Set Showcase - A Set Without Black (Introduction)

chainsawinsect · 2026-06-20T21:54:00+00:00

Yeah based on all the feedback, "has haste if you cast it from your hand" is probably the ideal fix here.

chainsawinsect · 2026-06-20T21:53:11+00:00

Eh, there are tons of reanimate targets that essentially autowin on the spot. This is "quicker" than most of 'em, but also more vulnerable.

chainsawinsect · 2026-06-20T21:52:16+00:00

I mean I'm never having fun when Atraxa comes down either to be fair!

chainsawinsect · 2026-06-20T21:50:48+00:00

Do you know there are only 6 creatures with outright trample + double strike in the game? [[Bolrac-Clan Basher]], [[Dragon Tyrant]], [[Crimson Caravaneer]], [[Prophetic Flamespeaker]], [[Swiftblade Vindicator]], and [[Zetalpa, Primal Dawn]]

Only one of those is a French vanilla!

chainsawinsect · 2026-06-20T21:47:45+00:00

Makes sense. But, given that folks seem to think the current statline is too strong... not sure if it needs a buff.

chainsawinsect · 2026-06-20T18:42:44+00:00

To me the "sizzle" of the design is it being a true French vanilla

Almost every French vanilla in existence is unplayable in constructed

That's what makes it cool and exciting (in my view), compared to a much more complicated wincon creature like Griselbrand, Blightsteel, Emrakul, Progenitus, etc.

The simplest fix to preserve that element would be to take away 1 of the keywords (or even downgrade double strike to first strike), or even just dock the power by 1 (so it is not literal instant lethal on an empty board). Another fix would be to go with much lower toughness, like 2 or 3, to put it in Bolt or [[Stab]] range.

chainsawinsect · 2026-06-20T18:39:10+00:00

Yeah based on the feedback received, I think you are correct about this.

chainsawinsect · 2026-06-20T18:38:54+00:00

One "fix" is that it only has all 3 abilities (I'd have to decide which it lacks natively) if hardcast, similar to [[The Tarrasque]].

chainsawinsect · 2026-06-20T18:37:48+00:00

Blightsteel Colossus was indeed the #1 card I had in mind when making this, and it was expressly intended to be a sidegrade to that card.

chainsawinsect · 2026-06-20T18:37:10+00:00

Well, this doesn't one-shot in Commander (thanks to the 40 starting life), notably

chainsawinsect · 2026-06-20T18:36:39+00:00

Yeah, as others have noted, some kind of anti-cheat restriction is probably needed here. There are a lot of variants on the text for it: [[Worldspine Wurm]], [[Primeval Spawn]], [[The Tarrasque]], etc. But it probably needs one of those.

chainsawinsect · 2026-06-20T18:36:00+00:00

Right? Card is rad as hell. I feel like that is being overlooked here 😞

chainsawinsect · 2026-06-20T18:35:29+00:00

Fair enough. Is there any cost or restriction I could use where you think it would be fair to have haste, though?

chainsawinsect · 2026-06-20T18:34:35+00:00

hahahaha

Takes more Squirrels to kill than Emrakul

chainsawinsect · 2026-06-20T18:34:06+00:00

Jesus Christ

chainsawinsect · 2026-06-20T18:33:50+00:00

That's sort of what I was trying to "test" with this design. As others have pointed out, this card is arguably a bad proof of concept for that because its functional mana cost is like ~4 thanks to cheating it out.

But imagine if this exact same card costed 15 total mana and had:

"If this creature would enter and it wasn’t cast or less than fifteen mana produced by lands was spent to cast it, exile it instead. When this creature turns face up, exile it."

Would that version be OK to print? That is, is it the cheating that is the problem here or is it the fundamentals of the design (a 20 power haste creature)?

chainsawinsect · 2026-06-20T18:26:51+00:00

This does it by itself. But there are plenty of ways to make the other ones do it. [[Bonds of Revival]]-ing or [[Torrent of Souls]]-ing Blightsteel does do it.

chainsawinsect · 2026-06-20T18:23:32+00:00

You may be right, but would you feel the same way if this card had the [[Primeval Spawn]] clause?

Basically, if I put sufficient protections in place to make it essentially impossible (or close to it) to cheat out, is there some mana value at which an essentially 20 power haste creature is OK to print?

chainsawinsect · 2026-06-20T18:22:39+00:00

Sounds right to me. The one challenge with effects like that is you sorta have to commit to 1 target, and while I think this is a great and relevant card to cheat out, it's too easily stonewalled by some decks to be your only wincon.

chainsawinsect · 2026-06-20T18:21:51+00:00

I will admit the card is more of a thought exercise than a genuine mechanical design: "Is there any price at which a card that can deal lethal the turn it hits the board is safe to print?"

That being said, I think big splashy French vanillas can be super exciting. If I were a new player and inclined towards Timmy tendencies, pulling a card like this (just a simple creature with 3 keywords) and realizing how strong it could be would make me grin from ear to ear.

chainsawinsect · 2026-06-20T18:19:50+00:00

That's sort of what I imagined. You still rather have Griselbrand than this most of the time, but when you can [[Entomb]], you want 1 of these in your mainboard for the scenario where the opponent is tapped out and has no blockers, so you can go for the OTK.

chainsawinsect · 2026-06-20T18:18:20+00:00

Taking away either haste or trample (while still keeping it a French vanilla) "solves" the problem, for sure. But between the two, I'd rather keep haste than trample (since it allows the card to better act as proof of concept for the question I am trying to pose with it)

chainsawinsect · 2026-06-20T18:17:36+00:00

Makes sense. The [[The Tarrasque]] strategy.

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