NEXUS FLAMINGO ☆ Exclusively For Custom Card Connoisseurs and Gnomes

[Cythare]

New Phyresis 3UB
Enchantment — Aura (U)
Enchant creature or planeswalker
You control enchanted permanent.
When New Phyresis enters the battlefield, if enchanted permanent is a planeswalker, put two loyalty counters on that permanent.
As long as enchanted permanent is a creature, it has infect.

IIW: Green ponder variants

[Mergatroid_Jones]

Egads, I haven't had time to think up a good one. This is hardly the first time anyone has come up with this:

Trader Mage 2U
Creature- Human Wizard (U)
When Trader Mage enters the battlefield, you may search your library for an artifact card with mana value 4 or 5, reveal that card, put it into your hand, then shuffle.
2/2

IIW: WAR style planeswalkers

[Juancu]

Young Heiromancer 1W
Creature - Human Soldier
Whenever Young Heiromancer attacks, target creature defending player can't block this turn. If there are at least two other attacking creatures, that creature can't attack or block until your next turn, and its activated abilities can't be activated.
A mythical figure inspires those in its shadow
2/2


Young Illusionist 1U
Creature - Human Wizard
At the beginning of combat on your turn, you may exile two instant or sorcery cards from your graveyard. If you do, create a 2/2 blue illusion creature token.
With enough focus, even nothing can be made real.
1/3


Young roilmancer 2G
Creature - Elf Druid
2g, : search your library for a basic land card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.
Landfall - Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, scry 1.
Awakening the world awakens wonder in those who live in it.
2/2

I'm guessing these expand on the pyromancer, but I find it hard to think of them of a cycle other than being cheap and quite good. Two of them generate advantage but one through activation, and the other spending a resource too. But anyways, pyromancer is an annoying card for limited, so branching out is probably for the best. Solid cards but they don't inspire me too much.

Nexus Flamingo Entry Progress Bar
Social Engineering 1U
Enchantment {R}
Quest — Whenever you cast a spell during an opponent's turn, that player may pay 1. If they do, scry 1. Otherwise, put a quest counter on Social Engineering.
UU, Remove three quest counters from Social Engineering: Exile Social Engineering, then return it to the battlefield transformed

//

Root Access
⬤ Enchantment — Saga {R}
I — Gain control of target spell or nonland permanent an opponent controls. You may choose new targets for the spell.
II — Until your next turn, whenever an opponent casts a spell, you may pay UU. If you do, counter that spell.
III — Draw a card.

I get a strong negative reaction to a 'seal of counterspell', and even more it if's 'seal of gaining control of spell' but there's strong mitigation here: the opponent is mostly in control, and the counterspell part is at least only during a turn. Overall, I'm inclining towards it being interesting in commander, and not too good in 1v1, so all good.

Temple of Generations
Artifact (U)
At the beginning of each end step, if two or more creatures entered the battlefield under your control this turn and a creature died under your control this turn, put a brick counter on Temple of Generations. Then if it has three or more brick counters on it, sacrifice it and create Temple of Temilheim, a legendary artifact with indestructible and "Creatures you control get +3/+3 and have vigilance."

I like that it tells a story. I would say it's a reward for careful deckbulding, but really it's quite straightforward, get a lot of tokens and sacrifice rewards, so aristocrats. Maybe non-token and an easier trigger would be less railroading.

New Phyresis 3UB
Enchantment — Aura (U)
Enchant creature or planeswalker
You control enchanted permanent.
When New Phyresis enters the battlefield, if enchanted permanent is a planeswalker, put two loyalty counters on that permanent.
As long as enchanted permanent is a creature, it has infect.

Good balanced card. It's a bit weird, however, that the creature ability is not a direct upgrade like the PW one is (it's conditional on you playing poison or not caring about racing damage.) Maybe 'you may put an infect counter on it'?

Trader Mage 2U
Creature- Human Wizard (U)
When Trader Mage enters the battlefield, you may search your library for an artifact card with mana value 4 or 5, reveal that card, put it into your hand, then shuffle.
2/2

I haven't seen it before, but I don't think it being twice as flexible as the others is a good thing.

Winner: Megiddo
Next: IIW: Emerge, Champion, Offering, _____ < your card goes here

[Mergatroid_Jones]

I haven't seen it before, but I don't think it being twice as flexible as the others is a good thing.

