Daily Card Redesign #81: Cagemail

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

Mountain, again? Oof, let's try that once more.

Redesign:

The idea is that this Cagemail isn't an inhibition to the wearer, but that it's inhibiting to everyone else around it. Nobody can get near it, so that's why other creatures can't get involved whenever it takes action and attacks or blocks.

You Make the Card 4: Vote #2

In which I humbly appeal to the masses on which card type to vote for using the power of American English ...and American Sign Language!

Daily Card Redesign #80: Brainstorm

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

Redesign:

There has never been a version of Frost Breath that is just for a single target. I mean, without additional effects on the card. Both Crippling Chill and Hands of Binding tap a single creature while keeping it tapped for its next untap step, but they both have an additional effect. Well, here was an opportunity to do so. 

Usually, when you make a spell a cantrip (a spell that has "Draw a card" as part of its effect), you must add 2 more colorless mana to whatever the spell would normally cost without it. So, when you look at Crippling Chill costing 2U, you just remove the "Draw a card" part, and you get a new cost: U. 

Note: I'm aware of Enervate existing in Ice Age, the same set as this redesigned card would be in. However, there aren't any tap effects at uncommon, and Enervate doesn't keep that creature/artifact/land it is tapping tapped down like this Body Shock effect does. So, I figured that this focused-on-creatures-only spell with an additional "skips its next untap" could coexist with the broader-but-less-harsher Enervate.

Daily Card Redesign #79: Giant Warthog

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

Redesign:

This giant warthog was to be redesigned without trample, despite being depicted as tearing it up. Look at that chunks of earth being ...well, unearthed! That was going to be a challenge.

Two things made the above problem work: 1) The glowing eye; and 2) The little people trying to fight it.

Trample is for attacking. But why can't warthogs be tearing it up while it's blocking? Aha. The little humans or elves or whatever aren't the ones trying to stop the boar - the boar is the one trying to stop little people! And that's what led to the glowing eye.

The glowing eye had no explanation with the original card. So, I decided to key off of that - which led to me realizing how the boar could be looking out for something - like little people. This is why the warthog is upset - there's some little humans and elves to smash!

I love that "Watchhog" sounds very similar to "Watchdog."

Daily Card Redesign #78: Leery Fogbeast

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

Redesign:

First of all, I think it's hilarious that a creature like this could have flash.

Anyway, the fog it excretes made me think of being blindsided by something surprising you in the fog, or mist. Flavorfully, the opposing creatures are fighting their way to yo unable to see much, when BAM - you get gobbled up by a Beast you hadn't known about or seen coming.

There aren't any flash creatures in Onslaught, whereas there are in Legions. So, I put one in Onslaught. And the Beast tribe could really use a flashing creature - they normally wouldn't be fitting to deserve such a type of creature. But the art depicting that misty fogness saves the day and allows for such a thing to happen!

I based the costing off of Merfolk of the Depths, from Gatecrash. Mistlurker Predator trades mana cost color flexibility for a point of toughness. And, yes, Yeva, Nature's Herald's "drawback" of being legendary does really push it in terms of being able to exist as a 4/4 with flash with an additional upside.

Lastly, this is the only flash creature that's a 4/3. Mine that design space!

Daily Card Redesign #77: Chandra, the Firebrand

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

For those of you who have read Daily Card Redesign #10, I designed for Chandra before - except for the first card version of her, Chandra Nalaar. O.K., here we go. Redesign:

Boom! To be clear, what's happening here is that Chandra's ultimate allows her to effectively do 10 of a combination of damage and/or addition of red mana to your mana pool. I recognize that the last ability's templating may be incorrect, but you understand what I'm going for. 

I'm interested in seeing that final ability on other types of planeswalker cards but with other kinds of pairs of abilities other than it. I believe there are more applications than on Chandra here for pairs of effects you can do multiple of. Like, +1/+1 or destroying creatures, etc.

Daily Card Redesign #76: Ravnica Karoo Cycle

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

Redesign:

Instead of showing ten cards of the cycle doing the same thing - I'll just show Azorius Chancery.

Normally common multicolor lands require an up-front cost of 1 mana (enter the battlefield tapped or another way of losing 1 mana in exchange for getting a multicolor land). The same is true for this card. However, as an upside, it doesn't punish you for already being able to produce those colors. If you're running only basic lands other than this, then the earliest you can play this is turn three if you played a Plains and Island during your first two turns.

Is this too broken? I can't tell. I think this is at least an interesting design.