Ryder wrote: ↑4 months ago
Yan_MTG wrote: ↑4 months ago
In limited, this would bring the game to top deck mode very quickly.
Are you sure? Would you be that eager to play something that is always card disadvantage? See, if you don't discard they don't either.
Madness, flashback, descent, unearth, hellbent etc.
Sometimes you are just flooded and want to force an opponent to cut down your opponent's options.
It depends on the Limited environment. The real issue with this spell is that in an environment that has synergy with it, it might do too much for too little investment.
If you avoid all the synergies and actually end up with card disadvantage it's just a spell you avoid.
Either way is bad design and by going for a one-mana card that has a lot of range you make both a weak card and a problematic card, because when it does what it is supposed to do, it is not often an engaging interaction.
Put
One with Nothing at rare, not common.
Ryder wrote: ↑4 months ago
Yan_MTG wrote: ↑4 months ago
What is the thinking behind having this in white as well?
If white can get card draw in the form of "everybody gets cards", maybe it could also get discard, if it's always "fair"?
Multiple things:
1. There are certain effects/abilities/game objects that are paired with opposites where one is constructive and one is destructive/disruptive and you inherently want the constructive side more than the destructive side, because the constructive side enables games and interaction, while the destructive side prevents gameplay to unfold - in result even if you balance the power of the cards you end up with "non-games" where players take less actions and have less options. A game with more actions and options lead to more choices and reward good choices.
Land ramp > Land destruction; +1/+1 counters > -1/-1 counters; card draw > discard; scry > fateseal etc.
Hence there is far less incentive to spread discard around.
2. Now let's pretend all that wasn't an issue. Would you do the same card with card draw? I don't think so. Inherently card disadvantage, but
Secret Rendezvous is still a three mana uncommon.
Let's not forget that by giving white access to those new abilities you
remove white's weakness in having no access to those abilities.
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My suggested fix:
Do what
Your Temple Is Under Attack does: Create a modal spell that pairs this (or a similar) effect with another effect and put them at a cost similar to
Delirium Skeins, just to prevent the issues that come just from having it as a one-mana spell.
Remove the inherent modes. You can entertain "Each player discards N cards." or "You and target opponent discard N cards." or "Discard N cards. Target opponent discards a card for each card you discarded this way." But at common pre-defining N seems like the path to go.
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I personally feel white getting
Mesmeric Fiend-style hand disruption is closer to what white is about than symmetric card draw.