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CardName: Pocket Knife Cost: 1 Type: Artifact - Equipment Pow/Tgh: / Rules Text: Flash Pocket Knife comes into play equipping a creature of your choice. Equipped creature gets +1/+0 Equip {2} Flavour Text: Set/Rarity: Serras Archangels Uncommon

Pocket Knife
{1}
 
 U 
Artifact – Equipment
Flash
Pocket Knife comes into play equipping a creature of your choice.
Equipped creature gets +1/+0
Equip {2}
Updated on 17 Nov 2018 by Patrik Andersson

Code: UA04

History: [-]

2018-11-12 11:00:36: Patrik Andersson created the card Pocket Knife

Nice. Grifter's Blade did something similar though it's pretty bad. On the other hand, this card is a strictly better Bone Saw...

Equip still happens at sorcery speed. I'd think you'd want to change that.

Maybe ETB: Equip? So you get the benefit of the first flash without also having it always equip instantly?

Agree that this obsoletes Bone Saw though. Maybe it could have a casting cost? Instead of the equip cost even?

ETB equip just turns it back into Grifter's Blade, and would need to be costed similarly

I formulated a mechanic for a wildwest set some time ago with the idea of flash equipment: Stainless Quick Fix. Now that I think about it, it might need to state that the cast is done at instant speed and to target creature though those are both implied.

i have to think this through how i want this to be. I think i want it to be flash and not equip, because there will be cards that work with equipments so it will have synergy either way.

That sounds like the main purpose is to punish the opponent for not leaving any blockers up. With that in mind, I would go with much bigger numbers and make this give like +4/+0 or something. However, then the flavor diverges from this.

Flash but sorcery equip means that the only real benefit you get from this is dropping it into play at the end of an opponents turn, while leaving the maan up during their turn in case you need it for somethig else. Which in this case is {0}. So, uh... not so useful.

As a combo-piece with things that make equipping easier, it's mildly nifty - but it's only +1 power. So hardly game shattering.

I dunno. The flash on this makes it actively feel worse than not having it. Because it makes you think "Oh! I can... wait, no, no I cannot. Booo."

{edit - reworded to be clearer what I meant on flash mana cost}

2018-11-16 11:00:50: Patrik Andersson edited Pocket Knife

You are all very real on design here. i think i might have to change it to be somewhat close to the other. What do you think about it now? lowering the cost since the lack of thoughness?

Eh, now it's just a development issue. Equipment is all over the place cost-wise. Some sets it's really efficient, some sets it's really crappy. Which is best for your set only playtesting will show.

You should follow the oracle text of Grifter's Blade, not the out-of-date printed text. Otherwise, you might as well write out that flash since it wasn't a thing yet during the original Ravnica :D

What bad oracle text, though. It should be "When ~ etbs, [you may pay X. If you do,] attach it to target creature you control." I think the most balanced way is to include the bracketed clause and have X be "its equip cost."

Oracle text aims to preserve functionality and Grifter's Blade never had a triggered ability. That's the point.

New cards should use the triggered wording though or something entirely different e. g. the quickdraw mechanic linked to earlier.

I think Grifter's Blade just included the equip cost in the mana cost to get around the "you may pay {x}"-issue. Though an Equipment that equips once for free on ETB and afterwards has a high equip cost is certainly a valid concept to explore.

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