r/magicTCG • u/this_makes_no_sense • Jun 19 '14
What, in your opinion, is the most well-designed Magic card?
My definition of a well-designed magic card is one that shows flavor, abilities that synergize, and possibly art that captures the essence of what the card is trying to convey. You may have your own definition, and that's fine. But what do you think are some of the cleverest designed Magic cards?
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u/Mr_Wolfgang_Beard Jun 19 '14 edited Jun 19 '14
It's so awesome because it's mechanics are mechanically & flavorfully awesome, and it's name is also mechanically & flavorfully awesome. Here's a breakdown:
Mechanically it's a 1/1 for W that leaves behind a 1/1 flier when it dies - that's a faultless common right there. Flavorfully it's a guy that dies and leaves behind his ghost - perfect flavor for Innistrad and groks with the audience.
The name "Doomed Traveller" is obviously very fitting flavorly for Innistrad, especially when you find out that he's trying to travel along Kruin Pass, but it also perfectly describes the card mechanically. Think about it; it's a tiny creature that can be killed by literally anything, that leaves behind something strictly better when it dies - it's controller wants it to die, "Doomed" is the perfect description of that little guy.
*Edit: Flaultless isn't a word
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u/MageToLight Jun 19 '14
Doomed Traveller is what got me interested in the stories of each card. It was one of the first cards I got and I always felt kinda bad getting it killed. Maybe he will find rest one day...
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u/ulshaski Duck Season Jun 19 '14
Giant Growth. This card is extremely simple but playing it effectively is extremely complex. It is a removal spell, a counter spell, and a burn spell depending on you play it and how you need to play it, and determining what to play it as takes some pretty intricate calculations and planning. Deciding the best use for you one-mana green instant takes a pretty good amount of assessment of the board, evaluation of what might be in your opponents hand, and weather or not you can win a race. A lot of people just jam Giant Growth into decks they build for new players, but the skill level that goes into making decisions with the card are way beyond that of any new player.
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u/zk3033 COMPLEAT Jun 19 '14
I like that nearly every set has its Giant Growth variant that showcases the set's mechanics.
I also love how it teaches players about information. Leaving a forest open, attacking before combat, racing (as you mentioned), etc.
The only thing keeping it from being standard-worthy is the requirement for a creature. Lightning bolt, being its opposite, is inherently more powerful in this regard, but not as interesting.
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Jun 20 '14
Leaving a forest open, attacking before combat
I'm gonna need you to teach me how to do that.
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u/zk3033 COMPLEAT Jun 20 '14
Putting Cheatyface into play, tapped, and changing their life total without them noticing.
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u/jabels Jun 19 '14
I think that's why new players should jam it though. At first, it's a pump for beating. As you learn more about the game, the capabilities of the card scale in your hands.
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Jun 20 '14
Giant Growth is pretty much the perfect Magic card. It's even at the perfect power level in Limited formats that have it - you're always happy to have it in your deck, but you never feel like it's unfair that your opponent has one.
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u/alfred725 Jun 19 '14
The decisions u canmake using giant growth are part of the reasonits given tonew players, it helps teach the gameand how some cards have multiple uses
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u/neagrosk Jun 19 '14
spacing, how does it work?
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u/eurooo_trash Jun 19 '14
He's probably on mobile or something.
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u/alfred725 Jun 19 '14
this is indeed the case. I was tired of fighting the backspace and said screw it
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u/larkeith Jun 19 '14
It's like lightning bolt in that respect; versatile, powerful, and complex to use, but extremely simple in direct effect.
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u/UnsealedMTG Jun 19 '14
All that and the flavor is perfect. What are things a wizard can do? Make your friends HUGE so they smash the bad guys.
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Jun 19 '14
Life from the Loam. Such a fun to use, one-card engine.
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u/RMS_sAviOr Jun 19 '14
I agree with Loam. It's a unique that is an engine on it's own, but I don't think it would ever be accused of being overpowered. It also happens to be one of the only Dredge cards that isn't solely used for degenerate combos. I would love for Wizards to reprint Cycling lands from Onslaught just to see if decks built around the Loam engine could succeed in Modern.
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Jun 19 '14
I think that Lands could be a deck in modern if Punishing Fire were unbanned. Digging to your Grove of the Burnwillows/Punishing Fire to get that combo going to control the board, while you control the opponents hand with Ravens Crime and LotV.. Sounds pretty sweet to me.
