Your version of the scimitar seems fine, if even a little weak as shown. Note that Caltrops deals a damage to each creature that attacks you (at the expense of also pinging your attacking creatures) while this only pings one creature. Dedicated aggro decks will hardly notice. There's also the fact that it's hard to get the equipment off of a creature if you want the unattached effect again.
I agree that the aegis should cost less to equip. Maybe have it cost 4 to cast and 1 to equip, and give it the ability "As long as ~ isn't attached to a creature, if a creature would deal combat damage to you, prevent 1 of that damage." (I'm heavily basing that off Thunderstaff, but it fits the equipped effect better.)
Edit: SecretInfiltrator, you effectively just reprinted Ensouled Scimitar.
I really want Tarantula Rider to have reach too, but that's a bit much especially for a common. Probably good as is.
Glyph-Horn Mage seems like uncommon material at least since it wants a significant amount of deck support. It's very nearly on par with Baneslayer Angel if you can cast an enchantment every turn.
At uncommon you could tweak the effects in a slightly more complex way. Maybe something like this?
2/5
Whenever you cast a white enchantment spell, ~ gains lifelink until end of turn.
Whenever you cast a blue enchantment spell, ~ gains flying until end of turn.
Whenever you cast a red enchantment spell, ~ gets +3/+0 until end of turn.
Thundrous Ascendance needs to say "you or target creature you control" rather than "target creature or player." As written above, this turns anything into a better version of Stuffy Doll.
I agree about Gaping Breach and the land thing. It might be fine as is (and more flavorful) if you added "As an additional cost to cast ~, sacrifice a land."
The first version is a static ability, so by the general game mechanics it would only apply as long as it was on the battlefield under your control. It wouldn't be a bad idea to include reminder text to the effect of (This effect ends if ~ leaves the battlefield) but it isn't strictly necessary.
The activated ability version would need to have the "for as long as you control" clause though, or else it would be permanent. The version above is written well.
I'm not arguing from a flavor perspective. I think it's an interesting idea to have a creature that dominates everything that has had the infection spread. It's just that this is a really powerful effect and needs to be balanced accordingly. Offhand, I would put an ability like that on a legendary creature that cost six or seven mana and was still within bolt range, and then probably add a way to remove -1/-1 counters from things more easily as a secondary mechanic in the set.
The "for as long as you control" clause is redundant since it's pretty much built into the original ability.
The "can't protect itself" argument is just another way of stating the "dies to removal" argument and is still as flawed. If you can't stop your opponent from throwing removal at it or last long enough to drop a CMC 6 artifact when you're playing blue, that's a problem with your deck, not a reason to make this card as good as this is.
Even the CMC 6 isn't that big of a problem, and can actually help it. A deck could easily do this.
Turn 3, Treasure Mage fetching Contagion Engine.
Turn 4, Grand Architect.
Turn 5, Contagion Controller, tap the 3 creatures to drop the engine, hijack all of the opponent's stuff, hold for Mana Leak or Negate against their attempt to answer.
I seriously think you need to scrap the "you control everything with a -1/-1 counter" idea, especially for something that's this easy to play. The closest real card I can think of to this thing's power level is Roil Elemental; in the right deck you could potentially nab 3-4 creatures right after you play it, but that's a best-case scenario and even then it costs 6 mana and is as easy to kill as your original version of Contagion Controller.
See my suggestion above about a more Cytoplast Manipulator-like version of this. I guarantee you that it would be playable. Maybe not an auto 4-of in constructed for any blue deck (we have enough of those) but easily first pick material for limited.
Your playing blue how do you get -1/-1 counters on creatures? On top of that, the creature is getting weaker. I'd say its actual pretty middle of the road. Sower of Temptation is leagues better and isn't close to broken. Its a 2/2 creature, relax people play removal.
Blue might not have a lot of ways to distribute -1/-1 counters easily (though Vedalken Anatomist comes to mind) but you shouldn't just declare a card balanced on the assumption that people aren't going to combine colors. The fact that a card exists that can make every creature on the field eligible for a semi-permanent change of control effect all at once makes this too good. (Edit: More than one card, even. I forgot about Contagion Engine.) By comparison, Sower of Temptation hijacks one creature, and Cytoplast Manipulator hijacks one creature per turn with a condition, an activation cost, and an opportunity for the opponent to respond before it can get going.
