Study of a Planeswalker One
Custom Cards forum
Posted on April 15, 2015, 11:59 a.m. by FAMOUSWATERMELON
So I've got some ideas for a planeswalker that would ideally represent me, so I'm putting out some "studies", if you want to call it that way. Here is the first (also, because MTG Cardsmith sucks, I can't actually show the card. Too many words :( ).
X, Manipulator 
Planeswalker - X
+2 Look at target opponent's hand. Draw a card, then discard a card unless you reveal a card in your hand to that opponent.
-2Tap up to three target permanents. Those permanents don't untap during their controller's next untap step.
-9 Look at the top 30 cards of each player's library, and then put them back in any order. You get an emblem with "Your opponents can't search or shuffle libraries."
3
So the theme here is manipulation. I want to manipulate how my opponent plays to the point where I'm basically playing both sides. The first ability is like a worse Gitaxian Probe or Peek, but I really like those types of cards. You get to see your opponent's incoming threats and you get a card, but all of that comes at the prices of a little bit of knowledge for your opponent. The second ability allows you to control your opponent a bit more, so that he's deprived of certain lands or creatures for a turn or two. The ult lets you decide what your opponent gets or doesn't get for the rest of the game, and unless he's playing some heavy draw or a graveyard based deck, it's pretty much good game, since you get to rearrange your library as well.
So what do you guys think? Too powerful? Good? Not powerful enough?
Thanks for looking!!
This is actually pretty dang cool.
But for the love of all that is holy, 30 FLIPPIN' CARDS!? That's a biiiiit too much. 15 would be ok, but for the sake of me being a bit nice to the opponent, I would put it at 10.
11/10 would run in my deck.
April 15, 2015 12:09 p.m.
Also, is this supposed to mean that you've been throwing us off THIS WHOLE TIME!? You MONSTER.
April 15, 2015 12:10 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #5
Ooh, I get a review from Epoch, lucky me :)
The "no shuffling" is not something I would usually do, but if I don't have it, all my opponent needs to do is crack a fetch and I just wasted a planeswalker. I agree that not shuffling is generally a pretty big no-no, but I don't see a way around it in this case.
Runlue I was hesitating about the 30 cards too, but I don't want to make it underwhelming in EDH either. Maybe 20?
Also, didn't quite get the second comment.
April 15, 2015 12:12 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #7
Hahaha, wouldn't exactly call it stalking, but yeah. What about it?
April 15, 2015 12:21 p.m.
I think the better way to phrase the emblem is "opponents can't search libraries." Because that gets around the can't shuffle clause and does essentially what you want to do without the danger of "can't shuffle".
April 15, 2015 12:27 p.m.
You're a manipulator, so all you are trying to do is throw us off. BAM
April 15, 2015 12:33 p.m.
Yeah, "can't shuffle" is a very troublesome effect. Can'ts taking priority over cans is one of magic's golden rules, and that one will ruin...practically every fetch, tutor, and library refresher in magic.
Personally, I would say :
+1: Choose one: Scry 2 on your own deck, or Scry 1 on any other deck, or draw a card, or look at your opponent's hand.
Keep the -2
-7: Your opponents get an emblem: "you play with your hand and the top three cards of your library revealed."
April 15, 2015 12:40 p.m.
SoggyGecko says... #11
I really like the first two abilities, but I feel a little bit iffy about the ultimate. I don't know what I would change it to, but it seems just.. different, I guess. The other two really make the planeswalker thought.
April 15, 2015 12:41 p.m.
TheRedMage says... #12
4-cmc (or less) planeswalker usually don't have abilities that just give you card advantage while also going up in loyalty unless they are conditional (Domri Rade, Narset Transcendent) or symmetrical (Jace Beleren). is a pretty steep cost, so that's probaly fine, but I would make the first ability a +1.
On the flipside locking three things as a downside is not that strong, so I would add a "nonland" clause and make it a -1.
To avoid the problem with the "can't shuffle" effect, you could template it as:
-9: For each opponent, exile the top 30 cards of that player's library. You get an emblem with "If an opponent would draw a card, instead choose a card that player owns exiled with X, Manipulator. That player puts it into his or her hand. If you don't, that player draws a card."
This has the same functionality (they draw what you want them to for the next 20 or 30 or whatever draw steps) and still allows them to shuffle and whatnot. You cannot use the ability to mill them, either, because it's not a "may" - you have to give them a card, you just choose it - and the last clause is there only for when you run out of cards. It also avoids the "ok, let me now take 15 minutes to rearrange your cards" turn, which is a plus in my book.
I am not 100% sure that the rules technology is perfectly compatible with this templating, but I think it works.