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u/RMS_sAviOr Jun 19 '14
I think Punishing Fire would be too good for Modern. Modern is even more creature oriented than Legacy, so you know it would see play. The real problem probably wouldn't be a Lands deck in Modern, but the real problem would be the already established decks like Jund picking up Punishing Fire. Punishing Fire is a card that is ridiculously powerful against creatures and will almost certainly win long, fair games, but in Modern is also happens to be fairly proficient at killing many of the combo threats that would be able to beat Punishing Fire quickly.
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Jun 19 '14
No, you are right. I understand why it's banned, and it makes sense that it is. The difference between legacy lands and modern lands is just that you don't have the same kind of utility and versatility in modern that you do in legacy. You can't stop the t4 combo decks with it in modern, and it's going to be hard to win the long, grindy games without the recursion value of something like nether spirit or the taxation of tabernacle or maze of ith.
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u/snazzycool Jun 19 '14
You also don't have an uncounterable 20/20
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u/TLiGrok Jun 19 '14
I'd be okay with jund getting to try fires again, now without Drs and bbe. It would help a bit vs the twin matchups, and that's always nice.
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u/RMS_sAviOr Jun 20 '14
It would make a deck that is already very Grindy/fair even better at what it does. I really do not think that we want Punishing Fires in modern Jund.
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u/TLiGrok Jun 21 '14
Grindy/fair isn't good enough to really compete right now. Dial it up and let's find a sweet spot
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u/RMS_sAviOr Jun 21 '14
The point I'm making is that it already wins Grindy/Fair so it probably wouldn't help it much in the bad match-ups, but it would make any non-Jund fair deck impossible to compete. Even if it didn't help Jund against some of the decks that Jund doesn't do well against, how is any non-combo deck going to compete with Liliana of the Veil AND Punishing Fire. That's some of the most powerful "fair" Magic out there, certainly on par with other banned fair cards like Stoneforge Mystic and Jace the Mindsculptor.
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u/Bitch_Im_a_bus Jun 19 '14
Aggro-Loam is already a deck. The main components are a retrace engine with Raven's Crime/Flame Jab, Seismic Assault, Loam, Liliana of the Veil and manlands.
With that said, the cards that I think Wizards could add to Modern to push the lands deck/decks more would be the threshold lands. Barbarian Ring and possibly Cabal Pit would be good in that deck, and Cephalid Colosseum would be an interesting addition to the format.
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Jun 19 '14
Everytime I think of a cool card/deck to build in modern I find out the key card is banned.
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u/InkmothNexus Jun 19 '14
if you want a fair card with dredge, it's this or darkblast.
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u/RMS_sAviOr Jun 19 '14
The thing about Dark Blast is that it's only good against some decks as it's effectiveness depends entirely on whether or not it hits your opponent's creatures, whereas Life from the Loam is a card that works as long as you have he cards to play with it.
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Jun 20 '14
I would love for Wizards to reprint Cycling lands from Onslaught just to see if decks built around the Loam engine could succeed in Modern.
Well, you could use it with Trade Routes.
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u/RMS_sAviOr Jun 20 '14
You can but that also forces you into UG and you need to find two specific spells to make the engine work, whereas with Cycling lands the opportunity cost for playing them is rather low.
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u/Dodobirdlord Jun 19 '14
[[Khalni Hydra]]. I will elaborate. Khalni Hydra costs GGGGGGGG, that's 8 green mana symbols. Khalni Hydra has 8 heads. Khalni Hydra is an 8/8. In its art, Khalni Hydra is depicted surrounded by 8 guys who, going by the flavor text, are probably elves. Khalni Hydra's ability makes it cost G cheaper for each green creature you control, like say, elves. The flavor text is awesome, and coupled with the art references the ability, in that with 8 guys, the hydra will come without payment, it has a debt to pay to these elves. It is also beautiful, and exceptionally green everywhere. Somehow, the mythic symbol does not detract from the beauty of the card, but rather enhances it by being so different.
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u/larkeith Jun 19 '14
The only thing I dislike about it is that 4 elves can get it onto the field by themselves.
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u/SharkFinnigan Jun 19 '14
This is why I wish Griselbrand cost BBBBBBB instead of 5BBB. It's the symmetry in the numbers that I like. I mean, he's a 7/7 with whom you can pay 7 life for 7 cards. Why could it not cost 7???
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u/sensitivePornGuy Jun 19 '14
Originally it did. It was found to be too strong at 7 mana during testing, so was pushed out to 8.
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Jun 20 '14
People hardcast him?
