Proposing via MTG Card(s)
Custom Cards forum
Posted on April 23, 2023, 10:35 a.m. by stephlikethesoup
Hello! I am relatively new to Magic. My girlfriend taught it to me and we play a lot, and now I'd like to propose to her via an MTG game. I plan to print my own cards so I can "play" my proposal.
I want to make them as realistic/MTG-accurate as possible within the parameters of: the proposal offers up the ring "equipment", and her options to the proposal are to say yes and get the ring, say no and continue "playing"/dating, or say no and end the "game"/relationship. (She's going to say yes, but still.)
Here's what I've drafted:
THE PROPOSAL Enchantment
"Enchant player
Enchanted player chooses one: - Accept The Ring artifact - Counterspell - End game"
THE RING Artifact - Equipment
"Equip cost - The Proposal enchantment
When equipped, players share a life total."
It will be part of a white/green deck, I haven't decided on color or mana yet.
There actually exists a "card" named Proposal - it was a custom made card for Richard Garfield (the creator of the game) to propose marriage to his then-girlfriend, Lily Yu. Garfield contacted Quinton Hoover--who was Lily's favorite MTG artist (not to mention one of the best artists Magic has ever had, may he rest in peace) to custom create art for the card.
The card image is below--you could probably use the artwork from it for your custom card to give it a classic Magic feel.
Looking at your custom card, it has a few major formatting issues--I presume you want the card to function as close as possible to an actual Magic card, with minimal additional language needed.
First, your card does not actually function as presently written--you will need a replacement effect on the enter the battlefield. A triggered ability could also work, but a replacement effect is cleaner as it does not use the stack and cannot be responded to.
Second, you are probably going to want to pull out a ring, so you probably want that object to come into existence automatically rather than have the choice of its creation up to the other player.
Third, counterspell would not have any function--the card would already be in play and resolved, thus could not be countered. You probably do not even need this effect anyway--you are creating an equipment, and they could just choose not to equip The Ring.
Fourth, if you are going to create an object, you need to define the object in the card itself.
Fifth, you cannot equip items to a player, so would need to add a new, intuitive keyword like "Equip Player".
Overall, you'll probably want a card that looks like this:
The Proposal [Mana Cost]
Legendary Enchantment — Aura
As The Proposal enters the battlefield, create a legendary Equipment artifact token named The Ring. It has "The Ring enters the battlefield under the control of a player of your choice," "As long as The Ring is equipped to a player, all players share a life total," and equip player Accept The Proposal.
April 23, 2023 11:40 a.m. Edited.
FormOverFunction says... #4
I played a Carnivorous Plant on Wednesday and thought about Hoover. I second Caerwyn’s comments.
April 23, 2023 11:50 a.m.
stephlikethesoup says... #5
Caerwyn that is so cool to know!! And thank you, that is really helpful. I knew I was fudging the rules a lot to make it into two cards because I wanted "the Ring" to have a descriptor, but I really like your alternative!!!
April 23, 2023 12:10 p.m.
Creating the card is only the first part. If you’re gonna want to play it, youll have to put it in your deck. I’d recommend pasting it on to the front of a forest or something after you have formatted it so its the size of a Magic Card. Make sure to sleeve it though so its not obvious your playing with a custom card. While it’s usually considered dishonest to play with custom cards without notifying your opponent, the moment is kinda ruined if you notify her before hand. I hope the proposal goes well! May you be the Jace to her Vraska or Chandra to her Nissa depending on OP’s gender.
April 23, 2023 12:27 p.m.
It's worth noting in the Garfield/Lily story, he actually had to play 4 times to find Proprosal, so it would probably be helpful to add ways to find your card quickly (card draw seems best since it keeps the card hidden) so you find it game 1.
stephlikethesoup says... #2
Other ideas for the "Ring" artifact: When equipped, two players are joined. They have separate turns, but they share mana and a life total. Any spells that affect one player's creatures can also affect those of the joined player.
April 23, 2023 10:44 a.m.