April 15, 2015 12:47 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #13
JWiley129 Opponent discards Emrakul, or uses Elixir of Immortality. Unfortunately, there are always ways around it. Though that's definitely an idea.
Runlue Hahaha this is supposed to represent my play style, not my personality.
Egann But that emblem is basically a slightly better Telepathy... To manipulate, I basically want to be controlling my opponent, not simply receiving information.
GabeCubed Different was definitely what I was aiming for, so that's fine with me :)
TheRedMage The -2 I did consider making lower, but it actually seems like a fairly powerful effect (to me). Denying your opponent of three mana sources for one and a half turns seems like a great advantage when playing against pretty much anything, and works very well for control where you can save your counters for later. Sort of on the edge about it though.
That formatting of that ult is almost more powerful, it seems to me. With the current one, you get to arrange it once and if it somehow works in your opponent's favor, that's too bad for you. However, if your opponent somehow works around it (unlikely but possible), your emblem continuously allows you to feed him the wrong cards. And it also works as a 30 card mill, which alone is pretty great. I'm sort of leaning towards JWiley129's idea about no searching.
ABOUT THE +2: I could definitely make the first ability +1, but then I think that I'll have to lower the ult to -7, since most ultimates can be achieved within 4-5 turns of the planeswalker hitting the table.
April 15, 2015 1:09 p.m.
TheRedMage says... #14
It doesn't work as a 30 card mill though. You still have to give them a card whenever they draw. It IS more powerful - as you said, you get to feed them the wrong cards - but I would not worry about the power level of an ultimate too much, and that way there is not 20-minute turn on the day you go off.
Regarding the locking three land, I agree, that is actually very powerful (probably too much for a -2 actually). I think this ability is either a -1 if it can't lock a land, or a -3 if it can. I think the first option makes for a better card because being time-walked over and over is extremely unfun.
April 15, 2015 3:07 p.m.
How about change the ultimate so that you get an emblem that reads, "For each opponent, at the beginning of their upkeep you may look at the top 5 cards and put them back in any order." This would allow you to maintain the control that you had desired originally without having to add that troublesome "No shuffle" clause.
April 15, 2015 3:10 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #16
TheRedMage yes, but if you are playing a mill deck, that's thirty less cards to mill, which is a nice advantage.
Necrotize same problem as described before, but that's also under consideration.
April 15, 2015 3:20 p.m.
TheRedMage says... #17
Actually the ability that way anti-sinergizes with mill pretty hard. Think about it - you don't lose when your library is empty, but when you attempt to draw from an empty library. However, with the emblem in play (well, in the command zone - whatever) it turns out that the player never draws since all their draws are replaced with you giving them a card from the ones that were exiled. So even if you mill their whole deck away, they are not going to lose until they have drawn through all the 20 or 30 cards you exiled anyway.
That said - an emblem that reads -9 on a planeswalker with starting loyalty 3 should pretty much read "you win the game" in some form, which yours pretty much does. Even if it had some incidental milling synergy it wouldn't make your opponent more or less dead - they still lost this game, and probably should have scooped in response to you ultimating anyway.
April 15, 2015 3:33 p.m.
@FAMOUSWATERMELON What I was expecting was to combine the -7 with the +1: scry 1 ability. From the start you can use the +1 scry ability to filter cards you don't like to the bottom of the deck, and with this kind of telepathy+ you can plan which cards you intend to filter out. Manipulation is something you do over time, after all.
The real problem is that this walker is too fast and that -9 ability breaks some fundamental mechanics of magic. Its only 4 mana, so you can get that -9 out on turn 7 without making any effort to accelerate anything. In contrast Tamiyo, the Moon Sage's emblem is only MOSTLY game-breaking and can't happen until turn 9. That -9 has got to get nerfed.
My attitude towards walkers is that they are first defined by how flexible their + abilities are and second by how useful the smaller - ability is. Emblem and ultimate abilities are awesome, but they don't actually happen that often.
April 15, 2015 3:36 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #19
TheRedMage True in just about all cases. Also, notice how it also lets YOU rearrange your library, so even if they do somehow get around it, you've got the best cards for a dozen turns, it's going to be hard to win.
Egann You could say the same of Kiora (for example), who gets her ult on T7. Generally, it takes walkers around 4-5 turns to get their ultimates out. It's also definitely true that ults don't happen often in most decks, but in Control shells (when playing with walkers, that is), they actually resolve a surprising amount. In all the games I've played with Kiora, I've gotten her ult out around 50% of the time.
April 15, 2015 4:30 p.m.