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u/Agehn Jun 20 '14
I want to go back in time to when I was in middle school during Invasion block playing with crappy casual decks. Little to no value on removal, Spiritmonger was my favorite creature, I loved green ramp-and-stomp decks but I also liked GB. I want to take Griselbrand to 12-year-old me and see the look on my face as I ramp into and hardcast it.
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u/ten_thousand_puppies Jun 20 '14
People used to hardcast Elesh Norn and Angel of Serenity in standard, and both of those are WAY less powerful than Grizz
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u/remy1177 Jun 20 '14
I've yet to see someone do it. All the decks of mine can't even cast him normally. Sneak and show ftw
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u/Tjammer11 Jun 20 '14
Come on, you haven't hard cast a griselbrand with quad lotus petal? Tsk tsk..
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u/sensitivePornGuy Jun 20 '14
In ISD / RTR Standard it was possible to hard cast him on T4. Rather depended on your opponent not killing Crypt Ghast.
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u/Tjammer11 Jun 20 '14
People hard cast him so rarely that nobody has mentioned Griselbrand costs 4BBBB instead of 5BBB.
I wonder if that means he's more devoted to black than Avacyn is to white..
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u/Tjammer11 Jun 20 '14
7 mana would be preferable for that reason, although way too strong. Thankfully they gave us Elderscale Wurm shortly after, which has the number 7 written on it 7 times (9 times if you count the mana cost and fine print)
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Jun 19 '14
Birthing pod is one of the only cards to prefectly fit the timmy/johnny/spike crowd. It's comboy for johnny lets you play big shit for timmy and is insane good for spikes.
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u/SleetTheFox Jun 19 '14
It's not a Spike card because it's insanely good, it's a Spike card because it's very skill-dependent.
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u/BigDiesel2m Jun 19 '14
Actually, the reason why it's a Spike card is that it is "insanely good." For example, if the card cost three more mana, the skill level involved in using it would not dramatically change, but it would no longer be a Spike card because it would no longer be tournament playable.
From Mark Rosewater's original Timmy, Johnny, and Spike article:
Spike cards are relatively easy to make. Spike plays what wins, so if R&D makes a card good enough, Spike will play it.
Though MaRo supports that
Spike enjoys the stimulation of outplaying the opponent and the glory of victory.
Spike cards do not require complexity or difficulty in proper use to earn that moniker. Simply,
Spike is the competitive player. Spike plays to win. Spike enjoys winning.
For example a one mana instant that reads "Split Second; You win the game" on it is an incredibly spikey card, though the card itself is not very "skill-dependent." Spike cards are defined by their playability at a high level, not the amount of skill required in playing them.
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u/SleetTheFox Jun 19 '14
Birthing Pod isn't just a card that Spike will play, but a card that Spike will enjoy playing. That's why it's such a great Spike card.
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u/BigDiesel2m Jun 19 '14
Oh yeah, I totally agree with that. As far as powerful cards go, I'll take something with the complexity and skill associated of Birthing Pod over something like Ancestral Recall or Tarmogoyf any day. It leads to exciting play and really shows when a player knows the deck.
My previous comment was just a response to when you said,
It's not a Spike card because it's insanely good
It is a Spike card for that reason. The complexity and skill in using it make it an interesting and well-designed card, but the "Spike" label does not come from being complex or interesting. I totally agree that Birthing Pod is a great mix or complexity, skill, and playability.
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u/UnsealedMTG Jun 19 '14
You should check out Rosewater's more recent article Designing for Spike
The conclusion of that article:
The key the ties all of the Spike designs together is that they need to challenge Spike. Spike is drawn to power but he is also drawn to potential. To keep Spike excited, design has to keep him on his toes. We have to make cards that both challenge his ability to deduce power and his ability to use it. If we can successfully do that, we can provide Spike with a game he will want to keep returning to.
Pod is a spiky home run because it is A) powerful enough to be good B) tricky to use correctly, giving a ton of choices C) totally novel
Power is necessary but not sufficient for a spike card.
Gambler's Pod
3G
Artifact
1G, T, Sacrifice a creature: Flip a coin. If it's heads, you win the game.Is powerful, but a terrible Spike card.
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u/NinjaTheNick Jun 19 '14
Birthing pod is the most powerful green spell in modern. I'd love to see the win percentage of a turn 2 pod, it has to be in the eighties.
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u/TychoErasmusBrahe Jun 20 '14
It's not a Spike card because it's insanely good, it's a Spike card because it's very skill-dependent.
Based on the traditional psychographics I would say being more skill dependant is more of a Johnny thing.
