Joiner Of The Ranks
Creature - Human Soldier
Creatures you control get +1/+1 for each instant or sorcery spell you've cast this turn.
Whenever you cast a white creature spell, create a 1/1 Red Soldier creature token with haste.
3/3

Black Scale, Bane Of The Skyways
Legendary Creature - Dragon Pirate
Flying
Whenever you sacrifice a treasure, put a +1/+1 counter on ~ and it deals 2 damage to any target.
At the beginning of your end step sacrifice each Treasure you control.
5/3
"Never ken'd the point in hoarding. Coin unspent's naught but wasted coin."

Is "Skyways" a stretch, or can we just assume that's a thing Ixalan could have in Return To Ixalan?

Is it a problem that this doesn't make its own treasure? I worried that any more would just overburden the design. It's a problem for deck builders I guess.


Here's another:
Freewheeling Buccaneer
Creature - Human Pirate
Whenever you sacrifice a treasure, you may discard a card. If you do, draw a card.
3/1
"What say we flip for it?"

Sorta think the effect wants 2 toughness to stay around, but maybe the flavor overrides that concern?

Yeah, Black Scale feels pretty "off" without any way to create Treasure - the same applies to Freewheeling. The key thing is prolly "parasitism" that gives that impression. Also "dealing 2 damage" somehow seems like a very arbitrary number to me here. The last ability makes sense flavorwise but feels mechanically unnecessary and unsatisfying. Trying this design on a render btw, the name is really pushing that name line and doesn't fit as is. I tried to come up with neat modification on the design but I'm kinda drawing blank. For the name, I think "Black Scale, Skyway Bane" could work?

Good points all. I think I can rework the designs into something better.

Hellgut Gilded-Scales
Legendary Creature - Dragon Pirate
Flying
When ~ enters the battlefield, create a Treasure token for each Pirate you control.
Whenever you sacrifice a treasure, put a +1/+1 counter on ~.
At the beginning of your end step sacrifice each Treasure you control.
4/3
"Never ken'd the point in hoarding. Coin unspent's naught but wasted coin."

There we go. The treasure creation's pretty lackluster without support, but can create a ton of value in the right deck- balanced by the fact you have to have something to spend that mana on right away.
I dropped the damage bit that didn't make much sense, and flavoured up the +1/+1 counters with the "gilded" bit. I guess Hellgut literally gilds themself? And it helps in combat?


Freewheeling Buccaneer
Creature - Human Pirate
When ~ enters the battlefield, create a Treasure token.
Whenever you sacrifice a Treasure, you may discard a card. If you do, draw a card.
3/1
"What say we flip for it?"


Pyrite Gleam
Sorcery
Until end of turn each artifact you control is a Treasure in addition to its other types.
"Well it looks to be gold by my eye"

Also thought about "Reappraise", "Gleam Like Gold" or "Swindle".

Hmm, yeah I actually spent quite a bit wrangling with this design, the thing with adding another ability is that you would kinda have to give up on the flavor text which would be a huge shame and hurts the design in that the flavor would be less clear.

This is one design I eventually come up with though it features a kind of a hack to get slightly more text space.

"Swindle" seems like a perfect name for this if you ask me. There should be a comma after "Until end of turn, ..."

CotW has been a little anemic this month, so I'm going to start cranking out cards until something gets nominated. Or you guys nominate each other or something.


Creature - Hydra
~ enters the battlefield with twice X +1/+1 counters on it.
-2/-2

This seems reasonable. Decent stats at any cost, but I don't think it ever goes too far.
| -2/-2
| 0/0
| 2/2
| 4/4
| 6/6
| 8/8
| 10/10
| 20/20

Kinda future sight -esque as it reminds me of Char-Rumbler and Force of Savagery, though perhaps Spinal Parasite would be the more proper comparison point (if it wasn't so horrible as far as power goes). When compared to a card like Endless One, the payoff starts at 5+ mana. Unfortunately for vanilla creatures, that's usually where they start to become unviable as well. I would imagine if one was going for brute strength, then the hyper green intensive stuff like Gigantosaurus would be more preferable. This could have a number of counter shenanigans I guess and it's certainly splashable so it has some stuff going for it.

Imperial Acquisitor
Creature - Vampire Noble
Recruit 1 - (Put a +1/+1 counters on an Army you control. If you don’t control one, create a 0/0 white Soldier Army creature token first.)
Whenever a creature you control dies, if it had a +1/+1 counter on it, put a +1/+1 counter on a creature you control.
2/2

This is supposed to be a signpost uncommon for a WWI-theme draft set. uses a consistent flow of 1/1 armies to fuel sacrifice effects instead of building them up into powerful, well armies.
"Acquisitor" isn't actually a word, but I figure it easily could be.
Does the Army need another creature type? I figured soldier was a pretty safe bet, but I'm not sure if anything is required.


Arm The People
Instant
Put a +1/+1 counter on up to one target nontoken creature you control.
Put a +1/+1 counter on up to one target token creature you control.

Another WWI set card. Tokens and +1/+1 counters are a big part of the theme to reflect arms buildup.

MAybe I'll have flavour text later.

Realized I never named this guy.
Wounded Hydra
Creature - Hydra
~ enters the battlefield with twice X +1/+1 counters on it.
-2/-2

And here's a version that's less confusing on the board:
Unshackled Hydra
Creature - Hydra
~ enters the battlefield with 2 less than twice X +1/+1 counters on it.
0/0
Johnny might like having those extra counters that didn't do anything, but most people see a hydra with X counters on it and expect it to have X power. It was always more of a Timmy card anyway.


Entitlement
Enchantment
When ~ enters the battlefield, put a +1/+1 counter on a creature you control.
Creatures you control with one or more +1/+1 counters on them get an additional +1/+1.
"Welcome to the club. I think you'll quite like it here."

