Legendary Equipment - Custom Card - Needs more balancing.
Custom Cards forum
Posted on May 13, 2020, 4:21 a.m. by StopShot
(The card art is supposed to be that of a hand mirror, but the artwork I found best demonstrates the nature of the card.)
It was meant to be a fixed version of Splinter Twin, but I don’t feel like it came out right. Designing and balancing around cards that can be used in infinite combos is a bit challenging. Please take note that I purposely worded this to remove the original creature at the end of the turn as well. The equip cost is weird, because I don’t want cards like Mana Echoes or Priest of Gix to create a 2-card infinite mana engine with it.
smackjack, yeah I want it to work just like the traditional infinite combo. I was just trying to limit unintentional combos like the ones I described.
Issue is the combo isn’t fragile enough to be fair I think. You could destroy the Pestermite with Splinter Twin on the stack for an easy 2-for-1. I tried to replicate that here where you could destroy the equipment with the copy ability on the stack and they lose the creature later due to the ability. Works great for artifact removal as its a 2-for-1.
But its not so for creature removal. If you use creature removal while the copy ability is on the stack they can just move the equipment onto the token and restart the combo again, so you’re better off doing it while the equip ability is on the stack instead, but by that point you’re making a 1-for-1 trade which I don’t think punishes the Twin player enough, but maybe I’m too harsh?
I like the idea of equipping the tokens you produce for cheap as you can spam ETB’s at the cost of losing the creature just for value reasons like in EDH if you’re not going the combo route. But I’m getting off point, do you think the use of creature removal should be just as much of a setback as it is for artifact removal? I’m afraid the fact it’s an equipment rather than an aura makes it too resilient, but then again the turn 5 kill could be enough of a drawback as it is, so I’d like a second opinion.
May 13, 2020 5:58 a.m.
What format is this for? If you mean for it to be Modern-legal, you've made a more powerful Splinter Twin, so I'm not sure it's balanced. The fact that it sits around to be a combo piece later in the game is a huge deal for combo decks, and the "fair" builds of Twin would really enjoy the flexibility.
I think it would have to have the same drawback as the Aura: if the creature dies, it dies. Maybe an ability like "Sacrifice this token and all other creatures you control with the same name at the beginning of the next end step, or whenever CARDNAME becomes unattached from a creature."
It'd still be more powerful than Twin because it can sit around if you fail the combo. You might have to add a line that you sacrifice CARDNAME as well if you activate the ability. That also fits in mutual destruction flavor.
Also, little formatting note, I think you have to give the token the sacrifice ability to get it on the stack properly. E.g.:
": Create a token that's a copy of this creature except it has haste and menace. It has 'Sacrifice this creature and all other creatures you control with the same name at the beginning of the next end step, or whenever CARDNAME becomes unattached from this creature.'"
May 13, 2020 10:03 a.m. Edited.
8 total mana to play and equip seems a bit steep, especially since you cant win on the spot with this as you can with twin. Equip 2 maybe?
May 13, 2020 12:48 p.m.
@abby315, Ah, no the formatting is correct if you check the oracle text of Splinter Twin on Gatherer.
I get what you're saying about Splinter Twin being a risk as its easy to get 2-for-1 if you're the Twin player. I tried to replicate that here where you could destroy the equipment with the copy ability on the stack which would cause the combo player to lose the creature later due to the ability. This 2-for-1 only works for artifact removal however.
Do keep in mind Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker does exist in the format as there's no way to 2-for-1 that set-up and both my custom card and the Kiki-Jiki setup can only be pulled off no earlier than turn 5 which is pretty slow/late in the Modern format. While my custom card doesn't die to creature spot-removal like Kiki-Jiki, it does get removed easily to a wide myriad of format staples such as Inquisition of Kozilek, Natural State, Abrupt Decay, Smash to Smithereens, Abrade, Stony Silence, Kolaghan's Command, Rakdos Charm, Collector Ouphe and Karn, the Great Creator. There's also been more cards printed since Splinter Twin's banning that could be effective at countering the strategy that weren't present before such as Dovin's Veto, Authority of the Consuls, Thalia, Heretic Cathar, Fry, Unmoored Ego, Trespasser's Curse, Harsh Mentor, Wilt, Force of Negation, Tyrant's Scorn, Spell Queller, Aether Gust, Sorcerous Spyglass, Cindervines and Assassin's Trophy. Given the card pool and turn 5 being the earliest the combo can go off, is the late-game flexibility too strong?
Also this card is designed for Modern competitive and casual EDH value, but more emphasis on Modern.
May 13, 2020 7:41 p.m.
Splinter Twin was banned because it was a fair combo deck, which warped the format into requiring every deck to run answers to the combo. Even though the answers were as simple as Path to Exile or a counterspell, it was too consistent and too able to play and win a regular game of Magic, no combo required. That meant it had an automatic leg up on the rest of the format, which had to waste slots and also turns preventing the combo from going off, while the Twin deck can always play with the upper hand and the most choices. It's like running a deck with a Super Threat, which is more Threatening than your opponent's win-con, instead of a linear combo deck that either wins or loses in one turn.
See also the "fair" 4c Saheeli combo decks in standard.
The changes I made force you to go all-in on one turn for a reason: combo decks can't also be fair decks. Letting an artifact sit around for several turns as you wait for the perfect time to deploy your second-card combo is too good. Requiring artifact removal to stop the combo is way too warping.
smackjack says... #2
If you want to disable infinite combos you could give equipped creature Shroud. That way you can tap your Pestermite to create a new one, but you wont be able to target the original with the untap ability. Or maybe have it cost 3 rakdos hybrid and no tap to activate, giving you the option to fairly pay 6 for 2 copies, but no untap shenanigans. If you want it to go infinite i think its quite balanced. Its basically a more tutorable 5 mana + 2 life Splinter Twin..
May 13, 2020 4:51 a.m.