Mana Flare is fine. You just need to be smart when you play it - don't cast it on a turn where you don't think you can end the game, or get rid of it after you're done with that turn so nobody else uses it.
I came into Magic around the Time Spiral block, and during the Planar Chaos release I got myself a playset of Damnation. A short while down the line I traded said playset for a playset of Shadowmage Infiltrators, because a guy and his buddy at a local store convinced me they were way better for the trashy casual deck I had together at the time. Draw more spells to kill them with! Nearly unblockable! Cheaper to cast! I am still salty about that to this day.
In a set of four games one night over dinner, three of them involved my friend using Chaos Warp on a problem permanent, flipping into my Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre. I shuffled, he cut. Every time. Talk about awful luck.
That new version is awesome! I think all of the costs are fair. I don't understand how Talrand beat you 4 times, you're CMDR's destroy ability should have shut him down. Even if he had Greaves and Swiftfoot.
Good fun card though. Inspired me to try my own CMDR for UG
The tap ability doesn't matter if you get countered or eat something like Pongify immediately after casting him.
I really like the attacking blocking trigger one!! that seems pretty cool, as it reinforces the warlike mentailty. WRB=violence in all its marvelous forms to me, lets encourage attacking! haha jk
EDIT also, thanks for posting playtest results!
Basically, hahaha. While changing it to a trigger might give opponents more ways to plan around him, it really takes a lot of the reactive decision making away from the player using him and forces them to be proactive about it. That might be the better way to go with the card to remain on flavor, but we'd really miss the silly Reconnaissance/Illusionist's Bracers/Rings of Brighthearth shenanigans. On the other hand, it would give him more synergy with the extra combat phase cards that red has to offer, and make them better to play over cheaper, more generalized untap effects.
Hey all, thanks for the feedback! A friend and I playtested this card tonight, and the results were fairly encouraging. I played the following list against his competitive-minded Talrand, Sky Summoner and ended up going 3/4 w/l. Out of those games, five were very close matches right to the end, and the other two were only blowouts (one for me, one for him) because of insane starting turns involving Sol Ring.
Rather than to respond to everyone individually, I'm going to address a few common points.
1. The mana cost - He is definitely aggressively costed. In order for his strategy to work, he needs to be out fairly quickly. I tried stress testing the life paying ability, constantly paying life to cast him to see how much of a difference it made. As it turned out, the sacrifice was big enough to notice and influence the outcome of each game, sending the user into low life consistently, which we're in agreement made this ability okay and on flavor for the "fanatical" or "all in" mindset of the colors. Paying 6 life just to eat an answer early game hurts. Paying 8 life to eat another is almost the game lost on its own. Just like Kaalia, you force your opponent to be quick on their feet and get answers early. But unlike Kaalia, who just comes back later at no real repercussion, if you "cheat" him out with life and don't get any use out of him, you're robbed of a valuable limited resource and behind your opponent's tempo as well. Even worse than an answer is something that makes him work for your opponent, like Gilded Drake/Phyrexian Metamorph/etc, or something that can keep him on the board but make him useless like Tamiyo, the Moon Sage, all things used against him in the games we played. Regarding the mana cost looking "ugly" or "weird", I guess that's a personal thing - 2/c split costs don't exist beside normal mana in MTG at all yet, so it's going to look foreign right out of the gate because of that. While playing, however, we enjoyed the functionality it brought, allowing him to be cast for a fair investment of mana or life, balanced how the user felt necessary at the time. The options this system gives are key in him showing up to threaten the board when he needs to be there.
2. The keywords - At first, we were really afraid of that vigilance. Being able to swing in for 4, then blow up a permanent is brutal, as is swinging in and blowing up their only blocker before they can use it, ensuring the hit. Perhaps the most terrifying is swinging in and waiting until the end of their turn to blow something up, maintaining an effective blocker as well. Once we got over the initial shock of "wow, this card we made up is strong", we were very happy with how fluidly he functioned. It just felt right. Not only that, he requires the vigilance in order to maintain his tempo with an opponent, the 4 damage he does mirroring the 4 life you pay to blow up a problem permanent. If he's unable to swing each turn, whether that's because he taps to attack or can't get in through threatening blockers (something that the first strike + deathtouch deals with without giving him protections), he wouldn't be able to do his job and things would quickly fall apart for him. Flavor wise, we thought this set of keywords fit the idea that the shard should be the undisputed "master of war", relentlessly and aggressively dominating through combat threats and key removal with a fair amount of options on how to do it.
