Having a rather peculiar image stuck in my head that I intend to sketch out/commission eventually, I thought I'd build a card around it.
Patches the VerminomancerGUB
Legendary Creature — Badger Wizard
Deathtouch B, Discard a card: Target player puts the top three cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard. G: Exile target creature card from a graveyard. Put a 1/1 black and green Squirrel Zombie creature token with deathtouch into play. U, Sacrifice a token creature: Draw a card.
2/2
Yes, it's a badger wizard. I wanted him to have color-appropriate abilities that were useful on their own and fed into each other a la Trading Post. I really like the flavor here but think he might be a little too versatile for the cost.
I'm also disappointed in the lack of lizard wizards. So here's one.
Scriffles the Dunestalker2URG
Legendary Creature — Lizard Wizard
Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to a player, you may draw a card. T, Discard a card: Choose flying, trample or haste. Creatures you control gain the chosen ability until end of turn.
2/4
Uhhhh reread the card....the cards cast are exiled. So in order to get them in your graveyard, you do have to refrain from casting...
The cards are exiled first, then cast, putting them on the stack. They then go to the graveyard as they resolve (unless they say otherwise). If they aren't cast, they get put into the graveyard by EE's last clause.
Good points all around. Entry fees are entirely up to the LGS owners; the TOs are compensated with product and that's fine with us, and the store offers additional door prizes and such frequently. As for following WotC policy, the owners are good people who run events for a number of different games, and we all work together to make sure we're up to date. Wizards support has been generally good but at times contentious. I'm fairly new at organizing myself so I have a lot of policy to catch up on.
Capping the rounds is an appealing idea, especially considering the logistics of our LGS capacity. Squeezing in three events per day is going to be enough of a challenge without running more than one concurrently. We have many regulars with different work schedules and we want to accommodate as many as we can. Keeping events brief also makes it easier for folks to play in successive sessions.
Resurrecting this thread as my store owner consulted with WotC today and there is definitely no drafting to be done at prereleases anymore in any capacity. Not even an 8-man draft playoff using packs from the prize pool. We tend to get 30-40 players each day for the main event, and filling out the other events we get at $30 a pop is a huge challenge. I'm sure there are stores out there that run drafts anyway, but for us it's not worth the risk of getting caught.
Not to mention the fact that we've been screwed over in the last couple releases for running league launch over FNM on release days, meaning we haven't gotten the release promo cards for those sets. We have modest league participation, but anyone who wants to draft has to wait until a week after the set launches.
Anyway, I've carefully considering how to distribute the prize pool for the RTR PR. It's a big set and it should feel like a big event. Let's say we have 40 players on one day - that's 80 packs in the pool. If I were going to cut straight to the top 8, I'd distribute something like 22-12-9-9-7-7-7-7. 5th-8th splits 1/3rd of the total pool, 3rd-4th split 1/3rd of what's left, 2nd gets 1/3rd of what's left, and 1st gets the rest.
Cutting to the top 8 isn't appealing for a PR; it's a casual event and we don't want people ID'ing just to finish in the prize range. Paying by record sounds like a better idea, but then I have to rethink the math, because of course you won't know how many 5-1s and 4-2s there will be until the event ends. But I can use the same overall principle as above. For example, after 6 rounds there's 1 player with 18 points, 2 players with 15-17 points, and 5 players with 12-14 points. Using the same 2:1 splits as above, the 4-2 players would get 5 packs each, the 5-1 players would get 9 packs each, and the lone undefeated player would get 36 packs - a whole box!
It still doesn't look quite right though. There's a huge gap between 1st tier and 2nd tier payouts. And if there's even one more player who finishes at 5-1, then their payout goes down from 9 packs each to 6. I want to smooth the curve out more, so instead of a 2:1 split between tiers I go with 3:2. That gives 1st place 29 packs, the 5-1 players 10 packs each, and the 4-2 players 6 packs each. That seems like a much better incentive to get to those 4 wins.
*Also note that paying out this way treats a draw with the same value as a loss as far as getting prizes. There's a slight potential for abuse there, but I expect for the most part it gives both players a reason to play in a timely fashion.
My main focus is on developing a good payout scheme and communicating it to the players so no one leaves disappointed. There's no one right way to do it, but this thread is evidence that there are a lot of wrong ways.
Here are some old customs that I've had fits making the rules work for.
Jewel-Encrusted Egg2
Artifact
~ enters the battlefield with one counter of each color.
Whenever you cast a spell, you may remove a counter from ~ that shares a color with that spell. If there are no more of these counters on ~, sacrifice it. If you do, put a 5/5 colorless Bird artifact creature token with flying and protection from all colors onto the battlefield.