My theory was that it would tutor for roughly the same as the others. I know from organizing my collection that 2 and 3 are the biggest chunks by far. I checked with Scryfall, and learned this:
Trinket Mage finds 381 cards
Tribute Mage finds 575 cards
Trophy Mage finds 652 cards
Trader Mage finds 623 cards
Treasure Mage finds 232 cards

4Mage finds 416 cards and 5Mage finds 207 making 4Mage decent and 5Mage weak. I decided to bundle them. Trinket and Treasure mages are bundled after all. But naturally just the number of cards fetched is not everything. There are specific cards that matter most. Trinket Mage is probably still the strongest due to fetching a card you can almost always play the same turn.

I figured four and five drops usually can't be cast in the same turn as a three drop. Of course many four and five drop artifacts are absolute nightmares. So there's that.

All in all, it's not that important. Wizards will undoubtedly print this card at some point. It will either be 4Mage and 5Mage or it will bundled. I bet bundled!

[Megiddo]

tangentially, trader mage is a good name. i have found it hard to locate appropriate words for the unmade members of that cycle.

[Sporegorger_Dragon]

IIW: Emerge, Champion, Offering, _____ < your card goes here

Since you're here, Megiddo, I was just wondering; does this mean "design a new mechanic in this vein"?

[Cythare]

New Phyresis 3UB
Enchantment — Aura (U)
Enchant creature or planeswalker
You control enchanted permanent.
When New Phyresis enters the battlefield, if enchanted permanent is a planeswalker, put two loyalty counters on that permanent.
As long as enchanted permanent is a creature, it has infect.

Good balanced card. It's a bit weird, however, that the creature ability is not a direct upgrade like the PW one is (it's conditional on you playing poison or not caring about racing damage.) Maybe 'you may put an infect counter on it'?

The creature mode doesn't need to be a strict upgrade - you still have a creature. The planeswalker mode is going to be more variable, but was intended to offset that you can't account for what your opponent will have done with their planeswalker.

Also, in a set this would be printed at uncommon in, gaining infect would be a strict upgrade, because this would play into the color pair's themes. It's functionality outside of the Limited environment it's from is irrelevant.

[Megiddo]

IIW: Emerge, Champion, Offering, _____ < your card goes here

Since you're here, Megiddo, I was just wondering; does this mean "design a new mechanic in this vein"?

yeah

[chetoos]

Pontiff of Norn 3WW
Creature - Phyrexian Cleric
Compleat (When this creature enters the battlefield, exile a non-phyrexian creature you control until this creature leaves the battlefield. When an exiled card enters the battlefield under your control this way, put 2 +1/+1 counters on it, and it is a phyrexian in addition to its other types.)
Other Phyrexian creatures you control get +1/+1
2W: Return this creature to its owner's hand.
4/4

Edit: updated using Lagrella, the Magpie's wording

IIW: The wolves are at the door.

[Mergatroid_Jones]

Magwa Anati, Stone Titan 1RRR
Legendary Creature- Elemental Giant (R)
Champion three mountains (When this enters the battlefield, sacrifice it unless you exile three mountains you control. When this leaves the battlefield, those cards return to the battlefield.)
Trample
T: Add RRR.
7/4

IIW: Replace any one card from a cycle. (Example: now Green Sun's Zenith gives +1/+1 counters.)

[NinjaCaterpie]

Cyto, Face Stealer UB
Legendary Creature - Shapeshifter (R)
Forced Mutation (When this creature enters the battlefield, sacrifice it unless you put it over target creature you control)
This creature has all creature types of creatures below it.
Whenever another creature enters the battlefield, if it shares a creature type with this creature, draw a card.
3/3

IIW: In your dreams

[wonderful]

Facestealer
Creature - Horror Shapeshifter (R)
Consume (Each creature you exile while casting this spell pays for {1} or one mana of that creature's color.)
Changeling
Facestealer has all abilities of cards exiled with it.
4/4

Unhallowed Knight
Creature - Zombie Knight (U)
Consume (Each creature you exile while casting this spell pays for {1} or one mana of that creature's color.)
Unhallowed Knight has protection from all colors of cards exiled with it.
2/2

IIW: Innistrad 7: The Revenge of Tibalt

[Cythare]

Leveler, Mark II 4
Artifact Creature — Construct (R)
Champion your library (When this creature enters the battlefield, exile your library in a face-down pile.)
If you would draw a card, instead turn the top exiled card face up. You may play that card this turn.
6/6

IIW: Green ponder variants

[Ulka]

Rakdos, Blood Lord 2RRBB
Legendary Creature - Demon
Flying
Cleric Offering (You may cast this card any time you could cast an instant by sacrificing a Cleric and paying the difference in mana costs between this and the sacrificed Cleric. Mana cost includes color.)
Whenever a creature is sacrifices create X blood tokens where X is the is it's power. (It's an artifact with "{1}, {T}, Discard a card, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.")
Sacrifice a Blood token: Rakdos, Blood Lord gets +1/+0 until the end of turn.
5/5

