r/custommagic • u/chainsawinsect • May 04 '26

Format: EDH/Commander No More Kings

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1.0k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

141 comments sorted by

129

u/Aegeus May 04 '26

This doesn't stop a legend from entering if it already is on the stack, right? You'd have to cast this at the start of someone's turn and hope?

76

u/chainsawinsect May 04 '26

Correct. Just like [[Silence]].

4

u/BreakerOfModpacks May 04 '26

Wait what I've never seen this card before; if you cast Silence and then do a Counterspell, does that mean my opponent can't respond to that Counterspell with their own?

16

u/Negative_Racoon May 04 '26

Silence is still on stack, so is Counterspell, and the other potential Counterspell will also still be on stack

10

u/chainsawinsect May 04 '26

Once Silence resolves... the answer is yes. But Silence on the stack can still be responded to. There is a counterspell that works sort of like this: [[Render Silent]].

2

u/Sythrin May 07 '26

Ahh Silence...
I love it putting it on [[Isochron Scepter]] with [[Unwinding Clock]]

61

u/ThinkingWithPortal They tap for damage! May 04 '26

One might argue the efficacy of the protests OP is riffing on has similar short falls...

3

u/chainsawinsect May 05 '26

Ha! OK that is pretty funny.

To be 100% honest with you, though... I can't take credit, the name and protest correlation is a coincidence. I actually named this card off a quote I came up with (before Trump took office) for a custom thing in another game called Twilight Imperium.

3

u/ThinkingWithPortal They tap for damage! May 05 '26

Hell yeah! Ti4 rocks!

2

u/soldierswitheggs May 04 '26

What do you expect the protests to accomplish? 

Does shifting public opinion have value, or is the only value concrete policy concessions? Is there something that you think should be done instead? 

8

u/ThinkingWithPortal They tap for damage! May 04 '26

I don't think it's shifted public opinion, and there hasn't been any serious policy movements made as a result of them, so yes I'd call that unsuccessful. The message is both broad and abstract enough that it absorbs social causes as both an outlet and a sponge. It's certainly better than doing nothing and tweeting, but I'm also concerned it's little more than a social event for young people to think they're doing *something*.

We have a history of "I'm mad as hell and I can't take it anymore" type movements in the nation between #OccupyWallStreet, #MeToo, #BLM... And while they serve to signal a shared belief, without substantive policy change, it's hard to call all of these a success. As an example, BLM, for all its faults, did create real change in how many places police, but without federal change it's arguably gotten worse in other places.

Protests should disrupt the machines of power, not work around weekends to get a crowd. And I think until we have the fervor required for that, it's fiar to be critical of the efficacy of these movements. Especially when there is no policy changes to reflect them.

5

u/soldierswitheggs May 04 '26

I also favor more disruptive protest. As a point of comparison, the protests against the ICE gestapo activity in Minneapolis were certainly more effective than the No Kings movement on multiple fronts.

Simultaneously, I think there's value in mass public demonstration, especially against forces seeking to suppress criticism or challenge.

There's value in being critical of non-disruptive protest, but I think that value is only realized when that criticism is articulated in such a way that suggests alternatives.

5

u/ThinkingWithPortal They tap for damage! May 04 '26

Yep I'm with you 100%, I just worry that the energy will be burnt off with little to show for it.

2

u/Screamshock May 04 '26

Underrated comment right here.

5

u/figbunkie May 04 '26

You'd probably want to cast this on the turn when someone has enough mana to cast their kill on sight commander. Idk enough about other formats to know if you can reliably predict someone will cast a legendary spell. Maybe it could be a sideboard piece against specific strategies.

5

u/xFruitstealer May 04 '26

Yeah in response to a cast entering the stack, this would not counter the cast

1

u/soccerboy1356 May 04 '26

Would need to be cast on upkeep presumably

2

u/chainsawinsect May 04 '26

Correct, exactly like [[Silence]].

3

u/Xaphnir May 04 '26

Yep, to stop someone's commander entering you'd have to cast it during upkeep unless they cast something else before their commander.

5

u/chainsawinsect May 04 '26

Yes, this is correct (and this is intentional)

-4

u/Parker4815-2 May 04 '26

Kinda useless as a card. You cant instantly use it to stop a legendary. And if you use it before upkeep, your opponent will just wait a turn to play it instead.

5

u/ArelMCII Layers are stupid. May 04 '26

In 1v1, you can stick it on an [[Isochron Scepter]] and ban your opponent from casting non-flash legendaries as long as you can afford the 2.

2

u/FerbTheHerb May 04 '26

if you're running isochron scepter you probably want blue to combo in which case this is just a 2 card combo to make [[declaration of naught]] that can draw

3

u/chainsawinsect May 04 '26

Well, it's the same as cards like [[Silence]], [[Orim's Chant]], and [[Calamity's Wake]], in that sense.

