His arguments are impenetrable. Everyone from Gruul thugs to Azorius ministers show up with the worst intentions and leave feeling somehow edified.
Quietman 2GW
Creature - Human Rogue (R)
1/3
Convoke; vigilance; deathtouch
Whenever Quietman deals combat damage to a player, you may draw a card.
Dryad Healer GW
Creature - Dryad (U)
2/2
Tap an untapped creature you control: Regenerate target creature you control.
And finally a GW Planeswalker. I've never made one before so it's probably way overpowered, but since they've made us wait this long, I think it's fair.
Thankyouverymuch 2GW
Planeswalker - Thanyouverymuch (MR)
3
Flash
+1: Untap target permanant other than [this card]. It gains Hexproof. If you cast [this card] during an opponent's turn or while a spell an opponent controls was on the stack, you may play this ability as though it had flash until end of turn.
-1: Search your library for a Forest or a Plains card and put it into play tapped.
-7: Untap all lands you control. They become 2/2 creatures in addition to their other types until end of turn.
Rudely Interrupted 1U
Instant
If it is your turn, gain control of all spells on the stack. You may choose new targets for those spells. "Now, as I was saying..."
Wrinkle in Time 8
Enchantment
As Wrinkle in Time enters the battlefield, choose Beginning Phase, Main Phase, Combat Phase, or Ending Phase.
Players skip each instance of the chosen phase.
Orzhov Knee-Breaker 1WB
Creature - Human Rogue
When Orzhov Knee-Breaker comes into play, put a -1/-1 counter on target creature an opponent controls. As long as that creature has a -1/-1 counter on it, it can't attack.
2/1
It's a really cool idea, and I can see face-down casting as being usable in other ways, but I think there are some issues.
What's to keep some crafty player from drawing out a Remand or similar card by bluffing a cast with a land? The same goes for morph creatures and cards that could be made to look like them. While plays like these wouldn't be common, I don't think there is any room to let people bluff around the rules.
The reason this doesn't matter is because the card gets turned face up when it resolves. If you cast a land pretending its a Remand, we'll all know when it comes time for the "Remand" to leave the stack (whether by resolving or being countered, etc.), and you'll get a DQ in a tourney (like with Morph) or be shunned in casual play.
Similar problems obviously arise with Morph, but it has never been a problem in my experience. I've never played against some one who really needed to get in those last two points of damage, so they played a land as a Morph creature; the risk is simply too high that it will die and be revealed. Besides, you have to reveal all of your Morph creatures at the end of the game anyway. In fact the problems with Morph are even less serious with Guarded Secrets because the spell doesn't stay face-down for any extended period of time: it will be turned face-up as soon as it leaves the stack or begins to resolve.
Edit: I'm sorry, I didn't quite understand your question. But here's the real answer, it wouldn't work to draw out a counter (even a Remand) with Guarded Secrets because the spell would be revealed when it leaves the stack and is returned to your hand. Similar to Morph, face-down spells are only face-down when they are on the stack and not resolving; and they are turned face-up if they would ever leave the stack without resolving. Furthermore, the risk is too high that your opponent might let it resolve, and you'll get a DQ.
I'm not sure anyone actually cares, but here are some details about my card submission for today: Guarded Secrets.
1) It gets around both of Gaddock Teeg's abilities.
2) It doesn't get around a Trinisphere for spells that usually cost less than 3.
3) It stops abilities like Cascade and Storm.
4) Cards that are flashed back from the graveyard may be known before they are cast, but they are still played face-down, which means that the cost-paying and choice-making procedures for face-down spells still apply.
5) Morph creatures don't get turned face-up when they resolve.
6) It makes Shunt useless and Twincast pretty bad.
7) Counters such as Remove Soul and Flashfreeze are unusably without something like Painter's Servant. Chalice of the Void set to zero is a permanent hard-counter against everything.
8) Choices that are usually made upon playing a spell include: targets, modes, values of X, and additional costs.
9) The player casting the spell still has to pay the manacost and any additional costs of the spell (including color and values of X) before the spell is officially played. That means the mana is out of the pool, values of X are (usually) set (although cards like Fireball allow for a little bit of swing room), and additional costs and effects are (usually) already locked in and paid for (but again there is a little swing room for stuff like Fireball and Thornscape Battlemage) by the time the spell is on the stack.
