MTG - You Make The Card VIII: Escape - Exile 7 MTG topics to create this thread

[mythmonster2]

Well hey, the D&D set is coming out, so why not this?

Intellect Devourer B
Creature- Illithid Aberration (C)
Whenever Intellect Devourer attacks or blocks, each player mills a card. If a creature card was milled this way, Intellect Devourer gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
1/1

[mystic1110]

You do know that faithless looting is banned in modern, right?

The random discard is more akin to burning inquiry which was fine in either format especially as it doesn’t effect opponents and the second trigger being a morbid trigger instead of your choice of flashback also makes it worse.

[Necroticplague]

Suffer in Silence (P/B)
Sorcery C
You may not pay mana to cast this card.
Mill two, draw a card.
“ Au Vam did not trust any man who had become so intimate with pain. A man like that must be fed with blood.”

[Personification]

The random discard is more akin to burning inquiry which was fine in either format especially as it doesn’t effect opponents and the second trigger being a morbid trigger instead of your choice of flashback also makes it worse.

I definitely missed the word random there.

[Laughing Dog]

Maddening Voice B
Sorcery C
As an additional cost to cast this spell, mill 2 cards.
Draw two cards.

Edit: Whoops, forgot the cmc 1 part of the challenge.

[Quiddle]

Spoiler: prompt

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This week, the design-o-tron demands: A common card with a mana value of 1 that somehow helps you put cards in your graveyard, but doesn't actually use the graveyard as a resource itself.

Spoiler: Ravaging Ooze

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Ravaging Ooze G
Creature - Ooze R
R: Mill 1, if a creature is milled this way put a +1/+1 counter on Ravaging Ooze. Ravaging Ooze deals 1 damage to you.
1/1
decidedly not a common.

Foolish Subject B
Creature - Human C
T, Sacrifice Foolish Subject, Discard a card: Add U. Scry 2.
0/1
"Too see my sister again? Anything."-Lab rat #121


I thought about more mana or a card draw but figured that this was more in line with the power level of a common.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Time to judge! If I'm early, it's definitely a fun surprise and not just because I remembered that ten is the exact limit for multi-quote functionality.

Spoiler: Cursory Glance

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Cursory Glance U
Sorcery - C
Surveil 1
Draw a card.
"Of course we have a file on you."
-Lazav the Multifarious

Tom the Mime is pretty much correct about this. It's a baseline, back-of-everyone's-mind card to beat. Then again, it is a better version of a card that's arguably too good already. There's a reason they didn't print this in Return to Ravnica originally.

Spoiler: Tome Rot

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Tome Rot B
Sorcery - C
Mill 8 cards

I can imagine this card existing, just not at common. I guess you could argue that it would take a common slot in a master's set or a cube or something. The point is, it could work in a constructed deck, but it would make the limited environment really weird.

Spoiler: Spreading Amnesia

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Spreading Amnesia U
Enchantment - C
Sacrifice a nonland permanent: Mill X where X is the sacrificed permanents converted mana cost

Probably not a common but again, it's already a narrow design space without that.

An accurate assessment, but don't think you'll get bonus points just because you're doing my job for me.

Spoiler: Encroaching Smothervine

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Encroaching Smothervine G
{bodies tangled in a sea of kudzu}
Creature - Plant C
Deathtouch
When ~ enters the battlefield, it explores.
0/2

This is interesting. Either result of the exploration would be very strong, but you can't count on it if you really need one or the other, which kind of balances it out. In constructed it probably won't be worse than a mild annoyance, but in limited it might be a bit much. It's also very precariously balanced on the edge of the contest challenge.

Spoiler: Goblin Librarian

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Goblin Librarian R
Creature - Goblin C
When enters the battlefield or dies, draw two cards, then discard two cards at random.
"The classification system is FIRE!"
1/1

It certainly is a powder keg. Just having the effect on death would already be dangerous, but it would also be unreliable enough to curb abuse and be interesting. Alas, getting it twice - and once even reliably - opens up the same problems as that one other card that got banned.

Spoiler: Conspiracy Theorist

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Conspiracy Theorist U
Creature- Human Advisor C
Whenever Conspiracy Theorist takes damage, each player mills that many cards.
0/3
"Don't get them started... 'The pikers, the bears, they're all in on it!' We'll never hear the end of it."