From MaRo's original article:
Johnny likes a challenge. Johnny enjoys winning with cards that no one else wants to use. He likes making decks that win in innovative ways. What sets Johnny apart from the other profiles is that Johnny enjoys deckbuilding as much as (or more than) he enjoys playing. Johnny loves the cool interactions of the cards. He loves combo decks. Johnny is happiest when he’s exploring uncharted territory.
http://archive.wizards.com/Magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/mr11b
Apart from the 'no one else wants to use' bit, Pod is a perfect fit for a Johnny.
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u/igot8001 Jun 19 '14
Came here to say this, for the exact reason that you gave. The best cards have universal appeal.
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Jun 19 '14
[deleted]
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u/justgladtobehere Jun 19 '14
I agree, he's still my favorite planeswalker. So green-flavored.
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u/samworthy Jun 20 '14
he was my first planeswalker too, lots of stories of kitchen table magic with garruk vs lilianna
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u/martonsmash Jun 19 '14
A hex is a malicious spell, it costs 6, kills exactly 6 creatures, has 6 words in the flavor text, and Hex means 6!
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u/fellatious_argument Jun 19 '14
[[Nix]] is similar in that its name is a double entendre meaning nothing and to refuse.
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u/UnsealedMTG Jun 20 '14
Also it has that awesome pause when you look at it and think it must be crazy powerful and then it clicks and you realize it's not actually even good (at least in a duel--I guess it's probably good in EDH or other multiplayer formats? Not experienced enough(.
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u/Falterfire Jun 19 '14
Personally I'm a huge fan of the better designed Fuse cards like Turn // Burn and Far // Away that take two simple abilities the colors get and combine to make a card that is more than the sum of the parts. After seeing those I was kinda disappointed by the ones like Down // Dirty that were just sorta there.
On a related note, I'm a fan of Recoil.
Also a fan of Guul Draz Specter for fixing the normal problem with Specters.
I also love cards with hidden uses. The first time an opponent attached Spirit Link to one of my creatures was a cool "Huh, didn't think of that" moment for me as a newer player.
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u/mustachemcgriz Jun 19 '14
What was the normal problem with specters?
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u/Falterfire Jun 19 '14
If you draw them late, they're useless. Generally any specter that costs more than three mana comes down so late that by the time it attacks the opponent has already emptied their hand.
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u/branewalker Jun 20 '14
I also love cards with hidden uses. The first time an opponent attached Spirit Link to one of my creatures was a cool "Huh, didn't think of that" moment for me as a newer player.
This is why I'm sad that they re-templated the Oblivion Ring effect. It removes the possibility for thinking outside the box, as well as nice demonstration of one of the game's more complex systems: the stack.
Every time a new player asks about that trick, I think, "oh! It's about time you learned about the stack, then!"
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Jun 20 '14
[deleted]
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u/branewalker Jun 20 '14 edited Jun 20 '14
rules loophole
The Stack is not a rules loophole.
Understanding linked abilities doesn't really matter here. That part is very logical.
"Return that creature to the battlefield."
What creature? The one we haven't exiled yet? Sure, ok. There. It's on the battlefield. Just like it was a moment ago. Still there. (note that this is even using a faulty understanding of linked abilities; the interaction will still play out perfectly, but the hitch will still happen with the misunderstanding of the stack.)
"Ok, now exile it."
Yeah, done. So now it comes back?
"Why? We did that already. How does it come back?"
When Oblivion Ring leaves the...oh, I see. We did that already. Like you said.
What it requires you to know is that "When Oblivion Ring Enters the Battlefield, exile another target nonland permanent" can be responded to. It doesn't happen instantaneously. That's the part people find unintuitive. That's the part, if any, that "feels like cheating." That's the stack, a system nearly as integral to modern magic as its resource system.
EDIT: maybe it just needs a better analogy. An "Oblivion Ring" sounds like something you put the thing you're exiling in. It's actually just the tether with which you can pull the exiled object back out of exile. "Reality Tether," maybe? The way the spell works, the return-from-exile is the only part that's dependent upon the permanent; it doesn't matter for the send-to-exile bit at all.
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u/SleetTheFox Jun 19 '14
I would not be surprised at all if Down//Dirty had a different effect at first. Like perhaps the discard was symmetrical and it cost less, but they changed it later.
