Good question. And a question like that deserves a good answer. Which I can't give at the moment. :-P Options though, include costing the Explorer spells up a bit, so you can't really pull a huge bonus out in the first few turns where the lead of who went first makes a big difference; offering land-search cards in other colors; adjusting the mechanic to activate per a specific number of lands rather than who has more.
As it stands, most of the cards with Explorer currently have effects that won't really be useful until later in the game. Of the current set, the only one I could forsee being problematic is probably Explorer's Perch, as it takes a quick lead and immediately makes it difficult for the opponent to catch up.
Looking at comparables so far, we have Inkfathom Infiltrator and Welkin Tern. What about Invisible Stalker ? For the price of the Tern, the stalker loses the drawback and one point of power, but gains a huge bonus in Hexproof, which more than makes up for the loss of a point of power. Compare the Kite to the Stalker, and yes, the Kite gains a point of power, but is a little harder to cast plus it's a lot more vulnerable.
2012-10-13 01:05:19:
Calus Drakin
commented on a card
2012-10-12 20:20:25:
Mandroid
commented on the cardset Siluras
One problem that I've been thinking about with this "Has more lands" mechanic is that it favors the person who goes first, and also strongly favors green. What steps are you taking to minimize this imbalance?
Wind drake's mana cost implies that it could be costed at according to the rule I quoted. At that point, is this card strictly better/worse than WD? Hard to say. It dies to Gut Shot and Geistflame, but it also cannot be blocked ever (almost). My point is that, assuming you accept the rule I stated, this card has both a drawback and a benefit that wind drake doesn't, which means that it dodges the dreaded strictly better/worse comparison which pretty much defines power creep.
I agree that I don't think it's much of a drawback on II, but it is still a drawback.
About the comparison Drakin, I'm not sure what you're asking. My initial answer is that yes, it does equate to that. WD costs more and it has another point of toughness and removal of the drawback. Both those cards exist, so your question evaluates to True. (sorry if this doesn't make sense, I've been working hard on Python coding lately) I'm just not sure what you're asking there honestly.
It is a very fine line I think. I personally don't see not being able to block much of a drawback on an unblockable creature. If you have a creature that can't be blocked, only in the most dire circumstances would you ever choose not to attack to hold it back.
Also, compare Welkin Tern to Wind Drake does that really equate to an extra point of toughness plus the removal of the tern's drawback ?
They still haven't printed a blue 2-power 2-mana flyer without a drawback, even with all the recent increased power level of creatures (and especially blue creatures). I mean, I think for just an extra paint on Welkin Tern you probably shouldn't get to both remove its drawback and give it total evasion.
Generally but not always, 1 colored mana can be replaced by 2 colorless. I would quote you an article from mtg.com but I forget where I read it.
Also, see Inkfathom Infiltrator. This card is farily close to the proper power level when we consider the power creep that has occured since II's printing. Also, this can be a little stronger than II since it's only one color.
Good question. And a question like that deserves a good answer. Which I can't give at the moment. :-P Options though, include costing the Explorer spells up a bit, so you can't really pull a huge bonus out in the first few turns where the lead of who went first makes a big difference; offering land-search cards in other colors; adjusting the mechanic to activate per a specific number of lands rather than who has more.
As it stands, most of the cards with Explorer currently have effects that won't really be useful until later in the game. Of the current set, the only one I could forsee being problematic is probably Explorer's Perch, as it takes a quick lead and immediately makes it difficult for the opponent to catch up.
Looking at comparables so far, we have Inkfathom Infiltrator and Welkin Tern. What about Invisible Stalker ? For the price of the Tern, the stalker loses the drawback and one point of power, but gains a huge bonus in Hexproof, which more than makes up for the loss of a point of power. Compare the Kite to the Stalker, and yes, the Kite gains a point of power, but is a little harder to cast plus it's a lot more vulnerable.
One problem that I've been thinking about with this "Has more lands" mechanic is that it favors the person who goes first, and also strongly favors green. What steps are you taking to minimize this imbalance?
Wind drake's mana cost implies that it could be costed at
according to the rule I quoted. At that point, is this card strictly better/worse than WD? Hard to say. It dies to Gut Shot and Geistflame, but it also cannot be blocked ever (almost). My point is that, assuming you accept the rule I stated, this card has both a drawback and a benefit that wind drake doesn't, which means that it dodges the dreaded strictly better/worse comparison which pretty much defines power creep.
I agree that I don't think it's much of a drawback on II, but it is still a drawback.
About the comparison Drakin, I'm not sure what you're asking. My initial answer is that yes, it does equate to that. WD costs
more and it has another point of toughness and removal of the drawback. Both those cards exist, so your question evaluates to True. (sorry if this doesn't make sense, I've been working hard on Python coding lately) I'm just not sure what you're asking there honestly.
At uncommon it could actually cost just (w) as Elite Vanguard sugests
Also needs to pounce. Pounce pounce pounce.
Probably doesn't need the second coloured mana symbol. Even at
it'd still be worse than Glory Seeker.
It is a very fine line I think. I personally don't see not being able to block much of a drawback on an unblockable creature. If you have a creature that can't be blocked, only in the most dire circumstances would you ever choose not to attack to hold it back.
Also, compare Welkin Tern to Wind Drake does that
really equate to an extra point of toughness plus the removal of the tern's drawback ?
They still haven't printed a blue 2-power 2-mana flyer without a drawback, even with all the recent increased power level of creatures (and especially blue creatures). I mean, I think for just an extra paint on Welkin Tern you probably shouldn't get to both remove its drawback and give it total evasion.
Generally but not always, 1 colored mana can be replaced by 2 colorless. I would quote you an article from mtg.com but I forget where I read it.
Also, see Inkfathom Infiltrator. This card is farily close to the proper power level when we consider the power creep that has occured since II's printing. Also, this can be a little stronger than II since it's only one color.