The first problem, obviously, is that counters don't have colors per se, so there would have to be rules added for counters specifically named "white", "blue", "black", etc. Then there's the problem of having each spell trigger multiple Eggs on the board - making the Egg legendary seems like overkill. An alternative to the counters is Imprint, giving the option to exile spells as they resolve, but then they could only count instants or sorceries, making the whole spell not very good. I still like the flavor of the card, but it needs some rules gymnastics to work.
Jyatric Tome3
Legendary Artifact
Whenever a player draws a card, each other player draws a card. Cards drawn this way don't trigger ~. Knowledge speaks. Wisdom listens.
This one went through countless revisions until I just made it legendary and not trigger off itself. And just for fun...
Poison Dart Frog1GB
Creature - Frog
2/2
~ can't be blocked except by creatures with flying or reach.
Whenever a creature dealt damage by ~ this turn dies, put a +1/+1 counter on ~. T: ~ fights target creature with flying.
Kinda wordy for a simple creature, but still...Sengir Frog.
Well I finished this before I read the bit about coloring in the white edges with a marker and I want to kick myself. This is the first card that I've been willing to show so far; just started this a few days ago.
All those claws and needles. x.x I'll get good at this eventually.
UB I believe is the most adaptable deck in Standard right now, as evidenced by its high performance throughout most of the season so far. While WRR is still strong and versatile in any incarnation, it suffers from needing to commit a large portion of the deck to its ramp strategy, which necessarily cuts room for removal options.
UW Blade generally refers to a couple archetypes that are more methodical than UW humans which is basically a weenie rush with Mana Leaks. Swords are problematic in the latter since they're expensive to play and equip relative to their creature base; many run Angelic Destiny instead.
Most UW Blade decks will be either the draw-go type that counters and removes threats until it can get a blade on an inkmoth or spirit token or an otherwise large creature, or a more midrange strategy with 16-18 offensive threats (including Snapcaster), sacrificing raw card advantage while keeping a modest array of counters, removal and bounce. I personally prefer the midrange version as UB does the lockdown thing a lot better than UW at the moment, largely because of their selection of instant creature removal.
Sun Titan works very well in the creature-heavy version; Consecrated Sphinx is good in general. Right now I'm trying out two of each main.
To clarify, the OP implied that there was some kind of choice between Ratchet and Curse when in fact running some of both is probably the best way to go about it.
i hate to point out the obvious, but some peoples decks will benefit greatly from sun titan, and others sphinx. In many lists, one, the other, or both will be at the very least in the side board.
Undoubtedly. I guess my problem is the more aggressive list that runs a lot of 3 drops, 4-5 counters and 26+ lands, and yet no 6-drops. You could easily add Wurmcoil, Frost Titan, Elesh, WSZ, USZ etc. into the mix.
Patches the Verminomancer GUB
Legendary Creature — Badger Wizard
Deathtouch
B, Discard a card: Target player puts the top three cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard.
G: Exile target creature card from a graveyard. Put a 1/1 black and green Squirrel Zombie creature token with deathtouch into play.
U, Sacrifice a token creature: Draw a card.
2/2
Yes, it's a badger wizard. I wanted him to have color-appropriate abilities that were useful on their own and fed into each other a la Trading Post. I really like the flavor here but think he might be a little too versatile for the cost.
I'm also disappointed in the lack of lizard wizards. So here's one.
Scriffles the Dunestalker 2URG
Legendary Creature — Lizard Wizard
Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to a player, you may draw a card.
T, Discard a card: Choose flying, trample or haste. Creatures you control gain the chosen ability until end of turn.
2/4
The cards are exiled first, then cast, putting them on the stack. They then go to the graveyard as they resolve (unless they say otherwise). If they aren't cast, they get put into the graveyard by EE's last clause.
Good points all around. Entry fees are entirely up to the LGS owners; the TOs are compensated with product and that's fine with us, and the store offers additional door prizes and such frequently. As for following WotC policy, the owners are good people who run events for a number of different games, and we all work together to make sure we're up to date. Wizards support has been generally good but at times contentious. I'm fairly new at organizing myself so I have a lot of policy to catch up on.
Capping the rounds is an appealing idea, especially considering the logistics of our LGS capacity. Squeezing in three events per day is going to be enough of a challenge without running more than one concurrently. We have many regulars with different work schedules and we want to accommodate as many as we can. Keeping events brief also makes it easier for folks to play in successive sessions.
