Name That Card: Cardlist | Visual spoiler | Export | Booster | Comments | Search | Recent activity

CardName: Crazed Cyclone Cost: 1UG Type: Creature - Elemental Pow/Tgh: 3/3 Rules Text: {1}{U}: Target creature gains flying until end of turn. Delirium — {3}{G},{T}: Deal 4 damage to target flying creature. Activate this ability only if there are four or more card types among cards in your graveyard. Flavour Text: Set/Rarity: Name That Card Rare

Crazed Cyclone
{1}{u}{g}
 
 R 
Creature – Elemental
{1}{u}: Target creature gains flying until end of turn.
Delirium — {3}{g},{t}: Deal 4 damage to target flying creature. Activate this ability only if there are four or more card types among cards in your graveyard.
3/3
Updated on 11 May 2020 by jmgariepy

History: [-]

2020-05-04 01:19:11: jmgariepy created the card Crazed Cyclone

Today's card is an old loophole in Blue/Green. Way back in the day, I used to cast Updraft on my opponent's creature, then activate my Grapeshot Catapults to shoot it out of the sky. Fun trick.

As far as I know, this combination has only appeared once on the same card: Predator, Flagship. The fact that it's an artifact is telling. I presume this was on some blue/green card somewhere, but better minds prevailed.

I'm not a better mind. To make up for how this completely ignores the color pie, I made certain to double down on the colored mana costs, and added Delirium as both a hoop to jump through, and also a nod to the sort of madness needed to even let these abilities end up on the same card. Cute. Probably still wouldn't see print, though.

Dreamwind Summoner. 1UG.
Creature - Elf Druid

I could think of lots of red blue ideas but this was the first that felt UG. It was really hard thinking of anything that made sense with flying AND ping AND delerium AND only conditionally having flying itself

Some of these challenges are admittedly harder to wrap one's head around than others. So I'm not too put off if a card like this one only gets a handful of answers compared to the last card.

Designing cards for these challenges can also be tricky. Because top down rarely works. If I start thinking of an elephant doing an elephant thing, then make a card, I'm going to feel right foolish when people send me back a bunch of elephants. Seems like it's against the nature of the challenge to lead people down my same creative path.

So instead, most of these challenges are made by looking at the mechanics first (presuming the mechanics don't automatically lend to something obvious.) I find it tougher to make those, and make them consistently interesting. I've misfired a few times by getting too technical.

I can't come up with a good name for it - but I really want to use the flavour text Flight... is an illusion

Actually, I do know what I want to call it, now. Phantasmal Mount. Which is of course already taken. But the backstory can take the whole Kelpie mythology and file off the serial numbers. In mtg-land, the Kelpie equivalent takes you for a short flight across the sky, and drops you off mid-way, rather than drowning you in a river. And we can even tie in the delerium, by saying it is summoned as a punishment for those who cannot decide what they want to do, whose heads are of course among the clouds. So it promises to take your body up there too :) (Darnit, I kept writing 'Selkie' by mistake. Different water-related myth.)

So, hmm - ok. Illusion-Horse for the creature type is fine. And mtg actually has 'Kelpie' cards already. (Though they kinda look like ugly toads). So... want something adjectivey. Indecisive, dreaming, skywards, wishing, cloud.. Yeah; I think Cloudwatching Kelpie is my best.

And as a bonus, you get a nice stream of conciousness and half a dozen more card ideas we can spin out of it. Also, the grape-shot catapult trick was indeed much fun.

Jmg: Yeah, it's tricky. I think you're doing a good job producing interesting cards. Vitenka: Oh yes, Cloud Kelpie works very well. I had an idea of faeries who would pick you up and drop you but couldn't get the flavour to feel green.

Now I started thinking in this way, I had some more idea. Sirens often sort-of have flying, and I think that could extend to calling someone up into the air in a dream as well as jumping into the sea in a dream...

Cliffcaller Siren 1UG.
Creature - Siren

I got nothing for this one, sorry.

I don't think any of these suggestions are hitting the mark in the same way that NTC suggestions usually do. Not because of the names, just because, in my opinion, getting all these mechanics into a Magic style name, isn't possible, at all.

I mean, how am I supposed to explain a fairly large (3/3) creature (that fits into {u}{g} colors) that can temporarily gain flying. And, while you are it are delirious/crazy/dehydrated/etc it gains the ability to punch flying creatures in the face.

Sure, those things can be explained, such as Jump for the first part, or Hurricane for the latter part, but all together it makes for either vague or clunky names, and nothing that fits too well.