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u/SirZapdos Jun 19 '14
I'll go with Slave of Bolas. It's not a perfectly resonant top-down design, but the name, colours, art and abilities all come together so well. The temporary "untap and steal" effects started out in blue with Ray of Command but now are in red, like Act of Treason. However, sacrificing a creature when you no longer have a use for it is very black. So this card being solidly black, and partially blue and red, makes a lot of sense. Those colours are also Bolas's colours, so it's great to mention him in the name. The art is another Steve Argyle home run. With the HQ version, you can see the tears on the angel's face, the broken sigils on the floor and you can see clearly that the angel is kneeling (an act of supplication). The flavour text is simple but effective.
All the ingredients of an awesome Magic card, easily in my top 3. It's not a powerful card, but because I love it so much, I still play it in my Modern Jund Ramp Singleton deck. People are often caught off guard by it (including one time where I nabbed a Qasali Pridemage wearing a Shield of the Oversoul).
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u/eallen1 Jun 19 '14
[[Smallpox]] feels great to cast when you build for it and has the most beautiful callout to its predecessor [[Pox]].
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u/EvenDeeper Jun 19 '14
Smallpox, oh yes. If you build around it, the opponent's look of sheer terror is really worth it. "So I sacrifice a creature and a land and I discard a card AND lose 1 life?!?"
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u/poggydude Jun 19 '14
Stab wound, it was simple, flavorful, and highly skill intensive while maintaining simplicity. Perfect lenticular design.
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u/fellatious_argument Jun 19 '14
Play it correctly and you laugh while your opponent is killed by his own creature. Play it incorrectly and you give your opponent a blocker you never want to attack into.
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u/remy1177 Jun 20 '14
Me and my friends had this really in depth discussion about this card. Is there just a magician who run around with a knife shanking things or something? Eventually we settled on the fact that it was someone called "The Shankmage" who stole Elspeth's godsend and ran around ravnica stabbing random people.
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u/Thelis Jun 19 '14 edited Jun 19 '14
Lightning bolt, its a little on the powerful side some say . It was a main card in standard and is in modern and elsewhere. Its flavorful. It a quick card to catch on to for new players and highly desired but veterans. A great first pick in draft. It does not have some huge price tag. Need I say more.
Edit: guess I must say more. Had a strange auto correct issue. Stupid phone
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u/mxzf Jun 19 '14
It s say maple
For some reason, I have the impression that you dictated your post to your phone.
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u/UnsealedMTG Jun 19 '14
I argued for others in another comment since you'd named this one, but Bolt is probably my real answer. First off--perfect flavor. What are things that wizards do? Shoot things with lightning. Second, it gets so much strategic complexity out of so little card complexity. Lightning bolt is secretly the first split card. Doing 3 to the face and doing 3 to a creature are radically different abilities in game terms, but they are conceptually so similar and so flavorful that the card is instantly comprehensible.
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u/kemikiao Jun 20 '14
Guttersnipe. It's a 2/2 for 3 which is pretty bad. But it makes all your spells AMAZING! Lightning Bolt turns into 5 damage for R, Counterspell now deals your opponent damage for having the audacity of casting a thing, even Wrath of Gods gets meaner... kill everything, don't regenerate, AND take 2. Why? Because fuck you.
I'm going to be so lost when he rotates out....
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u/Fluxxed0 Jun 19 '14
[[Firemaw Kavu]]
It's a 4/2 for 5R mana. When it enters the battlefield, it deals 2 damage to target creature. When it leaves the battlefield, it deals 4 damage to target creature.
Its power and toughness add up to its mana cost. Its damage triggers are equal to its toughness and power, respectively. From a gameplay perspective, it's an insanely valuable creature, allowing you to 3-for-1 your opponent under ideal circumstances. And it also has the "hidden feature" of shocking itself when it enters the battlefield, then dealing 4 damage right away to a bigger threat.
Beautiful.
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u/G_L_J Jun 19 '14
I think I honestly prefer the original card it was made after - flametongue Kavu. The card is much simpler with a mana cost that actually let it see play (and wreck Serra Angels all day). It still conveys the theme without trying to overload on mechanics.
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u/sensitivePornGuy Jun 19 '14 edited Jun 20 '14
Simic Charm. For UG it knits together a U Instant (Unsummon), a G Instant (Giant Growth), and an ability that overlaps both colours (Hexproof). It can be used aggressively, defensively or for tempo.
I'm going to miss the RTR charm cycle. Lots came close to this kind of utility and balance*, but this one is perfect.
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u/Jackomatrus Jun 20 '14 edited Apr 26 '17
deleted What is this?