IIW: Draft Matters Cards

[Mergatroid_Jones]

Infesting Blowfly B
Creature- Insect (U)
Flying
Infesting Blowfly can't block
Emerge 3BB (You may cast this spell by sacrificing a creature and paying the emerge cost reduced by that creature's mana value.)
As Infesting Blowfly emerges, if it isn't a token, create a number of token copies of it equal to the sacrificed creature's toughness.
1/1

IIW: Tribes off of their primary color (such as white zombies or green merfolk)

[Juancu]

Champion of Herrix 4R
Creature - Ogre Warrior (U)
Displacer (Creatures you control you displace pay 1 for this spell and are phased out as long as you control this creature. Mana symbols in their mana costs unlock this creature's abilities.)
[WR]🔒 First Strike
[GR]🔒 Trample
[BB]🔒 Deathtouch
4/4

IIW: fast, no, faster!

[Cythare]

Nicol Bolas, Schemes for Days 2UBR
Legendary Nemesis Planeswalker — Bolas (M)
(You can't cast spells or play lands while you control a nemesis permanent.)
When Nicol Bolas, Schemes for Days enters the battlefield, conjure a card named Gravitational Shift onto the battlefield.
[+1]: Look at the top three cards of your library. Exile one of them, then put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. Nicol Bolas may cast it this turn without paying its mana cost.
[-2]: Create a 1/1 blue and red Drake creature token with flying.
[-8]: Gain control of each nonland, non-Bolas permanent you don't control.
5

IIW: Blue fight variants

[Mergatroid_Jones]

Demon of the Fifth Gate 5BB
Creature- Demon (R)
Flying, trample
Human multi-offering (You may cast this card any time you could cast an instant by sacrificing any number of Humans and paying the difference in mana costs between this and the sacrificed Humans. Mana cost includes color.)
Creatures your opponents control get -1/-1.
7/6

Ascendant Skyborn W
Creature- Demigod (U)
Warrior offering (You may cast this card any time you could cast an instant by sacrificing a Warrior and paying the difference in mana costs between this and the sacrificed Warrior. Mana cost includes color.)
If a Warrior with first strike was offered for Ascendant Skyborn, Ascendant Skyborn enters the battlefield with a first strike counter on it. The same is true for flying, lifelink, vigilance, trample, deathtouch, menace, and reach.
If a Warrior was offered for Ascendant Skyborn, it enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter.
2/1

Cobbled Servant 3
Artifact Creature- Construct (C)
Artifact offering (You may cast this card any time you could cast an instant by sacrificing an artifact and paying the difference in mana costs between this and the sacrificed artifact. Mana cost includes color.)
2/3

IIW: too many entries as usual.

[Megiddo]

Judging in... now

Pontiff of Norn 3WW
Creature - Phyrexian Cleric
Compleat (When this creature enters the battlefield, exile a non-phyrexian creature you control until this creature leaves the battlefield. When an exiled card enters the battlefield under your control this way, put 2 +1/+1 counters on it, and it is a phyrexian in addition to its other types.)
Other Phyrexian creatures you control get +1/+1
2W: Return this creature to its owner's hand.
4/4

IIW: The wolves are at the door.

Unfortunately they already made Tamiyo, Compleated Sage and vacuumed up the "compleated" term. I'd assume they wouldn't use "compleat" as well. But that's just a name. So this looks like we're using "compleat" as a verb, so the action of improving your guy is happening while it's exiled. I like that, makes sense to me. Two things I'd point out: One, the "phyrexian" creature type is not printed on... most of the cards it applies to*. I know we're in a new era of Not Caring About Complexity but I can't stop thinking about and at raising these things that may cause friction during games. Ultimately I doubt this would be a dealbreaker on the mechanic considering that in its own set/format we can assume that everything is marked correctly. Anyway, your mechanic is (technically) optional and gives you a bonus on the back end for the up-front cost. You've costed your card to essentially treat it as neutral, I think, which makes sense. I might drop the bounce ability personally. it seems unnecessary. Though if you want to spend 8 mana giving a guy +2/+2 that's your prerogative.

*an unscientific search shows that 15/229 phyrexian cards say that they are phyrexian, and only 3 of those are non-reprints, meaning that every printing of the card has the correct types on it. bonus if you can guess which three.