I figured it's neat to incentivize spreading the +1/+1's around as thinly as possible. Hydra tribal maybe?
This might have been doable at without the etb ability, but it seemed unnecessary. It's also not garbage at 1W, but it wasn't something to write home about.
THe "Additional" wouldn't be necessary, but without it it sounds like it's just defining a +1/+1 counter.

Entitlement
Enchantment
Creatures you control with one or more +1/+1 counters on them get an additional +1/+1.
There are two kinds of people in this world, the haves and the had.
Too good?

Help out your buddies out in multiplayer with the new Embassy Lands!

Bustling Embassy
Land
~ enters the battlefield tapped.
: Choose a player. That player adds or .
-The oracle text for Spectral searchlight says this is at least one way to word the ability.
-Good in any multiplayer setting, but best with dedicated team mates. I envision this in a set built around 2-headed giant sealed games.



Decrepit Embassy
Land
~ enters the battlefield tapped.
You may have ~ enter the battlefield under another player's control. If you do, draw a card.
: Add or .
-A weird Horizon Canopy variant in 1v1. Not strictly worse, but only worthwhile if your opponent is mana flooded.
-In multiplayer it's a mutually profitable way to boost a friend's mana.



Ostentatious Embassy
Land
~ enters the battlefield tapped.
You may have ~ enter the battlefield under another player's control. If you do, draw a card.
: Choose a player. That player adds or .
-Is the combined version a little much?


Embassies:
Ostentatious
Decrepit
Bustling
Fortified
Hidden

I posted this to a game that required a black card, but I initially envisioned it as a blue card.

Undercover Agent
Creature - Human Rogue
When ~ enters the battlefield, you may have another player gain control of it. If you do, draw a card.
2/2

Undercover cards seem like an ok idea, but the balance is weird here. Like making opponent discard a card is worth less than 1 mana, not to mention giving a 2/1 body. Blue version seems slightly better for multiplayer but getting like Wistful Selkie isn't exactly anything to write home to either - and the default mode is the Gray Ogre which with the current creature power levels is just horrible.

Regarding flavor, it also seems somewhat off. When I imagine a undercover investigator, I would expect it to be continually giving some sort of advantage (ie. Xantcha, Sleeper Agent, Sleeper Agent). Rather, this more like you are working as a contractor, providing workforce for another player. As after the point of giving control of the unit, it's now purely in their control and gives you no advantage over that player.

Good points all.


This is from a contest to make lands of different rarities:


And this was a cut entry:
Madstorm Vortex
Land
: Add
, : Add . If all of that mana, and no other mana is spent to cast an instant or sorcery spell, copy that spell.

Latrine Duty
Enchantment - Aura
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature can't attack or block and has, "at the beginning of your upkeep you may tap this creature. If you do, attach ~ to another creature you control".
"War is hell. Some aspects moreso."


Shadow Throne Claimant
Creature - Demon
Flying
Mastery - As long as you control an artifact, an enchantment and a creature ~ gets +2/+2.
Sacrifice an artifact, an enchantment and a creature: Create a token that's a copy of ~.
3/3


Soul-Fouler
Creature - Demon
Flying
Whenever ~ would deal combat damage to a player, that player may choose to gain 6 poison counters instead.
6/6

Politicking
Sorcery
Each player chooses one. The same option can't be chosen twice. You choose the order in which players chose.

• Sacrifice a creature. You gain life equal to its power.
• Sacrifice a creature. Draw a card.
• Discard two cards. Return a card from your graveyard to your hand.
• You lose 4 life.

I assume the rules would have a 5th player with no option to choose, not have to do anything?
Theoretically this is some extremely versatile bang for your buck, except it can end up helping out another player, which is bad... except for when it's not.

Hero's Rise
Enchantment - Saga Aura
Enchant creature
(As this Saga enters and after your draw step, add a lore counter. Sacrifice after III.)

1. Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and has vigilance.
2. Enchanted creature gets +2/+2 and has first strike and vigilance.
3. Enchanted creature gets +3/+3 and has flying, first strike and vigilance. Sacrifice it at the beginning of the next end step.

First we got clue tokens with , , Sacrifice this artifact: draw a card.
Then we got food tokens with , , Sacrifice this artifact: You gain 3 life.
What's next? How do we complete this trifecta?
It's not treasure. That doesn't have a cost. We need a real 3rd "trinket" type. Then we print a new Academy Manufactor.
With cards and life down, (and treasures covering mana) we still need a trinket for creatures.

Create a Summons token. (It’s an artifact with “, , Sacrifice this artifact: Create a 1/1 white Soldier creature token.”)
HUH?
2 mana for a 1/1? Hey, 2 mana for 3 life was a bad deal, but food tokens are justified as an incidental upside, as artifacts for synergy and sacrifice, and as a mana sink.
Why a token to make a token? To keep that body behind a paywall. A free 1/1 is too much upside to just tack onto most spells. You can also get creative with stuff like dodging board sweepers.
Why "Summons"? It's hard to come up with an artifact that could conceivably produce a soldier. A draft card? It came down to arms vs Summons.
So why a 1/1 white Soldier? You could argue that it's more universal to have it make an artifact creature, but I worry- you know what just as a write this I realize that, no it would be totally ok to just make 1/1 constructs in every color. Oh, well have a card with the old design.

Horseman Of Oblivion
Creature - Demon Knight
First strike
As long as ~ is the only nontoken creature you control it gets +2/+2.
Sacrifice a nontoken creature: Create a Summons token. (It’s an artifact with “{2}, {T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Create a 1/1 white Soldier creature token.”)
2/2
Then I looked but saw no horse. Its rider’s name was Oblivion, and he held no weapon. And they were given authority over nothing.