NEXUS FLAMINGO ☆ Exclusively For Custom Card Connoisseurs and Gnomes

[Megiddo]

will judge this evening.

[Juancu]

Scroll Shop
Land (U)
T: Add C.
Store - T: Add one mana of any color. (Activate this ability only if this permanent has no stock counters on it, then put a stock counter on it. Any time during an opponent's turn, that player may pay to remove that stock and become its buyer.)
Sell - The buyer draws a card and you scry 1.

[Megiddo]

step into my office

Sanitation Engine 3
Artifact- Vehicle
When a creature controlled by an opponent dies, exile that creature
Crew 1
Nobody asks where they take the bodies.
3/3

IIW: New Capenna

I want this to either be a Misery's Shadow effect (to impact death triggers and such) or to do something with the "bodies" it collects. As-is, I am left wanting. I do like the concept! Great flavor. Soylent is people!

Prepare for War 1W
Sorcery (U)
Choose one:
* You get five +1/+1 counters.
* You get three +1/+1 counters and a store emblem (it has: "Whenever you cast a creature spell, you may give it one of your counters.)

IIW: dynamic

Store is good. I like that. I reminds me of Amass actually, in that there's a "base" case and then something you can do later, that's in common across all cards with the mechanic. Couple notes: Because there's no cost for visiting the Store & you can get more than one, this could get out of hand midgame where you're putting multiple +1/+1 counters and presumably ability counters on every creature you cast. I'd consider limiters on one or both of those things.

Tolaria's Museum
Land (R)
T: Add C.
As long as you control three or more artifacts, if you tap a permanent for colorless mana, you may have it produce mana in any combination of colors instead.

IIW: Cards from the last Wizards' set before bankruptcy

I think this is... somehow... reasonable? Despite feeling like it's busted I think the colorless land that doesn't do anything without three artifacts is fine. And it doesn't go up on mana or anything.

Mercadian Bazaar -- 1U
Enchantment {U}
At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player reveals the top two cards of their library, then put the card with the highest mana value revealed this way into their hand, and the others into the graveyard.
"You wanna trade this for that wretched, broken-down, rusted old thing? .... Deal!
.
If I Win: Abilities that don't stack

Oh wow, this has the potential to be *really* busted. It's so cheap that it could easily create nongames if your opponent goes a couple of turns without two lands on the top of their library when the ability triggers. Bump the mana cost up a bit or put it on a creature (or both!) and I think this is great.

Mercenary Loyalty UU
Enchantment- Aura (R)
Enchant creature.
Enchanted creature is a Mercenary in addition to other types, and has "1: Gain control of this creature unless its controller pays 1. Any player may activate this ability."

IIW: land types

I love it. No notes.

Scroll Shop
Land (U)
T: Add C.
Store - T: Add one mana of any color. (Activate this ability only if this permanent has no stock counters on it, then put a stock counter on it. Any time during an opponent's turn, that player may pay to remove that stock and become its buyer.)
Sell - The buyer draws a card and you scry 1.

Having this on a land specifically would be annoying to track. I also don't like the idea of giving my opponent so many free card draws throughout the game. Maybe there's different configurations of cost and such that would work.

Winner: Mergatroid_Jones
Next: land types

[Juancu]

Mycordella, Fungus Jungle
Legendary Land Home
T: Add G or B.
(You can't play a home unless you control a commander. A home can be your second commander if it shares your commander's color identity, and your deck is quirky. In a quirky deck, all cards that are creatures or planeswalkers share a color, and no other card is that color.)

I revisit this idea from time to time: a color is the addition of its people+powers. What if we defined a new color like "green people + black powers" ?
Here, in commander, you sacrifice half of your colored card access, and get rewarded by a free land (to be played after your commander.) It's akin to companion, but a free dual after commander is a lot more innocuous than the advantage opportunities from many companions.

IIW: dynamic

[Megiddo]

Mishra's Contraption
Artifact Land - Mishra's Contraption {R}
T: Add C.
T: Add CCC. This mana can't be spent to cast nonartifact spells. Activate this ability only if you cranked Mishra's Contraption this turn.

IIW: Extra Deck Mechanics

[OneAndOnly]

@ Megiddo

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-- I costed the Bazaar in line with Millstone and its many variants. Too high a cost, and it only comes online after your opponents have built a solid mana base, so discarding lands or mana rocks for beef helps them more than you. It affects all players evenly, so it's also a drawback for its caster (though blue has more deck manipulation than other colors to offset that a bit.) I don't see that it could cost 2U (or, U) without significantly changing its gameplay.

