Obligatory shitty card creation thread

[Fatal]

Brain Switch 1 - (CMC)

artifact

T, sac ~this~: Until end of turn, whenever player draw a card, other players draw a card instead.

Probably wording is a mess since it replace itself, any help for short working effect which wouldn't be self replace ?

Actually it can be used in any color, it can be easily recycled with quite powerful effect - opponent skip draw, and you draw instead so probably very powerful as 1 cmc. On the other hand each deck can play it and effect doesn't have big impact on game state - only on hands. I can see it could be very powerful with welder ;)

[Dice_Box]

Leyline of Mephistopheles.

Name says it all really.

[Slag]

Exposer of Secrets{g/w}
Half-halfling rogue
When ~ comes into play, draw a card for each card drawn by an opponent this turn.
You may play ~ as if it had flash by removing a green or white card from your hand.
1/1

It may be fine just with flash, come to think of it.

[Barook]

@Tylert: I never said that the challenge is an easy one, considering how OP Brainstorm is.

@Ingo & Fatal: Sacrifice effects disqualify themselves since they aren't symmetrical and can be abused with blue decks. I've updated the challenge primer to reflect that.

@Dice_Box: Works, but gimps yourself against non-draw decks and by not having it in your opening hand.

@Slag: A 1/1 with Flash wouldn't be overpowered, but yet again, it fails the symmetry check. It could be run alongside Brainstorm with no issues.

[TsumiBand]

Brough of Yewmahd

Creature - Troll Soldier

Haste
If a player would draw a card, that player exiles that card instead. They may cast that card as if it were in their hand until end of turn.

1/2

//////

Not sure if any good, or maybe too good and I just don't see it. It "feels like" one of those things that either will never matter (fair decks don't really care about this effect) or it will completely dominate a game (the Brainstorm player now has to exile to BS and put two cards from hand on top of their library, and chances are they won't be casting this EOT) and so because it is swingy, I just have no idea. But it is an effect which Red seems to be tending towards anyway; the idea that "castable exiling" is their version of "card drawing", and so I feel like it's within Red's scope to do this.

[Ace/Homebrew]

Brough of Yewmahd
Creature - Troll Soldier

Haste
If a player would draw a card, that player exiles that card instead. They may cast that card as if it were in their hand until end of turn.

1/2

How would this interact with the Miracles trigger? Favorably (for the player), I assume.
I would like this even if it was a Gray Ogre body without haste. At those stats it doesn't seem like it would harm Limited, Standard, or Modern... But it would be playable in MY petdeck, so Wizards should make it!

[Barook]

Brough of Yewmahd

Creature - Troll Soldier

Haste
If a player would draw a card, that player exiles that card instead. They may cast that card as if it were in their hand until end of turn.

1/2

//////

Not sure if any good, or maybe too good and I just don't see it. It "feels like" one of those things that either will never matter (fair decks don't really care about this effect) or it will completely dominate a game (the Brainstorm player now has to exile to BS and put two cards from hand on top of their library, and chances are they won't be casting this EOT) and so because it is swingy, I just have no idea. But it is an effect which Red seems to be tending towards anyway; the idea that "castable exiling" is their version of "card drawing", and so I feel like it's within Red's scope to do this.

Although a 1 mana Uba Mask with a body feels kinda wrong. I would use the Chains wording instead:

If a player would draw a card except the first one he or she draws in his or her draw step each turn, that player exiles that card instead. They may cast that card as if it were in their hand until end of turn.

Still feels like a very red effect and kinda discourages "in response" Brainstorming.

I was about to praise it as a really nice design until I realized that it turns Brainstorm essentially into a pseudo-Ancestral Recall with an empty hand, which is less awesome for its intended purpose.

Hard to say how to fix it. Discard first, then draw would also be a red effect, but then again, it would be just a red Chains.

@Tylert: I think noncreature permanents can be done, it just needs to be a bit more tricky:

First rough, quite OP draft would be:

Bound in Darkness
Enchantment
When you cast Bound in Darkness, target opponent discards a card.
Spells and abilities can't cause players to draw extra cards.

I'm aware that it's a significantly better Chains due to being cheaper and having an uncounterable discard effect attached to it. Hardly balanced. How about some alternate casting mode instead?

Bound in Darkness
Enchantment
You may exile a black card from your hand rather than pay Bound in Darkness' mana cost. If you do, it gains flash.
When you cast Bound in Darkness, if its mana cost was paid, target player reveals his or her hand. You choose a nonland card from it. That player discards that card.
Spells and abilities can't cause players to draw extra cards.

I think this version is more interesting than the first draft since it gives you room for decision. The alternate cost + flash ensures that you can catch Brainstorm and other dumb draw spells, although at a small cost. The alternate cast mode gives you a discard spell, although a rather expensive one. And it wouldn't be completely dead against various decks. And at the very least, it wouldn't make Chains automatically obsolete by design alone.

[Ingo]

The Ruins at Pendrell Vale - Legendary Land
Each time a player would draw a card except the first one he or she draws in his or her draw step each turn, that player pays or skips that draw instead.
Tap: add to your manapool

After the Tabernacle was burned to the ground, fortune never returned to this once holy place.

