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CardName: Duplicitous Lynx Cost: 2RR Type: Creature - Cat Pow/Tgh: 3/4 Rules Text: Deceive 3 (Once per turn, you may give Duplicitous Lynx +3/-3 until end of turn) Flavour Text: Beware the beast... Its claws are longer than you know. You are its feast... Your blood spilled in the snow. Set/Rarity: Vryn Common |
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Deceive should be written as an activated ability, and definitely needs a cost associated with it. It's probably also too much on-board trick to have at common in any meaningful amount
To be clear, it is an activated ability. Its just reminder text.
As to the "on-board trick" of it, it is a really minor one. It is part of a class of abilities that are extremely normal at common. This ability was originally inspired by rootwallas for example.
Granted, I haven't done a ton of playtests, and I'm sure there are some board states that a few decieve effects makes too complicated, but in the playtests I've done, it hasn't felt any more complicated than first strike. It is a thing you have to take into account when making attacks and assigning blocks, but isn't too much of a burden.
This is an interesting mechanic, I'd love to know how it played during playtests.
I do feel it could cause decision paralysis with a bunch of deceiving dudes on the board. Maybe you could apply one of many possible simplifications:
Make it a triggered ability like bushido.
Remove the parameter and set it to a single value everywhere (e.g. +2/-2 always).
At least make all commons share the same conceptual effect, like every deceiving common creature becomes an X/1.
Anyway, please share some of your playtest results.
In terms of playtests, mostly it acted like "when ~ attacks and isn't blocked, ~ gets +K/+0 until end of turn." It incentivizes trading when possible, and just generally lets deceive creatures punch a bit outside their weight class, kind of like first strike does.
With modern design, it would definitely be a triggered ability just to make digital play better. Nailing the exact trigger condition is a bit awkward though. Options are...
...Option one makes the ability more defensive oriented, because making decisions after blocks is much better than after attacks, which I don't love. The second ability triggers after blockers but has really weird wording.
I'm concerned about a lack of design space unless it is parameterized. I suppose I'll try to do +2/-2 as much as possible and see if I can come up with enough interesting designs to remove the paramter, but I don't like my odds.
Making deceive commons all go to the same toughness seems reasonable.