I read your series today and I really liked them. Your opinions are well supported, and your analysis covers each keyword from many different aspects in a broad view.
I have one correction to make though. Suspend wasn't the first ability to use the exile zone in a way that no other card could, imprint in Mirrodin block did it first (albeit in an unexciting and not very memorable way). This mechanic still has quite a lot of untapped design space.
I don't have an idea what the first keyword would be. Trample is one of the most beloved mechanics of all time, that plays well and has history. However, it's not very innovative - many attacking/blocking mechanic have been made alongside it from the very beginning, and it's not as resonant as flying.
OTOH I definitely know what will make the worst ten keywords of all time: Shroud!
Darksteel Market
Land - Market (R)
Markets are indestructible.
Miner's Market
Land - Market (R)
Sacrifice three untapped markets you control: Destroy target land.
Coastal Market
Land - Market (R)
Tap three untapped markets you control: Tap target land.
Frontier's Market
Land - Market (C)
:symtap:: You may put a market card from your hand into play.
Pitch Market
Land - Market (U)
:symtap:, pay 1 life, sacrifice ~: Search your library for a market card and put it into play. Then shuffle your library.
Market of Brass
Land - Market (R)
:symtap:: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.
Whenever another market you control becomes tapped, ~ deals 1 damage to you.
My draft started with a first pick Mahamoti Djinn, followed by a wrong choice of mine picking Leonin Scimitar over Unsummon. It wasn't a terrible choice though, as I had no other one drops, and a whole lot of evasion. At the third pick I grabbed Juggernaut. At the fourth pick I realised I didn't give any signal yet to improve my following packs, so I started cutting blue pretty harshly. I ended up with a lot of playables to accompany my Djinn.
I hoped to open some bomb or removal in pack two so I can start signaling on a second color. I opened a Chimeric staff. Then blue was flowing. Remove Soul was showing up in multiples, as well as as a few fliers. The point when I felt rally good about my deck was the fifth pick Air Elemental!
At the begging of my third pack I knew my deck was mostly blue if not mono blue, and I didn't pick any fixers or card worth splashing for. I opened another Air elemental at P3P1. The player to my right opened Blaze and passed me the second best card I could hope for: Mr. Card Advantage. The rest of the pack wasn't too special. At some point blue totally dried up but I had enough playables for a deck so I took the strongest cards in each pack (or rare drafted when possible).
The final build:
17 Island
Creatures
1 Sage Owl
1 Lumengrid Warden
2 Rootwater Commando
1 Aven Fisher
1 Snapping Drake
1 Juggernaut
1 Aven Windreader
1 Mantis Engine
2 Air Elemental
1 Mahamoti Djinn
1 Arcanis the Omnipotent
1 Leonin Scimitar
4 Remove Soul
1 Boomerang
2 Counsel of the Soratami
1 Dehydration
1 Chimeric Staff
1 Sea Monster
2 Horseshoe Crab
1 Reminisce
1 Sky Weaver
1 Sunken Hope
1 Recollect
2 Grizzly Bears
1 Yavimaya Enchantress
1 Canopy Spider
1 Head Games
1 Phyrexian Rager
1 Fear
1 Heart of Light
1 Dragon's Claw
1 Shatterstorm
1 Fists of Anvil
1 Goblin Elite Infantry
1 Venerable Monk
Every game I played arcanis I won. He must be killed before I can tap (and untapping my lands) him or the chances of winning are going down drastically. I played him enough times to make a few observations:
a) Play him as the last card in your hand, so you won't discard too early. With an active arcanis you start to discard surprisingly fast. Also, the chances of him getting removed are lower (usually the terror would go on the air elemental or djinn if you play them first).
b) Always activate arcanis at the end of your opponent's turn, from the fear of Assassinate and Dehydration.
c) Everyone seems to forget his ability to bounce himself. He is a good attacker once your hand is full or your deck is thin. Usually the opponent will lose a creature every attack with him.
I played against three different blue decks and saw another deck which had heavy blue too, with four cancels (but 4 remove souls are stronger), which makes me wonder how many tidings were in the booster with the air elemental.
I went 4-0 with that deck. The problem is, usually when I get a bomb heavy deck (although I never got that amount of bombs) I actually lose. I'm not sure what makes this deck so successful (I'm not a good player. I can count the drafts I won on one hand. I'm only playing IRL. Winning a draft is a rare occasion for me). Any ideas?
Creature - Faerie Rogue
Flying, Flanking
1/2
People did complain. They complained because it sucks.
I don't think that breaking a rule just to make crap cards is worth the effort. Generally, justifying a card by that it is unplayable is not a valid arguement. If it can't be done correctly it shouldn't be done.
No. Using the set theory "Enchantment destruction" is not a member of the group {Red} and is also not the member of the group {black} therefore it is not a member of the group {Red}U{Black}.
Black and white has artifact, enchantment, creature and land removal so it can have destroy target permanent. Black and red lack enchantment removal so they can never get it.
Sorcery
For each land you control, destroy target land. Then, for each land destroyed that way...
1) ~ deals 3 damage to you.
2) Sacrifice a permanent.
3) You get a poison counter.
Legendary Creature - Goblin Berserker
Flying
:symr:: Put a bomb counter on target permanent.