TheRedMage says... #20
Which is a functionality that can be regained by just changing "opponents" to "players":
Exile the top 30 cards of each player's library. You get an emblem with "If a player would draw a card, instead choose a card that player owns exiled with X, Manipulator. That player puts it into his or her hand. If you don't, that player draws a card."
April 15, 2015 4:38 p.m.
MagicalHacker says... #21
One big rule of a Planeswalker is a draw ability should be negative unless the Planeswalker costs five or more, so a four drop that draws a card every turn has to have at least some downside, but you're adding an upside. (Other wise itd be broken.) If you want an ability like it, how about "Each opponent reveals his or her hand. If 5 or more land cards were revealed this way, return target creature to its owners hand."
But really, I think a planeswalker with the shtick of "only universal effect" sounds RIDICULOUSLY COOL. I'd love to see a planeswalker that only affects "each player" with its effects. Obviously, that last ability is almost there to that, but still.
April 15, 2015 4:39 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #22
MagicalHacker True. I generally consider this to be the equivalent of a five mana walker so that's why I included the drawing. Though maybe something like you have to reveal two or three cards to give it a bit more of a downside.
April 15, 2015 4:41 p.m.
TheRedMage says... #23
I think with 4 colored symbols in its cost it's fine to consider it a 5-mana card. I stil think that ability should really be +1 instead of +2 though. That way if you tap out for it on turn 4 it can't tick up and still survive an incoming 4-powered 4-drop (Siege Rhino would like to have words with you, mister walker), which I think makes it a more reasonable card.
April 15, 2015 5:01 p.m.
MagicalHacker says... #24
I mean even with making you reveal your whole hand after you draw and not anyone else hand, I think it's still debatable if it's too powerful for a +1 ability on a four drop.
April 15, 2015 5:20 p.m.
TheRedMage says... #25
Yes and now. 4 mana symbols in 2 colors definitely allow you to push the envelope. Consider for example Phyrexian Obliterator that because it has four mana symbols can be bigger and better than anything black would normally do for a 4-drop and even have an upside!
April 15, 2015 6:37 p.m.
@FAMOUSWATERMELON Yes, but Kiora's ult is hardly what I would call earth-shattering. A 9/9 every turn is a huge board presence, but Elspeth, Sun's Champion's +1 alone chump-blocks for more than four turns. That's not necessarily game changing.
Not all walker ults are equal, and this one is much closer to Karn Liberated than it is to Ajani, Mentor of Heroes.
It's ultimately your card, but I think that a mana cost of 2UB is better than UUBB (Wizards does multiple colored mana cost sparingly for a reason) and that the -9 is impractical on top of being overpowered.
I mean seriously, even if you don't agree with me on it being overpowered, stacking 30 cards means that turn will take several minutes. By the time you will be done, your opponent will be watching cat videos on Youtube. Dial something back.
April 15, 2015 9:39 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #27
Egann While the -9 may be powerful, that's certainly the point. Not only is this walker hard to pay for, but it has no form of self-protection (unlike others such as Elspeth, Sun's Champion, as you mentioned) and takes the usual four turns to get the ult. How much time it takes is not exactly something I take into consideration when making cards, and is generally not much of a problem. I play Jeskai Storm, and it usually takes me around 5-10 minutes to complete my game-winning combo. Things that take time are an inevitability in MTG, and this does not ask for an outrageous time span compared to other MTG cards/decks.
April 16, 2015 7:55 a.m.
MagicalHacker says... #28
I'd say it's simpler to get an emblem with a stackable replacement effect: "If a player would draw a card, instead look at the top three cards of that player's library, put them back on top or the bottom of its owners library in any order, then that player draws a card."
April 16, 2015 12:52 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #29
Yeah, I'm starting to think about the scry-type effect. Hmm...
April 16, 2015 1:30 p.m.
DERPLINGSUPREME says... #30
This card seems fairly balanced, except for the ultimate. The fact that you can basically clog them with lands for the next 9ish turns is crazy. and not letting them do anything about it? brutal. it is hard to get to, but thats really the only thing that makes that acceptable.
April 18, 2015 3:09 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #31
True Derp, but it also does absolutely nothing if they already have an Emrakul on the field (in which case I'm screwed anyways, but you get the point).
April 18, 2015 6:16 p.m.
DERPLINGSUPREME says... #32
uuumm....
but thats an emrakul in an unlikely situation...
Epochalyptik says... #2
Be EXTREMELY careful with "can't shuffle" effects.
I like the first ability. Might want to make it a +1, though, since it's pretty powerful. I don't have the time to do a detailed review right now, though.
April 15, 2015 12:08 p.m.