[Barook]

The Ruins at Pendrell Vale - Legendary Land
Each time a player would draw a card except the first one he or she draws in his or her draw step each turn, that player pays one or skips that draw instead.

After the Tabernacle was burned to the ground, fortune never returned to this once holy place.

Make it at least tap for , otherwise, it would suck.

[Ingo]

Make it at least tap for , otherwise, it would suck.

Your wish is granted:)

[sdematt]

For Ruins, i like it. I would add a clause of tapping for mana if you control no islands.

[Barook]

I would add a clause of tapping for mana if you control no islands.

That seems kinda ham-fisted design-wise. Chances are that blue decks wouldn't run it anyway.

I like it being uncounterable and not having a window to cast Brainstorm in response.

[sdematt]

True, but it needs to at least tap for colourless otgerwise it is unplayable. Being Legendary, you maybe want to play 2, max.

[Barook]

True, but it needs to at least tap for colourless otherwise it is unplayable. Being Legendary, you maybe want to play 2, max.

Flavor reasons aside, would it be too strong if it was non-legendary?

I wonder if it would be too good if it stayed legendary, but could tap for mana of any color instead. If it only produces , it competes with Wasteland for slots. As a Rainbow land, it could support a great variety of decks. Or maybe being able to tap for normally or any color by paying 1 life, similiar to Mana Confluence? That would sound fair.

[sdematt]

What about tappung for colourless, still legendary, but with a charge counter for mana of any colour?

[Barook]

What about tappung for colourless, still legendary, but with a charge counter for mana of any colour?

Like Tendo Ice Bridge? Works, but kinda gets wordy.

Compare

The Ruins at Pendrell Vale
Legendary Land
Each time a player would draw a card except the first one he or she draws in his or her draw step each turn, that player pays or skips that draw instead.
T: Add to your mana pool.
T, Pay 1 life: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.

with

The Ruins at Pendrell Vale
Legendary Land
Each time a player would draw a card except the first one he or she draws in his or her draw step each turn, that player pays or skips that draw instead.
The Ruins at Pendrell Vale comes into play with a charge counter on it.
T: Add to your mana pool.
T, Remove a charge counter from The Ruins at Pendrell Vale: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.

I would still prefer the pay life variant since it's more flexible. Constantly paying life for colored mana is still a step drawback.

[TsumiBand]

Although a 1 mana Uba Mask with a body feels kinda wrong. I would use the Chains wording instead:



Still feels like a very red effect and kinda discourages "in response" Brainstorming.

I was about to praise it as a really nice design until I realized that it turns Brainstorm essentially into a pseudo-Ancestral Recall with an empty hand, which is less awesome for its intended purpose.

Hard to say how to fix it. Discard first, then draw would also be a red effect, but then again, it would be just a red Chains.

See, I don't think that's (solely) why people play Brainstorm - it's the buffet of things that BS brings to the table, the card filtering/discard protecting/library manipulating stuff, and Chandra-drawing fucks with all of that. It's true that an empty hand would turn it into an Ancestral Recall, but only if they can play all their cards that very same turn.

If the Brainstorming player is Hellbent instead of trying to decide which 7 to keep then it's done its job, AFAIC.

[rufus]

- design an anti-Brainstorm card that is maindeckable without completely gimping yourself when your opponent isn't playing Brainstorm or card draw in general
...
- the card must be symmetrical, thus not going well with Brainstorm itself (sacrifice effects in general are only temporary and thus not symmetrical); it also mustn't be blue in any form
...

Considering how fundamentally strong Brainstorm is, those two are tough to put together.

Here are some attempts at non-creature effects.

Balanced Books
W
Enchantment
Whenever a single player would draw a card, each player draws a card instead.

Leyline of Confusion
RR2
Enchantment
If Leyline of Confusion is in your opening hand, you may start the game with it in play.
Whenever a player would draw a card, if that player has a card in his or her hand, that player exiles a card from his or her hand at random, and draws two cards instead.

Fairy Circle
G
Instant
When you cast fairy circle, copy it once for each card an opponent drew this turn.
[Edit: This was too U-friendly, so I added.]
As an additional cost to cast fairy circle discard a card for each card you drew this turn.
Put a 1/1 saproling creature into play.

Chain of Command
B
Instant
You control target player while target spell that player controls resolves.
Exile Chain of command. Starting next turn, that player may play chain of command without paying its mana cost.

...

[Ingo]

It would be nice if the hatecard would be a cantrip as well, just like brainstorm.
Something like:

Choking blast
Instant
Counter target blue spell, if you paid .
Target player can't draw cards this turn, if you paid .
Draw a card if you control no islands.

At the very least, it could be played during upkeep to prevent an opponent drawing during drawstep.

[Vicar in a tutu]

For aggressive red decks:

Mindscourge Goblin
Creature - Goblin Shaman
Whenever a player draws a card, Mindscourge Goblin deals 1 damage to that player.
2/1

I have already posted this leyline earlier. In a meta very heavy with card draw, I believe this is maindeckable in certain decks.

Leyline of Parity
Enchantment
If Leyline of Parity is in your opening hand, you may begin the game with it on the battlefield.
Each player can't draw more than one card each turn.