:symr::symr:: Target creature gets +3/+3 until end of turn. Put a bomb counter on it.
It has to be an instant, or the fog part won't work. I'll up it's mana cost by 1 for now.
I think it is nice that each color has it's own regular schools, however each color has few schools, and most schools spread between several colors. It is more comparable to tribal.
White - Abjuration, Conjuration (lifegain)
Blue - Divination, Abjuration, Illusion,
Black - Necromancy, Conjuration
Red - Evocation, Charm
Green - Conjuration
All - Transmutation
Calciderm will make it first.
Btw, there are eight schools of magic in D&D: Abjuration, Conjuration, Transmutation, Evocation, Illusion, Enchantment, Necromancy and Divination. There are six psionic subschools, which are: Telepathy, Clairsentience, Metacreativity, Psychokinesis, psychometabolism and Psychoportation.
Read Hodoku's post. It's crap rare already.
I really think scorched rusalka outclasses the magus (I read it somewhere, I don't play aggro) and compared him to her. She does two things better. First you are guaranteed to deal the damage. Second, she sacrifices a creature, which denies life to your opponent from removals (Faith Fetters, Tendrils of Corruption, Lightning Helix).
The number should be lower, I would go with two or three, where it can actually achieved and be useful.
However, as this isn't the case, grudge is a fine name. Anyone has more suggestions?
If you bother to comment, at least support your opinion. Just say that it is too powerful doesn't help. Why is it too powerful? I can't fix it if I don't know what the problem is.
Well, about the card, I think he's efficient for aggro, but compared to mogg fanatic, you usually need to spend :symr::symr::symr: to deal the equal amount of damage, and after that a shock will cost you an average of :symr::symr::symr::symr:, and at least :symr::symr:. The aggro deck won't have enough mana to really abuse it.
I keep writing them for those who are interested (if any) and to deliver the card's flavor in a short number of words. They disturb you reading the cards?
It's a combination of pyroclasm and Choking Tethers, so it should probably cost 1 more, but defiently not so much. The vast majority of time, it is a 1-for-2 and fog.
Enchantment - Divination (C)
At the beginning of your upkeep, return ~ to its owner's hand. If you do, draw two cards, then discard a card.
Admonishing Pontiff :2mana::symw::symw:
Creature - Elephant Cleric (R)
Vigilance
Whenever ~ attacks, untap all creatures defending player controls.
5/5
Burning Sway :1mana::symr::symu:
Instant - Evocation (U)
Tap up to four target permanents. ~ deals 2 damage to each creature tapped this way.
Broiling Apprentice
Creature - Viashino Wizard (R)
:symr:: Flip a coin. If you win the flip, deal 1 damage to target creature or player.
1/1
In my last post I presented the mechanic smite. Due to the latest planeswalker's previews, I need to errata it to effect damage dealt to them also. So, the revised smite: Smite _____ (This creature deals double damage to ______ creatures and planeswalkers).
I think this change would make it matter more.
Path of anger's flame was common and arcane, and mana flare is a rare.
I hope it works as intended. I fear it makes a loop of dealing damage, then doubling it, then doubling it again, then again, until the creature dies.
Changed.
It doesn't hose only colors, the keyword has some design space. I just presented it at the simplest form, which is colorsmiting.
I think that without flying no one will play him. Lowered him to 3/3.
Creature - Kithkin Soldier (C)
Whenever you tap a land for :symw:, ~ gets +0/+1 until end of turn.
1/1
Righteous Paladin :symw::symw:
Creature - Human Knight (U)
Smite black ( if ~ would deal damage to a black creature, it deals double that much damage instead).
2/2
Flaring Fury :2mana::symr:
Instant - Conjuration (C)
Add :symr::symr: to your mana pool. Then, Creatures you control get +1/+0 until end of turn for each red mana in your mana pool.
Foreordained Automaton
Artifact Creature (R)
Flying
Any time you could mulligan and ~ is in your hand, you may remove ~ from the game with three time counters on it and shuffle all the cards from your hand into your library, then draw that many cards. Suspend 2 -
4/4
In match one, I won via oros, against a green red deck. At the second game, I played dust elemental turn 5, bouncing a riftwatcher.
At the second match I played two riftwatchers, one died and the second I bounced with whitemane lion. Then my opponent played voidstone gargoyle naming the riftwatcher. At my turn, I drew the third one. I really wanted to play them so I can play dust elemental, and gave him to go ahead a little bit. I played damnation, and he bounced his gargoyle with a whitemane of his own. At the second game he ran me over, because I kept a bad hand.
At the third match. I played against the only blue drafter of the table. He also played green. On both games, I played mirri turn four, and he killed her turn 4 with erratic mutation. He just really outran me with card advantage and removal. When I played my magus, he played an avenger. When I played oros, he pongified him.
At the second game, he played vorosh. I vampire linked him, and was at 22 life. I had a damnation in my hand, so let him in 3 times. he entered the trap and always payed, as well as playing some more creatures. Then I played damnation and a riftwatcher. He still won.
Later, I looked at his deck. He had four mutations, two ovinizes, a pongify, a harmonize, two Citanul Woodreaders, three giant dustwasps and some more. I thought my deck will beat his, due to gating against his removal, and 5/5's and 6/6's he can't answer.