Urza's Nuclear Reactor
Legendary Land - Urza's Mine Power-Plant Tower
You can't play Urza's Nuclear Reactor unless you control the Urzatron. (Do we need to explain the Urzatron to you?)
T: Another target permanent you control becomes a copy of a card named Urza's Mine, Urza's Power Plant, or Urza's Tower.
.
If I Win: Alternate "lose the game" conditions

[Sporegorger_Dragon]

The Monster's Lair
Legendary Land - Lair (R)
Whenever another Lair enters the battlefield under your control, you may put a non-Lair land card from your hand onto the battlefield tapped.
{T}: Add {C}.
{T}: Add one mana of any type that a Lair you control could produce.


IIW: Low-level critters for an RPG.

[Megiddo]

Polar Desert
Snow Land — Desert {R}
T: Add C

[Juancu]

Santa's Workshop
Snow Land - Santa's
T: Add C.
3,T: Create a 1/1 Toy Soldier artifact creature token for each elf you control. Activate this ability only once each year.

[Sporegorger_Dragon]

only once each year.

Talk about memory issues...

[spacemonaut]

Magmatic Forge
Land — Swamp Mountain Power-Plant (U)
: Add .
, Pay 1 life: Add or .
Pay 1 life, Sacrifice a permanent: Untap Magmatic Forge. Activate this ability only once each turn.

IIW: Ravnica, long before Azor arrived

[Mergatroid_Jones]

Cards

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Mycordella, Fungus Jungle
Legendary Land Home
T: Add G or B.
(You can't play a home unless you control a commander. A home can be your second commander if it shares your commander's color identity, and your deck is quirky. In a quirky deck, all cards that are creatures or planeswalkers share a color, and no other card is that color.)

I revisit this idea from time to time: a color is the addition of its people+powers. What if we defined a new color like "green people + black powers" ?
Here, in commander, you sacrifice half of your colored card access, and get rewarded by a free land (to be played after your commander.) It's akin to companion, but a free dual after commander is a lot more innocuous than the advantage opportunities from many companions.

IIW: dynamic

Home is weird and wild enough, but quirky is just too much. It would be better if it stated that as this card's specific requirement rather than applying that stricture to all theoretical homes. I also don't like that this doesn't work at all except in its intended role in its intended format. At least you can play companions as normal cards in your deck.

Here's a different implementation of this concept (wouldn't work for this challenge of course).

Land Bro 2G
Legendary Creature- Elf Shaman
Partner with a basic land (When this creature enters the battlefield, target player may put a basic land into their hand from their library, then shuffle. This creature and that land can be your commanders. The land does not accumulate commander tax.)
If CARDNAME is your commander, you can't play its partnered land unless you control CARDNAME.
G,T: Put 2 +1/+1 counters on target land. It becomes a creature and gains trample and haste until end of turn.
2/2

Mishra's Contraption
Artifact Land - Mishra's Contraption {R}
T: Add C.
T: Add CCC. This mana can't be spent to cast nonartifact spells. Activate this ability only if you cranked Mishra's Contraption this turn.

IIW: Extra Deck Mechanics

Hold on, let me just re-figure out how contraptions work....

Okay, so the really important part is that this isn't in your main deck, but the contraption deck. You can never get it out unless you are assembling contraptions. Few cards enable that, and of them only Wrench Rigger can do it for less than 3 mana.

What all that means (crazily enough) is that this is not actually broken. But it is probably the most powerful contraption of the lot.

Urza's Nuclear Reactor
Legendary Land - Urza's Mine Power-Plant Tower
You can't play Urza's Nuclear Reactor unless you control the Urzatron. (Do we need to explain the Urzatron to you?)
T: Another target permanent you control becomes a copy of a card named Urza's Mine, Urza's Power Plant, or Urza's Tower.
.
If I Win: Alternate "lose the game" conditions

Well that's kinda cute, and ridiculous. It's also absolute win-more. You want to win with your Urzatron, not make more Urzatron.

The Monster's Lair
Legendary Land - Lair (R)
Whenever another Lair enters the battlefield under your control, you may put a non-Lair land card from your hand onto the battlefield tapped.
{T}: Add {C}.
{T}: Add one mana of any type that a Lair you control could produce.


IIW: Low-level critters for an RPG.

A lordly lair-land. Lairs are frankly just terrible, and they need all the help they can get if they're going to be decent.

Polar Desert
Snow Land — Desert {R}
T: Add C

I like the notion, since it works with real-world geography and all. But just leaving it blank like that is pretty unsatisfying. I'd rather it have some minor ability referring mechanically to deserts. Or you coulda left it as Snow Covered Wastes.

