mechanics you obsess over

[folding_music]

As someone who makes custom cards I notice I have sweet spots and blind spots - I go heavy on cards which examine converted mana cost, on self-mill, recursion and on basic land matters stuff. I'm more likely to design a card which messes with tutors than a tutor of my own; I prefer Wishes, because no shuffling's necessary and I think wishboards should be a more accepted feature of casual Magic. My fave token to create is Food by a mile. I make a lot of Dryads and Minotaurs and try to avoid designing Humans where possible - still feel sore that Human ever became a creature type, in some ways. I think Deathtouch is my fave of the recurring keywords. Often when I make legendary creatures they have disadvantages baked in; my take on Magic is old-fashioned and Homelandsy in some ways and I love demanding commanders more than good stuff.

As a deck builder, I stuff my decks full of enchantments, with a sweet spot for enchant land, whether it's good enchant land (Utopia Sprawl, Noxious Field) or otherwise (Mystic Might! giggle) I play as many Regrowth effects as I can shoehorn in, and I lean more heavily on Charms and Guildmages than most players.

and my favourite mechanic in the game is Madness! how about you?

[Krishnath]

I love Flanking, Banding, and Buyback. With the recent return of Phasing, I have hope that these mechanics will someday make a return, if nothing else in a supplementary set.

But the mechanics I most often use when making new cards are pretty much the ones that are eternally in standard, or at least deciduous. It mostly depends on the card itself though, as I often start with a name and build on that, rather than making the card first then giving it a name.

[void_nothing]

- The "pop 'em" artifact tokens (Food, Clues, and Gold/Treasure)
- Exalted
- Devour
- Landcycling
- Reinforce
- Anything I've put into multiple sets in the Collaborative Create-A-Booster

[Krishnath]

Oh god, I completely forgot about the artifact tokens, I completely love them. Indeed, I loved them so much I created an entire mechanic around them. It's nothing special, it's basically populate for artifact and enchantment tokens instead of creatures. I called it "craft". Obviously it ended up being primary in red (the artisan color) and white (the build color), but is pretty much secondary in green and black, and tertiary in blue. So all colors can technically do it.

[void_nothing]

That's a narrow mechanic but for a faction keyword I could definitely see it. (Although multiple types of noncreature tokens in a set could cause some tracking issues, but R&D seems to be dipping into those waters with Niko Aris's Shards alongside Treasures.) It's the artifact tokens that make me wish populate itself didn't have "creature" in it, so a new ability word for that is something I enjoy.

[Krishnath]

That's a narrow mechanic but for a faction keyword I could definitely see it. (Although multiple types of noncreature tokens in a set could cause some tracking issues, but R&D seems to be dipping into those waters with Niko Aris's Shards alongside Treasures.) It's the artifact tokens that make me wish populate itself didn't have "creature" in it, so a new ability word for that is something I enjoy.

Treasures are pretty much evergreen now, but do note that the mechanic in question (Craft) hits any artifact or enchantment token, so if you make artifact creature tokens or enchantment creature tokens, you can use it like populate.

Dwarf Artisan 2R
Creature - Dwarf Artificer (C)
When Dwarf Artisan enters the battlefield, craft (Create a token that is a copy of target artifact token or enchantment token you control.)
1/2

It's a very simple mechanic, but it does something that isn't really done yet.

[SecretInfiltrator]

Oh, yes, noncreature tokens are such a pleasure. Creature tokens, too. The french vanilla and nonsquare creature tokens we've seen recently (most prominently in KHM thanks to the ten supported realms each getting a token and then some) are just from my guilty pleasure handbook. I make it a point to add some unique tokens to every setting I create.

I also like bringing noncreature token types onto nontoken cards - never forgetting the appropriate (activated) abilities.

I also return to the well of referring to card names a lot. I love the challenge to make the effects nevertheless attractive.

But I think by far the most frequently recurring effect that I just stumble into again and again are rummaging spells i. e. variants of Tormenting Voice and Cathartic Reunion. It never seems to get old.

p. s. I think, craft should not target, neither does populate. And though WotC has done so in the past, my opinion is that it is a huge mistake to hide a targeting restriction inside a keyword action ever.

