Magic The Gathering: GDS3 faux-entries.

[ReaderAt2046]

As a huge fan of Magic The Gathering, I have been watching the third Great Designer Search with interest. And while I don't have the time or qualifications to compete in the Search for real, I thought it would be fun to write my own faux-entries for the Design Test. I share them here for your edification and amusement. Feel free to share your own entries, or your thoughts on mine.

1: Thaumaturgic Disruption (C)
1WU
Sorcery
Destroy target enchantment. Its controller puts the top three cards of their library in their graveyard.

2: Ashiok, Artisan of Madness. (MR)
3UB
Legendary Planeswalker-Ashiok
+1: Exile the top card of each player’s library. For each creature exiled this way, you may create a token under your control that’s a copy of that creature, except that it has “If this creature would be the target of a spell or ability, sacrifice it”.
-3: Until the beginning of your next turn, if an effect would make you discard a card you may instead cast it without paying its mana cost.
-8: You get an emblem that says “If you would lose the game for drawing from an empty library, you win the game instead.”
5

3: Explosive Death: (R)
2BBR
Sorcery
Destroy target creature. Its controller and each other creature that player controls take 2 damage.

4: Rampaging Ferocidon (U)
1RG
Creature – Dinosaur
Trample.
When this creature becomes blocked, it gets +1/+1 until end of turn for each creature that blocks it.
CARDNAME must attack each turn if able.
3/2

5: Aria of Enduring Growth (U)
2GW:
Enchantment
At the end of your turn, put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control and gain seven life.
If you attack with one or more creatures, sacrifice CARDNAME.

6: Gideon and Chandra Nalaar (MR)
3RW
Legendary Planeswalker- Gideon Chandra
+1: CARDNAME deals two damage to target player. Up to one target creature that player controls must attack next turn if able.
+0: Until end of turn, CARDNAME becomes a 4/4 Legendary Human creature with indestructible and “When this creature attacks, put two 1/1 red Elemental creature tokens with haste into play tapped and attacking. Exile them at end of turn.” It’s still a planeswalker. Prevent all damage that would be dealt to it until end of turn.
-X: CARDNAME deals X damage to all creatures, all players, and all other planeswalkers.
4

7: Arcane Resonance. (R)
UR
Enchantment
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, draw a card and add RR to your mana pool.

8: Elephirdic Infusion (C)
1UG
Until end of turn, target creature gets +3/+3 and flying and becomes an Elephant Bird in addition to its other types.

9: Mycosis, Sovereign of Rot. (MR)
3BG
Legendary Creature – Fungus.
Infect (This creature deals damage to creatures as -1/-1 counters, and to players as poison counters).
Exile target non-Fungus creature card from a graveyard: Create a token that’s a copy of it except that it’s a black and green Fungus in addition to its other colors and types and has infect and “When this creature dies, proliferate.”
Sacrifice a Fungus: Return CARDNAME from your graveyard to the battlefield.
2/4
 
10: Adagio’s Note (C)
1WB
Instant
All creatures you control gain +1/+1 until end of turn.
All creatures you do not control gain -1/-1 until end of turn.

[Silfir]

1: Thaumaturgic Disruption (C)
1WU
Sorcery
Destroy target enchantment. Its controller puts the top three cards of their library in their graveyard.

"Modest power level" would be severe understatement. Spells that only handle enchantments and nothing else are almost always unplayable, even in sideboards. You can exile enchantments for W (Erase) and it still won't see play.

The upside is simply too tiny. Enchantment removal is usually 1-for-1. You could address that somewhat by adding "Draw a card" to the text (and changing nothing else).

As for the milling component - "incidental mill" isn't really worth much. Incidental lifegain has value for anyone since almost every deck out there tries to win by dealing damage somehow. Incidental mill is on the whole just as likely, if not more, to help your opponent rather than hurt them because graveyard synergies are not hard to come by.

Another issue is that UW isn't a color associated with mill archetypes. It's not really something White does in general. So making the blue component of a UW spell mill of all things seems off.

2: Ashiok, Artisan of Madness. (MR)
3UB
Legendary Planeswalker-Ashiok
+1: Exile the top card of each player’s library. For each creature exiled this way, you may create a token under your control that’s a copy of that creature, except that it has “If this creature would be the target of a spell or ability, sacrifice it”.
-3: Until the beginning of your next turn, if an effect would make you discard a card you may instead cast it without paying its mana cost.
-8: You get an emblem that says “If you would lose the game for drawing from an empty library, you win the game instead.”
5

The main problem with the +1 I can see is how swingy it is if it's played fairly, and utterly broken if played unfairly, even if Sensei's Divining Top isn't really a thing anymore these days. Just play scry spells or brainstorm effects, put 4 Emrakuls and Griselbrands in your deck and go to town.