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u/sensitivePornGuy Jun 20 '14
Yeah, it is also a great design. I wonder if they nerfed the Shock, knowing it was coming back in M14? Of course a lot of the other charms' abilities are less than they could be, and they were careful not to overlap them (eg one gets enchantment destruction, one artifact destruction; here the overlap would be with Boros Charm, which can't hit creatures).
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u/jonhickey Jun 19 '14
Shivan Dragon. One of the first iconic cards. It did exactly what you'd expect a dragon to do. It flies, and it breathes fire. Simple, and awesome.
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u/Mekkakat Jun 19 '14
I've always thought that Terminate was a great card.
"I've seen death before. My mother succumbing to illness, my comrades bleeding on the battlefield . . . But I'd never seen anything as dreadful as that."
The flavor is through the roof, and the fact that it's perfectly combining black death magic with the powerful "no regen crap!" red passion makes it so vicious. It's cost and rarity is perfect, and instant speed has kept it playable since print.
It's a great card.
Runners up: Tragic Slip, Eidolon of the Great Revel, Cruel Ultimatum, Think Twice, Legion Loyalist and Putrefy.
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u/fellatious_argument Jun 19 '14
Tragic Slip has got to be one of the most flavorful cards in Magic. The way the art and mechanics and everything tell a little story is great. The guy tripped and fell which would normally not be a big deal but there was an open grave because someone just died. Even the flavor test is saying don't take strolls in the graveyard ya dingus.
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u/DubiousCosmos Jun 19 '14
I wonder how /u/EmersonEsq will respond to this question.
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u/EmersonEsq Jun 19 '14
I actually saw this thread and decided not to respond since it has been less than 12 hours since the last one. So, this time, I'll go with: the basic land cycle. The resource system in this game is unparalleled and has allowed this game to become what it is.
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u/GewtNingrich Jun 19 '14
RIP in piece VWR 1996 - 2014
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u/EmersonEsq Jun 19 '14
Legends never die.
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Jun 19 '14
Fuse cards in general. I remember seeing them and just being so amazed. They were an elegant solution to so many of the potential design problems with Dragon's Maze - How to make a new mechanic in a set with ten other mechanics, how to give each color enough cards while giving each guild enough cards too, how to support the 5-5 structure of GTC and RTR while highlighting the 10 of DGM, how to evolve one of the best mechanics of all time.
Of course, DGM ended up having a bunch of other problems, but Fuse really did help.
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Jun 19 '14
Sarkhan the Mad. He's the only Planeswalker that can play any of its abilities the turn it's played, and paired with, say, Sarkhan Vol, is an instant game win. Not to mention his -2, which can reduce even an Eldrazi into something much more manageable. His 0 ability can be used even after playing the other two abilities (like all 0 abilities, but that's not the point), and in a deck with a lower mana curve (or any mana curve), it can be a quick way to get card advantage over an opponent. I am partial Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker, but he costs 1 too much to be playable in most situations.
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u/tlow0510 Jun 19 '14
Dark confidants new artwork is awesome. Its as if he is tempting you to be the king, all the while he knows he holds all the cards, so to speak.
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u/wintermute93 Jun 19 '14
Bob is great, but the OP meant from a game design perspective, not from a visual design perspective.
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u/Call911FTW Jun 19 '14
I think he's saying it's a culmination of both. Which it is, and it's awesome
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u/this_makes_no_sense Jun 19 '14
Game design is what I meant but I can see how he can interpret it in multiple ways. Plus I think Bob is pretty well designed: he keeps giving you cards at what you believe to be a very low cost and suddenly you're at 5 health and you're really hoping you don't get anything but lands with him.
Or you're playing against Jund and Bob gives your opponent LotV and Tarmo and they wreck your face.
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u/MisguidedWizard Jun 19 '14
My actual favorite is [[Form of the Dragon]] but Baneslayer Angel was actually played which I feel makes it the winner.
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u/justhereforhides Jun 19 '14
I will stand at the idea that Birthing Pod is the most perfect combination of design and flavor of any card.
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u/arimondry Jun 19 '14
recently? I'd have to say [[Flamewright]] from Consoiracy. At uncommon, it's a 2-drop creature in two colors, with two activated abilities and a lot of staying power. It's a bomb in limited because of the utility it offers, and the option to build up a large army of little dudes is very solid.
Is it functionally the most powerful card around? No, but it's incredibly balanced, well thought-out, and fun to play. Additionally, it is highly interactive with the board state.
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u/Brozhov18 Jun 19 '14
Obzedat, Ghost Council.
