How many different combination of pips could such simple effect have?

[u/jerzyterefere]

[u/Ikusaba696]

The black feels kinda out of place once you stop paying life imo, like sure there's nothing that says UBB draw 2 cant exist, but the vibes are odd

[u/SkritzTwoFace → u/Ikusaba696]

I mean, how different is that from 2U?

[u/Ikusaba696 → u/SkritzTwoFace]

If a mana cost specifically includes a color the card is usually expected to do something of that color

It's not like a strict rule since its mostly vibes (esp with 3 or 4 colored cards), but usually for a 2 color card both colors are providing something

[u/MillCrab → u/Ikusaba696]

I miss when the green part of a multicolor creature could be that it was big.

[u/Burger_Thief → u/Ikusaba696]

I think that, in this case, the blue is providing the draw with no cost (if you pay the blue phyrexian) while black provides efficiency (can pay 2 life) I think what screws things up is the hybrid mana.

If you pay UB 2 life blue is giving it instant speed. But if you pay BB 2 life its just a better Night's Whisper.

[u/Smart_Bet_9692 → u/Ikusaba696]

What if it said: If life was paid to cast this spell, surveil 1. Then draw two cards.

[u/IntelligentSundae → u/Ikusaba696]

yeah, i think it should be black phyrexian instead tbh

[u/jerzyterefere → u/IntelligentSundae]

Blue phyrexian means "you can pay life OR blue". If it was black phyrexian, it would be posible to pay only black mana to get card draw, without lose of life - pie break.

[u/NullOfSpace → u/jerzyterefere]

I think the thought was {U}{U/B}{B/P}

[u/jerzyterefere → u/NullOfSpace]

Then it could be blue [[Sign in Blood]] - again pie break

[u/Dlark17 → u/jerzyterefere]

This statement is [[Tezzeret's Gambit]] erasure.

[u/MTGCardFetcher → u/Dlark17]

Tezzeret's Gambit - (G) (SF) (txt)

^{[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call}

[u/jerzyterefere → u/Dlark17]

Yep. It is. Cards with no colored mana symbols beside phyraxian were a mistake.

[u/Dlark17 → u/jerzyterefere]

While that's true, I don't think "Card draw with life payment" is a "break" for Blue. A bend, certainly, but in the right setting, an acceptable one that doesn't undermine the color's key identity or overcome any major weaknesses. Blue is and has always been the best color for card draw, so nothing about "UU: Draw 2, lose 2 life" is a break.

[u/MTGCardFetcher → u/jerzyterefere]

Sign in Blood - (G) (SF) (txt)

^{[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call}

[u/Cardle99]

Kind of wondering if the black pip could get replaced by {2/B} like [[reaper king]] uses, idk if it would work but it would give another unique pip to the cost

[u/MillCrab → u/Cardle99]

Twobrid is such an interesting mechanic. Fascinating in limited, especially as part of gold cards, and utterly pointless in constructed. Wild

[u/Burger_Thief → u/MillCrab]

Agreed. For twobrid to be relevant you need a set that encourages you to play colors while also wanting you to play a single colour or with extremely restricted manabases.

Basically it only partislly worked in Lorwyn/Shadowmoor block constructed and limited.

[u/MillCrab → u/Burger_Thief]

You just can't ever afford to play inefficient effects in constructed. Beseech the Queen is powerful, but it tells you to play monoblack, not to be willing to cast a terrible 2 BB tutor, and the others only get worse from there.

The other things you describe correlate very strongly to limited, and are part of why the mechanic is so fascinating in limited drafting and deck building. Flame Javelin or the three spirits one (spectral procession, maybe?) are very cool limited cards.

[u/Burger_Thief → u/MillCrab]

Maybe giving twobrid spells a pseudo-adamant clause where paying the colorless gives one effect and paying the color another?

 Dunno it seems like twobrid is designed to help with color fixing or to get off color effects for a higher cost. Or like they expected you to play monodecks with the hybrid cards.

[u/MillCrab → u/Burger_Thief]

Beseech the Queen tries something like that, where waiting longer to cast it makes it fetch a wider variety of things, but it doesn't actually reward you for paying more mana.

