The Challenges of Making Commons
Custom Cards forum
Posted on Feb. 23, 2015, 11:05 p.m. by buildingadeck
Is this card OP at the common level? I'm trying to make counterspells without reprinting Nullify, Counterspell, etc. Making a 141 card set with no reprints and no basic lands...
2-mana counters aren't really a common thing. Cancel should be the best counterspell at common.
February 23, 2015 11:11 p.m.
buildingadeck says... #4
Nullify and Negate exist. What if I changed the mechanic from Draw to a new mechanic I've come up with called Sift. It would be a "You may Sift 1 (To Sift 1, search your graveyard for an instant or sorcery card, reveal it, and shuffle it into your library.)"
February 23, 2015 11:13 p.m.
buildingadeck says... #5
Essentially, it's Nullify with a drawback and a possible pay-off, if you have an instant or sorcery in your graveyard.
Also, Disdainful Stroke is another at 2 mana common.
February 23, 2015 11:15 p.m.
MagicalHacker says... #9
Adding sift is perfect for common. Could you change it to three life? That'd seal the deal.
February 23, 2015 11:16 p.m.
alexthegreat38 says... #10
If you changed it from draw to "Sift," I think it could be a good common, but as it stands now it's probably an uncommon or maybe even a rare. A control deck is more than happy to pay 2 mana and 2 life to make a 1-for-1 that replaces itself.
February 23, 2015 11:17 p.m.
I think you could just drop the draw ability and it would be fine. Essence Scatter is a common, I could see this being comparable to that.
February 23, 2015 11:17 p.m.
buildingadeck says... #12
MagicalHacker: Three life seems a bit too high to me, personally. Plus, most black spells are two life ordeals in one direction or the other. Pharika's Cure goes up, and Diplomacy of the Wastes goes down, for instance. Thank you for the feedback.
alexthegreat38: I agree. Thanks.
mpeach1: I had originally added the pay 2 life to keep in touch with the black mana involved. I then felt like paying two life and two mana made it weaker than Essence Scatter and, in general, not playable at all. Thus, I added the clause for draw, which has now changed to my sift mechanic. Like I said before, I don't simply want to make reprints in this set, even if that means the most subtle of changes to a card's ability.
February 23, 2015 11:32 p.m.
That makes sense. And I do definitely agree that Sift 1 makes it much more of a playable card, yet still appropriately less powerful than draw one.
February 23, 2015 11:35 p.m.
buildingadeck says... #14
Thanks for the help, guys! I think that pretty much finalizes another common for me! Woohoo!
February 23, 2015 11:49 p.m.
The difference between Nullify and Cancel is that one is an unconditional counter and the other is not. Nullify can only hit a specific subset of cards while Cancel can hit any spell. Especially at 2 mana, where Wizards has said they don't want unconditional counter.
February 24, 2015 12:03 a.m.
buildingadeck says... #16
JWiley129: Note that my card is not unconditional.
February 24, 2015 12:05 a.m.
was it? The link has 404'd so I can't double check and see.
February 24, 2015 12:11 a.m.
buildingadeck says... #18
Ah, yeah, I just deleted the card to fix the Sift mechanic. The new version looks like this.
klone13 says... #2
IMO its a bit too op, even with the paying three life, countering a spell and drawing a card? I think its too good.
February 23, 2015 11:09 p.m.