The "play removal" argument is flawed. I realize that creatures have been getting progressively better and demanding immediate answers is becoming the norm, but there's still such a thing as reasonable limits. I remember one of the articles on Besieged saying that they printed too many bomb cards in Scars that could just immediately wreck your board, and this has the potential to be another one.
I could argue that the following card is balanced because you could play removal, but this would still never get printed.
Victory's Guide 0
Artifact Creature - Construct Advisor
0/1
Flying
At the beginning of your upkeep, you win the game.
Moving on...
My point about Vile Preacher is that completely (and even retroactively!) negating minus counters to your side seems like too powerful a hoser for a two-drop. By comparison, Melira's Keepers costs five mana and only affects itself. If you get it in limited and you're playing against an infect deck, it's practically a "you win" card unless the opponent happens to have removal that isn't based on -1/-1 counters. I'd rather see it as an effect that has a partial negation of the effect of -1/-1 counters and possibly even gives a slight boost if there aren't a lot of them on the creature.
Contagion Controller's ability is way too powerful. Combine with a Black Sun's Zenith for 1 and you suddenly gain control of every creature that didn't have +1/+1 counters on them. I would make it closer to Cytoplast Manipulator.
Something like this would be interesting, flavorful and a good deal less broken.
Contagion Controller 2UU
3/3 T, put a -1/-1 counter on Contagion Controller: Gain control of target creature with a -1/-1 counter on it for as long as you control Contagion Controller.
Vile Preacher singlehandedly shuts down opposing infect decks. I'd draft it against infect. I'd rather see this as a Time of Heroes style enchantment - "Creatures you control with a -1/-1 counter on them get +2/+2."
Plague Spewer should at least deal damage to itself as well.
Agreed that the plus effect is getting kind of long, but that aside, let me take a crack at Ras Algethi's suggestions.
+2: Until end of turn, whenever a nontoken, non-artifact creature is put into the graveyard from the battlefield, put a 0/1 Corpse creature token onto the battlefield. It has infect and "When this creature is put into a graveyard, target player gets a poison counter."
-1: Sacrifice a non-artifact creature. If you do, you gain life equal to twice the number of poison counters on target player.
-X: Exile X target non-artifact creature cards from your graveyard. For each card exiled this way, put a 0/1 Corpse creature token with infect and "When this creature is put into a graveyard, target player gets a poison counter" onto the battlefield.
I'm changing the extra costs in the second and third so they aren't part of the activation cost. While there isn't any specific reason why there can't be additional costs to planeswalker abilities apart from loyalty counters, it seems like it would be hard to print it like that without it confusing people. This way also allows for the possibility of someone interrupting the ability with something that would prevent you from doing the sacrifice/exiling, and I like having more interaction. (Admittedly, it slightly messes up the synergy between the first two abilities, since you wouldn't get the extra counter onto the opponent in time for it to be relevant if you sacrificed a token to the second ability.)
I'm giving the tokens infect mostly for flavor, but it could be useful if you're holding a pump spell you couldn't use to good effect otherwise.
Importantly, I added a "nontoken" clause to the first ability. As written in Binary's post, you could instantly kill someone with the plus ability, one spare creature and a sacrifice engine.
Inciter seems a little overpowered if it can bring in anything up to and including Jhovall Queen for free. Your version also doesn't actually have the incoming creature attack, and it seems like it should be creatures only if you want it to interact with Battle Cry. I would suggest one of the following:
Whenever you attack with three or more creatures, you may search your library for a Rebel creature card with converted mana cost 2 or less and put it onto the battlefield tapped and attacking. If you do, shuffle your library.
X: Search your library for a Rebel creature card with converted mana cost X or less and put it onto the battlefield tapped and attacking, then shuffle your library. Activate this ability only once each turn before the Declare Blockers step and only if Carpathian Inciter is attacking.
Alternate Nullify seems a little overpowered in any format outside Standard/Scars block, since the three poison won't mean anything if your opponent can't give you more of them.
I get a vague feeling that Nullify might be too good (it gets around being uncounterable and has a cheaper hardcast than Force of Will and all it adds is milling for three cards) but I'll leave actual judgment of it to people who have played more Legacy than I have.
