Spectral Lens

[dandan]

Spectral Lens
Artifact
3
All spells cost one coloured mana less to play.

Symmetrical, like a Helm of Awakening but for coloured mana. In theory you can cast coloured spells using just colourless mana but in practice you would probably have mana to cast them anyway (or your deck would suck). Note that it dramatically improves counterspells which might keep it in check.
I suspect the CC is too high for a good combo deck and MW decks have better options. It does allow you to cast 1cc spells in a frightening way and it helps multicoloured decks a lot (but so does Darksteel Ingot for the same mana without helping the opponent.

I'm sure the wording can be improved but I think it is clear enough.

Current wording

Spectral Lens
Artifact
3
As ~this~ comes into play, choose a color.
Spells you play cost one mana less of the chosen color to play.

Thanks to :
Khahan - CIP choice of colour
Marco - improved rules text

[Nefarias]

This is really cool and interesting, and I think it was awesome when Wizards finally printed Edgewalker, even though it was pretty bad. And while I used to think effects like this were broken, I think it can be done.

My problem is rules issues. If I play Sliver Queen, how much do I pay? Do I get to choose which colored mana I don't pay?

Hopefully, somone can think of a way to word this to make it work, because it's really cool.

I was going to suggest spells cost WUBRG less to play, but that doesn't work at all.

[Nazdakka]

If this got printed, then consider

Serum Visions
Opt
Sleight of Hand
Brainstorm

all being cast for free, and that's just the beginning. Wild Growth would become Mox Emerald, ditto Llanowar Elves and Birds of Paradise. I think this is a VERY dangerous mechanic... not so much for Vintage, but for Standard and especially Extended. That's not to say this isn't an interesting card, but it's a very dangerous combo enabler.

[Jacob Orlove]

How about this:

Ring of Stars
WUBRG
Enchantment
Spells cost WUBRG less to play.

Same wording as edgewalker, so it should work.

Combo with fist of suns!

[Upinthe]

This can't be an artifact, because then you can play mono red or black and start firing off Naturalize, Disenchant, and Mana Leak.

Color pie > this

[stolen]

Ring of Stars
WUBRG
Enchantment
Spells cost WUBRG less to play.

Same wording as edgewalker, so it should work.

Combo with fist of suns!

I don't think this would combo with Fist.  Fist doesn't change a spell's casting cost to WUBRG, but it says that you can pay that instead of the casting cost.  Ring of Stars would reduce the casting cost, not any alternate costs (because the alternat cost is almost like an activated ability that says, "WUBRG: Put this into play").  At least that's what I'd assume.

EDIT: Or it could force multiple colors in another way.  For example, an enchantment that costs two colors and reduces cost for the other three colors (but in that cast I guess it should affect only the caster).

It's still a cool card though.

This can't be an artifact, because then you can play mono red or black and start firing off Naturalize, Disenchant, and Mana Leak.

But all those Naturalizes, Disenchants, and Mana Leaks are dead in your hand until you can get the artifact into play.  However, your point along with Nazdakka's considered, I do think this is pushing the bounds of what a card should be able to do, especially with such a low cost.  This should either cost colored mana, like Jacob's Ring of Stars, or have some other drawback or conditional.

[Jacob Orlove]

Ring of Stars
WUBRG
Enchantment
Spells cost WUBRG less to play.

Same wording as edgewalker, so it should work.

Combo with fist of suns!

I don't think this would combo with Fist.  Fist doesn't change a spell's casting cost to WUBRG, but it says that you can pay that instead of the casting cost.  Ring of Stars would reduce the casting cost, not any alternate costs (because the alternat cost is almost like an activated ability that says, "WUBRG: Put this into play").  At least that's what I'd assume.

Fist just replaces "pay the mana cost" with "pay WUBRG", the same way Force of Will replaces "pay the mana cost" with "remove a blue card in your hand from the game and pay 1 life". In both cases, a Sphere of Resistance would make the spell cost 1 more, and a Ring of Stars would make it cost WUBRG less.

So, put a Ring of Stars on your Fist of Suns, and all your spells are free!

[stolen]

Oh, right.  I'd forgotten about Sphere.

[Charlie]

If this got printed, then consider

Serum Visions
Opt
Sleight of Hand
Brainstorm

all being cast for free, and that's just the beginning. Wild Growth would become Mox Emerald, ditto Llanowar Elves and Birds of Paradise. I think this is a VERY dangerous mechanic... not so much for Vintage, but for Standard and especially Extended. That's not to say this isn't an interesting card, but it's a very dangerous combo enabler.

Not quite dangerous, given that Helm of Awakening is hardly played also you can draw 20 cards straight off the eggs. The one-blue-mana cantrips are more powerful, but not dangerous.

This can't be an artifact, because then you can play mono red or black and start firing off Naturalize, Disenchant, and Mana Leak.

Color pie > this

Or for each color could it be an enchantment that reduces the specific type of mana?

[dandan]

OK so there are 2 issues with this:

Casting lots of 1cc spells for free, specifically the Blue ones.

Couldn't you have just cast them anyway instead of paying 3 mana for the Lens? It only becomes mana efficient if you cast 4 spells that turn. I'll admit it is a potent effect but the fact that Helm of Awakening failed to make the cut in various combo decks, hopefully means that a higher casting cost version would not prove to be broken.