10) Originally, I priced this card at 6 mana, but I now feel that it is complicated and interesting enough to warrant the full 7 mana.
Guarded Secrets 5:symuw::symuw:
Enchantment
Players cast spells face-down. (Face-down spells have no name, types, manacost, or rules text. Spells may be cast face-down at any time that they would normally be able to be cast. Players still pay all costs that they would normally pay to cast the spell face-up. Unless a spell would be face-down for any other reason, face-down spells are turned face-up as the first part of their resolution. Choices that would normally be made for a spell when it is cast are made for face-down spells upon being turned face-up.)
Guarded Secrets 5:symwu::symwu:
Enchantment
Players cast spells face-down. (Face-down spells have no name, types, manacost, or rules text. Spells may be cast face-down at any time that they would normally be able to be cast. Players still pay all costs that they would normally pay to cast the spell face-up. Unless a spell would be face-down for any other reason, face-down spells are turned face-up as the first part of their resolution. Choices that would normally be made for a spell when it is cast are made for face-down spells upon being turned face-up.)
Contest of Mana x
Instant
Contest of Mana is blue.
Contest of Mana's manacost can only be paid with U.
Counter target spell with converted manacost of X.
Vengence of the Demigods 3RRR
Sorcery
Affinity for Planeswalkers (This spell costs 1 less to cast for each Planeswalker you control.)
Each planeswalker you control deals damage equal to the number of loyalty counters on it to target creature or player.
Back U
Sorcery
Turn target creature with Morph face-down.
/////////
Forth R
Sorcery
Turn target face-down creature face-up. It gains haste until end of turn. At the beginning of the end step, its contoller sacrifices it.
Fad 2WU
Enchantment- Aura
Enchant Creature
Fading 3
Each creature other than enchanted creature loses all of its abilities and has all of enchanted creature's abilities.
It's been quite a while since I've posted anywhere on these forums. In fact, I've been away from Magic for quite some time, but when I heard that the new set was back in Ravnica and that Selesnya was getting a new mechanic, my heart leapt like a bridesmaid at the bouquet. And like the chubby bridesmaid in the group, not only was I disappointed when my dreams of catching the bouquet were dashed against the jagged rocks of reality I landed awkwardly, twisted my ankle, and swore quietly to myself for getting my hopes up again.
You see, friends, I love Green-White. It has been by favorite color combination since my early days. But I will be the first to admit that R&D must hate Selesnya. I won't go into any details concerning the new Selesnya Mechanic - for spoiler reasons, of course - but needless to say, I am not pleased. Allow me to explain why by examining the state of Green-White.
First things first, there is no GW Planeswalker. Unacceptable. Period. Every other friendly color pair has one (as does every unfriendly pair except for UG and, technically, UR if you don't count Bolas.
Second, let's talk mechanics. GW likes to go aggro, but unfortunately, it's creatures don't have haste, and it doesn't get direct damage. It makes up for this with modestly efficent creature and permenant control. However, one-for-one trades are the preponderance of these effects, and they rarely manifest as effecient uses of deck-space in beatdown. Sure, it gets under-priced beaters, but how often and how well are these beaters capable of taking care of themselves? Moreover, they aren't really any better or more efficent than any other color.
That highlights the next problem: resilience. Green-White should be number one in creature protection and resource conservation, and on paper it certainly is. But in practice, GW beatdown decks (which are pretty much all GW decks save Eternal Slide [2004] and probably some Glare of Subdual deck that was good for maybe 3 weeks in Ravnica Block Constructed) suffer from not being able to juggle protecting their creatures with applying sufficent pressure on the opponent. To remedy this, R&D (in it's infinite wisdom) has decided that GW is going to be the color combination that cares about the 2 most fragile ineffectual strategies in the whole of Magic: Tokens and Enchant Creatures - and when they are feeling particularly spunky, both.
And herein lies the proverbial rub: the flavor of GW as a whole is building a better mousetrap. And by "mousetrap" I mean "creature." It's about making small, resilient dudes at low costs and going all-in with big, unstoppable monstrosities. Frankly, I don't have a problem with tokens or with Auras. Actually, I like them quite a bit (Phantom Nishoba + Serra's Embrace anyone?), but GW is sort of the small business of the Magic Color Wheel: it wants to save on overhead while delivering the greatest possible product with great customer service. And while R&D seems to grasp the notion of "charging less" they rarely deliver on the "great customer service" part - and when they do, only in Green.
