Void_nothing indicated interest in brainstorming some designs for a combo-focused supplemental set with new cards and mechanics a la Battlebond, so here we are. The two directions I suggested are that the set either be a sequel to Battlebond with the combo focus layered on top of the 2HG focus, or be its own thing, perhaps with a theme of alchemy. I'm open to Battlebond 2 suggestions, but my own contributions will be geared more towards the alchemy theme.
Suggested Draft Themes:
WU Flicker UB ??? BR Sacrifice RG Mana Ramp GW +1/+1 counters WB Lifegain UR Storm BG Dredge RW Token Tempo GU Energy
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
Dude One 1R
Creature - Goblin Shaman
When ~ dies, it deals 2 damage to target player.
2/1
Dude Two 2BB
Creature - Zombie Cleric
Whenever another creature you control without a soul counter dies, return it to the battlefield with a soul counter on it.
1/1
Dude Three 2U
Artifact Creature - Construct
When ~ leaves the battlefield, draw a card.
1/1
Dude Four 1W
Creature - Human Cleric
W, T: Exile another target creature you control with converted mana cost 3 or less, then return it to the battlefield under your control.
1/3
Dude Five G
Creature - Plant
When ~ enters the battlefield, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control.
0/1
Dude Six 1R
Creature - Human Wizard
Sacrifice a creature: Add R to your mana pool.
2/1
Dude Seven 2W
Instant
Create three 1/1 Human Soldier creature tokens with lifelink. Exile them at end of turn.
Dude Eight 3B
Creature - Fungus
Whenever you gain life, create a 1/1 black Fungus creature token.
0/4
Dude Nine 2G
Enchantment
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may put the top X cards of your library into your graveyard, where X is equal to the number of creatures you control. Then you may return one land card from your graveyard to your hand.
Dude Ten 4U
Enchantment
Landfall - Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, draw a card.
(Landfall could be a fine GU theme)
Dude Eleven R
Instant
Search your library for a land card and put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle your library. At end of turn, exile it.
Storm
Dude Twelve 4WW
Sorcery
Create a 1/1 Human Soldier creature token for each land you control.
(Yes I know this entry is imbalanced, but I thought I might as well make some cards that combo with each other. They got kinda weird the further we got)
What ratio are you looking for in new/existing cards?
The semi-standard 2/3rds reprint, 1/3rd new?
Hard to say?
How far do you want to push "combo"?
Far enough that it's right there in Limited.
Should the new mechanic(s) cover a color slot/faction, or go across all factions.
If it goes across all factions, should it specifically compliment the other mechanics?
Big shrug.
Is ten 2-color pairs a sold thing, or just a brainstorm?
(Imagine: going shard/wedge, and pushing Dredge into a third color)
Two colors - if I understand Manite - is just a default since we're going for a draftable product. Shwedge is weirdly appealing, and blue dredge sounds absolutely despicable in the best way.
What exactly is a 'combo set'? It seems that this means encouraging combo decks.
This makes sense to do as a supplemental product, and I see the appeal of throwing combo players a bone in a safe way, but I am concerned about whether or not a whole set based on this would actually be fun for that many people. I suggest taking a broad approach to combo as a theme, and use plenty of flavour to fill things in. It would make things more replayable if everyone isn't just playing dedicated combo decks most of the time, and less swingy as to who gets the fastest and most reliable combos.
Two colors - if I understand Manite - is just a default since we're going for a draftable product. Shwedge is weirdly appealing, and blue dredge sounds absolutely despicable in the best way.
One does not preclude the other, though.
IE: A wedge faction, but no 3-color cards. "DredgeFaction" could be represented in G, B, U, GB, GU, UB.
IF you go with some form of partner, for instance, you could have a GU and BU partner set.
You could even cut UB out, going enemy-pair golds only, if you want to simplify further.
Shard likewise works.
RGB Shard: RG, RB, ±GB.
Trying to make 3-color cards is always the hard part of shard/wedge, so IF it goes shard/wedge, I'd recommend actually skipping them.
It keeps the draft just as easy as, say, Rav, but you can splash/explore a third color if it presents itself.
For a combo set, I might actually recommend having a cycle of 4 cards (2 commons, 2 uncommons) in each color that form a small engine (similar to the Blasting Station cycle from Mirodin or the Animation Module cycle Kaladesh). The key is to have each of those cards also work in another archetype.
