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CardName: Gogan, Dark Messenger Cost: 3WB Type: Planeswalker - Gogan Pow/Tgh: /3 Rules Text: [+1]Name a card. Until your next turn, the named card can’t be played. [-1]Name a nonland card. Target player reveals his or her hand, then sacrifices a permanent if he or she revealed a card with the chosen name. [-6]Until end of turn, whenever you cast a spell, you may exile it. If you do, you may play a card you own from outside the game without paying its mana cost. Flavour Text: Set/Rarity: Melody Mythic

Gogan, Dark Messenger
{3}{w}{b}
 
 M 
Planeswalker – Gogan
+1Name a card. Until your next turn, the named card can’t be played.
-1Name a nonland card. Target player reveals his or her hand, then sacrifices a permanent if he or she revealed a card with the chosen name.
-6Until end of turn, whenever you cast a spell, you may exile it. If you do, you may play a card you own from outside the game without paying its mana cost.
3
Updated on 14 Feb 2012 by M_Houlding

Code: MZ01

Active?: true

History: [-]

2011-07-19 17:26:02: M_Houlding created the card Gogan, Dark Messenger
2011-07-21 18:18:12: M_Houlding edited Gogan, Dark Messenger

Yee-owsers. That ultimate is hilarious. "I name Necropotence." Or Searing Wind, perhaps?

Actually, for permanent spells, I suspect the rules would say they're only the named card on the stack, and cease being that card once they enter the battlefield. But I wonder how many people would guess that?

Feedback from my most recent article suggests that even if the ultimate works as intended, it isn't really feasible in the real world due to memory issues. That is, someone can name a card and make up text, causing a delay as people bicker over the actual wording.

I'm really not sure what card would be best. You probably either (i) want something which draws you cards and untaps mana and does something else, so you can chain it multiple times or (ii) something which will win the game right then...

Yeah, there are probably practical problems. You could make it copy a card outside the game or something, maybe, but I really don't kmnow.

That's a good idea Jack, it would be really amusing to me if I could develop a Gogan that would require people to fill their sideboard with random cards just to ultimate with.

2011-07-22 21:38:13: M_Houlding edited Gogan, Dark Messenger:

Adjusted "naming" sequence and loyalty costs; fixed ultimate to ease memory concerns and "brokenness".

The key for that ultimate is when do they become a copy? If it's after costs are paid, you could have mismatched targets (Doom Blade would fizzle rather than resolve as a copy of Sorin's Vengeance), and if it's before targets are declared, you'll have to pay the cost of the named card (and I don't imagine you'll have {4}{b}{b}{b} up for too many spells). Neither option works very well, never mind the bad stuff that happens when you choose a permanent card.

(And can you imagine choosing a land card for it?)

Hmmmmm, yes... more targeting issues.

The only other "simple" solution I can think of is to say "until end of turn, replace the text and type of all cards in your hand with that of the named card."

EDIT: Hmmm, looking at Volrath's Shapeshifter, the phrase "full text" refers to the entire content of a card, including mana cost. So something like "Until end of turn, cards in your hand have the full text of the named card other than its mana cost."

Better idea: "Until end of turn, whenever you cast a spell from your hand, you may play a card you own from outside the game without paying its mana cost."

That's a cleaner ability ruleswise, but it ever-so-slightly shifts the intent. The player not only gets two spells for the price of one, but in a tournament scenario you would have to provide greater accommodation in your sideboard in order to take advantage of it.

Over on the salvation boards, Greg Krajenta gave me a suggestion that I tweaked a bit into this:

[-6] Exile a card you own from outside the game. Until end of turn, you may pay the mana cost of a card in your hand and discard it. If you do, copy the exiled card and cast it without paying its mana cost.

It's an ungodly 42 words long, but I think this mimics the original intent the best, without too much cumbersome rules baggage.

2011-07-24 04:00:10: M_Houlding edited Gogan, Dark Messenger:

Fixed the ultimate via much appreciated feedback across the fabled internets.

42 words is already a form of "cumbersome rules baggage". Gideon Jura has the longest planeswalker ability currently in existence, at 27 words, so with 42 you're looking at six lines for that ability alone, never mind the previous two which aren't that short themselves. The 9-line text threshold is such a strong guideline that even Jace doesn't break it.

"Whenever you cast a spell from your hand this turn, you may exile it and play a card you own from outside the game without paying its mana cost." 29 words is slightly more than Gideon, but the text is actually shorter (144 characters instead of 153) so it doesn't break the current space limits. Unless you're trying to Tweet card abilities, in which case...why?

Sadistic, it I use the word "ungodly", trust that I'm aware that the length is its own problem. As a note, Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas actually has the longest ability, it's just that it's his +1, so the overall text appears less cramped.

Anyway, that does look like a good alternative, and I'm not sure it even needs "from your hand", as exiling one of the "wish spells" wouldn't be especially beneficial.

2012-02-14 03:36:35: M_Houlding edited Gogan, Dark Messenger:

Fiddling with numbers to shorten text, fix power level, and differentiate from Sorin, Lord of Innistrad

Consider changing the ultimate to a simpler Wish effect for 5 Loyalty, something like:

[-5] - Discard your hand. For each card discarded this way, you may choose a card you own from outside the game and put it into your hand.

But that just seems comparatively lame.

What about, at 30 words and 142 characters, "The next time you cast a spell this turn, exile it. If you do, you may play a card you own from outside the game without paying its mana cost."

Hmmmm, seems close. Can't remember if that's been suggested before, but it sounds good. For more splash, and lining it up with the Melody keyword:

"Until end of turn, whenever you cast a spell, you may exile it. If you do, you may play a card you own from outside the game without paying its mana cost."

2012-02-14 04:33:54: M_Houlding edited Gogan, Dark Messenger

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