Post by jverse on Nov 13, 2021 4:22:17 GMT
I'm working on a new space/sci-fi themed set that needs a flavorful exploration mechanic and wanted to see what ideas the community might have. Maybe I'll start with a bit of background info so you all can see how I'm approaching this. It's a mono-colored set with the following archetypes/mechanics:
White - blink/flicker effect with an abundance of ETB triggers
Blue - improvise/artifacts
Black - wither/-1/-1 counters
Red - terraform (sac a land and reveal cards from your library until you get a new one which comes into play tapped)
Green - populate
Also included right now are Suspend, Mutate, and several new mechanics, explained below:
Simulate - Flip a coin. If you win, the next spell you cast this turn costs [1] less to cast.
Warp - Choose any number of exiled cards with time counters on them, then remove a time counter from each of them.
Danger - You may cast this spell for its danger cost. If you do, you get a risk counter.
Danger is a bit of a complicated mechanic that reduces the costs on spells with the tradeoff being potential life loss. Risk counters are tracked using a token card which counts up to 3. Each time you cast a card with Danger, you flip a coin for each risk counter and lose 2 life for each coin flip you lost. The wording and design are still a WIP, but it has the desired effect I want, which is that space exploration is very risky, and if you cut corners there are potentially serious consequences.
As you can see there's a lot going on here and I may end up scrapping some of these mechanics to thin out the complexity a bit. I'm still in the very early design phase so it's not a big deal to make sweeping changes at this point. Anyways, what I'm looking for is a final mechanic that really captures the spirit of exploring the unknown reaches of the universe. Since coin flips are already an aspect of the set, I was thinking about potentially utilizing that somehow. I'm also considering something like a "venture into the dungeon" effect that lets you move between spaces on a card for a small effect. If so I'd like it to be randomized so that you don't know what you're going to get.
Anyways, throw whatever ideas you have at me that might belong in a space-themed set and I'll consider them!
White - blink/flicker effect with an abundance of ETB triggers
Blue - improvise/artifacts
Black - wither/-1/-1 counters
Red - terraform (sac a land and reveal cards from your library until you get a new one which comes into play tapped)
Green - populate
Also included right now are Suspend, Mutate, and several new mechanics, explained below:
Simulate - Flip a coin. If you win, the next spell you cast this turn costs [1] less to cast.
Warp - Choose any number of exiled cards with time counters on them, then remove a time counter from each of them.
Danger - You may cast this spell for its danger cost. If you do, you get a risk counter.
Danger is a bit of a complicated mechanic that reduces the costs on spells with the tradeoff being potential life loss. Risk counters are tracked using a token card which counts up to 3. Each time you cast a card with Danger, you flip a coin for each risk counter and lose 2 life for each coin flip you lost. The wording and design are still a WIP, but it has the desired effect I want, which is that space exploration is very risky, and if you cut corners there are potentially serious consequences.
As you can see there's a lot going on here and I may end up scrapping some of these mechanics to thin out the complexity a bit. I'm still in the very early design phase so it's not a big deal to make sweeping changes at this point. Anyways, what I'm looking for is a final mechanic that really captures the spirit of exploring the unknown reaches of the universe. Since coin flips are already an aspect of the set, I was thinking about potentially utilizing that somehow. I'm also considering something like a "venture into the dungeon" effect that lets you move between spaces on a card for a small effect. If so I'd like it to be randomized so that you don't know what you're going to get.
Anyways, throw whatever ideas you have at me that might belong in a space-themed set and I'll consider them!
