Land cycle (development lands)

[stolen]

Arable Fields
Land
T: Add to your mana pool.
When Arable Fields comes into play, you may pay .  If you do, Arable Fields has ": You gain one life."


This was inspired by Norm4eva's "Pure" creatures.  On its own it's just an empty field that doesn't do much, but if you put the energy in to cultivate it, it provides life.

Fields was the original idea, but I thought that this could become a cycle:

Hospital Tent
Land
T: Add to your mana pool.
When Hospital Tent comes into play, you may pay .  If you do, Hospital Tent has ": Prevent up to 1 damage to target creature or player."

Flood Plains
Land
T: Add to your mana pool.
When Flood Plains comes into play, you may pay .  If you do, Flood Plains has [effect].

CARDNAME
Land
T: Add to your mana pool.
When CARDNAME comes into play, you may pay .  If you do, CARDNAME has ": Target creature gets -1/-0 until end of turn."

CARDNAME
Land
T: Add to your mana pool.
When CARDNAME coes into play, you may pay .  If you do, CARDNAME has ": Target creature gains Haste."


I'm not sure if all of these are balanced (I was considering adding colored activation costs to some or all of them, or making them CIPT, or vary the CIP costs for the abilities) and there are still some holes.  Of course this doesn't have to be a cycle either; it could be just Arable Fields and the rest could be removed.

[stolen]

Current Wording:


Arable Fields
Land
T: Add {1} to your mana pool.
When Arable Fields comes into play, you may pay {G}.  If you do, Arable Fields comes into play with a development counter.
If Arable Fields has a development counter, it has "{T}: You gain one life."

Sundrenched Heath
Land
T: Add {1} to your mana pool.
When Sundrenched Heath comes into play, you may pay {W}.  If you do, Sundrenched Heath comes into play with a development counter.
If Sundrenched Heath has a development counter, it has "{T}: Prevent up to 1 damage to target creature or player."

Hidden Cove
Land
T: Add {1} to your mana pool.
When Hidden Cove comes into play, you may pay {U}.  If you do, Hidden Cove comes into play with a development counter.
If Hidden Cove has a development conter, it has "{T}: Target creature with power 2 or less is unblockable this turn."

Fetid Cistern
Land
T: Add {1} to your mana pool.
When Fetid Cistern comes into play, you may pay {B}.  If you do, Fetid Cistern comes into play with a development counter.
If Fetid Cistern has a development counter, it has "{T}: Target creature gets -1/-0 until end of turn."

Rocksled Chute
Land
T: Add {1} to your mana pool.
When Rocksled Chute coes into play, you may pay {R}.  If you do, Rocksled Chute comes into play with a development counter.
If Rocksled Chute has a development counter, it has "{T}: Target creature gains Haste."

[Upinthe]

These cards are really cumbersome. How are you going to remember which ones where paid for and which weren't? Especially if they leave play and come back?

[stolen]

I could reword it so they're, "....you may pay {C}.  If you do, put a blah counter..."
"If ~this~ has a blah counter, it has..."

That just makes it texty, and I have a moral opposition to counters.  My take is that if players aren't smart enough to devise some way to remember if the cost was payed, then they shouldn't be playing Magic.  I'm also a very bitter old coot.

If people want counters, I'll do counters, but I'll be grumbling about it the whole way.

[Jacob Orlove]

These really do need *some* way for people to remember if they were paid for or not. Counters are, sadly, the best we've got.

[Marco]

I kind of like the idea. I do think they need to have counters, though.

Flood Plain is taken.

And the red one may be too good, arguably:

Hall of the Bandit Lord

[stolen]

Flood Plain is taken.

Oops.  I checked, but I did "Flood plains" so I didn't get anything.  Now the blue one has no name and no ability.

And the red on may be too good, arguably:

Hall of the Bandit Lord

Hmm.  I could change it to ", :" but I'd rather not...Hall does provide mana at the same time that it gives haste, although it comes into play tapped and doesn't produce mana otherwise.  I'll wait on changing this.

Counters are, sadly, the best we've got.

Feh.

[Jacob Orlove]

Hall of the Bandit Lord is a full turn faster than using this--they're both fair, since this effectively CIPs tapped.

[stolen]

The main thing now is to fill in the blanks.  I need a blue ability and names for the blue, red, and black ones.  The theme is something that can be beneficial or otherwise useful if some effort, work, and/or energy is put into it.  The red and black abilities can, of course, be changed if good names are found that don't fit with the current abilities.

[magus888]

Flood plains could be T: counter target spell unless target opponent pays 1.

[Ephraim]

The blue land could have the ability, : Target creature with power 2 or less is unblockable this turn.

Possible names:
Blue:
Smuggler Camp
Hidden Cove
Dockside Tavern

Red:
Cinder Cone
Rocksled Chute

Black:
Fetid Cistern
Sprawling Landfill

[stolen]

Ephraim, you are never for a lack of good suggestions.

Blue will have the unblockable ability and be named Hidden Cove.  Smuggler Camp and Dockside Tavern are good, but both have that already-developed feel to them, whereas a Hidden Cove is just a natural feature that has the potential to become a smuggler camp or tavern.

Red will be called Rocksled Chute, which I just liked better and makes sense with the ability.

Black will be Feted Cistern.  Like Blue, this fit in more with the flavor of the cycle.  Kinda, sorta, meh.

Fetid Cistern and Hospital Tent are the two whose names might change if I can get something better.

EDIT: magus888, I had considered something like that, but more restrictive (like only one card type or something).  However, I will go with Ephraim's suggestion for now.

[Ephraim]

Since you only had two names before, I wasn't sure which of the ideas was more dominant. Hospital Tent represented a man-made structure, while Arable Field represented something natural. As far as Fetid Cistern goes, a cistern isn't necessarily man-made. I specifically checked to confirm that it is actually more often applied to a natural reservoir. If you're still not sure you like the flavour, Fetid Aquifer or Polluted Aquifer would be equally appropriate.

If you'd like more suggestions for names for the white land, try:
Sheltered Meadow
Untouched Meadow
Sundrenched Heath

[breseboy]

Order Best to Worst:
Red
Black
Blue
White
Green

[Marco]

These turned out nice.

[stolen]

I would like "Pristine Meadow" for white, but then it sounds like developing it is a bad thing.  I'll go with Sundrenched Heath, for now at least.

Order Best to Worst:
Red
Black
Blue
White
Green

What's your point?  Is the Red one too strong, or the Green one too weak?

These turned out nice.

Thanks.

[stolen]

I'm happy with these, so

24-HOUR CLOCK

unless there are any objections.

[Matt]

Closed and added.[/color]