But what if you end up with those cards in your hand and can't put them back? Doesn't really matter - if you have any instant speed discard outlet on the battlefield (Putrid Imp?) you can -3 stuff from your hand instead.

By contrast, the -8 is the least broken effect of them all, and doesn't really work with what the rest of the card does either. It kind of does with the +1, but it only exiles one card off the top of your deck at a time. A more thematically consistent - and probably less broken - approach would be a +1 that exiles several cards from the top of your deck for some manner of value, such that decking yourself is actually a realistic prospect.

3: Explosive Death: (R)
2BBR
Sorcery
Destroy target creature. Its controller and each other creature that player controls take 2 damage.

Sound design on this one, I think. It doesn't work by templating as far as I can tell, since damage has to come from a source. "Destroy target creature. CARDNAME deals 2 damage to that creature's controller and all other creatures they control." is closer.

4: Rampaging Ferocidon (U)
1RG
Creature – Dinosaur
Trample.
When this creature becomes blocked, it gets +1/+1 until end of turn for each creature that blocks it.
CARDNAME must attack each turn if able.
3/2

There's the awkwardness that a card by this name already exists.

While the card is certainly in color and limited-playable, I have my doubts that a revival of the Rampage keyword is what they're looking for from prospective designers.

5: Aria of Enduring Growth (U)
2GW:
Enchantment
At the end of your turn, put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control and gain seven life.
If you attack with one or more creatures, sacrifice CARDNAME.

Now, I know lifegain isn't all that valuable in the grand scheme of things. There's always the question of just how much life you have to be gaining before it becomes broken.

Seven life per turn - for a 4 mana enchantment - I think is a very different ballgame compared to Ajani's Mantra. The counters are just the splintered icing on the broken cake.

I suspect this card would be a reasonable win condition in Limited even if it didn't gain you any life at all.

6: Gideon and Chandra Nalaar (MR)
3RW
Legendary Planeswalker- Gideon Chandra
+1: CARDNAME deals two damage to target player. Up to one target creature that player controls must attack next turn if able.
+0: Until end of turn, CARDNAME becomes a 4/4 Legendary Human creature with indestructible and “When this creature attacks, put two 1/1 red Elemental creature tokens with haste into play tapped and attacking. Exile them at end of turn.” It’s still a planeswalker. Prevent all damage that would be dealt to it until end of turn.
-X: CARDNAME deals X damage to all creatures, all players, and all other planeswalkers.
4

The progressive nature of Gideon taking over Chandra's name in the marriage might score some points with Wizards. I'm not sure that was intentional, of course!

Something about planeswalkers just makes them feel very off if they don't get their own individual cards, though. The whole design of this is pretty awkward - I can't help but feel that I'd much rather have them both do their own thing on their own card. It's like merging into a pair made them weaker and less flexible.

7: Arcane Resonance. (R)
UR
Enchantment
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, draw a card and add RR to your mana pool.

This card is just horrendously, hilariously, frighteningly, utterly broken to all hells and back. Not even to mention cards like Rite of Flame, Seething Song, Desperate Ritual or Manamorphose - much like Skullclamp is broken in any deck that plays creatures, this would be broken in any deck that plays instants and/or sorceries.

8: Elephirdic Infusion (C)
1UG
Until end of turn, target creature gets +3/+3 and flying and becomes an Elephant Bird in addition to its other types.

A regular old combat trick, probably a bit on the weaker side. Has a lot of flavor text snuck into the rules text, though.

9: Mycosis, Sovereign of Rot. (MR)
3BG
Legendary Creature – Fungus.
Infect (This creature deals damage to creatures as -1/-1 counters, and to players as poison counters).
Exile target non-Fungus creature card from a graveyard: Create a token that’s a copy of it except that it’s a black and green Fungus in addition to its other colors and types and has infect and “When this creature dies, proliferate.”
Sacrifice a Fungus: Return CARDNAME from your graveyard to the battlefield.
2/4

As far as BG archetypes go, Wizards probably isn't keen to see Infect make a comeback anytime soon. (Also, for whatever reason, it seems they think Proliferate is U/G.)

10: Adagio’s Note (C)
1WB
Instant
All creatures you control gain +1/+1 until end of turn.
All creatures you do not control gain -1/-1 until end of turn.

That's just Zealous Persecution, isn't it? Except you tacked on 1 colorless to the cost?

EDIT: Worse, actually, since Persecution shrinks only creatures controlled by opponents. Adagio's Note also shrinks creatures that you don't control that aren't controlled by opponents - doesn't that include teammates?