Daily Card Redesign #184: Otherworldly Journey

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:

The flavor is that the little guy in the art is going on its own journey to confront the Kami and come back later a changed, legendary warrior.

This card can be used both offensively and defensively. Also, I enjoy that in case anybody tries to abuse the enchantment and put out a bunch of creatures to take advantage of the chosen name - the legendary flavorful inclusion then becomes a way to control that behavior from happening.

Daily Card Redesign #183: Rampaging Baloths

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:

This creature has an increasing Overrun! The Beasts get more and more out of hand, rampaging harder, better, faster, and stronger. ...As long as you still have lands to have enter the battlefield after turn six!

Daily Card Redesign #182: Invader Parasite

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 #181: Gleam of Resistance

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:

Staple basic landcycling onto any white common instant/sorcery effect? Easy, there's only been one white effect that's been taken (the original design of mass pumping of creatures). According to the art, with multiple creatures depicted, it had to impact more than one creature. It also didn't look violent - it looked like a boon. So, it had to help your own creatures. 

There's not much else besides a Safe Passage effect! Well, it exchanges the benefit originally found on Safe Passage of preventing damage to yourself with basic landcycling! Boom. Done.

Daily Card Redesign #180: Meddling Mage

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:

Oh, gosh! It was my birthday over the weekend, June 30th, and one thing led to another, and, well, I need to catch up on missing a whole weekend's worth of blog posts! Here's "Saturday's" blog post!

So, this is a player invitational card, just like the situation I had for Kai Budde's Voidmage Prodigy! So, I thought it best to keep it a "Meddling Mage" name. I then thought about how else a mage can meddle? How about mess with what spell effects are actually supposed to do?! 

And what spell effects? A clue is that his hands are white and blue - meaning white and blue cards. And they look like they can be either twinning one spell into a different-color version of the other, or converting one thing into another. I went with the latter.

Blue is able to manipulate the nature of magic, so this was fine. I chose two spell effects that were basic but also could related with one another through the virtue of number.

I needed to have the creature be able to target any player so that it truly could still be "meddling," even though you'll probably be turning your life-gain spells into card-drawing spells.

This card might be "bah-roken" depending on whether there's some life-gain abuse to pair with this card.

Daily Card Redesign #179: Waterspout Djinn

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:

Edge-case scenario for when it enters the battlefield, but oh-so-flavorful! And it matches the art well! I mean, the original design made little sense with its mechanical drawback. Is that your ship that it's messing with?

To compensate for the effect not being applicable most times (River Boa is the only creature with islandwalk in the set Visions, where the original card originally appeared), I made sure to cost this creature with just one blue mana (albeit, it had to be at an elevated mana cost to compensate) to make it more accessible as a general beefy flier. Sapphire Drake is a good example.

Lastly, I like how shuffling a creature feels like being hit by a whirlpool. It usually means you're a goner, but you never know where you're going to end up, and you just might pop up later after being the eventful whirlpool.

Daily Card Redesign #178: Subterranean Spirit

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:

It's yet another variant on effects that deal damage all creatures without flying, like Earthquake! In this case, the land becomes alive itself, both disrupting the creatures by its awakening (when it enters the battlefield) and exhibiting its power based on how much earth you have. 

Having to rely upon you having Mountains kept this clean while having its power level a bit controlled.

BOOM!