I see your point. Although, a card that could Assemble 1 could sacrifice a 1/1 Contraption to make another 1/1 Contraption. That could be problematic if, say, an Assemble 1 card has an activation cost of 1. A Contraption equipped with any decent piece of Equipment such as a Sword, or a Jitte, becomes A LOT more difficult to ever truly get rid of. I think noncreature artifacts would work out better.
I do appreciate your suggestion though! I was trying to come up with a powerful, artifact based mechanic that wasn't just Affinity 2.0. I wanted to try to tie the idea of taking unwanted junk & turning it into something better.
Hello, MTG Salvation! I'm new here, but I have lurked the forums here & there over the past years. I have also played MTG on & off since Torment since was released.
While working today, I stumbled across an interesting idea on how to Assemble a Contraption!
First, one must ask: what is a Contraption? According to Merriam-Webster, a Contraption is a machine that appears strange or unnecessarily complicated, often times haphazardly made & unsafe. Sounds right up Steamflogger Boss' alley! Here is my proposal.
To make a Contraption, first, you must obtain some Scrap Metal artifact tokens. Since artifact tokens are now a thing thanks to Theros' Gold tokens & the upcoming Clue tokens from Shadows over Innistrad, this would be the perfect place to start. Then you Assemble them into Contraptions with the Assemble Mechanic, as proposed here with a sample card:
Back To The Industry
Enchantment
1R
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may Assemble 1.
(If you control a Scrap Metal token, you may sacrifice it to put a
1/1 colorless Contraption artifact creature token onto the battlefield)
The Assemble mechanic allows you to turn those Scrap Metal tokens into a Contraption, an artifact creature with the Contraption creature type. (I know that Contraptions are listed in the Comp. Rules as an Artifact subtype along the lines of Equipment, but that would be easy to change since no Contraptions exist yet). Cards with the Assemble Mechanic almost always have a number after the word Assemble. A card with Assemble 2 would allow you to sacrifice 2 Scrap Metal tokens into a 2/2 Contraption. And so forth. The Assemble mechanic would range anywhere from Assemble 1 to Assemble 4 in most cases. Here's an idea that could possibly fit the "Red Uber rare" in the same vein as Tarmogoyf, Dark Confidant, Snapcaster Mage & Stoneforge Mystic.
Goblin Junkmaster
Creature - Goblin Rigger
1R
2/1
Haste
When Goblin Junkmaster enters the battlefield, put 2 Scrap Metal tokens onto the battlefield under your control.
Tap: Assemble X (You may sacrifice any number of Scrap Metal tokens to put an X/X colorless Contraption artifact creature token onto the battlefield, whose power & toughness are
equal to the number of Scrap Metal tokens sacrificed).
Some more sample cards.
Slag Shot
Instant
R
Slag Shot deals 2 damage to target creature. Put a Scrap Metal artifact token onto the battlefield under your control.
One Man's Trash
Enchantment
2U
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a Scrap Metal token onto the battlefield under your control.
I do appreciate your suggestion though! I was trying to come up with a powerful, artifact based mechanic that wasn't just Affinity 2.0. I wanted to try to tie the idea of taking unwanted junk & turning it into something better.
While working today, I stumbled across an interesting idea on how to Assemble a Contraption!
First, one must ask: what is a Contraption? According to Merriam-Webster, a Contraption is a machine that appears strange or unnecessarily complicated, often times haphazardly made & unsafe. Sounds right up Steamflogger Boss' alley! Here is my proposal.
To make a Contraption, first, you must obtain some Scrap Metal artifact tokens. Since artifact tokens are now a thing thanks to Theros' Gold tokens & the upcoming Clue tokens from Shadows over Innistrad, this would be the perfect place to start. Then you Assemble them into Contraptions with the Assemble Mechanic, as proposed here with a sample card:
Back To The Industry
Enchantment
1R
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may Assemble 1.
(If you control a Scrap Metal token, you may sacrifice it to put a
1/1 colorless Contraption artifact creature token onto the battlefield)
The Assemble mechanic allows you to turn those Scrap Metal tokens into a Contraption, an artifact creature with the Contraption creature type. (I know that Contraptions are listed in the Comp. Rules as an Artifact subtype along the lines of Equipment, but that would be easy to change since no Contraptions exist yet). Cards with the Assemble Mechanic almost always have a number after the word Assemble. A card with Assemble 2 would allow you to sacrifice 2 Scrap Metal tokens into a 2/2 Contraption. And so forth. The Assemble mechanic would range anywhere from Assemble 1 to Assemble 4 in most cases. Here's an idea that could possibly fit the "Red Uber rare" in the same vein as Tarmogoyf, Dark Confidant, Snapcaster Mage & Stoneforge Mystic.
Goblin Junkmaster
Creature - Goblin Rigger
1R
2/1
Haste
When Goblin Junkmaster enters the battlefield, put 2 Scrap Metal tokens onto the battlefield under your control.
Tap: Assemble X (You may sacrifice any number of Scrap Metal tokens to put an X/X colorless Contraption artifact creature token onto the battlefield, whose power & toughness are
equal to the number of Scrap Metal tokens sacrificed).
Some more sample cards.
Slag Shot
Instant
R
Slag Shot deals 2 damage to target creature. Put a Scrap Metal artifact token onto the battlefield under your control.
One Man's Trash
Enchantment
2U
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a Scrap Metal token onto the battlefield under your control.
Let me know what you think!