TwoKinds + MTG = This

Custom Cards forum

Posted on Dec. 18, 2019, 3:46 p.m. by Faelix_Drakes

Caerwyn says... #2

I'm not sure what you are referencing, so I am just going to evaluate this from the Magic perspective.

Ability one and ability two have the same problem--they don't fit in Green's slice of the colour pie (they're both Red abilities).

Green only deals damage directly to a creature in one of three ways: (1) Direct damage to creatures with flying ; (2) Fighting ; (3) One-sided fighting .

Green does not deal combat damage to players or planeswalkers, making the second ability even more problematic than the first.

(As an aside, there are some exceptions-- Bee Sting , Hornet Sting , Thorn Thallid , Unyaro Bee Sting , Unyaro Bees --but these are all older cards and Mark Rosewater has said on multiple occasions those cards are colour pie brakes).

There is nothing technically wrong with the last ability, but, from an application stance, Emblems are thus far only found on Planeswalkers. There's nothing in the rules that would prohibit a creature making an emblem, but it's still a bit of an oddity.

December 18, 2019 4:31 p.m.

Tzefick says... #3

Caerwyn Player hexproof is historically a white thing, not a green thing. Green grants hexproof to their permanents, but not themselves.

All abilities are off-color.

December 18, 2019 5:08 p.m.

Caerwyn says... #4

Tzefick - You're 100% correct! I got so caught up on the Emblem issue that I lost track of the hexproof one. Which makes that final ability problematic on two levels.

December 18, 2019 5:13 p.m.

shadow63 says... #5

Caerwyn one sided fight effects are called punches because of the one tarkir card

December 18, 2019 11:19 p.m.

Tzefick says... #6

shadow63 What card? Savage Punch ? That's a fight effect. I would say the first card I have known as one-sided fights is Crush Underfoot and a more flexible version in Soul's Fire . The first green version was Rabid Bite in Shadows over Innistrad.

Others that followed in green: Aggressive Instinct (from the global series), Ambuscade , Band Together , Clear Shot , Combo Attack , Moonlight Hunt and Nissa's Judgment .

I don't think there's a consensus on what this effect should be called.

December 19, 2019 5:58 a.m.

Faelix_Drakes says... #7

The reason I made the card green is because it's what the character in the webcomic wears. There is no brown mana color, so I went with green.

December 19, 2019 12:08 p.m.

Caerwyn says... #8

Color identity runs much deeper than clothing. You have to consider their personality traits and make a determination as to what their identity would be based thereon.

So, when choosing a color identity for a character or individual, you have to consider two questions:

  1. What are their primary traits? Are they impulsive or prone to action? They probably have some Red. Do they care about following some form of code, be it divine or mundane? White. Etc. The traits that make up their primary elements should be the colors of the card.

  2. Is the character sometimes prone to actions beyond their primary characteristics? As you are aware, color identity does not just look at the card's color--it also looks at other mana symbols on the cards. Those abilities generally represent a non-primary facet of someone's personality. By way of example, someone extremely dedicated to law and order above all else might be mono-white. But, perhaps they sometimes are prone to anger--not often enough that it defines them as a person, but frequently enough that they might have a Red-mana activated ability.

The abilities must then line-up with the color identity of that individual or character. Ultimately, the integrity of the color pie should be the primary goal of designing cards, custom or otherwise--the pie is the glue that holds the entire game together.

December 19, 2019 12:24 p.m.

Faelix_Drakes says... #9

So what are the personality traits of the other colors?

December 19, 2019 2:26 p.m.

Caerwyn says... #10

Here is a nifty chart released by Wizards which gives a general description of each color's philosophy:

enter image description here

If you're looking for a one-word answer for each, I would generally take the shared word between the two subcomponents of the outer categories as the fundamental philosophy of each color. So that gets you:

  1. White = Law
  2. Blue = Intellect
  3. Black = Selfishness (I'm not sure I would have chosen a word with such a negative connotation though).
  4. Red = Action
  5. Green = Nature
December 19, 2019 2:45 p.m.

Tzefick says... #11

My take on a one-word summary of each color:

  1. White: Balance
  2. Blue: Cunning
  3. Black: Reckless (ambition)
  4. Red: Temperament
  5. Green: Savagery

Obviously a single word cannot embody what each of the colors encompass, and the color wheel Caerwyn posted is a nice little cavalcade of descriptive words.

I believe white is more than just law and order. They are more an advocate for the status quo and equality. However they are also a color of community and enchantments, of self preservation and defense, so it's not really that easy to put a single word on them.

I believe blue is indeed intellect, but equal parts cunning, innovative and deceptive.

Black is reckless with any values they have. All that matters to them is the goal, the means to achieve it don't matter. They'll sacrifice their life, their creatures and other permanents or their cards (knowledge) to gain an advantage and emerge the victor. They'll also take valuables - like life or creatures, from others if they can.

Red is raw emotion and impulse, but that don't convey well without context. They'll lash out in a heartbeat and often they are short sighted and in a way reckless, sacrificing tomorrow for a chance for glory today. They are not particularly innovative and often resort to the same plan of just burning everything or something very intensely - a character flaw and design flaw we also see in the red Facewalker that represents red.

Green is nature, but what is nature without context? Green is the land and untamed savagery of the wilds, but at the same time they are home to elves of harmony, of art, of beauty.


I hope that gives you some idea of what the colors individually embody. When talking multicolor, things gets a bit more dicey.

December 19, 2019 4:30 p.m.

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