I still like these suggestions so far, they sound nice, but they don't really fit perfectly which is the problem.

The Cloudwatching Kelpie is probably the closest, but it would still need some art to back it up, which would probably include it punching a flying thing (even though the comp rules actually have to tell new players that flying is a mechanic that works regardless of art).

I'm also not throwing jabs at you, JM. This challenge is fun every week, even when it gets just a few answers. (For me, at least,) It can also be surprisingly hard to come up with a card w/o a name that would be both fun and thought-provoking to name, and could be done well by multiple users. Sometimes, I can't even come up with a card of any kind in a week, especially if I have writer's block, so your consistence is remarkable.

Also, long-time (not a ton, 3.5 years) player, hardcore noob question from me: can {g} (in modern color-pie) deal damage to fliers? Can it destroy them? I remember reading cards from early/earlier sets that did that. Im pretty sure {g} doesn't normally deal direct damage or destroy creatures, though. Is it an exception for flying?

It's an exception for flying. Green has many ways to deal with flyers. Sometimes it takes the most direct approach and just destroys them, or deals direct damage to them. Two examples in standard would be Fell the Pheasant and Plummet. There are quite a few more.

Green can do quite a number of things to flying creatures. -X/-0, tap, don't untap, can't attack/block. Now that I think about it, if I was to go back in time and redo the color pie, I think I would put flying destruction in Red and keep it out of Green. Makes more sense in my mind for Green to harass fliers than to out and out kill them. That, and dealing damage/destroy only flyers is how we get (or don't get) odd cards like NTC #029.

Interestingly, some things Green can't do (or has yet to do) to flyers. It can't bounce or flicker them. And it can't gain control of them. Odd that Green is allowed to replicate Red and Black when dealing with flyers, but never Blue.

(Hmmm.... gotta remember this for NTC #039...)

Thanks, I looked this up after asking and found Plummet, which I've (probably) seen before, I'm (not) sure. My memory for cards is atrocious.

Honestly, I kind of like this card, I didn't really read it all together yet, and it's kind of sweet. Except I really hate Delirium as a mechanic, dunno why.

I don't need to explain how this card interacts with itself, but it's pretty cool. One thing I'd maybe change is that {3}{g} seems like a lot for 4 damage to a flyer only, but I guess that's because it's repeatable. Then again, full combo with this is {4}{u}{g} to deal 4 damage to an opponent's creature without Shroud or Hexproof... So that's really the only time this seems weak to me, otherwise it's pretty useful.

Funnily enough, this card makes me think of a dysfunctional catapult... It might make your creatures fly... for a turn (it launches them because the leverage/whatever/its/called snaps) and it's got a 'Delirium' ability, which allows it to hit fliers, when it's crazy (or spazzing it out like clockwork gnomish tea kettles?)... alas this is not an artifact (for good reasons)

It's a grandfathered in exception which Maro objects to and says shouldn't be taken as permission - but he doesn't always get his way :) This card, mind you, is almost certainly stretching way past what is allowed.

Catapult Spider!

Art shows a giant web having been just used to launch a creature over the treetops.

I thought that as soon as I read Froggy's first comment, but Froggy gets credit for suggesting catapult first.

Fwiw I assumed flickering flyers was green, just that it had never come up. But maybe not :)

I like making it a kelpie. I don't understand why Shadowmoor kelpies were Like That

If {g} can't flicker, maybe a green twist on Venom would work? Nah, probably not... the typeline 'Deathtouch against Flying creatures' most likely doesn't function with the rules text. So you'd have to write, "Any amount of damage this creature deals to a creature with Flying is enough to kill it"? That's neat, though strictly worse than deathtouch, which green has (for some reason)

I am willing to share this victory with Jack, if it wins.

Okay i finally got one, after all day:

Simic Slinger

Human Wizard

the picture is a simic biomancer dude shooting a hideous mutated abomination. the flavor text is 'oops back to the labs' but maybe grimdark and with effort put into it.

i dunno, like "After his third mutation came out misshapen, the Simic Biomancer decided to become a Monster Hunter instead" idk that's mediocre, but ye

"It's a grandfathered in exception which Maro objects to and says shouldn't be taken as permission - but he doesn't always get his way" - I don't think that's right. Plummet and friends are exactly how green is allowed to deal with flying these days (along with reach and fight). What's grandfathered-in and Maro doesn't like is a) green flyers such as Birds of Paradise and Gilded Goose, and b) "can't be blocked except by flyers" which is a weird ability that's occasionally seen in green like Spire Tracer and Orchard Spirit.

