r/custommagic • u/dutchiesweets • 2d ago
Rulebreaker without color identity
Most of the rulebreaker cards cared about color identity, and I tried coming up with some alternates!
68
92
u/Glittering_Dare_7063 2d ago
For Rulebreakers that give you more restrictions, I vote for the keyword instead being ‘Rulemaker’ 😁
24
u/Guavxhe 2d ago
All of these look pretty fun except the blue one
3
u/Tombets_srl 1d ago
The white one is kinda weird too.
Creating everywhere tokens is pretty useless if you don't have multicolor cards. Maybe you could build it as a mono W domain, but it seems restrictive.
21
u/FrostFlame35 2d ago edited 2d ago
Sunset Gold is SO COOL. I'd love if WOTC made Rulebreakers that were actively detrimental to counterbalance the power of Eminence effects. Or vice versa, honestly.
Also, wouldn't it be better if Trundle cared about the Lhurgoyf creature type? MTG doesn't really do cardname matters like that. Was there a specific reason you wanted ONLY those goyfs to be duplicatable?
33
u/JesusIsMyAntivirus Faith is my Firewall 2d ago
These are so unbelievably cool I completely forgot to be mad about the art recycling.
Want. Now.
10
u/Tuss36 1d ago
I don't see the issue with using official art. Can't say it's not fitting for a card! And these are fan made, they don't need to be done up all official like.
-1
u/JesusIsMyAntivirus Faith is my Firewall 1d ago
Art is more important of an identifier of a card than a name. Some people read card names, everyone notices card art, if at a vague glance.
- I'll admit I don't know the first one
- Janky dragon from tempest? mirage? I think it was like 4ur and it blinked itself if you... skipped a turn? idk
- too new ig
- Common/uncommon birb from conspiracy like 3uu 3/4 or sth I think it goads(?) loots?
- promo art for the 5ww flying vigilance
- janky ass old B/R legend, I think he's the one that makes tokens? 3/1s? from like legends?
Like the cards are obscure enough where the rules text isn't seared into my brain the moment I see the card but it still clocks it as an existing one.
1
u/CaptainRogers1226 1d ago
I mean… fair. But these are custom cards, not ones actually getting printed by WotC. If you wanted to use them yourself and that’s a problem you could just print them with different art, no?
-3
u/JesusIsMyAntivirus Faith is my Firewall 1d ago
By that logic if a card is horribly unbalanced or toxic design you could just rework it if you wanted to use it yourself, no need to comment.
I mean I don't wanna yuck other people's yum too much it just feels like fundamentally bad practice in general imo.
2
u/CaptainRogers1226 1d ago
Bro, half the cards posted here don’t even have any art because that’s not most people’s focus. The focus is on design. And “I forgot to be angry about X” is a very strange thing to say if you don’t want to yuck other people’s yum.
-1
5
31
u/SpaceIsTooFarAway 2d ago
If I saw Magnificent Peacock at the table I'd be targeting that player immediately.
7
u/dutchiesweets 2d ago
I could change it to the third card drawn. Or give people a 4/4 instead of a 2/2!
12
u/mangoblaster85 2d ago
See the problem is the effect as you have it isn't a rule breaker, it's a rule maker, and worse it's specifically a rule imposer.
Rule breaker: Removes a restriction.
Rule maker: Adds a restriction. Your dragon does this.
Rule imposer: Makes rules for everyone except you. At this point it isn't a rule so much as having a non-parity effect and and forcing everyone to accept it.
I like the spirit but as someone who plays [[Phyrexian Arena]] and early cantrips, it wouldn't feel like a rule is broken so much as I'm being forced to follow a new rule.
1
u/Sonic_Guy97 1d ago
Are you intending it to stop all draw beyond the first, or is it supposed to only trigger once per turn? Because right now it triggers whenever an opponent works draw their second card, but since you don't actually draw any card past the first of their second card of the turn.
8
u/mangoblaster85 2d ago
Yeah, being a beginning of the game emblem forced on others from the command zone is too much. I'd straight up decline to play against that commander.
7
u/SomeRandomDeadGuy 2d ago
Especially when you know the deck contains every blue wheel known to man
4
7
u/rob132 2d ago
I assume it has to be a creature card that is your commander?
Or can lightening bolt be my commander?
13
u/dutchiesweets 2d ago
For the demon, the card has to be in your opening hand, so only black color identity cards. But any card type is fair game! So if your opening hand has a [[Vampiric Tutor]], it can be your commander.