But somehow, all of this would be okay if when I got to play with my Selesnya guild cards, they felt like what Selesnya claims to be: an evangelical cult with a paramilitary bent. But they don't. Not in 2005, not now. So here's where I get to the "Custom Card Creation" portion of my rant. The following cards are roughly divided into two groups. The first few cards are some that I feel capture the flavor of Selesnya better than anything that has yet been printed. The second group is comprised mostly of card which address some of the grievances I voiced above about the sorry state of GW design. I came up with these in less than an hour, while napping.
I will be focusing largely on Convoke if only to demonstrate that convoke was a fantastic ability that never realized its potential. It was used mostly as a gimmick to encourage you to play tokens (meaning that it was only good if you were already winning, but if that's the case, why aren't you just attacking with all these token you have?). It should have been used to (a) present players with the difficult choice between playing a creature a turn or two earlier or attacking with the creatures they already have in play and (b) examining the flavor of the Guild's sense of communal thinking and conversion. Besides, Convoke has a built in limitation that you need a reasonable bord position already for the ability to matter. Most of these card would probably not be constructed playable, but then again, that's not really my point. The point is to show what can be done in GW and, yet, hasn't.
Moment of Heroism
Instant (C)
Convoke
Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt this turn.
For generations Conclave initiates would be told of Horatius' brave defense of that nameless bridge as the highest form of dedication to the guild.
Many Hands, Light Work 1GG
Instant (C)
Convoke
Target creature gets +2/+2 and an additional +1/+1 for each creature tapped as an additional cost to play Many Hands, Light Work. If no mana was spent to play Many Hands, Light Work, that creature gains trample until end of turn.
Thicker than Blood 4GW
Enchantment (R)
Convoke
Each creature tapped as an additonal cost to play Thicker than Blood is indestructable.
"Not even death can challenge the Brotherhood of Selesnya."
Overzealous Convert 1GW
Creature - Human Soldier (C)
2/1
Convoke; flash; deathtouch
"Please re-emphasis to the initiates that violence is only a last resort. We do not want a repeat of yesterday's... incident."
See the Light 2GGWW
Instant (R)
Convoke
The next time target creature you don't control would die this turn, instead tap it and gain control of it.
"I awoke convalescing in the arms of a beautiful dryad, and from that moment on, I knew that my only family was the Conclave."
Master Rhetorician 1GW
Creature - Human Advisor (R)
3/3
Convoke; hexproof
His arguments are impenetrable. Everyone from Gruul thugs to Azorius ministers show up with the worst intentions and leave feeling somehow edified.
Quietman 2GW
Creature - Human Rogue (R)
1/3
Convoke; vigilance; deathtouch
Whenever Quietman deals combat damage to a player, you may draw a card.
Communion of Elves 1GW
Creature - Elf Shaman (U)
2/4
Convoke; vigilance
Loxodon Bodygaurd 3GW
Creature - Elephant Soldier (C)
4/4
Convoke
Dryad Healer GW
Creature - Dryad (U)
2/2
Tap an untapped creature you control: Regenerate target creature you control.
And finally a GW Planeswalker. I've never made one before so it's probably way overpowered, but since they've made us wait this long, I think it's fair.
Thankyouverymuch 2GW
Planeswalker - Thanyouverymuch (MR)
3
Flash
+1: Untap target permanant other than [this card]. It gains Hexproof. If you cast [this card] during an opponent's turn or while a spell an opponent controls was on the stack, you may play this ability as though it had flash until end of turn.
-1: Search your library for a Forest or a Plains card and put it into play tapped.
-7: Untap all lands you control. They become 2/2 creatures in addition to their other types until end of turn.
-Elfy
Instant
If it is your turn, gain control of all spells on the stack. You may choose new targets for those spells.
"Now, as I was saying..."
Creature - Hound
Whenever a creature an opponent controls becomes the target of a spell or ability you control, draw a card.
2/3
Enchantment
As Wrinkle in Time enters the battlefield, choose Beginning Phase, Main Phase, Combat Phase, or Ending Phase.
Players skip each instance of the chosen phase.