Magwa Anati, Stone Titan 1RRR
Legendary Creature- Elemental Giant (R)
Champion three mountains (When this enters the battlefield, sacrifice it unless you exile three mountains you control. When this leaves the battlefield, those cards return to the battlefield.)
Trample
T: Add RRR.
7/4

IIW: Replace any one card from a cycle. (Example: now Green Sun's Zenith gives +1/+1 counters.)

Technically does not fit the challenge as you reused "Champion." Using mountains instead of creatures is a bit of an evolution though so we'll roll with it. This reminds me of stuff like Lotus Vale, for obvious reasons. Letting it be a Gilded Lotus as well as a giant Guy is a bit of a tease, honestly, to the point where I'd almost want to leave the mana ability off. Though, really, it's smart -- suppose they Pacifism your guy. You'd have no way of regaining your lands at that point. I end up thinking it's well-considered.

Cyto, Face Stealer UB
Legendary Creature - Shapeshifter (R)
Forced Mutation (When this creature enters the battlefield, sacrifice it unless you put it over target creature you control)
This creature has all creature types of creatures below it.
Whenever another creature enters the battlefield, if it shares a creature type with this creature, draw a card.
3/3

IIW: In your dreams

Should this be an "as?" Right now you can kill the target while this ability is on the stack and get an ez 2-for-1. Should probably also be "control and own," following Mutate. Given the payoff here... this doesn't feel like the right fit for me, IMO, since if you didn't have this guy on the battlefield you'd still have the creature types of the guys under it, no? Just feels off for me.

Facestealer
Creature - Horror Shapeshifter (R)
Consume (Each creature you exile while casting this spell pays for {1} or one mana of that creature's color.)
Changeling
Facestealer has all abilities of cards exiled with it.
4/4

Unhallowed Knight
Creature - Zombie Knight (U)
Consume (Each creature you exile while casting this spell pays for {1} or one mana of that creature's color.)
Unhallowed Knight has protection from all colors of cards exiled with it.
2/2

IIW: Innistrad 7: The Revenge of Tibalt

Two facestealers in a row. I'm sure you know that this means your entries will be DIRECTLY compared to each other. Yours seems more like a The Blob kind of card. I enjoy these kinds of cards. This one in particular reminds me of Soulflayer both in its cost reduction and ability gain. Usually these cards only grant activated abilities (or the wacky keyword list we see with Soulflayer), which I assume is a rules thing.
Knight is also nice. It encourages playing this in a multicolor deck (or, at least, sideboarding it). I don't know that the cost is worth the end result, though. This could benefit from an additional keyword ability... like first strike? I have to trade in at minimum one creature to make this worth more than a Gray Ogre, so I think I need more oomph when I do for it to be worth it.

Leveler, Mark II 4
Artifact Creature — Construct (R)
Champion your library (When this creature enters the battlefield, exile your library in a face-down pile.)
If you would draw a card, instead turn the top exiled card face up. You may play that card this turn.
6/6

IIW: Green ponder variants

This kind of misses for me. Like it just feels "off" in a way. Why bother championing a library if you're just going to be able to, more or less, draw cards as normal? I do like the idea of a "fixed" leveler using Champion your library--that's funny--but not if you're also getting free card flow. Put a "if you would draw a card, skip that draw" on it instead and I think I'd enjoy it more.

Rakdos, Blood Lord 2RRBB
Legendary Creature - Demon
Flying
Cleric Offering (You may cast this card any time you could cast an instant by sacrificing a Cleric and paying the difference in mana costs between this and the sacrificed Cleric. Mana cost includes color.)
Whenever a creature is sacrifices create X blood tokens where X is the is it's power. (It's an artifact with "{1}, {T}, Discard a card, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.")
Sacrifice a Blood token: Rakdos, Blood Lord gets +1/+0 until the end of turn.
5/5

IIW: Draft Matters Cards

Fitting for Rakdos himself. If I'm reading this right, you get blood even when an opponent sacrifices a creature, which will add up to a lot of tokens. I think overall this would be fun to play with, since there's lots of fun to have with piles of artifact tokens out there.

Infesting Blowfly B
Creature- Insect (U)
Flying
Infesting Blowfly can't block
Emerge 3BB (You may cast this spell by sacrificing a creature and paying the emerge cost reduced by that creature's mana value.)
As Infesting Blowfly emerges, if it isn't a token, create a number of token copies of it equal to the sacrificed creature's toughness.
1/1

IIW: Tribes off of their primary color (such as white zombies or green merfolk)

Oh this is nice. Good inversion of the typical Emerge pattern. Flavor/card story is great and the creature you get clearly was thought out well ("can't block" to avoid creating a huge swarm of blockers to gum up the board). I'd test for power/cost adjustments here; this can convert a 5-toughness creature into 6 1/1 fliers for something close to free, which needs to be put through its paces. Emerge is also not a new mechanic. But your overall package here is great.

