Get A Clue: Obalt Sneak, Evidence Processing, Obalt Island

[NUMBERS]

Obalt Sneak

{g/u}{g/u}

Creature - Merfolk Rogue

Obalt Sneak has flash as long as a player controls a Clue.

Cycling (, Discard this card: Draw a card.)

When you cycle Obalt Sneak, each opponent investigates. (To investigate, create a colorless Clue artifact token with ", Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.")

2/2

Evidence Processing

1U

Enchantment

When Evidence Processing enters the battlefield, investigate. (Create a colorless Clue artifact token with ", Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.")

, Sacrifice a Clue: Draw a card.

Obalt Island

Land

As Obalt Island enters the battlefield, if an opponent controls a Clue, investigate and Obalt Island enters the battlefield tapped. (To investigate, create a colorless Clue artifact token with ", Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.")

: Add to your mana pool.

Original Versions

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Obalt Island

Land

As Obalt Island enters the battlefield, if an opponent controls a Clue, investigate. If you do, it enters the battlefield tapped. (To investigate, create a colorless Clue artifact token with ", Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.")

: Add to your mana pool.

Evidence Processing

1U

Enchantment

When Evidence Processing enters the battlefield, investigate. (Create a colorless Clue artifact token with ", Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.")

Activated abilities of Clues you control cost up to less to activate. This effect can't reduce the amount of mana an ability costs to activate to less than one mana.

Evidence Processing

1W

Enchantment

When Evidence Processing enters the battlefield, investigate. (Create a colorless Clue artifact token with ", Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.")

Activated abilities of Clues you control cost up to less to activate. This effect can't reduce the amount of mana an ability costs to activate to less than one mana.

Obalt Island

Land - Island

(: Add .)

As Obalt Island enters the battlefield, you may investigate. If you do, it enters the battlefield tapped. (To investigate, create a colorless Clue artifact token with ", Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.")

Some more Clue centric cards. As always extremely interested in feedback / thoughts!

[SecretInfiltrator]

Lands shouldn't be strictly better than basic lands.

[void_nothing]

Obalt Sneak is interesting. And apparently Crashing Tide gains flash instead of using "as though it had flash" so the wording's appropriate.

Evidence Processing doesn't feel white; I don't think white has ever reduced activated ability costs, with the limited exception of reducing equip costs. The card is blue all the way.

Obalt Island is not an acceptable design. The ability should be mandatory and not optional, and even then I'm wary of fetchable lands with ETB abilities, no matter how minor the ability. Yes, the Shadowmoor "basic type nonbasic" cycle is comparable but their activated abilities cost a T and require you to control specific permanents.

[NUMBERS]

Lands shouldn't be strictly better than basic lands.

Obalt Sneak is interesting. And apparently Crashing Tide gains flash instead of using "as though it had flash" so the wording's appropriate.

Evidence Processing doesn't feel white; I don't think white has ever reduced activated ability costs, with the limited exception of reducing equip costs. The card is blue all the way.

Obalt Island is not an acceptable design. The ability should be mandatory and not optional, and even then I'm wary of fetchable lands with ETB abilities, no matter how minor the ability. Yes, the Shadowmoor "basic type nonbasic" cycle is comparable but their activated abilities cost a T and require you to control specific permanents.

It seems I greatly overestimated the significance of non-basic land hate as a drawback. I'll have to think on how this could be rectified...

Yeah, I definitely checked on Obalt Sneak's wording.

I definitely see the argument for it being Blue, but I was initially wary of making Blue even better at card advantage and was hoping the flavor could justify the color shift. But on reconsideration I suspect I agree with your argument!

[SecretInfiltrator]

Improvd wording for Evidence Processing: "1, Sacrifice a Clue: Draw a card." : )

[NUMBERS]

[mention]SecretInfiltrator[/mention] That is ... so much more elegant. Thank you!

[spacemonaut]

Obalt Island could be reworded to be simpler:

As Obalt Island enters the battlefield, if an opponent controls a Clue, investigate. If you do, it enters the battlefield tapped.

As Obalt Island enters the battlefield, if an opponent controls a Clue, investigate and Obalt Island enters the battlefield tapped.

"If you (investigate)" will never be false after all.

Alternately:

Obalt Island enters the battlefield tapped.
When Obalt Island enters the battlefield, investigate.

Now it's a Zendikar-like utility land. In this set "if an opponent controls a clue" will frequently be true after all.

[NUMBERS]

I like the rephrase! I agree that in this set it should be a trivially true check, but considering other formats and the worries over fetching a land and getting a clue being potentially problematic I suspect the first rephrase might be safest.

[spacemonaut]

That's fair. If they don't have a clue it's a nonbasic island, if they do it's a utility land.

I like this series you're making.