Heavy Metal Golem (ripping off Aether Tether)

[Eastman]

Very fun/interesting idea on Aether Tether.  Wouldn't be overpowered at all but would see immediate play in stax decks.   I'm totally ripping off the idea to make a creature with the same ability:

I like the idea of pushing the artifact connection.  What about a rare artifact creature:


Heavy Metal Golem
Artifact Creature - Golem

Heavy Metal Golem comes into play with X weight counters on it.

Heavy Metal Golem gets +1/+1 for each weight counter on it. 

At the beginning of your upkeep, you may move any number of weight counters from Heavy Metal Golem to any number of target permanents.

If Heavy Metal Golem is anywhere, permanents with weight counters on them lose flying, cannot block creatures with flying, and cannot be returned to their owners hand. 

0/1




Workshop players would be all over this, since not only is it a powerful, versatile answer to the biggest reason they lose, but like, 99.9% of workshop players are into heavy metal

[Matt]

It seems like you ought to be able to simplify this some; it's very complex. For starters, I'm not sure why you need both the 'lose flying' and "cannot block creatures with flying" - do you really need to hate on spiders that much? Having it be active "anywhere" is also a bit much, I think - live by the Gwafa Hazid, die by the Gwafa Hazid.


Heavy Metal Golem

Artifact Creature - Golem
2/4
Heavy Metal Golem comes into play with a Weight counter on it.
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may put a Weight counter on target permanent.
Permanents with Weight counters on them lose flying and can't be returned to their owners' hands.

It doesn't have as immediate an effect, but it still does what you want it to do, which is to shut off bounce. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but Stax is designed to make the game last a few turns, so this will have a chance to have an effect. I was going to make it 3/3 but I gave it 4 toughness so it could at least be resistant to Bolts.

[jro]

I like Matt's version for the simplicity, and I like keeping it as simple as possible, since "can't be returned" is a novel ability.  I'm not even sure how that would work under the rules.  I'm assuming that it "just works" the same way that "this permanent is indestructible" just works.  Maybe the rules text for the effect of weight counters could just be:

"Permanents with weight counters on them cannot have flying and cannot be returned to their owner's hands."

I think there is a problem with saying "permanents with weight counters lose flying" because what happens if someone casts Jump on it afterwards?  Sure, maybe it lost flying, but now it's gaining flying again.  It's too bad you can't work it as "permanents with weight counters on them cannot fly" because that would be the most poetic rules text in all of Magic.

[Matt]

It's too bad you can't work it as "permanents with weight counters on them cannot fly" because that would be the most poetic rules text in all of Magic.

I dunno, I like "If a player loses the game, he or she leaves the game."