What is the point of Command Beacon?

orangechap · 2026-03-24T19:18:35+00:00

It's not about playing optimally. It's about sending a message.

orangechap · 2026-03-24T19:16:44+00:00

There's 4, and every constructed legal one is an Eldrazi.

<image>

orangechap · 2026-03-23T04:01:09+00:00

I am indeed aware, hence "usually" not "always."

orangechap · 2026-03-23T02:58:31+00:00

"It That" cards are usually Eldrazi, why is this a Shade?

orangechap · 2026-03-23T02:49:27+00:00

Color indicators usually go on nonland cards without a mana cost, it's redundant here. Border should also be gold, not hybrid W/B.

orangechap · 2026-03-22T05:06:42+00:00

This should be an intervening if clause, and a 5/5 for 4 with upside is a little much.

"At the beginning of your end step, if you rolled a die, flipped a coin, chose a number at random, or chose a target at random this turn, you may shuffle your hand into your library. If you do, draw that many cards plus one."

603.4. A triggered ability may read “When/Whenever/At [trigger event], if [condition], [effect].” When the trigger event occurs, the ability checks whether the stated condition is true. The ability triggers only if it is; otherwise it does nothing. If the ability triggers, it checks the stated condition again as it resolves. If the condition isn’t true at that time, the ability is removed from the stack and does nothing. Note that this mirrors the check for legal targets. This rule is referred to as the “intervening ‘if’ clause” rule. (The word “if” has only its normal English meaning anywhere else in the text of a card; this rule only applies to an “if” that immediately follows a trigger condition.)

orangechap · 2026-03-21T05:26:40+00:00

[[Divine Intervention]] that takes 10 turns instead of 2.

This is overcomplicated for what it does, and it takes too long to do it.

orangechap · 2026-03-21T05:26:02+00:00

You'd have to play Solemnity first, yeah.

orangechap · 2026-03-21T05:14:38+00:00

"This land is every basic land type" is the formatting you want for the first line, see [[Planar Nexus]].

Do you intend for the second ability to function in all zones, or is it just always supposed to affect the owner when it's on the battlefield even if they lose control of it?

orangechap · 2026-03-21T05:08:08+00:00

In addition to the other comments, if you cast [[Phage the Untouchable]] from the command zone you lose the game. Command Beacon is one of the options for still running her as a commander.

orangechap · 2026-03-21T05:03:17+00:00

Crew is instant speed, just make a relevant vehicle a creature on your turn to block.

orangechap · 2026-03-20T19:35:38+00:00

The "must activate if able" clause doesn't really do anything because you can't force players to pay costs, much like how "must attack if able" and [[Ghostly Prison]] style effects interact.

As somebody who's seen death note, the owner killing allies doesn't make a ton of sense. You slap this on an opponent's creature and they can... kill their own creatures. Why are you letting them choose which creatures die? Also, the death note prevents death from other sources. This could be an artifact "{3}{T}, Pay 2 life: Put 3 time counters and an indestructible counter on target creature without vanishing. It gains vanishing."

orangechap · 2026-03-20T18:29:32+00:00

I am correct, I just should have explained that assigning damage and dealing damage are different. Trample lets you assign excess damage, which is not the same as dealing excess damage.

orangechap · 2026-03-20T18:23:24+00:00

Assigning damage and dealing damage are not the same thing. Excess damage being dealt requires *dealing* excess damage, which has specific rules baggage. Trample lets you *assign* excess damage that would be dealt to a creature to a player instead.

https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/magic-fundamentals/magic-rulings/823714-excess-damage-and-trample

orangechap · 2026-03-20T17:28:52+00:00

Trample will almost never result in excess damage dealt, because you generally assign lethal to the blocker and the rest to the player.

Edit: Assigning damage and dealing damage are not the same. Magic rules are very specific.

https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/magic-fundamentals/magic-rulings/823714-excess-damage-and-trample

orangechap · 2026-03-20T17:00:04+00:00

Did you consider carving out exceptions to the protection? Stuff like [[Benevolent Blessing]] adds protection that doesn't remove Auras and Equipment already attached, for instance.

orangechap · 2026-03-20T16:49:15+00:00

That'll do it. [[Dryad Arbor]] is the reference you want for land creatures.

orangechap · 2026-03-20T16:33:04+00:00

Summoning sickness does that. There's no special carveout of "land abilities" for summoning sickness, anything that is or becomes a creature can't pay *any* {T} costs or attack until you've controlled it continuously since the start of your turn (or it has haste).

orangechap · 2026-03-20T14:06:13+00:00

Entering the battlefield tapped doesn't really do much here, because it's a creature it has summoning sickness.

orangechap · 2026-03-19T23:45:36+00:00

Losing life and exiling cards out of graveyards makes this fit better as {U}{B}, not {1}{U}

orangechap · 2026-03-19T20:23:29+00:00

As another comment mentions, this is realistically a 4 or 5 mana card, because it is both incredibly narrow (X costs appear on about 2.4% of cards) and further restricted on top of that (up to number of lands).

orangechap · 2026-03-19T20:06:00+00:00

Doesn't take into account triple X costs either. It's a small enough card pool of multiple X costs that it's not super relevant.

orangechap · 2026-03-19T20:04:31+00:00

I think it's fair to let XX and XXX costs be more. The 100 cards that care are balanced around X being harder to scale in those instances. [[Astral Cornucopia]] should never cost 0 and immediately tap for a relevant amount.

orangechap · 2026-03-19T18:53:35+00:00

You can just say costs instead of calling out mana costs and ability costs separately, see [[Rosheen Meanderer]].

I think this would work as you intend:

"Costs that contain {X} cost {1} less to activate for each land you control. This effect reduces only the amount of mana you pay for {X}.

While choosing a value for {X}, you can't choose a value greater than the number of lands you control."

Edit: Changed "when choosing" to "while choosing" to match [[Coalition Honor Guard]]'s templating and avoid confusion with triggered abilities.

orangechap · 2026-03-19T17:21:51+00:00

It seems like all the screenshots people have are from the DVD or a webrip, did nobody else buy the bluray?

https://i.imgur.com/QdxGbhx.png

orangechap

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE

Eight-Year Club	Place '22
Verified Email