balancing sol ring?

[Machinus]

I don't know why I haven't posted a card like this before, since I have thought about what it would be like a lot. What could such a card look like?


Fixed Sol Ring
1
Artifact
~ CIPT
T: add 1 to your mana pool.

I love that card, but it is probably too powerful for newer formats. Also is is really boring.


Improved Jeweled Amulet
1
Artifact
Tap all lands you control: Add a charge counter to ~. Use this ability only once per turn.
Remove a charge counter from ~: Add 1 to your mana pool.

That seems to be less powerful, but it is still very useful. It is more interesting than the other card.


I don't know if there is a better template or a good mechanic to base the card on. These are just rough ideas. What do you think? Is there a card in here somewhere?

[Ephraim]

I agree with your assessment that the first one is kind of boring. Furthermore, even if it doesn't give a huge first turn boost, it does give you three mana on turn 2.

The second one reminds me a lot of Gemstone Array. The cost per charge counter is nominally higher, but will often end up being lower in practice. In exchange, you can only charge it up one per turn and it only generates colourless mana. A mana cost of still seems a little bit on the cheap side, even give those restrictions. would be safer.

[Machinus]

If there is any restriction on these cards, it is that they have to cost 1 and be usable on turn 1 or 2, at the earliest. Otherwise we are just remaking mind stone, which is already really good.

[Marco]

I created this and these which have been added to the Master List.

[Machinus]

Those are pretty specific cards. I don't want this to make colored also.

Having a graveyard cost of 3 means this can't come online until turn 3, on average. It wouldn't be very useful as an early mana accelerant.

Is it possible to have the second card cost 1, be usable on turn 2, and still not be broken?

[Godder]

The Improved Amulet is totally broken. With that wording, it stores 1 mana for each turn, yours and theirs (even more broken in multi-player...), so if you play it turn 1, you have 5 mana on turn two.

The lesser Sol Ring isn't broken, but it's also Green's domain for that type of acceleration. Perhaps it could cost 2, and sac for 1, sort of like a colourless piece of Ramos (from Masques Block)...

[Machinus]

The Improved Amulet is totally broken. With that wording, it stores 1 mana for each turn, yours and theirs (even more broken in multi-player...), so if you play it turn 1, you have 5 mana on turn two.

Totally correct. This was my original version, I don't know why I removed the second ability. I know how some people in R&D must feel.


Improved Jeweled Amulet
1
Artifact
Tap all lands you control: Add a charge counter to ~. Use this ability only once per turn.
Remove a charge counter from ~: Add 1 to your mana pool. Use this ability only once per turn.

[Matt]

Tap all lands you control: Add a charge counter to ~. Use this ability only once per turn.

The problem is that this ability can be played even if your lands are already tapped.

Having a graveyard cost of 3 means this can't come online until turn 3, on average. It wouldn't be very useful as an early mana accelerant.

Yes, that's exactly the point, because early mana acceleration is broken.

[Machinus]

Tap all lands you control: Add a charge counter to ~. Use this ability only once per turn.

The problem is that this ability can be played even if your lands are already tapped.

Actually that was on purpose. Generating mana means it has to come from somewhere. Is there no way to make this card balanced?

[Nazdakka]

Tap all lands you control: Add a charge counter to ~. Use this ability only once per turn.

The problem is that this ability can be played even if your lands are already tapped.

Actually that was on purpose. Generating mana means it has to come from somewhere. Is there no way to make this card balanced?

You could have the ability only playable at sorcery speed and/or require the charge ability to tap the artifact, limiting the mana production to sane levels. What you'd likely end up with would be a really good storage land. It doesn't break the fast mana rule, and it's worse than both Elves and Birds.

ie. it would look something like this:

Improved Jeweled Amulet
1
Artifact
T, tap all lands you control: Add a charge counter to ~this~
Remove X counters: Add X to your mana pool

So no mana no the turn it's played, but usable mana production later on. It sucks as an early accelerant, but that's not really a surprise. Working within the constraints of a 1 mana 1-2 accelerant, then how about:

Mind-channeller Ring
1
Artifact
As an additional cost to play Flawed Mox, discard a card from your hand.
T: add 1 to your mana pool

It's a sucky Sol Ring knockoff, but it might well wind up as fair, especially as this is worse than both Elves and Birds on every turn except the one on which it is played.
Alternatively for 0 mana, we could do:

Flawed Mox
0
Artifact
As an additional cost to play Flawed Mox, discard a card from your hand.
Flawed Mox comes into play tapped
T: Add 1 mana to your mana pool.

It's messy but in terms of power this is IMO worse than Chrome Mox and Mox Diamond.

[Jacob Orlove]

Why do people insist on basing artifact mana accelerants on moxes, rather than on Aether Vial/Sapphire Medallion/etc? There are plenty of ways to generate mana without running into casting cost issues.