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

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Rubble Raider - 1R
Creature - Human Pirate C
The first time a land is put into a graveyard from the battlefield each turn, create a treasure token.
2/1

[Tom the Mime]

Spoiler: Necroticplague

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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"

No. Just no. This is obscenely overpowered. Playing this turn 1 you miss a one drop but you get back to parity on turn 2, with mana fixing, or even ahead if you use a fetchland. This would still be broken if it could never tap for mana or even if the ability was single use. If it was single use and could never tap for mana, it's still probably stronger than recent rainbow options like rupture spire.

Spoiler: Bucky

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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.

Nice and simple but it works. Works nicely as tapping for anything your basics produce with the extra effect in team matches. Good that you excludes non basics given thing like the bouncelands and lotus vale. You could get tricky by enchanting a basic land for some extra value but I doubt it'd overpower it.

Spoiler: Quiddle

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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."

I think you need to change how it's written so that it works. The upkeep should specify non-creature land otherwise pumping a land by 2 each upkeep seems too good, especially when the tap is meant to give it evasion. The tap should read something like (if I'm interpreting it right) "Target land creature is not a creature until end of turn"

Spoiler: mythmonster2

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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

I don't know - you always need to be careful with land leaving the battlefield triggers because it's generally easier to trigger than you'd think with breaking the flow of a deck. Even if it triggers a couple of times, should be okay if powerful here and the last ability gives the card a use if you draw it later in the game.

Spoiler: mystic1110

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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

All the worlds a stage. I guess you'd want to run this in a flash deck given you want to hold mana open for this ability as well and you get an extra turn of value out of each land. It feels like it might be very complicated to play.

Spoiler: Personification

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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.

Feels like it should be okay given a lot of the problem with fields was how uninteractive it was and getting it straight out with Golos or scapeshift. Much easier to get rid of here.

Spoiler: ben-zayb

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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

I like the flavour of linking the lands together with the roads and the mana fixing is fine as an effect but how it reads feels a bit clunky. Might read better if it was just something like "Lands with road counters can tap for one mana of any colour your lands could produce". Not sure it needs the extra cost on the triggered ability either.

Spoiler: Dr.Gunsforhands

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Rubble Raider - 1R
Creature - Human Pirate C
The first time a land is put into a graveyard from the battlefield each turn, create a treasure token.
2/1

Nice and simple. Good synergy with fetchlands and land destruction but doesn't feel like it would get out of hand.

Spoiler: Winner

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Bucky with River

[Bucky]

I'll continue my archetype cycle. Create a noncreature spell for aggro decks.

Aggro decks try to end the game using mana-efficient recurring damage sources, usually creatures. The card doesn't need to be exclusive to aggro decks, but it should be much more useful in aggro than in other archetypes. Bonus points for fitting into a wide variety of aggro decks.

[Necroticplague]

Gyroscopic Link RRR
Sorcery-U
Chose a creature you control. It deals 1 Damage to each opponent and to each creature and planeswalker your opponents control. Then, put a first strike counter and a +1/+1 counter on it.

[Quiddle]

Grand Stratagem 1W
Enchantment U
When Grand Stratagem enters the battlefield create a 1/1 white soldier token.
Creatures you control are 2/2s.

Its an anthem for 1/1s(and 0/0s) as well as a 2/2 body!

[Personification]

Unwavering Resolve {W/B}
Instant C
Target creature gains indestructible until end of turn.
Draw a card.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Levitative Transit - 1U
Instant - C
Put a +1/+1 counter and a Flying counter on target creature you control.
Overload 3UU (You may cast this spell for its Overload cost. If you do, replace each instance of, "target," with, "each.")

[mythmonster2]

Mu Yanling, Skyspeaker 1UU
Legendary Planeswalker- Yanling (MR)
+1: Up to one target creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn if it has flying, or gets +1/+1 and gains flying until end of turn if it doesn't have flying.
-2: Until the beginning of your next turn, instants and sorceries you cast cost 1 less to cast for each creature with flying you control.
-5: Search your library for a creature card with flying, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle your library.
2

This is mostly aimed at Mono-Blue Tempo decks like the ones that were popular around Dominaria-era Standard that had cheap flying creatures and counterspells for protection.

[Tom the Mime]

Unrelenting Fervor R
Sorcery - U
Put a haste counter on target creature you control then it gains +X/+0 until end of turn where X is the number of creatures you control with haste.
Retrace

Sorcery speed as I don't mind it dumping multiple lands for a big overall boost but it feels like it could be a bit much if it could be done after blockers were declared.

