CardName: Contessa
Cost: 2UU
Type: Creature - Human
Pow/Tgh: 2/4
Rules Text: {X}: Look at the top X cards of your library, then put them
back in any order.
Flavour Text:
Set/Rarity: Worm Rare
Contessa
R
Creature – Human
: Look at the top X cards of your library, then put them back in any order.
Contessa's power "supplies her with whatever steps she needs to take at the task she is visualizing". Sounds like an unlimited Diabolic Tutor effect. But personality-wise, as far as we can ever tell, she's utterly detached, which is blue. Okay, we can do Information Dealer / Soothsaying instead. This feels a bit like predicting the future, which isn't quite Contessa's power: it'd be good to make sure that this ability doesn't end up too close to Dinah's and Coil's.
But that's a black effect, not a blue one. That's what I was getting at with my first two sentences. (Um, and you can't use the word "search" if you're avoiding shuffles. Also that's a recipe for the game stalling for 5 minutes, which is worth avoiding.)
Libraries are shuffled because there's no good way to prevent a player from reorganizing that library, whether accidentally or intentionally. Search effects aren't meant to allow you to reorganize your library, and therefore they don't do so.
Even if that's true, if we ever want to play with these cards I don't want an effect that takes 5 minutes to resolve. Particularly not on an activated ability.
Which also goes for "Replace the draw phase with a tutor phase"
How about: Whenever you would draw a card, you may instead wish for a card outside of the game? Although.. hmm, that would be better for Eidolon actually.
I like the replacing the first card drawn each turn with a tutor effect. - Another possibility is the future sight effect with an activated ability that lets you scry. (Created a third Contessa card.)
Another possibility is ETB exiling your library for as long as you control Contessa, replacing all draws with putting a card exiled into your hand and errata that shuffles your library when it returns.
Mm, like an active Archmage Ascension. Or Tomorrow, Azami's Familiar but more so. Yes, I could definitely see that. Archmage Ascension needs some work to turn on though; I think a creature with that static ability (and no hoops to jump through) would need to cost at least 7 mana.
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: Look at the top X cards of your library, then put them back in any order.
Contessa's power "supplies her with whatever steps she needs to take at the task she is visualizing". Sounds like an unlimited Diabolic Tutor effect. But personality-wise, as far as we can ever tell, she's utterly detached, which is blue. Okay, we can do Information Dealer / Soothsaying instead. This feels a bit like predicting the future, which isn't quite Contessa's power: it'd be good to make sure that this ability doesn't end up too close to Dinah's and Coil's.
Mmm, scry without being called scry to sound a bit less futury...
Actually - I suggest going full out Demonic Tutor++.
: Search your library for a card, and put it into your hand.
Deliberately without the shuffle. Or the tap. But yes, with a high cost because even I'm not that crazy.
But that's a black effect, not a blue one. That's what I was getting at with my first two sentences. (Um, and you can't use the word "search" if you're avoiding shuffles. Also that's a recipe for the game stalling for 5 minutes, which is worth avoiding.)
True.
How about "When an effect says you must shuffle your library, you may instead choose not to."?
Libraries are shuffled because there's no good way to prevent a player from reorganizing that library, whether accidentally or intentionally. Search effects aren't meant to allow you to reorganize your library, and therefore they don't do so.
Yup; but ordering your whole deck really is something Contessa enables. It's that stonkingly drasstic a power.
Even if that's true, if we ever want to play with these cards I don't want an effect that takes 5 minutes to resolve. Particularly not on an activated ability.
Yeah, that's true.
Which also goes for "Replace the draw phase with a tutor phase"
How about: Whenever you would draw a card, you may instead wish for a card outside of the game? Although.. hmm, that would be better for Eidolon actually.
I like the replacing the first card drawn each turn with a tutor effect. - Another possibility is the future sight effect with an activated ability that lets you scry. (Created a third Contessa card.) Another possibility is ETB exiling your library for as long as you control Contessa, replacing all draws with putting a card exiled into your hand and errata that shuffles your library when it returns.
Mm, like an active Archmage Ascension. Or Tomorrow, Azami's Familiar but more so. Yes, I could definitely see that. Archmage Ascension needs some work to turn on though; I think a creature with that static ability (and no hoops to jump through) would need to cost at least 7 mana.