So as I come up with more card ideas, I’m discovering some actual thematic elements for a block design. Pretty sure this won’t ever be a full set, but it’s a fun design space to explore.
The spiritseek mechanic needs some tuning, I think, so it doesn’t result in awkward stack issues.
EDIT: I think these artifacts are a bit broken…
For the Spiritseek, you could have the creatures be shuffled back into your deck at the end of turn. Also, how does having a negative power for the Hatchling help when attacking?
I thought about that, but there’s some timing/zone issues that bug me. I could maybe make it an activated rather than triggered ability, but that runs into recursion problems pretty easily. I’ll keep working on it.
Having a negative power on the hatchling means that you need to increase its power by at least 4 to do any damage at all. Once you do start increasing its power, though, it rapidly gets rather scary.
From the previous post, that’s not how I thought Spirit worked. I thought you could cast spells directly from your library.
Something like this:
Spiritual Fire:
R1
Instant
Do one damage to target creature or player.
Spirit RRR3. If you have a copy of this spell in your library, you may pay this spell’s spirit cost to search through your library for a copy of the spell and cast it.
Spiritual Regeneration
G2
Instant
Regenerate target creature.
Spirit GG4.
Spiritual Blight
BB2
Instant
Destroy target Creature
Spirit: BBB4.
Spiritual Insight
U
Sorcery
Draw one card.
Spirit: UU4
Spiritual Healing
W
Instant
Gain one life or prevent one damage to target creature
Spirit: W4
Spiritual Renewal: WW3
Sorcery
Search through your graveyard for any number of Spirit cards. Shuffle them into your deck.
Shamanic Tutor: UU2
Summon Human Shaman
1/1
T: Reveal a spirit card from your hand. Add its spirit cost to your mana pool. This may only be used to cast spirit spells from your library.
I love the last two, though I think the rusty manipulator should cost 2 instead of 1.
It also leads to the following:
Withered Lotus:
0
Artifact
Withered Lotus comes into play tapped.
Withered Lotus does not untap during your untap phase.
T: Sacrifice Withered Lotus to add 3 mana of any one color to your mana pool.
Imaginary Dragon
R1
Summon Dragon
5/5
Flying
R: Imaginary Dragon gains +1 / +0 until the end of turn.
Imaginary Dragon cannot attack or block.
And now I’m going on and on.
Unstoppable Force: UU2
Summon Imaginary Force
* / 1
Unstoppable Force cannot attack or block.
Unstoppable Force has power equal to the toughness of the creature blocking it or blocked by it, or your opponent’s life total if unblocked. At all other times its power is zero.
Immovable Object: UU1
Summon Imaginary Object
0 / *
Guardian
Immovable Object cannot attack or block.
Immovable Object has toughness equal to 1+ the amount of damage it has taken this turn.
Mahatmodhi Reifier: U2
Summon Djinn Shaman
1/1
Flying
T: Target creature can attack and block this turn.
There were other plans along those lines, but I want to get the “seeking” mechanic tuned properly before getting into them. One of the things I’m exploring with this design exercise is looking at some of the themes of the Kamigawa block with an eye to making it more “open”. I’m intending to do some stuff with shaman/spirit interaction, but may end up scrapping spiritseek (at least in its current form) for being too parasitic. I’ve got some other ideas on how to do it.
Also, in my design file there’s currently a “Bleak Lotus” that comes into play tapped and sacrifices for 1 colorless.
One of the themes emerging in this notional set is a world in transition, “legacy of the past vs. potential of the future”; the shamans have their ancestral spirits, for example, but there’s a faction among them that views them as no longer needed. All the artifacts in the set, rather than being new technology, are old worn-down relics. The newness is instead new forms of life and magic arising spontaneously as the world enters a new age.
Yeah, I’m going on a whole side tangent with the imaginary stuff … probably for a different expansion.
I love the flavor text on the Rusty Manipulator, although I’m wondering at it’s usefulness.
Apocalypse hatchling is just asking for Firebreathing.
I like the Dilapidated Colossus, although it seems like a bit of a niche card, and unless you have something in the set to promote synergy with it, you should probably knock it down to uncommon so it doesn’t end up being a disappointment of a rare for most decks.
I’m slightly concerned about having a Legendary Land at common, it might be better at uncommon so you don’t get more than you can use, also because it can be considered better than a forest.
I’m liking the callback themes of many of these cards.
The land wasn’t supposed to be common; that was just an oversight on my part. All rarities of these things should be taken with a grain of salt.
Along the lines of ‘unknown potential’, i came up with an idea for a useful artifact…
Power Stone
Cost: 3c, 2xBl,2xW, 2xG, 2xBlue, 2xR
Ability: tap: add 5 of any color mana to your mana pool.
Originally, it was a joke, to give infinite mana without mana burn (if you like that better, ok) but i thought it would be more realistic this way.