[mystic1110]

Goblin Pile-Oner 1R
Creature - Goblin (R)
Whenever another creature deals combat damage to a player or a creature, Goblin Pile-Oner deals X damage to that player or creature where X is the difference between that creature's power and toughness (e.g. a creature with 3 power and 1 toughness deals damage to a player, Goblin Pile-Oner will deal 2 damage to that player).
2/1

[Bucky]

Spoiler: Gyroscopic Link

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Gyroscopic Link RRR
Sorcery-U
Chose a creature you control. It deals 1 Damage to each opponent and to each creature and planeswalker your opponents control. Then, put a first strike counter and a +1/+1 counter on it.

Goblin Chainwhirler minus the stick, eh?

This should probably be an Aura. I don't understand why you're using a keyword counter instead.

Spoiler: Grand Stratagem

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Grand Stratagem 1W
Enchantment U
When Grand Stratagem enters the battlefield create a 1/1 white soldier token.
Creatures you control are 2/2s.

Its an anthem for 1/1s(and 0/0s) as well as a 2/2 body!

In an absolute vacuum, an anthem with an attached body is fine. However, this design is very restrictive about what else you have in your deck, since curving it out into a 3/3 for 3 is counterproductive.

I think what kills the design a general aggro card is how bad this is in multiples in exchange for how much it warps the deck; once you have one out, your second might as well be a double-price Eager Cadet. It survives in token-only decks.

Spoiler: Unwavering Resolve

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Unwavering Resolve {W/B}
Instant C
Target creature gains indestructible until end of turn.
Draw a card.

The price is right for an aggro deck looking to protect its tempo lead; indeed, this is somewhat better than the going rate for the effect (compare Sheltering Light and Oblivion's Hunger). I don't think there's a way to balance both the large tempo gain and the +1 card advantage.

Recosted, it strongly discourages blocking in the aggro mirror against blocking, as the attacker has all mana up and the defender doesn't.

Spoiler: Levitative Transit

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Levitative Transit - 1U
Instant - C
Put a +1/+1 counter and a Flying counter on target creature you control.
Overload 3UU (You may cast this spell for its Overload cost. If you do, replace each instance of, "target," with, "each.")

This time, the flying counter makes sense for the Overload. The main mode's fair for Limited, weak for Constructed but the option's nice. The overload on the other hand...

The surprise factor of an instant-speed flying armada is too much at common. With several available at any given draft table, it'd utterly invalidate the tactic of poking over the top of a board stall with a couple of flyers for fear of getting blown out, if it weren't so bomby in those situations that the correct answer's to ignore it and hope they didn't draw it.

Yet, a 5 mana spell needs to be that strong to fit into an aggro deck. So it should be a rare.

Spoiler: Mu Yanling, Skyspeaker

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Mu Yanling, Skyspeaker 1UU
Legendary Planeswalker- Yanling (MR)
+1: Up to one target creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn if it has flying, or gets +1/+1 and gains flying until end of turn if it doesn't have flying.
-2: Until the beginning of your next turn, instants and sorceries you cast cost 1 less to cast for each creature with flying you control.
-5: Search your library for a creature card with flying, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle your library.
2

This looks like it's secretly a combo card. Make a few flying tokens and all your spells on the combo turn become really cheap.

If you're actually using it in an aggro deck, it doesn't have any independent board presence, can't defend itself and doesn't replace itself. She gets one jump in, then usually dies to a counterattack - not worth three mana.

Spoiler: Unrelenting Fervor

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Unrelenting Fervor R
Sorcery - U
Put a haste counter on target creature you control. It gains +X/+0 until end of turn where X is the number of creatures you control with haste.
Retrace

Haste tribal?

In order to make this worthwhile as a pump spell, you need multiple retraces or a deck with 16+ haste creatures. That's achievable, although if you build around the +X/+0 your haste-granting has fewer targets.

The ability to burn several lands to pump one creature really sells the design. With some haste on the table already, playing an evasive creature and spending multiple retraces on it yields a giant sucker punch.

Spoiler: Goblin Pile-Oner

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Goblin Pile-Oner 1R
Creature - Goblin (R)
Whenever another creature deals combat damage to a player or a creature, Goblin Pile-Oner deals X damage to that player or creature where X is the difference between that creature's power and toughness (e.g. a creature with 3 power and 1 toughness deals damage to a player, Goblin Pile-Oner will deal 2 damage to that player).
2/1

Disqualified for not being a noncreature spell.

