Some cards for MH2

[Scarman]

Boilcaster Mage {1}{R}{R}
Creature — Human Wizard
Flash
When Boilcaster Mage enters the battlefield, counter target blue spell. If that spell is countered this way, exile it instead of putting it into its owner's graveyard. You may play it without paying its mana cost for as long as it remains exiled.
3/2

More mana intensive to cast than Snapcaster Mage by itself, but doesn´t require additional mana to cast the spell, and provides a bigger swing in card advantage, in exchange for being a more reactive and narrower card.

Setessan Consecrator {1}{W}
Creature — Human Cleric
When another creature becomes enchanted, untap that creature.
{1}{W}, {T}: You may put an Aura card from your hand onto the battlefield.
1/2

Stoneforge Mystic for auras, but with reduced consistency to reduce the amount of one-sided games, considering the existence of cards like Eldrazi Conscription and Overwhelming Splendor. I didn´t limit the effect to enchant creature cards because I wanted to make a card could be played differently from the original.

Downpour of Blades {1}{R}{R}{R}
Sorcery
If a red source you control would deal damage to a permanent or player this turn, it deals that much damage plus 1 to that permanent or player instead.
Downpour of Blades deals 4 damage divided as you choose among any number of targets.

Big burn spell which can also wipe off planeswalkers and most creatures. I tend to compare it to Fiery Confluence for amount of burn damage and flexibility. I would expect this to go in Prison decks, rather than in Burn, but I could be wrong.

Elvish Collectivist {G/W}{G/W}
Card image
Creature - Elf Cleric
Convoke
{T}, Tap an untapped creature you control: Untap target creature. It gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
{T}, Tap two untapped creatures you control: Look at the top card of your library. If it is a creature card, you may reveal it and put it into your hand.
Whenever a nontoken creature enters the battlefield under your control, you may untap Elvish Collectivist.
1/2

This is supposed to help combo Elves with card advantage and ramping without allowing for easy infinite combos. I decided to give it a split mana cost, so that it can be splashed in mono white decks, too, if needed.

Edit (04/07/2021): Added image for Elvish Collectivist.

[Krishnath]

Some thoughts:

Boilcaster Mage does something red is no longer allowed to do (specifically counter spells, even if it is only enemy color spells), and as such would never see print in a modern legal expansion. I could see it potentially see print in a commander deck, but even that is extremely unlikely as it violates the color pie.

Setessan Consecrator looks fine on the surface, but it could get degenerate pretty quickly with the right auras. Some aura spells are very expensive for a reason, and it is no secret that WotC considers Stoneforge Mystic a mistake.

Downpour of Blades also looks fine on the surface, but it is basically a much more powerful Pyrotechnics for less mana. It deals between five and eight damage for only four mana, and that is if it is the only spell you cast that turn. It is obscenely powerful in the right deck, and if you are playing any kind of burn deck, there is zero reason not to have four of these as an autoinclude.

Elvish Collectivist This seems like the most balanced of the lot. It would go well in a wide variety of decks, ranging from Elf and White Weenie, to Selesnya and Exalted. You may want to change the first ability to "Untap another target creature." So it can't target itself, but that is a minor issue at best.

[Scarman]

Some thoughts:

Boilcaster Mage does something red is no longer allowed to do (specifically counter spells, even if it is only enemy color spells), and as such would never see print in a modern legal expansion. I could see it potentially see print in a commander deck, but even that is extremely unlikely as it violates the color pie.

Setessan Consecrator looks fine on the surface, but it could get degenerate pretty quickly with the right auras. Some aura spells are very expensive for a reason, and it is no secret that WotC considers Stoneforge Mystic a mistake.

Downpour of Blades also looks fine on the surface, but it is basically a much more powerful Pyrotechnics for less mana. It deals between five and eight damage for only four mana, and that is if it is the only spell you cast that turn. It is obscenely powerful in the right deck, and if you are playing any kind of burn deck, there is zero reason not to have four of these as an autoinclude.

Elvish Collectivist This seems like the most balanced of the lot. It would go well in a wide variety of decks, ranging from Elf and White Weenie, to Selesnya and Exalted. You may want to change the first ability to "Untap another target creature." So it can't target itself, but that is a minor issue at best.

Boilcaster Mage - Maybe this is stretching it, but would it change anything if it simply exiled the card, thereby countering it without using the actual game mechanic? Like what Glorious End does to spells on the stack, for instance.

Setessan Consecrator - I see your point. Still, Stoneforge Mystic has been unbanned in Modern for some time now and hasn´t risen to the top of the format uncontested. In making this card I also considered that the cheapest tutor for Auras in Modern is Open the Armory. This isn´t exactly expensive, but in Modern casting it equals to delaying the gameplan by one turn more often than not.

Downpour of Blades - You´re right, it is much more powerful than Pyrotechnics, but the latter is a card which, according to TCGplayer, hasn´t seen competitive success since 2005, and even then it has been used ony once and only in the sideboard (source).

