Curse of Salt4W
Enchantment — Aura Curse (R)
Enchant player
Whenever enchanted player attacks with one or more creatures, that player exiles an attacking creature they control until Curse of Salt leaves the battlefield.
IIW: A card that Johnny would love but Spike would hate.
Sephon19 — Master of Spores: I see where this is going and I like it - doubling things is a perennial crowd favorite. However, I think it would be more interesting if it keyed off Master of Spore's power instead of the total number of +1/+1 counters you've managed to hoard (with appropriate adjustments). It would not be as powerful, but I think it would create some interesting tension. In either case, this is probably mythic due to sheer potential.
Cardz5000 — Adaptive Hydra: This is a wonderful concept, but I wish it were executed a little more intentionally. Only two of the modes are stacking, and having four of them looks butts on a card and unbalances an otherwise pleasing three motif. I enjoy the tension between adding counters now and getting more effects later, but the card does not exploit it as much as it could have.
void_nothing — Deranging Symbol: Does frenzy appearing in Unstable indicate a renewed interest in exploring the mechanic, or is that cancelled out by the fact it appears solely on Garbage Elemental? I feel like the resources-to-counters conversion ratio is a little shallow, and meddling so directly in combat math probably earns it a sorcery-only clause. The flavor text is exactly the kind of meaningless worldbuilding mumbo jumbo that I love, so props to that.
Megatroid_Jones — Recalcitrant Magnoliid: Undying/persist + counter manipulating keyword is a little trite for my tastes. The addition of a valueless graft is intriguing but here comes off as contrived.
Subject16 — Plague Converter: Mixing counters is a cardinal sin and this design pivots around it. The card itself is very convoluted, but on its own offers an awful rate of exchange. I'd try to simplify and focus the design, really put its power points where they're going to count. Modular is one of my favorite mechanics though, so you win points there.
Spelldreamer — Psychic Eviscerator: Ah, the old +1/+1 counter switcheroo. This suffers from being a feast-or-famine hate card. Against decks without a counter theme, this is just an overcosted frog. Against counter dependent decks, this could single-handedly push them out of the game. While hate cards are an important part of the game, I think there are more nuanced ways to achieve similar goals.
Winner: Sephon9 wins with Master of Spores.
Next:Blasphemy Abrahamic fantasy - choose any element in the Torah, Bible or Quran and make it into a Magic card. Don't use characters' and places' actual names, do it like Theros' treatment of Greek mythology.
Metamorph Master3(G/U)
Creature — Shapeshifter (R) 1(G/U): You may reveal a creature card from your hand. If you do, Metamorph Master becomes a copy of that card, except it has this ability. "You can be anything you want to be, just turn yourself into anything you think you could ever be"
2/2
Ringmaster's Command3BR
Sorcery (R)
Choose two —
• Untap target creature and gain control of it until end of turn. It gains haste until end of turn.
• Create two 2/1 red Devil creature tokens with haste. Sacrifice those tokens at the beginning of the next end step.
• Creatures you control get +1/+0 and gain menace until end of turn.
• Each player sacrifices a creature.
In the spirit of the challenge, your critiques have been exchanged with another player's. Bigly fun!
jk you all get your own
JaceTheThighMaster: One tree is groundbreaking. Two trees are a callback. Three trees and up gets into forest territory and suddenly all the trees are starting to look the same and I've lost all sense of direction. Does mold creep on the north side of a treefolk, or the south? I should've paid attention in Goblin Guides. Oh no, oh god, send help. Trees are très passé, man. The cool kids are doing avatars now. Life = mana is a fun equation, but one I wish was on a more exciting card. You dip your roots in a life=mana=power conversion chain and I'd like to see a refinement of that thought.