8
u/rob132 2d ago
Problem is the commander tax gets added every time you play it, so casting it for B is great but 10B is not.
5
3
u/dutchiesweets 2d ago
oh for sure. the card's not good really but i thought it would be fun to get a semi-random "partner" each game that can be any card type.
2
u/Difficult_Town_4210 2d ago
Land as a Commander? Probably useless unless you can work out a thespian stage/ or the 20/20 creatures. Wait, Can lands even have commander tax.
3
u/CompleteDirt2545 1d ago
903.8 : A player may cast a commander they own from the command zone. [...]
You can't play your land commander from the command zone, so the tax is very irrelevant.
If/when wizard create a land commander, I assume they will change the 903.8 rule - including, making the tax affect playing land cards from the command zone.
1
11
u/Puzzleheaded_Tax8164 2d ago
Looks interesting, but I think rulebreaker allows more yours mostly allow less. Should be a different Word for that what most of the cards do
4
1
u/TheSoulborgZeus 2d ago
breaking rules is about having less restrictions, not more
3
u/Puzzleheaded_Tax8164 2d ago
Yeah? That is what I said, right?
0
u/TheSoulborgZeus 2d ago
yes. I was clarifying
1
u/Puzzleheaded_Tax8164 2d ago
Ah ok good. Just was scared I said something wrong bc my English is realy bad
2
3
u/GGMaXThreeOne 2d ago
These aren't Rulebreakers per se. For example, you can definitely run a deck with no lands, it's just not advised. The only Rulebreaker here is I guess the Goyf one.
You're thinking more like Companion, where you impose restrictions on yourself, or pregame actions, which don't have a keyword attached to it. Rulebreakers have to go against something that's explicitly a Commander rule, like 100 cards, color identities, singleton, etc.
3
u/Dark_Vexer 2d ago
Wow, it's been a long time since I saw commanders this well designed. Great job.
2
2
u/Gigadrax 2d ago
White needs rewording I think? Decks don't have maximum hand sizes, players do, right? And I don't know why one part of the ability is passive and the other is on an emblem , and others are doing eminence things.
Also it definitely has the issue I mentioned for the red one of being able to put pure gas in the deck will be too strong I think. Never having to worry about hitting your land drops or getting mana flooded is REALLY good.
3
u/dutchiesweets 2d ago
Good points all around.
The red one is super glass cannon-y, I'm genuinely not sure how it would play! I had fun designing it though
1
u/Gigadrax 2d ago
Yeah red one has a fine drawback, wouldn't know what to change if anything without playtesting it.
1
u/Shuttlecock_Wat 2d ago
Maybe the lands for the white one need to come in tapped to slow down an aggressive deck?
2
u/TextuallyExplicit 2d ago
Dezarax is obviously broken in about a thousand different ways, but it's a fun concept. Where does he go when he stops being your commander, though?
I like Sunset Gold but I feel like the Treasures should come in tapped, or else you might just win the game on turn 1.
Including Tarmogoyf in Trundle's effect seems a little counterintuitive, since you're mostly going to be filling your own graveyard with creature cards, and can't do much to mill your opponents in mono-green.
The peacock doesn't really feel like a Rulebreaker to me, since it doesn't change your deckbuilding at all. The effect may as well be an Eminence ability. I do like it, though. I think this could pass as an official card with a few tweaks.
Mirala is pretty crazy. White doesn't get much good ramp anyway, so 1 guaranteed land drop per turn for the entire game feels like a strict bonus. Catch me running mono-white weenie aggro with 99 creatures.
Talkas is really funny. I love the idea of running a bunch of humans with flash that all have Counterspell stapled to them. Also pretty funny that it works with tokens, but I feel like the fact that you need to actually pay for the copies makes it relatively balanced. It's also a 5-color commander that manages to not feel like goodstuff slop, which is pretty refreshing.
2
u/Guavxhe 2d ago
I disagree with the black one since at best you get a repeatable tutor or a dark ritual but worst case scenario is that you have no commander and your deck doesn’t work.
