Improved Initiative

[Limbo]

After finishing Activate, I thought it might be nice to come up with something new once more. After thinking of Serum Powder and the Unluckymans Paradise, I think this would be a nice project:

Improved Initiative
Artifact - Unknown Cost
Some Ability...
If ~this~ is in your opening hand and you're not playing first, you may remove ~this~ from your hand to play first.
I believe I was here first.

The ability would need to be something useful and fitting at the same time. Mana generation comes to mind, but I prefer not to create a copy of serum powder. Somehow cantripping it comes to mind, but I am not set on anything except for the "stealing" of the first turn.

Current Wording
Lightning Engine
2
Artifact Creature - Myr
1/1
Haste.
Any time you could mulligan and NAME is in your hand, you may reveal NAME. If you do, you play first and put NAME into play without paying its mana cost. (A player can't take any mulligans once he or she has decided to keep a hand, the player who plays first skips the draw step.)
Highly valued by mages, as it is always first to arrive.

[Jacob Orlove]

You could make it a 2/1 for 3 with haste.

[Limbo]

You could make it a 2/1 for 3 with haste.

I really like this suggestion. But it might be a nice idea to either create a card that is good in control, aggro AND combo, or make 3 cards, one card for each archetype?

[LordHomerCat]

This seems like it might not be particularly useful.  I guess if you are playing SX or something you really want to go first, but otherwise, its like taking a mulligan on the play, you're down to 6 cards AND they get to draw first.  That just hardly seems like a good deal to me.

[Ephraim]

Lots of cards aren't good deals -- even rare cards with abilities like this. Look at Serum Powder. I don't think I've ever actually seen somebody use it. This is similar in scope, except a 2/1 hasty creature may actually be better than the mana producer that you get from Serum Powder. That's fitting, since this ability is nominally weaker than Serum Powder's.

[Marco]

We tried something like this before.

I like the idea, but I think the wording is off. "remove ~this~ from your hand" to where? Does that include revealing it to your opponents?

[Jacob Orlove]

It should be more like this:
Any time you could mulligan and NAME is in your hand, you may reveal NAME and remove it from the game. If you do, you play first.

Technically, the reveal may not be necessary, since it would be RFG'd face up.

[Guardian]

Since you were technically not playing first, do you still get the draw?

[Limbo]

Since you were technically not playing first, do you still get the draw?

I doubt this will be a problem. Playing first means not drawing a card I'd say.

The card looks cool to me now. Name / Flavourtext?

[Jacob Orlove]

Whoever plays first doesn't draw a card on that turn, but we could easily make that reminder text.

[Limbo]

How is "Lightning Engine" for a name?

Btw, I had an idea of decreasing the cost to 2 mana, making it a 1/1, and allowing a player to start the game with it in play if the ability to start the game is used. Too strong / weak? I'd say it is strictly better then Raging Goblin, but I don't think that is too big of a problem.

Lightning Engine
2
Artifact Creature
1/1
Haste.
Any time you could mulligan and NAME is in your hand, you may reveal NAME. If you do, you play first and put NAME into play without paying its mana cost.
Highly valued by mages, as it is always first to arrive.

[Jacob Orlove]

That's really good. I'm willing to try it out, although it may be too strong.

[Limbo]

That's really good. I'm willing to try it out, although it may be too strong.

If Basking Rootwalla (which is very good I admit) got printed, I'd say this is possible as well. Changes made.

Btw, should we make this a "Myr" or something? I think that fits it very well.

[Matt]

bump

[asmoranomardicodais]

I say make it legendary, so you can't do this in multiples.

[Limbo]

I say make it legendary, so you can't do this in multiples.

Good point. Question is, which "planeswalker" has this "lightning engine"? Memnarchs?

[Limbo]

24 hours ticking for:

Lightning Engine
2
Legendary Artifact Creature - Myr
1/1
Haste.
Any time you could mulligan and NAME is in your hand, you may reveal NAME. If you do, you play first and put NAME into play without paying its mana cost.
Highly valued by mages, as it is always first to arrive.

[Matt]

What if both players have one of these? Who goes first?

[Jacob Orlove]

I don't think this really needs to be legendary. Two of them isn't really broken. I do like how you can only use it to "steal" the turn when going second, though, because the active player chooses whether or not to mull first (maybe that should be in the reminder text).

[Limbo]

I don't think this really needs to be legendary. Two of them isn't really broken. I do like how you can only use it to "steal" the turn when going second, though, because the active player chooses whether or not to mull first (maybe that should be in the reminder text).

Modified the legendary.

As for the part about who can mulligan when: If a player decides not to mulligan, and the other person then reveals this, he becomes the person playing first, allowing the first player again to take a mulligan, maybe even revealing this as well, returning the joke on the other player again

I don't think this is a problem. If it is, how do I word such a thing?

[combo_dude]

Another rules interaction issue is that by the time you draw your opening hand, you've already finished the die roll for playing/drawing - does this override the die roll, then?

[Limbo]

Another rules interaction issue is that by the time you draw your opening hand, you've already finished the die roll for playing/drawing - does this override the die roll, then?

That is the goal of the card indeed.

[Jacob Orlove]

I don't think this really needs to be legendary. Two of them isn't really broken. I do like how you can only use it to "steal" the turn when going second, though, because the active player chooses whether or not to mull first (maybe that should be in the reminder text).

Modified the legendary.

As for the part about who can mulligan when: If a player decides not to mulligan, and the other person then reveals this, he becomes the person playing first, allowing the first player again to take a mulligan, maybe even revealing this as well, returning the joke on the other player again

I don't think this is a problem. If it is, how do I word such a thing?

No, even if you switch to going first, you don't get a second chance at mulligans. Perhaps this could also make it into the reminder text.

[Limbo]

I don't think this really needs to be legendary. Two of them isn't really broken. I do like how you can only use it to "steal" the turn when going second, though, because the active player chooses whether or not to mull first (maybe that should be in the reminder text).

Modified the legendary.

As for the part about who can mulligan when: If a player decides not to mulligan, and the other person then reveals this, he becomes the person playing first, allowing the first player again to take a mulligan, maybe even revealing this as well, returning the joke on the other player again

I don't think this is a problem. If it is, how do I word such a thing?

No, even if you switch to going first, you don't get a second chance at mulligans. Perhaps this could also make it into the reminder text.

Blatantly stole the wording from the Comp. Rules. 0.00273785 year clock thingy.

[Matt]

Closed and added.[/color]