Common CARDNAME needs something else, at least a cantrip. Making a player shuffle their deck has a pretty narrow range of applications (hosing a tutor to the topdeck or changing things up when you know what cards are coming next in someone's library) and it's hard to justify spending a card and deck slot on this. Compare to Lantern of Insight, which at least promises that you'll know when you want the effect, or Soldier of Fortune which is an engine for this.
Similarly, Alternate CARDNAME sounds like either a weak hoser or a worse Ponder.
Rare CARDNAME seems reasonably balanced to me, since its main function is to let you play either another counter on the same turn or an instant you were holding mana for otherwise. If it's determined to be overpowered you could potentially drop it to untapping 2 lands, but the real breakability of the card can be tricky to execute (tap 3 Izzet Boilerworks for CARDNAME to counter your combat trick, untap them all, tap them again and use the floating UUURRRRRR to flash in Bogardan Hellkite.)
Uncommon CARDNAME is interesting since it effectively cycles for free. Similar things have been done before; see also Urza's Bauble. My only real concern is that this would be heavily abusable by storm decks (pretty much an auto-4 of if running any blue.) You might need to delay the card draw because of that.
How about:
"Each player can cast spells during other player's main phases as though they had flash.
Each player may not cast spells during his or her main phases."?
This removes too much interaction since it effectively makes players unable to respond to anything except with abilities. How about this?
"Each player may not cast noninstant spells during his or her main phases."
I've got nothing on Æther Elemental, particularly for toughness. I think you would have to state exceptions to so many mechanics (what counts as lethal damage? Does trample consider the absolute value of the creature's toughness? Does zero toughness still put creatures into the graveyard?) that it just wouldn't fit on a card.
New idea for Atonement: Atonement (Rather than pay this card’s mana cost you may sacrifice permanents you control equal to its converted mana cost)
If you made it so sacrificing permanents reduced the mana cost instead of being all or nothing, it might be playable. All or nothing atonemtnt on a CMC 5 card seems like it would never be used. But even then it feels like a bad Convoke.
It seems like it wants to be a devour/kicker hybrid, so maybe something like this?
Atonement 1 (As this enters the battlefield, you may sacrifice 1 permanent. If you do, this enters the battlefield with an atonement counter on it.)
You could then tweak the atonement level for the effect you're looking for, and it solves the memory problem.
I like the idea of flash on Devout Legionnaire as commented above, but it doesn't seem like the right ability for a WBR wedge. Maybe instead you could give it haste and "At the beginning of the end step, sacrifice Devout Legionnaire unless it has an atonement counter on it."
Other general comments. (Note that most of this is considered in a vacuum.) Dismantling Prophecy - At common, it seems like it should be "its controller's library" instead of "target player's library."
Counter Sieze - I agree that this seems very undercosted right now. With entwine it's effectively a slightly smaller Jace's Ingenuity with a free Mana Leak thrown in. Entwine is tricky with this one since the same cost on a counter and an instant draw either breaks the draw or makes a very weak counter. If you made it draw 1 card then it becomes sort of similar to Cryptic Command, but nobody would use just the draw mode on it unless they were desperate. Maybe draw 2 discard 1?
Crystal Seer - I realize that it's at common, but 4U just to bounce it seems highly overcosted given that you'll have to spend another 4U to play it again. Maybe drop the bounce cost to 2U or thereabouts.
Drain seems like it's just a worse version of Fate Transfer. Adding a cantrip to this might make it more playable.
Roil Tide: Wording tweak here; I would say "If" instead of "Whenever" since it's a replacement effect, and "from the battlefield" shouldn't be necessary because as an aura it has to be enchanting something on the battlefield.
Blood for Power: You should use the wording "As an additional cost to cast Blood for Power, sacrifice a creature" wording, so that it isn't confused for an activated ability. I thought this was an enchantment for a moment.
Illuminated Shot wouldn't work the way I think you're expecting, because you'll have to choose the target as you're casting it; the loss of shroud would happen too late for it to assist targeting. The shroud-loss effect could work as a forecast ability or something, but people would probably just use it as an anti-shroud engine instead.
Druid of Aduine - Even at CMC 2, this seems like it shouldn't be a common. Compare to Noble Hierarch (which may have been the inspiration for this.)
Grappling Spider should read "Target creature must block Grappling Spider this turn if able" so it doesn't read like a permanent effect (which would most likely cause memory issues.) Also note that the name may be too similar to Grappler Spider.
