I find the color pie concerns irrelevant because it's obviously within black. if you can't accept that, that's more your problem and Wizard's incompetence and hesitance to bring the colors together. thus a major flaw of the current color pie.
however vitenka brings up a good point about how to delineate the abilities.
This spell has 3 modes: mono-blue, mono-black, and bicolor. the main effect should fit both monocolor modes. that's fine here. but the bicolor mode is more blue than black.
so the real issue is finding a good ability that blends both blue and black. again not much to work with given the current state of the color pie for and vehement opposition to any remedies for this color pair (as evidenced by the stubbornness in this thread).
a simple (overused) solution is to tack on mill. so:
Hybridize -- If paid both colors, its controller mills 5.
IMO such a (backward) shift in colorpie would be better represented/showcased in a mono- card. Here it's "diluted" when combined with the color that currently has the effect in its pie. I would reserve this kind of hybrid card later on, when the shift has already been given some time to stew for a while (ie. it being more "established").
Hm. I like where you're going with this, but I think it's not quite there yet. What's the point in becoming an awesome Dragon or whatever when I've already attacked this turn, so I'm tapped until the effect ends?
There's never been such a "put three land cards in your hand" from anywhere at common. At least nothing nearly as straightforward; Far Wandering is from Torment, an extra effect, and never reprinted, while Khalni Heart Expedition requires three extra land drop (compare Ordeal of Nylea).
If it said two lands, it'd be a perfectly valid Mulch variant. Only the occasional blue common will make you draw 3 with no downside. Other colors simply do not reliably put you up two cards like that at common (hence why Mulch says "put all lands revealed this way", as it's generally harder to engineer the top of your library than your graveyard).
I find the color pie concerns irrelevant because it's obviously within black. if you can't accept that, that's more your problem and Wizard's incompetence and hesitance to bring the colors together. thus a major flaw of the current color pie.
however vitenka brings up a good point about how to delineate the abilities.
This spell has 3 modes: mono-blue, mono-black, and bicolor. the main effect should fit both monocolor modes. that's fine here. but the bicolor mode is more blue than black.
so the real issue is finding a good ability that blends both blue and black. again not much to work with given the current state of the color pie for and vehement opposition to any remedies for this color pair (as evidenced by the stubbornness in this thread).
a simple (overused) solution is to tack on mill. so:
Hybridize -- If paid both colors, its controller mills 5.
IMO such a (backward) shift in colorpie would be better represented/showcased in a mono- card. Here it's "diluted" when combined with the color that currently has the effect in its pie. I would reserve this kind of hybrid card later on, when the shift has already been given some time to stew for a while (ie. it being more "established").
Black used to have -N/-0, back in the old days: Despondency, Cabal Trainee, Mourning, Torment, Marsh Gas. (It's got occasional recent takes on it with Cast into Darkness and Public Execution. What is with Cast into Darkness anyway? Blue ability + red ability = black card?)
amuseum has their own take on the colour pie, in which black regains this mechanic it used to have. So in that setting, this is a fair hybrid card.
-5/-1? I guess that's too black?
Well yeah - but it's main blue. So you've got a blue ability; and then another blue ablity that you can activate if you also used black mana.
@Tahazzar I disagree, but then to me spreading -N/-0 in black is an appropriate expansion o Black's pie.
Hm. I like where you're going with this, but I think it's not quite there yet. What's the point in becoming an awesome Dragon or whatever when I've already attacked this turn, so I'm tapped until the effect ends?
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-CWe_1UMAAEgvs.jpg
made gold
made hybrid
ingest 3. (was grind 2)
There's never been such a "put three land cards in your hand" from anywhere at common. At least nothing nearly as straightforward; Far Wandering is from Torment, an extra effect, and never reprinted, while Khalni Heart Expedition requires three extra land drop (compare Ordeal of Nylea).
If it said two lands, it'd be a perfectly valid Mulch variant. Only the occasional blue common will make you draw 3 with no downside. Other colors simply do not reliably put you up two cards like that at common (hence why Mulch says "put all lands revealed this way", as it's generally harder to engineer the top of your library than your graveyard).
It looks pretty potent, compared with Life from the Loam. I suppose the thing about LftL was it was repeatable. But still: this looks nice.
Is this an instant or sorcery?
I'm not feeling the here. Looks like a mono- card to me.