For example, let's pretend that is lifegain, is theft, is sacrifice, and is self-mill/dredge. From that, we might create...
Bloodpit Feaster
Creature- Vampire Rogue (Common)
Whenever one or more creature cards are put into a graveyard from anywhere, you gain 1 life.
1/1
Death Keeper
Creature- Skeleton Giant (Uncommon)
Pay 4 life: Return target creature card with power two or less from your graveyard to the battlefield. It becomes a black zombie in addition to its other colors and types and gains haste. Sacrifice that creature at end of turn.
3/4
Tainted Gorger
Creature- Thrull Mutant (Common)
, Sacrifice Tainted Gorger: Add to your mana pool. If this mana is spent on a creature spell, sacrifice that creature at end of turn.
2/2
Voidmaker
Creature- Human Wizard (Uncommon)
: Put the top card of target player's library into his or her graveyard.
2/1
While these might be a bit over the top, I like the idea of giving each color some comborific commons and uncommons from different draft archetypes that come together to make an awesome engine.
That's a good notion; putting it into practice might be tougher but I love the idea of massive overall interconnectedness. I think the theme of mixing and matching combos is integral to the appeal.
Is this open for random people like me to toss out ideas, or is this a solid V_N-Manite project?
Some pregame questions to answer, even if it's just for you two.
What ratio are you looking for in new/existing cards?
The semi-standard 2/3rds reprint, 1/3rd new?
How far do you want to push "combo"?
Should the new mechanic(s) cover a color slot/faction, or go across all factions.
If it goes across all factions, should it specifically compliment the other mechanics?
Is ten 2-color pairs a sold thing, or just a brainstorm?
(Imagine: going shard/wedge, and pushing Dredge into a third color)
Regardless, food for thought.
Everybody's welcome to suggest material.
The usual new card count for a supplemental set like Conspiracy or Battlebond seems to be 80-85 out of 200+. So, yeah, roughly 1/3 new, 2/3 reprint seems like a good rule of thumb.
Well, it is the main theme of the set. It doesn't have to be all pieces of specific combos, but there should be an emphasis on popular combo synergies, like flickering, sacrifice, and untapping. I'm also looking at cards designed to combo with each other, like the Stations and Modules.
It really depends on what kinds of mechanics we come up with. I think we should consider at least one returning mechanic, and we can also design new cards with returning mechanics. A good rule of thumb is that at least one of the mechanics should work with creatures. Another would be that every color should get at least one of the new mechanics. I'd even be open to Time Spiral-style craziness, where every color pair gets a keyword that lends itself to combo play. Heck, we could even come up with keyword combinations that otherwise wouldn't likely happen, like Unearth + Unleash, though if we build a new world to support the theme, the new cards should probably focus on new mechanics.
I'm certainly open to mechanics appearing in more than two colors. Storm, for example, has major support in blue, black, and red. The color pair focus is mainly for drafting puposes. Note that some cards can support more than one strategy; Culling the Weak, for instance, supports both BR Sacrifice and UR Storm, while Empty the Warrens works well with both UR Storm and RW Token Tempo.
However, it is important to learn from the likes of Combo Winter and make sure to include interactivity in the set so it doesn't boil down to playing solitaire. That means there still has to be removal and other answers.
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
When talking about combo as a larger theme, it is important to distinguish between "combo" and "synergy". The first is more about emergent individual card interactions and puzzling, the second is about having a density of interactions that play into each other. When branding this as a "combo set" I'm thinking of big game-ending turns like I might see in a Vintage Cube High Tide/Yawgmoth's Will/Tendrils of Corruption deck or Sneak Attacks. Synergy decks make me think more of incremental advantage of Nantuko Husk + Threaten. It's important to keep the distinction in mind when discussing the topic, because the connotations might be different for different people and there is an overlap in that both mean "certain cards are better together than individually", but one is a deck archetype and the other is a concept you want to keep in mind for different deck archetypes. Every set seeds synergies and draft themes.
In Limited synergy often wins out over game-ending combos. Kaladesh e. g. approached the seem "you are an inventor" as pretty much a blueprint for enabling combos, but the combo decks appeared in Constructed while Limited was more about synergies (though the synergy/energy deck made its mark on the ban-list as well). Since this is a "supplemental" "not Standard-legal" set this seems like a set designed for Limited, so it's important
The "big play"/"game ending turn" variant may rely on finding individual copies of key cards, so card filtering or tutoring could be an issue to enable those big plays. I would suggest bringing in a mechanic like cycling - which can serve many purposes e. g. digging for key cards, enabling graveyard synergies and even having its own synergy/combo reward cards like Shadow of the Grave.
