#Moxtober 11: Cruel

During the month of October is #Inktober! Each day has a single-word prompt, but instead of inking something, I design a Magic: The Gathering mechanic to fit the word. This is called #Moxtober.

(#Moxtober was previously named #Meltober, named after "Mel", the more mechanically-inclined counterpart to "Vorthos" of the aesthetic profile spectrum.)
Day 01: "poisonous"
Day 02: "tranquil"
Day 03: "roasted"
Day 04: "spell"
Day 05: "chicken"
Day 06: "drooling"
Day 07: "exhausted"
Day 08: "star"
Day 09: "precious"
Day 10: "flowing"

Today's prompt is: "cruel"

The complicate mechanic comes with its own set of cards, Complications and Compliments, sort of like how Contraption decks are cards in a deck that are "off to the side" - except, they don't come in a deck. They're all utilized as directed by this ability. There would also be one instructional card that helps explain in detail the rules of complicate that comes with the complicate cards - which is fine because this mechanic only shines best in a multiplayer environment. So, some kind of multiplayer supplemental product would be best to bundle with complicate cards

The complicate mechanic is always on multicolor cards (like with cascade in Alara Reborn) because the Complications and Compliments come in a variety of effects that no one color alone would be able to provide. There are number cards provided with the bundle of complicate cards to help make easier the secret choosing of numbers - which only up to 5 are printed (you'll have to handle the logistics of your 7+ player multiplayer games).

So, here's how it goes when you complicate things.
1) Your opponents are Alice, Betty, and Carl.
2) You target Betty to secretly choose numbers, starting from 1; for Alice, Betty, and Carl (each opponent, as worded)
3) Betty secretly chooses 2 for Alice, 1 for Betty, and 3 for Carl
4) You secretly choose the Complication card "From Whenceforth" for Alice, the Complication card "Vampire Kiss" for Betty, and the Compliment card "Plant Prize" for Carl
5) All secret choices are revealed. Then resolve in any order (the effects won't matter for what order you resolve them in). The following Complication and Compliment cards read as, in combination with the secret numbers:

From Whenceforth
This player returns N target creatures they control to their hand. If they have less than N creatures, they return all creatures they control to their hand.

Alice had 2 chosen for them, so Alice returns 2 creatures they control to their hand.

Vampire Kiss
This player loses N life, and you gain N life.

Betty had 1 chosen for them, so Betty loses 1 life, and you gain 1 life.

Plant Prize
This player creates N 0/1 green Plant creature tokens.

Carl had 3 chosen for them, so Carl creates 3 Plant tokens.

The Complication cards and one Compliment card are quick examples and don't reflect the final version nor full variety of effects available as part of the complicate cards bundle. :)

All this is suppose to instill in the targeted opponent of a complicate effect a feeling of making a cruel choice for others at the table.