Champion of Herrix 4R
Creature - Ogre Warrior (U)
Displacer (Creatures you control you displace pay 1 for this spell and are phased out as long as you control this creature. Mana symbols in their mana costs unlock this creature's abilities.)
[WR]🔒 First Strike
[GR]🔒 Trample
[BB]🔒 Deathtouch
4/4

IIW: fast, no, faster!

Like your IIW says, I have to speed this up, so the rest of these will be quick hits. Sorry about that!
Displacer is cool, and I like the card template. If you Displace Progenitus, do you get all three?

Nicol Bolas, Schemes for Days 2UBR
Legendary Nemesis Planeswalker — Bolas (M)
(You can't cast spells or play lands while you control a nemesis permanent.)
When Nicol Bolas, Schemes for Days enters the battlefield, conjure a card named Gravitational Shift onto the battlefield.
[+1]: Look at the top three cards of your library. Exile one of them, then put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. Nicol Bolas may cast it this turn without paying its mana cost.
[-2]: Create a 1/1 blue and red Drake creature token with flying.
[-8]: Gain control of each nonland, non-Bolas permanent you don't control.
5

IIW: Blue fight variants

This is clever. You're championing yourself. Big fan of the concept.

Demon of the Fifth Gate 5BB
Creature- Demon (R)
Flying, trample
Human multi-offering (You may cast this card any time you could cast an instant by sacrificing any number of Humans and paying the difference in mana costs between this and the sacrificed Humans. Mana cost includes color.)
Creatures your opponents control get -1/-1.
7/6

Ascendant Skyborn W
Creature- Demigod (U)
Warrior offering (You may cast this card any time you could cast an instant by sacrificing a Warrior and paying the difference in mana costs between this and the sacrificed Warrior. Mana cost includes color.)
If a Warrior with first strike was offered for Ascendant Skyborn, Ascendant Skyborn enters the battlefield with a first strike counter on it. The same is true for flying, lifelink, vigilance, trample, deathtouch, menace, and reach.
If a Warrior was offered for Ascendant Skyborn, it enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter.
2/1

Cobbled Servant 3
Artifact Creature- Construct (C)
Artifact offering (You may cast this card any time you could cast an instant by sacrificing an artifact and paying the difference in mana costs between this and the sacrificed artifact. Mana cost includes color.)
2/3

IIW: too many entries as usual.

Multi-Offering is good, though we saw some of that already here. Skyborn I *think* you're trying to do something clever, but the rules don't actually support it, since offering works differently from what its reminder text might imply. Servant, i mean, you know the dangerous territory this plays into.

Winner: Cythare
Next: Blue fight variants

[Juancu]

Debate 1U
Instant (C)
Target creature you control debates target creature an opponent controls (if one of them is smarter, it wins the debate and its controller draws a card. Tap each creature that didn't win. A creature's smartness equals its mana value minus its base power.)

IIW: lose steam

[void_nothing]

Debate 1U
Instant (C)
Target creature you control debates target creature an opponent controls (if one of them is smarter, it wins the debate and its controller draws a card. Tap each creature that didn't win. A creature's smartness equals its mana value minus its base power.)

Ignition Team: one of the smartest creatures in Magic?

[Cythare]

Debate 1U
Instant (C)
Target creature you control debates target creature an opponent controls (if one of them is smarter, it wins the debate and its controller draws a card. Tap each creature that didn't win. A creature's smartness equals its mana value minus its base power.)

Ignition Team: one of the smartest creatures in Magic?

You can clearly see from Arcbound Overseer's art that's he's actually saying "DEBATE ME"

[chetoos]

The problem is that blue doesn't have damage in its color pie.

Crushing knowledge 1U
Instant
Return target permanent or spell to its owner's hand if its mana value is less than or equal to the number of cards in your hand plus 1. If the permanent or spell is returned to its owner's hand this way, that player can't cast spells with the same name as that card until your next turn.
Scry 1.

Best I can do boss, your hand fights their thing.

IIW: The wolves are at the door.

[Megiddo]

ok so we each cast mind's desire, but whoever reveals the biggest card wins the game.

eight mana sorcery.

[Ulka]

Fated Conflict 6UU
Sorcery
Exile the top card of your library until you exile a creature card. Put that creature into play. It fights target creature an opponent controls. If only one creature dies due to the fight, foretell spells cost 2 less to cost until the end of turn.
Foretell 3UU

IIW: Fun with the Exile Zone