Miscellaneous Card Design Thread

Scholar of the Lost Trove was a mistake, especially because of cards like Unburial Rites and Rise of the Dark Realms. It should've at least had the "if you cast it from your hand" restriction on the 187 ability.  Well, what if there was a universal ability that could prevent reanimation shenannygoats, one that could finally do away with the clunkiness of things like Darksteel Colossus and the original Big 3 Eldrazi?

Ball of Rotting Flesh

Creature--Zombie

Trample, haste, wither

Whenever a creature dealt damage by Ball of Rotting Flesh this turn dies, put X +1/+1 counters on Ball of Rotting Flesh, where X is the amount of damage it did to that creature.
Unrising (As long as this permanent is in a graveyard, it can’t be put into any non-library zone.)

20/20

It never fails.  I post this /|\, shut my computer down, then immediately have an inspiration, something to challenge the uber-Johnnies & -Jennies:

Uragiri, Infiltration Incarnate

Legendary Creature--Zombie Avatar Rogue

As Uragiri, Infiltration Incarnate enters the battlefield, choose an opponent. Uragiri, Infiltration Incarnate enters the battlefield under that player’s control.
When Uragiri, Infiltration Incarnate enters the battlefield, if it entered from a graveyard, you lose the game.
Unrising (As long as this permanent is in a graveyard, it can’t be put into any non-library zone.)

1/1

So, MaRo has said that one of the key problems to doing colorfixing for four colors is how to prevent it from just devolving into 5. I think I've come up with a solution, inspired by James Macdonald's tweet:

Necromancers' Quarter

Land

You can’t add .
: Add .
, : Add .

Magi's Quarter

Land

You can’t add .
: Add .
, : Add .

Farmers' Quarter
Land
You can’t add .
: Add .
, : Add .

Martials' Quarter
Land
You can’t add .
: Add .
, : Add .

Councillors' Quarter
Land
You can’t add .
: Add .
, : Add .

Royals' Quarter
Land
You can’t add .
, : Add .

King's Private Chambers
Legendary Land

~ enters the battlefield tapped.
: Add one mana of any type.
, : Add .

Inspired by today's Making Magic column, section on scry:

Prognostic Hydra

Creature--Hydra

Flash
Trample
As you cast this spell, you may pay any amount of mana. If you do, scry that many cards, then Prognostic Hydra enters the battlefield with that many additional +1/+1 counters on it.
Whenever you scry any number of cards, put that many +1/+1 counters on Prognostic Hydra.
: Scry X.

0/0

If you're wondering what's with the wonky templating of the 3rd ability, my original idea was this:

Prognostic Hydra

Creature--Hydra

Flash
Trample
As Prognostic Hydra enters the battlefield, scry X.
Prognostic Hydra enters the battlefield with X +1/+1 counters on it.
Whenever you scry any number of cards, put that many +1/+1 counters on Prognostic Hydra.
: Scry X.

0/0

This wouldn't ever be printed, because all Xs on a card MUST be the same value!

'Memmer my original Overcharm?  Well, I decided to finally complete the cycle:

Overcharm of Knowledge

Instant

Multikicker (You may pay an additional any number of times as you cast this spell.)
Choose X. For each time this spell was kicked, you may choose the same mode up to one additional time—
• Target player draws a card.
• Return target nonland permanent with converted mana cost of X or less to its owner’s hand.
• Counter target spell with converted mana cost of X or less.
• Counter target activated or triggered ability whose source has converted mana cost of X or less.

Overcharm of Rot

Instant

Multikicker (You may pay an additional any number of times as you cast this spell.)
Choose X. For each time this spell was kicked, you may choose the same mode up to one additional time—
• Target player loses 2 life.
• Remove any counter other than -1/-1 from target permanent.
• Put a -1/-1 counter on target permanent.
• Exile X target cards from graveyards.

Overcharm of Passion

Instant

Multikicker (You may pay an additional any number of times as you cast this spell.)
Choose X. For each time this spell was kicked, you may choose the same mode up to one additional time—
• Overcharm of Passion deals 2 damage to target creature or planeswalker.
• Destroy target artifact with converted mana cost of X or less.
• Target player gains control of target permanent with converted mana cost of X or less until end of turn. Untap that permanent. It gains haste until end of turn.
• Target creature gets +1/+0 and gains first strike and trample until end of turn.