Santa's Workshop
Snow Land - Santa's
T: Add C.
3,T: Create a 1/1 Toy Soldier artifact creature token for each elf you control. Activate this ability only once each year.

I ho-ho-hope you can prove this is the first time you've used it. Interestingly, if you want to blow it in April, there's nothing stopping you. Maybe have an Autograph Book style blank spot where people can write in the year?

Magmatic Forge
Land — Swamp Mountain Power-Plant (U)
: Add .
, Pay 1 life: Add or .
Pay 1 life, Sacrifice a permanent: Untap Magmatic Forge. Activate this ability only once each turn.

IIW: Ravnica, long before Azor arrived

Since Swamp and Mountain have the inherent ability to tap for their color, you'd need a City of Brass clause to make this a pain land. "When it becomes tapped for colored mana" I suppose.

But that other ability.... that's scary and almost certainly broken. It's a lot more versatile than Phyrexian Tower. This thing can let you turbo out like nothing if you can get the cheap sac fodder.

Winner and next

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I'll give it to Sporegorger for The Monster's Lair.

Next: Low-level critters for an RPG.

[OneAndOnly]

Orglit Cadre -- 1R
Creature - Orglit Warrior
Team up (This creature gets +1/+0 for each other Orglit or Warrior you control.)
1/3
.
Orglits are somewhere between Goblins, Orcs, and Ogres. Their base ability boosts their power for each other Orglit you control (kind of like Aurochs). More developed Orglits get additional bonuses depending on how many Orglits you control.
.

Spixalli Frond -- (2/B)G
Creature - Plant
Propogate (At the end of each of your turns, if you control an untapped land, you may remove a counter from this creature, or choose a counter type on it an add an additional counter of that type.)
Spixalli Frond enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it.
As long as there are three or more counters on Spixalli Frond it has reach,
0/0

Propogate is a mini-proliferate, affecting only the creature it's on. It allows you to remove negative counters, or continue the plant's growth.
.

Raven's Guild Examplum - 1(U/B)U
Creature - Human Shapeshifter Rogue
Initiate (You may have other creatures you control enter the battlefield as copies of this creature.)
Whenever Raven's Guild Examplum deals combat damage to a player, that player exiles the top three cards of their library.
2/2
.
Initiate feels like it must be a very linear mechanic -- after all, all your creatures could become a copy of the same darn thing -- but it's intended to let a deck actually switch roles between games without having to sideboard a ton of cards in and out. In one game, your first creature to land might be an evasive weenie, so you can build your army around that; in the next game, your first creature to hit the battlefield is a bruiser that likes to tussle, so you make that your strategy instead. It may have weird implications for things like devotion, and I'm interested in seeing how well initiate might work as an applicable mechanic (ie, something other creatures can gain).

[Mergatroid_Jones]

Skorpard 1B
Creature- Scorpion Cat (C)
Flash, lifelink
When Skorpard enters the battlefield, it gains deathtouch until end of turn.
1/2

IIW: Ikoria

[chetoos]

Reincarnated Slime
Creature - ooze citizen
When a human you control dies, return this creature from your graveyard to the battlefield. It gains "if this creature would leave the battlefield, exile it instead."
1/1

Iiw: phyrexian Santa's workshop

[spacemonaut]

Docile Gnoll {R/G}{R/G}
Creature — Hyena (U)
Trample
Whenever Docile Gnoll is dealt damage, if it isn't a Berserker, put two +1/+1 counters on it and it becomes a Berserker in addition to its other types. (It remains a Berserker indefinitely.)
2/2


IIW: Elden Ring

[Mergatroid_Jones]

Kher Commander 2RR
Creature- Kobold (U)
When Kher Commander enters the battlefield, create 3 0/1 red Kobold creature tokens.
Other Kobolds you control get +1/+0.
1/1

IIW: Snakes

[Ink-Treader]

Thieving Rat U
Creature - Rat (U)
Whenever Thieving Rat deals combat damage to a player, gain control of a noncreature token they control.
1/1

IIW: Consumables

[Juancu]

Spawnpoint Goblin R
Creature - Goblin (C)
Whenever Spawnpoint Goblin attacks, ladder 1. (To ladder 1, if you have less than 1 experience counter, get an experience counter. Otherwise, farm this creature.)
Farm - Draw a card, then discard a card.
1/1