Cardz4999: Let me tell you a story. Many years ago, my mother and I went to visit my dying grandmother at the hospital. I barely knew her and yet the sight of her pallid, sunken features frightened me in a way I could not grasp at the time. I was very young and I could not comprehend death. I remember her calling me closer one shy shuffle at a time, so close that I could feel the rattling breeze blowing through the emphysemic windchimes she passed off as lungs. She craned over to me. "Legendary nonpermanents are trash" she hissed before slumping back in a fit of hacking coughs. We had to leave then. I've always wondered what she meant, and I'm glad now I know. The effect itself is lovely.
Flatline: Path is neat. I can't help but feel this wants to be a multiplayer card - giving everyone at a table the chance to trade in a measly land for target player's good china sounds fun as heck. Whispering Weird is also pretty nice but I feel "can't be blocked" is a little much and "must attack each turn if able" is too funny to leave off.
Subject16: I've revised my judgment twice already because I cannot decide what you intended this card to do. Turn Zugzwang is cast > My turn except my opponent controls me > Opponent's turn except I control him? In either case, trading control forces you to solve the puzzle of engineering a board/hand state that can't be used against you and I enjoy that.
Mergatrosmosis_Jones: This ... isn't actually very good outside of landfall shenanigans, and I like landfall as much as the next guy but c'mon. On its own, it just means you have no mana every second turn. I feel that this ability is more exciting as a once-off effect. The tension of managing your lands-in-play vs lands-in-hand seems fruitful.
void_with_nothing: Are we able to switch loyalty like that? Maybe. This card feels obtuse and very narrow, but not in a way that excites me as a designer or as a player.
Treeboy: U N L I M I T E D P O W E R (Thirteen is just silly.)
KarmaDeen: I really like this but it can just be 4UUBB or something normal.
sleep and spell: This seems fun, but isn't it basically "activate target planeswalker's ultimate but also maybe lose to lightning bolt"? I'm very tired right now but the card is probably okay.
Bewildered OupheG
Creature — Ouphe (U) 1G, T, Sacrifice Bewildered Ouphe: Counter target instant spell. Considered critically endangered, the ouphe’s love of bright lights and crackling mana does its survival no favors.
1/2
Moonglove Scavenger(B/G)
Creature — Elf Assassin (U)
At the beginning of combat on your turn, you may exile a card from your graveyard. If you do, Moonglove Scavenger gets +1/+1 and gains deathtouch until end of turn.
1/2
IIW: Black will do anything to win, even if it means ________________
Undaru, the Heartsinger3RG
Legendary Creature - Giant Shaman (R)
The first spell you cast each turn costs X less to cast, where X is Undaru, the Heartsinger’s power. 3RG: Put a +1/+1 counter on Undaru.
Partner (You can have two commanders if both have partner.)
3/3
Cardz: I like what this card is doing - the tension between stockpiling dorks / cashing them in is pretty enjoyable. That said, I almost wish you would have doubled down harder and let the payoff more directly scale with the number of creatures you accumulate ("C, Sacrifice another Goblin: Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control"?) Besides that, at higher numbers it provides insane inevitability for practically free and I don't know if that's necessarily fun. I'd consider adding a hoop to jump through with a token as a reward. All in all, an enjoyable card. Three and a half stars.
voidy_pie: This has a lot going on, yet the abilities don't feel cohesive or impactful. I wish it had a mechanical hook to tie them together. Better yet, I wish it did one thing well instead of two things not so well. I also don't think such a durdly stall card fits the lore or what seems to be the intention of the card - if she's supposed to be the best blocker ever, why not reward blocking, or combat more generally? (rather than punishing your opponent for attacking, which they will probably just not do). I don't like this very much. Two stars.
I'm not sure how fast this thread usually is but since there's only one entry and victory by default is no fun I'll hold off on judging until tomorrow. If this is a bad challenge you can do this one instead:
Hey Void, I wanna ride your next Battle Segway okay thanks.
Soraya, Royal Falconer2WW
Legendary Creature — Human Scout (R)
When Soraya, Royal Falconer enters the battlefield, create two 1/1 white Bird creature tokens with flying.
Whenever a Bird you control deals combat damage to a player, you may untap target creature you control.
