I was thinking about what card I would make if I won an invitational. Such cards have certain constraints, because they are supposed to represent 'you', the winner. So they have to be creatures, and mostly have to be Creature -- Wizard (early ones were not always, such as Rootwater Thief, but almost every one since Meddling Mage has been a wizard/shaman/druid, Robo-Jens being the exception). This also means that they have to be on the smallish side - Rakdos Augurmage is the biggest so far at 3/2. They can't really be 'beaters'.
I've always had an affinity for Telepathy, but it was just never that strong. Let's see if I can make it good.
I want the card to be one mana, so it can come down and then be active in time for your turn two Counterspell. I want it to have at least one power. I want it to be something you could conceivably maindeck. I suppose it doesn't HAVE to be blue but it probably should.
Also, I am not concerned at all with obsoleting Telepathic Spies, which was awful. It must reveal the opponent's hand but it may do other things. It could be Revelation if it had to be.
Let's try this:
Telepath
Creature -- Wizard
1/1
Your opponents play with their hands revealed.
Pretty basic. Not strictly better or worse than Telepathy, much as Dark Confidant is not
strictly better or worse than Phyrexian Arena.
But also a bit bland. And possibly so weak that it won't get played, which is a sad fate for any card but particularly for an invitational card. Forgotten Ancient was a dark time.
A little retread is in order. I was going to make it a 1/1 flier for
but was worried it would obsolete Flying Men, which are already pretty good for blue. Let's try a different approach - making it cost 'more' but still getting in there on turn two.
Telepath Golem
Artifact Creature -- Golem
1/1
Flying
Affinity for Islands
Your opponents play with their hands revealed.
This time, it can still be in there on turn two, but is weaker in some respects (against a turn-one Goblin Lackey for example). It can also be used in many other respects - it's Cloud of Faeries in Winter Orb decks, for example, without the abusive Urza-untap mechanic. It can be a flier for decks which need one - to carry equipment that triggers on hitting the opponent like SoFI, for example. Its use in blue decks is obvious (and the synergy with counters is why I wanted it made to begin with) but it also combines well with other spells like Ignite Memories, and is particularly amazing with Cabal Therapy.
Current wording:
Sadistic Telepath
Creature -- Wizard
2/2
Whenever a wizard comes into play, you may look at target player's hand.
, sacrifice Sadistic Telepath: Name a nonland card. Search target player's library for all cards with that name and remove them from the game. Then that player shuffles his or her library.