Hoarding Squirrel G
Creature - Squirrel (U)
When Hoarding Squirrel dies, reveal the top X cards from your library. Put an equipment card from among them into your hand, then shuffle the rest into your library and create that many tapped treasure tokens. If Hoarding Squirrel fought a creature you control this turn, X is 3. Otherwise, X is 1.
1/1
"You're a squirrel who somehow has money, and sometimes swords and shields." -Final Fantasy Victory Fanfare

IIW: cartoony

[Mergatroid_Jones]

Boss Monster 1RR
Creature- Beast (R)
Boss Monster enters the battlefield with a number of level counters on it equal to the highest mana value among creatures and equipment your opponents control.
When Boss Monster dies, exile it. You may cast it from exile during your next turn.
{3/3}
------
Level 3-6
First Strike
{4/4}
--------
Level 8+
Double Strike
{4/4}

IIW: I've already had two entries, so forfeit

[Sporegorger_Dragon]

Alrighty then. 'Tis the season when turkey mortality skyrockets, so let's go!

SPOILER

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Orglit Cadre -- 1R
Creature - Orglit Warrior
Team up (This creature gets +1/+0 for each other Orglit or Warrior you control.)
1/3
.
Orglits are somewhere between Goblins, Orcs, and Ogres. Their base ability boosts their power for each other Orglit you control (kind of like Aurochs). More developed Orglits get additional bonuses depending on how many Orglits you control.
.

Spixalli Frond -- (2/B)G
Creature - Plant
Propogate (At the end of each of your turns, if you control an untapped land, you may remove a counter from this creature, or choose a counter type on it an add an additional counter of that type.)
Spixalli Frond enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it.
As long as there are three or more counters on Spixalli Frond it has reach,
0/0

Propogate is a mini-proliferate, affecting only the creature it's on. It allows you to remove negative counters, or continue the plant's growth.
.

Raven's Guild Examplum - 1(U/B)U
Creature - Human Shapeshifter Rogue
Initiate (You may have other creatures you control enter the battlefield as copies of this creature.)
Whenever Raven's Guild Examplum deals combat damage to a player, that player exiles the top three cards of their library.
2/2
.
Initiate feels like it must be a very linear mechanic -- after all, all your creatures could become a copy of the same darn thing -- but it's intended to let a deck actually switch roles between games without having to sideboard a ton of cards in and out. In one game, your first creature to land might be an evasive weenie, so you can build your army around that; in the next game, your first creature to hit the battlefield is a bruiser that likes to tussle, so you make that your strategy instead. It may have weird implications for things like devotion, and I'm interested in seeing how well initiate might work as an applicable mechanic (ie, something other creatures can gain).

Hmmm, interesting mechanics all around.

I assume Team Up works with the creature that share the same type(s). Seems powerful, but limited. Also, Orglit as a type seems a little redundant with actual Orcs and Goblins running around, though I understand making this a Goblin might make it go out of hand.

Propogate is very similar to a mechanic I had been thinking about. Not sure about the timing and untapped land rider, might be better as a keyword action the creature does i.e. like connive?

Initiate seems hard to gauge; I understand the intent is to allow decks to switch strategies every game, but I suspect all this will do is paint a massive target on the Initiate creature each time.

Skorpard 1B
Creature- Scorpion Cat (C)
Flash, lifelink
When Skorpard enters the battlefield, it gains deathtouch until end of turn.
1/2

IIW: Ikoria

The tried-and-true method of combining two creatures to make an RPG enemy.

Seems good, I'm not sure this should be common, might need to be uncommon.

Reincarnated Slime
Creature - ooze citizen
When a human you control dies, return this creature from your graveyard to the battlefield. It gains "if this creature would leave the battlefield, exile it instead."
1/1

Iiw: phyrexian Santa's workshop

Listen, you....

Get your isekai out of here! Who do you think I am, Juancu?!

Docile Gnoll {R/G}{R/G}
Creature — Hyena (U)
Trample
Whenever Docile Gnoll is dealt damage, if it isn't a Berserker, put two +1/+1 counters on it and it becomes a Berserker in addition to its other types. (It remains a Berserker indefinitely.)
2/2


IIW: Elden Ring

Hmmm, very interesting. Of course the thing has to survive to get its boon, and I like the idea of using a pump spell to get the upgrade. Seems like a good rate.

Kher Commander 2RR
Creature- Kobold (U)
When Kher Commander enters the battlefield, create 3 0/1 red Kobold creature tokens.
Other Kobolds you control get +1/+0.
1/1

IIW: Snakes

This is the sort of thing I might design! I like the idea of Dollar Store Siege Commander!

