Joined: Jun 21, 2014 Posts: 8338 Location: Singapore
I gave Bahraz a free repeatable board wipe because it only hits smaller creatures and he costs 6 mana anyway. If Bahraz's power level becomes an issue, it's easy to tweak how powerful the board wipe is by increasing or decreasing his starting loyalty. The main thing I'm shooting for is the mechanical flavor.
How is killing all cmc 4 or less into cmc 6 or less EVERY TURN AFTER THE FIRST "hitting small creatures"? There's a reason why I said it should be a -3 ability.
Whether or not the card is overpowered can be discussed later - at the moment, we should be voting on which character should be included in the set. CKY was right to design for flavor first - we can fix the numbers and change abilities after we know the character is actually going to be chosen.
@TP: I'm glad you liked that card, and the character! It's pleasing that your concerns are mostly mechanical - that's really the part I'm not so good at.
Also, your post seems to have cut off for some reason? Maybe? O_o
As for my vote... I need more time to think about it. There are a lot of interesting possibilities, but also a few rather damning flavor problems with a few of them. Hm hm hm. Maybe it's just hard for me to choose because of the context. Aloise is going to be interacting with whoever wins the vote, after all.
Yeah, I need a little more time. Probably later today, maybe.
@Ruwin- I totally agree that we should have nailed down our character first, then designed the card, but I guess it's too late now. Ah, my internet has returned! I finished typing up everything I wanted to say but was unable to submit it yesterday. Only my paranoia* allowed you all to see the first half of my post. Now here's the rest.
*courtesy Wizards Of The Cost
Echo-
Spoiler
Best character award goes to Cato* Echo! Please report to the M:EM immediately. Okay, the card. The +1's pretty cool, but it doesn't actually do much. It's quite the setup for the -2 though. If an opponent wants to race you, they better take care of Selvira before you can activate her -2 a couple times. Still, on an empty field both abilities are kind of pointless. Not bad if some abilities are rendered moot, but all Selvira can do with an empty field is slowly build up. Looks like she found her immortality with the -6. *I blame the shared c sounds and o-ending in both your names.
storyteller-
Spoiler
So many black/white walkers here. It's a popular colour combo! Repeatable discard is usually pretty scary, but if it only hits one card type it's probably alright, even if that's the only card type most decks can use to take out your discard engine. Mechanically this seems pretty sound. My only mechanical concern is that the life condition on the emblem might make for some boring games. If you have more life than an opponent and activate the ability, you've effectively won but the game can continue on. Most players would concede, but you just know there's that one guy who's going to drag the match out, never actually attacking you for fear of dying. Flavourfully I never really like walkers that ignite midway through the story after meeting the protagonist. With the odds of a random person being a walker and their spark igniting being about one in a trillion* it always seems a little too coincidental. Really the only reason walkers would ever meet is if their personal motivations bring them into contact with one another. *One in a million has a spark, one in a million of those ignite. Seems stupid to me too, but it's canon.
Tevish-
Spoiler
Interesting character. I've never even considered a Nightstalker planeswalker before. I like how the ultimate ties in with both the + and - abilities in different ways. Both abilities also give you something useful to do regardless of what situation you find yourself in. Very nice. Nothing about the card seems overpowered either. ONly real flaw is the lack of means to protect itself.
Mown-
Spoiler
Oh god, I love this guy*. His motives, such as they are, are especially interesting. Does he think the unexplained phenomena will bring down Elori's religion? Maybe he's trying to help out... somebody? Nobody knows. I imagine his reasoning for what he does changes on an irregular basis. The +2 outside of certain deck types only exists to power up the ult. Since powering him up only to risk Krolf getting attacked is a bit of a gamble, I'd prefer to see a little more value out of the + ability. A weak + ability on a 3 cost walker is totally permissible however. The first 0 is powerful, but also a likely one way trip to the graveyard so it works out. The second 0 is pretty interesting. I need some clarification on what "You may cast instant and sorcery cards exiled this way, but no more than ~'s loyalty" means. Can you only cast a number of cards equal to his loyalty? Converted mana costs equal to or less than his loyalty? Does every card played count towards the limit, or can you play any number of cards as long as they meet the criteria? Are you still playing with Krolf from exile? That seems like a simple way to keep track of counters? It's also cool how the crazy guy has a + and two 0 abilities and tends to kill himself off. I don't worry about this guy wrecking standard (he's probably needed to deal with Tarmogoyf), but I wonder if he has legacy potential too. *Making an assumption here, but "krolf" just sounds like a masculine name.
