Daily Card Redesign #161: Brawlers

Daily Card Redesign is a daily Magic: The Gathering design exercise where I randomly choose a card for the scenario of it being scrapped late during its own set's development. I design a replacement card that uses the same art, is the same color(s), is the same rarity, and has a name that, alphabetically, keeps it within the same collector number for the set.

ORIGINALS:

REDESIGNS:

I enjoyed how the original designs represented the idea of having the same kind of fighters, except one of the cards representing seasoned versions of the fighters. I wanted to make sure to keep the link between these two cards, which is why I chose an execution that did this.

I thought that if these Beginner Brawlers were not yet veteran - what WOULD make them veteran? Killing someone else and living. If they manage to do that, then they should be on par with the Veteran Brawlers card. So, I had the card replace itself, improving itself and representing this becoming-a-veteran phenomenon.

When it came to redesigning the Veteran Brawlers, however, I needed to have something unique or exciting enough that would be fit for a rare. Also, since these guys are the upgraded version of the common design, I wanted to make sure to represent that as well as possible. Sure, I could have tacked on First strike or haste or something. But that didn't feel as good of an execution.

I depended upon the power/toughness to represent their Veteran-ness. They're twice as large because of each of them fight as well as 2/2s - on par with Grizzly Bears.

BUT, I still needed an effect that would merit this as a rare card. I thought of keying off of having the creature enter the battlefield from the library. That's not a condition that you'd see often in the rules text of a Magic card, so - rare! This would give another toy for Johnny types to play with.

To ensure that this card is still exciting without having that edge case of its effect fulfilled, I costed the mana cost with a bunch of red mana symbols to keep the converted mana cost down to make this not-so-sucky to cast. I did the same with the common creature.