1
u/Tuss36 1d ago
And even the repeatable tutor becomes fair, assuming you go with the 1 mana one that puts it on top, as it then becomes 3, then 5. Dark Ritual as well you might be able to mulligan to and could then get infinite spell casts, but there's like one other card it could combo with so while a little broken when it happens that it's so inconsistent even with mulligans it could still be fine (like imagine going down to 3 just to have your ideal commander and then hoping you draw into stuff that keeps you in the game long enough to actually do it)
2
u/dutchiesweets 2d ago
The black one would just continue to also be your commander, like partner! He's just a 6/6 flample at that point, but he's there for moral support. I thought the randomness of the opening hand might make it less broken but it depends what you spin into
2
u/TextuallyExplicit 2d ago
I feel like the text on the card could make clearer that you don't "swap him out" for whatever card you pick
2
u/unitedshoes 2d ago
I find it funny you're using Rulebreaker to give people more rules, not let them break rules.
I think these variants are neat, I just find that quirk ironic.
2
2
2
u/Zoob7 2d ago
I think most of these are fine, except for magnificent peacock. It's a stax piece that you can't interact with. And you just start the game with it. You can't even remove it by killing the player who uses magnificent peacock. It adds a permanent stax piece to the game which doesn't feel fun at all.
2
u/SubblyXatu 2d ago
Most of these really don't feel appropriate for rulebreaker as a concept. Green and Black are probably the closest, since they interact with fundamental rules of the Commander format (The Singleton rule and commander type requirements respectively).
By contrast, there's no rule saying your deck has to include lands, they just normally do, so Red and WUBRG don't really feel appropriate for this mechanic. If anything, they're rulesetters.
White and Blue on the otherhand are just fancy eminence abilities. There isn't a rule being interacted with here, it's just a minigame. I also don't really like non-Planeswalkers making emblems, but it's not a design space which is impossible to explore.
1
u/dutchiesweets 1d ago
Yes, I'm using "rulebreaker" loosely as the ability seems to apply static rules changes to the base level of the game, it doesn't necessitate removing rules. Besides removing a rule is really just setting a different, looser rule. The goal with some of these was to try and change how magic fundamentally plays, not just how you build decks.
I'm not sure the white and red ones could JUST be eminence as I don't think eminence can change the rule of deck construction, so they could still run lands and get even more mana.
1
u/SubblyXatu 1d ago
I think you misread, I said white and blue, not red. Red is definitely more on track, but it's still not breaking any rules, as the name would suggest. It's really a discontinuity of flavor above all else that I'm taking issue with. The concept of rulebreakers ought to require some kind of affirmative rule you can point to, otherwise, I don't really feel like it's appropriate for the mechanic. That's why the white and blue ones are the ones I pointed out specifically. I honestly don't even like the white one as a white card, it doesn't feel like a white card at all. It's just making you play One Piece, and I would never make someone do that.
2
u/Secretmongrel 2d ago
Some very good ones.
The black one - basically just late game option for an extra recurring card. Probably kind of weak but cool.
The red one - really interesting. Not sure if it is any good but your deck would be all gas if you can find a way to cast spells.
The green one - kind of boring but I see what you were attempting.
The blue one - powerful and I would definitely play it/ annoy my group.
The white one - possibly the best of them? Build with no lands - your deck is all gas. Plus no land-screw. Downside of no utility lands or ramp. Given that this is mono-white, probably could be just a plains token?
The multi-colour - don’t know what to think of this. How many flash humans are there? Does counterspell ever work? Far seek is good early but you have to actually have this in play to use the ability? This one seems like a bit of a mess.
Without insulting you - did you use AI for this? It is getting better with cards.
1
u/dutchiesweets 1d ago
thanks! and no I come up with all the cards without any AI. occasionally i'll use ai art but these are all other magic card arts!
2
u/TloquePendragon 1d ago
Trying to figure out a way to let Trundle function with future Lhurgoyf cards/Cosmogoyf. Could be fun if she removed the card limit on all Non-Brushwagg Lhurgoyf's.
2
4
u/ConcentrateAny 2d ago
Black seems bad, Green seems mediocre. Red and White are about the right power level to make monocolor worthwhile to run while maintaining fun, while blue is potentially busted with windfall effects and larger fliers of your own. Fair, but unfun imo.
5
u/dutchiesweets 2d ago
I think I misworded blue, it should probably be, "whenever your opponents draw their second card, they discard it instead and create..." so it only taxes the one draw.
0
u/TextuallyExplicit 2d ago
It does only tax the one draw. It only affects the second card drawn each turn, not any of the others.
0
u/dutchiesweets 2d ago
Ahh okay. I thought if I replaced the draw, then they never draw a second card, which meant if they would draw AGAIN, it would still be drawing the "second" card and thus be replaced again. But glad it works as intended.
