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CardName: Shadow Clone Cost: 1u Type: Creature - Illusion Pow/Tgh: 1/1 Rules Text: Fragile (Any amount of damage dealt to this is enough to destroy it.) Hexposed (When this becomes the target of a spell or ability, sacrifice it.) You have hexproof. Flavour Text: Set/Rarity: Cards With No Home Uncommon

Shadow Clone
{1}{u}
 
 U 
Creature – Illusion
Fragile (Any amount of damage dealt to this is enough to destroy it.)

Hexposed (When this becomes the target of a spell or ability, sacrifice it.)

You have hexproof.
1/1
Updated on 16 Jun 2018 by amuseum

History: [-]

2018-06-15 04:42:28: amuseum created the card Shadow Clone
2018-06-15 04:43:10: amuseum edited Shadow Clone

Fragile is a curious mechanic I've seen proposed a few times. It turned up in either GDS1 or GDS2, to which Maro gave it "We already have that mechanic. It's called having 1 toughness."

Now yes, there are obviously corner-case differences, but still, ever since then I've been convinced that it's going to be hard to make fragile pull its weight enough to differentiate it from just having 1 toughness.

This is a particularly weird case, because it already has 1 toughness, so anything that'd kill it to fragile is already going to kill it!

The core idea of Hexposed + "You have hexproof" is cool though. The flavour is reminiscent of weird old cards like Simulacrum.

Fragile is vastly different than just having 1 toughness. cf. what if sth didn't start with 1 toughness? which color(s) are allowed to modify/reduce/set toughness to exactly 1?

Also weird that it's a clone which doesn't, wel, clone anything.

But yeah; two new mechanics just for trinket text? Seems a bit far to go when it could just have had shroud instead.

I guess there's the corner case of "All creatures get +/+X" which would make it be tougher, which this avoids? But its seems very edge casey.

keyword abilities are easier to cope, versus constantly setting toughness (abusing the layers).

Well yes; I wasn't suggetsing some kind of mad "Toughness is always one" ability. Just... it's got a 1 printed in the toughness slot. That would seem to be sufficient, given you also cannot equip or enchant it, to get the "Poke it and it pops" result that fragile suggests.

I'm pretty sure it also got the ding for being a negative keyword ability. "Hey, what's the new mechanic from the latest Magic set?" "Oh, there's an ability that kills your creature if it takes any damage." "Lol. No... seriously? Okay, I guess I wait till next year to get back in the game..."

Keep in mind that that previous comment comes from a person who loves echo. But I'm not Johnny average Magic player.

I will say, though, that I like Fragile much better on a one toughness creature. It says "Hey guys! It don't get much better than this!" Far better than putting it on a 3/4 and confusing everybody, which is what happened on GDS1/2.

You know where I wouldn't mind fragile? On a noncreature artifact. That would require that fragile also implies rules that automatically make any permanent with that keyword legal targets for "any target" damage spells, but that would be possible - one of the benefit of keywords is that they can be hard-coded into the rules.

> You know where I wouldn't mind fragile? On a noncreature artifact. That would require that fragile also implies rules that automatically make any permanent with that keyword legal targets for "any target" damage spells, but that would be possible

This is a cool idea. It would still be a drawback-only mechanic though, so 'meh'.

I also think it might make the new 'any target' wording/rulings even more confusing so that might be something to take into account as well.

because you think of drawbacks in the wrong way. you don't just have to print them on cards directly. abilities can also be granted onto others'/opponents' cards.

­Frozen Solid can be reworded as such: Enchanted creature has Fragility (any damage is enough to destroy it.)

Fragility says no matter how many +1/+1 counters, pump, equipment, you're still cursed.

@amuseum: You always say stuff like "what if sth didn't start with 1 toughness?" and "you think of drawbacks in the wrong way. you don't just have to print them on cards directly. abilities can also be granted onto others'/opponents' cards."

These are comments on the card you created. And it is a 1-toughness creature that has the drawback ability itself and doesn't grant it to opponents' cards.

Maybe there is a connection between what card you create to showcase the mechanic and what aspects of the mechanic people focus on in their evaluation.

With your example that you have chosen to communicate the idea of the mechanic, you tell us one thing: I want to use it as a printed ability of a 1-toughness creature right next to another drawback e. g. this.

That's like designing a crossbow that shoots the person pulling the trigger and telling people that they are all wrong about your intent, because it would be far cooler if it shot in the other direction.

SecretInfiltrator's right you know.

That aside, I don't think granting this to other creatures gives you enough design space to justify a mechanic. You would get ones that would read generally better if they just read as "The next time target creature would be dealt damage this way, destroy it" and then those Mire Blight / Mortal Wound cards that are hardly exciting. Maybe some rare/mythic that gives it to all of your opponents' creatures.

I've seen this mechanic pop up in most custom card creation places and it has never gone too far. One of the more recent ones were in No Goblins Allowed, though the name is quite telling: Useless Downside Mechanic - "Fragile"

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