Sorta. I was thinking the mage would be in the arena but you wouldn't know for sure which image was real and which was an illusion. You could use multiple cards to represent the mage, but it would need so many additional rules it wouldn't be worth it. I was shooting for the effect without all the rules in my description of the Illusionist.

I see. I would recommend rewriting the text of the trait then, rather than just referring to the Incorporeal trait, which has some baggage associated with it that you may not want (Nonliving status, vulnerability to certain types of attacks that may not make sense under this thematic explanation.

Cool ideas for enchanting equipment, but if you actually want to help the Warlord you.need to give him a cost advantage. If a spell is War three he pays the same amount as war1 mind1 but has a cost advantage over other mages. As it stands this costs the same for Forcemaster and only 1 more for all other mages.

The purpose of Animate is not to give the Warlord something that he can get cheaper than other mages; it is to alleviate the problem of some of his best equipment being mutually exclusive, a common complaint (e.g. his hammer and his horn). This spell benefits him not because it is cheaper for him but because its benefit affects him more than other mages.

The reason I made it war/mind was thematic - like dancing scimitar, it is the animation of an inanimate object, requiring the mage's concentration.

New cards:





The idea behind the Archivist is that he is basically a magical librarian. He has broad knowledge of the basics, but has trouble actually casting the more advanced spells. He also has a phenomenal memory. I originally considered giving him 150 spellbook points, but decided that it was probably not necessary and would just break a nice pattern.

Nice ideas! Some comments:

I'm thinking of a masking ability to do this. Rather than having illusion creatures or conjurations be actual creatures or conjurations, they should be enchantments that look like particular creatures or conjurations when they are face down. So their casting costs would be the same as whatever creature they're pretending to be, but their reveal cost would always be 2. When cast they have the same target as the thing they look like does, but when revealed the illusion targets a creature or conjuration in the same zone as them. An illusion must be revealed immediately after it is targeted by an attack or spell. After its effects resolve, it is destroyed. If a facedown illusion is required to use any if its facedown effects, it must be revealed instead.

This is great, but how can it be implemented in practice? (See card below for one proposal) We can't make doublesided cards, nor can we simply put two cards in one sleeve (since not everybody uses sleeves). The only sensible way that I can see is to bind one card to another; obviously, your opponent would be able to see that you were doing this.

The illusionist would be able to substitute their mage card with another mage card at the start of the game. The illusionist would also have a substitute ability cardl. The illusionist's real stats are pretty different than whatever mage that he or she is pretending to be. Channeling is 0. Mana is 90, armor is zero, health is 31. Spellbook points are 120.

This is an amazing idea, and would be a lot of fun, but unfortunately I don't think it is feasible due to differences between different game contexts. I assume that the idea is that the opponent would not initially know that they were playing against the illusionist. However, while this is certainly possible in a tournament or other formal game setting, it is not feasible in a casual game, where often only one of the people has a copy of the game and the others are simply using his/her set of cards. In this context, it would be fairly obvious if one player was secretly the illusionist. Any mage should be able to function in any game context, otherwise the scope of the game is limited. There is probably another way to implement this mage-switching mechanic, though (for some reason it makes me think of race-switching in Achron). Do I understand your proposal correctly?

Anyway, your comments have inspired me to take another stab at the illusionist, approaching the problem from a "masking" perspective rather than an "unknown creature" perspective. First, the card:



Features to note:

-The "flexible mind" is to support the need for extra cards to fuel the illusions. Why not simply draw bound cards or illusions from the spellbook upon casting, you ask? Simple - that would give the illusionist far too much flexibility, since she would be able to decide what spells to use after seeing her opponent's choices. This is a compromise thematically justified by the difficulty of maintaining detailed illusions - I guess long practice has let her mentally juggle more thoughts than the average mage.

- The illusionist must decide at the time of casting whether the visible spell is the real object, or just an illusion. She can't just invest a small amount of mana now and decide whether to spend the rest later.