2/2
Spineback Manticore3RR
Creature — Manticore (M)
First strike, trample, haste
Whenever Spineback Manticore becomes the target of a spell, Spineback Manticore deals 3 damage to that spell’s controller. The best defense is a good offense, and the best offense is a gratuitous amount of spines.
5/3
Rage of Demons2BB
Enchantment - Aura (M)
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature gains trample and rumble X, where X is the number of Swamps you control.
Creatures must block enchanted creature if able.
Enchantment — Aura Curse (R)
Enchant player
Whenever enchanted player attacks with one or more creatures, that player exiles an attacking creature they control until Curse of Salt leaves the battlefield.
IIW: A card that Johnny would love but Spike would hate.
Cardz5000 — Adaptive Hydra: This is a wonderful concept, but I wish it were executed a little more intentionally. Only two of the modes are stacking, and having four of them looks butts on a card and unbalances an otherwise pleasing three motif. I enjoy the tension between adding counters now and getting more effects later, but the card does not exploit it as much as it could have.
void_nothing — Deranging Symbol: Does frenzy appearing in Unstable indicate a renewed interest in exploring the mechanic, or is that cancelled out by the fact it appears solely on Garbage Elemental? I feel like the resources-to-counters conversion ratio is a little shallow, and meddling so directly in combat math probably earns it a sorcery-only clause. The flavor text is exactly the kind of meaningless worldbuilding mumbo jumbo that I love, so props to that.
Megatroid_Jones — Recalcitrant Magnoliid: Undying/persist + counter manipulating keyword is a little trite for my tastes. The addition of a valueless graft is intriguing but here comes off as contrived.
Subject16 — Plague Converter: Mixing counters is a cardinal sin and this design pivots around it. The card itself is very convoluted, but on its own offers an awful rate of exchange. I'd try to simplify and focus the design, really put its power points where they're going to count. Modular is one of my favorite mechanics though, so you win points there.
Spelldreamer — Psychic Eviscerator: Ah, the old +1/+1 counter switcheroo. This suffers from being a feast-or-famine hate card. Against decks without a counter theme, this is just an overcosted frog. Against counter dependent decks, this could single-handedly push them out of the game. While hate cards are an important part of the game, I think there are more nuanced ways to achieve similar goals.
Next:
BlasphemyAbrahamic fantasy - choose any element in the Torah, Bible or Quran and make it into a Magic card. Don't use characters' and places' actual names, do it like Theros' treatment of Greek mythology.Creature — Human Warrior (R)
Trample
Creatures can’t be equipped or enchanted.
“Take off your pants and fight like a warrior!”
4/3
IIW: Fun with +1/+1 counters.
Creature — Shapeshifter (R)
1(G/U): You may reveal a creature card from your hand. If you do, Metamorph Master becomes a copy of that card, except it has this ability.
"You can be anything you want to be, just turn yourself into anything you think you could ever be"
2/2
IIW: Finish him!
Sorcery (R)
Choose two —
• Untap target creature and gain control of it until end of turn. It gains haste until end of turn.
• Create two 2/1 red Devil creature tokens with haste. Sacrifice those tokens at the beginning of the next end step.
• Creatures you control get +1/+0 and gain menace until end of turn.
• Each player sacrifices a creature.
IIW: Cards for your first deck.
jk you all get your own
JaceTheThighMaster: One tree is groundbreaking. Two trees are a callback. Three trees and up gets into forest territory and suddenly all the trees are starting to look the same and I've lost all sense of direction. Does mold creep on the north side of a treefolk, or the south? I should've paid attention in Goblin Guides. Oh no, oh god, send help. Trees are très passé, man. The cool kids are doing avatars now. Life = mana is a fun equation, but one I wish was on a more exciting card. You dip your roots in a life=mana=power conversion chain and I'd like to see a refinement of that thought.