Overcharm of the Wilds

Instant

Multikicker (You may pay an additional any number of times as you cast this spell.)
Choose X. For each time this spell was kicked, you may choose the same mode up to one additional time—
• Target player creates an X/X green Beast creature token.
• Put a +1/+1 counter on target permanent.
• Target player chooses land or nonland. That player reveals the top X cards of their library. That player may put any number of cards of the chosen type from among them into their hand. Then that player puts the rest on the bottom of their library in a random order.
• Target permanent or player gains hexproof until end of turn.

As I went, I found that the difficulty of finding a suitable effect increased, as each previously used effect ate up possibilities, and I didn't want to create too many overlaps.  As you can see, I still had to accept a few.

I need to download the Saga template.

The Ascension of Vaðl

~ can't be the target of spells or abilities of sources with converted mana cost less than or equal to its current chapter number.

I, II--You gain 2 life, draw a card, and put a +1/+1 counter on up to one target permanent.

III, IV--~ deals damage equal to its current chapter number to any target.

V, VI--Each opponent loses life and you gain life equal to ~'s current chapter number.

VII--Return ~ to its owner's hand.

Legendary Enchantment--Saga

Errbody's always complainin bout being shit? Well, mebbe this'll help:

Adaptive Shielding

Instant

Put a hexproof counter on target permanent. You may draw a card if that permanent is the target of a spell or ability controlled by an opponent.

I know, I know, mill doesn't need any more toys:

Obliviomancy

Enchantment

Whenever an opponent mills one or more cards, you scry X, where X is that many cards.

------------------------------

The truly wisest ones pay just as much attention to what their adversaries throw away as to what they keep.

So I'm not done with mill strategies, so sue me:

In a far-distant future, Ashiok has finally evaporated almost to nothing, a memory--half-forgotten by some, remembered as only a myth or boogeyman by a very few, not even known by most.  And that's exactly the way that they want it.  The most powerful nightmares are all but thoughts: stray, unbidden, uncontained, uncontrollable, spreading like wildfire, like a fevered madness all too easily spread.  In whispers, in hushed tones, in dark corners buried deep in the furthest repressions of the psyche, they work, unseen, unheard, while unconsciously, their victims steadily go insane without even noticing anything's changed.

I give you Ashiok, the amyloid plaque; Ashiok, the virulently contagious prion disease; Ashiok, the sapient, self-contained, autoambulatory cuckoo memory that devours all the others, whose only mercy is leaving you cognizant enough to realize that you're losing something, and how much you've lost...

Ashiok, the Wisp of Memory

Legendary Planeswalker--Ashiok

: Each opponent gets an emblem with “At the beginning of your upkeep, exile the top card of your library face down.”
: Create a 0/0 blue and black Nightmare Horror creature token with “This creature gets +1/+1 for each face down card in exile.”
: You get an emblem with “You may look at and play face down cards from exile.”

Have I mentioned just how much dementia scares me shitless?  I've already lost one or two family members to it, and another is starting to show early symptoms, so I've got it on BOTH sides of my family.  Fortunately, I've been told by a psychiatrist that Autism spectrum disorders have some neuroprotective qualities against dementias, so at least I've got that going for me.

Den, God of All

Legendary Enchantment Creature--God

This spell can’t be countered.
Indestructible, hexproof, haste, vigilance, reach, trample
Den, God of All can’t be sacrificed.
As long as your devotion to each type of mana is less than three per type, Den, God of All isn’t a creature.
At the beginning of your precombat main phase, for each type of mana, add an amount of that type of mana equal to your devotion to that type.

12/12

This idea started with the last ability, and I worked my way from there.

This Un- card was first designed 12/30/14, when I first saw Hamilton, but I'm only now posting it here because I needed the reference:

Wanda Gershowitz

Legendary Creature--Human Rogue

For as long as you control a permanent printed in a language other than English, creatures you control get +1/+1 for each language other than English that’s printed on permanents you control.
: Gain control of target spell or permanent printed in a language other than English. (This lasts indefinitely.) If you gain control of a spell this way, you may choose new targets for that spell.

3/3