- Masks will tend to be about the same cost as the object that they hide.

Thanks for your comments; they definitely helped me to see the problem in a new light.

Card Updates:







New Cards:

Plague Moth. Nice idea to wordplay on "plague of moths" with the innovative multiple summons mechanic. Nobody will risk valuable poison enchantments on these fragile things. Moths are attracted to flame so give them the ability to Teleport to any burn counters for 1 mana (like Nightmare's Sleep) when activated as well as a full action 0 dice no damage unavoidable rot 12+ with +1 for each other Plague Moth in the zone. Teleport to burn free action helps its full action attack, and the action economy of multiple summons makes them tempting. Elusive?

Counterproposal seen above to address issue of reluctance to bind spell. Spell was originally an exercise in how to spellbind an enchantment, so I think I want to keep it focused on enchantments, though your idea would work well for another moth spell. If there are a lot of these, might need to introduce "swarm" keyword (allowing player to summon additional copies of a cheap monster).

The Black Contract. I am unsure about this. Alternate win conditions are nice. The high stakes game is appropriately Mephistophelean. But the "you can't win for X turns then I lose" just seems so brutal, this sledgehammer when other cards are delicate tools in comparison. I don't really like "the can't be destroyed" rule either. I think this may be better done as a Zone Exclusive Conjuration (around 11 cost, 2 armour, 8 life, Dark 3) which says "your mage is indestructible and cannot guard. If this conjuration is destroyed, your mage is destroyed instead." This would be the exact same concept, but it focuses the game on the preservation/destruction of the conjuration instead.

Funny, I had the exact same idea (though as a new spell, not a replacement). Thematically, the mage turns into a lich by sealing his soul in stone. It's basically a horcrux. See Lich's Soulstone above. I want to keep The Black Contract for its theme, but I don't see many alternatives to redesign it while preserving the flavor; what if it was harder to put into play (ex. required a few turns preparation)?

Berserker Frenzy. Melee +X applies to the first attack in each action. Battle Fury gives you another quick atack action so would apply both times. The wording here does not apply. However, I think it would be far more elegant to say "In declare attacks step, you may remove 1 Rage token to gain double-strike or sweeping". Bloodthirsty +1 at that cost (3 spell points for War or Nature, 7 mana). It's a spellpoints expensive enchantment so better be good.

Phase Barrier. Nice idea but is it not a safe haven (except flyers) for Forcemaster with 2 Barriers (6 upkeep) in the corner where he can always fire out? How about replacing Indestructible with Resilient, infinty symbol life and Upkeep = damage counters on Phase Barrier. Indestructible seems so black-and-white silver bullet.

Excellent suggestions. I gave Berserker Frenzy the option for triplestrike, so that it still benefits creatures with pre-existing rage issues more than those without; no sweeping, though (the berserker is intent on murdering its chosen target). You're right about the rules for Melee+1; I thought it was first time per round, not first time per attack. No need to give the Phase barrier infinite life; Indestructible operates in the same way (it can still be damaged, just not destroyed by the damage).

Baby Mimic. Another nice idea. I think it's a bit too good with Channelling 2 and Regenerate 2! I think dropping both to 1 but it does not destroy itself to cast its Devoured creature would be nicer. It's rather good as it is now, I'd be loathed to destroy a Regen 2 creature like that!

Made it less desirable to keep. I think 2 channeling is all right, since it is very limited in what it can cast. The self-destruction is really just a mechanically simple way to represent the Mimic shifting into a different form, so I can't really remove the part about it "destroying" itself.


Also note changes to Magic Bottle. It is more limited in what it can cast, but now you can throw it into an adjacent zone.

Edit: Just realized that Berserker Frenzy should specify melee attack. Will fix in future update.

