Fireball hate (for lack of a better name)

[asmoranomardicodais]

What about this? Kinda feels like chalice of the viod, but much narrower. As an alternative, this could make all X's in costs equal to whatever you wanted, so for instance, pay R for a fireball where X is four. Anybody like it, or is it a bad idea?

Name
X
Artifact
This comes into play with X charge counters on it.
All costs of X in spells or abilities must equal the amount of charge counters on ~this~

[Bram]

Attempts like this have already been made here in the past. I could be wrong, but I think we didn't go through with it because of wording issues.

[asmoranomardicodais]

Wording issues? It seems simple enough to me. Of course, I am the cards creator...

[Bram]

I didn't mean that I was stupid. I meant that this wording doesn't work, and that it's really hard to make one that does.

All costs of X in spells or abilities must equal the amount of charge counters on ~this~

"must"? Or else what?

I tried to reword, and came up with about three distinct, very awkward wordings, none of which turned out to work.

[Ephraim]

You could try some other variety of "hate" to shut down Fireballs, Chalices, Shoals, etc.

Low Pass Filter

Artifact

Low Pass Filter comes into play with X charge counters on it.
Spells with X in their mana costs cost Y more to play, where Y is the number of charge counters on Low Pass Filter.

OR

Low Pass Filter

Artifact

Spells with X in their mana costs cost 2 more to play.

[Matt]

We already have this card made:

Energy Cap

Artifact
If a spell has in its mana cost, X is 2. (You will still have to pay the two mana to pay for X.)
After seeing what destruction wizards with limitless power wrought on their homes, a loose collective of wizards came together to create this device to prevent such calamity from happening again.

[Bram]

Ephraim: Well, yes, but that's not what he means for it to do, the way I read it.

I think he wants to make it so that you can ONLY play Mind Twist and such for a set number (equal to the number of counters on this).

~this~
X
Artifact
~this~ comes into play with X charge counters on it.
If any player plays an instant or sorcerey with X in the mana cost, X is equal to the amount of charge counters on ~this~.

I guess that could work, but it's awkward for two reasons:
1. There might be a confusion because the X that is the mana cost for this artifact is not the same X as the one reffered to in the card text.
2. Say this is set at 7, you can Mind Twist someone's hand for B.
3. I have no idea what this does to instants and sorceries with XX in the mana cost.

I'm thinking what he wants, can't be done.

[EDIT] Thanks Matt, that was the card I was looking for.

[asmoranomardicodais]

Actually I had two distinct ideas.

The first idea was basically made obsolete by Energy Cap. I wanted something that would stop people from paying X costs that weren't the specified number.

The second idea I had was what bram posted. If this card became that, it would read:

X
Artifact
~this~ comes into play with X charge counters.
All X's in a spell's text box are considered to be equal to the amount of charge counters on ~this~, regardless of the amount payed for X in that spell's casting cost.

I think that's douable, if not a little wordy.

[Machinus]

If you want to "hate" these cards, why dont you just do this:

2W - Communism

Enchantment

The X in all spells on the stack is 0.

[Joblin Velder]

Why would communism make X = 0?

[Cross]

I agree with joblin. Wouldn't this be something like pacifism, though already taken. Or like an "energy sap"?

[Machinus]

How about "prohibition?"

[Matt]

Why would communism make X = 0?

Apparantly you don't know much about communism.