Elvish Collectivist - This is the card I spent the most time on, so I´m happy you like it. I didn´t think it was possible for that effect to target the Collectivist, or the other creature tapped to pay the cost for that matter. Making that a thing may be a bit wordy, but I can definitely exclude at least the former.

[user_938036]

Some thoughts:

Boilcaster Mage does something red is no longer allowed to do (specifically counter spells, even if it is only enemy color spells), and as such would never see print in a modern legal expansion. I could see it potentially see print in a commander deck, but even that is extremely unlikely as it violates the color pie.

Boilcaster Mage - Maybe this is stretching it, but would it change anything if it simply exiled the card, thereby countering it without using the actual game mechanic? Like what Glorious End does to spells on the stack, for instance.

You can't just call an effect something else to make it in color. Doing something that happens to also create an out of color effect is possible but shouldn't be aimed for(this is what glorious end is, it isn't a card that counters spells its a card that has an effect that as a side effect ends up countering spells).

[Krishnath]

Setessan Consecrator - I see your point. Still, Stoneforge Mystic has been unbanned in Modern for some time now and hasn´t risen to the top of the format uncontested. In making this card I also considered that the cheapest tutor for Auras in Modern is Open the Armory. This isn´t exactly expensive, but in Modern casting it equals to delaying the gameplan by one turn more often than not.

Downpour of Blades - You´re right, it is much more powerful than Pyrotechnics, but the latter is a card which, according to TCGplayer, hasn´t seen competitive success since 2005, and even then it has been used ony once and only in the sideboard (source).

The tutoring isn't the issue, it is putting it into play that is an issue. Some aura's are very highly costed for a reason.

And for Downpour of Blades compared to Pyrotechnics, Downpour is not only cheaper, it deals considerably more damage on average, and boosts all other burn spells you cast in the same turn as well. It is insanely good, probably brokenly so.

[Scarman]

Some thoughts:

Boilcaster Mage does something red is no longer allowed to do (specifically counter spells, even if it is only enemy color spells), and as such would never see print in a modern legal expansion. I could see it potentially see print in a commander deck, but even that is extremely unlikely as it violates the color pie.

Boilcaster Mage - Maybe this is stretching it, but would it change anything if it simply exiled the card, thereby countering it without using the actual game mechanic? Like what Glorious End does to spells on the stack, for instance.

You can't just call an effect something else to make it in color. Doing something that happens to also create an out of color effect is possible but shouldn't be aimed for(this is what glorious end is, it isn't a card that counters spells its a card that has an effect that as a side effect ends up countering spells).

I understand :thumbsup:

Setessan Consecrator - I see your point. Still, Stoneforge Mystic has been unbanned in Modern for some time now and hasn´t risen to the top of the format uncontested. In making this card I also considered that the cheapest tutor for Auras in Modern is Open the Armory. This isn´t exactly expensive, but in Modern casting it equals to delaying the gameplan by one turn more often than not.

Downpour of Blades - You´re right, it is much more powerful than Pyrotechnics, but the latter is a card which, according to TCGplayer, hasn´t seen competitive success since 2005, and even then it has been used ony once and only in the sideboard (source).

The tutoring isn't the issue, it is putting it into play that is an issue. Some aura's are very highly costed for a reason.

And for Downpour of Blades compared to Pyrotechnics, Downpour is not only cheaper, it deals considerably more damage on average, and boosts all other burn spells you cast in the same turn as well. It is insanely good, probably brokenly so.

Yes, but if you´re putting the aura into play 10% of your games, it can only win you the game in those games (assuming putting it into play equals to winning those games), and you may have to sacrifice consistency and/or speed to do that. Still, I recognize that it is a dangerous card to print.
As for Downpour of Blades, I think you´re underestimating how much four mana in Modern is (particularly in a burn deck), let alone if you want to cast something after that.
I´m not necessarily saying that my card isn´t overpowered, but the comparison you´re making isn´t appropriate in my eyes. It would be like comparing Lightning Bolt to Kindle: the first is a staple in many decks and formats, the second is almost universally seen just as a (competitively) bad card. I mean, there is no shortage of cards to compare this to: Violent Eruption, Torbran, Thane of Red Fell, Fiery Confluence...

[Krishnath]

Setessan Consecrator is broken, pure and simple. Plopping down an Eldrazi Conscription on turn 3 alone is reason enough that it should never see print.

Four mana is nothing in a monored deck dedicated to it, because Rituals are a thing in Modern.

And I can tell you from experience, Kindle was a great card. It used to be a staple of Sligh decks together with Lightning Bolt and Incinerate.

[Scarman]

Four mana is nothing in a monored deck dedicated to it, because Rituals are a thing in Modern.

And I can tell you from experience, Kindle was a great card. It used to be a staple of Sligh decks together with Lightning Bolt and Incinerate.

As far as I know, rituals are a thing in Modern only in Storm decks, which are a different strategy from RDW/Burn.
Either way, keep in mind that each ritual puts the caster at card disadvantage, and having to have a spell in hand to cast another
isn´t ideal for deck consistency, both offensively and defensively.
I believe you on Kindle having been a staple in 1997-1998, but it didn´t make the cut in any competitive deck since at least 2004: the only successful decks list cards like Rekindled Flame or Kindled Fury, which include "kindle" in their name.

