When Questing Picklock enters the battlefield, put a colorless Treasure Chest artifact token onto the battlefield. It has ":2mana:, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card."
[1/1]
I have big plans for Treasure Chests, not just in this set, but in the containing block. I want for them to occupy a space similar to cantrips and cycling. In this set, I plan to use them as a deck-strategy enabler similar to Eldrazi Spawn, by putting a lot of cheap, disposable artifacts onto the battlefield, which is going to benefit a number of the set's strategies.
Right now, I'm simply trying to figure out how many of these to put into the set, and whether I keep the mechanic predominately blue here, or allow it to branch out into the other two colors.
As always, constructive criticism is appreciated. Is too cheap for the Treasure Chest sacrificing effect?
That's an interesting concept. You may be able to push the treasure chest tokens a bit (flavor wise and impact wise) if you added a booby trap clause.
It has "1, Sacrifice this artifact: Flip a coin. If you win the flip, draw a card. Otherwise, lose 1 life."
Up to you if you want to run with consistency or flavor.
As to how many, it really depends on how many enablers you want for the other cards in your set. If you want it to be prevalent, look at RoE and the aformentioned eldrazi spawn tokens to get a good idea of numbers. Otherwise, look at the Vampire "less than 10 life" theme from Worldwake and the numbers they used.
That's an interesting concept. You may be able to push the treasure chest tokens a bit (flavor wise and impact wise) if you added a booby trap clause.
It has "1, Sacrifice this artifact: Flip a coin. If you win the flip, draw a card. Otherwise, lose 1 life."
Up to you if you want to run with consistency or flavor.
The token itself has to be consistent, simple, and useful, so I don't think I'm going to change the basic functionality of the token itself. I just want to find a fair cost for it. seems to be the going rate for a one-time card draw effect, but I'm also trying to weigh the other advantages of this design into the cost. Such as, you get an additional permanent on the battlefield, and you don't have to pay the right away.
That said, I plan for the Treasure-Chest-generating cards to themselves have abilities that interact with Treasure Chests. Questing Picklock is just the simplest execution of the mechanic. There's nothing stopping me from printing a creature with the ability ":1mana: Sacrifice a Treasure Chest: Flip a coin. If you win the flip, draw a card. Otherwise, lose 1 life." I just don't want that ability on the token itself, because I want to keep it simple.
The idea sounds really neat.
I'm thinking the activation cost should be a bit higher, because it's more interesting if the chests sit around for a while instead of just being sacked as soon as they hit the field. I also like the tension involved in deciding whether to crack the chest right away or spend your mana on something else, and that situation is more likely to occur if there's a bigger trade-off.
I think the Treasure-Chest type should be hyphenated to indicate it is a single subtype and not two glommed together.
This is a very, very nifty idea. As per usual, somebody posts a nifty idea, and I feel compelled to hijack it.
Dig for Treasure 3R
Enchantment
Whenever a land is destroyed, its controller puts a colorless Treasure-Chest artifact token onto the battlefield with, "2, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card."
When Dig for Treasure enters the battlefield, destroy target land.
Opening Cave 2G
Sorcery
Search your library for a basic land card and put it onto the battlefield tapped. Shuffle your library. Put a colorless Treasure-Chest artifact token onto the battlefield with, "2, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card."
Dragonguild Adventurer URG
Creature - Human Warrior
When Dragonguild Adventurer enters the battlefield, put a colorless Treasure-Chest artifact token onto the battlefield with, "2, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card."
Tap three untapped Treasure-Chests and sacrifice them: Search your library for a legendary artifact card and put it onto the battlefield. Shuffle your library.
2/2
Clutching Hellkite 3RR
Creature - Dragon
As an additional cost to cast Clutching Hellkite, sacrifice an artifact.
Flying
When Clutching Hellkite is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, put three colorless Treasure-Chest artifact tokens onto the battlefield with, "2, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card."
5/5
I think "Treasure Chest" shouldn't be subtypes at all -- use the wording
"When Questing Picklock enters the battlefield, put a colorless artifact token named Treasure Chest onto the battlefield with "2, Sacrifice Treasure Chest: Draw a card."
You should be able to take it a step further, adding cards that give the Chests other abilities for a turn or as long as they remain on the battlefield. You could make a treasure deck, having your chests do everything, from attacking to drawing you cards to protecting you. Mind if i jack it too?
Dahammer4
Artifact - Equipment (R)
Choose one - Equipped creature gets +4/+0; or Double Strike; or "When this creature deals combat damage to a creature, exile that creature"; or t, unattach ~ from this creature: ~ deals 5 damage to target creature." t: Equipped creature gains flying until end of turn.
Equip 3
I do agree that this is a perfect mechanic for your artifact-themed shard, but I don't know if I'd want to see it throughout the entire block (especially if the block is ten sets...)
And I like the Treasure Chest subtypes. You could have "Artifact - Treasure" or "Artifact - Chest" in the future if you wanted to.
This mechanic not being a keyword affords me a lot of flexibility here. That is to say, I'm not bound by expectations of symmetry the same way that, say, each of the Ravnica guilds was expected to showcase a new keyword / ability word on roughly the same number of cards.
There are some sets where Treasure Chests would absolutely make no sense, and in that case I simply won't have them. But, I can think of at least two of my other proposed shards / wedges besides "Treasures" where they are a perfect thematic fit - my "Pirate Scum" wedge and my "Rabble Kingdom" shard. Maybe even the "Permanents" wedge and my "Heavy Metal" shard. (Though, I should say, I might totally re-conceptualize those settings into something else before I get to designing them.)
