Halgrin of the Iron Hammer
Custom Cards forum
Posted on Feb. 17, 2021, 2:03 p.m. by Benthehen333
Dwarf boi
Benthehen333 says... #3
@RiotRunner769 - Thanks! I'll go with the 2/2 dwarf option, I really like it.
February 17, 2021 7:49 p.m.
Grubbernaut says... #4
If he creates a red dwarf, does that make the identity boros? :B
February 17, 2021 8:31 p.m.
Grubbernaut Nope. Just using a color word doesn't affect color identity. It needs the mana symbol. Now, if this guy lets you pay to get a Dwarf (of any color, but probably red), you got yourself a color identity.
February 17, 2021 8:51 p.m.
Incidentally, Benthehen333, you don't have the token's color defined on the card.
February 17, 2021 8:53 p.m.
RiotRunner789 says... #7
Mcat1999: I mean we have Sigarda's Aid and hammer of nazahn.
Also, it doesn't cost 2W. It costs 2WWW because you need the investment from the creature. I don't think he's over costed and there is a nahiri that has a similiar ability for no mana payment.
February 18, 2021 1:06 a.m.
Benthehen333 says... #8
Ok, I changed the card to have a red ability, make a red dwarf, dwarf is 1/1, and it's 4 mana now. I think it's pretty balanced, not to mention it can be an awesome Boros commander now!
February 18, 2021 1:08 a.m.
RiotRunner789: the difference between this and Sigarda's Aid is that SA still needs a creature in addition to this card,so you're looking at three cards. Here, you have a card that not only makes the creatures but also does the equipping.
On top of this, he's not equipping himself but instead is equipping a token, meaning that there is somewhat of a sidestepping of single target removal, unlike someone like Balan, Wandering Knight . So the token dies (since that was the threat) but your means of token production is still alive and healthy.
I think that the concept is good, but since there are so many cheap +X/+0 equipment out there, giving first strike to all your equipped creatures feels a little strong. Bloodforged Battle-Axe for example seems really stupid here, as you're effectively creating a 4 first strike damage dealer with lifelink every time you land a hit.
You could instead give this guy some sort of boon for each equipped creature which still incentivises not equipping him (which is the normal win condition for most equipment decks).
February 18, 2021 2:13 a.m. Edited.
Benthehen333 says... #10
Mcat1999 - True, I actually like vigilance and haste better now that I think about it. I'll change it.
February 18, 2021 10:19 a.m.
Benthehen333 says... #11
enpc - I took Mcat's suggestion and just changed the abilities to vigilance and haste, to balance it a bit more.
February 18, 2021 10:21 a.m.
Personally, I think Vigilance + Haste is worse.
Vigilance is the king of stale combat. You only swing with creatures if they have little to no chance of dying or can take out opposing creatures. Thus vigilance only becomes useful when you can confidently attack. And if you can attack with your vigilance creatures, it either means your opponent was tapped and defenseless or that your creatures dwarf the opposing creatures - meaning the opponent has very little opportunity to attack into you because you now always have vigilant creatures ready to defend.
Yeah, this is mostly a rant about how Vigilance is a pretty bad mechanic, but it becomes worse when coupled with mechanics that increase stats - such as equipment / auras.
Now add haste and there's also a lot of unexpected burst damage that can happen a bit out of nowhere. The previous mention of Colossus Hammer is the epitome of this problem. It provides a very massive stat boost, and Halgrin grants the magnet, haste and vigilance to have you smack down your opponent with a hasted 12/12 that is also on the defense. All for the price of .
Perhaps you could consider not providing keywords to the equipped creatures but rather an active ability or some other benefit. I think adding keywords can quickly lead to one of white's archetypes; keyword soup, and that can sometimes be difficult to balance.
March 3, 2021 3:45 p.m.
Benthehen333 says... #13
Tzefick - It is worse, that was the point, first strike and lifelink would be far too powerful. I see your point about stuff like Colossus Hammer , but there's plenty more cards in Magic that can cause a giant swingy boi out of nowhere, like Magnetic Theft , and especially Sigarda's Aid . Personally, I don't think it's too powerful, and as Mcat1999 said, vigilance is great for a voltron deck with this guy. Also, you said that vigilance is good if you can confidently attack, but equipments will make it much easier to do so. Thanks for the feedback!
March 4, 2021 11:03 a.m.
Benthehen333 No, what I meant was that Vigilance + Haste is probably a worse composition to put on this card. Not worse in terms of power but in terms of balance and game health.
Haste is an incredibly powerful keyword to stuff on any creature that can get significant stat boosts. That was my issue when I referenced Colossus Hammer , not the Magnetic attachment, because as you mentioned, there already exists a few cards that does that effect, some even better than this card.
Vigilance on enormous creatures makes combat one-sided. That reduces game health. That's a general problem with the vigilance mechanic, but that problem is increased with stat boosts (like equipments) since the creature can essentially attack for free and still block and kill any non-evasive attackers who tries to retaliate. Vigilance promotes one-sided combat. You generally don't see large stat boosts coupled with vigilance on efficient auras or equipments because it is a potent mix.
I advocated to consider removing the anthem-keywords because it is difficult to grant multiple keywords and find a balance between worthwhile and fair.
Additionally keywords are usually to be found on many equipment and especially within white and red's creatures. It could be refreshing to replace that anthem with something different like an active ability.
Also this lad does not promote Voltron. It can be done, but it does not take advantage of the abilities all that much.
RiotRunner789 says... #2
I like it. You could probably lose the mana requirement to turn the equipment to snap-on and he wouldn't be overpowered.
Having to sink mana into him makes him lackluster as a commander but still alright in the 99.
Or if you want a mana cost, you could pay 1W and create a 2/2 dwarf and attach incoming equipment to the new token.
February 17, 2021 6:34 p.m.