Me -
Spoiler
Obviously the best card. Easy choice. No contest. I actually really like the +2. It's rather interesting. With that as a +2 though, I worry her loyalty may get out of hand. The -X works well too. I wouldn't pay to deal four damage, or in most cases to get 4 1/1s. Together though, they're worth the price of admission, especially if you can pump he up first. If you just need a single blocker to buy another turn Zakon can oblige you there too. The ultimate is both boring and lacks synergy. If this wins the vote I'd probably replace it entirely. In play Zakon is really, really good at keeping you alive. Between plentiful chump blockers and an ability that could take down even the biggest creature, or at least force your opponent to waste creatures if they want to attack and finally a hefty 4 loyalty (probably six by the time your opponent goes) the lady does not go down easy. Great for bleed decks I suppose.
CKY, Mown and Tevish are warring for my vote currently.
Under Echo: Best character award goes to Cato! Please report to the M:EM immediately.
Doesn't M:EM already have the planeswalker-meets-eventual-walker with Jinsen and Kimberly? Well, technically their meeting ignited Kimberly's planeswalker's spark, but hey.
Lots of interesting cards, though I'm leaning towards CKY or Mown. I found their cards to be the most interesting from both a flavor and mechanics standpoint, which is about all we can hope for when it comes to planeswalkers.
I kind of agree that with walkers it is probably a better process to vote on a character/concept then submit and vote on abilities for said walker. Might end up a bit Frankenstein's monster-ish but the voting should make it work. Probably a bit too late at this point, unless people want to start the whole thing over again (probably not). Anyway, food for thought for the next set in the block. Assuming this is a block and not simply a stand alone set (I can't seem to recall which it is).
@storyteller- Oops! Fixed it. Never happened. What are you talking about?
I vote CKY. I'm already thinking of all the ways the character links up with our established flavour. Still think it needs tweaking for power level, but that's easy enough to fix. THe basic mechanics and flavour are what's really on trial here.
Doesn't M:EM already have the planeswalker-meets-eventual-walker with Jinsen and Kimberly? Well, technically their meeting ignited Kimberly's planeswalker's spark, but hey.
I mean, just because something has been done doesn't mean it can't be done again. It would be pretty hamfisted, I admit, to replicate exactly the circumstances of Jinsen and Kimberley's meeting (and even moreso to replicate exactly Kimberley's ascension.)
Jinsen and Kimberley meeting (or more specifically, Jinsen killing her dad) was in direct consequence to a series of coincidental circumstances that would be difficult to replicate in any narrative manner without stealing the idea directly. As long as no one does that, I don't really see a problem with 'walkers meeting other 'walkers that have not yet ascended.
All that being said, I vote for CKY. I'm curious to see how Aloise handles megalomaniacal delusion.
I'll sift through these at some point, hopefully. But to answer @TP: With his ultimate, I mean that you can cast a number of instant and sorceries equal to his loyalty when the ability fired off, using Last Known Information. So if you pop him off instantly, you get to play three instants and/or sorceries. I considered CMC to tone it down, because he's fairly powerful, but I'm not entirely sure.
Concept: Interplanar bad guy hunter with morals? I mean, he sort of feels less black the moment he rejects the job, but I suppose love can be a selfish desire? He's okay. Doesn't make me feel giddy, but no feelings of aversion either. Goal: Impress Aloise? I'm not one to oppose unrequited love. I don't like how he seemingly trashes his job though, it de-emphasizes his capabilities. Card: That's like 5 abilities you've got there brah. Carefully with the text box, it's on a diet. He's also mechanically not that black, can't uptick on an empty board, provides little interactions despite a hefty mana cost, and various other equally minor things that sum up to something I'm not too fond of.
ParadOxymoron
Concept: Vampire Vedalken Planeswalker that is too much of a chump to give her husband a proper death. Goal: None. Card: Can't say I feel much vampire. And the ultimate is sort of "whuh" and "meh" at the same time.