It took me a minute to appreciate what a flavor win this is - they're incorporating their own problems into the conspiracy. Like the Zendicrabs, it's just a dumb blocker that does nothing until suddenly the milling matters. It has combo potential, but still works as a common because it doesn't blow up on its own.

Spoiler: Intellect Devourer

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Intellect Devourer B
Creature- Illithid Aberration (C)
Whenever Intellect Devourer attacks or blocks, each player mills a card. If a creature card was milled this way, Intellect Devourer gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
1/1

I like how I'm wondering whether it was really necessary to make sure it never gets to be a 3/3. Like, you should never bet on it anyway, so knowing it won't happen might secretly increase its win rate with players who like to take risks? It's also interesting that while ben-zayb's plant feels too strong, this feels like it would probably be considered unplayable, even though the two power levels aren't that far apart. This is more aggressive, but it's too small to trade reliably in limited whether or not it gets the buff.

Spoiler: Suffer in Silence

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Suffer in Silence (P/B)
Sorcery C
You may not pay mana to cast this card.
Mill two, draw a card.
“ Au Vam did not trust any man who had become so intimate with pain. A man like that must be fed with blood.”

You know about Gitaxian Probe, yes? You know Probe is busted, yes? You know this is busted too, yes?

Spoiler: Maddening Voice

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Maddening Voice B
Sorcery C
As an additional cost to cast this spell, mill 2 cards.
Draw two cards.

Edit: Whoops, forgot the cmc 1 part of the challenge.

I can't help but imagine that you reduced the mana cost from 2B to this but forgot to make it only draw one card.

Spoiler: Foolish Subject

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Spoiler: Bonus

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Ravaging Ooze....

decidedly not a common.

Accurate.

Foolish Subject B
Creature - Human C
T, Sacrifice Foolish Subject, Discard a card: Add U. Scry 2.
0/1
"Too see my sister again? Anything."-Lab rat #121

This card's goofy. Since you're discarding, I think you could have drawn a card without issue, but Scrying is almost as good. The blue mana is weird, but I can see the line you want: you discard your big donkey and use the mana to ramp into your reanimation spell at the same time, which is a tight niche but would feel really good when it goes off. ...and it took typing all of that for me to realize the flavor text anticipated me finding that exact niche. Nice!

And the design-o-tron says...

Spoiler: BEEP BOOP

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Misothene wins with Conspiracy Theorist! It was a good all-around design that fit the challenge, hit the right power level and had flavor that was funny and on-point. (Quiddle's test subject was the runner-up; it hit those same points but seemed more awkwardly-constructed to me.)

[Personification]

2 points:
1) My card wasn't in RtR because neither was surveil (I know what you meant bit the quote in my sig is there for a reason).
2) This is a sorcery, which actually hurts it a lot relative to opt, even if the effect is slightly better.

[Misothene]

Thanks for the selection, design-o-tron. The algorithm must have been kind to me today.

The challenge for this week: Make a card using one of the Innistrad tribes outside its colors in Innistrad.

The tribes in Innistrad were:
WU Spirits
UB Zombies
BR Vampires
RG Werewolves
GW Humans

So, use at least one of those creature types, and don't use any of the colors associated with it on Innistrad (e.g. you could make a BG Spirit, but not a BG Vampire, and if you made a Zombie Werewolf it would have to be white or colorless). The one exception is the intersection of Werewolf and Human- you can make a Human Werewolf in white (just not green or red).

The card doesn't need to be set on Innistrad, though it obviously can be if you have a cool idea that fits the world.

[Quiddle]

Impatient Perfectionist RR
Creature - Human Wizard
Prowess
Discard a card: Exile target spell you control, then exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card with a mana value less than or equal to the spell that was exiled. Cast that card. Then put all cards exiled this way that weren’t cast on the bottom of your library in a random order.
1/3
"No no, thats not right either. Lets start again."

Spoiler: Other Ideas

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Darkwood Syphoner 1GG
Creature - Treefolk Vampire U
Wither
Darkwood Syphoner gets +1/+1 for each creature your opponent controls with a -1/-1 counter on it.
3/3
"The Sun has forsaken our kind but we will not be denied."