Edit:

Spatial Juxtaposition
Cost 5, quick, range 0-1, zone barrier, wall conjuration, Mind 1 Arcane 1
Extendable, Indestructible
The 2 zones bordering Spatial Juxtaposition are considered 1 zone for range and movement

This would create zones that are rectangles or L shaped for purposes of range and movement. The Wizard and the Forcemaster could literally landscape the arena by "deleting" the borders between squares with these walls. Note that Zone Exclusive and conjurations of same name may each occupy a different square in the larger zone. For the Forcemaster, this would give her creatures like Psylok and Thoughtspore better range and more board control with Pull/Push. For the Wizard, it allows guarding multiple Zone Exclusive conjurations with the same creature(s).

Nice! Though I'm not sure what the thematic justification for it being a mind spell is; it sounds like a pure arcane spell to me. Juxtaposition sounds like two things occupying the same space, whereas this spell sounds more like a topological deformation of the arena; perhaps call it "Spatial Deformation?"

Also, thinking a bit more about the Enchantress, I wonder if having all of her non-legendary creatures be cantrips might be too powerful? I realize that they are expensive, but there are some creatures that are definitely prone to abuse, especially with her other power - consider for instance, a gorgon archer bound to a fox. Fox runs fast to a good place at the end of a round, turns into the archer and starts shooting next round. This is a total of 10 spellpoints, which is decent - but eliminating the archer does not end the threat, as the mage can just do the exact same thing again. Turning non-cantrip spells into cantrips seems risky from a spellbook balance perspective.

Rage. I like your Berserker Frenzy but after nerfing Battle Fury, I think multiple attacks rampage (no limit) is far too open to abuse. Any new attack still qualifies for Rage bonus (like with Battle Fury). As well as Bear Strength, Vampirism etc. The more elegantly simpler text that is less open to abuse would be "Gain Rage +1, Bloodthirsty +0 and Counterstrike. Treat friendly non-mage creatures as an enemy." Rage + Counterstrike is a huge combo, especially with Growth around, so leveraging the fantasy trope of Barabarian Berserker attacking its own allies makes sense. Perhaps make it cheaper 2+3 due to this drawback.

Okay. Given that Battle fury was errata'd, maybe that sort of effect should be avoided without some sort of counterbalancing penalty (I was thinking maybe taking additional non-enraging damage for each additional strike, but actually there may be a better way). Your proposed fix sounds like a different sort of spell altogether (something that might be used as a quasi-curse); maybe call it "bloodrage" or "confusion". Here is a counter-proposal for a change: limit the number of additional strikes to 1 but allow the player to boost the strength of the second strike. Also, new attacks do not qualify for the rage bonus, because rage gives melee +X, which only applies to the first attack made each round.



I like your Tree Sanctuary idea. Flying is probably a better idea than invisible; it is certainly easier to price.

Sometimes, like with the Simulacrum or Spatial Disjunction, the flavour text seems the germ for the idea. If this is the case, then here is a flavour text famous saying to inspire you: "You are what you eat".

I don't know if I would say that my ideas come from flavor text; generally they come more from figuring out how to implement interesting combinations of mechanics (e.g. spellbinding creatures = Magic bottle) or figuring out how to implement a fun effect from a different game (e.g. Borgnjor's Revivification = Reanimate Flesh). But here is an idea inspired by that flavor text:



Regarding Murkh's Belt: Currently, enchantments with the Upkeep +X trait are not paid for until they are revealed anyway, so I think it is a moot point. While an enchantment is unrevealed, it has no characteristics, and once it is revealed, you know what it is anyway.

And I agree that mana denial is not really warlord-esque, but he needs something he can use against enchantment heavy builds, given his lack of arcane skills.

Some more responses:

Dreamcatcher. Nice title and idea but I don't think it will see competitive play, even with Lotus. Problem is Sleep is psychic so situational, Idol of Pestilence hurts Sleep etc. Situational augmenting benefits are always suspect as they are "win more". If you have Sleep on so many enemies, you don't need the extra Channelling. It may be useful in some niche match-ups where both players use Sleep effects. Also, what is the Dreamcatcher? Why is it flammable? Keeping to the card title, the Forcemaster really needs extra creature actions to time her attacks so I think this card will be very useful if it said "Zone Exclusive. Unique. You control all opponent's creatures with Sleep markers instead of that opponent". I appreciate Nightmare below is "in the same set" but +X Channelling is a bit vanilla in comparison.

