New Ability: Fortitude?
Custom Cards forum
Posted on Aug. 25, 2014, 5:59 p.m. by Headers13
A creature's toughness regenerates between combat phases if there are more than one i.e. the opposite to double strike.
pookypuppy6 says... #3
So, you mean if it is dealt combat damage in the first strike phase, it prevents the damage and then is dealt normal damage in the normal damage phase?
Well, thing is is that double strike isn't all that common an ability, so coming up with a keyword to out-meta double strike seems a bit pointless. It's so narrow that you can't build many cards that can benefit from it, let alone say, a custom set with it.
Funnily enough, the way you worded it actually comes up with a solution to a double-striking attacker; use a blocker with Regenerate.
August 25, 2014 6:14 p.m.
Regeneration would require tapping the dude. It's also limited to green.
August 25, 2014 6:33 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #5
First, toughness isn't reduced by combat damage. What you mean to propose is an ability that removes marked damage after the combat phase.
If you limit this ability such that it only applies in situations where there are multiple combat phases, then the idea is kind of a waste because it's far too narrow in application to justify keywording and using on any large scale.
If the ability is not limited to those situations, then you need to come up with a compelling reason to keyword it and use it when we already have regenerate.
August 25, 2014 6:38 p.m.
pookypuppy6 says... #6
You're forgetting black has common regeneration, or cards with green/black activated costs for regeneration ( Votary of the Conclave and Selesnya Sentry are particularly Selesnyan examples of this.
Also, it doesn't really matter that much if the damage prevention makes them tapped or not. Presumably this is a mechanic for defense, which means being tapped AFTER declaring the Fortitude card as a blocker doesn't matter. If it's offense you are going for attacking into a double strike defender... well, that's a narrow situation enough, and you have to rely on the double striker deciding to block the Fortitude creature. Which, they'd be initially inclined not to.
The point I'm trying to squeeze out is that this mechanic isn't going to be much use very much of the time Reach is a powerful ability because it helps against one of the most common mechanics in Magic: flying. But double strike? Less common, and not even often AT common rarity.
August 25, 2014 6:39 p.m.
weisemanjohn says... #7
here's an idea to make the ability better.
Each time damage is dealt to this creature, remove all damage that has been dealt to this creature unless that damage was enough to destroy this creature.
this way, first strike damage is removed before moving on to normal damage AND you can also get around multiple burn spells hitting the creature in succession.
August 25, 2014 7:21 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #9
I don't know that it's any better, though. The underlying problem is that the ability is pretty complicated and unnecessary. I might be convinced otherwise if it were implemented and demonstrated, but there doesn't seem to be any reason for it to exist in a vacuum.
August 25, 2014 8:21 p.m.
Arachnarchist says... #10
It might be better to make it a triggered ability. Something like:
"Whenever this creature is dealt damage, remove all damage from it."
This way, lethal damage will still kill it as a state-based affect before the damage is removed. This would also allow somebody to respond to the ability and kill the creature, i.e. "after combat damage, with 'fortitude' on the stack, Lightning Bolt your guy.
You could also throw a number on it, for example "Fortitude 2" means "Whenever this creature is dealt damage remove 2 damage from it." Probably makes it more unnecessarily complicated though.
August 25, 2014 8:45 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #12
Yeah, the issue here is that we're trying to make a new mechanic do something that several other mechanics already kind of accomplish. There's regenerate, indestructible, absorb, etc.
When you design a new mechanic, actually wording the ability is only part of your job. You also need to make sure that the ability solves a problem or has a reasonable application. If there's no real reason for the mechanic to exist given what it or other mechanics do, then it's back to the drawing board.
August 25, 2014 9:01 p.m.
accelerando11 says... #13
The difference here is that Regenerate removes the creature from combat and doesn't become tapped, but has the downside of only interacting with combat damage.
Regenerate reminder text: The next time this creature would be destroyed this turn, it isn't. Instead tap it, remove all damage from it, and remove it from combat.
August 25, 2014 10:48 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #14
@accelerando11: I'm not quite sure what you're saying. Regenerate removes the creature from combat, taps it, and interacts with all destroy events, per the reminder text you just quoted.
For the proposed ability, I really don't see the benefit of keywording something that's only going to be relevant in a handful of cases and complicates the game.
August 25, 2014 10:57 p.m.
pookypuppy6 says... #15
To try and likely fail to put into context what Epochalyptik is sayng, recently Magic turned "unblockable" into an ability without a keyword. It's just "can't be blocked" now. UNBLOCKABLE was deemed an unnecessary keyword!
Your mechanic should have at least somewhere close to as mnay applications and design space as "can't be blocked" to justify it.
Another example: I see a lot of custom designers take Tornado Elemental or Rhox 's ability and turn that into a keyword. THAT may be a mechanic worth keywording for a set or two, since it's seldom used that it could be fitted into its own set/block, but wide enough in application to be worth using (s it happens when attacking: oh lordy, that happens a lot)!
August 26, 2014 6:58 a.m.
accelerando11 says... #16
It seems I missed an important word in my explanation. "Fortitude" has the downside of only working with combat damage (in most cases).
August 26, 2014 8:38 p.m.
BlindJoker says... #17
Didn't read everything, but from what I got "Prevent all non-lethal damage that would be dealt to this creature" seems like a simpler wording.
September 4, 2014 10:27 p.m.
BlindJoker says... #18
Nevermind, now that I'm thinking about it preventing the damage would be different from resetting it.
TehCoopeh says... #2
There's already the ability "Fortify." :P
August 25, 2014 6:06 p.m.