CKY
Concept: I sort of like it, but I need more flesh on his immortal bones. Goal: I can't see him not becoming an antagonist in the later arks, but that's okay. Card: You're tired of this by now, but I'll still reiterate that the 0 is bonkers. He also doesn't promote very interesting play decisions, and his ultimate is really boring.
Confused
Concept: I feel he loses out a lot by being called a vampire, rid him of the compulsion and just let him suck the lifespan out of people, which he needs to do to regress his own age. Right now he's a time thief + vampire when he feels like it, which is a little disjointed, unnecessary and weird. Goal: Uhhh. This whole "he's bound here because" irks me the wrong way. I feel there could be a more compelling and elegant method of forcing him to stay. Range of power connected to a location maybe? I dunno. Card: Why does the controller gain 1 life? Why does the second ability make every creature leech off all lifegain? Why isn't the ultimate worded for multiplayer? More seriously, I sort of like the first ability, not counting the random life gain. I don't like the second one, and the third one should totally (aside from being targeted) be worded "Your life total becomes 19".
Echo
Concept: I like it. That's all. Goal: It's a little weak. "Uhm, moon, reverse time sort of, dying of age, eh let's go with it." I don't think this moonrise project will come from going back in time to where there was a moon, but feel free to prove me wrong. I've heard that F&S loves time travel stories. Card: Personality wise, she sounds a little blue, believing that understanding of an element can help solve it. Mechanically, she doesn't feel right. She's very violent, when she seems more like a support character. Discard effects are a little out there, mostly. The first one can sort of be justified as blood magic. It's a pretty bad +1 though, all things considered. Ultimate is sort of cool, but has way too many abilities. Condense it a little.
storyteller
Concept: Why is he black, if I may ask? I get that black has underlings at times, but they are at least usually oppressed by someone else selfish. I don't think gratitude is a word in the black dictionary. Goal: Feels like a side-character that you could write shounen about. I'm not sure if I like or dislike that he's a little disconnected, but the tenuous connection with Aloise is sort of neat. Card: Really hard to catch up against, protects himself a little too well. I don't get his ultimate.
Tevish Szat
Concept: Nightstalkers is cheating, they are way cool. He feels a little, and I don't particularly like using this word, "edgy". Goal: "Whatever suits the day" is a little on the weak side, imho. He's too flexible, he doesn't feel like he has any weight behind his actions. Card: The abilities are a little disjointed, and the +1 is really good.
Mown
Impeccable, COTY material
TPW
Concept: Ah man, brainwashed zealots are the best, although I'd argue they're in RW territory. Well, they're mostly just W, but R sort of leads actions to their motives. I like characters that represents a greater whole. Goal: Ya blew it. Here I hoped she would erase every trace that hinted at her not being special. Card: bretty gud. A little heavy on the X's.
His methods makes him black, I guess? He kills, steals, and threatens people into giving him what he wants, even though what he usually wants is objectively good.
I can never seem to come up with a decent ultimate.
Card: Why does the controller gain 1 life? Why does the second ability make every creature leech off all lifegain? Why isn't the ultimate worded for multiplayer? More seriously, I sort of like the first ability, not counting the random life gain. I don't like the second one, and the third one should totally (aside from being targeted) be worded "Your life total becomes 19".
Erm, Mown, explain?
Ralsten Vimur - Planeswalker - Ralsten [+1]: Tap up to one target creature. That creature doesn't untap during its controller's next untap phase and its controller loses 1 life. [-3]: Until end of turn, creatures you control gains deathtouch and has "Whenever an opponent loses life, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature." [-9]: Your opponents' life totals becomes 1. [4]
I swear I read that as life gain every single time while commenting, despite expecting it to be life loss from reading the card earlier. Also I see now that the ultimate sort of applies to everyone, but it's supposed to be "Each opponent", so I put the blame on you for that one.
Okay, so, votes, sort of: My favorite planeswalker concept is TPW. The one that intrigues me most in how it interacts with the story is CKY. The best card is... Actually, screw you guys, I have the best card. If I would vote for overall package, then it's between TPW, Confused and CKY probably. Leaning towards TPW.
Not sure how I beat out Mown for second there. I guess that makes me a design god? Suck it YMTC! I own you! Anyhow, I already have lots of ideas about CKY's walker fitting into the storyline. Really liking Bahraz.
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