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CardName: Light of Day // Dark of Night Cost: WWWW // BBBB Type: Sorcery // Sorcery Pow/Tgh: / // / Rules Text: Create four 1/1 white Human creature token. You gain 4 life. // Each player sacrifices four creatures. You lose 4 life. Flavour Text: Set/Rarity: [Assorted] Card Repository Rare |
Code: History: [-] |
Extremely colored split cards. How bad design are they?
Hmmm. They are "play mono colour only" but with a choice of two colours.
Dunno. A bit more draftable, but no different for constructed than printing two different cards?
And I guessss late game the right dual-coloured deck can use them with a choice.
I like the symmetry but I think a lot more people would choose the dark side for that more potent sacrifice effect. This would probably be a monoblack staple in EDH.
Totally not balanced, black is way stronger.
A more symmetrical effect might be to make two 2/2 black Zombie creature tokens. However, then black would be weaker.
This is not just about being equal in power, it is also about both sides being appropriately cost at their respective cost which in this case are determined to be exactly these two mana costs.
So let's consider the question first: What would be an appropriate cost be for each of the halves as individual cards?
Four tokens; is Icatian Town which costs 6 splashable.
Four-all-colour for that and a smidge of life? Seems legit.
Each player sacrifices 4 creatures isn't something I've seen printed. But it's both better and worse than a wrath. And that costs 4-splashable. So paying life as well as being all-colour seems overcosted. So ironcially, my conclusion is that the black side isn't good enough. And that Icatian Town is complete junk.
Yeah, that card does cost too much.
I used Increasing Devotion and Damnation as references. I'm also fine with each side being a little worse than on an individual card for split cards - especially in cases like this where no side is at all narrow in application.
Dark of Night is a really hard call to me. You usually are able to break the symmetry of such cards somewhat and since both halves fit into a token deck I cost this as something like Ashes to Ashes or Curtains Call that likely allows you to get rid of the targets you want, while also allowing you to keep your very best things alive, which Damnation does not really allow.
Such "ironic" situations when you reconsider after looking at past cards are IMO a sign that the cost is in the correct ballpark.