Yesla, the Twice Slain 2RW
Creature - Zombie Angel Warrior R
Flying
When Yesla, the Twice Slain enters the battlefield untap all creatures you control, they get +1/-1 until the end of the turn.
Unearth 1RW
4/2


Lab Wolf UU
Creature - Wolf U
When Lab Wolf becomes the target of a spell or ability exile it then return it to the battlefield transformed.
2/2
//
Where-Wolf
Creature - Werewolf Wolf
Shroud, Unblockable
3/3

Decaying Tutelar 3GB
Creature - Spirit R
Whenever another creature you control dies reveal the top 3 cards of your library, you may put a creature or land from among them into your hand then put the rest into your graveyard.
Sacrifice a creature: Decaying Tutelar gets +1/+1 and menace until the end of the turn.
5/4

[ben-zayb]

Risen Roast 2GG
Artifact Creature - Food Zombie Shaman R
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may pay GG. If you do, target non-creature Food becomes a 2/2 green Zombie creature in addition to its other types.
"Such is nature's cycle. Now, WE feast."
4/4

[mystic1110]

Auradrinker 1GW
Creature - Vampire Wizard (U)
When Auradrinker enters the battlefield, you may exile target enchantment card from your graveyard and you may exile target enchantment you don’t control.
When Auradrinker leaves the battlefield return any exiled enchantment you own to its owner’s hand and return any exiled enchantment you don't own to the battlefield.
"Blood is so pedestrian. I sup on hope."
2/2

[Necroticplague]

Eh, consider it closer to Street Wraiths, which isn't banned from anything. Probe's useful because it tells you if it's safe to storm off or not, while this just stuffs graves.

Anyway, enough ruminating from the last: Onto this!

Verdant Battlefield
Land R
Verdant battlefield enters the battlefield tapped.
T:Add G or W
1GW: Verdant battlefield becomes a 4/4 Plant Zombie with Lifelink. It's still a land.

[Personification]

Skymarch Captain 3WW
Creature - Vampire Knight R
Flying, lifelink, vigilance
Other Vampires you control get +1/+1.
4/4

[Laughing Dog]

Ser Wulf 2(W/B)
Creature-Human Werewolf Knight U
First Strike
At the beginning of each upkeep, if no spells were cast last turn, transform ~.
He fights with both nobility and ferocity.
2/2
//
Armored Werewolf (White/Black Color Indicator)
Creature-Werewolf Knight U
Menace
At the beginning of each upkeep, if a player cast two or more spells last turn, transform ~.
He fights with ferocity. His nobility keeps him from harming his charges.
3/3

[Tom the Mime]

Hopeful Moongazer 3U
Creature - Human R
At the beginning of each upkeep, if no spells were cast last turn, transform ~.
He hopes that Emrakul has no influence from the moon.
2/3
//
Dronepack Infector (Colorless Indicator)
Creature - Werewolf Eldrazi R
Whenever this creature transforms into Dronepack Infector, put a latticework counter on target creature.
Creatures with latticework counters are colorless 3/2 Eldrazi Horrors and lose all other abilities.
At the beginning of each upkeep, if a player cast two or more spells last turn, transform ~.
He was wrong.
4/4

[mythmonster2]

Flame-Fueled Geist 1RR
Creature- Spirit (U)
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, Flame-Fueled Geist deals 1 damage to any target.
Sometimes burning someone at the stake can backfire.
3/1

[Personification]

The Honorable Judge Mint?

[Misothene]

Sorry for the delay. The Honorable Judge Mint presiding.

Spoiler: Quiddle's Impatient Perfectionist

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Impatient Perfectionist RR
Creature - Human Wizard
Prowess
Discard a card: Exile target spell you control, then exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card with a mana value less than or equal to the spell that was exiled. Cast that card. Then put all cards exiled this way that weren’t cast on the bottom of your library in a random order.
1/3
"No no, thats not right either. Lets start again."

I assume that's supposed to say "cast that card without paying its mana cost," as it's a LOT worse if you have to pay full retail... that said, it's very close to repeatable Tibalt's Trickery, which enables pretty degenerate combos and got itself banned in Modern. This also doesn't have the safety valve against MDFCs (e.g. hitting Valki and casting Tibalt) that the cascade rule change does. Oddly, allowing you to hit MVs equal to the spell makes it worse, but it also lets you keep discarding until you hit the thing you're looking for. Flavorful concept, but it seems a bit dangerous mechanically.

