As stated on the comments thread, "I want the experience of playing Code Geass to feel like you're a master strategist, making plans, predicting your opponents' moves, and perhaps thinking on your feet, to come out ahead." That's why I like the idea of an emphasis on instants and combat tricks.

However, playing a lot of instants is tricky when that inherently means you'll be playing fewer creatures. Oneoffs won't normally provide the board presence that a creature or equipment/mecha would, even if a large amount of instants will provide card parity.

So I'm wondering about a higher-than-normal amount of cantrips. Seeing lots of things like Zap into Shelter, Guided Strike into Refresh, sounds like the kind of back-and-forth tactical moves I'm after. One problem with that is that it can mean in the middle of combat, if it doesn't go your way, you'll be tempted to play a cantrip that doesn't help the current combat just in the hope of drawing something else that will.

This sends me down the somewhat bizarre train of thought to consider slowtrips instead. Flare rather than Zap, Feral Instinct rather than Aggressive Urge. My thinking is that this would encourage you more to sculpt a hand of tactics that either synergise together or that offer you outs for several different possible situations. (Looting or cycling could also help here, though again that leads to more the feeling of "frantic search for answers" which... hmm, I guess it's not exactly a foreign feeling to some Code Geass characters, when someone gets outwitted...)

For nostalgia reasons, I like slowtrips. But I'm pretty sure it's a trap. I know I used them myself in Magic 20XX... but that was because Hellbent really liked them, and people got the 'joke' once it was explained to them. "I don't want people digging for answers in the middle of combat" just doesn't make a good punchline.

I'm all about alternative rewards over 'draw a card', though, I do understand why regenerating one's hand is important. "Target creature gains first strike. Gain 3 life." sounds neat; but then you're done, and out of steam. Scry sounds like your best bet. Or maybe something scry-like. Alternatively, you could be gaining tactical counters that you could trade in later, piggy-backed off another card's effect. I'm sure a good brainstorm could come up with other things one could tack on.

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What about more things with flash? Instant creatures keep your creature count up but also play like ambushes, or an uncommon cycle of dictates as advanced tactics.

Morph roulette? Represents secrets and anticipating your opponent well.

Maybe just put lots of card-draw in the set. Rather than cantrips - just pain old Brainstorm. Gives you the choosing to set up ahead of time feel a bit.

Tactics... probably equipment works well here. Add some instants and abilities to swap equipment around and you've got improvisation. Though, yeuch at the board complexity level. Since unlike in a show, the players actually have to work out all the permutations and decide whether or not to fight.

Maybe counter that a bit with a bunch of "Must attack" creatures; and I can't help but feel there's room for some kind of "Enough Talk!" card that makes combat actually start, similar to split-second which makes a spell duel resolve.

Hmmm. The separate first-strike then normal strike don't get played around with much. Maybe some cards that can change what the block between the two phases?

Hmmmm. "Thinking on your feet" I can't help but think "Dig top of library and cast" is the best representation; but mechanically... slow slow slow. Maybe combine them a bit? "Look at top 3 cards of your deck, cast one, and put the other two back in any order" - cut's down on the shuffling, adds some forward planning element?

But OW how the players would stall, flicking the cards back and forth. ... add a "Punch flicking players on the nose" card.

@Vitenka:

­Brainstorm, Ponder, Opt are all fine candidates for reprint-or-tweak; they don't have to exclude cantrips.

There'll definitely be Mecha playing the role of equipment. You're right, a tweak on Magnetic Theft would go great in that setting, but just one or two such.

"Attacks if able" and/or "blocks if able" is quite a sensible proposal; I've been trying to think how to distinguish the large number of relatively interchangeable mecha pilots, and that's a good way to mechanically represent the personality of some of them.

As for "Punch a card-flicking player on the nose" - it's already been printed, as Stop That... ;)

@jmgariepy: Yeah, I don't think slowtrips are actually sensible. Straight cantrips like Aggressive Urge and Zap would likely be fine; and if people cycle them mid-combat, well, "Wild improvisation or hoping to come up with an answer" fits parts of the series too.

Scry could work as well, though the flavour is tricky.

"Gaining tactical counters that you can trade in later" is an interesting idea. Very parasitic, and doesn't help that it'll need two different kinds of new cards (the ones that make counters and the ones that use them).

@dude1818: Yeah, occasional flash creatures and Dictate-type things can form one part of the puzzle. But "Surprise, I brought out a new creature!" has the downside that it's only useful as a trick in defense (well, unless we do something like ninjutsu).

That's the bunny. Reprint Stop That. Only flip the rules text and image :)

I think too many cantrips will work against your planning theme - they're more "ok, gotta pull something outta my ass, what can I find..."

What you really want is multiple build up turns, then multiple combat turns, repeat.

That can't easily be a theme, though - way too big a change to what magic is. Make a nice rare, though.