It would be the first monoblack creature "with" trample at common, but I'm fairly comfortable with it, since you actually need another trample creature in order for it to gain trample.
The problem with switching deathtouch and trample around (which would make sense from a color pie perspective) is that, in that case, the abilities on the green one (trample + reach) don't work well together. And there's really no arrangement of these abilities I could discover that improves upon the ones I presented here. I'd be open to suggestions if somebody sees something I didn't.
Hopefully your set will have plentiful common and uncommon occurrences of all ten of these keywords?
There will be plenty of each, plus stuff like protection, landwalk, and so forth.
I'm not expecting the distribution of those abilities to be even (double strike will be weighted towards higher rarities and smaller quantities, flying will probably be fairly abundant, etc.) but a Limited player should be able to draft towards any of the abilities, if they put their mind to it.
I've tagged intimidate as my "Oni mechanic." There's already a lot of it in the set. I don't want to add any more at common.
Also, I didn't want to limit this particular cycle by color in any way. So, although I toyed with landwalk, I also made sure to keep that out of the cycle. Intimidate would have also forced a color-specific ability into the cycle, which I didn't like.
I agree that splitting up first strike and double strike like this isn't exactly awesome, but I think it works, and I think it's the best resolution for a cycle that I otherwise really, really like and want to keep.
You control two Harvest-Claw Mimics and a White Knight. Knight leaves the battlefield. Now what?
I see. Thanks. While it is still a problem that can stil appear with cards like Amoeboid Changeling, it's a rules question one would definitely want to avoid.
I just kinda bugs me that a Zubera cycle encourages you to play without Zuberas after our last Zubera cycle encouraged you to play with more Zuberas.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
The wedding is over. Now it's time for the honeymoon.
I think these creatures are costed a lot high, especially the red and blue ones. A way to make these much more playable in limited would be to make them all mimic what the opponent has, and cost them as normal limited bodies.
As is, I wouldn't be satisfied with playing any of these in most sets I've drafted. They give your opponent's removal spell twice the value when used during combat. It's hard to justify a 2/5 flyer for 5 with a drawback, or a 5/3 trample for 6. Maybe another way of doing it would be to make them vanilla and stay vanilla, but just get hard p/t bonuses when they see the ability that they like?
The blue one and the red one are both "bad" (i.e., their base stats are pretty poor for their mana costs) because they have two of the strongest abilities: double strike and hexproof. They're both really strong for commons at maximum-capacity, when they have +2/+2. The black one is also pretty scary as a common when both of its abilities are live. The green and the white ones (which are the most efficient at the start) are comparatively mild when they max out.
Hexproof, incidentally, is not one of the abilities that I'm pushing in this set, but it was necessary to use it to complete the cycle (and there will be some draftable hexproof creatures.)
I want these cards to encourage people to draft cards with similar abilities, so I don't think the "depends on what your opponent is playing" angle is going to work.
Well that's the thing. You're evaluating them on what they do when they're running on full power. Do you have multiple cheap common creatures with multiple keywords? Thunder-braid Mimic might be good if you have a creature with Double Strike and a creature with Haste in play, but he's going to be pretty poor if you have nothing else or just a creature with haste. The rarity of Double Strikers to actually make him par the course in the average set makes him nigh unplayable. Will your set make it probable to have 3 other double strikers in your draft deck?
I'm also not convinced Diamond-Breath rewards you for going out of your way either. Do you have single creatures that cover both bases on each of these guys?
This just seems like a really parasitic form of Soulbond that doesn't have enough payoff to me. Will they only be active once in a blue moon? Also compare to the Cohort cycle from Shadowmoor. They were parasitic, but in a way that was achievable about most of the time.
Well that's the thing. You're evaluating them on what they do when they're running on full power.
No, I'm evaluating them based on both minimum and maximum power. The blue and red ones suck at minimum power. I am aware of this. I did it on purpose. But, at maximum power, they are both really strong for commons.
Also compare to the Cohort cycle from Shadowmoor. They were parasitic, but in a way that was achievable about most of the time.
I think you need to revise your definition of "parasitic." The Cohort cycle from Shadowmoor was not parasitic.
These cards are for a combat-themed set where evergreen combat mechanics are a set subtheme. My job is to make these combat abilities draftable. As I've said, it's not going to work the same for each of these abilities. Some (flying) are going to be easier to hit than others (hexproof.) I'm imagining that, for a typical game where the drafter has drafted towards the right combat abilities, these creatures are going to be +1/+1 for most of the time that they're on the board. That's my goal.
