New theme for blue?

[Marco]

Card Name
3UU
Instant
Counter target spell. If it's an instant or sorcery spell, you may play target instant or sorcery card in that spell’s controller’s graveyard as though it were in your hand without paying its mana cost. (If it has X in its mana cost, X is 0.)

Card Name
3UU
Sorcery
Choose an instant or sorcery card from one of your opponent’s graveyards and remove that card from the game. As long as the card remains removed from the game, you may play it as though it were in your hand. At end of turn, if you haven't played the card, return it to its owner's graveyard. Untap up to five lands.

[Marco]

Current Wording:

Swindle
1UU
Instant
Counter target spell. If it's an instant or sorcery spell, until end of turn, you may play target instant or sorcery card in that spell’s controller’s graveyard as though it were in your hand.

[Jacob Orlove]

Cards that untap lands just tend to cause problems. Why not have it give you the card permanently, like the first one?

And why does the first one let you play the card for free? That seems overly strong.

[Marco]

Yeah, the untap lands mechanic from the Urza's Saga block was a mistake, but I still like it. If I didn't use the untap lands mechanic, the casting cost would be 2U (closer to Psychic Theft, but a little more expensive because there would usually be more instant and sorcery cards in an opponent's graveyard than in an opponent's hand).

What do you mean by "give you the card permanently"?

If you're paying 3UU to counter a spell, you're not going to have much extra mana to play an instant or sorcery card from your opponent's graveyard. (I suppose Ancestral Recall or Brainstorm would be an exception.) The original intent of this card was to stop the spell and change/morph it into another spell. After looking at Oracle wordings for similiar effects, I decided this was the best way to do that. Compare with Desertion and Spelljack. Also, it is intended that you must play the instant or sorcery card on resolution of this spell, if that makes sense. I wanted to avoid something like "If it's an instant or sorcery spell, until end of turn, you may play target instant or sorcery card in that spell’s controller’s graveyard as though it were in your hand without paying its mana cost..."

[Marco]

I'm not sure I like it, but I guess an alternative is:

Card Name
1UU
Instant
Counter target spell. If it's an instant or sorcery spell, until end of turn, you may play target instant or sorcery card in that spell’s controller’s graveyard as though it were in your hand.

Edit: Actually, I do like this. I'll drop the other two and push this one.

[Marco]

Comments or criticisms on the Current Wording?

[Marco]

24 hours.

[Bram]

Hmmm. Not too many responses, but I guess I don't have a real problem with this now that you don't get to play the card for free anymore. It's better than Forbid or Dissipate, yeah. Who cares? I also guess a 'new targets'  clause is unnecessary.

Closed and added.