These cards look more like the cycle finale than anything else in all honesty. Only change I'd possibly make is make the blue one cost 5 and bounce 2 nonland permanents. That's just to make it more along the lines of the extreme costs. Even though that spell already almost exists. I think it's 5 to bounce 2 creatures.
Yeah, I don't think Magic players are lazy for not wanting to build a deck that almost always loses in an attempt to buff their commander up to the strength of a vanilla creature.
This set has more cards for constructed Commander than the products we get for constructed Commander. A dual land cycle, reprints of top tier commanders, new uncommon legends that have a shot at being high tier, new cards that shake up dominant strategies, etc. We got less draft chaff in this draft set than we've gotten in sets not designed to be drafted.
Your perspective is certainly underrepresented in the online discourse that I see.
Even the lore-wise unsatisfying legendary creatures are something not restricted to draftable sets, remembering Ludevic.
I feel ten draft-Archetypes are also a lot more diversity than you get out of four or five Constructed theme-decks.
Online discourse tends to congeal into the recycling of the same bad opinions by the same vocal minority groups within a hobby. A happy voice is a quiet voice.
It seems like you'd probably want to list it twice, once for yourself, and once for opponents. It would be wordy, but much more clear to understand.
It seems fine power level wise. It does quite a bit for a monocolor card. I'd consider restricting it to entering the battlefield, as leaving feels much more like a black area of the color pie. The card already does quite a bit. I do like it as is as well, even though the wording is a bit vague.
Nothing I have plans for, just stuff from the old slush file.
Signal Lighter2W Creature - Kor Cleric (Uncommon) Rally - Whenever Signal Lighter or another Ally creature enters the battlefield under your control, choose a player. Creatures can't attack other players or planeswalkers controlled by other players, until the beginning of your next turn unless their controllers pay 1 for each attacking creature.
2/2
Warzone Weaponsmith5R Creature - Dwarf Artificer (Rare) Rally - Whenever Warzone Weaponsmith or another Ally creature enters the battlefield under your control, you may search your library for an equipment card, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle your library.
Sacrifice an Ally creature: Equipment you control gains indestructible until end of turn.
3/2
Allied Discovery1UG Sorcery (Uncommon)
Draw a card. You may play an additional land card this turn. Rally - Whenever an Ally creature enters the battlefield under your control, you may return Allied Discovery from your graveyard to your hand.
Didn't we already have Shock (the Onslaught one, I don't know how to link specific versions of a card.)
A fine card, it could probably just 4 Rock tokens depending on rarity. 90% of the time that is how it would work.
Yeah, Toggo the character existed, but defining a "Rock" in magic terms is what entertains me.
Didn't we already have Shock (the Onslaught one, I don't know how to link specific versions of a card.)
A fine card, it could probably just 4 Rock tokens depending on rarity. 90% of the time that is how it would work.
This is a cool idea. I feel like Akroma should be represented by a face down creature, perhaps the activated could be a kind of super-manifest and Akroma vanishes when the creature flips? I also think you could get away with cutting down the colors, making him UWG would both cover all the major morph/manifest cards for commander and still keep him opposed to the Cabal thematically. I'm working on my own Ixidor update so its nice to see alternate ideas. Love your work.
I like keeping black in to show that while he was completely opposed to the Cabal, he was also corrupted by it, like everything on Otaria .
Sphinx's Riddle | 1U
Instant
Return target creature, instant spell, or sorcery spell to its owner's hand.
Hydra's Hunger | 4G
Sorcery
Put two +1/+1 counters on target creature you control. Then it fights up to one other target creature you don't control.
I actually think that the original version of Sphinx's Riddle was far superior to this. This version is a strictly worse Unsubstantiate, which wasn't exactly a strong card to start.
The new Hydra spell is much better at completing the cycle though.
I don't understand the whole "if this set wasn't for drafting" logic, as literally the entire reason this set exists is to facilitate drafting commander. That's the core concept that this set spring from.
Every booster set since Mirage has been for draft. There are collector's boosters that will help you dodge draft chaff, or you could just buy the cards you want on the secondary market to save money. This is not new to the game.
If only WotC had some sort of direct to consumer product line that was just decent, asked for cards, maybe with unique art? If only...
I don't understand the whole "if this set wasn't for drafting" logic, as literally the entire reason this set exists is to facilitate drafting commander. That's the core concept that this set spring from.
Every booster set since Mirage has been for draft. There are collector's boosters that will help you dodge draft chaff, or you could just buy the cards you want on the secondary market to save money. This is not new to the game.
This. Completely. I'm actually excited to DRAFT COMMANDER! This is going to be sweet! That said, I do think the power level of the commons and uncommons could have been bumped up a bit. It's disappointing to see stuff that would be draft chaff in a standard-legal set find its way here, when a lot of the fun of commander is you are all playing with powerful cards in a multiplayer environment.
If only WotC had some sort of direct to consumer product line that was just decent, asked for cards, maybe with unique art? If only...
I see what you're getting at... but secret lair ain't it.
