I'll play.

[PucktheCat]

In the tradition of Serum Powder:

[placeholder]
2
Artifact
If this is in your hand when the game would begin, you may remove it from the game.  If you do, you play first. (If you play first you skip the first draw step of your first turn)
T: Add 1 to your mana pool.

Alright, the basic idea is obvious - we all know it is nearly always worth one card to go first but is it worth two cards to go first?  And having weak cards in your library?

Is the explanitory text needed?

I am not attached to the in game ability or cost or anything, they were just off the top of my head.  I do think this card could probably be a bit stronger than Serum Powder though, because it won't be any good half of the time.

What do people think?  Would this see play?  Is it too dangerous or too useless to print?

Leo

Current Wording:

[placeholder]
2
Artifact
T: Add 1 to your mana pool.
Any time you could mulligan and ~this~ is in your hand, you may remove it from the game.  If you do you take the first turn.

[Razvan]

I think we should expect something like this to surface at some point down in the line of development.

Serum Powder isn't a bad card at all. It occasionally comes in handy.

This one... hm.. it could be okay, I guess. The thing is that you start with at most 6 cards, and it's a totally dead and useless draw afterwards too.

[rvs]

This hardly works within the game rules. Serum powder in a way works, since while you are mulliganning, nothing is starting yet, and normally, you do it in turn, so it's playable. This affects the other player. I don't think it's possible unless you ALTER the basic rules, which we agreed at some point when being busy in the card creation, we wouldn't go there. So I'm gonna have to shoot this down, and be the naysayer.

I'm sure Matt will back me up.

[PucktheCat]

I don't think the rules need to be altered any more than with Serum Powder.  If it is really a problem you could do it as part of the mulliganing step when people are doing things one at a time.  As a practical matter there would be little confusion about how this works.  Even if both players have them it is fairly obvious that the last player to use one goes first.

I understand that this may be weak.  Obviously, that could be changed simply by changing the card's drawback.  For example, if it had a decent effect in game it would get a lot better.  It could also have less of a disadvantage when used to go first.  You could just reveal it, for example, leaving you with 7 cards and going first, but stuck with a fairly underpowered mana source.

Leo

[Matt]

Just use [card]Serum Powder[/card]'s wording:

Any time you could mulligan and ~this~ is in your hand, you may remove it from the game. If you do, you take the first turn.

The question of what happens when both players use this I think is already solved, since the rules state that whoever normally would go first has to finish all their mulliganing before the other player has to decide if he wants to mulligan.

[PucktheCat]

I agree, Serum Powder's wording avoids possible issues.  I will create current wording with that.

The question is, how the heck do we balance this.  That is what I really am interested in.

Would it be a sideboard card for 2nd-3rd games where you new you were playing second?

As it is, it may be to weak, but I hesitate to say it is for sure because so many things are just better if you are going first.  Hard to say.

Since the card itself is subpar once the game begins would it be to strong to do:

. . . you may remove ~this~ from the game, if you do . . . At the beginning of your first turn return ~this~ to your hand.

or even:

. . . you may reveal ~this~, if you do . . .

Then the disadvantage of it is simply the fact that you have to play with a crappy card rather than an actual loss of card advantage.  If we did that it would have to be less efficient as a mana producer than 2cc tap for one, probably, but it still might be better.

Leo

[Matt]

This is not really that crappy. It's only one more mana than an Elf. It's like a Talisman, and those are quite playable in the slower formats.

[PucktheCat]

Well, it isn't right now.  I was considering this version:

[placeholder]
3
Artifact
T: Add 1 to your mana pool.
Any time you could mulligan and ~this~ is in your hand, you may reveal it to all opponents. If you do you take the first turn.

Three casting cost makes it much worse, obviously.

On a side issue, does anyone have any other ideas for in game abilities that are very broadly useful that could be put on this card instead of the mana generation?  Just to be different?

Leo

[rvs]

how about tap, sac, draw a card? That could stop some of it's uselessness. The only problem it, it might become too good, since going first is great in every format.

[Jebus]

FYI, the rule changed.

From the June 1st CompRules.

103.1. Whenever a card's text directly contradicts these rules, the card takes precedence. The card overrides only the rule that applies to that specific situation. The only exception is that a player can concede the game at any time, regardless of what other cards say (see rule 102.7).

So, card text can contradict any rule except for conceding the game.

[PucktheCat]

Sac, Draw a card is the only other ability that is as broad as colorless mana generation, I guess.  I think mana is better because otherwise the ONLY purpose of this is going first, as opposed to Serum Powder which might conceivably be used for mana once in a while.

Here is one other possibility, but it may be too strong/abusable:

[name]
7
T, remove from the game, 7: take another turn after this one.
If this is in your hand when . . . . etc.

Strictly inferior to Mindslaver, and keeps the 'time' theme of the first ability going.

Leo

[Marco]

I like it. It reminded me of a card posted in the Fantasy Card Creation forums at http://www.brainburst.com. The card can be found here. If you click on the card, then click on "Discuss This Card" you can read the two pages of discussion the card generated.

Jebus: That's a rule change? I thought that has always been the rule. As long as I've been playing at least (since Fourth Edition).

[Jebus]

Jebus: That's a rule change? I thought that has always been the rule. As long as I've been playing at least (since Fourth Edition).

For reference, here is what the rule used to look like.

103.1. Whenever a card’s text directly contradicts these rules, the card takes precedence. The card overrides only the rule that applies to that specific situation. The only exception is that the rules in section 100, “General,� and section 101, “Starting the Game,� can’t be overridden by the cards. Those rules apply at all times, regardless of what the cards say.

Note the reference to sections 100 and 101, which is no longer in the new rule.

[PucktheCat]

I like it. It reminded me of a card posted in the Fantasy Card Creation forums at http://www.brainburst.com. The card can be found here. If you click on the card, then click on "Discuss This Card" you can read the two pages of discussion the card generated.

Dude, isn't that one like . . . broken?  Or is ours just weak as all hell?

Whatever, if someone wants to give me some guidance on abilities and name I will finish this guy.

If no one cares, we can just close it too.

Leo

[Marco]

Jebus: Thank you for pointing out the difference. I wasn't aware of the details.

The card I posted isn't mine (in case there was any confusion), however, I suppose it is broken in a deck packing forests and green cards, but how many decks do that? Your card, while very similar to Serum Powder, can at least be used by all decks.

[Matt]

It would be nice to complete this cycle with a version that had "Any time you could mulligan and ~this~ is in your hand, you may remove it from the game. If you do, look at each opponent's hand."

[PucktheCat]

Matt, that ability probably doesn't need to cost you a whole card.  It could just be a weak card that you have to reveal.

Do you have any opinion on the ability or name of the original submission?