So, I cooked this up in the Token Game from the prompt: "A legendary token with a unique name." It's a very parasitic mechanic, but I kinda love it.
The basis is the token:
The Phylactery of Gaul
Token Legendary Artifact
At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice this artifact unless you pay 2 life.
The mechanic revolves around having, gaining, or losing the token, but unlike say The Monarch, the token is itself a downside, so the cards that care about it can be that much stronger.
It's also primarily black flavored, and would really only branch into other colors in an appropriate setting, I don't have a setting or set in mind for it.
And here's a sampling of it in operation, various rarities, things that create it, and some that care about it but don't participate themselves.
Gaul, the Dead City
Legendary Land {M}
, Pay 1 life: Add . If you control The Phylactery of Gaul, instead add three mana in any combination of colors.
, Sacrifice Gaul, the Dead City: Create The Phylactery of Gaul.
Gaul Lich
Creature - Zombie Wizard {R}
When Gaul Lich enters the battlefield, create The Phylactery of Gaul.
Gaul Lich has indestructible as long as you control The Phylactery of Gaul.
4/4
Bargain With The Liches
Sorcery {U}
Choose one -
- Create The Phylactery of Gaul.
- Sacrifice The Phylactery of Gaul. If you do, draw three cards and lose 3 life.
Entwine
Priest of Gaul
Creature - Human Cleric {C}
When Priest of Gaul enters the battlefield, create The Phylactery of Gaul.
Priest of Gaul has lifelink as long as you control The Phylactery of Gaul.
2/2
Purge the Dead City
Sorcery {R}
Destroy all creatures and planeswalkers. If you control The Phylactery of Gaul, instead destroy all creatures and planeswalkers you don't control.
Phylactery Spawn
Creature - Spirit {U}
Flying, haste
At the beginning of the end step, sacrifice Phylactery Spawn unless you control The Phylactery of Gaul.
2/1
Citizen of Gaul
Creature - Human Peasant
As long as you control The Phylactery of Gaul, Citizen of Gaul gets +1/+0 and is a Zombie.
2/2
Thoughts?
The Phylactery of Gaul
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JovialJovian Captain, I object!
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- SecretInfiltrator
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I feel 2 life is a bit much, and accordingly you made the benefit from controlling it bigger, but to me that's just making the themed cards more swingy. Though with a reduced life loss you could also remove the sacrifice option. Maybe I'm wrong and the sarifice option at 2 life is a better execution, but it also allows a playstyle of always just sacrificing the token which seems to not match the creative.
A note particular to the land: Sacrificing a card that benefits from the token to gain the token feels especially unfortunate.
Priest of Gaul is easily the best design mechanically; Citizen of Gaul tops the list creatively.
A note particular to the land: Sacrificing a card that benefits from the token to gain the token feels especially unfortunate.
Priest of Gaul is easily the best design mechanically; Citizen of Gaul tops the list creatively.
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JovialJovian Captain, I object!
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Yeah, you could just sacrifice the token every turn to avoid the downside, but then you're also taking the chance that you won't get it back and will have underwhelming cards. I could tweak it to dissuade that approach, but I don't want it to become too wordy, and I want to provide a way out for players with a token that is no longer wanted.SecretInfiltrator wrote: ↑3 years agoI feel 2 life is a bit much, and accordingly you made the benefit from controlling it bigger, but to me that's just making the themed cards more swingy. Though with a reduced life loss you could also remove the sacrifice option. Maybe I'm wrong and the sarifice option at 2 life is a better execution, but it also allows a playstyle of always just sacrificing the token which seems to not match the creative.
A note particular to the land: Sacrificing a card that benefits from the token to gain the token feels especially unfortunate.
Priest of Gaul is easily the best design mechanically; Citizen of Gaul tops the list creatively.
As for the land, I was viewing the extra mana as a bonus reward, not the primary purpose. The main reason for it is 0-cost access to the token, which is why the rarity is so high.