Edit: By the way, do you have any suggestion on how to balance the card?

[Krishnath]

As far as I know, rituals are a thing in Modern only in Storm decks, which are a different strategy from RDW/Burn.
Either way, keep in mind that each ritual puts the caster at card disadvantage, and having to have a spell in hand to cast another
isn´t ideal for deck consistency, both offensively and defensively.
I believe you on Kindle having been a staple in 1997-1998, but it didn´t make the cut in any competitive deck since at least 2004: the only successful decks list cards like Rekindled Flame or Kindled Fury, which include "kindle" in their name.

Edit: By the way, do you have any suggestion on how to balance the card?
Quick Reply

If it existed as you wrote it, it would without a doubt spawn a new deck archetype that would use rituals to accelerate out it and several burn spells.
The only way I can see to balance it would be to either increase the CC by at least two colorless, or reduce the damage it can deal on its own.

[Scarman]

As far as I know, rituals are a thing in Modern only in Storm decks, which are a different strategy from RDW/Burn.
Either way, keep in mind that each ritual puts the caster at card disadvantage, and having to have a spell in hand to cast another
isn´t ideal for deck consistency, both offensively and defensively.
I believe you on Kindle having been a staple in 1997-1998, but it didn´t make the cut in any competitive deck since at least 2004: the only successful decks list cards like Rekindled Flame or Kindled Fury, which include "kindle" in their name.

Edit: By the way, do you have any suggestion on how to balance the card?
Quick Reply

If it existed as you wrote it, it would without a doubt spawn a new deck archetype that would use rituals to accelerate out it and several burn spells.
The only way I can see to balance it would be to either increase the CC by at least two colorless, or reduce the damage it can deal on its own.

I wouldn´t raise the mana cost by that much,, otherwise I would personally run Embermaw Hellion instead. In general I´d want my card to be played, and that is unlikely with CMC greater than 4 (the only exceptions that come to my mind are Primeval Titan and Empty the Warrens, and they can close the game by themselves).
I can reduce the damage dealt by 1, but would that change anything offensively?
Anyway, I would like you to expand on how that deck would work.
For example, I could see this played in Storm, but I´m not sure this would be better than Aria of Flame, which turns each cantrip in a burn spell, and with which you can invest mana to capitalize on later.
In a fair deck I expect the highest damage by turn 4 to be 16/17 (4 Lands in play + Pyretic Ritual + Desperate Ritual + Pyretic Ritual + Downpour of Blades + Lightning Bolt + Lava Spike + Skewer the Critics) on the play and 20/21 only on the draw, and that is without interaction with the opponent.
I want to understand your point of view, so I have a question: how would it be, if it simply read like this?

Downpour of Blades 1RRR
Sorcery
If a red source you control would deal damage to a permanent or player this turn, it deals that much damage plus 1 to that permanent or player instead.
Downpour of Blades deals 4 damage to any target.

[Krishnath]

Downpour of Blades 1RRR
Sorcery
If a red source you control would deal damage to a permanent or player this turn, it deals that much damage plus 1 to that permanent or player instead.
Downpour of Blades deals 4 damage to any target.

Much better, and much more balanced. It could still do some nasty things with storm, but it is nowhere near as overpowered as it was earlier. Now it is just a really good card.

[Scarman]

Downpour of Blades 1RRR
Sorcery
If a red source you control would deal damage to a permanent or player this turn, it deals that much damage plus 1 to that permanent or player instead.
Downpour of Blades deals 4 damage to any target.

Much better, and much more balanced. It could still do some nasty things with storm, but it is nowhere near as overpowered as it was earlier. Now it is just a really good card.

I see. From what I understand, you mean that the problem with the original design was its versatility combined with its burn power.
I have just another question: should I remove the possibility to target the player, would the original design be acceptable, or would it need another nerf, such as making it target only creatures or reduce the damage?

Edit: Made a sentence clearer.

[Krishnath]

The problem with the original design was that it could potentially deal 8 damage on its own, as well as buff all your future burn spells cast in the same round by 1, and for only four mana. That is insanely powerful. By removing the ability to target multiple things with it, it deals "only" five damage to only one target, and buffs your future spells by 1. Which is still incredibly powerful, but not brokenly so. And that is not even accounting for the possibility of buffed creature damage, from say, a Guttersnipe that triggers on each spell you cast. Even in the fixed version, it may simply be to good because of spells such as Grapeshot.

[Scarman]

The problem with the original design was that it could potentially deal 8 damage on its own, as well as buff all your future burn spells cast in the same round by 1, and for only four mana. That is insanely powerful. By removing the ability to target multiple things with it, it deals "only" five damage to only one target, and buffs your future spells by 1. Which is still incredibly powerful, but not brokenly so. And that is not even accounting for the possibility of buffed creature damage, from say, a Guttersnipe that triggers on each spell you cast. Even in the fixed version, it may simply be to good because of spells such as Grapeshot.

I take your point. Thanks for your answers!