Revert's entwine seems undercosted for a common. Compare to Relic Crush. Maybe entwine 2 could work.
I would put Captivating Insect at the uncommon level at least. Semi-permanent change of control is really good in limited.
2R
Sorcery
Recharging Bolt deals 3 damage to target player.
Buyback - Discard a card.
Cost is debatable, but this version is basically a slightly weaker version of Chandra Ablaze's +1 ability so I think it's in the right range. Potentially abusable in madness/reanimate decks, but there are better options for that.
Untapped PotentialU
Look at the top three cards of your library, then put them back in any order. Draw a card.
If you cast Untapped Potential from your hand, it has ripple 2.
Admittedly this still makes it almost, but not quite, strictly better than Preordain, so it might be necessary to go to just the top two cards or ripple 1.
I agree that the aegis should cost less to equip. Maybe have it cost 4 to cast and 1 to equip, and give it the ability "As long as ~ isn't attached to a creature, if a creature would deal combat damage to you, prevent 1 of that damage." (I'm heavily basing that off Thunderstaff, but it fits the equipped effect better.)
Edit: SecretInfiltrator, you effectively just reprinted Ensouled Scimitar.
Glyph-Horn Mage seems like uncommon material at least since it wants a significant amount of deck support. It's very nearly on par with Baneslayer Angel if you can cast an enchantment every turn.
At uncommon you could tweak the effects in a slightly more complex way. Maybe something like this?
2/5
Whenever you cast a white enchantment spell, ~ gains lifelink until end of turn.
Whenever you cast a blue enchantment spell, ~ gains flying until end of turn.
Whenever you cast a red enchantment spell, ~ gets +3/+0 until end of turn.
Thundrous Ascendance needs to say "you or target creature you control" rather than "target creature or player." As written above, this turns anything into a better version of Stuffy Doll.
I agree about Gaping Breach and the land thing. It might be fine as is (and more flavorful) if you added "As an additional cost to cast ~, sacrifice a land."
The activated ability version would need to have the "for as long as you control" clause though, or else it would be permanent. The version above is written well.
I'm not arguing from a flavor perspective. I think it's an interesting idea to have a creature that dominates everything that has had the infection spread. It's just that this is a really powerful effect and needs to be balanced accordingly. Offhand, I would put an ability like that on a legendary creature that cost six or seven mana and was still within bolt range, and then probably add a way to remove -1/-1 counters from things more easily as a secondary mechanic in the set.
The "can't protect itself" argument is just another way of stating the "dies to removal" argument and is still as flawed. If you can't stop your opponent from throwing removal at it or last long enough to drop a CMC 6 artifact when you're playing blue, that's a problem with your deck, not a reason to make this card as good as this is.
Even the CMC 6 isn't that big of a problem, and can actually help it. A deck could easily do this.
Turn 3, Treasure Mage fetching Contagion Engine.
Turn 4, Grand Architect.
Turn 5, Contagion Controller, tap the 3 creatures to drop the engine, hijack all of the opponent's stuff, hold for Mana Leak or Negate against their attempt to answer.
I seriously think you need to scrap the "you control everything with a -1/-1 counter" idea, especially for something that's this easy to play. The closest real card I can think of to this thing's power level is Roil Elemental; in the right deck you could potentially nab 3-4 creatures right after you play it, but that's a best-case scenario and even then it costs 6 mana and is as easy to kill as your original version of Contagion Controller.
See my suggestion above about a more Cytoplast Manipulator-like version of this. I guarantee you that it would be playable. Maybe not an auto 4-of in constructed for any blue deck (we have enough of those) but easily first pick material for limited.
Blue might not have a lot of ways to distribute -1/-1 counters easily (though Vedalken Anatomist comes to mind) but you shouldn't just declare a card balanced on the assumption that people aren't going to combine colors. The fact that a card exists that can make every creature on the field eligible for a semi-permanent change of control effect all at once makes this too good. (Edit: More than one card, even. I forgot about Contagion Engine.) By comparison, Sower of Temptation hijacks one creature, and Cytoplast Manipulator hijacks one creature per turn with a condition, an activation cost, and an opportunity for the opponent to respond before it can get going.