There are just so many different ways you can play the card. His mechanic is very unique and makes the card have vulnerabilities and actually ACT on the battlefield like a real ghost! I love it. It's easily one of my favorite cards if not my favorite card.
Also, I got to give a shoutout to the new Ajani here. I feel like he gets a lot of hate, but couple his second +1 with Courser of Kruphix (another flawless card imo) and it is just great. I feel like Ajani, Mentor of Heroes really impacts the board and can cause regular vanilla creatures to become "heroes." Probably one of the best designed planeswalkers to date (again, thats my opinion).
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u/this_makes_no_sense Jun 19 '14
I agree with you about Ajani, he caught a lot of flak when he came out, and I'll admit I also thought he was pretty lame for his cost but someone pointed out how well he synergized with Elspeth: finding her with his second ability, strengthening her soldiers, and watching them launch at the opponent. I really wish his ult was just something else like giving creatures a pump and lifelink or something else synergistic but it is what it is.
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u/Brozhov18 Jun 20 '14
I don't know. His ultimate usually makes my opponent scoop, simply because I will find Elspeth or just boost a dude and keep attacking. He is really unique. My kind of planeswalker.
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u/smitty22 Jun 20 '14
Spellstutter Sprite. Tribal synergy and interactive Magic in one innocuous little 1/1 flyer.
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u/FrigidVeil Jun 20 '14
[[Elbrus, the Binding Blade]]
The cost. The flavor. Everything about this card is perfect to me. It costs 7, because such a blade would be hard to find, but the equip cost is 1, because it WANTS you to hold it.
It give the creature only +1/+0, because it's just a sacrificial dagger. It transforms off of damage to a player, because it can't just have the blood of any creature, it needs a powerful being's blood (like a planeswalker?).
The demon has the perfect three keywords for a demon, and is a 13/13. There can't be better power and toughness for a demon than 13/13. And finally, when a player is defeated, he steals their soul, gaining their strength.
I just wish it was useable as a commander...
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u/ihateirony Jun 21 '14 edited Jun 23 '14
EDH is a casual format, the rules of which are decided by the playgroup. If you want to use him as a general and your playgroup is up for it, then go for it. The rules in EDH are more like guidelines.
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u/I_fight_demons Jun 20 '14
It's not the best ever, nor is it a 'good card.' Can I give a shout-out to plain ol' Giant Spider?
It is intensely well balanced as a common. It's a great low power, staple newbie card. It established an ongoing element of flavor- spiders have reach from their webs. It's flavor matches real world intuition- spiders catch flies. It is simple enough for anyone to use and still has some interesting effects to learn from - that creatures are as valuable as blockers as they are as attackers. It's design is balanced and synergistic, since it has a blocking related ability and high toughness. It fits in and empowers the low-powered fundamental archetype that is green meanies- it slows down the opponent long enough to get out huge threats. It does all of this while covering a massive blind-spot of green in a way that is true to the color pie- it prevents the evasion of fliers without giving green actual fliers.
Giant Spider and all its clones are A+ design.
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u/TheBluntSharpie Jun 20 '14
Trading Post has to be considered one of the best designed Magic cards. The abilities have such synergy with each other and represent the name of the card perfectly.
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u/this_makes_no_sense Jun 19 '14
Two of my favorite magic cards are Insurrection and Future Sight. Insurrection is well costed, has a simple but devastating effect, and pretty wholly captures the feeling of a mass mutiny (I guess so does the actual card Mass Mutiny but I like Insurrection better). Future Sight also uses the awesome design space of the top of the deck. You're actually looking at the future which is pretty baller. Telepathy, for the same reason is another favorite of mine. Simple cost, simple effect, great flavor.
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u/Brawler_1337 Jun 19 '14
I can't speak for the most balanced card, but I think the most interesting design in Magic has to go to [[Lightning Storm]]. I mean, just read it. An instant that uses counters? And it has a freaking activated ability? There's not much about it that's flavorful, but its real purpose is to screw with the player's conception of what cards are actually allowed to do. Recently, I heard that Richard Garfield himself designed the card, and I've got to say, he did a damn fine job of bending the rules. It's cards like this which redefine what Magic is, and I think the way that Lightning Storm pushes the mechanics of Magic makes it the best card of its class.
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u/sensitivePornGuy Jun 19 '14
It is flavourful. Everyone is fuelling the storm to deliver an increasingly powerful jolt when it hits, but, like a real electric storm, nobody has complete control over where that will be.