The colour pie

I thought I had addressed this
1. Instead of the lens you could just run Darksteel Ingot and get that off colour mana if you really want it. Black decks can run Disenchant using this method.
2. Monodecks splashing other colours with very few ways of casting the splash cards have usually proven to be bad ideas.

I think point 1 is the real issue here as I admit I immediately thought of Blue Instants with this. I think that the Helm comparison stands though and this would be good in the right decks but not broken.

[Ephraim]

It is not a matter of either the first issue you mentioned or the second issue, but the matter of both of them combined. If it just allowed somebody to play one-casting-cost, coloured spells for free, it would be potent, but not broken. If it just allowed people to play easily with off-coloured spells, it would also not be broken. As it stands, though, it allows people not just to play off-coloured spells, but to play them at a discount.

Would it be a tragedy if this card allowed a black deck to cast Naturalize? Probably not. As you said, Darksteel Ingot allows it to do that. However, it allows a black deck to cast Naturalize for -- and it doesn't just discount the first spell, as Darksteel Ingot would. DIngot allows you to play one off-coloured spell each turn. As long as your spells have only a single coloured mana in their mana costs, this would allow you to cast many (and at a discount, no less). I hardly need to mention how badly this breaks Cabal Ritual, Desperate Ritual, and Seething Song (I don't mention Dark Ritual, because it's already broken.) I'm with the people who think this card needs a serious drawback. Jacob's enchantment is a good suggestion, since it provides a potentially huge discount for the undeniably huge mana cost of {G}. Likewise, if this were to cost and have a steep upkeep cost, it would probably also be good.

[dandan]

I see what you are getting at but do not agree.

This off-colour thing. Are you serious about worrying about casting multiple off-colour spells per turn? How many off-colour spells were you thinking of running? If you run a large number of a certain colour of spell your standard manabase must support it. If it does then you can cast them. If it doesn't, your deck sucks.

I could see the danger of allowing storm decks a card that would allow them to cast cantrips although storm decks currently use 1 mana enablers rather than 3. Type II abuse might mean that Wizards would cost this at 4 but I think that is too high (mana fixers for 4 aren't good)

[Ephraim]

Suppose it's a three- or four-colour deck with a shaky manabase. That's hardly inconceivable. Lots of decks (particularly in Vintage) play with slightly shaky manabases in order to pack in more brokenness. A card like this not only gives them a discount, but it also provides really superiour colour-fixing. So yes, I do expect that some decks (even ones that don't suck) will cast multiple off-colour (or at least splash colour) spells in a turn. I think that the way this helps them do it is obscenely powerful.

[Matt]

I like Jacob's suggestion. It could potentially cost like too, because the combo with Fist still isn't game-winning at two cards and also those cards are bad on their own.

[stolen]

Not quite dangerous, given that Helm of Awakening is hardly played also you can draw 20 cards straight off the eggs. The one-blue-mana cantrips are more powerful, but not dangerous.

That's hardly a fair comparison.
What use are eggs without Helm?
What use are blue cantrips with this?
See the difference?

I agree with Matt.  Jacob's card at could work.

[dandan]

I see your point although I think you'd agree that nobody but the most hardened casual player would use this at 5. Is it too dangerous at 4 mana? Would Keeper use one of these at 4 mana instead of Crucible of Worlds? Note it is symmetrical. To be honest I think I wouldn't use it at 4 mana and for 5 I'll just use Dream Halls and cast decent spells instead of 1cc cantrips.

[Alfred]

Why not make this a one color only enchantment similar to Edgewalker. I think that the least harmful color that this could be put in would be white. It would also make this more powerful than the all color one. Here is what I'm thinking of:

Divine Gratitude
1WW
Enchantment

All spells cost W less to play.

[dandan]

Spectral Lens
Artifact
3
1: All spells of the colour used to activate this ability cost one coloured mana less to play until end of turn

This is far less powerful than the original but still allows Sliver Queen type casual funkiness. It is complete rubbish for combo now and cannot be used to splash colours in mono decks. Satisfied?

[Khahan]

Spectral Lens
Artifact
3

When ~this~ comes into play, name a color.  All spells cost one less of that color mana to play. If this would reduce the cost below 1, it does nothing.


Maybe with these restrictions, the CC could even be 1 or 2. It still allows for off color splashing. However, you can only splash 1 color and you get nothing for free.

[dandan]

I like that better than my most recent suggestion. I'll update the current wording.

[Matt]

Spectrum Medallion

Artifact -- Treasure
When Spectrum Medallion comes into play, choose a color. Your spells of the chosen color cost less to play. Your spells of a color other than the chosen color cost more to play.

We kind of already made this card.

[FreshIsOuttaTurn]

Fine card but the wording is still wrong.

"When CARDNAME comes into play, choose a color.  Spells of the chosen color cost 1 less mana of that color to play. If CARDNAME would reduce the cost of the spell to less than 1, the spell costs 1."

"This does nothing" is umm... how should I put it... not even close to legimate rules text.

[Matt]

We don't really worry about that kind of thing, because I clean up poor wording as I add cards to the master list.

[Marco]

Here's my proposed wording for the card in the Current Wording post:

As ~this~ comes into play, choose a color.
Spells you play cost one mana less of the chosen color to play.

Possible reminder text:

(For example, if you chose blue and play a spell with mana cost 1U, it costs 1 to play.)

[dandan]

OK, wording updated. Time to start the clock?

[Matt]

Closed and added.[/color]