Temporal bargain
Custom Cards forum
Posted on June 25, 2019, 12:34 p.m. by biggestmtgnerd
This is a card I came up with that I thought was pretty cool:
Temporal bargain
UUUX
Sorcery
You take X extra turns after this one. Your opponent chooses X different types of phases. You skip the next X instances of that phase.
Exile Temporal Bargain
I think this isn’t broken, but it’s hard to be sure with something as weird as this. If X is one it’s basically a strictly worse Savor the Moment , and at X=2 it’s like Urban Evolution but with less card draw and more land drops. At X=3 it basically reads as either draw 3 cards and have three extra attack phases (assuming opponent chooses precombat main phase, postcombat main phase, and untap step, which would be their most likely choice), which is powerful, but probably not gamebreaking considering it’s six mana. Overall, I think it’s a card that balanced enough to not snap formats (completely) in half while also giving Johnnys a lot to play with. What do you guys think?
Like aholder7 says, there's not many phases in a turn. There's 5:
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Beginning (Untap, upkeep, draw step)
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Precombat Main Phase
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Combat Phase
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Postcombat Main Phase
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End Phase
So... I get that the card in question is likely not broken because it gets increasingly more difficult to utilize the card's effect, the higher value X is. Although copy spells would effectively make multiple gains with only minimal disadvantages to it. Let's say you cast this at X = 1 and gets to copy it 2 times for a total of 3 instances. Your opponent is forced to select the same phase each time or risk giving you turns with no handicap.
I'm not sure how this would interact with cards that grants you additional steps and phases, like Combat Phases, Upkeep Step ( Paradox Haze ).
As for gameplay, I don't think you would ever cast this for anything other than X = 1 and maybe X = 2. You need some serious rule breaking stuff going on before this makes much sense, as most people will cap your Beginning (and Combat/Ending phases). I'm tempted to say it is too conditional in a lot of ways for it to make sense to make as a card that isn't straight Savor the Moment .
Interesting design but I think it falls into a category of "requires too much setup" to make sense to print as a card.
I think you would need to make it a bit more boxed in to make it feasible.
Something like
Alternative Show
A more strict casting cost when scaling as even if you put in X = 100, you still get Upkeep and End step, so it has a purpose.
By handpicking the modes on the spell (like Fatespinner you allow a more interesting choice, whereas before very few people would not ask you to skip the Beginning Phase, as it's here you get Untap and Draw. Basically with this model you ask your opponent, what do you not want me to do? Untap permanents, draw cards, play sorcery speed, or attack? Untap is by far the worst step to skip for the caster, but they may get around it by other means, like Vitalize , Intruder Alarm or Wilderness Reclamation .
I didn't make it exile itself, which may be a mistake, but I don't see how you misuse it in a fashion that is already available in eternal formats in a much better way.
Since this card messes with steps and phases I would think it would be fitting to throw it in a non-standard set, so Modern Horizons 2?
June 26, 2019 11:01 a.m.
biggestmtgnerd says... #4
Tzefick I like your idea for a replacement. I had indeed thought that untap, draw, and upkeep were “phases” and not “steps”. Thanks for the clarification!
June 26, 2019 11:43 a.m.
Thanks for explaining the phases in more depth Tzefick! To answer your comment about Paradox Haze since the card triggers during the upkeep and you are skipping that step it would never have a chance to trigger and you are still left without upkeep.
June 26, 2019 3:03 p.m.
aholder7 Yea reading through my comment I realized the answer was right there for Paradox Haze .
aholder7 says... #2
I think you’ve confused steps and phases. Untap step, upkeep step and draw step are all part of the same phase.
June 25, 2019 8:02 p.m.