For Challenge # 046. I wanted something that felt like you were trading gems back and forth, and figured gaining life was the simplest explanation. So I made a white dwarf, which seems fine, but white creature don't do a lot of direct damage. If I was to make 'Dwarfy McSetterton' I would probably stretch white's color pie to direct damage for this mechanic... but to stymie the complaints in a one of design challenge, I added a red activation.

Hint: Target yourself.

Good call Mystic. I changed it to opponent. I did think of the strange conundrum this card creates when you and an opponent both have one. It's like an economy where everyone claims that something has value, when it really doesn't. If I was to plot out this block, I probably would have come up with a black creature that said "Target player loses 2 life, and you gain 2 life" so it feels like an actual exchange of goods takes place. Actually, black likes economics, in theory. It could probably create an interesting niche in this world where it trades gems back and forth for advantage. Maybe white or blue can act more like the card Reparations, forcing stuff on you, then demanding gem counters...

Yeah; this is mostly pointless if both players have access to it. More interesting assuming they all do slightly different things with the counters; but I suspect you'll end up with situations where players have fun doing stuff working out the gems game, whilst someone else is sat over there actually winning the actual game.

At first I worried that this would just balloon players' life totals. But actually it doesn't bounce back and forth... or at least, it only does that if both players want it to.

But on balance I think the bottom ability should probably still have some other cost attached to it, even if just . Otherwise when A and B get this out, C attacks one of them with a million Saprolings and A and B shrug and say "Shall we gain 2 million life each?" "Yeah, go on then."