Spoiler: winner

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Tom the Mime with Unrelenting Fervor

[Tom the Mime]

I made the one before this one so I'll open up making the challenge to whoever posts next.

[Quiddle]

Sure I'll bite. Make me a card for one of the colleges (ie two color pairs) not seen in Strixhaven! The card should mechanically and stylistically feel appropriate for the plane. If it fits storywise, great.

[mythmonster2]

Daxyn Multimage 2UB
Creature- Merfolk Wizard (U)
Magecraft- Whenever you cast or copy an instant or sorcery spell, choose lifelink, menace, hexproof, or flying. If Daxyn Multimage does not have a counter of the chosen type, put a counter of that type on it.
"At the end of the day, you're the only one who decides what you're capable of."
3/3

My idea for a blue-black college: psychology students who believe in the unlimited potential of each individual. They have a Voltron style of play, buffing up a single creature.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Spoiler: List for thought organization

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Colors	Name	Subject	Token	Note
UR	Prismari	Art/Music	4/4 Elemental	Big, splashy spells
RW	Lorehold	History/Archaeology	3/2 Spirit	Graveyard recursion
WB	Silverquill	Language/Literature	2/1 Inkling	Fliers with counters
BG	Witherbloom	Medicine/Zoology	1/1 Pest	Life gain
GU	Quandrix	Math/Biology	0/0 Fractal	Ramp and card draw
UW	<Azorius?>	Civil Engineering	2/2 Golem	Artifacts
WG	<Selesnya?>	Hospitality/Security	0/2 Plant	Fogs and Removal
GR	<Gruul?>	Geology/Geography	3/3 Land	Landfall
RB	<Rakdos?>	Theology	3/6 Avatar?	Secretly the Oriq cult
BU	Daxyn	Psychology	1/1 Nightmare	Discard/Shadow

Horror Summoning - 3(r/b)(r/b)
It's a Hydralisk. I mean a Mage Hunter. I mean a big angry porcupine-scorpion thing.
Sorcery - Lesson C
Create a 3/4 red and black Horror creature token with Menace.
When the College of Theology abandoned Strixhaven to form the Oriq, that hardly meant the end of their studies.

[Personification]

So, the Vorthos of me requires that I point out that due to the worldbuilding of Arcavios, allied color colleges don't really make sense, but I also understand the point of the prompt.

Part of the point of Stryxhaven is using the color pairs in a way that they aren't often used, especially in a way different to Ravnica. For that reason, I am going to say that WU are neither skies nor control, but agro/tempo, with lots of blue bounce to clear the way for white aggro. I agree with Dr.Gunsforhands about them being engineers, though I would go with general engineering, not just civil engineering, and therefore artifacts would definitely be the subtheme.

Early Prototype 4WU
Artifact Creature - Construct U
You may tap an untapped artifact you control rather than pay 1 when paying this spells mana cost.
Vigilance
When ~ enters the battlefield, you may return target nonland permanent to its owners hand.
(Mechania watermark)
3/3
...and waterproof! While not built with any specific applications in mind, we believe many will be found, and have already started considering potential uses in search-and-rescue operations after...

[mystic1110]

Professor Estrid's Final XGW
Instant - Lesson (R)
Mill X cards. Return all non-Aura enchantment cards with a converted mana cost of X or less from your graveyard to the battlefield, then do the same for Aura cards with a converted mana cost of X or less.
Where the hell are all these new professor's coming from?

[ben-zayb]

Sure I'll bite. Make me a card for one of the colleges (ie two color pairs) not seen in Strixhaven! The card should mechanically and stylistically feel appropriate for the plane. If it fits storywise, great.

Can we stray off the main "instant and sorcery matters" theme with the magecraft mechanics, or should that be taken into account?

[Quiddle]

Your cards will be considered as if they were being printed into an extended Strixhaven set, but Strixhaven already has other draft archetypes besides spells matter! Long way of saying do whatever you would like!

[Misothene]

Gorgias, Dean of Indulgence 2RR
Legendary Creature- Elephant Shaman R
When Gorgias enters the battlefield, create two Food tokens.
Whenever a creature you control attacks, you may sacrifice a Food. If you do, that creature gets +2/+0 and trample until end of turn.
3/4
///////////////
Viriba, Dean of Nutrition 3GG
Legendary Creature- Bear Druid R
At the beginning of your upkeep, create a Food token.
Whenever you sacrifice a Food, put a +1/+1 counter on up to one target creature.
4/5

[Laughing Dog]

Early Prototype 4WB
Artifact Creature - Construct U
You may tap an untapped artifact you control rather than pay 1 when paying this spells mana cost.
Vigilance
When ~ enters the battlefield, you may return target nonland permanent to its owners hand.
(Mechania watermark)
3/3
...and waterproof! While not built with any specific applications in mind, we believe many will be found, and have already started considering potential uses in search-and-rescue operations after...

