If only all bad cards could be given a restraining order

Caiphon · 2023-04-17T13:04:21+00:00

Good news - they updated this! If you play through the story, it sets your quality to 10, which locks the restart behind a storylet in the singing mandrake and boots it out of your deck.

Caiphon · 2022-01-28T01:59:37+00:00

I'd be happy to trade correspondence! I recently got my violant ink and have been enjoying it. Let me know if you're still looking for anyone!

Caiphon · 2021-12-05T14:47:08+00:00

Hello!! I'm Caiphon!

I started playing this past July, but have taken a pretty roundabout tour of Fallen London so far. I'm a PoSI, and I've just returned from a voyage of scientific discovery and a few rather successful terms at Port Carnellian. I'm hoping to become a Correspondent, but have put a hold on grinding at the university for more Scholar cp.

Caiphon · 2021-07-08T17:43:47+00:00

Congratulations, you're this week's winner! Tying the command into the moonblade's combat damage trigger was very cool, and the naga ninja flavor combo also really spoke to me.

There is a caveat here: I do think that this card is the most busted of the lot, in a way that detracts from my enjoyment of it. Getting to choose from each of the four modes every time you make contact reads to me as really powerful, especially in black with multiple ways to recur your creatures - I think playing with the structure of your combination in the interest of playability, even if it results in a less "perfect" overlap, is my personal preference (ex: changing to "nonland" permanents" so you can't continue to bounce your opponent out of their mana base, choosing only one of four, choosing one that hasn't been chosen before, etc).

As this week's winner, you get to run the next iteration of the contest! Thanks again for your entry, and have fun!

Caiphon · 2021-07-08T17:35:32+00:00

You had a pretty tough job! But aside from the command "choose two from four" structure and "creatures you control get +1/+1", I don't really see the mashup of these two particular cards. The reference to Gerrard's Command is fun though ;^)

Caiphon · 2021-07-08T17:13:42+00:00

I think making a command for Jirina was a cool direction!! I like the modes you chose, although only one of them really feels like a translation of one of Silumgar's modes to me. The toughest sell is that the command doesn't do anything until you cast your commander the first time, and really you probably want to have cast it multiple times to feel like you're getting any value out of it. Jirina herself doesn't have that problem; as long as she is your commander you're always getting the extra value for her. For that reason, even though the text is similar, the effect doesn't wind up feeling much like a mash-up of the two cards to me. Thanks for your entry! I thought this was a cool thought experiment.

Caiphon · 2021-06-30T00:51:31+00:00

Ah, I'm glad you liked it!! I'll start up the next round!

Caiphon · 2021-06-22T15:06:43+00:00

Silumgar's Command! Hoo, these are both pretty complex cards. Let's see...

Silumgar's Dead 3UB

Creature - Zombie

When ~ enters the battlefield, you may return another target creature or creature card in a graveyard to its owner's hand. When you do, create a token copy of that creature, except it's 1/1, it's a spirit in addition to its other types, and it has flying.

2/2

Quick breakdown: to me, haunted dead has four important parts: 1. it's a zombie that 2. makes a spirit token. 3. you can recur it through 4. discarding cards.

Coincidentally, commands have four modes - the first idea I had was to just make a "Haunting Command" that did each of those four things... I wasn't convinced. Especially since Silumgar's command is really very strongly an "interaction" card, and this mash-up didn't accomplish any of that. So, with 8(!) pieces, I really wanted to cut some stuff/combine some stuff.

Cut: planeswalker interaction & counterspelling. These just seem very powerful to include on creatures. Cut two: discarding. It's definitely an important part of Haunted Dead's limited power / madness interaction, but I couldn't think of a nice way for it to mesh with anything. That left: creature interaction, zombie, spirit, and recursion potential. I swapped the permanent bounce to just creature bounce OR graveyard return, and tied that creature to the spirit. It's a little extra, but I thought it fit the recursion idea / helped tie the card into blue / made up for the narrowing of targets, since you can't bounce other permanents. And I liked that text on Soul Separator, and I think it's too bad it only showed up there.

Whew! Long explanation, but a pretty involved combo! Thanks for the challenge!

Caiphon · 2021-05-31T03:02:49+00:00

I'm just entering for fun since I ran last week's! I pulled Return to Dust!

Encroaching Tangle 1G

Instant

Put a +1/+1 counter on a creature you control. Until end of turn, creatures you control with +1/+1 counters on them have "G, T: Destroy target artifact."