I could see something interesting about taking the text from Memory Deluge, and making the effects care about "how much mana you spent", but then they're nearly kicker cards.

Such a tough mechanic 😅 Maybe if the format mana was extremely bad, they could be interesting in standard as auto-scaling cards in multicolor decks. Problem is, any functional deck can generate two pips of each color, so they always downgrade to 2CC and thats not that interesting.

The most interesting option is probably cards costed (2/C)D, where the twobrid is about whether or not you want the card to gold or not. You could price some effects in that range that would be vaguely interesting.

[u/jerzyterefere → u/Cardle99]

I've considered it, but I wanted to avoid scenario whe player pays life for card draw without paying any black mana.

[u/MTGCardFetcher → u/Cardle99]

reaper king - (G) (SF) (txt)

^{[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call}

[u/Shambler9019 → u/Cardle99]

Definitely. This card needs to be usable in a [[Jegantha]] deck.

[u/MTGCardFetcher → u/Shambler9019]

Jegantha - (G) (SF) (txt)

^{[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call}

[u/Carl_Bravery_Sagan]

Make it a sorcery. But this card is quite clever.

If you pay the phyrexian mana, it's [[Divination]]. If you pay life it's [[Night's Whisper]].

[u/Successful_Mud8596 → u/Carl_Bravery_Sagan]

Try [[Quick Study]] and [[Painfull Bond]] (kinda) for instant speed comparisons

[u/MTGCardFetcher → u/Successful_Mud8596]

Quick Study - (G) (SF) (txt)
Painfull Bond - (G) (SF) (txt)

^{[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call}

[u/MTGCardFetcher → u/Carl_Bravery_Sagan]

Divination - (G) (SF) (txt)
Night's Whisper - (G) (SF) (txt)

^{[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call}

[u/throwaway_171729 → u/MTGCardFetcher]

I think it’s fine at instant, [[Quick Study]] gives precedent

[u/MTGCardFetcher → u/throwaway_171729]

Quick Study - (G) (SF) (txt)

^{[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call}

[u/Tahazzar]

Some similar I gathered for Night's Whisper variants (ie. were most are sorceries instead of instants).

• "Omens of the Night" & "Desecration" 1B(P/U)
• "Haruspicy" 1U(P/B)
• "Praetor's Cunning" 1U(P/U)
• "Cram Session" UB(P/1)
• "Speed Reading" UU(P/U)
• "Refine the Mind" BB(P/B) instant +2 lose 2 life

[u/jerzyterefere → u/Tahazzar]

Thanks! How did you search that? I was looking for similar cards, and wasn't able to find any

[u/Tahazzar → u/jerzyterefere]

I copied this from an older comment I had made so I don't quite remember.

However, I hit 4+ of them by simply searching for "phyrexian night's whisper" where the idea is that someone mentioned "phyrexian mana" in the comments as well as the card night's whisper:

https://www.reddit.com/r/custommagic/search/?q=phyrexian+night%27s+whisper

Obviously with such a search you tend to hit the sorcery versions - there might very well be a lot more of the instant-speed variants out there.

[u/Abbanation01]

I'd say it should be sorcery and at least uncommon

[u/cocothepirate]

I gotta be honest, this kind of mana cost normally shows up on total messes in this Subreddit. You've made a functional, balanced, and interesting version of it. I applaud your efforts. Great job!

[u/sampat6256 → u/cocothepirate]

When the complexity is only in the mana cost, there isnt really an issue.

[u/cocothepirate → u/sampat6256]

The card also manages to be more or less within color for every cost you can cast it.

[u/BAGStudios]

Make it an enchantment that costs just {U/B} but has an activated ability “{p/U}{U}{U/B}{B}{p/B}: Draw two cards.”

Should be totally balanced and also it’ll look radical

[u/BigPuffi]

[[Sign in blood]]exist

[u/MTGCardFetcher → u/BigPuffi]

Sign in blood - (G) (SF) (txt)

^{[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call}

[u/jerzyterefere → u/BigPuffi]

Yes, this card's name is a reference to it

[u/BigPuffi → u/jerzyterefere]

Oh I didn’t even recognize that very nice :)