Diffract

[Titanium Dragon]

I came up with this card as a color fixer for limited, but then realized it is probably just broken (as it is, more or less, a broken urza's bauble, or at least dangerously close to it). My question is how to make it an interesting card without being overpowered.

Diffract

Sorcery
Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.
Draw a card.

Current version:

Diffract

Sorcery
Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.
You draw a card at the beginning of the next turn's upkeep.

[Nydaeli]

It's very similar to Chromatic Sphere, except better.  I'm not sure how much design space is left in that area.  You could make it a "slowtrip" (a la Portent), though, if you wanted to tone it down slightly.

[Harlequin]

Perhapse have it be something like:

The next time this turn target land you control is tapped for mana, add one mana of any color to your mana pool.
Draw a card.

So its kinda like fertile ground, and like chromatic sphere.  It requires that you have an untapped land to make good on the mana.

[Ephraim]

The way to unbreak this card is to make it bad with an acknowledgment that bad cards must exist too.  Here's what I would recommend:

Diffract

Instant

Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.
Draw a card.

***

The mana conversion ability isn't really good enough to cost , so drawing a card is a good incentive.  The traditional cost of drawing a card with a cantrip is .  If is too much for the main ability, then would be too much for the main ability plus cantrip. as a sorcery or as an instant seems appropriate to me.

[parallax]

Sorcery
Add two mana in any combination of colors to your mana pool. Draw a card.

[Ephraim]

Sorcery
Add two mana in any combination of colors to your mana pool. Draw a card.

This suggestion is still 100% free mana fixing.  You get back all of the mana that you paid for the card and you get back the card itself.  If it's going to generate as much mana as it costs, it can't cantrip.  If it's going to cantrip, it must generate less mana than it costs.

[jro]

Sorcery
Add two mana in any combination of colors to your mana pool. Draw a card.

This suggestion is still 100% free mana fixing.  You get back all of the mana that you paid for the card and you get back the card itself.  If it's going to generate as much mana as it costs, it can't cantrip.  If it's going to cantrip, it must generate less mana than it costs.

I disagree that this version is "100% free".  There's the opportunity cost of the card, which especially matters in late game scenarios, when this will sometimes be "2cc, burn for 2, draw a card".  You have to get to 1G before this card helps you out, and you have to be able to use the 2 mana productively on your own turn.  If this costs 2 and makes 1, it's worse than Chromatic Sphere / Star.  If it costs 3 and makes 2, it's probably worse than Terrarion and the Odyssey Eggs.  Artifacts should not be better fixers than green spells.

I agree that the original card is too good.  But there's clearly some point where this is not at all dangerous, maybe something like 3GG, add 5 of any color, draw a card.  The question is how low can the casting cost go without becoming a problem.

Also, I like the version that creates a triggered ability when you tap land(s).  It presents more opportunity for interactions while toning down the power level of the original.

[Anusien]

Based on Channel the Suns being acceleration and fixing, I'm fine with 2G, add 3 in any combination, draw a card.  I'm uncertain about 2CC for 2 mana and a card.

[Titanium Dragon]

Based on Channel the Suns being acceleration and fixing, I'm fine with 2G, add 3 in any combination, draw a card.  I'm uncertain about 2CC for 2 mana and a card.

The problem primarily stems from the fact that the card is a free spell; it costs you neither a card nor mana. This means that in, say, a storm deck, you could use it to up your storm count easily, and in most decks, its just a card that lets you run 56 cards. Maybe if it was more like:

GGG
Sorcery
Add three mana of any color to your mana pool.
Draw a card.

But then it is pretty much explicitly a combo card rather than a color fixer.

The comment that it has to be a bad card might very well be true, as you don't really want this to be good.

And it would be a fine slowtrip, which is probably the ideal solution as far as making it a color fixer for limited.

[Anusien]

And it would be a fine slowtrip, which is probably the ideal solution as far as making it a color fixer for limited.

That's the best way to do it.

[Machinus]

I thought of this today. I wonder if it is what you had in mind.

CARDNAME
G
Instant
At the beginning of your next main phase, draw a card and add one mana of any color to your mana pool.

[Charlie]

I'm fine with this card. This card being green is already a drawback for any use in storm decks.

[EKM_Ichorid]

I thought of this today. I wonder if it is what you had in mind.

CARDNAME
G
Instant
At the beginning of your next main phase, draw a card and add one mana of any color to your mana pool.

That may be potentially broken in a Storm deck also. Even though you don't get to add it to the storm count, using EOT will effectively create 1 free mana without losing any card advantage, and thins the deck. I'd have it add the mana when you play it, and draw the next main phase. You can still cast this version of the spell, and pass the main phase to postcombat.

[Ephraim]

I agree that the original card is too good.  But there's clearly some point where this is not at all dangerous, maybe something like 3GG, add 5 of any color, draw a card.  The question is how low can the casting cost go without becoming a problem.

You are correct about this.  The more of a late-game spell that the card becomes, the less it matters how well it fixes your mana.  In fact, I would probably get behind a version that generates three mana in any combination of colours and cantrips for 1GG.  That's mid-game enough and requires a strong-enough commitment to green that I think it would be fair.  I guess I mostly object to the early-game, low-commitment versions of free mana fixing.