Black hole on a stick - please don't play mindslaver!

[Matt]

Black Hole Stick
1
(Legendary?) Artifact
0: Discard a card from your hand.
0: Sacrifice a permanent.
0: Lose 1 life.
0: Empty your mana pool.
0: Remove your graveyard from the game.

So yeah, it sucks.
Everything.
Away, I mean.

Card in three zones, life, mana. All into the void.

I wish Chalice of the Void wasn't taken; the name would fit perfectly.

Kind of a niche card, to be sure. But it's a fine enabler for Odyssey block cards, and has other marginal applications, such as making more cards Wish-accessible and...uh, stopping Mirror Universe.

[Matt]

Current wording:

Oblivion Vault
1
Artifact
0: Discard a card from your hand.
0: Sacrifice a permanent.
0: Lose 1 life.
0: Empty your mana pool.
0: Remove your graveyard from the game.

[Ephraim]

No, sir, I don't like it. You're right that it's a niche card. The niche into which it fits is so small that it may as well not exist. Okay, I can see other decks that might ocassionally want to discard cards (Threshold, Oversold Cemetery) or to empty their mana pools, but I think this is just far too silly of a card.

[Matt]

Well, they made Despotic Scepter.

[GerryMander]

I would rather that this card A.) tapped to use the ability and B.) Didn't do the last 3 abilities (maybe removing your graveyard.

This card would rock in madness and threshold decks.

[Jacob Orlove]

Does this need to cost 1 mana?

I see this as a cute compliment to Staff of Domination, although I wonder if the last ability wouldn't be more interesting if it was:
0: Remove target card in your graveyard from the game.

[Sheik al Kaji]

This card would be perfectly at home in Dragon. It's an outlet and can be used to draw the game (by getting non-Dragons out) if your opponent has no critters in the yard. However, this kills you if you get Slavered.

I love this.

[GerryMander]

I don't see how this could give you a problem against Mindslaver...

You could just sac the artifact in response.

[goober]

Actually this could be helpful against Mindslaver, because you can sac/discard anything they abuse, Necro, Bargain, Tog, etc.  Definitly not worth boarding in, but just pointing out that Slaver isn't bad, unless this is topdecked.

[Matt]

Hah, didn't notice that. Names, anyone?

[GerryMander]

Accursed Staff?

Staff of the Cursed?

Staff of the Accursed?

Begger's Staff?


With Begger's Staff, it could be a Legendary Artifact that has some sort of flavor text about how you can see the life of a begger simply by holding his staff.  (holding back laughter)

ok, but seriously, you could probably get a good flavor text out of Begger's Staff...

[Bram]

So Matt, did you make this *just* to please me, or was there some ulterior motive?

On the name: Scathed Demarcation. You know, this could be some artifact that has been burnt by the fires of the void beyond, that simply lies there to warn others not to pass. And obviously, it's an anagram once again, this time for 'Matt does a niche card'.

On an off-topic note: from the third week of august onwards, I'll have an internet connection other than my workplace one again. It's so weird reading up on dozens of cards I've never seen. Heck, there are even closed ones that I wished I commented on...oh well, all will be better. I wish I had a job that allowed me to surf the net during daytime (not that I don't now, but I have to limit it since everything is logged).

[Matt]

Hah! I didn't intend it at all, but this is TOTALLY Bram's holy grail of fantasy cards.

[Gandalf_The_White_1]

I think that it would be cool if the effects were basically costs, and the effect produced to add 0 mana to your pool.  It would be more powerful because as costs the "abilities" will happen right away.  I'm thinking something like this, which has a couple of additional abilities

Endless Void
0
legendary artifact
-~this~ cannot be the target of spells or abilities
-pay 1 life: add 0 to your mana pool
-1: add 0 to your mana pool
-sacrifice a permenant: add 0 to your mana pool
-discard a card from your hand: add 0 to your mana pool
-remove a card in your graveyard from the game: add 0 to your mana pool
-remove a spell you control from the stack and put it into it's owner's graveyard: add 0 mana to your mana pool

I like to flavour of a unique all-consuming void/black hole type of phenomenon, hence the name and the fact that it is legendary.

Also, as jacob said, it doesn't really need to cost 1.  0 should be appropriate for it's effect (unless you want to add the ability draw a card when it cip, which would necessitate a mana cost of at least 1 to prevent deck-shrinking)

I like the untargetable aspect- asny spell cast at it would simply be absorbed into the void, but the untargetable means you can't even cast things at it.  Maybe something like, "-whenever a spell is cast targeting ~this,~ counter that spell."  But, uncounterable spells would not be affected (in cast a destroy artifact spell is ever printeed that is uncounterable).  So, the weirder (but also cooler and more flavourful) templating would be necessary: -"Whenever a spell is cast targeting ~this,~ remove that spell from the game."

Also, I like the more refined abilities of removing a single card in your graveyard from the game, and paying 1 mana (of course this makes more sense with the costs being the abilities now)

I think that this card would be incredibly cool in casual play and for flavour value, but I am not sure it would ever really see serious play in this form.  (it might if it cost 1 and had the cip draw a card abiliy, though)

[Bram]

The name, dammit, get to the name! Scathed Demarcation is the dilly.

On your suggestions:

while I like the 'pay random cost: add 0' as a concept, it seems awkward here and makes the card text too long. Also, as you said, it does indeed up the power level for this card; something which is not desirable IMO.

For the same reason, this shouldn't cost 0. It just does way too much for that. It's actually not a bad card:

- it prevents mana burn for free.
- it's a great (read:cheap) madness outlet.
- it gets rid of nasty permanents on your side of the board for colors that should have no business doing that (black has a 1 mana way to get rid of Necro, for example)
- it's (as has been said) a great way to fuck up an opponent's Slaver turn.
- it removes your graveyard from the game whenever you like, making the Wishes better.
- it it's a three card combo with Donate and Mindslaver. Oh wait, only if your opponent is stupid. And even so: EVERYTHING is a three card combo with Donate and Mindslaver.

While the last one was obviousy an attempt at humor, the first 5 points still stand. If anything, this card is overpowered, not underpowered. Making it cost 0 and enhancing the 'timing' of the abilities to make it better is a no go. Do not even THINK about making this cantrip as well....

[Gandalf_The_White_1]

I understand the points but I think you may be overestimating the power level of the card.  I see no problem with it costing 0 and having the ability timing inhanced (good point about the card text though, but it is just so much cooler this way, that you are pouring resources into it instead of activating it to consume them), although I do agree it would be kind of crazy as a 1-2cc cantrip.

What does everyone think about the counter your own spells ability?

[Jacob Orlove]

Matt's version is interesting enough to be a niche card, without clogging it up with more and more esoteric abilities. I think it's fine as it was, and is also fine at 1.

[Matt]

I chose the abilities it has os that it could negate any resource in the game - graveyard, hand, life, cards in play, floating mana. I guess I would have to counterspell component, too, to make it truly universal, but that would make the card too long...

...but wait. What if I made this a cycle of cards, similar to the Fifth Dawn cycle of Stations? And they could each have a "destructive" ability and some "constructive" ability that worked together somehow. Any idea on that?

Hey, maybe we could work 'universal' into the name. Universal Incinerator or something. Universal Garbage Can.

[Matt]

Twenty-four hour clock.

[Sammy]

Why not Staff of the Void? Or even Void Staff? or even Super Suction Action Vacuum Staff!!! haha!

[Bram]

Matt: if you're willing to make another niche card called 'Scathed Demarcation', I'm OK with this

[Matt]

That really sounds like a euphemism for something else.

[Matt]

Closed and added.[/color]