Researcher's Codex
Custom Cards forum
Posted on Nov. 8, 2015, 2:52 p.m. by DemonDragonJ
Planar Portal is an awesome card, but it is very expensive and takes many turns to provide any significant card advantage; Ring of Three Wishes has the same effect at a lower cost, with the drawback of being able to be used only a certain number of time. Therefore, I have been wondering what a single-use version of those cards might look like, so I have designed such a card, as seen here:
Researcher's Codex Show
, The flavor of this card is that it is a book that provide any knowledge that the reader seeks, but it works only once and then cannot be used, again. I could not decide whether to have it cost mana to initially cast or to activate, but I then decided to have it be free to cast, and cost mana to activate, so that a player could not get the cad onto the battlefield without paying for it (such as by using Tinker) and then activate it for free.
What does everyone else here think about this card? How well did I do with it?
Izu_Korasu says... #3
sounds like the Oghma Infinium from skyrim or Ashnod's Coupon.
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mana cost seems fine, (tinker costs 3, and usually grabs something huge like Darksteel Colossus) but artifact recovery seems like a good reason to make the activation cost high
could be rearranged so it requires study counters/time to open like Grimoire of the Dead or Pursuit of Knowledge (which could be done on the same turn, or slowly over multiple turns for 
per counter) letting you tutor after 3 counters.
November 8, 2015 3:45 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #4
For the last nine years even in black "search for a card and put it in your hand" with no requirements has been 4+ mana. For balancing I'd say you would need this effect to be at least 6 mana total, probably closer to 7. Now if this were printed in a supplemental product 5 total mana would be comparable to black's older tutors.
November 8, 2015 4:11 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #5
IzuKorasu, if it took time before it could be used, it would have no limit on the number of times that it could be used, to make up for that.
November 8, 2015 4:15 p.m.
A better card to compare this to is Eye of Ugin. And it's 7 mana to search for any colorless creature card. You really need to put the ante if you want it to be even remotely fair.
November 8, 2015 5:18 p.m.
I think it would be interesting as a reverse Codex Shredder.
An ability to shuffle a card from your graveyard into your library, and an ability that searches for a card and shuffles this artifact into your library.
November 8, 2015 5:44 p.m.
CharlesMandore says... #8
So this is essentially Diabolic Tutor, except colorless, and while Diabolic Tutor isn't broken a colorless tutor at that cost is notably kinda weird. I'd have it enter tapped.
November 8, 2015 6:56 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #9
What about increasing the cost to 6 mana? Would that make it more balanced?
November 8, 2015 7:07 p.m.
Izu_Korasu says... #10
DemonDragonJ well there are alot more examples of cards that need to tick up before being sacrificed,(like the Quest for Ancient Secretscycles, Barrin's Codex, Ratchet Bomb, Shrine of Burning Rage cycle etc)
if you just want a tutor, eldrazi tribal gives you an option (probably 5 or six mana unless it grabs something specific like From Beyond)
i was thinking something along the lines of
Researcher's Codex ---
T: Artifact
: put an Experience Counter on Researcher's Codex.
Remove three Experience Counters from Researcher's Codex and sacrifice it: Search your library for a card an put that card into your hand. Then shuffle your library.
which allows it to be a mana sink from turn 1, or a quick tutor late game.
November 8, 2015 7:29 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #11
IzuKorasu: that is quite a nice idea, as it can be cast early in the game and then cashed in later. However, I would use a different type of counter for it, since only players can have experience counters; what about research counters or charge counters?
November 8, 2015 8:13 p.m.
Izu_Korasu says... #12
Study counter Grimoire of the Dead
Page counter Barrin's Codex + Private Research
Intervention counter Divine Intervention
Lore counter Scroll of the Masters
are probably most on theme, but given how many different types of counters there are (looking at you Dread Wight and Gemstone Mine + Orcish Mine ) really any word works ..
DERPLINGSUPREME says... #2
why would it be free as opposed to 1? or 2? there are things that are similar to this, but they're NEVER put at free, b/c anything that can be free in ANY way can be broken. easily.
other than that, the effects would make sense and It'd be nice to actually have a tutor in EDH that is easily accessible by all colors. but a codex doesnt really make sense, so for flavour I'd suggest turning to folklore. maybe a monkey's paw kinda thing?
November 8, 2015 3 p.m.