The "play removal" argument is flawed. I realize that creatures have been getting progressively better and demanding immediate answers is becoming the norm, but there's still such a thing as reasonable limits. I remember one of the articles on Besieged saying that they printed too many bomb cards in Scars that could just immediately wreck your board, and this has the potential to be another one.
I could argue that the following card is balanced because you could play removal, but this would still never get printed.
Victory's Guide 0
Artifact Creature - Construct Advisor
0/1
Flying
At the beginning of your upkeep, you win the game.
Moving on...
My point about Vile Preacher is that completely (and even retroactively!) negating minus counters to your side seems like too powerful a hoser for a two-drop. By comparison, Melira's Keepers costs five mana and only affects itself. If you get it in limited and you're playing against an infect deck, it's practically a "you win" card unless the opponent happens to have removal that isn't based on -1/-1 counters. I'd rather see it as an effect that has a partial negation of the effect of -1/-1 counters and possibly even gives a slight boost if there aren't a lot of them on the creature.
Contagion Controller's ability is way too powerful. Combine with a Black Sun's Zenith for 1 and you suddenly gain control of every creature that didn't have +1/+1 counters on them. I would make it closer to Cytoplast Manipulator.
Something like this would be interesting, flavorful and a good deal less broken.
Contagion Controller 2UU
3/3
T, put a -1/-1 counter on Contagion Controller: Gain control of target creature with a -1/-1 counter on it for as long as you control Contagion Controller.
Vile Preacher singlehandedly shuts down opposing infect decks. I'd draft it against infect. I'd rather see this as a Time of Heroes style enchantment - "Creatures you control with a -1/-1 counter on them get +2/+2."
Plague Spewer should at least deal damage to itself as well.
+2: Until end of turn, whenever a nontoken, non-artifact creature is put into the graveyard from the battlefield, put a 0/1 Corpse creature token onto the battlefield. It has infect and "When this creature is put into a graveyard, target player gets a poison counter."
-1: Sacrifice a non-artifact creature. If you do, you gain life equal to twice the number of poison counters on target player.
-X: Exile X target non-artifact creature cards from your graveyard. For each card exiled this way, put a 0/1 Corpse creature token with infect and "When this creature is put into a graveyard, target player gets a poison counter" onto the battlefield.
I'm changing the extra costs in the second and third so they aren't part of the activation cost. While there isn't any specific reason why there can't be additional costs to planeswalker abilities apart from loyalty counters, it seems like it would be hard to print it like that without it confusing people. This way also allows for the possibility of someone interrupting the ability with something that would prevent you from doing the sacrifice/exiling, and I like having more interaction. (Admittedly, it slightly messes up the synergy between the first two abilities, since you wouldn't get the extra counter onto the opponent in time for it to be relevant if you sacrificed a token to the second ability.)
I'm giving the tokens infect mostly for flavor, but it could be useful if you're holding a pump spell you couldn't use to good effect otherwise.
Importantly, I added a "nontoken" clause to the first ability. As written in Binary's post, you could instantly kill someone with the plus ability, one spare creature and a sacrifice engine.
Whenever you attack with three or more creatures, you may search your library for a Rebel creature card with converted mana cost 2 or less and put it onto the battlefield tapped and attacking. If you do, shuffle your library.
X: Search your library for a Rebel creature card with converted mana cost X or less and put it onto the battlefield tapped and attacking, then shuffle your library. Activate this ability only once each turn before the Declare Blockers step and only if Carpathian Inciter is attacking.
I get a vague feeling that Nullify might be too good (it gets around being uncounterable and has a cheaper hardcast than Force of Will and all it adds is milling for three cards) but I'll leave actual judgment of it to people who have played more Legacy than I have.
Common CARDNAME needs something else, at least a cantrip. Making a player shuffle their deck has a pretty narrow range of applications (hosing a tutor to the topdeck or changing things up when you know what cards are coming next in someone's library) and it's hard to justify spending a card and deck slot on this. Compare to Lantern of Insight, which at least promises that you'll know when you want the effect, or Soldier of Fortune which is an engine for this.
Similarly, Alternate CARDNAME sounds like either a weak hoser or a worse Ponder.
