Ideas Manifested: Theorize V1

Theorize V1 (During your turn, you may pay and exile this card from your hand. Whenever you cast another instant or sorcery on a later turn, you may cast this card without paying its mana cost.)

Theorize is an ability for Instants and Sorceries.

Sorceries as Instants: Many Theorize spells are Sorceries. By having a trigger on casting an Instant or Sorcery, we can design Sorceries that have more exciting splashy impact when cast at instant speed.

Theory Craft

 

 C 

Sorcery

Return target nonland permanent with mana value 3 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield.
Theorize V1 (During your turn, you may pay and exile this card from your hand. Whenever you cast another instant or sorcery on a later turn, you may cast this card without paying its mana cost.)

Theory Craft allows you to return a permanent to the battlefield. This can serve as a "surprise blocker", or change the situation somehow. The opponent has uncertainty for if the Theorize player has an Instant to trigger its effect.

Doing Something: I want it to feel like the player is taking game actions and doing things. Even if the spells never come together, Theorize provides an easy way for a player to bank action for a future turn.

Theory Craft might not make sense on turn one, but you can Theorize it then. Later when you have something you want to bring back, you can trigger its effect. It feels less like a dead card when you can put a down payment on it.

Building Blocks: This mechanic works similarly to splice, adding abilities to spells you cast. Theorize spells should be designed in a way where combinations of Instants and Theorized spells will result in interesting outcomes.

Generally Applicable: Like Plot, Theorize works as a way to give a quality to all instants and sorceries. It makes sense for most spells to have this attribute, allowing for cards without the keyword to be "theorized".

Unsubstantiated Assumptions

 

 U 

Instant

Counter any number of target instant or sorcery spells an opponent controls. If a spell is countered this way, its controller Theorizes it instead of putting it into that player's graveyard. (Whenever a player casts another instant or sorcery spell on a later turn, that player may cast Theorized cards without paying their mana cost.)

It's possible to move instants and sorceries in to this Theorized state as a soft counter spell, or as a way to bank an effect for later.

Multiple Spell Synergies: Casting a theorized spell requires a certain deck structure. It motivates the player to have some other instants and sorceries to play with. This allows for a two-spell or multi-spell archetype to be easier to design.

Theorize Appreciator

 

 U 

Creature – Wizard

Flying, Haste
Whenever Theorize Appreciator attacks, if you have cast two or more instant or sorcery spells this turn, you may return up to one target instant or sorcery spell from your graveyard to your hand that was put there from anywhere this turn.

2/4

Overcosted Alternatives: Like any alternate mana cost, this allows us to trigger things from high mana value without actually paying the high mana value.

Lava Plume

 

 C 

Sorcery

Lava Plume deals 3 damage to each opponent. Draw a card.
Theorize V1 (During your turn, you may pay and exile this card from your hand. Whenever you cast another instant or sorcery on a later turn, you may cast this card without paying its mana cost.)

It's unlikely someone would want to full-cost cast Lava Plume... but with Theorize, it makes sense.