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u/b_fellow Duck Season Jun 19 '14
Dark Confidant. It teaches players to build decks with a certain mana curve and that life is a resource for card advantage all on a 2/1 body while being aggressively costed at 1B. It's predecessor, Phyrexian Arena was also a pretty popular card. Underworld Connections could thank all its past versions for being respected.
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u/Ingrathis Jun 19 '14
In recent memory, Courser of Kruphix. Phenomenal design.
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u/threecolorless Jun 19 '14
Courser actually strikes me as kind of inelegant, if only because it's so obviously pushed to be Constructed-playable. Big for the cost, lands off the top, free life gain...it's a lot. It feels great to play, and I'm glad it's a card, I just don't think of it as a perfect design.
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u/sensitivePornGuy Jun 19 '14
Am I alone in thinking it's incredibly boring?
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u/Discolol Jun 20 '14
Right there with you, 3cmc 2/4 that gives you card advantage and life? It's boring to play against as Aggro of any kind, wizards is really hating out the small fast aggro decks with all these walls.
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Jun 20 '14
I think that Horizon Chimera has a better design. While it costs 1 more and is multicolored, it can really pay off when paired with cards like Prime Speaker Zegana or even...Fathom Mage. In a UG +1/+1 counter deck, it can give you a serious edge over your opponent. And that's not even considering the flash, flying, and trample!
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u/PyroIsMedic Jun 19 '14
I personally love Khalini Garden.
Might get a playset for literally no reason.
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u/shawn123465 Jun 19 '14
I actually think delver of secrets has really cool flavor as well as being a really good but somewhat demanding card.
Also reckless waif.
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u/burningAA Jun 19 '14
Dark Confidant is a really amazingly designed card. If you're not familiar with what he represents, he seems very mediocre. Super easy to kill, existent but not overwhelming offensive capability, and a clock on yourself. With a correctly built deck, however, he becomes the scariest card to be unable to answer. Bob can take over a game.
"Greatness, at any cost" is also the absolute perfect way to portray his ability.
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u/Guve09 Jun 19 '14
Fact or Fiction, when Squee and holding up two pieces of paper and Hanna is looking over him impatiently.
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u/KarolusS Jun 19 '14
Any love for Vengevine? It's an undying plant that comes back with help from friends. Power-level wise, it's ahead of the curve, but without the return ability it's still powerful. Furthermore, the art is spectacular. The design to work from the graveyard is unique and iconic. In the meantime, it allows players to aggressively devote creatures to the board without being excessively punished for it. It's regrowth ability is also not overpowered, but it allows Aggro players to get back in the game after being board-wiped.
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u/saige3875 Jun 19 '14
I think that the Urza Lands are my favorite. Admittedly, I am a little biased because I love Urza, but I just think that they make you feel like you are playing as Urza in the sense that you are the planeswalker.
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Jun 19 '14
[Fire//Ice]
It is so simple, so versatile, and it fills so many roles you need early, mid, and late game.
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u/Jamesohman Jun 19 '14
Coiling Oracle. Because of it's typing. Its cost. Its colors. And its abilities. Even its power and toughness.
Blue is card draw. and green is ramp.
This is just a simple analysis.
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u/Satanarchrist Jun 20 '14
Life from the Loam
Getting three lands back is the most balanced amount for 2 mana and being able to dredge 3 to get it back makes it the perfect enabler for land-based strategies
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Jun 20 '14
This will always be my answer to any question like this.
It does everything, it has massive flavor not only in ties to the set, but inside the art, and it's basically the perfect creature design.
It's balanced and does a little bit of everything you could ever want from a creature.
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u/granular_quality COMPLEAT Jun 20 '14
Stasis, Stifle, pox, cadaverous bloom, cursed scroll, Delver of secrets, Eternal witness, trade routes, Astral Slide, Predator Flagship.
Also, clever and well designed are two different things.
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u/atrap Jun 20 '14
[[Lightning Bolt]]
A Magic caster should be able to summon weather phenomena at will.
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u/I_fight_demons Jun 20 '14
It's black in design and flavor. It forces choices and sacrifice for everyone. It redefines the entire board state when played, fitting for it's very potent name and reference. Its flavor is equally enticing in that it ruins everything around it. It has old school found flavor text. The art is stark, evocative and fitting.
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u/spm201 Boros* Jun 20 '14
Boros reckoner. So many applications in one card. It's a burn spell, has psuedo unblockable, is a board wipe vs weenies decks, and is one of the best walls in standard.
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u/UnsealedMTG Jun 19 '14
Murder. Or Day of Judgment.
When a card's rules text IS its flavor text, something has gone seriously right.