What is the cost of x when casting Dracognax, Dragon King?
Asked by Cheesy1087 5 years ago
Trying to make a merciless dragon deck
For additional comparison on why Dracognax's casting cost is too low, here are some similar cards.
Kilnmouth Dragon has Amplify 3, flying, and a 5/5 body. It has an additional ability to deal direct damage based on how many counters are on it. It's casting cost is . This creature has the highest currently existing value for Amplify.
Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund has an ability to gain control of all Dragons when it enters the battlefield, with no end condition or further connection to the card. It's also a 7/7 with flying (and haste and gives your other Dragons haste). Its casting cost is .
Borderland Behemoth is the closest I can find to compare to the last ability. It gets +4/+4 for each other Giant you control, and is a 4/4 to start. Its casting cost is . Dracognax's version of this ability is poorly worded because, since it doesn't exclude itself, it's actually a 9/9.
The only reason to actually set a value other than 0 for the in Dracognax's casting cost would be to get around abilities like those on Void Winnower that prevent the casting of certain CMC spells, or to dodge a counterspell that targets a specific CMC.
March 16, 2019 1:39 p.m.
PlatinumOne says... #3
if you've found a satisfactory answer, please select it so this can move to the "answered" portion of the Q&A.
March 21, 2019 1:47 a.m.
As this question has been resolved for a couple days, I have gone ahead and chosen an accepted answer. In the future, please remember to hit the "Mark as Answer" button on a responsive post once you have no further follow-up questions.
Kogarashi says... Accepted answer #1
It should be noted that Dracognax, Dragon King is not an official Magic: the Gathering card. It is a fan-created card and thus not subject to design control from Wizards.
While Dracognax has a casting cost of , there is nothing in its rules text to set the value of or give guidance for choosing what that value should be. Thus can be whatever the player casting the spell chooses, meaning unless something else is preventing them from doing so, they could set it at 0 and be fine.
This makes Dracognax an incredibly broken card for just 2 mana. It has Amplify 5 (five +1/+1 counters on it for each Dragon card you reveal in your hand as it enters the battlefield), flying, an ability to gain permanent control of all Dragons on the battlefield with no set end condition or connection to this card, and +3/+3 for each Dragon you control including itself, all on a 6/6 body.
March 14, 2019 5:28 p.m.