Chalice of the Void 2

[netherspirit]

Just a variant on Chalice of the Void, I'm worried about it being too complicated though, anyways, here it is:

Chalice of the Void 2
0
Artifact
When ~ comes into play, you may pay any amount of mana. Counter all spells with mana cost equal the mana paid this way. (Mana cost includes colored mana.)

Well there it is, hopefully it makes sense. So for instance, when it comes into play you could pay and it would counter all spells with mana cost of .

So, thoughts? Ideas? Is this too complicated?

Current Wording:

Chalice of the Void 2
 
Artifact
When ~ comes into play, you may pay any amount of mana. Counter all spells with mana cost equal the mana paid this way. (Mana cost includes colored mana.)

[diopter]

This card has memory issues. And unfun issues in Vintage.

[andrewpate]

This would be wicked in Extended as a sideboard card against Boros/Zoo/anything running Savannah Lions and Isamaru.  It's also interesting in that it only works if you are playing the same colors as your opponent.  Unfortunately, that alone makes it rather dubious in my book.  I like that it can counter Timetwister, Tinker, and Rebuild all at once for only 3 mana instead of 6, but not every format is Vintage.  This is useless in Limited and questionable even as a sideboard card in Standard.  Many times, it is a Meddling Mage that doesn't really work right, since it will only come down ahead of the spell it's set to about half the time.  If the opponent is on the play, he'll have 1B before you will and Dark Confidant will come right down.

Outside Vintage, this card is basically a sideboard card that helps you recover in the mirror match if you lost game 1.  I don't think that's a niche that requires its own card.

[Anusien]

I'm not sure this has interesting synergies or choices, and I agree with the memory issues.  What if there are multiples, how do you distinguish them easily?  How about:

Imprint -- When ~this~ comes into play, you may remove a nonland card in your hand from the game.  (The removed card is imprinted on this artifact).
Whenever a player plays a spell, if that spell has the same mana cost as the imprinted card, counter it.  (Mana cost includes color.)

[andrewpate]

That's definitely a better wording, and they have printed cards like this before (Hisoka, Minamo Sensei).  It's much better from a mechanical standpoint.  Unfortunately, it doesn't solve the issues I put forth before.  The card just isn't that interesting.

[diopter]

Outside of Vintage, it could enable some very interesting (read: broken) 5-color control decks. The only issues I have with it are as I stated before - memory issues, and being unfun in Vintage as Chalice 5-8. I could live with the second. I'd love to see it stay the same (pay the right color mana to set it), there just has to be a way to do that without setting off memory issues. Perhaps if we gave it an X cost and put "blue counters", "white counters", "colorless counters" etc. on it equal to the cost to play it...

[andrewpate]

I don't think that the memory issues are any worse than those associated with Meddling Mage or Pithing Needle.  You could just put a piece of paper on it that says, "2U."  That's what they did in the Top 8 of the PT when Canali had Pikulas out.

[49 Cents]

Isn't this card busted as hell? I'll tap my City for U and you can't play your Brainstorms / Recall anymore. I'll tap it for B and whoops, there go your Rituals!

[lordmayhem]

Isn't this card busted as hell? I'll tap my City for U and you can't play your Brainstorms / Recall anymore. I'll tap it for B and whoops, there go your Rituals!

It does less than Chalice for 1...

I personally like how it needs coloured mana, making it less abusable through workshop mana. However, I don't like how its currently worded. And I don't like how it costs 0 mana. I think going something like Engineered Explosives + Chalice of the Void + Ice Cauldron would be alright.

Chalice of the Void 2

Artifact
Note the type and amount of mana used to pay X.
Whenever a player plays a spell with mana cost equal to X, counter that spell. (Mana cost includes color)

[49 Cents]

Isn't this card busted as hell? I'll tap my City for U and you can't play your Brainstorms / Recall anymore. I'll tap it for B and whoops, there go your Rituals!

It does less than Chalice for 1...

No, you just think it does. It can't be Drained, can always be cast at turn one and, what I think is the biggest advantage, you can still play your own 1cc spells. Staxx has it's Welders, ReB's, etc which can ALL still be cast. That's pretty good, imo.

[diopter]

Isn't this card busted as hell? I'll tap my City for U and you can't play your Brainstorms / Recall anymore. I'll tap it for B and whoops, there go your Rituals!

It does less than Chalice for 1...

No, you just think it does. It can't be Drained, can always be cast at turn one and, what I think is the biggest advantage, you can still play your own 1cc spells. Staxx has it's Welders, ReB's, etc which can ALL still be cast. That's pretty good, imo.

Now that I read the card properly though, I think it is nigh useless at countering anything with colorless mana in its mana cost. What if you tapped an Emerald, a Ruby, and a City of Brass and paid GRU for X, hoping to counter the Rebuilds and the Tinkers? I think that wouldn't work, as long as your opponent paid anything but GRU. What happens if you actually pay 2U to pay for X (via Workshop or Sol Ring)? Then the opponent can just use any of his off-color Moxen.

[andrewpate]

Yes, this card would obviously require a new entry in the Comprehensive Rules pertaining specifically to mana-memorizing cards, namely this and Ice Cauldron.  A decision would have to be made, and this card would be worded to fit it.

[Anusien]

Isn't this card busted as hell? I'll tap my City for U and you can't play your Brainstorms / Recall anymore. I'll tap it for B and whoops, there go your Rituals!

It does less than Chalice for 1...

No, you just think it does. It can't be Drained, can always be cast at turn one and, what I think is the biggest advantage, you can still play your own 1cc spells. Staxx has it's Welders, ReB's, etc which can ALL still be cast. That's pretty good, imo.

Now that I read the card properly though, I think it is nigh useless at countering anything with colorless mana in its mana cost. What if you tapped an Emerald, a Ruby, and a City of Brass and paid GRU for X, hoping to counter the Rebuilds and the Tinkers? I think that wouldn't work, as long as your opponent paid anything but GRU. What happens if you actually pay 2U to pay for X (via Workshop or Sol Ring)? Then the opponent can just use any of his off-color Moxen.

First off, I like the wording above that gave it a non zero CMC; I'd rather see it with X or something similar.  With that said, the above are valid concerns.  I honestly don't know if under either wording you could pay to counter Tinker without a Sol Ring.  After all, are you choosing to pay or does the game see you paying which sometimes happens to fit the requirements for Tinker?

[parallax]

This is getting ugly . . .

Imprint -- When ~this~ comes into play, search target player's library for a card and reveal it. You may pay that card's mana cost. If you do, remove that card from the game. (The removed card is imprinted on ~this~.) Then that player shuffles his or her library.

Whenever a player plays a spell with the same mana cost as the removed card, counter that spell.