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We’ve got a combo episode this week. Part project showoff, part live design, and all weird old mechanics. Rexxer2 aka Spencer hops on the pod with Tim to talk through this mechanic-a-day project and then dive in to design three of the cards! Fans (if they exist??) of Frenzy, Grandeur, and Gravestorm gotta listen to this one.
The Year of Mechanics gallery: https://flareporeon.github.io/previews/YOM
Check out the Frenzy, Grandeur, and Gravestorm cards before you listen! It won’t take you a long time.
Topics and Tidbits:
- year of mechanics… designing a card a day for a different magic mechanics
- not just named mechanics, unnamed ones like urza saga growing enchantments too
- soulshift – bring back a spirit when this creature dies
- YOM eventually turning into a cube, so there are some seeding during the design process to make sure cards aren’t useless
- having a couple spirits that work with the soulshift card is an example
- forecast – reveal this card from hand and pay a cost to get a minor ability during your upkeep
- our challenge for today is frenzy, grandeur, and gravestorm
- “Frenzy N” means “Whenever this creature attacks and isn’t blocked, it gets +N/+0 until end of turn.”
- Maybe like reverse Afflict or Bushido?
- What kinds of creatures benefit most from Frenzy?
- “Wordy” creatures
- Deathtouch and Frenzy isn’t too much different than just giving that creature that power all the time
- Trample and Frenzy makes chump blocking the big creature extra valuable
- The future sight mechanics zone of “don’t these things work together in a funny way”
- How to template the order for mechanics
- Should we settle for common or plus up the card some more?
- What colors should Frenzy be in?
- Can we get this to 5 mana or is it doomed to the 6 mana common prison
- Big red common creature… dinosaur? giant?
- hard to find good looking boots
- “Grandeur” – Discard extra copies of this legend for a special effect
- Has anyone ever seen Skoa’s grandeur ability get used?
- Breaking singleton for Ripple and Grandeur
- Discarding to Grandeur needs to be spicy because giving up on the creature is a big cost
- Illusions of Grandeur
- Self-donating
- 4 mana 3/3 vs 4/2 vs 5/1
- what black god gives our fool his power
- black gods being too honest and straightforward in death
- how to name a creature that is a fool
- “Gravestorm” means “When you cast this spell, copy it for each permanent put into a graveyard this turn. You may choose new targets for the copies.”
- Wild scaling on Gravestorm… can easily hit 4 in limited just with a couple trades
- In commander you can def get 10+
- Similarity between gravestorm and trap cards
- Your 10th clue isn’t as valuable as your first
- Investigate is worth about a mana (or less) ability, what else is in that zone?
- Gravestorm counts permanents dying, not just creatures
- Can you make a gravestorm card that makes sense at storm=0 and storm=4?
- Fabricate gravestorm
- Copying cards with choices on them vs cards with targets on them
- Solving confusion with specific reminder text
- kaladesh/avishkar vs capenna vibes
- “public funeral” feels metropolitan
- next few on the list: poisonous, transfigure, some fill ins like coinflipping, then lorwyn with champion, clash, planeswalkers
- ante not invited
- keep accountable to yourself for a project like this
- /u/contract_material