Possible New Format?
The Kitchen Table forum
Posted on Feb. 19, 2023, 7:19 p.m. by Kavle
I was messing around with ChatGPT and ended up with a cool format. Of course I edited it down to eliminate redundancy, and added some stuff that might just be stupid. I have some notes at the end, LMK what you guys think. Sorry I'm not very good at formatting posts.
Format Overview:
Spellslinger is a Magic: The Gathering format that emphasizes instant and sorcery spellcasting. Each player has a deck of 39 cards, and a unique instant or sorcery spell in their command zone, and may not include any permanent spells.
Each player chooses a unique instant or sorcery spell as their Signature Spell. This spell is always available to them and never gets shuffled into their deck. Players can't cast their signature spell. Spells in your deck must match your Signature Spell's color identity.
New Commander Rule: Cryptic Insight
At the start of the game, look at the top 7 cards of your library and choose one instant or sorcery card from among them and place it face down under your Signature Spell, then put the rest on top or bottom of your library in any order. This is your Cryptic Insight card. You can look at and cast your Cryptic Insight card.
Whenever you cast your Cryptic Insight card, you may choose one of the following effects:
Fateseal 2. Surveil 2. Return an exiled card to your graveyard.
You may only cast your Cryptic Insight card once per turn. If your Cryptic Insight card is put into your graveyard or exiled, choose a new instant or sorcery card from your graveyard (Has to be a new card) or hand to be your new Cryptic Insight card. If you cannot, you lose the game.
Signature Spell Charge Counter Rule: Arcane Amplification
Every Signature Spell has 3 activated abilities:
Remove X charge counters: Add your commander's ability to target spell where X is your commanders CMC.
Remove 2 charge counters: Either Draw a card, Gain 3 life, or Deal 1 damage to any target.
Remove 3 charge counters: Shuffle 3 spells from your graveyard into your deck.
Whenever an instant or sorcery spell you control would be put into your graveyard from anywhere, you may choose to exile it instead and put 2 charge counter on your commander.
Other Rules
In addition to the main rules listed above, here are some additional rules that apply to the Spellslinger format:
Decks must contain exactly 39 cards, not including the Signature Spell.
Players may not include any permanent spells in their decks, including creatures, artifacts, enchantments, or planeswalkers.
Players start the game with 20 life, and the game is played in a traditional one-on-one format.
The standard rules for Magic: The Gathering apply, unless otherwise specified by these rules.
Notes:
From what I can tell, Cryptic Insight would prevent you from casting it unless you can replace it. So if you had no spells in your hand or graveyard and cast it, you would lose.
I added the lose mechanic to Cryptic Insight, thought it could be a cool way to build decks around. May need to change.
The Charge counters on the commander thing is interesting, not sure if it could be broken somehow, gave some basic uses for them ATM.
Not being able to cast your commander is weird, but being able to add its spell effect to other spells like splice is interesting. Will probably need to ban storm cards, but we will test first.
Being a non-permenant format means alot of cards would not even work, like reanimation.
Not sure if the deck size is realistic but will test out first.
There was a one Signature Spell activation per turn rule I removed, may need to keep
wallisface says... #3
These rules have a lot of mess that the AI’s just kindof vomited out without much thought. I think you need a human to groom this into something workable.
In any case, how does this format not just end up being 100% burn decks? Like… there’s not a lot of other practical strategies outside of just bolting-face.
February 20, 2023 4:46 a.m.
This is pretty interesting. But why not include enchantments and artifacts with the condition that the permanents which outcomes end up with creatures on the board are illegal? Artifacts coul be seen as the spellcasters attire...
legendofa says... #2
This is all AI-generated, except for your notes? I think there's a little too much going on here. There's the Cryptic Insight, there's Arcane Amplification, and both of those add multiple decisions and options. The CI "return an exiled card to your graveyard" effect would be ridiculous with flashback, escape, and similar effects. Add that to the AA "shuffle three cards from your graveyard into your deck" and something like Alrund's Epiphany, Temporal Mastery, or even Restock or Bond of Insight becomes overbearing. And then you can exile cards for charge counters...
The core idea (40 cards, no nonland permanents) is interesting, but the rest of it needs to be trimmed and clarified.
February 20, 2023 3:55 a.m.