Buttress - shoring up after returning from battle

[rancored_elf]

Very happy to be here on MTGNexus! This is my second post, and where better than the Custom Cards forum?

Inspired by my sense of having gone into "battle" and returned, here's a card that popped into my head:

Buttress 1GW
Sorcery (U)
Put 2 +1/+1 counters on each creature that attacked this turn.
Gain 2 life for each creature that attacked this turn.

Is there a cleaner wording?

Power level concerns?

I've been away from posting my designs on forums for a great many years, but that doesn't mean I stopped having ideas! Looking forward to solidifying some of those for critique here, and commenting on some other peoples' custom cards.

Thanks! Happy designing.

[wizyard]

i like this kind of design, it isn't seen often enuff i think for the gameplay potential it has.. there's a gamble involved, by attacking you're risking your creatures without giving them support- it's an investment that can be disrupted by the opponent, which opens the door to mind games and interesting windows of decision

two +1/+1 counters are strong, i mite add a mana to the cost, but it's hard to tell because the payoff is so uncertain.

i think the life gain is a nice bonus, since it makes tapping down for the attack more possible by providing padding against the crack back.

part of why it's rarer to see this kind of design, i would say, is the influence of wotc and the desire for a business to give it's costumers what they think they want up front. Charge style cards have immediate gratification, both in the play and on initial reading. such designs are interesting to contrast- instant, immediate yet temporary buff vs sorcery, delayed yet continuous buff

[Ryder]

The card is probably a bit pushed power level wise - compare to Strength of the Pack. Life gain isn't a problem, see Alive // Well. Surviving combat is not a small feat though and it makes your card extremely swingy. If you were ahead on the board, you will be so much more after casting this. I have a mechanic in my set that does things whenever a creature survives combat. It needs to be build around to work.

A safer design would be to put this on something with unconditional value and up the cost.

[rancored_elf]

i like this kind of design, it isn't seen often enuff i think for the gameplay potential it has.. there's a gamble involved, by attacking you're risking your creatures without giving them support- it's an investment that can be disrupted by the opponent, which opens the door to mind games and interesting windows of decision

two +1/+1 counters are strong, i mite add a mana to the cost, but it's hard to tell because the payoff is so uncertain.

i think the life gain is a nice bonus, since it makes tapping down for the attack more possible by providing padding against the crack back.

part of why it's rarer to see this kind of design, i would say, is the influence of wotc and the desire for a business to give it's costumers what they think they want up front. Charge style cards have immediate gratification, both in the play and on initial reading. such designs are interesting to contrast- instant, immediate yet temporary buff vs sorcery, delayed yet continuous buff

Great feedback, thank you! I especially appreciate your thoughts on why such designs are rarely seen (and thus potentially available for us to experiment with).
You may be right about adding another 1 to the cost. I pushed it slightly because I felt the card would otherwise be only good enough for limited play. I thought about making it rare, but have always felt rares (and mythics!) should be saved for rare effects, not just powerful ones. +1/+1 counters and lifegain feels more uncommon to me, but maybe that's just me.

The card is probably a bit pushed power level wise - compare to Strength of the Pack. Life gain isn't a problem, see Alive // Well. Surviving combat is not a small feat though and it makes your card extremely swingy. If you were ahead on the board, you will be so much more after casting this.

Thank you for the analysis!
I think Strength of the Pack is pretty weak. I'm not sure how much play they get, but Basri's Solidarity and Pledge of Unity might be worth a look.
But 2 counters is more swingy, you're right.

I'd love to hear more opinions:

Would you include any copies of Buttress in your next white/green deck?