[MtG] Blue/Black Discussion- Keyword Brainstorming

[~Faytl~]

Blue/Black is the color combination with the least evergreen keyword overlap out of all the 2-color combinations, the two only sharing flying, which is more a white-blue thing anyway. It is the only one that doesn't have an evergreen mechanic that is associated with it, now that red/blue has Prowess.

 

Skulk was an attempt at finding one, but that has fallen through. It's just really hard to get a mechanic that works for the both of them that isn't evasion-based, which neither of the colors need more of, and is the direction in which the creative and design teams actively want to avoid.

 

What are some ideas you can think of that could work for an evergreen mechanic for Blue/Black? I've thought hard about it, and the only one I have an idea of is this:

 

Undercut- When this creature would deal damage to a player, search your opponent's library and send 1 card with converted mana cost equal to the number of creatures you control to the graveyard.

 

Might be able to work, as it is both in flavor, but what do you guys think?

[.Rai]

20 pages of suggestions of varying suitability make me think that there isn't really a good solution.

 

Your mechanic seems a little off. I think it's unintuitive that more creatures doesn't necessarily mean getting a better target. Not to mention that searching and selectively removing things from libraries is tedious and frankly a little unfun.

[~Faytl~]

20 pages of suggestions of varying suitability make me think that there isn't really a good solution.

 

Your mechanic seems a little off. I think it's unintuitive that more creatures doesn't necessarily mean getting a better target. Not to mention that searching and selectively removing things from libraries is tedious and frankly a little unfun.

 

Fair enough. Maybe reveal top several cards and select one with CVC equal to or less?

 

Yeah, I took a look at that while I was posting this. It is pretty damn difficult.  

[Delibirb]

Poach (Whenever you draw a card, each opponent discards a card at random.)

 

I feel like any evergreen mechanic for UB is going to have to do with drawing and discarding, that is their biggest shared space. If we make it not necessarily a beneficial mechanic and more of a reactive detrimental mechanic, I think it becomes easier than trying to create something positive from each color.

 

Poach would (assuming I understand it triggers correctly) become more powerful the more creatures with poach that you have, like exalted. It is blue becomes it reacts to drawing cards, and black because it forces discards upon opponents. (May need to be target opponent.)

 

Alternatively, , though not like other evergreens, Fateseal. There's very few cards that have it, and I believe they're all blue, there's no reason it can't also be a black mechanic, given how malicious it attempts to be.

 

EDIT: Actually, it is on only 2 cards, one from Future Sight (Which I knew) and one from Archenemy. The mechanic was based on a card called Sealed Fate which was UB. So, there.

[.Rai]

Fair enough. Maybe reveal top several cards and select one with CVC equal to or less?

 

Yeah, I took a look at that while I was posting this. It is pretty damn difficult.

 

Better, but there's still a fundamental issue with the mechanic in that it doesn't really what UB does. I couldn't imagine a UB evergreen mechanic that makes you care about having more creatures, in two of the most creature-light colours.

 

Poach (Whenever you draw a card, each opponent discards a card at random.)

 

I feel like any evergreen mechanic for UB is going to have to do with drawing and discarding, that is their biggest shared space. If we make it not necessarily a beneficial mechanic and more of a reactive detrimental mechanic, I think it becomes easier than trying to create something positive from each color.

 

Poach would (assuming I understand it triggers correctly) become more powerful the more creatures with poach that you have, like exalted. It is blue becomes it reacts to drawing cards, and black because it forces discards upon opponents. (May need to be target opponent.)

 

Alternatively, Fateseal. There's very few cards that have it, and I believe they're all blue, there's no reason it can't also be a black mechanic, given how malicious it attempts to be.

Poach is so absurdly powerful. Like, you couldn't put it on any common card and probably no card that costs less than five. Besides, discard is tertiary in blue, so it's not really appropriate as a blue mechanic. Let alone an evergreen one.

 

Fateseal is insanely unfun. There's a reason why Wizards have never used it again.

[Delibirb]

 

Better, but there's still a fundamental issue with the mechanic in that it doesn't really what UB does. I couldn't imagine a UB evergreen mechanic that makes you care about having more creatures, in two of the most creature-light colours.

 

 

Poach is so absurdly powerful. Like, you couldn't put it on any common card and probably no card that costs less than five. Besides, discard is tertiary in blue, so it's not really appropriate as a blue mechanic. Let alone an evergreen one.

 

Fateseal is insanely unfun. There's a reason why Wizards have never used it again.

The discard wasn't supposed to be blue, which I explained, but w/e.

 

Powerlevel is a fair point, but this was obviously not a final iteration.

 

I like fateseal. But, it's more of an action and so doesn't really fit with what we're looking for here anyway.

[.Rai]

The discard wasn't supposed to be blue, which I explained, but w/e.

 

Powerlevel is a fair point, but this was obviously not a final iteration.

 

I like fateseal. But, it's more of an action and so doesn't really fit with what we're looking for here anyway.

I get that the blue part of the mechanic is the 'triggering on draw', but that still doesn't mean you can give blue a mechanic that lets them discard so easily. Because you are making them do a black thing. The mechanic "Whenever you draw a card, destroy a creature" is not a blue mechanic even if the first part is blue.

 

Fateseal's okay for select cards. A mass volume of it sounds miserable. A keyword action is a little off, but not awful. Fight is basically an evergreen action shared between RG, so I wouldn't rule out actions.

[Sixty]

skulk

 

or something similar to it. blue black unblockables has always been my favorite way to build the colors

[Delibirb]

skulk

 

or something similar to it. blue black unblockables has always been my favorite way to build the colors

 

Skulk was an attempt at finding one, but that has fallen through. It's just really hard to get a mechanic that works for the both of them that isn't evasion-based, which neither of the colors need more of, and is the direction in which the creative and design teams actively want to avoid.

That reading comprehension tho.

[Sixty]

alright

 

a focus on combat damage on players then, if making them unblockable in some form or fashion isn't the way, at least reward it

 

i remember back in rtr spoiler time, there was this fake ability that came up called Erode, which read "Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, that player mills* that many cards." but i'm sure we're all sick of UB being almost exclusively mill

 

or you could just make the ophidian ability evergreen, which would be a lot easier to print at common

 

Curious (Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, you may draw a card.)

 

and, of course, you could always just bring back Cipher.

[~Faytl~]

Problem with Cipher is it was kind of unpopular and a bit confusing (8 on the Storm scale). Also, we're talking creature keywords, Cipher is only Instants and Sorceries, as well as having very narrow design space, though I did enjoy it.