Evolution: Recent Activity
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Recent updates to Evolution: (Generated at 2025-08-12 19:41:49)
| Evolution: Cardlist | Visual spoiler | Export | Booster | Comments | Search | Recent activity |
| Mechanics | General Information | Idea and Principles |
Recent updates to Evolution: (Generated at 2025-08-12 19:41:49)
Well, that's not really true. Orim's Thunder, Jilt, and so on gain additional targets if kicked. The Comp Rules support that:
> 601.2c ... A spell may require some targets only if an alternative or additional cost (such as a buyback or kicker cost), or a particular mode, was chosen for it; otherwise, the spell is cast as though it did not require those targets.
Curve isn't quite an alternative mode, but it's pretty similar. In order for this card to work, they'd probably have to make a minor alteration to rule 601.2c.
This is why kicker spells and the like never actually change their targets in upgraded form. They can change what happens to those targets (Vines of Vastwood), do something extra that isn't targeted (Agonizing Demise), or effectively render the target irrelevant (Epicenter), but apart from multikicker cards like Comet Storm that obviously don't cause confusion over "Do I get to/have to choose the additional targets if I'm just using the vanilla form?", they deliberately don't allow that question to arise.
There hasn't been anything printed with quite that wording. I think it'd work. Anyone else who's skilled in templating care to contributed?
(It seems like that wiki page has some out-of-date presence in certain caches. The Terror / Doom Blade example was indeed removed almost a week ago, but it still shows up in certain places, probably due to internet caches somewhere.)
Worth noting, in passing, that Alex's "strictly better" link states that Doom Blade is strictly better than Terror. It isn't - Terror prevents regeneration.
(The really odd thing is that, if you edit that page, you can see that the Terror example is no longer present, but it still renders as present.)
Ah, sorry... I assumed you were aware that "strictly better" is a phrase with a very precisely defined meaning in Magic. Glory Seeker is strictly better than Squire, but Student of Warfare isn't strictly better than Squire. Of course Student is a far better card than Squire (or indeed Glory Seeker), but "strictly better" has a precise definition. "Strictly" is a very strong term... for your situation you might want to say "much better" or something like that.
Is "Up to an additional" correct? If it is then its a cleaner version and i will change it.
The effect is strictly better than traumatize imo, bc traumatize only matters once, the rest of them are basically dead draws, whereas this card can actually kill on itself without any other interaction.
I allowed this card to be Cryptic Command powerful (even more) on the curve and a fairer version in any other case, and yes it was designed that way for the instants, thats why in most cases instants with curve are much powerful (the curve effect) than sorcerys with curve, as you have one more restriction on the draw, you have to use them as sorceries.
Makes me wonder whether Curve should be "Curve n - (If you cast this spell after your nth turn has started, but before your (n+1)th turn, it gains this effect)". Uglier but fairer.
"Strictly better Traumatize"? Definitely not. Against an opponent without very many cards in their graveyard, this will only mill about 10 cards on turn 3, and may often be worse than Tome Scour when drawn on turns 4+. Yeah, it might be better if you save it for a set where you're allowing "curve 5+".
How about "Curve 3... you may tap up to an additional three target permanents"? It'd be fiddly on MTGO, but otherwise work okay. This wording with "Instead" is fine too though.
Yes, nb's wording is correct.
Ooh, good point. You can't get curve for any of the instants on your opponent's turn if they go first, which makes this card much less good when they're on the play. Subtle.
Is the card meant to be that bad just from stumbling upon the unfortunate circumstance of not going first?
Maybe your right, and the right thing would be to save it for the other set probably, which plays with higher curves in a way that you dont have to know which turn it is aside from the first 4, its "curve 5+".
It works the same, but proably should edit the wording (As you would get to target another three permanents), but its confusing because of the wording i use on most of the other curve cards. Change made.
Way on the beginning of the set this was a rare, then i asked my playgroup and some other people, how do you feel a card like this would impact the game, and many felt it didnt as much, and that it was probably safe at Uncommon, what im most concerned about is this being a 1/2, maybe make it a 1/1. I will test this guy some more and see the results, this wont probably go up in rarity, as the slots are full, if it should be a rare though i could just save the design for a future set or just lower the power level so it fits Unc
Yes his first ability doesnt thrill you a lot, keep in mind i designed this much before Jace the Mind Sculptor so the power level of the blue planeswalkers or planeswalkers in general was a bit lower, and since i continued working on the set and power level got up (Jace the Mind Sculptor, Koth), i kinda didnt go back to change this guy, i did change the red planeswalker to be able to compete with Koth, but i should probably look into this guy a bit more. Any suggestions for his first ability?
Now this card i have tested intensively, and on turn 2 and you have this in hand, it would almost always have a decent target, maybe because a lot of the decks in todays standard consists on valakut, titans and whatnot (well there is boros and bant) but in this set is really good, especially since you get to not accelerate your opponent, or get permanently rid of cards like Castle Ghosts (which ive changed in the new version of the set but is still powerful), or any of the red decks 1 or 2 drops like Savage Goblin and Goblin Channeler.
Yes, i had trouble making the ultimate, this started as spells your opponents cast cost 2 more to cast, and got upgraded to 3, what i try to look here is that if you use the ultimate, it would be extremely hard for your opponent to cast 2 spells in the same turn, even if the planeswalker dies, you still get a version of his first abilty for the rest of the game, well kinda.
Hmmm yeah probably doesnt need vigilance, i really added it for it to be able to compete with Baneslayer Angel and the titans, and you are right, sometimes you have to have this kind of card in 6cmc mythics for them to be competetitive in todays enviroment.
Maybe the 3 life is a bit too much, but maybe 2 life will make it unplayable, i havent tested this card a lot though, my friends and i love to play Evolution limited, and when we test constructed we usually use some other decks (although we play with a different version of the set, i will try to update it here when i have the time, it addressed a lot of issues that are discussed here and some others)
You are right, it was really hard to design some low cost curve cards, because sometimes you have to show off the new mechanic into some classic effects, but i also wanted to limit this first set to have the curve = casting cost, so some of the 2cmc curve cards that interact with your opponennt seem really hard to pull of the curve, i tried to either a) make em 3cmc (which really powers em up in most cases) or have a relative parallel non curve effect, in which case you would be fine playing it as it is, but most of the times, you're right, this doesnt make you excited about playing curve. I will probably change this to cmc 3.
This started as a curve 3 card, but take into account that 2U and curve 3 actually makes this card much more powerful, since it ended up being much more better than what blue usually gets for removal options, at 1U, it gets a lot of good cards from the set, and it limits it not being to OP for blue.
Yeah it might be, it saves a little bit of space too, ill ask around forums to get the right formatting.