It's important to support a theme at common, so I'd think about what mechanics would work on commons that help here - the above mention cycling is one option.
Outside of that: I am currently a real fan of playing around with "partner with" from Battlebond that has been mentioned. The idea there is to have a pair of cards that works well together explicitly by name. And I recall someone else suggesting putting "voucher" cards into a Cube that were worth not one part of a combo, but the whole combo (since the relevant cards often wouldn't find their way together to the same player otherwise; a voucher card might e. g. read "After the draft get yourself a card each named Upheaval and Psychatog." - the idea is that you don't worry about assembling the combo during the draft, but about assembling the deck to play the combo); I don't think the concept was ever tested or at least I never read about it, but it's an issue that can be addressed in multiple ways e. g. some "draft matters" cards from Conspiracy allow you to take multiple cards from a pack (e. g. Cogwork Librarian, Agent of Acquisitions, Leovold's Operative)and that might be a desirable thing to do when trying to assemble combos. Battlebond obviously enabled these kinds of plays to the inherent mechanics of 2HG draft.
Thinking of it, artifacts and color fixing are going to be big considerations as well.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Planar Chaos was not a mistake neither was it random. You might want to look at it again.
[thread=239793][Game] Level Up - Creature[/thread]
To play into the idea of an alchemy theme, how about Gold tokens playing a larger role? One-shot mana artifact tokens seem like great enablers for combo shenanigans.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
So RNA has a lot of otherwise "normal" cards that also are great combo enablers particularly in formats outside Standard and Limited, which kind of gives me renewed hope for this project...
I like the idea of including Cycling in the set. UB previously had Cycling and discard matters as its draft theme in Amonkhet, so that can work here, too. Maybe reprint Astral Slide? That would overlap with the WU flicker theme I suggested. Transmute cards like Muddle the Mixture and Perplex also play into the "discard matters" theme.
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
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Suggested Draft Themes:
WU Flicker
UB ???
BR Sacrifice
RG Mana Ramp
GW +1/+1 counters
WB Lifegain
UR Storm
BG Dredge
RW Token Tempo
GU Energy
Blue
Black
Red
Green
Multicolor
Hybrid
Artifacts
Land
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
U/B: Artifacts? (Stax-lite?)
G/U: Activated ability "tribal"?
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Some pregame questions to answer, even if it's just for you two.
Regardless, food for thought.
No longer staff here.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Creature - Goblin Shaman
When ~ dies, it deals 2 damage to target player.
2/1
Dude Two 2BB
Creature - Zombie Cleric
Whenever another creature you control without a soul counter dies, return it to the battlefield with a soul counter on it.
1/1
Dude Three 2U
Artifact Creature - Construct
When ~ leaves the battlefield, draw a card.
1/1
Dude Four 1W
Creature - Human Cleric
W, T: Exile another target creature you control with converted mana cost 3 or less, then return it to the battlefield under your control.
1/3
Dude Five G
Creature - Plant
When ~ enters the battlefield, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control.
0/1
Dude Six 1R
Creature - Human Wizard
Sacrifice a creature: Add R to your mana pool.
2/1
Dude Seven 2W
Instant
Create three 1/1 Human Soldier creature tokens with lifelink. Exile them at end of turn.
Dude Eight 3B
Creature - Fungus
Whenever you gain life, create a 1/1 black Fungus creature token.
0/4
Dude Nine 2G
Enchantment
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may put the top X cards of your library into your graveyard, where X is equal to the number of creatures you control. Then you may return one land card from your graveyard to your hand.
Dude Ten 4U
Enchantment
Landfall - Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, draw a card.
(Landfall could be a fine GU theme)
Dude Eleven R
Instant
Search your library for a land card and put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle your library. At end of turn, exile it.
Storm
Dude Twelve 4WW
Sorcery
Create a 1/1 Human Soldier creature token for each land you control.
(Yes I know this entry is imbalanced, but I thought I might as well make some cards that combo with each other. They got kinda weird the further we got)
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
This makes sense to do as a supplemental product, and I see the appeal of throwing combo players a bone in a safe way, but I am concerned about whether or not a whole set based on this would actually be fun for that many people. I suggest taking a broad approach to combo as a theme, and use plenty of flavour to fill things in. It would make things more replayable if everyone isn't just playing dedicated combo decks most of the time, and less swingy as to who gets the fastest and most reliable combos.