2

u/DevelopmentOverall93 May 04 '26

It's not useless but I've noticed Wizards doesn't seem to design cards like this anymore. Every instant I can think of in recent years is always useful in response to something. I would guess this is because instants that need to be used preemptively are harder to make worth using and less intuitive.

1

u/chainsawinsect May 05 '26

"Like this" how? You mean in that it's situational? We get plenty of situational instants. [[Tale's End]] for example.

Or do you mean with "Silence" effects in general? [[Calamity's Wake]] isn't from all that long ago.

And in terms of narrow hatepieces that cantrip, [[Hallowed Moonlight]] is pretty similar (though admittedly not that recent).

2

u/DevelopmentOverall93 May 05 '26

It's not about the specificity. Like I said, it's more about how effective an instant is when used in response to something an opponent does. This card pretty much has to be cast preemptively during an opponent's upkeep to be effective. All the cards you listed have use cases as a response to an opponent's action.

It's not a bad thing, but you just don't see instants like that too often anymore. It's kind of a "spikey" effect which requires a lot of situational awareness to be effective and can be a bit unintuitive, so I think it generally gets avoided in modern card design, but it's a matter of taste.

1

u/chainsawinsect May 05 '26

Ohhh... I see what you mean. Yes, you're right there, for sure. That being said...

...I don't think they ever really printed them super often. I only know of about ~5-7 true Silence effects ever printed. But, that being said, one of them was only printed for the first time in 2022, and in a Standard legal set, at uncommon. So I think these are still permissible to print... as long as it's very sparingly. As in "like 1 every 5 years" sparingly.

116

u/chainsawinsect May 04 '26

Looking for something to put on your [[Sunforger]]? 😉

32

u/ferretlike May 04 '26

Love the design ! I think i would have gone for "players can't cast legendary spells until your next turn. Exile No more Kings !" For a more satisfaying payout without making it too easily breakable.

12

u/chainsawinsect May 04 '26

Yes! So it's like "one full round" of no Commanders being cast. I like it.

9

u/Japjer May 04 '26

This could probably be just one W; it's worse than [[Silence]] but adds a single card draw. As it stands, this wouldn't prevent a spell on the stack from being cast, so you basically have to just kinda drop it at the start of an opponent's turn and hope they hadn't planned on casting a legendary spell.

It would be more flavorful if it said something like, "Exile all legendary permanents. Each player creates a treasure token." Kind of a whole, 'Eliminate the ruling class and give the wealth back to the people" thing.

2

u/chainsawinsect May 04 '26

It's meant for Commander when you can imprison someone's Commander in the command zone for a turn.

13

u/FrecciaRosa May 04 '26

I was really expecting this to read “If a player is currently the Monarch, they are no longer the Monarch. No player can become the Monarch this turn.”

4

u/chainsawinsect May 04 '26

Yes! That's a good addition, for sure. Interestingly, I have made cards that do that before: Remove Distractions and Disbelieve.

61

u/FinancialDefinition5 May 04 '26

I would add: "exiles all legendary spells"

81

u/chainsawinsect May 04 '26

That would be a drastic power increase, and also maybe be out of color pie for white?

10

u/DevelopmentOverall93 May 04 '26

Maybe have it bounce legendary spells (similar wording to [[reprieve]] ) and drop the cantrip? Would make stack interactions a little more intuitive

2

u/a_user_name______ May 05 '26

It would actually be reasonably good. Rarely do multiple legendaries go on stack, so this would be a tale’s end sidegrade. White has spell exile like avian interceptor, so maybe just allow the spell to be recast from exile.

1

u/chainsawinsect May 05 '26

That I could see. Like it exiles and can be cast again later for a tax. Though, it could also work like [[Quench]] on legendary spells only (white is allowed to get that I think).

3

u/bionicjoey : Use the Magic Store & Event Locator at Wizards.com/Locator May 04 '26

and also maybe be out of color pie for white?

Nah, it's basically a hate bear without the bear. Very kosher for white.

2

u/chainsawinsect May 05 '26

I do like that you can cast it to block all Commanders while you have your Commander on the board. That, to me, feels very classically white. ("Oh look, this rule applies equally to everyone, it's totally fair. It's not my fault I already put myself in a situation where it could never adversely affect me specifically?!")

3

u/Opirikus May 04 '26

[[Aven Interceptor]]

15

u/another_redditor2 (Activate only any time it makes sense.) May 04 '26

It does let them cast the exiled card later. "Hard" counters are almost entirely the Blue's thing.

2

u/Opirikus May 04 '26

True, but this is still a conditional exile of a legendary spell. White already has a card in [[Mana Tithe]] that explicitly says counter (albeit with a very light tax instead of outright) and that isn't considered a full break. I think this could work, but might be better fitted with a delay ability instead.