Have you thought about having them overlap abilities? Like,
White has First Strike/Lifelink
Blue has Flying/Hexproof
Black has Lifelink/Deathtouch
Red has First Strike/Flying
Green has Deathtouch/Hexproof
Then you only need to make sure to seed those 5 abilities, and if I have a couple first strike guys, I have two colors of Zubera to look for instead of just one.
Have you thought about having them overlap abilities? Like,
White has First Strike/Lifelink
Blue has Flying/Hexproof
Black has Lifelink/Deathtouch
Red has First Strike/Flying
Green has Deathtouch/Hexproof
Then you only need to make sure to seed those 5 abilities, and if I have a couple first strike guys, I have two colors of Zubera to look for instead of just one.
You control two Harvest-Claw Mimics and a White Knight. Knight leaves the battlefield. Now what?
You control: White Knight, two Harvest-Claw Mimics.
--613.1f Layer 6: Ability-adding and ability-removing effects are applied.--
The two Harvest-Claw Mimics have first strike.
613.4. The application of continuous effects as described by the layer system is continually and automatically performed by the game. All resulting changes to an object’s characteristics are instantaneous.
Knight leaves the battlefield.
You control: two Harvest-Claw Mimics.
--Recalculate layer 6.--
The two Harvest-Claw Mimics do not have first strike.
There is no problem in the rules. Whether people would misplay it though might be a concern. I think that was the reason why Concerted Effort was worded as it was, but it also removes the double combat trick problem. Although an upkeep trigger obviously wouldn't work with haste.
Have you thought about having them overlap abilities? Like,
White has First Strike/Lifelink
Blue has Flying/Hexproof
Black has Lifelink/Deathtouch
Red has First Strike/Flying
Green has Deathtouch/Hexproof
Then you only need to make sure to seed those 5 abilities, and if I have a couple first strike guys, I have two colors of Zubera to look for instead of just one.
Choosing a smaller number of abilities to focus on, at least at common, would reduce the strain on limited. Splitting across colors like this opens options for splashing colors.
Each color would probably care about one or two main keywords, but then you could still have french vanilla creatures in other colors with those abilities. Possible cross-color uses for french vanilla creatures:
W defender, first/double strike, flash?, flying, lifelink, protection, vigilance
U defender, flash, flying, hexproof, intimidate?, landwalk?, protection
B deathtouch, flying?, haste, intimidate, lifelink
R haste, first/double strike, flash?, intimidate?, landwalk?, trample
G deathtouch, flash, hexproof, intimidate?, landwalk?, trample, vigilance
And reverse that:
W anti-deathtouch? anti-haste?
U anti-intimidate? (color changing), anti-landwalk? (type changing), anti-haste? anti-first/double strike? (-N/-0 or like Tresserhorn Skyknight?)
B anti-vigilance? anti-lifelink?
R anti-defender, anti-lifelink
G anti-flying, anti landwalk?[/spoiler]
[...]A way to make these much more playable in limited would be to make them all mimic what the opponent has, and cost them as normal limited bodies.[...]
An updated Escaped Shapeshifter might be a cool rare, but several of the abilities like flying and first strike are just negating each other when copied from an opponent.
Have you thought about having them overlap abilities? Like,
White has First Strike/Lifelink
Blue has Flying/Hexproof
Black has Lifelink/Deathtouch
Red has First Strike/Flying
Green has Deathtouch/Hexproof
Then you only need to make sure to seed those 5 abilities, and if I have a couple first strike guys, I have two colors of Zubera to look for instead of just one.
I considered it, at one point. I just couldn't figure out a combination of colors and abilities that worked!
But now that you've beaten me to the punch, let me offer a counter-suggestion that I prefer:
Harvest-Claw Mimic1W
Creature - Zubera Spirit [C]
As long as you control a non-Zubera creature with flying, Harvest-Claw Mimic gets +1/+1 and has flying.
As long as you control a non-Zubera creature with lifelink, Harvest-Claw Mimic gets +1/+1 and has lifelink.
Creature - Zubera Spirit [C]
As long as you control a non-Zubera creature with first strike, Harvest-Claw Mimic gets +1/+1 and has first strike.
As long as you control a non-Zubera creature with vigilance, Harvest-Claw Mimic gets +1/+1 and has vigilance.
[2/2]
Creature - Zubera Spirit [C]
As long as you control a non-Zubera creature with flying, Diamond-Breath Mimic gets +1/+1 and has flying.
