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CardName: Saphire, Oakborn Cost: {G}{GU}{GU}{U} Type: Planeswalker - Saphire Pow/Tgh: /3 Rules Text: [+1]Reveal the top card of your library, if its a land card put it onto the battlefield, if not put that card in your hand. [+2]Each player may either draw a card or untap one land. [-9]For each Forest and each Island you control put a 3/3 green and blue drake creature token with flying onto the battlefield. Flavour Text: Set/Rarity: Misc Design for future sets. Mythic

Saphire, Oakborn
{g}{g/u}{g/u}{u}
 
 M 
Planeswalker – Saphire
+1Reveal the top card of your library, if its a land card put it onto the battlefield, if not put that card in your hand.
+2Each player may either draw a card or untap one land.
-9For each Forest and each Island you control put a 3/3 green and blue drake creature token with flying onto the battlefield.
3
Updated on 28 Mar 2014 by Vonmarcus

History: [-]

2014-03-26 19:40:16: Vonmarcus created the card Saphire, Oakborn
2014-03-26 19:40:26: Vonmarcus edited Saphire, Oakborn

Very similar to Jace Beleren. But better in almost every way, which is a bit of a problem because the 3-mana Jace is a very, very good card. The +2 is Jace's +2 (who would ever untap a land rather than draw a card?). The +1 is Jace's -1, but occasionally better, and gaining loyalty rather than losing it. And the ultimate is... incredibly good, perhaps a bit too game-winning good for a 3-mana walker with a +2.

That said, there's a lot to like here too. The Coiling Oracle ability is incredibly popular and a fine ability for a walker - it's just that it's pure card advantage so it really shouldn't be a + ability on a 3-mana walker. And the swarm of flying tokens is a great planeswalker ultimate. I do like that it only counts basic lands, which should do interesting things to tournament decks' mana bases.

I'd say: make the +1 a -1 instead (either that or the cost of this lady will have to go up by about 2). Remove the untap a land option from the +2 because it's pitifully bad compared to drawing a card - either that or change it up a bit, such as maybe letting people drop a land from hand onto the battlefield. Remove the shroud from the tokens, because when there's a huge swarm of tokens it doesn't matter if the opponent targets one or two of them. Change the hybrid in the cost into a (1) because there's no real difference except it's tidier that way. And maybe make the tokens 2/2s rather than 3/3s, though I'm not so sure on that.

I definitely like the idea of a Simic Coiling Oracle take on Jace, so I think this has a lot of potential.

All very good points.

I'm thinking of upping the number of lands that the second ability untaps to two or maybe swap it to untapping a creature instead.

I will drop shroud from the tokens and up the cost by a little.

Also what are peoples thoughts on the semi-flexible casting option route I've taken? I liked the cards from the alara block that had a mix of colored and hybrid mana so I'll be trying to do more of that.

2014-03-27 01:05:04: Vonmarcus edited Saphire, Oakborn

It was neat and necessary in Alara Reborn because they made every card in the set gold, and it allowed them to make a two-drop with three colors. Outside of that, I would say that it really should matter if you're using it. It looks sort of neat, but it's also rather gimmicky.
I love the first ability on a planeswalker. It would be great to have a Planeswalker that does that. Note that Kiora, the Crashing Wave almost does it already, that it's a [-1] on her, and that she has both a similar cost and a lower starting loyalty. However, Kiora protects herself with her + ability, so that's something. Almost nobody is ever going to take the "untap a land" option of Saphire's +2. It will be almost useless for your opponents unless they're playing things that let them respond at Instant speed and they thing it's absolutely necessary they do so the turn you activate it. Untapping a creature is no better. If it would benefit your opponent, then you just do it in your second main phase.

The key concept is that one option is card advantage, in its purest form, and the other option is not. It might possibly get taken if it was "untap all lands he or she controls".