[folding_music]

giggle everyone seems to love token trinkets!

just imagine:
Pazow, Avatar of Confetti
Legendary Artifact Creature - Avatar
First strike
Whenever you activate an ability of a token noncreature, copy that ability. You may choose new targets for the copy.
Partner
3/3

[Krishnath]

Oh, yes, noncreature tokens are such a pleasure. Creature tokens, too. The french vanilla and nonsquare creature tokens we've seen recently (most prominently in KHM thanks to the ten supported realms each getting a token and then some) are just from my guilty pleasure handbook. I make it a point to add some unique tokens to every setting I create.

I also like bringing noncreature token types onto nontoken cards - never forgetting the appropriate (activated) abilities.

I also return to the well of referring to card names a lot. I love the challenge to make the effects nevertheless attractive.

But I think by far the most frequently recurring effect that I just stumble into again and again are rummaging spells i. e. variants of Tormenting Voice and Cathartic Reunion. It never seems to get old.

p. s. I think, craft should not target, neither does populate. And though WotC has done so in the past, my opinion is that it is a huge mistake to hide a targeting restriction inside a keyword action ever.

Well, since WotC made cards with the food subtype in Eldraine, I don't see why the types shouldn't show up on nontokens. Treasure tokens in particular are perfect for this, adding the treasure type to magical gemstones who may have an additional ability would be a flavor win.

Also, good point about craft. Any suggestions about how to word it?

[SecretInfiltrator]

Also, good point about craft. Any suggestions about how to word it?

Literally looking up populate's reminder text on e. g. Wake the Reflections:

Populate. (Create a token that's a copy of a creature token you control.)

becomes:

Craft. (Create a token that's a copy of an artifact token or enchantment token you control.)

: )

[Krishnath]

Also, good point about craft. Any suggestions about how to word it?

Literally looking up populate's reminder text on e. g. Wake the Reflections:

Populate. (Create a token that's a copy of a creature token you control.)

becomes:

Craft. (Create a token that's a copy of an artifact token or enchantment token you control.)

: )

Sounds good, I'll update the file.

[OneAndOnly]

Having left the game for a long time and then returned to it, I find myself drawn toward mix-and-matching mechanics from wildly different sets in new and unintended ways. I also like to re-work old mechanics using new language.

I don't keep up with a lot of Magic lore, so I find I don't often tap into existing flavor & flavor text very well. That's not a strength. I love-love-love when I'm able to create a card that clicks in terms of names, mechanics, and flavor text, but I don't always do that very well. I'm very prone to leaving flavor text off a card entirely.

I _loathe_ outside IPs on sets -- from My Little Pony to Godzilla and the recent Walking Dead cards. I think the world(s) of Magic has a lot of depth to them. I don't think Wizards needed to put a dragon on Innistrad but I can also understand them doing so, too.

I do find myself very top-down in terms of card creation, and "do something unusual and esoterically cool" rather than "fill a necessary slot in a set." I like working a mechanic in a couple different ways; if I did ever get around to making a set, I'd have to settle on one particular version.

I don't mind being a little goofy with cards. Early on Magic had a lot of whimsy to it that I think is missing in recent sets.

[Krishnath]

I don't mind being a little goofy with cards. Early on Magic had a lot of whimsy to it that I think is missing in recent sets.

I think Eldraine captured a lot of the whimsy of early MTG but in a modern way. But that was kind of the point of the set, wasn't it? The set was heavily inspired by Grimm's Fairytales and the works of H.C. Andersen after all.

[OneAndOnly]

I was left feeling it was engineered to have a flair of whimsy, rather than being whimsical by design -- bottom-up whimsy, rather than top-down whimsy. This being the Internet, YMMV!

[Krishnath]

I was left feeling it was engineered to have a flair of whimsy, rather than being whimsical by design -- bottom-up whimsy, rather than top-down whimsy. This being the Internet, YMMV!

Tomayto, Tomahto. Still my favorite set of the last couple of years (at least until Kaldheim releases next week.) Loved the Adventure mechanic something fierce.

[wizyard]

im into simple, elegant, archetypical designs.

playing with costs- cost reductions, additional/alternative costs is fun. replacement effects (if that would happen, then do this instead)

turning classic instant/sorceries into enchantments and vice versa.

big fan of bounce in general.

playing around with hybrid mana.

triggered abilities. ETBs, death triggers, etc..

like to riff off threaten (act of treason) style effects. also find myself doing a lot of reanimation riffs. "ophidians." I love making fog variants..

make a lot of counterspells honestly.