Creature - Human Rogue
When Orzhov Knee-Breaker comes into play, put a -1/-1 counter on target creature an opponent controls. As long as that creature has a -1/-1 counter on it, it can't attack.
2/1
Enchantment
Creatures you control with first strike have double strike.
The reason this doesn't matter is because the card gets turned face up when it resolves. If you cast a land pretending its a Remand, we'll all know when it comes time for the "Remand" to leave the stack (whether by resolving or being countered, etc.), and you'll get a DQ in a tourney (like with Morph) or be shunned in casual play.
Similar problems obviously arise with Morph, but it has never been a problem in my experience. I've never played against some one who really needed to get in those last two points of damage, so they played a land as a Morph creature; the risk is simply too high that it will die and be revealed. Besides, you have to reveal all of your Morph creatures at the end of the game anyway. In fact the problems with Morph are even less serious with Guarded Secrets because the spell doesn't stay face-down for any extended period of time: it will be turned face-up as soon as it leaves the stack or begins to resolve.
Edit: I'm sorry, I didn't quite understand your question. But here's the real answer, it wouldn't work to draw out a counter (even a Remand) with Guarded Secrets because the spell would be revealed when it leaves the stack and is returned to your hand. Similar to Morph, face-down spells are only face-down when they are on the stack and not resolving; and they are turned face-up if they would ever leave the stack without resolving. Furthermore, the risk is too high that your opponent might let it resolve, and you'll get a DQ.
1) It gets around both of Gaddock Teeg's abilities.
2) It doesn't get around a Trinisphere for spells that usually cost less than 3.
3) It stops abilities like Cascade and Storm.
4) Cards that are flashed back from the graveyard may be known before they are cast, but they are still played face-down, which means that the cost-paying and choice-making procedures for face-down spells still apply.
5) Morph creatures don't get turned face-up when they resolve.
6) It makes Shunt useless and Twincast pretty bad.
7) Counters such as Remove Soul and Flashfreeze are unusably without something like Painter's Servant. Chalice of the Void set to zero is a permanent hard-counter against everything.
8) Choices that are usually made upon playing a spell include: targets, modes, values of X, and additional costs.
9) The player casting the spell still has to pay the manacost and any additional costs of the spell (including color and values of X) before the spell is officially played. That means the mana is out of the pool, values of X are (usually) set (although cards like Fireball allow for a little bit of swing room), and additional costs and effects are (usually) already locked in and paid for (but again there is a little swing room for stuff like Fireball and Thornscape Battlemage) by the time the spell is on the stack.
10) Originally, I priced this card at 6 mana, but I now feel that it is complicated and interesting enough to warrant the full 7 mana.
Enchantment
Players cast spells face-down. (Face-down spells have no name, types, manacost, or rules text. Spells may be cast face-down at any time that they would normally be able to be cast. Players still pay all costs that they would normally pay to cast the spell face-up. Unless a spell would be face-down for any other reason, face-down spells are turned face-up as the first part of their resolution. Choices that would normally be made for a spell when it is cast are made for face-down spells upon being turned face-up.)
Any questions or comments?
Enchantment
Players cast spells face-down. (Face-down spells have no name, types, manacost, or rules text. Spells may be cast face-down at any time that they would normally be able to be cast. Players still pay all costs that they would normally pay to cast the spell face-up. Unless a spell would be face-down for any other reason, face-down spells are turned face-up as the first part of their resolution. Choices that would normally be made for a spell when it is cast are made for face-down spells upon being turned face-up.)
Instant
Contest of Mana is blue.
Contest of Mana's manacost can only be paid with U.
Counter target spell with converted manacost of X.
Sorcery
Affinity for Planeswalkers (This spell costs 1 less to cast for each Planeswalker you control.)
Each planeswalker you control deals damage equal to the number of loyalty counters on it to target creature or player.
Sorcery
Turn target creature with Morph face-down.
/////////
Forth R
Sorcery
Turn target face-down creature face-up. It gains haste until end of turn. At the beginning of the end step, its contoller sacrifices it.
Right, you are. Whoops!
Although, I was kind of expecting for it to be supposed to be an Aura with Enchant Enchantment. Like Dance of the Dead but for Enchantments.
Enchantment- Aura
Enchant Creature
Fading 3
Each creature other than enchanted creature loses all of its abilities and has all of enchanted creature's abilities.