RUNIN: Norse mythology set (awaiting further playtesting)
FATE of ALARA: Multicolour factions (currently on hiatus)
Contibutor to the Pyrulea community set
I'm here to tell you that all your set mechanics are bad
#Defundthepolice
IE: A wedge faction, but no 3-color cards. "DredgeFaction" could be represented in G, B, U, GB, GU, UB.
IF you go with some form of partner, for instance, you could have a GU and BU partner set.
You could even cut UB out, going enemy-pair golds only, if you want to simplify further.
Shard likewise works.
RGB Shard: RG, RB, ±GB.
Trying to make 3-color cards is always the hard part of shard/wedge, so IF it goes shard/wedge, I'd recommend actually skipping them.
It keeps the draft just as easy as, say, Rav, but you can splash/explore a third color if it presents itself.
No longer staff here.
For example, let's pretend that is lifegain, is theft, is sacrifice, and is self-mill/dredge. From that, we might create...
Bloodpit Feaster
Creature- Vampire Rogue (Common)
Whenever one or more creature cards are put into a graveyard from anywhere, you gain 1 life.
1/1
Death Keeper
Creature- Skeleton Giant (Uncommon)
Pay 4 life: Return target creature card with power two or less from your graveyard to the battlefield. It becomes a black zombie in addition to its other colors and types and gains haste. Sacrifice that creature at end of turn.
3/4
Tainted Gorger
Creature- Thrull Mutant (Common)
, Sacrifice Tainted Gorger: Add to your mana pool. If this mana is spent on a creature spell, sacrifice that creature at end of turn.
2/2
Voidmaker
Creature- Human Wizard (Uncommon)
: Put the top card of target player's library into his or her graveyard.
2/1
While these might be a bit over the top, I like the idea of giving each color some comborific commons and uncommons from different draft archetypes that come together to make an awesome engine.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Everybody's welcome to suggest material.
And like with Battlebond, I'd want to take advantage of the opportunity to reprint some high-profile, high-demand reprints without worrying about their effect on Standard. That means good stuff like Restoration Angel, Deadeye Navigator, Splinter Twin, Bear Umbra, Doubling Season, Isochron Scepter, Mana Vault, Panharmonicon, and Paradox Engine.
However, it is important to learn from the likes of Combo Winter and make sure to include interactivity in the set so it doesn't boil down to playing solitaire. That means there still has to be removal and other answers.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
Outside of that: I am currently a real fan of playing around with "partner with" from Battlebond that has been mentioned. The idea there is to have a pair of cards that works well together explicitly by name. And I recall someone else suggesting putting "voucher" cards into a Cube that were worth not one part of a combo, but the whole combo (since the relevant cards often wouldn't find their way together to the same player otherwise; a voucher card might e. g. read "After the draft get yourself a card each named Upheaval and Psychatog." - the idea is that you don't worry about assembling the combo during the draft, but about assembling the deck to play the combo); I don't think the concept was ever tested or at least I never read about it, but it's an issue that can be addressed in multiple ways e. g. some "draft matters" cards from Conspiracy allow you to take multiple cards from a pack (e. g. Cogwork Librarian, Agent of Acquisitions, Leovold's Operative)and that might be a desirable thing to do when trying to assemble combos. Battlebond obviously enabled these kinds of plays to the inherent mechanics of 2HG draft.
Thinking of it, artifacts and color fixing are going to be big considerations as well.
Finally a good white villain quote: "So, do I ever re-evaluate my life choices? Never, because I know what I'm doing is a righteous cause."
Factions: Sleeping
Remnants: Valheim
Legendary Journey: Heroes & Planeswalkers
Saga: Shards of Rabiah
Legends: The Elder Dragons
Read up on Red Flags & NWO
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
I like the idea of including Cycling in the set. UB previously had Cycling and discard matters as its draft theme in Amonkhet, so that can work here, too. Maybe reprint Astral Slide? That would overlap with the WU flicker theme I suggested. Transmute cards like Muddle the Mixture and Perplex also play into the "discard matters" theme.
Say, maybe we should list off popular combos to give us an idea of what cards to include in the set? Astral Slide, High Tide, Tendrils of Agony, Grapeshot, and Life from the Loam come to mind. Yawgmoth's Will is reserved, so Magus of the Will would have to stand in.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.