You can tell it's meant to be a spike card; I need to resize my browser window to read all the text.

I really liked changing the first ability (which was admittedly WEAK as several of you pointed out) to a twist on Esperia's ability. The flavor of this card really needs to be "I'm playing head games with my opponent."

Reread. Does the same thing I thought it did, which is adds a variable amount of life. That's what I was getting at. If each player draws lands twice in a row, and your opponent is the aggro, you lose, as opposed to just killing their creatures with the spells in your hand. That's a very frustrating problem for many Spikes. That and everyone gaining random life and drawing cards is so very Timmy.

It's not that Spike wouldn't appreciate these things for the reasons you mentioned. It's just that the effect is about as Spike as Elvish Piper is, which is to say that everyone likes Elvish Piper, not just Spike.

Cards that are very Spike, but not so much Johnny or Timmy in Red/White/Blue:

­Firebolt, Order of Leitbur and (I'm cheating)Isperia the Inscrutable are three cards that pop off the top of my head.

Firebolt is often marginalized by non-Spikes who don't appreciate over-paying for something a second time. Most Spikes see Firebolt, though, and think "I can squeeze just a little more out of this card, and not waste a spell. Little advantages that I'm willing to pay attention to are cool."

Order of Leitbur could be a Timmy, since it can go big... but I think even Timmy would argue that it costs to much. Spike, on the other hand, appreciates the fact that the card was made cheap, but comes with options that you can pay for when you need them. And Order will always come with a hidden question of "Is it worth pumping this creature, or should I just cast another spell?" Timmy doesn't like that question. He wants both.

Isperia is a 'zany' Spike card, in that it isn't quite good enough for any tournament environment. But Spike will put it in his/her Commander deck for sure. Isperia asks Spike to play mind games with his/her opponents, which is where Spike shines: proving that he/she's smarter than other people. The fact that the card also infers an easy to build around theme (play with flying creatures) helps too. It's just a bit too mundane for most Johnnies to really sink their teeth into, but it's fitting for Spike to launch into an argument as to what the best blue and white flyers of all time are.

All this said, I don't envy you. It's much easier to point at examples of Spike cards than it is to design a Spike Planeswalker from the bottom up. Much easier to just say "These are the problems I see". Designing for Spike, especially while using the Super-Vorthos style Planeswalker cards... I doubt anyone on this website would hit a home run their first time up to bat on that particular challenge.

Not saying that use isn't spiky; just that, well, you're not gonna use it that way. You're going to give them a nasty bomb.

The first one is kinda interesting very occasionally. A good player will be able to spot the very few times potential life gain, or even giving away info about a card in hand, matters. But mostly it's just "Both players draw a card, I gain some life" which is kinda decision free. It does increase complexity, which rewards skilled players more, though. And, as I said, the decision "No, I think I have what I need, and I don't want to let my opponent get an answer; so I'd better use the second ability instead" is very much a skill test.

Still, Zedruuu. Zedruuu wants you to have his freedom from psychographics. (Or, in other words, your attempted aim for the card is massively overshadowed by having "Whee! A gift giver! I love gift givers!" on it. Heck; it was sufficient to stop me complaining about its being a planeswalker.)

Ok, I think some of you need to reread the first ability. The first ability doesn't clash. Each player who chooses to reveal a card puts it into his or her hand (not your hand) and you gain ALL the life. I think this is spikey because a less skilled player WON'T reveal the top card of his or her library because it would mean giving the opponent information and/or life (which a less skilled player wouldn't understand the benefits of card advantage).

I feel the second ability is spikey because it essentially gives your opponent a dead card for two turns that they can't do anything with. During that time you can bluff and play head games with them, leading them to overthink "why did he give me this card? what's his reasoning in doing this? what's his next play?"

If you don't think it's spikey enough, can you help me out and list your favorite red / white / blue spike cards? Thanks.

He's got horns.

Zedruu is a Spike card?

Many Spikes hate clash, since it wins the game through 'chance'. I should point out that that isn't the opinion of all Spikes... just those that like to math everything out. To people like that, the first +1 reads poor, since (assuming this card was in your hand and you've got other things to do with the mana) you'd be stuck in a position where you'd have to choose between your best play, and a random amount of life.

My first thought on the other +1 was similar to Links'. It is Spike. But it's a heck of a lot more Johnny. After all, if I was filling a deck full of 'good stuff', there wouldn't be much of a reason to give my opponent my cards. That second ability really requires a niche deck and/or play... most Spikes, when making decks, would just see the ability, shrug, assuming it isn't for them, and move on.

But, yes, variable Fact or Fiction is about as Spike as they get.

The -X is very skill dependent; the "Which is better, between those two +1s" is also an interesting skill test sometimes. (Assuming you don't just pack your deck with bad things to force onto people; which, um, you will.)

Still, Zedruu approves of this card, and wants you to have it. And Zedruu the Greathearted is quite spiky. And moderately goaty.

And here is as good a place as any to mention that I saw a bumper sticker, with a picture of a giraffe, saying "Moo" and the text "This is a goat".

I don't know. Life gain, drawing your opponents cards, and giving away your permanents don't seem very Spike to me. This seems more Johnny.