Rare CARDNAME seems reasonably balanced to me, since its main function is to let you play either another counter on the same turn or an instant you were holding mana for otherwise. If it's determined to be overpowered you could potentially drop it to untapping 2 lands, but the real breakability of the card can be tricky to execute (tap 3 Izzet Boilerworks for CARDNAME to counter your combat trick, untap them all, tap them again and use the floating UUURRRRRR to flash in Bogardan Hellkite.)
Uncommon CARDNAME is interesting since it effectively cycles for free. Similar things have been done before; see also Urza's Bauble. My only real concern is that this would be heavily abusable by storm decks (pretty much an auto-4 of if running any blue.) You might need to delay the card draw because of that.
This removes too much interaction since it effectively makes players unable to respond to anything except with abilities. How about this?
"Each player may not cast noninstant spells during his or her main phases."
I've got nothing on Æther Elemental, particularly for toughness. I think you would have to state exceptions to so many mechanics (what counts as lethal damage? Does trample consider the absolute value of the creature's toughness? Does zero toughness still put creatures into the graveyard?) that it just wouldn't fit on a card.
If you made it so sacrificing permanents reduced the mana cost instead of being all or nothing, it might be playable. All or nothing atonemtnt on a CMC 5 card seems like it would never be used. But even then it feels like a bad Convoke.
It seems like it wants to be a devour/kicker hybrid, so maybe something like this?
Atonement 1 (As this enters the battlefield, you may sacrifice 1 permanent. If you do, this enters the battlefield with an atonement counter on it.)
You could then tweak the atonement level for the effect you're looking for, and it solves the memory problem.
I like the idea of flash on Devout Legionnaire as commented above, but it doesn't seem like the right ability for a WBR wedge. Maybe instead you could give it haste and "At the beginning of the end step, sacrifice Devout Legionnaire unless it has an atonement counter on it."
Other general comments. (Note that most of this is considered in a vacuum.)
Dismantling Prophecy - At common, it seems like it should be "its controller's library" instead of "target player's library."
Counter Sieze - I agree that this seems very undercosted right now. With entwine it's effectively a slightly smaller Jace's Ingenuity with a free Mana Leak thrown in. Entwine is tricky with this one since the same cost on a counter and an instant draw either breaks the draw or makes a very weak counter. If you made it draw 1 card then it becomes sort of similar to Cryptic Command, but nobody would use just the draw mode on it unless they were desperate. Maybe draw 2 discard 1?
Crystal Seer - I realize that it's at common, but 4U just to bounce it seems highly overcosted given that you'll have to spend another 4U to play it again. Maybe drop the bounce cost to 2U or thereabouts.
Drain seems like it's just a worse version of Fate Transfer. Adding a cantrip to this might make it more playable.
Roil Tide: Wording tweak here; I would say "If" instead of "Whenever" since it's a replacement effect, and "from the battlefield" shouldn't be necessary because as an aura it has to be enchanting something on the battlefield.
Blood for Power: You should use the wording "As an additional cost to cast Blood for Power, sacrifice a creature" wording, so that it isn't confused for an activated ability. I thought this was an enchantment for a moment.
Illuminated Shot wouldn't work the way I think you're expecting, because you'll have to choose the target as you're casting it; the loss of shroud would happen too late for it to assist targeting. The shroud-loss effect could work as a forecast ability or something, but people would probably just use it as an anti-shroud engine instead.
Druid of Aduine - Even at CMC 2, this seems like it shouldn't be a common. Compare to Noble Hierarch (which may have been the inspiration for this.)
Grappling Spider should read "Target creature must block Grappling Spider this turn if able" so it doesn't read like a permanent effect (which would most likely cause memory issues.) Also note that the name may be too similar to Grappler Spider.
Revert's entwine seems undercosted for a common. Compare to Relic Crush. Maybe entwine 2 could work.
I would put Captivating Insect at the uncommon level at least. Semi-permanent change of control is really good in limited.
2R
Sorcery
Recharging Bolt deals 3 damage to target player.
Buyback - Discard a card.
Cost is debatable, but this version is basically a slightly weaker version of Chandra Ablaze's +1 ability so I think it's in the right range. Potentially abusable in madness/reanimate decks, but there are better options for that.
Untapped Potential U
Look at the top three cards of your library, then put them back in any order. Draw a card.
If you cast Untapped Potential from your hand, it has ripple 2.
Admittedly this still makes it almost, but not quite, strictly better than Preordain, so it might be necessary to go to just the top two cards or ripple 1.