As long as you control a non-Zubera creature with hexproof, Diamond-Breath Mimic gets +1/+1 and has hexproof.
[1/4]
Creature - Zubera Spirit [C]
As long as you control a non-Zubera creature with lifelink, Lash-Tendon Mimic gets +1/+1 and has lifelink.
As long as you control a non-Zubera creature with trample, Lash-Tendon Mimic gets +1/+1 and has trample.
[4/2]
Creature - Zubera Spirit [C]
As long as you control a non-Zubera creature with haste, Thunder-Braid Mimic gets +1/+1 and has haste.
As long as you control a non-Zubera creature with double strike, Thunder-Braid Mimic gets +1/+1 and has double strike.
[2/1]
Creature - Zubera Spirit [C]
As long as you control a non-Zubera creature with deathtouch, Acid-Vein Mimic gets +1/+1 and has deathtouch.
As long as you control a non-Zubera creature with reach, Acid-Vein Mimic gets +1/+1 and has reach.
[1/1]
----------------------------
Club Flamingo Wins: 10
----------------------------
EDH Decks
BG Vicious Varolz | RW Jor Kadeen, the Mean Machine | RG Atarka: Muh_Dragons.dec (WIP) | WU Brago, Blink Eternal (WIP)
----------------------------
Deathtouch and reach are both green, so I feel alright about Acid-Vein Mimic in green.
As for Lash-Tendon Mimic, lifelink is well-established in monoblack. Trample less so, but there are examples.
It would be the first monoblack creature "with" trample at common, but I'm fairly comfortable with it, since you actually need another trample creature in order for it to gain trample.
The problem with switching deathtouch and trample around (which would make sense from a color pie perspective) is that, in that case, the abilities on the green one (trample + reach) don't work well together. And there's really no arrangement of these abilities I could discover that improves upon the ones I presented here. I'd be open to suggestions if somebody sees something I didn't.
Hopefully your set will have plentiful common and uncommon occurrences of all ten of these keywords?
There will be plenty of each, plus stuff like protection, landwalk, and so forth.
I'm not expecting the distribution of those abilities to be even (double strike will be weighted towards higher rarities and smaller quantities, flying will probably be fairly abundant, etc.) but a Limited player should be able to draft towards any of the abilities, if they put their mind to it.
Or for the red one, really - it feels kind of bad to have one gain first strike and a different one gain double strike.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Also, I didn't want to limit this particular cycle by color in any way. So, although I toyed with landwalk, I also made sure to keep that out of the cycle. Intimidate would have also forced a color-specific ability into the cycle, which I didn't like.
I agree that splitting up first strike and double strike like this isn't exactly awesome, but I think it works, and I think it's the best resolution for a cycle that I otherwise really, really like and want to keep.
Thanks to Rivenor of Miraculous Recovery Signatures!
You control two Harvest-Claw Mimics and a White Knight. Knight leaves the battlefield. Now what?
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
I just kinda bugs me that a Zubera cycle encourages you to play without Zuberas after our last Zubera cycle encouraged you to play with more Zuberas.
Thanks to Rivenor of Miraculous Recovery Signatures!
As is, I wouldn't be satisfied with playing any of these in most sets I've drafted. They give your opponent's removal spell twice the value when used during combat. It's hard to justify a 2/5 flyer for 5 with a drawback, or a 5/3 trample for 6. Maybe another way of doing it would be to make them vanilla and stay vanilla, but just get hard p/t bonuses when they see the ability that they like?
Hexproof, incidentally, is not one of the abilities that I'm pushing in this set, but it was necessary to use it to complete the cycle (and there will be some draftable hexproof creatures.)
I want these cards to encourage people to draft cards with similar abilities, so I don't think the "depends on what your opponent is playing" angle is going to work.
I'm also not convinced Diamond-Breath rewards you for going out of your way either. Do you have single creatures that cover both bases on each of these guys?
This just seems like a really parasitic form of Soulbond that doesn't have enough payoff to me. Will they only be active once in a blue moon? Also compare to the Cohort cycle from Shadowmoor. They were parasitic, but in a way that was achievable about most of the time.
No, I'm evaluating them based on both minimum and maximum power. The blue and red ones suck at minimum power. I am aware of this. I did it on purpose. But, at maximum power, they are both really strong for commons.
Not really seeing what this has to do with soulbond. If we're comparing this to soulbond, we can compare almost anything to soulbond.
I think you need to revise your definition of "parasitic." The Cohort cycle from Shadowmoor was not parasitic.