Largely, our conclusion is that the life loss is harmful enough to the player that it justifies his otherwise excellent combat ability and board presence. Of course, we thought of multiple changes that might be cool to try out as well.
Mana cost modified:
Rudenhart, the Tyrant's Scorn 2WWBBRR
Legendary Creature - Human Knight [Mythic Rare]
You may pay :symw::symb::symr: and 6 life rather than pay any other costs to cast ~.
First strike, deathtouch, vigilance
T, Pay 4 life: Destroy target permanent.
4/4
Mana cost and activated ability modified (we don't like this one much because it removes a lot of his ability to interact, but posting it anyway):
Rudenhart, the Tyrant's Scorn 2WWBBRR
Legendary Creature - Human Knight [Mythic Rare]
You may pay :symw::symb::symr: and 6 life rather than pay any other costs to cast ~.
First strike, deathtouch, vigilance
Whenever ~ attacks or blocks, you may pay 4 life. If you do, destroy target permanent.
Varna4WBRR
As long as ~ or an activated ability of ~ is on the stack, players can't cast spells or activate abilities that aren't mana abilities.
[0]: Exile target permanent. Put X loyalty counters on ~, where X is that permanent's converted mana cost.
[-3]: ~ deals damage equal to the number of loyalty counters on it to any number of target creatures and/or players. The damage can't be prevented.
[-9]: Choose a card type. Exile all permanents of the chosen type.
[7]
So, a friend and I have been debating for awhile over how to make a mechanic that would make for a fun WUG commander. Then we realized that the color combination basically leaves us with nothing but boring, non-interactive mechanics (see Jenara, Asura of War, Angus Mackenzie, Rafiq of the Many).
Something we made (and posted a few weeks ago) was this, but upon going over it, we've found it to just be way too boring to fit in with the rest of its counterparts (one was made for each 3 color combination).
Crux — If ~ is in your command zone when you draw your opening hand, you begin the game with an emblem that has '...'
Alia, the SincereWWUUGG
Legendary Creature - Angel Sovereign
Crux — At the beginning of each end step, scry equal to the total amount of life you've gained this turn.
Flying, vigilance
Creatures you control have lifelink.
3/7
The question we pose is thus: How would you take a shot at making a funner Bant gamestyle, while retaining the proper flavor of its colors?
Not feeling the B in Axiar. He also seems kind of underwhelming... I'd typically rather pay 1 less and cast Gisela, Blade of Goldnight instead. Rather than make a big paragraph explaining some suggestions, have a tweaked version instead.
Axiar, the Omega5WBR
Legendary Creature - Giant Dragon
Flying, haste, fear
If a source you control would deal damage, you gain that much life and that source deals double that damage instead.
5/5
Seems like too much of a drawback to be useful. Heartless Summoning lets you play creatures easier, and makes them weaker, but at least you can still use them.
This card idea lets you play cheaper artifacts, but you can't really do anything with them. This obviously is supposed to go in an artifact deck, but it makes you not want to play your artifacts. Try something a little less harsh, like "artifacts you control don't untap during your untap step and have ': Untap this permanent.'"
That would actually be more of a boon than a drawback. Paying 1 to untap multiple times in a turn... I would recommend "artifacts you control don't untap during your untap step." and "artifacts you control have 'at the beginning of your upkeep, you may pay 1. If you do, untap this.'"
Essence BoilUURR
Instant (R)
Gain control of target blue creature or spell until end of turn. If its a spell, you may reselect its targets. If its a creature, untap it. It gains haste until end of turn. Destroy it at end of turn.
While it's true that you can't suspend a land card from your hand as a special action, nothing prevents lands from being played after being suspended. Suspend uses the word "play", not "cast", in its CR entry.
Oh? I did not know that! My mistake. I was going based off of the reminder text I've seen on suspend cards, which use the word "cast".
