Thanks for the comments.
(I know this effect isn't red, but it's like the draw/discard without card advantage, but for a library set).
You could go with either "bottom a card from your hand, then draw a card" for effectively rummage, or "exchange a card from your hand with the top card of your library" for the red brainstorm.
I think the most interesting aspect of a library-focused set would be top/bottom of library matters, since it gives you lines to set up scenarios and then execute them, which is a fun gameplay loop. Biggest concern is the memory aspect of it which is a divisive gameplay mechanic. Managing the top is more dynamic since it changes every turn, while managing the bottom can be more of a one-and-done deal.
Erratic Explosion effects are fine, but just
Adventurous Impulse gives you a simple incentive to know what's on top, so consider shifting some of the typical draw-effects to conditional draw.
Yeah, I'm trying to find ways to make it work at common. Having prophecies is a way to be able to keep a card "virtually" on top.
But yeah, I'm gonna keeps those things in mind.
I would expect mill to feature somewhat prominently, as a library-centric victory condition. It also plays into top-decking archetypes, both as a hoser and enabler.
I'm planning to keep mill-centered effects for the second set. For the first set, I want the top cards of the library to be like a new resource, that players can carefully build. The main hoser will be Fateseal (which will appear in in low numbers), but having many offensive mill cards would go against this.
I think having a tangential mechanic like phasing is fine, it gives the set more dimensions. Phasing in specific makes your set come across as pretty esoteric though, since it already plays with a rather off-beat theme.
Yeah, I know. I'll probably keep the percentage of phasing cards low during the first set. I hve both mechanical and flavor reasons for this. The second and third sets will feature more cards with phasing tho.
I really don't think you want to incentivize shuffling too much, rewarding players for doing tedium isn't a recipe for success. The Panglacial Wurm mechanic is interesting, although it sounds like a development nightmare. Definitely a mechanic I think is cool personally, but I would imagine it ending up pretty high on the storm scale for the general public. I don't see the need for the exile clause, personally.
I don't really want to incentive shuffling that much. But since it's something I'll have to include for certain effects, and since it's a tedious task, I want to have some cards to reward the effort. The cards will only reward the first time you shuffle each turn though, since doing it more than once would be REALLY annoying.
I might eventually remove the exile clause on Providence (that would even let me put it on permanents). But since I'm making the library something of a new graveyard with some cards like Augur or effects that will let you put cards from your graveyard on your library, I think that for now, it's just easier to exile the cards to prevent recursion.
I would like to see an explore-like mechanic that feels good to play naturally, but gives you a library-manipulation incentive that you can easily proliferate throughout the set.
Yeah, I'm definitely including those.
Lock counters should probably be a triggered ability that triggers on drawing a card and not a replacement effect that bypasses the draw itself (if it is already, my apologies for misinterpreting). Denying players the ability to naturally draw from their library without paying a tax seems like a recipe for false hope and griefing, and as someone who played creature less control when Zendikar first came out in standards, being 'that guy' is kind of a parasitic fun.
I just listed them as a mechanic cause I would be introducing them, but they won't be featured prominently in the set. I want them to appear in 2 or 3 rares or mythics, and on a Planeswalker. Nothing that would disrupt Limited, and something that can be dealt with in Constructed. I might also include it as a drawback in cards, like:
As ~ enters the battlefield, you may put a lock counter on your library. If you do, [effect].
Under the right circumstances, it can even help you keep your library in a certain order (that is mainly why it's a replacement effect). Ther choices are "remove a counter" or "draw a card and pay life".
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, Put ~ on the bottom of its owner's library: Target creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn.