Thieving Rat U
Creature - Rat (U)
Whenever Thieving Rat deals combat damage to a player, gain control of a noncreature token they control.
1/1

IIW: Consumables

Surprising this isn't a thing yet. Captures the feel of a low-level mob perfectly.

Spawnpoint Goblin R
Creature - Goblin (C)
Whenever Spawnpoint Goblin attacks, ladder 1. (To ladder 1, if you have less than 1 experience counter, get an experience counter. Otherwise, farm this creature.)
Farm - Draw a card, then discard a card.
1/1

Hoarding Squirrel G
Creature - Squirrel (U)
When Hoarding Squirrel dies, reveal the top X cards from your library. Put an equipment card from among them into your hand, then shuffle the rest into your library and create that many tapped treasure tokens. If Hoarding Squirrel fought a creature you control this turn, X is 3. Otherwise, X is 1.
1/1
"You're a squirrel who somehow has money, and sometimes swords and shields." -Final Fantasy Victory Fanfare

IIW: cartoony

Juancu leaning heavily into the RPG tropes here.

I have mixed feelings about ladder and farm. I like the overall idea, but find it very difficult to gauge its power in a vacuum, especially with other cards interacting with experience counters.

Hoarding Squirrel poking fun at a nonsensical trope while also trying to justify it. I like it, but I feel that as-is this is more of white card than green, maybe just skip the Equipment part and just have the Treasure.

Boss Monster 1RR
Creature- Beast (R)
Boss Monster enters the battlefield with a number of level counters on it equal to the highest mana value among creatures and equipment your opponents control.
When Boss Monster dies, exile it. You may cast it from exile during your next turn.
{3/3}
------
Level 3-6
First Strike
{4/4}
--------
Level 8+
Double Strike
{4/4}

IIW: I've already had two entries, so forfeit

Meets the requirements of the challenge by being Level 0 if your opponent control nothing! That's metagaming for ya!

Illustrates the level-scaling that some RPGs utilized. Very interesting in that this is basically reverse level up; it uses the exact same mechanics without using the level up ability itself. Very resourceful; Mel would be proud.

Somewhat concerned about power level. Difficult to evaluate without playtesting.

Winners:

SPOILER

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HM: spacemonaut
HM: OneAndOnly

Winner: Mergatroid_Jones for Boss Monster and Kher Commander.

Which means our next prompt is:

SPOILER

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Snakes

[Juancu]

Tempt with Knowledge BR
Sorcery (R)
Target player creates a Food token. It gains "When this artifact is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, draw two cards. Then choose up to two creatures you control and sacrifice each other nonland permanent you control."

Crucify 2B
Sorcery (C)
Destroy target non-Snake non-Serpent creature.

IIW: cartoony

[Sporegorger_Dragon]

Baleful Rattlesnake
3{B}
Creature - Snake (U)
2{B}: Target Snake gains your choice of menace or deathtouch until end of turn.
3/2


Hognose Snake
1{B}
Creature - Snake (C)
Feigning Death 3{B}: Until end of turn, Hognose Snake gains "When this creature dies, return it to the battlefield tapped under its owner's control."
2/1


Birthing Boa
4{G}{G}
Creature - Snake (U)
When Birthing Boa enters the battlefield, create a 1/1 green Snake creature token.
3{G}: Create a 1/1 green Snake creature token.
3/6


Snake Charmer
1{B}{G}
Creature - Human Shaman (U)
When Snake Charmer enters the battlefield, choose one-
-You gain 1 life and create a 1/1 green Snake creature token.
-You lose 1 life and create a 1/1 black Snake creature token with deathtouch.
-Each opponent loses 2 life and you gain 2 life.
1/2


IIW: Vanilla creature from a post-Strixhaven set

[Megiddo]

Glass-Scale Boa 1G
Creature — Snake {R}
At the beginning of your end step, remove all counters from Glass-Scale Boa.
3/3

IIW: murder mystery

[OneAndOnly]

Sidewinding Slipsnake -- G
Creature - Snake {C}
Evade 1 (This creature can't be blocked by creatures with mana value 1 or less.)
Whenever Sidewinding Slipsnake deals combat damage, you may have it gain an additional point of evade.
1/1
.
Cobra-Fang Apprentice -- 2b
Creature - Snake Assassin {U}
Cobra-Fang Apprentice enters the battlefield with a deathtouch counter.
When Cobra-Fang Apprentice deals combat damage to a creature, you may remove all deathtouch counters from it. If you do, put that many +1/+1 counters on it.
1/3

Next: Reflections in the mirror