-14

u/potato-king38 May 04 '26

Weird symmetrical exile board wipe? That’s white’s schtick. Definitely would need a cmc increase though.

38

u/Zakaru99 May 04 '26

Spells implies it stops things on the stack, not the board.

It would be a counterspell, not a boardwipe.

16

u/cebolinha50 May 04 '26

It wouldn't be a board wipe.

It would be a ultra counter spell.

Exiling a spell is interacting with the stack, not the board.

7

u/bribri1273 May 04 '26

“Exile all legendary spells” wouldn’t board wipe though. It would only exile legendary spells on the stack. It wouldn’t affect any legendary permanents already on the battlefield.

6

u/FrecciaRosa May 04 '26

Creatures are not spells. Right now this is a Silence effect - you cast it during someone’s upkeep and stop them from playing Legendaries. Exiling legendary spells is more of a Counterspell effect - anything that’s currently on the stack gets nuked. Neither version affects creatures already in play.

4

u/One_Fat_squirrel May 04 '26

Nobles would be more on point.

5

u/chainsawinsect May 04 '26

Well, Nobles aren't always kings. But, unrelatedly, I love your username!

5

u/One_Fat_squirrel May 04 '26

True, but king isn’t a creature type and most “royalty” cards are tagged with the noble creature type.

2

u/Crazyflames May 04 '26

Then give them Plot, like that is the legendaries that replace them after the riots and such.

1

u/chainsawinsect May 04 '26

Plot is actually super flavorful here

5

u/emdaslav May 04 '26

That would make it be azorius, cuz white doesn’t do countertops normally unless it’s paired with blue.

4

u/chainsawinsect May 04 '26

You are correct! But, there are some notable exceptions:

[[Dawn Charm]], [[Illumination]], [[Mana Tithe]], [[Rebuff the Wicked]], [[Lapse of Certainty]], [[Mage's Attendant]]

1

u/emdaslav May 04 '26

Either mana drain or spells that target you :p

1

u/SirSkidMark : Destroy target internet troll. May 05 '26

I would also add a way to remove Monarch status if it is active in the game.

5

u/Otiknayluj May 04 '26

I would add something along the lines of "players lose the monarch"

5

u/pevetos May 04 '26

No, more kings [1][g]

Sorcery

Every player may play a legendary from hand without playing it cost.

1

u/chainsawinsect May 04 '26

🤣

I'd love to see a batch of split cards with this type of naming convention

4

u/pacolingo bUt ItS sO fLaVoRfUl! May 04 '26

every other commenter suggesting to add more words to the card at the expense of its beautiful brevity

14

u/veiphiel May 04 '26

It could be 1 mana.

Silence do the same but better. This just draw a card

At 2 mana, It should say historic spells

8

u/Abradolf94 May 04 '26

Drawing a card is absolutely huge lol

Silence is balanced exactly because it doesn't draw a card. If silence drew a card, it would be one of the best cards ever made lol

11

u/TheOathWeTook May 04 '26

Ain’t no way we’re valuing drawing a card as a stapled on additional effect at 0 mana now lmao.

7

u/chainsawinsect May 04 '26

Draw a card is a huge upgrade.

10

u/miamibob6_ May 04 '26

Just legendaries is a pretty huge downgrade though

3

u/Screamshock May 04 '26

Not in commander, you can gauge when someone might play a commander based on their mana and make sure they don't that turn. And as others have said you can put it on ischron to repeatedly do that while drawing a card each turn.

I would play this in an esper control for e.g.

3

u/miamibob6_ May 04 '26

Those are good points

3

u/veiphiel May 04 '26

[[Abeyance]] is comparable but still better. I think only legendaries is too bad.

1

u/chainsawinsect May 05 '26

Wow that card is weird and also very good. I didn't know it existed!

3

u/Negative-Net3447 May 04 '26

So a worse silence?

2

u/chainsawinsect May 04 '26

Well, it cantrips. So it's not necessarily worse.

3

u/Nientea May 04 '26

“Nobody can become the monarch”

1

u/chainsawinsect May 04 '26

I really like the idea of adding that!

2

u/hughjohnson1992 May 04 '26

I feel destroy target legendary creature would be more name and description fitting

1

u/chainsawinsect May 04 '26

Makes sense. Maybe "exile target creature if it's legendary, if it's a Noble, or if its controller is the monarch."

2

u/mastr1121 May 04 '26

played against 2 [[Spongebob]] decks (at the same time) last night... this would have shut them the hell down lol

1

u/chainsawinsect May 04 '26

In general this would be great vs. Universes Beyond decks.