Cardz4999: Let me tell you a story. Many years ago, my mother and I went to visit my dying grandmother at the hospital. I barely knew her and yet the sight of her pallid, sunken features frightened me in a way I could not grasp at the time. I was very young and I could not comprehend death. I remember her calling me closer one shy shuffle at a time, so close that I could feel the rattling breeze blowing through the emphysemic windchimes she passed off as lungs. She craned over to me. "Legendary nonpermanents are trash" she hissed before slumping back in a fit of hacking coughs. We had to leave then. I've always wondered what she meant, and I'm glad now I know. The effect itself is lovely.
Flatline: Path is neat. I can't help but feel this wants to be a multiplayer card - giving everyone at a table the chance to trade in a measly land for target player's good china sounds fun as heck. Whispering Weird is also pretty nice but I feel "can't be blocked" is a little much and "must attack each turn if able" is too funny to leave off.
Subject16: I've revised my judgment twice already because I cannot decide what you intended this card to do. Turn Zugzwang is cast > My turn except my opponent controls me > Opponent's turn except I control him? In either case, trading control forces you to solve the puzzle of engineering a board/hand state that can't be used against you and I enjoy that.
Mergatrosmosis_Jones: This ... isn't actually very good outside of landfall shenanigans, and I like landfall as much as the next guy but c'mon. On its own, it just means you have no mana every second turn. I feel that this ability is more exciting as a once-off effect. The tension of managing your lands-in-play vs lands-in-hand seems fruitful.
void_with_nothing: Are we able to switch loyalty like that? Maybe. This card feels obtuse and very narrow, but not in a way that excites me as a designer or as a player.
Treeboy: U N L I M I T E D P O W E R (Thirteen is just silly.)
KarmaDeen: I really like this but it can just be 4UUBB or something normal.
sleep and spell: This seems fun, but isn't it basically "activate target planeswalker's ultimate but also maybe lose to lightning bolt"? I'm very tired right now but the card is probably okay.
Winner: I think I like Cardz500000s the most
Next: Guild Commands
Creature — Ouphe (U)
1G, T, Sacrifice Bewildered Ouphe: Counter target instant spell.
Considered critically endangered, the ouphe’s love of bright lights and crackling mana does its survival no favors.
1/2
IIW: Exchange.
Creature — Elf Assassin (U)
At the beginning of combat on your turn, you may exile a card from your graveyard. If you do, Moonglove Scavenger gets +1/+1 and gains deathtouch until end of turn.
1/2
IIW: Black will do anything to win, even if it means ________________
Legendary Creature - Giant Shaman (R)
The first spell you cast each turn costs X less to cast, where X is Undaru, the Heartsinger’s power.
3RG: Put a +1/+1 counter on Undaru.
Partner (You can have two commanders if both have partner.)
3/3
IIW: CCDD
voidy_pie: This has a lot going on, yet the abilities don't feel cohesive or impactful. I wish it had a mechanical hook to tie them together. Better yet, I wish it did one thing well instead of two things not so well. I also don't think such a durdly stall card fits the lore or what seems to be the intention of the card - if she's supposed to be the best blocker ever, why not reward blocking, or combat more generally? (rather than punishing your opponent for attacking, which they will probably just not do). I don't like this very much. Two stars.
Winner Winner Chicken ... Dinner: Cardz5000!
Do this one next please: Palindromic Card Names
IIW: Tri-color legends.
Soraya, Royal Falconer 2WW
Legendary Creature — Human Scout (R)
When Soraya, Royal Falconer enters the battlefield, create two 1/1 white Bird creature tokens with flying.
Whenever a Bird you control deals combat damage to a player, you may untap target creature you control.
2/2
IIW: Inspired by history.
Creature — Demon (R)
Menace
You can’t untap more than two lands during your untap step.
5/4
IIW: Big creatures, unusual types.
Spineback Manticore 3RR
Creature — Manticore (M)
First strike, trample, haste
Whenever Spineback Manticore becomes the target of a spell, Spineback Manticore deals 3 damage to that spell’s controller.
The best defense is a good offense, and the best offense is a gratuitous amount of spines.
5/3
IIW: Filthy powerful