darknova
0/0 Germ
I live, I play.
Posts: 25
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Post by darknova on Jan 31, 2019 3:39:55 GMT
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Post by Jéské Couriano on Jan 31, 2019 4:59:12 GMT
I like the template itself, let's be honest. The rules on the other hand are a bit iffy. Restricted-card requirements generally imply a linchpin in a game-winning combo setup or a card which in and of itself has a potential to black-spot a format (the latter of which are fairly rare and more frequently just banned in format).
That said, I have an idea. Rather than use the border to signify card colour, just make the whole thing rust-brown and use the textual fields to show colour - since these are generally going to be artifacts this would bring it in sync with how other artifact-centric templates work (such as the Masterpiece or Pendrell's Contraption templates).
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Post by kefke on Feb 2, 2019 17:37:39 GMT
The design of the template seems great, though I'm not sure on the scrollwork on the textbox. For me, this impacts readability a bit, and I'm just generally not a fan of busy backgrounds behind text boxes. It works okay on maps, because it's mostly on the bottom of the box, and not too busy where it isn't, but even there I could do without it. What about a literal scroll, instead? There are a few templates - mainly maps and scrolls - that use a parchment texture for the text box. Combined with the scroll-style typeline from conspiracies, I think it could work to portray an object pulled out of antiquity, its lore known only in ancient writings.
That aside, the cards you've got...might actually be too balanced?
Tainted lotus, for instance. That's something with enough drawbacks that I wouldn't be shocked to pull one out of a booster as a normal rare. It doesn't really strike me as a "only allowed one in your entire deck" supercard. For my money, if you're going to be limiting the card to one per deck, it should be a card strong enough that it would normally land itself on the Restricted list anyway. Maybe even a little stronger, since you don't normally see Restricted outside of Vintage, and the original, un-nerfed version of Black Lotus makes that list.
Also, I'm not sure if it's possible to meet Scepter of Sight's win condition outside of a massive multiplayer game where everyone's using relics and you're playing steal, and "Legendary World Enchantment" is redundant. There can only be one World Enchantment in play at a time, period (actually, only one "World" of any kind can be in play at a time, although non-enchantment World permanents have never been printed). If another is cast, by anyone, it automatically replaces the old one. So the Legend Rule will never come up.
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darknova
0/0 Germ
I live, I play.
Posts: 25
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Post by darknova on Feb 3, 2019 4:03:54 GMT
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Post by ThatDamnPipsqueak on Feb 3, 2019 6:32:49 GMT
2 Life is not a downside appropriate for 3 mana. Half your life total, rounded up, wouldn't be an appropriate downside (although it would be closer). The problem with Relics is obvious if you look at vintage: Telling someone they can only play with one copy of a card isn't a drawback for that card. The card is still insane when you draw it, it just means there are fewer games where you draw it. I liked the original version a great deal more, although it still was probably too busted for any format other than Vintage or Commander. I'm 100% not sure where "too balanced" is coming from, given that it is still a literal black lotus (life doesn't matter) if you have even a single basic land. You can still turn 1 a Jace the Mind Sculptor or whatever nonsense you want to throw around.
Aetherial Scepter is hard to grok. Does it generate infinite mana with a gilded lotus?
Planar Battery is fine, although it shouldn't use age counters (those mean something). Card is powerful, but doesn't feel special.
Ancient Goliath has both indestructible and uncounterability on it, which always makes me wince. It's probably balanced though.
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Post by kefke on Feb 3, 2019 7:24:17 GMT
2 Life is not a downside appropriate for 3 mana. Half your life total, rounded up, wouldn't be an appropriate downside (although it would be closer). The problem with Relics is obvious if you look at vintage: Telling someone they can only play with one copy of a card isn't a drawback for that card. The card is still insane when you draw it, it just means there are fewer games where you draw it. I liked the original version a great deal more, although it still was probably too busted for any format other than Vintage or Commander. I'm 100% not sure where "too balanced" is coming from, given that it is still a literal black lotus (life doesn't matter) if you have even a single basic land. You can still turn 1 a Jace the Mind Sculptor or whatever nonsense you want to throw around. - I'm going to have to disagree that a reduced chance to draw isn't a downside. If you only draw a key component of your deck one game in ten, then the deck doesn't work. Tutoring can mitigate that, but at the expense of having to dedicate more deck space to your combo, potentially slowing it down, limiting options, and making your win condition easier to predict and disrupt.
- I personally think you vastly overestimate the value of a one-time boost of three mana. Any deck with decent ramp beats that in the long run, and the value of mana still depends on the cards you can play with it. CMC4 can get you to some good things, but they won't guarantee you the win. Even your example of first-turn Jace is hardly impossible to deal with, even without considering an environment in which any given deck has access to an overpowered trump card. Sure, you could wait to use the three mana later on in the game, but at that point your opponent(s) have had time to get more answers, or even beat you to a win condition. Plus, in your hand or on the board, neither is 100% safe. At that point, picking the right time to play and use a card that can secure you the win is just called "strategy".
- Keep in mind that, as presented, Relics aren't even "limited to one copy". They are "limited to one card of this subtype in your entire deck". Choosing one not only means not being able to have other copies of that card, but not having copies of any other relic. If you could only have one creature/enchantment/instant/etc... in your entire deck, you'd want it to be a good one, right?
That's why I say that making a card that could be printed without being a Relic is "too balanced".
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lomico
0/0 Germ
Posts: 4
Color Alignment: White, Blue, Black
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Post by lomico on Apr 4, 2019 1:13:30 GMT
I love the look of these! Would love to get a copy of the template once you've nailed down what you want to do with it.
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darknova
0/0 Germ
I live, I play.
Posts: 25
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Post by darknova on Apr 9, 2019 3:47:53 GMT
I would love to provide one! I'd gladly provide you the photoshop files if you are proficient in that; however, if someone knows how to package the files into a *.mse format, I would much rather produce that as an easily accessible format for everyone. Just let me know if you want the files and i'll send them. Is @pichoro still around? I know he used to be the expert in that kind of thing.
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