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| Format | Legality |
| 1v1 Commander | Legal |
| Alchemy | Legal |
| Archenemy | Legal |
| Arena | Legal |
| Block Constructed | Legal |
| Canadian Highlander | Legal |
| Casual | Legal |
| Commander / EDH | Legal |
| Commander: Rule 0 | Legal |
| Custom | Legal |
| Duel Commander | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Highlander | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Historic Brawl | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Leviathan | Legal |
| Limited | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Modern Beyond Horizons | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Planar Constructed | Legal |
| Planechase | Legal |
| Pre-release | Legal |
| Quest Magic | Legal |
| Standard | Legal |
| Standard Brawl | Legal |
| Vanguard | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
Whispering Wizard
Creature — Human Wizard
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, create a 1/1 white Spirit creature token with flying. This ability triggers only once each turn.
legendofa on Is WotC Being Inconsistent in …
1 year ago
Again, not a professional designer. But:
Compare Whispering Wizard to cards like Monastery Mentor or Third Path Iconoclast. I would say if or got added to the cost and it became a 2/2, it would be more likely to be triggered on any use. is the weakest color for continual token generation.
Sunshot Militia would need a shift up to at least uncommon, if not rare. It's already a reasonably efficient pinger, in that it can be activated multiple times in a turn and hits each opponent. Adding or maybe to the mana cost and upshifting the rarity would be enough to remove the restriction, I think. Ghirapur AEther Grid and Kyren Negotiations are my references here.
DemonDragonJ on Is WotC Being Inconsistent in …
1 year ago
legendofa, in the case of Whispering Wizard, what if it cost 1 more mana? Would its ability then be allowed to trigger multiple times per turn? What if a more expensive version of sunshot militia was printed? Could its ability be used as an instant?
legendofa on Is WotC Being Inconsistent in …
1 year ago
DemonDragonJ I'm not a professional designer, but if I had to guess at the reasonings for the restrictions on those cards:
Whispering Wizard is a 3/2, which carries a lot more pressure than a 1/5. It also triggers off planeswalkers, no creature artifacts, and battles, while Murmuring Mystic is instants and sorceries only.
Your desired used of Sunshot Militia is hugely above the expected complexity of a common card. It would be more powerful, but it would also be a rare card, at a glance. There's a loose but present ceiling on what a common should be able to do. And upgrading one red creature card's rarity means that either another red creature card has to get downgraded, or a rare red creature gets scrapped and a new common red creature created. And that's the minimum level of changes, assuming this was done very early in the process.
Instant-speed reanimation is unusual and expensive. When it does happen, it's 5+ mana Gravewaker, short-term Apprentice Necromancer, single-use Doomed Necromancer, or carries some other restrictions. (All my examples are activated abilities, but the same goes for spells, too). Permanently returning two creatures for four mana, at instant speed (so surprise blocker + haste), with the option of reusability, would make Slimefoot and Squee the strongest reanimator spell by far in the Modern era.
DemonDragonJ on Is WotC Being Inconsistent in …
1 year ago
wallisface, those three cards that you mentioned are perfectly fine; I am referring to cards such as Whispering Wizard, which has no reason to have that restriction, since Murmuring Mystic does not have it; Sunshot Militia, because, if it did not have that restriction, I could amass an army of tokens, use them to block, and then, during my opponent's end step, tap those tokens to deal massive amounts of damage to my opponents; and Slimefoot and Squee, because, if they did not have that restriction, I could revive them during my opponent's end step and then attack with them during my next turn.
plakjekaas on Why Are So Many Recent …
1 year ago
The difference between Whispering Wizard and Murmuring Mystic is that non-creature spells are WAY more prevalent than just instant and/or sorcery spells. Building your deck around getting rewarded for instants and sorceries is a bigger restriction than reaping rewards from not only those, but every enchantment, artifact, planeswalker and battle as well. A bigger restriction on your deck building, means a higher reward, that's why I think the once-per-turn text is there.
Spacing out your instant/flash spells to maximize your rewards for a once-per-turn effect is a different way of maximizing your gains out of your resources. It's a new puzzle to challenge players to play the game well, without the need for just more powerful cards each set. It will most reward the players that think most about what their cards do.
The resistance you experience in this thread is more about your unwillingness to be challenged this way and think deeper about the game you're playing, than it is about the actual card design choices you're highlighting. The "I don't want to think about it, every similar effect should work the same way"-attitude rubs off wrong against people who enjoy the intricate synergies and play patterns, the puzzles that are created by the difference in card designs.
wallisface on Why Are So Many Recent …
1 year ago
DemonDragonJ to the quantity of sorcery-speed and once-per-turn abilities, I don’t see Wotc reducing the percentage of cards they print with these riders anytime soon - it definitely feels like the new norm (and while you may not like this, its a positive advancement for game-design).
As to Whispering Wizard being once per turn, i’d say it’s down to them not wanting this card to be a free win-condition for storm-style decks.