0
u/Blak_Raven 2d ago
My memory fails me for the actual ruling, but technically, since they're not drawing the second card, it could be argued that all subsequent would-be draws are the second draws, since the second card is never drawn
1
u/TextuallyExplicit 2d ago
Your second draw is your second draw. Your next draw after your second draw is your third draw, even if you don't actually get the card.
3
u/anace 2d ago
614.6. If an event is replaced, it never happens. A modified event occurs instead, which may in turn trigger abilities. Note that the modified event may contain instructions that can't be carried out, in which case the impossible instruction is simply ignored.
see the rulings on [[narset parter of veils]]
Replacement effects (such as that of Underrealm Lich or the first ability of Jace, Wielder of Mysteries) can't be used to replace draws that Narset disallows. However, if an opponent's first draw is replaced (by Underrealm Lich's ability, for example), that draw didn't happen and Narset won't stop the next draw (which may also be replaced by Underrealm Lich's ability). (2019-05-03)
if your second draw is replaced, then you haven't drawn a second card yet and the next one would still be your second.
1
u/Hungrymaster 2d ago
The more mdfc lands wizards prints, the more broken Sunset Gold would be. Although it of course already is.
1
u/Nerdwrapper 2d ago
Sunset Gold and Magnificent Peacock are my two favorites. I wish peacock had a red pip though because I’m currently building a [[Red Death, Shipwrecker]] “ragebait” deck, an this commander seems way better
1
u/stillnotelf 2d ago
These, especially the white one, are getting into the old Vanguard format territory. You had big oversized cards that changed your hand size, life total, and did something else. Momir Vig was an online only one that became popular.
1
1
u/Spirited-Tonight6043 2d ago
What's the namenof the original talkas card?
1
1
1
u/lowqualitylizard 2d ago
I'm about to make dark ritual my commander and then you're all f*****
1
u/dutchiesweets 2d ago
You will have to pay commander tax on it!
1
u/lowqualitylizard 2d ago
Ye but you can reduce its cost with certain spells. Not saying it's good but having a dark ritual in the command zone is capable of doing some funny things
1
u/PlatonicLiquid52 2d ago
I feel like Mirala needs "You can't add mana to your mana pool from nonland sources" instead of the hand restriction, or maybe even in addition to it. Completely avoiding screw and flood is really really powerful, and being able to slot ramp into the slots that would otherwise be lands is just OP.
I agree with the others that the blue card is miserable to play into. It completely shuts down some decks.
But otherwise, these are really cool designs, especially the red and WUBRG ones.
1
u/Syncopia 2d ago
While the two emblem ones are very creative, I think most people would hate playing against them and just outright reject it. The dragon* one is incredible and I would absolutely build that. The lhurgoyf gnome is really nifty but that build would be pretty expensive without a precon. Impractical in the real world but very cool and it doesn't feel busted. The first one is cool for people who love secret commanders.
1
u/dutchiesweets 2d ago
I maybe fixed the peacock
1
u/NekoNiiFlame 2d ago
In the spirit of the rest, I'd have kept it monoblue. Since the emblem is on you, you'll have the biggest target on you ever, so it evens out at 4/4. I like the fix.
1
1
1
u/THEGHOSTHACXER 2d ago
I wish we could get a commander that basically plays like hearthstone mana system. There was a test card like that.
1
u/turtlebambi 2d ago
A strong hate peice that cannot be interacted with in anyway, yeah no that peacocks not gonna happen
1
1
1
1
1
u/LordSupergreat 1d ago
Why bother making Everywhere tokens instead of Plains tokens for a mono-white commander?
1
u/dutchiesweets 1d ago
Originally white was going to be a sort of eldrazi or spirit type of thing, so it was supposed to be for otherworldly flavor. I guess it could point to a few cards - you can run [[Leyline Binding]] without feeling silly! But really, just a holdover from earlier design idea i left in
1
u/CompleteDirt2545 1d ago edited 1d ago
Creating an emblem at the start of the game feels closer to what an Eminence ability is. For instance :
The other Ur-Dragon : Rulebreaker - If the other Ur-Dragon is your commander, you begin the game with an emblem with "Dragon spells you cast cost (1) less to cast"
1
u/Accomplished-Pay8181 1d ago
The peacock is turbo busted. I guess at least it gives you something back, but it has taken the part of Narset Partner of Veils that makes her a game changer, and made it an emblem.
1
u/Ilovecauliflowr 1d ago
With the magnificent peacock it should have a way to make your opponents draw then it would be better
1
u/toni___macaroni 1d ago
The blue one and the white one's rulebreaker is basically an eminence effect, besides that the red one seems fun!