Psst... Personification! I think you meant it to be White-blUe, not White-Black.

[Personification]

Psst... Personification! I think you meant it to be White-blUe, not White-Black.

GARFIELD!!!!!


Yeah, fixing it.

[ben-zayb]

Quouos, Dean of Integration 1U
Legendary Creature - Cat Wizard R
Whenever you look at one or more cards from a library, tap or untap target creature.
1U,T: Each player reveals the top card of their library. You may exile one of the revealed cards and put a source counter on it.
2/1
///
Prospero, Dean of Collaboration 2W
Legendary Creature - Dog Cleric R
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may exile target creature or planeswalker and put a source counter on it. Its owner may cast it from exile.
Creatures you control get +1/+1 for each card exiled with a source counter on it.
3/3

Cloudweave: College of Infokinetics
Mascot: white and blue 2/2 Avatar creature with "Whenever this creature attacks, scry 1."
Themes are "exiled cards matter" and "looking at library matters"
In a nutshell, think of altruistic Dimir with internet: transformation and management of arcane knowledge for practical advances in society. IRL equivalent mainly covers degrees such as Education, Engineering, Data Science, Informatics, and Library Studies.

[Necroticplague]

Thesis Summons 2BR
Creature-Fiend
Flying, Trample
Claw Out 3 (As an additional cost to play this, sacrifice three permanents that share a type with this card. You may play this card from your graveyard).
"When the competition for scholarships gets cutthroat amount grad students, things get very cutthroat."
5/5

Rakdos Aristocrats theme-uses cheaply revived fodder to fuel 'when X dies' triggers by being sacrificed en-massed to more expensively revived things-only to repeat the process.

[Quiddle]

Spoiler: mythmonster2

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Daxyn Multimage 2UB
Creature- Merfolk Wizard (U)
Magecraft- Whenever you cast or copy an instant or sorcery spell, choose lifelink, menace, hexproof, or flying. If Daxyn Multimage does not have a counter of the chosen type, put a counter of that type on it.
"At the end of the day, you're the only one who decides what you're capable of."
3/3

This is a strong uncommon that will take over limited games but has to power up first. I like a lot of whats going on here but am not sure how I feel about tracking agility counters in Strixhaven.

Spoiler: Dr Guns4hands

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Horror Summoning - 3(r/b)(r/b)
It's a Hydralisk. I mean a Mage Hunter. I mean a big angry porcupine-scorpion thing.
Sorcery - Lesson C
Create a 3/4 red and black Horror creature token with Menace.
When the College of Theology abandoned Strixhaven to form the Oriq, that hardly meant the end of their studies.

5 mana for a 3/4 menace sounds about right for a lesson. I like the flavor text :)

Spoiler: personification

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Early Prototype 4WU
Artifact Creature - Construct U
You may tap an untapped artifact you control rather than pay 1 when paying this spells mana cost.
Vigilance
When ~ enters the battlefield, you may return target nonland permanent to its owners hand.
(Mechania watermark)
3/3
...and waterproof! While not built with any specific applications in mind, we believe many will be found, and have already started considering potential uses in search-and-rescue operations after...


The way this agility is written I believe means you can only pay for one with an artifact so you are still hard paying the other 3UW. I like UW being engineers thats a fresh take on the color pair! 3/3 vigilance and bounce makes this a very solid tempo play but I think the cost is appropriate. I would have liked to see a slightly more unique effect on this card but you've managed to make something with a decent amount of text that still is easily understandable(aka not questing beast). gj!

Spoiler: mystic1110

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Professor Estrid's Final XGW
Instant - Lesson (R)
Mill X cards. Return all non-Aura enchantment cards with a converted mana cost of X or less from your graveyard to the battlefield, then do the same for Aura cards with a converted mana cost of X or less.
Where the hell are all these new professor's coming from?


My biggest gripe with this one is that a Final doesn't really feel like a lesson to me. The lessons that have been printed are all teaching something while this card is explicitly a test. Having a mill and res effect does seem like it could be in GW though and would lead to an interesting color pair identity.

