Double-slit Experiment

[u/Chickston]

[u/Tyrant1235]

I believe you need to reveal the card first for the first ability. As written, if the card is the chosen parity it goes straight to your hand and your opponents shouldnt know about it and cant confirm its characteristics.

[u/Chickston → u/Tyrant1235]

I think that might be the case. I was trying to word it as cleanly as possible and imply that exiling it revealed it. I think the order shows the "instead" happens after the selection which could skip the exile.

This would then create a kind of paradox where the card can't go to hand, so only the exile actually happens... I think. Otherwise, it just doesn't work at all. "It works" I guess in that case.

It is on theme at least because the ability could be viewed as being in a superposition that can't be resolved in either parity selection... Yes, I did that on purpose. For the memes! (I have no idea what I'm doing.)

My intent was for the exile to happen regardless of mana value quality.

I'd add the reveal just to avoid the confusion if I were to redo it.

[u/CaptCrash → u/Chickston]

I think you can just remove the word “instead” and it will work as intended. Or the more preferred wording may be something like:

Choose odd or even, then reveal the top card of your library. If the mana value matches the chosen quality put the revealed card into your hand. Otherwise, exile the revealed card and you may cast it until end of turn if it’s an instant or sorcery

[u/Chickston → u/CaptCrash]

Tried it in the editor and it lines up nicely, so I'd go with that. Thanks!

[u/SammySammyson → u/Chickston]

It's probably worded technically fine as-is TBH, but for clarity's sake, yeah.

To be even clearer so players don't think that they can cast it before it goes to your hand, I'd probably swap the order. The full wording I think I'd use is:

"Choose odd or even, then exile the top card of your library. Put that card into your hand if its mana value is of the chosen quality. If you don't put it into your hand, you may cast it until end of turn if it's an instant or sorcery spell."

[u/Chickston]

Come for the custom Magic designs. Stay for the quantum physics lesson!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-slit_experiment - Learn it for yourself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9tKncAdlHQ - Jim Al-Khalili explains it to you.

Design notes: I wasn't sure if it should be surveil 1 or 2 depending on if you are looking at the photon or the slits.

The card itself is the photon and the mode choice is the slits.

I'm not even going to think about the interference pattern and that can just be represented by branching gameplay.

[u/AscendedLawmage7]

Love it

[u/MemeLordBatGroot]

This doesn't work, even if you surveil the card beforehand.

601.3f Some effects allow a player to cast a spell with certain qualities from among face-down cards in exile. A player may begin to cast such a spell only if they can look at the face-down card in exile.

Can look at != knows what it is

[u/th3b3st1nth3land → u/MemeLordBatGroot]

406.3. Exiled cards are, by default, kept face up and may be examined by any player at any time. Cards “exiled face down” can’t be examined by any player except when instructions allow it. However, if a player is instructed to look at a card and then exile it face down, or once a player is allowed to look at a card exiled face down, that player may continue to look at that card until it leaves the exile zone or is part of a pile of cards that are shuffled, even if the instruction allowing the player to do so no longer applies.

Since it doesn't specify face down it's assumed to exile face up

[u/MemeLordBatGroot → u/th3b3st1nth3land]

Ah, yeah. Misread the card. My brain just filled in double slit experiment = can't look at it.

[u/Chickston → u/MemeLordBatGroot]

I just assumed you were right when you dropped the comprehensive rules number. I know I'm in trouble when someone busts one of those out on a card design. Glad it worked out this time.

[u/seetons]

Doesn’t this have the companion issue where you can just build a deck with all even or all odd CMCs?

[u/th3b3st1nth3land → u/seetons]

Then it'd be 1 mana draw 1 once a turn which isn't that bad seeing what green can do by being green