The ability to control creatures with a sleep marker is another think I have considered, but I think that may be the basis for yet another spell. As you imply, it is hard to keep creatures asleep. So what if this card also made it harder to awaken creatures, such as placing a damage threshold or requiring a d12 roll? You'd still have to make them fall asleep, but they would be less likely to get up.

Phase Barrier. I'm having trouble visualising what this Burnproof Acid Immune Force barrier is. Preventing damage out-of-turn during Damage and Effects step breaks the structure of the game (not even enchantments can do this). I also think you could create something more unique than a simple physical Force Wall by making it an Illusion. "Phantasmal Veil: Illusion Wall. Mind 1. Cost 4. No Access. No LOS. Extendable. Incorporeal. 1 Life. Once per round, before a friendly Action phase, Phantasmal Veil may lose its No Access and No LOS traits until the end of that round. Flip its Ready marker to Used to indicate this use." This retains your one-way accessibility concept whilst retaining the game adherence (so far) that walls apply to all players (here you only control when you open the wall to everyone).

Thematically, this is a wall of mental force (like forcefield). When attacked, the caster must concentrate to prevent the wall from disintegrating. The caster can phase out the wall to allow a friendly creature to fire through it. Nice idea with the illusion wall, although I'm not sure why it would block access. It does give me an idea for an enchantment that lets you create a secret passage through a wall, though. I will think about possible modifications to this ability to put it more in line with how other timing mechanics work while preserving the flavor.

Nightmare. Another really nice idea but I think this is too powerful as is. Firstly it needs Nonliving and all Incorporeal creatures so far have Upkeep +1. I also don't think it needs its "does not wake target" text. Attack on Sleeper is 3 dice critical with Sleep 7+ so has 50% chance of waking target (far more exciting). I'd add text "Mages suffer Daze instead of Sleep". Fast Flying makes it too much a creature assassin so I'd lose both, instead add text "when activated, pay 1 to teleport to any zone with a Sleep marker" as it interacts with any mage's Sleep effects. I like hybrid schools. I often feel mage books build themselves because spells are mainly in 1 school, like playing mono-colour in Magic, except you have to splash for essentials. However hybrid makes a card more expensive usually (Lord of Fire fits Warlock training perfectly). I always felt Bridge Trolls should have been just Nature 1 War 1 to be more played. So after nerfing the card above, I'd probably reduce it to Mind 1 Dark 1 (so costs Mind or Dark mages 3 points, rest 4 points).

Good point about the chance of target falling back to sleep; that simplifies  things. Upkeep is probably a good idea too. Fast is unnecessary; the teleport to zone with sleep marker is a better implementation. Flying was intended to aid with survival, but I suppose incorporeal is already pretty good for that.

Haunted. I like all the concepts behind it, the creature paying for that murder by being harassed by spirits with haste. Obviously it needs Spirit support (like Shadow, Nightmare etc). It can be used with friendly creatures to create a walking spawnpoint like the Tome (except a cantrip crucially) and Warlock can collect both it (cantrip) and another curse via curseweaving. No quibbles here, just needs Spirit support, perhaps for any future Witch.

What opinion do you have about the cost of the card? It is a powerful spawnpoint, but it is also hard to reveal. Wasn't sure how to price it. Should it be cheaper?