I don't think wording is the issue. All of the abilities seem to be worded just fine, it's just the fact that it has so many.
Yeah. Id cut the land ability, personally. You cant suspend lands anyways, because lands arent spells. Well, I suppose you -could-, but when the last time counter is removed nothing would happen, because you dont cast lands.
The tap ability doesn't matter if you get countered or eat something like Pongify immediately after casting him.
Basically, hahaha. While changing it to a trigger might give opponents more ways to plan around him, it really takes a lot of the reactive decision making away from the player using him and forces them to be proactive about it. That might be the better way to go with the card to remain on flavor, but we'd really miss the silly Reconnaissance/Illusionist's Bracers/Rings of Brighthearth shenanigans. On the other hand, it would give him more synergy with the extra combat phase cards that red has to offer, and make them better to play over cheaper, more generalized untap effects.
1 Weathered Wayfarer
1 Reassembling Skeleton
1 Grand Abolisher
1 Dark Imposter
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Heliod, God of the Sun
1 Academy Rector
1 World Queller
1 Archon of Justice
1 Sun Titan
1 Steel Hellkite
INSTANT
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Chaos Warp
1 Return to Dust
SORCERY
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Armageddon
1 Cataclysm
1 Wrath of God
1 Day of Judgment
1 Austere Command
1 Akroma's Vengeance
1 Merciless Eviction
1 Dimensional Breach
1 Decree of Pain
1 Invincible Hymn
1 Heroes Remembered
ENCHANTMENT
1 Land Tax
1 Reconnaissance
1 Blind Obedience
1 Gift of Immortality
1 Words of Worship
1 Contamination
1 Mobilization
1 Desolation
1 Underworld Connections
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Aura of Silence
1 Painful Quandary
1 Debtor's Knell
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sol Ring
1 Skullclamp
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Boros Signet
1 Orzhov Signet
1 Rakdos Signet
1 Illusionist's Bracers
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Nim Deathmantle
1 Coalition Relic
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Sculpting Steel
1 Loxodon Warhammer
1 Rings of Brighthearth
1 Mimic Vat
1 Darksteel Plate
1 Whip of Erebos
1 Worldslayer
PLANESWALKER
1 Ajani Vengeant
1 Chandra, Pyromaster
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Liliana Vess
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
LAND
1 Command Tower
1 Arid Mesa
1 Boros Garrison
1 Boros Guildgate
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Temple of Triumph
1 Godless Shrine
1 Orzhov Basilica
1 Orzhov Guildgate
1 Temple of Silence
1 Akoum Refuge
1 Graven Cairns
1 Rakdos Carnarium
1 Rakdos Guildgate
1 Buried Ruin
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Cabal Coffers
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Homeward Path
1 Opal Palace
1 Phyrexian Tower
1 Slayers' Stronghold
1 Temple of the False God
1 Urborg,Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Encroaching Wastes
1 Strip Mine
1 Tectonic Edge
3 Plains
3 Swamp
3 Mountain
Rather than to respond to everyone individually, I'm going to address a few common points.
1. The mana cost - He is definitely aggressively costed. In order for his strategy to work, he needs to be out fairly quickly. I tried stress testing the life paying ability, constantly paying life to cast him to see how much of a difference it made. As it turned out, the sacrifice was big enough to notice and influence the outcome of each game, sending the user into low life consistently, which we're in agreement made this ability okay and on flavor for the "fanatical" or "all in" mindset of the colors. Paying 6 life just to eat an answer early game hurts. Paying 8 life to eat another is almost the game lost on its own. Just like Kaalia, you force your opponent to be quick on their feet and get answers early. But unlike Kaalia, who just comes back later at no real repercussion, if you "cheat" him out with life and don't get any use out of him, you're robbed of a valuable limited resource and behind your opponent's tempo as well. Even worse than an answer is something that makes him work for your opponent, like Gilded Drake/Phyrexian Metamorph/etc, or something that can keep him on the board but make him useless like Tamiyo, the Moon Sage, all things used against him in the games we played. Regarding the mana cost looking "ugly" or "weird", I guess that's a personal thing - 2/c split costs don't exist beside normal mana in MTG at all yet, so it's going to look foreign right out of the gate because of that. While playing, however, we enjoyed the functionality it brought, allowing him to be cast for a fair investment of mana or life, balanced how the user felt necessary at the time. The options this system gives are key in him showing up to threaten the board when he needs to be there.