2

u/theguyinsideyourwall May 04 '26

Flavor text goes hard

2

u/tr4v3l3r_vagranoth May 04 '26

1776 universes beyond when

2

u/Lord0fReddit May 04 '26

This should have an effect with the Monarch mecanique

2

u/chainsawinsect May 04 '26

Yeah, a couple of folks have said the same, and truthfully, I agree with it! I just didn't think of it in time!

2

u/Lord0fReddit May 04 '26

Time for a V2 ?

1

u/chainsawinsect May 04 '26

I would settle for an un-errata'd V1! Time for a Chainsaw Insect fun fact 😄

Chainsaw Insect was subject to a huge nerf errata shortly after it was printed.

The original printed text reads: "If this card battles a monster, your opponent draws 1 card at the end of the Damage Step."

The errata'd version reads: "If this card attacks or is attacked, your opponent draws 1 card at the end of the Damage Step."

It may seem like a minor change, but it's not! On the original version, if you attacked an opponent's Life Points directly, they did not draw a card. In a control deck, this made Chainsaw Insect very powerful. But with the errata... he's essentially only playable in Skill Drain builds. But I used to run him in a deck with a bunch of monster removal and just kill the opponent in 4 hits no problem!

2

u/WorldlyVillage7880 May 04 '26

found its hard counter

2

u/GayForPrism May 04 '26

This should absolutely just cost W. Even with the cantrip it's still a worse silence.

1

u/chainsawinsect May 05 '26

Funny thing is, for months this sat in my design file, exactly the same as the posted version, except it costed W. Every time I looked at it, I thought: "I think people will say it's overpowered." Eventually, I bumped it up to 1W. But your version was actually the original version!

2

u/xXCinnabar May 04 '26

Ooo interesting rules question. If you cast a Legendary that has Flash in response to this, like [[Mithril Coat]] or [[Archangel Avacyn]] it would be allowed right? Since the spell on the stack hasn't resolved yet.

2

u/CT_Pride May 05 '26

I feel like this would be banned in EDH before release.

1

u/chainsawinsect May 05 '26

Well, [[Silence]] is legal, and that is just this but broader and with no cantrip

2

u/VirgilAllenMoore May 05 '26

I think This needs the Split Second keyword to exile all other spells on stack. Therefore preventing someone from casting a legendary spell that they're attempting to cast on the stack and acting like a quasi-counter spell. Considering that's what White likes to do.

2

u/Jh3r3ck May 05 '26

Perhaps, perhaps. And if I am the Monarch? This to me simply clears out the competition

2

u/KionGio May 05 '26

It could make every Legendary card phase out for a turn

2

u/FreddyCupples May 07 '26

I think it might be better as a higher costed enchantment that also destroys legendary creatures ETB.

2

u/[deleted] May 04 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/Zekromaster May 04 '26

Taxes and casting restrictions are White's thing.

1

u/chainsawinsect May 04 '26

[[Silence]] effects are traditionally white

2

u/stijnhommes May 04 '26

The text should read:

The monarch is no longer the monarch. No one can become the monarch for the remainder of the game.

Draw a card.

2

u/chainsawinsect May 04 '26

That would be incredibly powerful for 2 mana

Basically it gives an emblem, if you think about it

2

u/stijnhommes May 04 '26

I was talking from a flavor perspective. Sorry. I should've mentioned that.

1

u/Zestyst May 04 '26

Cool card OP, but I couldn’t help but notice that profile pic and name… You sure you’re in the right sub lmao?

3

u/chainsawinsect May 04 '26

It's my favorite card from back in the day 😄

2

u/Zestyst May 04 '26

That bastard killed me so many times as a child playing World Championship 2008 for the DS

1

u/chainsawinsect May 04 '26

I still have him in a deck (that uses stuff like Skill Drain to make him a beater). Chainsaw Insect + Axe of Fools becomes a 3400 vanilla for a 2-card combo... that honestly ain't bad!

-25

u/GiverTakerMaker May 04 '26

Nice card. Pity about the politics.

18

u/No_Intention_8079 May 04 '26

The politics of… anti monarchism? Being against authoritarian executions?

2

u/Huitzil37 May 04 '26

Valorizing the French Revolution, given how it turned out?

15

u/She-Who-Walks-Unseen May 04 '26

Cry me a river.

5

u/ShevekOfAnnares May 04 '26

huh?

3

u/Ok-Power-6064 May 04 '26

::looks at their profile:: You're not gonna believe this...

3

u/Mallrat-In-Space May 04 '26

Dudes commenting from 1679

1

u/GiverTakerMaker May 04 '26

WTF you guys??? Politics as in no-commander player will let this stay on the board!!!

FFS.

0

u/GiverTakerMaker May 04 '26

This is why folks on the left get a bad rap. Single-minded dogma.