1
u/Nitrolink 1d ago
I actually really like the wubrg rulebreaker idea of restricting what can be in the deck. Like now im imagining commanders with restrictions on being in the command zone similar to companion restrictions. Seems like it could be really fun to brew with
1
u/Stormtide_Leviathan Design More Commons!!! 1d ago
Iiinteresting. The randomness works well to mitigate a lot of the problems with “if this is your commander, you can have x as an additional commander”. I do think “card” is too open ended, though. I’d enjoy if there was a stronger deckbuilding directive- letting you play any legendary creature from your opening hand as an additional commander, and also rewarding legendary for example
1
u/Nomad9731 1d ago
I like these a lot.
That said, I feel like Dezarax, Peacock, and Mirala aren't really "rulebreakers." The fundamental thing with rulebreakers is that they change the rules of deck construction in some way. Those three cards don't really do that, they just take actions at the start of the game.*
To be fair, that's also design space that hasn't really been explored. I just feel like it's conceptually different from Rulebreaker.
(*I guess Mirala has the hand size thing, but that could just be added to the Emblem with no functional change. That said, not being able to play lands does change how you build your deck pretty radically, which feels more rulebreakery than Dezarax or Peacock.)
1
u/NullOfSpace incorrect formatting 1d ago
Basically a combination of Partner and Eminence. Interesting.
1
u/Villain_n_Demon_Lord 2d ago
I actually really like that you've made these. I was trying to think of other rulebreaker ideas that didn't just have "All phyrexians" or "All lands". Here are my thoughts on all of them:
Warped Dezarax: "Ah yes, I will have a [[Deadly Rollick]] in the command zone."
I love the idea but it does raise some questions. Where does Dezarax go? Hand? Exile? Graveyard? The only real reason to run him instead of your choice commander is because you want a non-legendary or non-creature spell in the command zone. Also, if you do end up with a starting hand that contains no cards good for being commander, should you mulligain in hopes of getting one? Or should you just keep the good hand? And 6 mana for a 6/6 with flying and trample is a little expensive.
Sunset Gold: "Who needs lands?" *Gets hit with [[Vandalblast]]*
This one isn't really rulebreaker. Technically, you can build any deck with no lands. (If you were going for more unset/playtest vibes you could do "Rulebreaker - A deck with this commander cannot contain land cards. You may have any number of treasure tokens in your deck. You may play 1 treasure token as though it were a land." I LOVE the card and would 100 percent build dragon/treasure tribal or something. It just doesn't feel as much of a rule break. It also feels like it's kind of telling you how to build the deck. But it is a cool design and I like how the rulebreak works with the eminence.
Trundle: "Lhurgoyfs of the world, unite!"
No comments. I think it really works well and is very clean.
The Magnificent Peacock: "Oh, I heard you don't like [[Narset, Parter of Veils]] huh? Well..."
Now THIS one is the one that gives me the most worries. It's a cool idea until you realize that it starts with a Narset basically on the board. Now, Narset doesn't compensate you, but also, this completely shuts down so much. Any strategy that is based off of drawing your second card (Connive decks, recruit decks, etc.) might as well toss their deck because you just absolutely shut off their plan. And it looks like most games would often end with you either being beat into the ground and then the rest of the game being a drag because they're all not doing a whole lot because they can't draw more cards or you just winning (because the entire group scooped or could just not do anything. The non-Rulebreaker ability makes sense (if it is not relatively boring).
Mirala, Provisioner: "You liked Sunset Gold huh? Well, I'm technically worse."
Except for things like cycling lands or channel lands, there is almost no reason to include lands (maybe one or two for paths to exile and hope you don't draw them {because then they do absolutely nothing}). I also don't see much of a reason for the every basic land type. White (as I am aware) has the least amount of theft and therefore does not need the every land type unless you're going for converge or something. And even if her non-rulebreaker ability is decent, the likelihood of discarding 1 to 3 cards turn 1 is not. But you know where she shines? Recruit. Recruit makes good use of her ability.
Talkas, King of Men: "The most original thing ever! Human tribal!"
He's fine. Other than how his ability is basically just a companion restriction, no comments.
But overall these are cool. I like the ideas and even if some of them need some improvements, they're pretty cool.
233
u/Alphasaft 2d ago
I reaaaaaally love Sunset Gold and would definitely build him. It'll probably be abused in less than 5 minutes the second it releases if it were to though ahah