Mind or Material

[Ephraim]

Mind or Material
{U}
Sorcery

Target player chooses one -- return each creature that player controls to its owner's hand; or for each creature that player controls, put the top three cards of that player's library into his or her graveyard.

***

I always liked [card]Fade Away[/card]. It was an interesting card, although it wasn't very useful. Unfortunately, it was also not particularly blue in flavour. With this card, I hope to capture the flavour that Fade Away should have had - a choice between two very blue fates, while increasing its usefulness (by making it target, rather than affect every creature.) I've costed it as I have because I suspect it would be incredibly powerful in limited. I've often seen limited games go to a relative standoff between two armies of six or more creatures. This would then have the effect of either sweeping your opponent's board or of nuking half of his deck or more.

[Ephraim]

Current Wording:

Evoke Spite
{3}{B}{B}
Sorcery

For each creature target player controls, that player sacrifices that creature unless he or she discards a card.

"Let them choose between themselves and those they love. The survivors will begin to understand what Yawgmoth has always known."
--Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor

[Jacob Orlove]

That name parses awkwardly. As for the card, it seems pretty weak, since it'll almost never bounce their creatures, and Traumatize is better as a 3UU mill effect.

[Ephraim]

The name was meant to be temporary anyhow. I suppose the effect really is pretty weak, isn't it? I've never seen anybody do much with Traumatize and you're right that it's better. I think I'm going to change the focus of the card then and make it black:

***

Mind or Material
{B}
Sorcery

For each creature target player controls, that player discards a card or sacrifices that creature.

***

This has a lot of grotesque destructive potential. Even a few creatures make this a possible [card]Fugue[/card] and having more creatures than cards in hand absolutely ensures that some of their creatures are going to die.

[rvs]

Could the black version drop to 2BB? for 5, you can also be casting someting like Mind Sludge, and Mutilate is on 2BB. I know the cards aren't all that similar, but in terms of power level, they are.

I'd say 2BB is pretty fair.

[Matt]

I liked the blue card.

[Ephraim]

I liked it too, Matt, but I think that Jacob was right. Milling is typically pretty weak. Furthermore, this was seldom going to do more than Traumatize, which is up with Brain Freeze on the list of best mills ever. It's good to create cards for limited, but I think that was looking like a card that would have to be a rare to keep from unbalancing limited, but which would only ever see play as a limited bomb. That kind of card is unprintable. The current incarnation is as black as the last incarnation was blue, but it has the potential to see play outside of limited.

[Ephraim]

Now that I think about this, the flavour of this card is really sinister. Mind or Material is a very poor description of this. If I weren't afraid of the gross similarity to the names of other cards, I'd call it Exploitation of the Meek. The principle here is that black is calling for a player either to sacrifice his loyal creatures or to suffer himself. Break the Softhearted would also be an apt name.

[Ephraim]

Name changed and flavour text added. 24 Hour Clock.

[Marco]

Wow. Awesome flavour text.

[Matt]

Closed and added.[/color]