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CardName: Reluctant Allies Cost: 2{WB}{WB} Type: Planeswalker - Ajani & Sorin Pow/Tgh: /4 Rules Text: [+1] Put two 1/1 black cat creature tokens onto the battlefield. [0] Up to two target creatures get +2/+1, flying and lifelink until end of turn. [-5] You get an emblem with "At the beginning of your end step, you may have your life total become 10" Flavour Text: Set/Rarity: Multiverse Design Challenge None |
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See Challenge # 129.
I realised that Ajani and Sorin have a REALLY different flavour, but quite a lot of mechanical overlap, so I started trying to design a card, but it wasn't really "both" as much as "either" so I went with hybrid, although I don't expect we'll really see a hybrid planeswalker!
I'm not quite happy with the abilities. The first feels like it needs a little more for flavour. And I'm missing a "drain" like ability which was very Ajani and Sorin, originally I had an ability "Destroy target tapped creature. Gain life equal to its toughness."
But I thought for ages before finding an ability that played with life totals in a way that felt both white and black, and both ajani and sorin, but I felt ok with the last ability in the end.
I also wanted a better name, something that emphasises the "both acting honorably and working together for a temporary shared value, but disapprove of each other".
On TVTropes, Strange Bedfellows or Enemy Mine are the names for this kind of pairing. But I think your "Reluctant Allies" is more comprehensible without the trope name context.
The first and second abilities are great. (Though "black Cat" doesn't quite work. I encountered a similar problem trying to choose a creature type that both would be happy with in my Kiora & Garruk, Behemoth Hunters.)
I'm not sure about the emblem. It's sometimes useful, certainly, but it doesn't feel very "ultimate". I dunno... it might be stronger than I think. Eternity Vessel is a very good card, and this is half of one of those but without the "will I draw a land" factor. It does manage to feel both white and black, and both Ajani(ish) and Sorin.
Thank you!
I agree about "black cat". Maybe "black and white cat", which I like the sound of, although doesn't hit the "evil" trope as well as "black cat". It feels like it should work -- it's a cat, it's a familiar... but it's not perfect. Maybe two tokens of different sorts...?
My logic for the emblem is that Eternity Vessel's problem is not just needing a land drop (although that's a problem after turn 6), but also that it doesn't help you if your life total is already low. Whereas the emblem can help you immediately if you're low on life, and if not, isn't a dead card because you can use the +1 or +0 abilities lots. So your opponent always needs to make a 10-damage swing, which is quite hard for many decks.
Come to think of it, maybe I should tack on "else, gain 1 life". I quite like how that feels, that once you get back to 10 life you slowly creep up, so your opponent has to keep trying, not just to hold back until they have 10-damage at once. But it makes the ability wordy.
Otherwise, I could decrease the activation loyalty, or make it a non-ultimate (eg. "0: Your life total becomes 10.), or increase the set-point to 13, 15, or even 20.