These cards are for a combat-themed set where evergreen combat mechanics are a set subtheme. My job is to make these combat abilities draftable. As I've said, it's not going to work the same for each of these abilities. Some (flying) are going to be easier to hit than others (hexproof.) I'm imagining that, for a typical game where the drafter has drafted towards the right combat abilities, these creatures are going to be +1/+1 for most of the time that they're on the board. That's my goal.
Thanks to Rivenor of Miraculous Recovery Signatures!
White has First Strike/Lifelink
Blue has Flying/Hexproof
Black has Lifelink/Deathtouch
Red has First Strike/Flying
Green has Deathtouch/Hexproof
Then you only need to make sure to seed those 5 abilities, and if I have a couple first strike guys, I have two colors of Zubera to look for instead of just one.
This could be good.
Red flying is a little bit off, but still good.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Well, red/blue don't really share any creature abilities. Maybe it's a dragon Zubera?
There are Dragon Spirits on Kamigawa.
It better be a Zubera that serves a Dragon.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
You control: White Knight, two Harvest-Claw Mimics.
--613.1f Layer 6: Ability-adding and ability-removing effects are applied.--
The two Harvest-Claw Mimics have first strike.
613.4. The application of continuous effects as described by the layer system is continually and automatically performed by the game. All resulting changes to an object’s characteristics are instantaneous.
Knight leaves the battlefield.
You control: two Harvest-Claw Mimics.
--Recalculate layer 6.--
The two Harvest-Claw Mimics do not have first strike.
There is no problem in the rules. Whether people would misplay it though might be a concern. I think that was the reason why Concerted Effort was worded as it was, but it also removes the double combat trick problem. Although an upkeep trigger obviously wouldn't work with haste.
Choosing a smaller number of abilities to focus on, at least at common, would reduce the strain on limited. Splitting across colors like this opens options for splashing colors.
Each color would probably care about one or two main keywords, but then you could still have french vanilla creatures in other colors with those abilities. Possible cross-color uses for french vanilla creatures:
W defender, first/double strike, flash?, flying, lifelink, protection, vigilance
U defender, flash, flying, hexproof, intimidate?, landwalk?, protection
B deathtouch, flying?, haste, intimidate, lifelink
R haste, first/double strike, flash?, intimidate?, landwalk?, trample
G deathtouch, flash, hexproof, intimidate?, landwalk?, trample, vigilance
And reverse that:
W anti-deathtouch? anti-haste?
U anti-intimidate? (color changing), anti-landwalk? (type changing), anti-haste? anti-first/double strike? (-N/-0 or like Tresserhorn Skyknight?)
B anti-vigilance? anti-lifelink?
R anti-defender, anti-lifelink
G anti-flying, anti landwalk?[/spoiler]
An updated Escaped Shapeshifter might be a cool rare, but several of the abilities like flying and first strike are just negating each other when copied from an opponent.
I considered it, at one point. I just couldn't figure out a combination of colors and abilities that worked!
But now that you've beaten me to the punch, let me offer a counter-suggestion that I prefer:
Creature - Zubera Spirit [C]
As long as you control a non-Zubera creature with flying, Harvest-Claw Mimic gets +1/+1 and has flying.
As long as you control a non-Zubera creature with lifelink, Harvest-Claw Mimic gets +1/+1 and has lifelink.
[1/2]
Creature - Zubera Spirit [C]
As long as you control a non-Zubera creature with flying, Diamond-Breath Mimic gets +1/+1 and has flying.
As long as you control a non-Zubera creature with hexproof, Diamond-Breath Mimic gets +1/+1 and has hexproof.
[1/4]
Creature - Zubera Spirit [C]
As long as you control a non-Zubera creature with haste, Lash-Tendon Mimic gets +1/+1 and has haste.
As long as you control a non-Zubera creature with lifelink, Lash-Tendon Mimic gets +1/+1 and has lifelink.
[3/1]
Creature - Zubera Spirit [C]
As long as you control a non-Zubera creature with haste, Thunder-Braid Mimic gets +1/+1 and has haste.
As long as you control a non-Zubera creature with trample, Thunder-Braid Mimic gets +1/+1 and has trample.
[2/1]
Creature - Zubera Spirit [C]
As long as you control a non-Zubera creature with trample, Acid-Vein Mimic gets +1/+1 and has trample.
As long as you control a non-Zubera creature with hexproof, Acid-Vein Mimic gets +1/+1 and has hexproof.
[1/1]