another accelerant

[Liam-K]

While what actually got me thinking about a card like this was Infernal Tutor, the concept I came up with was cool enough to share.

The flavor of the card is using the raw power of the mind to get something done.  The names Force of Will and Mind Over Matter are taken, but it should be called something like that.  The reason I think this is cool is it's an interesting way to explore an interaction between blue and red.  My idea as it stands:

Cardname

Instant

Add to your mana pool.
As you play ~this~, you may discard any number of cards from your hand.  For each card discarded in this way, add to your mana pool.


I think this is pretty safe, even with Infernal Tutor (works with 3 colours, needs 2 cards, and doesn't end the game by itself).  It needs flavor text though.  Thoughts?  I'm sort of on the fence about making this make {R} by itself, on one hand 1 mana for 1 card has a certain simplicity to it, on the other this is a card about interactions and really should be better when it's being used synergistically, and I don't want to take emphasis away from the main part of the card.



Current Wording



Cardname

Instant

Add to your mana pool.
As you play ~this~, you may discard any number of cards from your hand.  For each card discarded in this way, add to your mana pool.

[Norm4eva]

Remember that time a blue card made red Dragons???
Seriously, though, except for the recent delve into exploring "guild mechanics" why is a blue card making red mana?

[LordHomerCat]

But blue doesn't get fast mana anymore... especially not at the cost of cards.  As a red card, I could see this existing (Seething Song, Desperate Ritual, etc.) but as a blue card, its so insanely out of flavor. 

I don't know if you were comparing this effect to Force of Will and Mind over Matter; if so, its not a very good once, since those both do extremely blue things (if not, ignore this sentence heh).

As is, I don't see any reason to give blue temporary mana acceleration too.  I mean, if we give them some graveyard recursion and maybe a little artifact and creature kill, we can make every Vintage deck mono-blue!  Seriously, this card = 100% Red.

[asmoranomardicodais]

Green is the color of mana fixing, so unfortunately, I think this should probably be green. Green also makes sense, since Red and Green are allies, so it is feasible to make green cards that produce red (Like that stupid faerie from legends, and Tinder Wall). As well, as it is this card can easily be used as a colorless dark ritual. I think the best version of the card would be as follows:

Forest's Fires
G
Instant
Add to your mana pool. Use this mana only to play red spells.

Cascade- Discard a card from your hand.


What's wrong with that version? (Also, it could be replicate if you'd rather, I just like cascade more)

[Mindstab_Thrull]

(1) The reference to Force of Will and Mind over Matter was simply over choosing a cardname. They're good names for what he wants to accomplish but, obviously, are already taken. Finding a new name that gives the same idea is not going to be an easy task.

(2) I'll be one of the first people to jump on the idea of off-colour abilities; why SHOULDN'T blue get mana acceleration? However, making it 'feel' blue would be the issue. Having a blue spell produce red mana, even at 1:1, is out of flavour to say the least. So, perhaps put a playability restriction on it, a la:

Cardname
U
Instant
Play ~ only if you control a basic mountain.
As an additional cost to play ~, discard any number of cards.
Add R to your mana pool, then add R to your mana pool for each card discarded this way.

Might that fit better? Alternatively, do something more bluish like:

Cardname
U
Instant
Target land you control becomes a basic Mountain until end of turn. You may discard any number of cards. For each card discarded this way, target land you control becomes a basic Mountain until end of turn.

That's probably the more likely way to get a different colour of mana out of blue - changing the land type.

[Anusien]

But blue doesn't get fast mana anymore... especially not at the cost of cards.  As a red card, I could see this existing (Seething Song, Desperate Ritual, etc.) but as a blue card, its so insanely out of flavor. 

I don't know if you were comparing this effect to Force of Will and Mind over Matter; if so, its not a very good once, since those both do extremely blue things (if not, ignore this sentence heh).

As is, I don't see any reason to give blue temporary mana acceleration too.  I mean, if we give them some graveyard recursion and maybe a little artifact and creature kill, we can make every Vintage deck mono-blue!  Seriously, this card = 100% Red.

It's either black or red, because both are about sacrificing whatever is at hand for raw power/gains.  Since it's making red mana, and red is the color of fast mana nowadays anyway, it's a red card.

[Liam-K]

I know it's pretty red.  I really wanted to explore the concept of raw thought as power though, and I thought the best way to start flavoring it like that was to make it blue.  Colour pie is probably more important than shiney gimmicks though.  I don't know how to make it feel like I want though, I want there to be a very blue element to what it does or else I don't feel like it's worth making.

The Replicate wording is probably the best way to do this, and it also makes countering it less ridiculous.

[Mindstab_Thrull]

Your best way to do it in a blue way then is to change land types. Or, if you actually want mana, try a spell variant on Tolarian Academy (perhaps: U, Sorcery, Add 1 to your mana pool for each artifact you control. Spend this mana only on artifact spells or activated abilities of artifacts.). That's all I can think of that would allow it to shimmy its way into blue.

[Liam-K]

Ok, how about it is a red card that makes blue mana?  Is name and flavor text enough to justify this?

[Mindstab_Thrull]

That's even harder to pull off than a Blue card to make Red mana, as Blue at least has [card]Phantasmal Terrain[/card]-like effects to go by. Red really doesn't alter lands - the most I've seen it do is produce extra red or turn them into sources of colourless mana. You'd have to find a way to do it that makes it 'feel' Red, which is a lot harder than you'd think. If you come up with an angle, let me know