Daily Card Redesign #152: Cosi's Ravager

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.

ORIGINAL:

REDESIGN:

Hehe. Hellemental. I want there to be a creature card printed one day called Hellemental.

The existing design was already pretty good. There's no other landfall permanent that deals damage. But there is a landfall burn spell. So, there IS some overlap in types of effects triggered by landfall, and that's where I saw opportunity to improve.

You know, I was dead-set on doing an intimidating landfall red creature because of the lack of red cards with intimidate in Zendikar block, despite its introduction in Zendikar (I just discovered that Bladetusk Boar is a reprint from Zendikar and not an original design for Magic 2013) - until I discovered that black already had a landfall card with intimidate in the set Zendikar.

So, I settled on a difference faucet of red scaring folks - making creatures not able to block. Good stuff! I mean, look at this guy. An elemental beast thing that has an animal skull for a head? Scary!

Daily Card Redesign #151: Goblin Chieftain

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.

ORIGINAL:

REDESIGN:

Daily Card Redesign #150: Oraxid

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.


ORIGINAL:

REDESIGN:

Adjusted two things: Protection to conditional unblockability, and red to power 2 or less. Boom. Different enough.

I knew I wanted to change the "red" part that is represented by the Goblins in the art to something else that the Goblins would still represent. Here's many of what they represent:

• Red
• Low converted mana cost (I know some Goblins have high costs, but a bunch of 'em have a low cost, especially considering that Goblin tokens have a 0 converted mana cost
• Low power
• Multiple creatures
• Goblin creature type

I didn't want to reference the Goblin type unless Goblin tribal mattered. Which it doesn't really in this block. Red has already been done. Not being able to be blocked by multiple creatures seemed great, but kinda doesn't make sense for this creature in particular, flavorfully. And because this is a common, I didn't want to use the many words and slight-more complexity that is referencing the converted mana cost. So, power it was.

Daily Card Redesign #149: Laboratory Maniac

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.

ORIGINAL:

REDESIGN:

I wanted to call this "Flipping the Switch" since that is the action being taken here (and both the word "flip" and "switch" describe the text of this card - so good!), but that doesn't fit alphabetically within the card number slot Laboratory Maniac had. So, I went with the next best thing, which was just mentioning the object being used.

I'm not sure if I templated the rules text correctly, but you get what I did here: you flip your whole turn. Well, except for the end phase, which is crucial to be last since it handles many things like cleaning up damage dealt and ending effects that last only until end of turn.

Daily Card Redesign #148: Crown of Awe

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:

White didn't have lifelink or vigilance keyworded back then. And first strike was already taken by the red crown in this tight cycle. What to do? Well, we're forced to not have a keyword and just use the long form of vigilance.

On the plus side, this leaves open the new name of this card to have Crown of Vigilance without it being too cheesy that it's a "crown of literally-what-this-is-granting."

Flavorfully, the art depicts a guy that, due to the magics that is enchanted on him, is an ever-watchful protector. Kinda like Mad-Eye Moody's eye.

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"

Daily Card Redesign #147: Knotvine Paladin

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:

Daily Card Redesign #146: Unsummon

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:

I wanted to show the two different card versions of this design - because trying to follow the wording as it was before made it seem more complex than it actually is.

So, I discovered that Unsummon is the only blue bounce spell in Alpha. I know I have to keep this a bounce spell. But I also value that the sole bounce spell in the set is able to return the one permanent type that matters most: creature. It also helps that the art depicts a creature-like image.

I discovered that there hasn't been a straight-up cantrip version of bouncing permanent spell. Opportunity taken!