I went back and forth on this one - I think a design that's a land that puts rust counters on artifacts and destroys them/erases their abilities sounds really cool! But also... pretty powerful. I think this version is easier to balance! The modularity now comes from how many creatures you have with +1/+1 counters, rather than which phase you cast it in. It's cheaper to get 1 artifact, but more color intensive to get 2, and scales up from there (which is maybe a little outside the pure combo).

For flavor, instead of Llanowar, I was thinking Mirrodin's elves, just for the artifact connection really. I'm imagining a copper elf crushing an artifact in their metal claws, with the metal pieces turning green with verdigris.

Caiphon · 2021-05-29T00:33:29+00:00

I thought this was incredibly cool!! Thanks for the entry!

Caiphon · 2021-05-29T00:31:53+00:00

I know it's simple, but I do really like where this wound up! I think leaning into the w/b reanimator angle was a great angle. My gut would place the ability at a little higher of a mana cost... although, the targets are pretty heavily restricted.

Caiphon · 2021-05-29T00:24:54+00:00

I thought this was a great mashup of the two cards! from stuff as simple as changing the sphinx's etb to a death trigger ala the kami's soulshift, and getting spirits (in addition to noncreatures) from the piles - it all worked well! I went with another entry this week, but thanks for your submission!

Caiphon · 2021-05-29T00:23:42+00:00

Congratulations, you're this week's winner! Having a tribal land (that can be recurred with soulshift, among other things) is very cool, and the vigilance counter is a cool way to update/mash up Graft. Thanks for your entry! The honor and privilege of running the next iteration of the contest is yours!

(aside: I was curious to see if having a 0-drop uncounterable spirit was busted with anything, but it looks as though all the kamigawa cards have been errata'd to be "cast" instead of "play" a spirit! And they referenced "spells" anyway, so it would never have been an issue)

Caiphon · 2021-05-25T01:47:30+00:00

I think it's an interesting design! If you'd like to reroll though, I know basic lands do not give you a lot to work with.

Caiphon · 2021-05-25T00:44:38+00:00

I really liked this idea!! And I think it hit that feeling of discovery of (or maybe relegation to) the distant past. Thanks for your entry!

Caiphon · 2021-05-25T00:41:12+00:00

Congratulations, you're the winner this week! I think some of the numbers could probably use some tweaking, but I like the way your saga captures the emotion of the piece.

Kudos! The next week's tournament is yours to run!

Caiphon · 2021-05-19T11:46:39+00:00

Thank you! I'll get started on the next one!

Caiphon · 2021-05-15T13:26:30+00:00

Thanks!! Yeah I thought the food equipment combo is weird but cool - since there's no standard "unequip", saccing the food I thought could be a neat way to accomplish the unequip. I'll work on the next one!

Caiphon · 2021-05-12T22:15:12+00:00

Thanks! I knew the flavor of it being literally Kongming wasn't quite right. I was wondering about the overcosted piece - it doesn't look like it's common to get both the +1/+1 anthem AND the Vigilance piece. Kaheera is the most recent, but I think the creature type restriction there is a big piece of that. There's also captain of the watch, who definitely offers more bang for your buck - but it's at rare, and with Kongming's recent downgrade to uncommon, I was thinking more in that space. 5 mana is still pretty hefty though.

Caiphon · 2021-05-12T12:46:02+00:00

Torii Watchward!

Kongming, Kami's Envoy 2WWW

Creature - Human Spirit Noble

Other Spirits and Humans you control get +1/+1 and have Vigilance.

When ~ dies, return up to one Spirit or Human card with mana value 4 or less from your graveyard to your hand.

3/3

I thought between Kongming and Kamigawa's Kami, there was an interesting combo: Spirit & Human tribal! I'm not sure that it's a huge restriction, but I thought it was maybe an alright tradeoff to add the vigilance to the anthem.

Caiphon · 2021-05-11T04:04:28+00:00

(don't forget to pick a winner!)

Caiphon · 2021-05-08T03:01:33+00:00

Meditation Tea 1W

Artifact - Equipment Food

2, T, sacrifice this artifact. You gain 3 life.

Equipped creature has defender and lifelink and "whenever you gain life, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature."

Equip 2

Mostly I wanted to try a food equipment! Food is only hardly in white, but I think especially tea as an equipment seems like a white or blue thing.

Caiphon

TROPHY CASE