This kind of casting cost... Personally I don't like it. {2}{g}{u} already requires you to play it in a deck that can make green and blue mana. {g}{g}{u}{u}, {g}{g/u}{g/u}{u}, all these kinds of thing don't add any further requirement, they just make it a bit harder to cast. It would still get played in rainbow tournament decks that are stuffed full of dual lands; it'd just make it harder for the casual player who doesn't have tons of dual lands to actually cast this shiny planeswalker they got.

With the casting cost I'm trying to KEEP it in {g}{u} decks. Also I personally am a fan of heavier color mana in casting costs. And yes th [+2] does need some work. I want to still have it be a choice.

­{2}{u}{g} is already "This is in a blue-green deck only". {u}{u}{g}{g} would be.. harsh. But possible.

I personally quite like hybrid costs, but it doesn't really add much, in the end.

The +2 option is interesting. It's dangerous because, yes, you get the mana ramp to cast your stompy thing; and your opponents get a card. But it also pushes you much closer to that yummy "Win the game next turn" ultimate. Taking it for the card is your better option - but if you wanted that, you'd use the primary. Which I think is a nice tension. I think it could be pushed up to a +3, to make it that much more tempting, though.

I'd just like to remind people that Jace Beleren's standard rhythm was "+2, everyone draws a card - -1, I draw a card - -1, I draw a card" and repeat - and that was fantastically good and playable in many tournament decks even while Jace, the Mind Sculptor was legal. Now the difference between 3 and 4 mana is a lot, but still, I think "+2 everyone draws a card, plus 1 I draw a card" is a bit better than it ought to be.

Hmm, in fact, the mention of Jace, the Mind Sculptor reminds me of his [0], which was "draw a card but better". This 4-mana walker has a "draw a card but better" as a +1. Now admittedly her other suite of abilities aren't quite up to Jace levels, but still, yowch, I think the +1 is a bit good.

Mmm, true. It's rare that you'd want the risky ramp over "Draw a card, and hey, maybe get an extra land drop from it".

Maybe don't get to keep the card if it's not a land? If your planeswalker is getting compare favourably to Jace, then it probably needs to be buried, exiled, really freaking removed from the game, banned, placed on the bottom of your library, torn into chaos confetti and set on fire.

edit: Oh wait; that was Jace. Um. What else CAN you do with it? Flipped, transformed, added to your ante, given defender with all its abilities removed, and translated into a different language.

I'm not sure how that post inspired a CMC increase :)

@Vitenka - no {2}{g}{u} just means you have to be running those colors not focusing on them. I went with the hybrid cost so that while the card forces you to only focus on the two colors you won't have to wait for the second forest or Island to play it. On the +2 yes there is good tension there, I'm thinking of making it 2 lands. Just to make other decks think a little and to make it a little more green.

@Alex - while the difference between 3 and four mana on a single colored card is not much it is a little more of a difference on a multi-colored card. I'd be ok with making the first ability a [0] ability though.

edit: I missed Vitenka's last post while writing mine. I am also ok with upping the cost on this to a CMC of 5

If you're so focused on only letting green-blue play this (for some reason), why not have the ultimate count Forests and Islands rather than basic lands?

The reason I'm trying to get this locked into it's colors is mainly because I've seen to many "mono colored" deck splash just enough color fixing to run several off colored walkers as the only cards not of the decks colors.

And I think I will change the ult to look at land types.

2014-03-28 15:47:44: Vonmarcus edited Saphire, Oakborn

What exactly is wrong with that? It's a perfectly viable strategy.
The ultimate needs to be worded differently, I think, because right now I believe you'll only get a drake for each Breeding Pool and each Tropical Island you control. It might need to say something like "For each Forest and for each Island you control..."

There's nothing wrong with it from time, but I've seen it alot. Like an elf deck that is just there to rush out 6 different walkers by turn seven when none are green.

I'd like to see some walkers that really only fit into a few decks like Nissa Revane or Sorin, Lord of Innistrad do. So I'm working on making a few.

Also I'll change the wording to something more correct.

2014-03-28 16:08:07: Vonmarcus edited Saphire, Oakborn

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