DemonDragonJ on Why Are So Many Recent …
1 year ago
Also, rather than make a new thread to discuss the "once per turn" restriction, I would like to say that that restriction makes perfect sense on Jin-Gitaxias, Progress Tyrant and Erayo's Essence Flip, but makes no sense on Whispering Wizard, so does anyone here have any guesses as to why WotC put that restriction on that card?
multimedia on
Urza’s legion
2 years ago
Hey, good start on a budget with what you have so far. Command Tower is a budget staple land for multicolored Commander decks and Arcane Signet is a budget staple mana rock.
Ramos, Dragon Engine can only be played in a five color deck using it as Commander or another five color Commander. It's activated ability has all five mana symbols and those symbols count toward it's color identity. Urza's color identity is only three colors Esper (black, white, blue). Because Urza doesn't have red and green that's why Ramos can't be played with Urza as Commander.
If you want aggro with Urza lets look at the beginning of the mana curve first, cards spots of 0-3 CMC only then we can look at the higher end of the mana curve. The first changes to consider is to remove all the nonartifact creatures and then later determine if they are worth a spot in your deck because they have abilities that help artifacts or Urza. I think you'll find that you don't need any of these creatures because artifact creatures can take their places. If you want to be aggro with Urza then you want to utilize Urza's artifact creature affinity to cast Urza quicker. To do this consistently Urza wants 0-2 CMC artifact creatures and some 3 CMC artifact creatures more than the rest.
- Cut: Ramos, Dragon Engine
- Cut: Slither Blade, Triton Shorestalker, Fetid Imp, Neurok Familiar
- Cut: Parish-Blade Trainee, Gixian Skullflayer, Gryff Rider
- Cut: Naiad of Hidden Coves, Whispering Wizard, Cryptic Serpent
Some of these creatures may be added back in later, most likely not, but for now lets build the creature base with only artifact creatures. For making upgrades lets look at best cards here with Urza and build around them? Arcbound Ravager and Portal to Phyrexia are the two best cards here with Urza because they're artifacts and they're abilities are more powerful compared to most other cards here. Ravager brings the aggro, but if aggro doesn't do it and you need more reach to win the game then Portal can do that. Lets start with Ravager and what makes it better with Urza? Modular and you have some here, more one drops can help toward Urza's artifact creature affinity and Ravager.
- Add: Ornithopter, Vault Skirge, Arcbound Javelineer, Arcbound Mouser, Swooping Lookout
- Add: Steel Overseer, Baleful Strix, Triarch Praetorian, Malcator's Watcher
- Add: Silas Renn, Seeker Adept, Armix, Filigree Thrasher, Scrapyard Recombiner
Steel Overseer adds to the +1/+1 counter strategy, it's powerful but only for artifact creatures and if trying to be aggro it's a good reason to play very few nonartifact creatures. Silas Renn, Seeker Adept goes well with Arcbound Ravager since with Ravager you want to sac artifacts and Silas lets you cast an artifact from your graveyard. It's deathtouch combined with Urza's menace makes it a creature who opponent is not going to block and lose two or more creatures blocking it. Baleful Strix, Triarch Praetorian, Malcator's Watcher are two drop artifact creatures who fly and who draw when enter the battlefield (ETB) or dies.
Some artifacts here are worse than others.
- Cut: Veteran's Powerblade, Spellbook
- Cut: Journeyer's Kite, Pristine Talisman
- Cut: Reconstructed Thopter, Burnished Hart
Think about limiting the amount of nonartifact spells to just the better ones you have here?
- Cut: Involuntary Cooldown, Weakstone's Subjugation, Curse of Echoes
- Cut: Disfigure, Curate, Scatter Ray, Cancel
Equipment that increases the equipped creature's power equal to the amount of artifacts you control really ups the aggro since then any little artifact creature can become huge which combined with menace can make it a great attacker. I see Silver Myr and it's good here since counts twice for Urza, artifact creature affinity and ramp. Consider adding more artifact creature mana dorks who can make colored mana?
- Add: Cranial Plating, Nettlecyst
- Add: Ornithopter of Paradise, Gold Myr, Leaden Myr
The budget Signets can help for ramp as well as color fixing which is really needed because the manabase here is pretty much all basic lands. Arcane Signet is a staple budget mana rock for ramp in Commander. Chromatic Lantern is fine for color fixing, but you're going to want more than that.
- Add: Arcane Signet
- Add: Azorius Signet, Dimir Signet, Orzhov Signet
Some nonartifact creatures at the beginning of the mana curve can really help aggro and Urza.
Losheel, Clockwork Scholar is powerful with artifact creatures when attacking is what you want to be doing especially Constructs. Your artifact creatures don't take damage in combat meaning that opponents will have a difficult time choosing to block since their blockers might die, but your creatures will be fine. Losheel is also repeatable draw, once on each players turn when an artifact creature ETB you draw this includes when a Construct is created by Urza if you didn't have an artifact creature ETB before your end step.
Sai, Master Thopterist can be a repeatable source of artifact creatures, Thopters, to be attackers or sac fodder. Emry, Lurker of the Loch is like Silas Renn, Seeker Adept more ways to cast artifacts from your graveyard is good with Arcbound Ravager and other sac outlets.
That's it for this comment, but if you're still interested I'll give advice about the high end of the mana curve here to take more advantage of aggro into mid game and Portal to Phyrexia late game as well as some budget land options for the manabase. Would you like more advice?
Good luck with your deck.