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CardName: Uncontrolled Overloader Cost: 4 Type: Artifact Pow/Tgh: / Rules Text: At the beginning of each player's upkeep, for each charge counter on Uncontrolled Overloader, that player activates an ability of an artifact he or she controls. {T}: You and target player each put an artifact token named Grinder onto the battlefield with "{T}: Lose 1 life." Then put a charge counter on Uncontrolled Overloader. Flavour Text: Set/Rarity: Multiverse Design Challenge Rare
Uncontrolled Overloader
 At the beginning of each player's upkeep, for each charge counter on Uncontrolled Overloader, that player activates an ability of an artifact he or she controls.
 : You and target player each put an artifact token named Grinder onto the battlefield with ": Lose 1 life." Then put a charge counter on Uncontrolled Overloader. |
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Created for Challenge # 145, prompted by the intriguing Grinder.
Oh, that's fascinating. I'm concerned, both play-wise and rules-wise, though. It seems like, if it weren't for the constraint of the challenge, putting an artifact with "at the beginning of your upkeep, you lose 1 life" would be simpler and maybe more interesting.
And I'm not sure what "activate an ability of an artifact they control" does. Does it mean, "Ignore cost" or "must pay cost if able but needn't activate man abilities to be able to do so"? Does it ignore timing restrictions?
OTOH, I'm thinking maybe the "lose 1 life" version of grinder might be interesting, say as a half-way house between damage and poison, creatures that don't do immediate damage, but give the opponent "each turn lose 1 life" artifacts instead...?
> Does it mean, "Ignore cost" or "must pay cost if able but needn't activate man abilities to be able to do so"? Does it ignore timing restrictions?
It doesn't mean "ignore cost". It does mean "must pay cost if able but needn't activate mana abilities". It doesn't ignore timing restrictions.
That much is implied by the rules, but would definitely need spelling out in an FAQ and rules primer for the hypothetical cardset.
I do like the upkeep-lifeloss tokens too, except that they're rather more wordy than Grinder: "At the beginning of your upkeep" is a lot of letters.
Hm. I think that's unambiguous, though I'm not enough of a judge to be sure. Is it something wizards would actually print, though?
OTOH, I'm thinking maybe a spell "target opponent activates an ability of target creature they control without paying its mana cost" might be more clear, and pretty fun -- usually useless, but say on a flash creature could cause them to waste a mana creature outside their main phase, and occasionally shine to blow up a creature with a conditional sac ability! :)
"I play Bloodfire Colossus."
"Cool. Activate him."
"Damn."