Spoiler: Misothene

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Gorgias, Dean of Indulgence 2RR
Legendary Creature- Elephant Shaman R
When Gorgias enters the battlefield, create two Food tokens.
Whenever a creature you control attacks, you may sacrifice a Food. If you do, that creature gets +2/+0 and trample until end of turn.
3/4
///////////////
Viriba, Dean of Nutrition 3GG
Legendary Creature- Bear Druid R
At the beginning of your upkeep, create a Food token.
Whenever you sacrifice a Food, put a +1/+1 counter on up to one target creature.
4/5


Food tokens! I enjoyed the typelines that you decided on, very fun. Having GR be the cooking college was a creative idea that pays off in your two deans. I think that your professors are well costed and distinct while still operating in a similar zone. gj!

Spoiler: ben-zyb

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Quouos, Dean of Integration 1U
Legendary Creature - Cat Wizard R
Whenever you look at one or more cards from a library, tap or untap target creature.
1U,T: Each player reveals the top card of their library. You may exile one of the revealed cards and put a source counter on it.
2/1
///
Prospero, Dean of Collaboration 2W
Legendary Creature - Dog Cleric R
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may exile target creature or planeswalker and put a source counter on it. Its owner may cast it from exile.
Creatures you control get +1/+1 for each card exiled with a source counter on it.
3/3

Cats integrate, dogs collaborate - i like it. I believe there are cards that let you look at the top card of your library whenever you want is that a two card infinite? Have untaps like that are probably okay for most other effects though. The dog dean is strong enough to be a stand alone card. They both provide a return target creature to "hand" effect each turn and usually an anthem. I like whats going on here but the two cards seem a little to different and a touch over tuned.

Spoiler: necroticplauge

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Thesis Summons 2BR
Creature-Fiend
Flying, Trample
Claw Out 3 (As an additional cost to play this, sacrifice three permanents that share a type with this card. You may play this card from your graveyard).
"When the competition for scholarships gets cutthroat amount grad students, things get very cutthroat."
5/5


I think that this could possibly cost one less mana. Claw Out 3 is brutal and you'll usually have to sac three lands to make this hit the board. I think the card is well named for Strixhaven and the flavor is on point.

Spoiler: Winner

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Misothene with Gorgias, Dean of Indulgence & Viriba, Dean of Nutrition

Runners up were personification and Dr Gunsforhands

thanks for the cards everyone, I had a good time judging this batch

[Misothene]

Thanks for the selection! Culinary arts was the best thought I had of how to illustrate a conflict between one of the allied pairs.

For the next challenge, I'd like to celebrate some of Strixhaven's creature type diversity. So, make an enemy-colored card with one of the following creature types:
Bear,
Bird,
Elephant,
Frog,
Lizard.

These don't need to be set on Strixhaven, and they don't have to be anthropomorphic. I would like to see at least one of these in the type line, so Changeling isn't sufficient. You can mix and match if you please, so if you have a great idea for a Bear Bird or Elephant Lizard, be my guest.

For reference, the "enemy" color pairs are WB, WR, UR, UG and BG.

[Necroticplague]

Misbegotten Experiment 2UUGG
Creature-Frog Lizard Horror R
Trample
When Misbegotten Experiment enters the battlefield, exile all creatures that have a creature type Misbegotten Experiment does not have with a materials counter on them.
Misbegotten Experiment has power and toughness equal to one greater than the amount of creatures types it has, and has the types of all non-changeling creature cards in exile with material counters on them.
"Xe never thought xe'd see the day, but xe finally had: attempts at pushing krasis capabilities further had officially gone too far."
*+1/*+1

[ben-zayb]

Salamastodon 2WR
Creature - Lizard Elephant U
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a +1/+1 counter on ~ if the number of +1/+1 counters on it is less than two.
2R, Remove a +1/+1 counter on ~: ~ deals 2 damage to target creature that dealt damage to it this turn.
Fun fact: It can launch its massive tusks as a defense mechanism. Not-so-fun fact: Your provocation is now triggering that mechanism.
3/3

[Tom the Mime]

A bird bear you say? Couldn't resist.

Voracious Owlbear 2UG
Creature - Bird Bear U
Trample
Whenever ~ deals combat damage to a player, put a +1/+1 counter on it
"I know what it looks like but we actually didn't make this one. It was like that when we got here." - Juric, Simic Researcher
4/3

[mythmonster2]

Pauper Punisher 2WB
Creature- Elephant Cleric (U)
Vigilance
At the beginning of each end step, if you gained life this turn, choose one:

• Each opponent loses 2 life
• Create a 1/1 white and black Spirit creature token.

"If you can't pay the tithe in gold, you'll pay with your body."
3/3