Magic Bottle. Nice idea (as always). However, creating this quick cast summon mechanic may "let the genie out of the bottle" so to speak. I am not comfortable with this as it could make future creatures with coming into play effects too powerful if summoned via a quick action. However, you are spending a quick action preparing it (or Battle Forge) so it is a combo prep for action burst mechanic, like Enchantment Transfusion. So maybe it would do the game good to have more combo enablers. Out of all your ideas, this has the greatest possibility for abuse. I'm comfortable with potions not using up an item slot (the "only one" rule prevents abuse). I'm not so comfortable that dissolving it after it has 3 mana can trigger its summon. I would nerf the text to "You may bind any non-Epic creature from a trained School to the Magic Bottle. When Magic Bottle has at least 3 mana on it, you may destroy it as a quick action to summon the bound creature in your zone." This means Dissolve effects (Orchid) can still destroy the Bottle without letting out the creature otherwise there is an unstoppable inevitability of it just like with Enchantment Transfusion and current "move to counter targeting" FAQ rule. I limited it to trained School creatures so that Air Wizard can have classic Whirling Spirit, Beastmaster can bind a Grizzly into it etc. This is the one card here that could be a great combo enabler but needs thorough testing and by limiting the quick action to in-school creatures, we are retaining the mage's theme and limiting possible future abuse.

You're probably right. I'll make sure the mage has to break the bottle. In school creatures only is an interesting idea, though I'm not sure how to justify it thematically. One idea I was playing around with was letting the mage throw the bottle to summon the creature in an adjacent zone. Thoughts?

Okay, I like challenges!

Here's a card to make Climbing more useful:


It's a useful place for a nature mage to turtle while building up strength. I wasn't really sure how to price it.

(Edit: cleared up some issues with the card)

Next, here's a card to make Rage a more interesting mechanic, and also buff existing creatures with Rage.


It can be used on a normal grunt, but on a creature that has rage it is especially useful as you can stockpile rage counters for multi-attack rampages. I don't know if it is too powerful; I suppose that is what playtesting is for. Certainly counterstrikers and damage barrier aficionados need to be careful. Note that Rage only affects the first attack per round, so the extra attack(s) have only the normal amount of dice.

(Edit: altered effect of card to make it more interesting/thematic)

Finally, I updated Shadow. Your suggestion of Light vulnerability makes a lot of sense; I also buffed its attack a little by adding piercing. I don't want to add a weak effect, mostly to avoid overlap with the Wraith. I also changed the image so the shadow is harder to see. It doesn't need text specifying nonliving, because the incorporeal trait includes the nonliving trait by default. It isn't really intended to mimic D&D shadows in particular, so I don't feel too bad about leaving out certain details.

@ Ringkichard
i still think the wall servers a purpose with actually BLOCKING LOS.
such as: Block the enemys archer while your creatures can walk through it to melee it down.

Actually, it was Deckbuilder that commented on LoS. The main point was that Fog Bank costs the same and has less utility. I have corrected this issue, along with renaming the card; here is the updated version:

My question, is does this card steal the opponents initiative, meaning I would have three rounds in a row with initiative or does it flip my opponents next initiative with mine that would follow his/hers?

The intent of the card is to allow a player to take the initiative pretty much whenever they like. If they want to hog it for 10 rounds in a row and are willing to expend the mana, they may do that. Of course, they should probably expect a dissolve headed their way.

Also, you've got a talent for funny flavor text.

Thanks!

Here is the latest card: Simulacrum. Thematically, the idea is that it is a construct that thinks it is a person. Thanks to its link with its creator's mind, it can cast any spell. Unfortunately, every round it becomes more "independent" (which translates into +upkeep,+channeling, which effectively steals mana from its controller), so eventually it will have to be put down.



(I considered giving it lifebond, but that seemed like too much. Maybe for another creature.)

Edit: Below is a list of all cards I have currently made, as of 13 Feb 2014:



Update 1 March 2014:



Update 8 Mar 2014:


Update 23 May 2014:


Update 19 Oct 2014



I am always open to feedback and suggestions. The cards are stored in JPG format with images twice the size (and the same dimensions) as standard cards, so they should be relatively easy to print out and try for anybody who feels like testing them. I will be slowly adding more cards over time.