I'm trying to think of a good comparison, and the first thing that's coming to mind is split cards in Invasion block. Clearly they were a block mechanic, but one that totally skipped Planeshift, the middle set. This would kind of be like that - identifiable as belonging to the block, but not necessarily in every set.
Creature - Human Rogue [COM]
When Questing Picklock enters the battlefield, put a colorless Treasure Chest artifact token onto the battlefield. It has ":2mana:, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card."
[1/1]
Right now, I'm simply trying to figure out how many of these to put into the set, and whether I keep the mechanic predominately blue here, or allow it to branch out into the other two colors.
As always, constructive criticism is appreciated. Is too cheap for the Treasure Chest sacrificing effect?
It has "1, Sacrifice this artifact: Flip a coin. If you win the flip, draw a card. Otherwise, lose 1 life."
Up to you if you want to run with consistency or flavor.
As to how many, it really depends on how many enablers you want for the other cards in your set. If you want it to be prevalent, look at RoE and the aformentioned eldrazi spawn tokens to get a good idea of numbers. Otherwise, look at the Vampire "less than 10 life" theme from Worldwake and the numbers they used.
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RWU Miracles RWU
The token itself has to be consistent, simple, and useful, so I don't think I'm going to change the basic functionality of the token itself. I just want to find a fair cost for it. seems to be the going rate for a one-time card draw effect, but I'm also trying to weigh the other advantages of this design into the cost. Such as, you get an additional permanent on the battlefield, and you don't have to pay the right away.
That said, I plan for the Treasure-Chest-generating cards to themselves have abilities that interact with Treasure Chests. Questing Picklock is just the simplest execution of the mechanic. There's nothing stopping me from printing a creature with the ability ":1mana: Sacrifice a Treasure Chest: Flip a coin. If you win the flip, draw a card. Otherwise, lose 1 life." I just don't want that ability on the token itself, because I want to keep it simple.
I'm thinking the activation cost should be a bit higher, because it's more interesting if the chests sit around for a while instead of just being sacked as soon as they hit the field. I also like the tension involved in deciding whether to crack the chest right away or spend your mana on something else, and that situation is more likely to occur if there's a bigger trade-off.
• Recent Card Ideas • My Drawings at DeviantArt
This is a very, very nifty idea. As per usual, somebody posts a nifty idea, and I feel compelled to hijack it.
Dig for Treasure 3R
Enchantment
Whenever a land is destroyed, its controller puts a colorless Treasure-Chest artifact token onto the battlefield with, "2, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card."
When Dig for Treasure enters the battlefield, destroy target land.
Opening Cave 2G
Sorcery
Search your library for a basic land card and put it onto the battlefield tapped. Shuffle your library. Put a colorless Treasure-Chest artifact token onto the battlefield with, "2, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card."
Dragonguild Adventurer URG
Creature - Human Warrior
When Dragonguild Adventurer enters the battlefield, put a colorless Treasure-Chest artifact token onto the battlefield with, "2, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card."
Tap three untapped Treasure-Chests and sacrifice them: Search your library for a legendary artifact card and put it onto the battlefield. Shuffle your library.
2/2
Clutching Hellkite 3RR
Creature - Dragon
As an additional cost to cast Clutching Hellkite, sacrifice an artifact.
Flying
When Clutching Hellkite is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, put three colorless Treasure-Chest artifact tokens onto the battlefield with, "2, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card."
5/5
Banner by Topher!
"When Questing Picklock enters the battlefield, put a colorless artifact token named Treasure Chest onto the battlefield with "2, Sacrifice Treasure Chest: Draw a card."
That seems a lot cleaner, in my opinion...
Finally a good white villain quote: "So, do I ever re-evaluate my life choices? Never, because I know what I'm doing is a righteous cause."
Factions: Sleeping
Remnants: Valheim
Legendary Journey: Heroes & Planeswalkers
Saga: Shards of Rabiah
Legends: The Elder Dragons
Read up on Red Flags & NWO
Sigpic by Rivenor
Artifact - Equipment (R)
Choose one - Equipped creature gets +4/+0; or Double Strike; or "When this creature deals combat damage to a creature, exile that creature"; or t, unattach ~ from this creature: ~ deals 5 damage to target creature."
t: Equipped creature gains flying until end of turn.
Equip 3
Courtesy of Crepes
[OMC] Omerium's Collapse
And I like the Treasure Chest subtypes. You could have "Artifact - Treasure" or "Artifact - Chest" in the future if you wanted to.
• Recent Card Ideas • My Drawings at DeviantArt
This mechanic not being a keyword affords me a lot of flexibility here. That is to say, I'm not bound by expectations of symmetry the same way that, say, each of the Ravnica guilds was expected to showcase a new keyword / ability word on roughly the same number of cards.
There are some sets where Treasure Chests would absolutely make no sense, and in that case I simply won't have them. But, I can think of at least two of my other proposed shards / wedges besides "Treasures" where they are a perfect thematic fit - my "Pirate Scum" wedge and my "Rabble Kingdom" shard. Maybe even the "Permanents" wedge and my "Heavy Metal" shard. (Though, I should say, I might totally re-conceptualize those settings into something else before I get to designing them.)
I'm trying to think of a good comparison, and the first thing that's coming to mind is split cards in Invasion block. Clearly they were a block mechanic, but one that totally skipped Planeshift, the middle set. This would kind of be like that - identifiable as belonging to the block, but not necessarily in every set.