Not to mention the fact that we've been screwed over in the last couple releases for running league launch over FNM on release days, meaning we haven't gotten the release promo cards for those sets. We have modest league participation, but anyone who wants to draft has to wait until a week after the set launches.
Anyway, I've carefully considering how to distribute the prize pool for the RTR PR. It's a big set and it should feel like a big event. Let's say we have 40 players on one day - that's 80 packs in the pool. If I were going to cut straight to the top 8, I'd distribute something like 22-12-9-9-7-7-7-7. 5th-8th splits 1/3rd of the total pool, 3rd-4th split 1/3rd of what's left, 2nd gets 1/3rd of what's left, and 1st gets the rest.
Cutting to the top 8 isn't appealing for a PR; it's a casual event and we don't want people ID'ing just to finish in the prize range. Paying by record sounds like a better idea, but then I have to rethink the math, because of course you won't know how many 5-1s and 4-2s there will be until the event ends. But I can use the same overall principle as above. For example, after 6 rounds there's 1 player with 18 points, 2 players with 15-17 points, and 5 players with 12-14 points. Using the same 2:1 splits as above, the 4-2 players would get 5 packs each, the 5-1 players would get 9 packs each, and the lone undefeated player would get 36 packs - a whole box!
It still doesn't look quite right though. There's a huge gap between 1st tier and 2nd tier payouts. And if there's even one more player who finishes at 5-1, then their payout goes down from 9 packs each to 6. I want to smooth the curve out more, so instead of a 2:1 split between tiers I go with 3:2. That gives 1st place 29 packs, the 5-1 players 10 packs each, and the 4-2 players 6 packs each. That seems like a much better incentive to get to those 4 wins.
*Also note that paying out this way treats a draw with the same value as a loss as far as getting prizes. There's a slight potential for abuse there, but I expect for the most part it gives both players a reason to play in a timely fashion.
My main focus is on developing a good payout scheme and communicating it to the players so no one leaves disappointed. There's no one right way to do it, but this thread is evidence that there are a lot of wrong ways.
Jewel-Encrusted Egg 2
Artifact
~ enters the battlefield with one counter of each color.
Whenever you cast a spell, you may remove a counter from ~ that shares a color with that spell. If there are no more of these counters on ~, sacrifice it. If you do, put a 5/5 colorless Bird artifact creature token with flying and protection from all colors onto the battlefield.
The first problem, obviously, is that counters don't have colors per se, so there would have to be rules added for counters specifically named "white", "blue", "black", etc. Then there's the problem of having each spell trigger multiple Eggs on the board - making the Egg legendary seems like overkill. An alternative to the counters is Imprint, giving the option to exile spells as they resolve, but then they could only count instants or sorceries, making the whole spell not very good. I still like the flavor of the card, but it needs some rules gymnastics to work.
Jyatric Tome 3
Legendary Artifact
Whenever a player draws a card, each other player draws a card. Cards drawn this way don't trigger ~.
Knowledge speaks. Wisdom listens.
This one went through countless revisions until I just made it legendary and not trigger off itself. And just for fun...
Poison Dart Frog 1GB
Creature - Frog
2/2
~ can't be blocked except by creatures with flying or reach.
Whenever a creature dealt damage by ~ this turn dies, put a +1/+1 counter on ~.
T: ~ fights target creature with flying.
Kinda wordy for a simple creature, but still...Sengir Frog.
All those claws and needles. x.x I'll get good at this eventually.
I played the RUG Mayor/Delver version last night which really isn't the best list (but fun), and one card that wrecked me in UB was Bloodline Keeper.
On top of O-Ring shenanigans, it effectively counters targeted removal against your creatures. It's also very useful against Angelic Destiny.
Most UW Blade decks will be either the draw-go type that counters and removes threats until it can get a blade on an inkmoth or spirit token or an otherwise large creature, or a more midrange strategy with 16-18 offensive threats (including Snapcaster), sacrificing raw card advantage while keeping a modest array of counters, removal and bounce. I personally prefer the midrange version as UB does the lockdown thing a lot better than UW at the moment, largely because of their selection of instant creature removal.
Sun Titan works very well in the creature-heavy version; Consecrated Sphinx is good in general. Right now I'm trying out two of each main.
Undoubtedly. I guess my problem is the more aggressive list that runs a lot of 3 drops, 4-5 counters and 26+ lands, and yet no 6-drops. You could easily add Wurmcoil, Frost Titan, Elesh, WSZ, USZ etc. into the mix.
No, but it's less good against an army of 2/2s who have already been beating on you while you were waiting for 3BB.