Spoiler: ben-zayb's Risen Roast

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Risen Roast 2GG
Artifact Creature - Food Zombie Shaman R
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may pay GG. If you do, target non-creature Food becomes a 2/2 green Zombie creature in addition to its other types.
"Such is nature's cycle. Now, WE feast."
4/4

It's always been weird to me that Food was an artifact type, as artifacts are usually inorganic objects, and this leans really far in the weird direction, explicitly being some sort of giant animated meatloaf. That's not your fault, of course, Food being an artifact type was WotC's call. I think the concept is funny, and the effect matches it well. It is missing the "sac to gain life" ability, though; IMO it should either have that or take it off of the food it animates.

Spoiler: mystic1110's Auradrinker

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Auradrinker 1GW
Creature - Vampire Wizard (U)
When Auradrinker enters the battlefield, you may exile target enchantment card from your graveyard and you may exile target enchantment you don’t control.
When Auradrinker leaves the battlefield return any exiled enchantment you own to its owner’s hand and return any exiled enchantment you don't own to the battlefield.
"Blood is so pedestrian. I sup on hope."
2/2

I like the flavor text and concept a lot. It is a little odd that "aura" is in the name without ever calling out "aura" the enchantment type. I think it would also work better to just return the cards exiled with Auradrinker, as doing it the other way is a shenanigan enabler with the exile zone that people would probably play incorrectly for a while.

Spoiler: Necroticplague's Verdant Battlefield

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Verdant Battlefield
Land R
Verdant battlefield enters the battlefield tapped.
T:Add G or W
1GW: Verdant battlefield becomes a 4/4 Plant Zombie with Lifelink. It's still a land.

Really powerful creature land. Big body + lifelink would probably make this very difficult to play against with most aggro decks, and is a finisher that stabilizes your life total. My issue with it is that it doesn't really feel like the concept is a Zombie; this could just be any GW Elemental or something.

Spoiler: Personification's Skymarch Captain

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Skymarch Captain 3WW
Creature - Vampire Knight R
Flying, lifelink, vigilance
Other Vampires you control get +1/+1.
4/4

This isn't a Baneslayer, but I could see this ruining a lot of limited games, even at rare. That much power in flying/lifelink/vigilance at a reasonable cost is just very difficult to recover from. On top of that, it has a very relevant tribal lord thing going on.

Spoiler: Laughing Dog's Ser Wulf

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Ser Wulf 2(W/B)
Creature-Human Werewolf Knight U
First Strike
At the beginning of each upkeep, if no spells were cast last turn, transform ~.
He fights with both nobility and ferocity.
2/2
//
Armored Werewolf (White/Black Color Indicator)
Creature-Werewolf Knight U
Menace
At the beginning of each upkeep, if a player cast two or more spells last turn, transform ~.
He fights with ferocity. His nobility keeps him from harming his charges.
3/3

It's a bit weird that you could get a menace creature in mono-white. Probably a justifiable bend as white does get common fliers, so lesser evasion isn't breaking anything. Other than that, pretty reasonable limited card that makes sense as hybrid.

Spoiler: Tom the Mime's Hopeful Moongazer

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Hopeful Moongazer 3U
Creature - Human R
At the beginning of each upkeep, if no spells were cast last turn, transform ~.
He hopes that Emrakul has no influence from the moon.
2/3
//
Dronepack Infector (Colorless Indicator)
Creature - Werewolf Eldrazi R
Whenever this creature transforms into Dronepack Infector, put a latticework counter on target creature.
Creatures with latticework counters are colorless 3/2 Eldrazi Horrors and lose all other abilities.
At the beginning of each upkeep, if a player cast two or more spells last turn, transform ~.
He was wrong.
4/4

I like the mechanics, and it would create interesting play patterns with the opponent getting some possibility to influence when it does/doesn't transform. Even with the best case of this transforming every turn cycle, it turns things into 3/2s, which are just relevant enough to not equal hard removal. Probably too weak for constructed formats, but seems like a good fun rare to draft. Flavorfully, I do wonder why this isn't a Human Werewolf on the front side.

