thoughts on a Survivor mechanic?

[Stankweed Imp]

'Survivor- At the beginning of each end step if ~ was dealt damage this turn....'

So it's similar to enrage so it could be one of the new abilities if we return to Ixalan. It's harder to trigger then enrage so I think it should have stronger triggers.

Alternatively it could be separate from Ixalan as I had the idea first before I remembered about the enrage mechanic.

I would be very careful giving any of these cards vigilance, indestructible etc. since it potentially doubles trigger potential or makes it guaranteed.

Here are some cards:

Hardened Hammerskull
Creature- Dinosaur (R)
At the beginning of your upkeep tap target creature.
Survivor- At the beginning of each end step if Hardened Hammerskull was dealt damage, destroy target tapped creature.
4/4

Scar Seeker Sadist
Creature- Human Shaman
At the beginning of your upkeep reveal the top card of your library and put that card into your hand. Deal damage to Scar Seeker Sadist equal to the card's converted mana cost.
Survivor- At the beginning of each end step if Scar seeker Sadist was dealt damage this turn each opponent discards a card.
3/3

Scar Seeker Cleric
Creature- Human Cleric Shaman
Lifelink
: The next time a source of your choice would deal damage to target creature this turn, that damage is dealt to Scar Seeker Cleric instead.
Survivor- At the beginning of each end step if Scar seeker Cleric was dealt damage this turn reveal the top card of your library and put that card into your hand. You lose life equal to its converted mana cost.
2/4

The cards are very basic drafts atm.

Any thoughts on design, grammar and other help appreciated. Thanks.

[Krishnath]

I am assuming that the intent is for them to only trigger if they are still on the battlefield when the trigger resolves? If such, you might want to write it out specifically thusly:

Survivor - At the beginning of each end step, if <name> is on the battlefield and was dealt this turn, <effect>

Other than that, I think it is a nifty ability. Lots of design depth there, just as with both Enrage *and* Raid, which both trigger from damage in different ways. I like it.

[OneAndOnly]

I don't see how "Survivor" would trigger if the creature it's on wasn't on the battlefield. (Worded differently it could: "When X is dealt damage, do {foo} at the beginning of your end step...)

One interesting detail: If a creature regenerates, damage is removed from it. This means at the end of turn it could have had more damage marked on it than its toughness, which allows some of these effects to scale pretty high ... in the right devious minds.

Hammerskull should have the "this turn" clause.

The Sadist and Scar-Seeker are interesting in that they can cause their own triggers. Maybe another creature with fight or provoke to create a similar circumstance?

[Krishnath]

I don't see how "Survivor" would trigger if the creature it's on wasn't on the battlefield.

It was more to deter rules arguments. Some people get very literal when they read what is on a card, and my suggestion removes any ambiguity.

[user_938036]

I don't see how "Survivor" would trigger if the creature it's on wasn't on the battlefield.

It was more to deter rules arguments. Some people get very literal when they read what is on a card, and my suggestion removes any ambiguity.

Attempting to remove all ambiguity from the layman's perspective is a fool's errand because your wording still fails to do that. As you said many people read things too literally and yet somehow not literally enough. Your wording can and will lead people to believe that if the creature is killed in combat you could still revive it and its ability would trigger because it is on the battlefield and was dealt damage. The fact that the game sees it as a completely new object is lost on them in the same way that the ability won't trigger if it isn't on the battlefield when it is supposed to trigger. In fact, I see this problem far more often than the one you fix. People think the game remembers what their card did far more than they think a card's ability works everywhere.

[Krishnath]

I don't see how "Survivor" would trigger if the creature it's on wasn't on the battlefield.

It was more to deter rules arguments. Some people get very literal when they read what is on a card, and my suggestion removes any ambiguity.

Attempting to remove all ambiguity from the layman's perspective is a fool's errand because your wording still fails to do that. As you said many people read things too literally and yet somehow not literally enough. Your wording can and will lead people to believe that if the creature is killed in combat you could still revive it and its ability would trigger because it is on the battlefield and was dealt damage. The fact that the game sees it as a completely new object is lost on them in the same way that the ability won't trigger if it isn't on the battlefield when it is supposed to trigger. In fact, I see this problem far more often than the one you fix. People think the game remembers what their card did far more than they think a card's ability works everywhere.

Those are some valid points. As such I concede this argument in the interest of moving things along.

As I said, it's a good mechanic with a lot of design potential, thus I like it.