Nice. The deathtouch is a blatant color break, but it's essential flavor-wise. First strike isn't necessary, but it's appropriate here.

If the color break is necessary for flavor, there are three options: change the color; change the flavor; or cut the card.

1) We are doing one in each color.

2) Impossible. The book was written by someone else.

3) Unlikely.

It might be possible, flavor-wise, to give it lifelink, and increase the damage boost.

Actually, seeing as equipments get a little bit of everything, this should be fine. You can grant deathtouch in any color with Basilisk Collar, and we can give each Blade its own color identity with the triggered ability. Also, this goes really well with Surge of Radiance - maybe we could make a rare instant that combos with each Shardblade's last ability, in that blade's color? Obviously, the blue and black ones would be in WoR.

Also, a note about color bleeds: They're okay as an occasional thing for flavor. This doesn't explicitly do something that is one of white's big weaknesses, as it can get deathtouch through generic-costing equipments, so this isn't terrible. Form of the Dragon is another example of a flavorful color bleed that's even more extreme than this.

That's actually a great idea. I didn't realize how well this blade combos with Surge of Radiance. It's definitely something worth doing.

There's an important philosophical difference in giving deathtouch to a colorless artifact versus giving it to something white. I'm with dude1818.

Besides, there are in-pie solutions here. You can make this colorless, or you can replace deathtouch with a white ability like exile-touch.

Hold on, does the whole cycle grant first strike, deathtouch, and an on-color ability? In that case, 4 out of 5 are breaks, which even if you justify this is too many. (Might be too many for as-fan anyway.) Isn't there an ability in a similar space that at least isn't so blatantly off-color? Although skimming the wiki, Shardblades in general are all B or WB (plus whatever special ability they have). Reminds me a little of Tezzeret's Manablade, actually.

3 out of 5, green does deathtouch too. And they'll be divided among two sets.

Green doesn't get first strike, it's a WRb ability.

I think we can get away with two color breaks in this set and one in the second set if we are careful, and make sure everything else is on color. We have a little extra wiggle room, seeing as this is a custom set.

Perhaps we can mitigate this a little by making the equipped creature tap when it's equipped, to represent the ten heartbeats needed to summon the blade?

Why do you even feel the need to make a cycle of shardblades? Other than size, there's not much that differentiates the individual "dead" shardblades. They're just impressive swords. I don't even see the reason to have them all grant first strike. In fact, wither is the most flavorful existing mechanic I can think of for a shardblade to grant.

Largely because only having a single shardblade in the set would make it very hard to find one, which doesn't do them justice, considering how important they are.

Actually, I like the exile-touch idea. Maybe we should bleed first strike into all of them, and go with:

White: Exile-touch

Blue: Bounce-touch?

Black: Deathtouch

Red: Wrack with Madness-touch

Green: Fight-touch with regenerate

That would work well. Too bad those aren't actual keywords. :P

Those would be more in-pie for sure. I still don't understand why they absolutely have to grant first strike as well. Shardblades don't give their bearer any greater combat prowess.

We need something to tie all the shardblades together, not just being enchantment equipments. Something that mechanically says, hey, these are all the same kind of weapon.

If they are the only enchantment equipments in the set, that's probably enough.

They're not.

Balance Notes: First strike and deathtouch is powerful, and this is better. The equipped creature will rarely be dealt damage, but the life gain gives you some insurance if it gets burned. This won't break anything because of the high cost, but it's certainly decent, as it makes a creature almost invulnerable in combat.