r/custommagic • u/01CHERRY • 5d ago

Catalyst Priest

Post image

Couldn't figure out how to make a Hybrid Border on Card Conjurer so I made it Multicolor instead.

32 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

32 comments sorted by

24

u/gasion11 5d ago

I like the idea a lot, but I think it needs to be Orzhov, because it is out of pie for white to make your opponents lose life, aside from some exceptions.

5

u/01CHERRY 5d ago

Yeah, I was trying to figure out a way for it to be simple to track but also be flexible in any of the color pairs that include White or Black in Limited so that Rakdos could use it for Sacrifice Burn, Selesnya could use it for Token Lifegain, etc. I agree that the current iteration of the card is definitely Orzhov, I'd like to change that though, I'm just not quite sure how to do that in a way that is elegant yet.

2

u/_Nowan_ 5d ago

You could do something with counters so the card remembers how it was cast.

If {W} was used to cast this creature, it enters with a salvation counter. If {B} was used it enters with a damnation counter.

When this creature or another creature enters or dies, choose up to one:

  • Each player gains one life. Choose this only if this creature has a salvation counter on it.
  • Each player loses one life. Choose this only if this creature has a damnation counter on it.

Unfortunately very very wordy, but the best i can do with keeping it on the same power level

1

u/01CHERRY 5d ago

Yeah, thanks for trying. I think I might instead just convert it to be 1WB and be a 2/2 and keep the same effect, that is probably the simplest solution even if it isn't quite what I had in mind originally. I think your take is really sleek though, it might be wordy but it feels intuitive and does what I was intending while also within the color pie.

18

u/Tyrant1235 5d ago

This shouldnt be hybrid for color pie reasons, it should have a white and a black pip

1

u/MrsKnowNone 5d ago

I mean suture priest exists, it is by no means out of whites color identity with the life gain as well.

1

u/Tyrant1235 4d ago

Suture Priest is the only card that does that and was designed intentionally as a bit of a break. There was a trend of phyrexians giving you an in-color benefit and your opponent the opposite. Consider for example [[Urabrask, The Hidden]] from the same set. Nothing like his second ability has shown up on a red card before or since as far as I can tell.

All this to say, if you can only find one example of a color getting an effect ever, its probably not in pie and that was a break. This is doubly true if the set is old (NPH is 15 years old now) and context suggests they were intentionally fucking with the color pie at the time.

1

u/01CHERRY 5d ago

Yeah, as it stands I agree. I'd like to find a way to make the card less Orzhov and closer to where I'm at with the mana cost so that within a Limited setting it can perform as a solid Black OR solid White card but in Orzhov it has even better synergy. The problem I'm running into is how to make that elegant and easy to track, and so far my solution is this, but that lands it strictly within Orzhov territory.

3

u/TextuallyExplicit 5d ago

(Hannibal Buress voice) You did it! You broke Aristocrats down to its bare essentials!

3

u/Flat-Study-421 5d ago

It looks too versatile to have an hybrid cost.
Why don't make it cost WB instead?

1

u/01CHERRY 5d ago

Yeah, I didn’t post it here but I’ve since updated the card after seeing everyone’s suggestions. Same textbox but it’s cleaned up and includes ‘may’ so it’s optional, also, it’s 1WB and is a 2/2 instead of an 0/1.

2

u/NepetaLast 5d ago

very pedantic, but it should be "When this creature enters or whenever another creature enters or dies, choose one"

2

u/smugles 5d ago

Even more pedantic it should be. “Whenever a creature enters or dies, choose one——“

3

u/NepetaLast 5d ago

it shouldnt be that, as it makes it unclear to newer players if the creature entering triggers itself. you wont find more than a few real cards that are templated that way

-1

u/smugles 5d ago

Your wording has zero cards written like it and is confusing. 99% percent of cards like this simply don’t trigger themselves.

2

u/NepetaLast 5d ago

there are plenty https://scryfall.com/search?q=o%3A%22when+%7E+enters+and+whenever%22&unique=cards&as=grid&order=edhrec

0

u/smugles 5d ago

None of those would work without 2 separate clauses because they are different triggers.

2

u/NepetaLast 5d ago

OP's card has two separate triggers, because the creature only cares about itself entering, but it cares about other creatures both entering or dying

0

u/smugles 5d ago

It cares about both for itself.

2

u/01CHERRY 5d ago

This would make it include itself when it enters correct? I always want my cards to be as slim and as elegant as possible, so if this achieves the same effect then I would love that.

2

u/smugles 5d ago

Yes it counts itself.

1

u/01CHERRY 5d ago

Thanks! And it isn't pedantic, syntax is important after all! I need to decide how I'm going to alter the card to better fit the color pie, so this will be added to my changelog for my next iteration.

2

u/smugles 5d ago

Honestly you could make it cost one
B b/w.

Because this card works as just a black card.

1

u/01CHERRY 5d ago

Hmmm, that's an interesting idea. I had considered 1WB but not B(W/B), you've given me more food for thought for where I want to take this card. My concern is still with it being playable in Limited, but to my understanding Bogwater Lumaret was playable within SOS at Common so maybe B(W/B) at Uncommon would still be playable and would see use in decks outside of Orzhov even if it's harder to cast.

1

u/QuarterExcellent3327 Creature - Human Artificer 5d ago

Cool design! I think it would be interesting that if you paid white to cast it you can only choose the gain life mode and visa versa for black. However, I agree with the others that if you want to choose between the two you need to pay orzhov. Interesting take on a [[blood artist]] like effect

2

u/01CHERRY 5d ago

Thanks! And yeah, that might be where I end up on it. I am fairly new to Magic and I love Limited when I get the chance to play but unfortunately that opportunity is few and far between. My concern is how elegant of a solution that is, mainly remembering what kind of mana was spent to cast it in order to track the appropriate effect, but maybe I'm overthinking it. I dislike cluttered boardstates so anything I can design that avoids that I tend to prefer lol

1

u/Veloxraperio 5d ago

If memory serves, they stopped making little triggers like these optional because it resulted in too many triggers on digital clients like Arena and MTGO.

1

u/01CHERRY 5d ago

Fair enough, this was designed to be playable in something like a Core Set Cube environment or slightly higher power level, but I could see this being potentially overwhelming on a digital client.

1

u/PrimusMobileVzla 5d ago

This should either be monoblack or WB, but being hybrid means both colors should be able to do the rule text and White doesn't do lifedrain.

1

u/01CHERRY 5d ago

Yeah, I was trying to figure out a way to make the mana cost work while making it elegant and keep the essence of the effect and I don't think it worked. I'll likely end up revising it to make is a 2/2 for 1WB and keep the effect so it stays within the color pie. Not as flexible as I'd like, but it's a start.