In the same posts that you say you cannot wait to draft this set, you also say you wish it didn't have as much draft chaff...
I understand that the set was inspired by the idea of combining Commander with draft, but if there were ever a set that did not need to prioritize a draft environment, it was this one. It could have been that direct to the players set and def wouldn't have needed to be a larger set either. That would allow them to design legends appropriately, add more needed reprints, and design more format orientated cards. I do feel that the draft oriented mindset did hurt legend design and inclusion and reprints more than designing new commander cards. I am still excited for the set, but I'm def hoping things go differently when CL2 is designed and delivers more on Commander's needs than having to bend those needs around a draft experience.
But this set literally only exists to draft. It wasn't a missed opportunity to not be a drafting set. We've had over 50 non-draftable commander releases. This is literally the only one that is draftable. I really can't understand why anybody expected this set to be anything else.
Again, I understand that the set is to draft, my point is that I had hoped they would bend draft to Commander and still print/reprint cards for the format. Instead, Commander got bent for draft and their usual draft philosophy. That has resulted in the typical draft chaff, missed reprints at the uncommon and rare level, underpowered new legends, not near enough characters that needed cards getting them and bad designs for those that did get them (looking at you Glacian).
This set has more cards for constructed Commander than the products we get for constructed Commander. A dual land cycle, reprints of top tier commanders, new uncommon legends that have a shot at being high tier, new cards that shake up dominant strategies, etc. We got less draft chaff in this draft set than we've gotten in sets not designed to be drafted.
Ixidor, Creator of Visions3UR Legendary Creature - Human Wizard (Mythic)
Whenever Ixidor enters the battlefield or attacks, you may discard a card. If you do, draw a card, then manifest the top card of your library. 3WUBRG: Turn target face-down creature face up. If it is a creature, it becomes Akroma, Angel of Wrath, a 6/6 legendary white angel creature with flying, first strike, vigilance, trample, haste, protection from black and from red in addition to it's other abilities.
3/4
Pretty sure Pit Savage already exists. Not bad to make a reprint with a little different creature type. I was just letting you know in case you didn't play way back then.
Found it.Wirewood Savage. Not identical but pretty close.
I knew about Wirewood Savage, that's why the name is so similar. I've been playing since 1994. It just has an older template that doesn't quite fit modern design. I was going to just "reprint" it until I realized it allowed you to draw off your opponent's beasts entering.
Whiplash Trap
Online discourse tends to congeal into the recycling of the same bad opinions by the same vocal minority groups within a hobby. A happy voice is a quiet voice.
It seems fine power level wise. It does quite a bit for a monocolor card. I'd consider restricting it to entering the battlefield, as leaving feels much more like a black area of the color pie. The card already does quite a bit. I do like it as is as well, even though the wording is a bit vague.
Signal Lighter 2W
Creature - Kor Cleric (Uncommon)
Rally - Whenever Signal Lighter or another Ally creature enters the battlefield under your control, choose a player. Creatures can't attack other players or planeswalkers controlled by other players, until the beginning of your next turn unless their controllers pay 1 for each attacking creature.
2/2
Warzone Weaponsmith 5R
Creature - Dwarf Artificer (Rare)
Rally - Whenever Warzone Weaponsmith or another Ally creature enters the battlefield under your control, you may search your library for an equipment card, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle your library.
Sacrifice an Ally creature: Equipment you control gains indestructible until end of turn.
3/2
Allied Discovery 1UG
Sorcery (Uncommon)
Draw a card. You may play an additional land card this turn.
Rally - Whenever an Ally creature enters the battlefield under your control, you may return Allied Discovery from your graveyard to your hand.
Now Magic needs paper and scissor tokens
A fine card, it could probably just 4 Rock tokens depending on rarity. 90% of the time that is how it would work.
I like keeping black in to show that while he was completely opposed to the Cabal, he was also corrupted by it, like everything on Otaria .
I actually think that the original version of Sphinx's Riddle was far superior to this. This version is a strictly worse Unsubstantiate, which wasn't exactly a strong card to start.
The new Hydra spell is much better at completing the cycle though.
This set has more cards for constructed Commander than the products we get for constructed Commander. A dual land cycle, reprints of top tier commanders, new uncommon legends that have a shot at being high tier, new cards that shake up dominant strategies, etc. We got less draft chaff in this draft set than we've gotten in sets not designed to be drafted.
Legendary Creature - Human Wizard (Mythic)
Whenever Ixidor enters the battlefield or attacks, you may discard a card. If you do, draw a card, then manifest the top card of your library.
3WUBRG: Turn target face-down creature face up. If it is a creature, it becomes Akroma, Angel of Wrath, a 6/6 legendary white angel creature with flying, first strike, vigilance, trample, haste, protection from black and from red in addition to it's other abilities.
3/4
I knew about Wirewood Savage, that's why the name is so similar. I've been playing since 1994. It just has an older template that doesn't quite fit modern design. I was going to just "reprint" it until I realized it allowed you to draw off your opponent's beasts entering.