The elf flavour makes the most sense to me. But I wonder if there's something in the area of this being an elemental itself? Like...

Gustcliff Cyclone
Creature -- Elemental

Art is a twister right against some cliffs, lifting a hapless adventurer up.

Actually, yeah, you know what, the flavour of Cyclone is where to go with this, isn't it?

Wasteland Tornado
Creature - Elemental

A twister in a rocky wasteland, lifting some desert creature up and battering it with rocks and debris.

"Plummet and friends are exactly how green is allowed to deal with flying these days (along with reach and fight)"

I agree.

Hmm elemental flavor would be really awesome, and something I hadn't considered. Honestly, imo would be way more fitting than an elf.

Here's one:

Crazed Hurricane

Creature - Elemental

If this one gets chosen, I give my NTC award to Alex , since he inspired me heavily.

I watched a few videos about prehistoric life recently. Animals develop niches, and boom. Flight has only evolved three times in vertebrates, isn't that wild? So a creature that can give flying, but also can damage fliers if you have delirium. In my mind, the graveyard links to the past, a representation of evolution, species adapting and changing, and finding their niche in the present. So something that can fly, but also hunt fliers. What a niche. Bats aren't a great choice- they're too small. Bats wouldn't be a 3/3, and wouldn't be dealing 4 damage (though some bats eat flying insects). Pterosaurs and Birds (archosaurs!) then. Green has me feeling more Pterosauria (I still have beef with Magic calling their pterosaurs dinosaurs) feels more right here, though I can't make any actual arguments in favor of pterosaur ver bird.

Type: Dinosaur.
I still lament Magic's call here.
Well, we've got the type down. Now we can go back to the name. Like I said, we're looking at a creature that can fly and has adapted to hunting other flying creatures. Conveying evolution to this niche will be the key. Not an aerial predator, skies. Wingmucher. We're getting there now. Feather Feeder. I do too much alliteration with card names and it bothers me. Wings convey flight best, so let's focus on wings. Flier Feeder- this one is almost, almost good. Flight Feaster. Hmm, that's kind of close. Eats Fliers. I should note that there seems to be no evidence pterosaurs ate each other, nor birds. Some species of pterosaurs are believed to have eaten flying insects though, so we're on track for eating a group of flying creatures at least. Specialist? Hunter of the Skies- does not convey the evolutionary niche. Okay, maybe a little literation can be good. Unfortunately, we need to take artistic liberty here and pretend this pterosaur eats birds.
Name Bane of Birds
Creature type: Dinosaur

I also know that giving creatures flying to kill them doesn't mesh with being a pterosaur.

"Bats wouldn't be a 3/3, and wouldn't be dealing 4 damage" - I have a feeling Dirge Bat might contradict both halves of that statement... :)

­Dirge Bat is from Ikoria, world of kaijuu. I was basing my thinking off of actual bats, where the largest still aren't intimidating. That being said, the pterosaurs that ate insects were probably smaller like bats.

2020-05-11 00:58:42: jmgariepy edited Crazed Cyclone

As a rule of thumb, I try to avoid 'Elemental' answers for naming conventions, since just about anything could be an abstract elemental. But I got to admit, this looks like a lot like a living cyclone. I took the 'Crazed' part from Froggychum to help explain Delirium, but went back and stole 'Cyclone' from Alex, since a hurricane seems too big for a 3/3.

This was a rather interesting challenge in that it started slow, but moved in a lot of interesting an different directions once people started to dig in. As per usual, my biggest regret is that I can only choose one name.

On a separate side note, Sorrow mentioned that an evolutionary niche of fliers that hunt fliers creatures to be a wild idea. It is wild. And I know there's an owl that does just that, specialized in eating other birds, and especially other birds of prey (which are rather vulnerable birds when you think about it, if you sneak up on their blind spot.) For the life of me, though, I can't remember what that owl is. And there are far too many owls for me to Google this info. Ah well. I guess the takeaway is that nature be crazy.

See you good people in (((NTC #030)))!

Add your comments:


(formatting help)
Enter mana symbols like this: {2}{U}{U/R}{PR}, {T} becomes {2}{u}{u/r}{pr}, {t}
You can use Markdown such as _italic_, **bold**, ## headings ##
Link to [[[Official Magic card]]] or (((Card in Multiverse)))
Include [[image of official card]] or ((image or mockup of card in Multiverse))
Make hyperlinks like this: [text to show](destination url)
How much damage does this card deal? Lightning Blast
(Signed-in users don't get captchas and can edit their comments)