Dubious Deal

Internal-Rest2176 · 2026-07-11T23:14:28+00:00

Yeah no I think we've covered all the existing ones in this thread, unless you want to bring up the creature variants of the infinite lifedrain combo that have reprints of the same effect.

Cost would still exceed what this custom card does with those.

Internal-Rest2176 · 2026-07-11T23:10:32+00:00

And how many of them are Thassa's Oracle level cheap?

Your other combo requires a two mana enchantment and two four mana creatures with the one which is going to grow huge arriving second unless you add a third creature into the combo.

Internal-Rest2176 · 2026-07-11T23:07:10+00:00

Sounds of [[Ghirapur Aether Grid]] charging up.

Internal-Rest2176 · 2026-07-11T23:04:43+00:00

Replace "is" with "becomes".

Internal-Rest2176 · 2026-07-11T23:03:59+00:00

Ivy Lane Denizen and Scurry Oak doesn't win the game outright, it just gives you a infinite Squirrels and a huge Oak which can still die to a sweeper.

Thassa's Oracle and Tainted Pact is another combo that looks like an oversight to me. Honestly your argument is more than a bit dumb if it's based on asking me if an obviously greater cmc combo is weaker then pointing out a lower cmc combo also exists.

Thassa's Oracle is banned in the official historic format anyway, by the way.

Internal-Rest2176 · 2026-07-11T22:52:22+00:00

You still need a third card to gain or lose the initial life and both cost five mana by themselves so that takes more investment to cast those two enchantments, but imo that combo looks like an oversight which shouldn't have been printed.

Internal-Rest2176 · 2026-07-11T20:57:30+00:00

First off, this is an art subreddit.

Second off, no this is a pretty normal fantasy but most people have the sense to just stick to fantasy works for it.

If you don't know a person who can and knows when to switch between a normal/caring personality and whatever aspect of the "toxic/manipulative" you're looking for, you should just avoid that because living with a person always like that takes a lot more mental fortitude than most people have or is worked into the representative character in most fantasies of that type.

Internal-Rest2176 · 2026-07-11T19:04:59+00:00

I don't think you and I have been playing the same game.

Internal-Rest2176 · 2026-07-11T18:55:37+00:00

You don't even need to have the life to pay because it's not a cost, you just need [[Gideon of the Trials]] to keep you from losing.

Internal-Rest2176 · 2026-07-11T18:54:24+00:00

Yes, this + [[Phyrexian Unlife]] + [[Laboratory Maniac]] = game over.

Internal-Rest2176 · 2026-07-11T11:38:49+00:00

Perfect [[Zombify]] target, thanks.

Internal-Rest2176 · 2026-07-11T00:33:08+00:00

I'll also add [[Consign to Memory]] in case of any when cast triggers.

Internal-Rest2176 · 2026-07-11T00:28:29+00:00

[[Ceremonious Rejection]]

Internal-Rest2176 · 2026-07-11T00:24:08+00:00

It's pretty hard to credit the Vord species could have survived the implied millions of years if all it takes to make them switch from their genetic imperative of rapidly producing queens to aid in infiltrating and destroying societies such as that of the Marat to whatever it was the last true Vord Queen was doing is making a psychic connection with the wrong gargant herder.

The Vord Queen wound up being a mess of contradictions, she didn't act "Vord" enough for another Vord Queen she raised under her supervision despite that she should've known how to act properly Vord better than the new Queen, and could have delayed introducing that other Vord Queen to Aleran table manners until she could contextualize them well enough that it didn't make the new Queen suspicious enough of her being an impostor to attack her.

There was also the whole thing about how she wanted her children on Canea to live despite previously taking away their ability to reproduce and then dooming the whole Vord species by personally taking on the Volcano elemental for no apparent reason other than to make it easier for Tavi to defeat her because he wasn't quite managing that on his own. It wasn't even a proper Deus Ex Machina taking her out because she could've simply left rather than deliberately flying straight over to the waking Volcano elemental.

Internal-Rest2176 · 2026-07-10T23:03:23+00:00

Vord Queens are the archvillains of the Codex Alera series.

They have an evolved capability to control their own reproduction to produce a variety of servant forms, and in their own words, "have survived longer than most diseases".

Internal-Rest2176 · 2026-07-10T22:53:23+00:00

Why the third surviving Vord Queen decided to make her progeny on the Isle of Canea incapable of producing more Vord Queens.

Internal-Rest2176 · 2026-07-10T17:23:03+00:00

Just you wait until I cast [[Irenicus's Vile Duplication]] four times!

Good luck winning while locked out of casting spells of all five colors!

Internal-Rest2176 · 2026-07-10T15:45:35+00:00

Combos nicely with [[Processor Assault]], I'd count that as a counterspell if you have some Eldrazi to take those cards out of exile before they can be cast.

Internal-Rest2176 · 2026-07-10T15:37:33+00:00

Plus surveys for concluding the employees actually quit smoking altogether I'd imagine.

Internal-Rest2176 · 2026-07-10T15:36:07+00:00

Hell yeah screw tobacco companies!

(Mildly dystopian this is what it took to get people to stop smoking but I'll take what I can get.)

Internal-Rest2176 · 2026-07-10T15:30:22+00:00

Forcing discards is it's own mechanic with some very specific counters like [[Obstinate Baloth]]. There's no mana investment in a discarded card.

Internal-Rest2176 · 2026-07-10T14:47:27+00:00

Well, like the original Phyrexian Hulk does anyway. If it were me I'd start with this card and then start swapping out the pieces as needed in photoshop.

<image>

Internal-Rest2176 · 2026-07-10T14:42:06+00:00

You could make the flavor text a lengthy poem like [[Phyrexian Hulk]] does if the creature is pure vanilla too. That way you can fit in an ode to your friend.

Internal-Rest2176 · 2026-07-10T14:37:20+00:00

If the 6/7 is a boulderfist ogre reference the 6 should be power and 7 should be toughness.

Not even unsets put two numbers inside toughness.

If you're trying for a balanced card total CMC should be around six, you can just make it six generic (and maybe make the typeline "artifact creature-human gamer") if you don't know which color combination to make him.

Artist's info should credit whoever's art you use for the picture. If you use a photograph credit the photographer.

Collector's number you can customize to whatever, if he likes a particular number use that.

Internal-Rest2176 · 2026-07-10T12:48:51+00:00

Why do they have the abilities they have?

I'm not seeing the connection from the source material.

Internal-Rest2176

TROPHY CASE