For Challenge # 134. My last two Morphtraps were both objectionable. This one works fine for me, but it does showcase how many words the morphtrap reminder text requires...

The more examples I see, the more I like morphtrap, but the more I don't quite get the examples...

If I were designing it, I think I would say the guidelines for morphtrap would be:

• Owner gets creature back when it turns face-up
• There's some extra beneficial effect that only applies if the opponent does the wrong thing with it (either spelled out "when you turn this up" or even better implicit in the rules it has)

I'd like the idea of cards that can either be played yourself, or surprise-gifted to the opponent to their detriment, but I can't think of many that work. One might be:

Danger Elemental #1/#2
Morphtrap
When this deals damage to an opponent, it deals 10 damage to you.

That way, it still looks like a creature, one you MIGHT play (as a defender, or to attack just once when you can kill the opponent), but it you can trick the opponent into attacking with it, you get a big benefit. But it has to be big to cancel out giving them a large creature. And I just can't think of many cards like that that are playable and not too swingy, hence the suggestion of getting the creature back when it unmorphs -- that still has a big downside of giving opponent a 2/2, but not AS big.

As an aside, if I continued to design these creatures, I would probably include a Sleeper Agent type card, a Chromeshell Crab type card (which traded a permanent you controlled for the 6/6 morphtrap you revealed) and something approaching Jinxed Idol.

I will admit, it's tough making cards like this that people would like/find useful. It's inherently funny, so I'm guessing people would like the mechanic. But each card comes with a drawback to the person casting it, which makes all the cards, on an individual level, look bad.

I think all those ideas are good for a control-changing mechanic, but ideally it should work with simpler creatures.

One way would be, you get the morphed creature. That's lots simpler, and means its like morph but with the extra cost of giving your opponent the creature for a couple of turns. It wouldn't even have to cost 3 if you didn't want it to, since it's different to morph anyway. And the only built-in "surprise" is when their creature goes away (though many creatures may have an extra effect) but that might be enough -- they can't rely on it as an attacker or blocker if you might be able to unmorph it.

Another is to have a big enough "when its turned up" effect. It still seems like this has to depend what the opponent DOES with the creature, else there's no real "trap" effect. But it has to be big enough to offset giving your opponent the creature. I think morphtrap as is, tends to BE bad, not just LOOK bad, unless it has a fearsome penalty.

Ideally, morphtrap would punish the opponent for guessing wrong about the creature. But the trouble is, there's almost no creatures which are BAD when attacking, or blocking. At worst they're ineffective. So giving your opponent a 2/2 which is sometimes not a 2/2 is still mostly a bad thing. Maybe morphtrap should GIVE you mana when you play it, not cost mana? Or all the morphtrap creatures should have a clear downside?

I didn't even think about changing the cost. You're right; at the very least, it should cost to Morphtrap. It's possible that that only goes to highlight the problem (your opponent gets a semi-efficient creature on round 2?) but it makes some of the abilities more palatable.

Costing it or less, however, is probably a bad idea. First you got the problem of Timmies being overrun by their own creatures. But second you're lacking the stress of needing to leave the morphtrap on the field for a couple turns. It's already questionably easy to wait until you have seven mana lined up to cast, then morphtrap your Root-Buster Wurm. No need to make it that much easier.

My comment on Sol Elemental was meant to be a suggestion that you consider costing it at or . I can see your argument against that though.