Exemplar of Perseverence

[Ephraim]

Exemplar of Perseverence
3W
Creature -- Spirit
2/4

Flying, defender
: Exemplar of Perseverence deals 1 damage to target attacking or blocking creature.
: Target attacking or blocking creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.

***

Current Wording:

Exemplar of Perseverence
3W
Creature -- Spirit
2/4

Flying, defender
: Exemplar of Perseverence deals 1 damage to target attacking or blocking creature.
: Target attacking or blocking creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.

***

I was just thinking about two of the common, white abilities and it occurred to me that you rarely see them together.  They have some anti-synergy to them, since you can only use one of them at a time, but it seemed there was a reasonable flavour connection between them that would permit at least one card to exist with both abilities.  Of course, I wanted the abilities to be relevant, so I thought it would be appropriate to put them on a creature with Defender.  The creature really doesn't have anything better to do than to use its abilities!  The name followed from the functionality and I think it's an apt name if not especially easy on the tongue.

[Anusien]

Solid.  Was giving it Defender an intentional design decision, or a move made to balance the card?

[Ephraim]

It was a little bit of both.  I couldn't make the card so inexpensive if it were a 2/4 flyer with all-advantageous abilities.  Also, like I said, I wanted the abilities to be relevant.  Because the creature can't attack, its presence in a deck would be principally for its abilities.  Giving it vigilance would also have been an appropriate solution, but that would have required that I make the card more expensive than I really wanted it to be.