Spoiler: mythmonster2's Flame-Fueled Geist

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Flame-Fueled Geist 1RR
Creature- Spirit (U)
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, Flame-Fueled Geist deals 1 damage to any target.
Sometimes burning someone at the stake can backfire.
3/1

This seems like an absolute monster in limited, particularly at uncommon in one color making it very possible to get multiples. They were willing to make Rockslide Sorcerer I suppose, so this could maybe see print as-is.

Spoiler: Winner

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To be honest, I liked all of the entries this week for different reasons. But, I'll give it to Tom the Mime with Hopeful Moongazer. Great job to everyone!

[Quiddle]

Oops you're right it should say "Cast that spell without paying its mana cost if its mana value is less than the exiled spell's." Thanks for judging!

[Tom the Mime]

Thanks. Yeah, I'd be surprised if it ever saw play in constructed but could be useful in limited. The repeatable transformation has potential but unless straight out removal is in short supply, the hassle to get any sort of value out of it wouldn't be worth it.

Anyway, the next challenge is land based. Make a land or something that cares about lands. Or even a land that cares about other lands.

[Necroticplague]

Lotus Viper Pit
Land M
Lotus Viper Pit enters the battlefield tapped and exerted.
T:C
Whenever another nontoken land enters the battlefield under your control, create a land token named "Lotus Cobra Infestation" with "T: Add one mana of any color"

[Bucky]

River
Land {Uncommon expansion symbol for a team multiplayer focused set}
{T}: Add {1}.
{T}: Untap target basic land.
The great Luxa gives life everywhere it touches.

[Quiddle]

Opting for something that cares about land.

Spoiler: first try

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Shepard of the Rock 1R
[an elemental (like a flamekin) with a smoking straw hat looks affectionately at a raving ravine]
Creature - Elemental Peasant R
Whenever a land you control becomes a creature until the end of the turn, it becomes that creature instead.
When Shepard of the Rock leaves the battlefield at the end of the turn if you don't control a creature named Shepard of the Rock, land creatures you control become land.
R, T: Target land creature becomes a land until the end of the turn.
3/1
"I've raised that ravine since it was just a little stream, didn't used to have such a temper."

Shepard of the Rock 1RR
[an elemental (like a flamekin) with a smoking straw hat looks affectionately at a raving ravine]
Creature - Elemental Peasant R
At the beginning of your upkeep you may have a land you control become a 0/0 creature in addition to its other types put 2 +1/+1 counters on it. If that land has an activated ability that grants it keywords it gains those keywords.
R, T: Target land creature becomes a land until the end of the turn.
3/2
"I've raised that ravine since it was just a little stream, didn't used to have such a temper."

[mythmonster2]

Gitrogling 1BG
Creature- Frog (U)
Menace
Whenever a land you control leaves the battlefield, put a +1/+1 counter on Gitrogling.
BG, Sacrifice a land, T: Draw a card.
2/2

[mystic1110]

The Greatest Thespian Alive WUG
Legendary Creature - Avatar Druid (R)
Whenever a player plays a land card, you may pay {2}. If you do create a copy of that land under your control.
1/4

[Personification]

Opting for something that cares about land.

Shepard of the Rock 1R
[a middle aged elemental (like a flamekin) looks affectionatly at a raving ravine]
Creature - Elemental Peasant R
Whenever a land you control becomes a creature until the end of the turn, it becomes that creature instead.
R, T: Target land creature becomes a land until the end of the turn.
2/1
"I've raised that ravine since it was just a little stream, didn't used to have such a temper."

If you intend for the animation effects to end when this dies, as written they won't. If that is the intent, I'd suggest just making it "...until ~ leaves the battlefield."

[Quiddle]

Thanks! Yeah hmm I didn't consider that it continues until ~ dies.

[Personification]

Field of the Dead is a fair card, right?

Deathlord of the Field 1GB
Creature - Zombie Druid R
Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, if you control seven or more lands with different names, create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token.
2/2
He is the shepherd of a self-replenishing flock.

[ben-zayb]

Territorificer 1G
Creature - Kor Artificer R
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may pay G. If you do, put a road counter on target land you control.
Each land you control with a road counter on it has "T: Add one mana of any color that another land you control with a road counter on it can produce".
2/2