2. The keywords - At first, we were really afraid of that vigilance. Being able to swing in for 4, then blow up a permanent is brutal, as is swinging in and blowing up their only blocker before they can use it, ensuring the hit. Perhaps the most terrifying is swinging in and waiting until the end of their turn to blow something up, maintaining an effective blocker as well. Once we got over the initial shock of "wow, this card we made up is strong", we were very happy with how fluidly he functioned. It just felt right. Not only that, he requires the vigilance in order to maintain his tempo with an opponent, the 4 damage he does mirroring the 4 life you pay to blow up a problem permanent. If he's unable to swing each turn, whether that's because he taps to attack or can't get in through threatening blockers (something that the first strike + deathtouch deals with without giving him protections), he wouldn't be able to do his job and things would quickly fall apart for him. Flavor wise, we thought this set of keywords fit the idea that the shard should be the undisputed "master of war", relentlessly and aggressively dominating through combat threats and key removal with a fair amount of options on how to do it.
Largely, our conclusion is that the life loss is harmful enough to the player that it justifies his otherwise excellent combat ability and board presence. Of course, we thought of multiple changes that might be cool to try out as well.
Mana cost modified:
2WWBBRR
Legendary Creature - Human Knight [Mythic Rare]
You may pay :symw::symb::symr: and 6 life rather than pay any other costs to cast ~.
First strike, deathtouch, vigilance
T, Pay 4 life: Destroy target permanent.
4/4
Mana cost and activated ability modified (we don't like this one much because it removes a lot of his ability to interact, but posting it anyway):
2WWBBRR
Legendary Creature - Human Knight [Mythic Rare]
You may pay :symw::symb::symr: and 6 life rather than pay any other costs to cast ~.
First strike, deathtouch, vigilance
Whenever ~ attacks or blocks, you may pay 4 life. If you do, destroy target permanent.
4/4
:sym2w::symw::sym2b::symb::sym2r::symr:
Legendary Creature - Human Knight [Mythic Rare]
You may pay life as though it were colorless mana to cast ~.
First strike, deathtouch, vigilance
T, Pay 4 life: Destroy target permanent.
4/4
Image form:
As long as ~ or an activated ability of ~ is on the stack, players can't cast spells or activate abilities that aren't mana abilities.
[0]: Exile target permanent. Put X loyalty counters on ~, where X is that permanent's converted mana cost.
[-3]: ~ deals damage equal to the number of loyalty counters on it to any number of target creatures and/or players. The damage can't be prevented.
[-9]: Choose a card type. Exile all permanents of the chosen type.
[7]
Something we made (and posted a few weeks ago) was this, but upon going over it, we've found it to just be way too boring to fit in with the rest of its counterparts (one was made for each 3 color combination).
Alia, the Sincere WWUUGG
Legendary Creature - Angel Sovereign
Crux — At the beginning of each end step, scry equal to the total amount of life you've gained this turn.
Flying, vigilance
Creatures you control have lifelink.
3/7
The question we pose is thus: How would you take a shot at making a funner Bant gamestyle, while retaining the proper flavor of its colors?
Legendary Creature - Giant Dragon
Flying, haste, fear
If a source you control would deal damage, you gain that much life and that source deals double that damage instead.
5/5
That would actually be more of a boon than a drawback. Paying 1 to untap multiple times in a turn... I would recommend "artifacts you control don't untap during your untap step." and "artifacts you control have 'at the beginning of your upkeep, you may pay 1. If you do, untap this.'"
Essence Boil UURR
Instant (R)
Gain control of target blue creature or spell until end of turn. If its a spell, you may reselect its targets. If its a creature, untap it. It gains haste until end of turn. Destroy it at end of turn.
Oh? I did not know that! My mistake. I was going based off of the reminder text I've seen on suspend cards, which use the word "cast".
Yeah. Id cut the land ability, personally. You cant suspend lands anyways, because lands arent spells. Well, I suppose you -could-, but when the last time counter is removed nothing would happen, because you dont cast lands.