#aetherdrift contest

[inventors-fair]

Lap 2

Aetherdrift's has been released for a bit now, but it's never too late to celebrate. New set, new contest...new me? Nah, I'm getting ahead of myself. Point is, there's a lot new to sink your teeth into, so this is a great opportunity to retread a decidedly old concept. It's a bit of a tradition around these parts, but,

Design a card that could have been in Aetherdrift.

So that means, essentially, design a card from any of the three settings and/or any of the ten teams featured in the set, using some combination of the mechanics featured within the set.

While this kind of hypothetical thought exercise doesn't require you to replace anything within the set or adhere to rarity distributions, there's a lot of considerations that go into a design that would really feel at home within Aetherdrift. There's consideration for not only strict allowable mechanics but also mechanical theming, and it's more important than ever to consider the impact something could have on a limited environment.

I can't wait to see what kinds of designs you all can push across the finish line! —@spooky-bard

>> Desktop Submissions >> Mobile Submissions/Asks >> IF Discord Server

[loreholdlesbian]

Aetherdrift Play Booster Challenge

I always like to make a custom booster pack of cards to accompany a set release. (Once we start getting more UniBey sets this might change; I didn't do one for LotR cause I'm not overly familiar with it and that's gonna be happening more and more.) This is styled after a contest from GDS3 and in that vein, I try to make cards that not only would feel appropriate as part of the set, but also that are pushing in new directions.

Art Links

Caravan Leader's art by Stephan S. Gibson

Naktamun's Reconstruction's art by majrat

Thoptergraft's art by Sébastien Levieux

Reluctant Racer's art by Jose Ferrer

Spin Your Wheels's art by kwee85

Ranger's Foreunner's art by Cranash64

Vizier of Bindings's art by Sephiroth-Art

Guidelight Compassbot's art by Elliott Chatham

Ride Again's art by azazel1944

Goblin Gizmonaut's art by Scorbutman

Accumulated Swarm's art by anastasia

Cloudspire Elite's art by Javier Alcalde

All-Terrain Bike's art by Ash Pierce

Rares

Card transcription

Caravan Leader 2WW Creature- Llama Mount Vigilance Other Mounts and Vehicles you control have vigilance. Whenever this creature attacks while saddled for the first time each turn, take an additional combat step after this one. Saddle 4 4/4

End transcription

I wanted a good reward for Mounts and Vehicles and I thought an extra combat felt like one that would play well. Normally that would be red, but a strong reward like this would definitely rather be in GW in this set, and white can get extra combats so this felt like a good opportunity to explore it. I did vigilance granting to make it feel more white, not just something red can do.

Card transcription

Naktamun's Reconstruction 3WW Enchantment Start your engines! (If you have no speed, it starts at 1. It increases once on each of your turns when an opponent loses life. Max speed is 4.) You may cast artifact and creature spells from your graveyard if their mana value is less than or equal to your speed. If you cast a spell this way, that permanent enters with a finality counter on it.

End transcription

This was the last card I made for the set and it was largely a "free slot". I'd covered most things I wanted to in the booster- I had a good spread of colors, I'd hit the major mechanics, I even had a representative of each team. The only real constraint is that I didn't want the design to be a creature or make tokens, cause the pack is pretty creature-slot heavy. I considered making a Muraganda-themed card, but I was having trouble coming up with a good Muraganda-themed noncreature design, especially when none of the mechanics really fit- Start your engines didn't really make sense, and I had a good deal of cycling and exhaust cards in the pack already. So I just came up with a general design I like.

Uncommons

Card transcription

Thoptergraft 3U Enchantment- Aura Enchant artifact or creature When this Aura enters, draw a card. Enchanted permanent is an artifact creature, gets +2/+2, and has flying.

End transcription

This is a weird little modal card that I think does a good job of tying together set themes. I wanted to do an artifact animation card that worked well with Vehicles, since the whole set has a vehicles theme and blue in specific had an artifact theme. I considered more direct wording that animated, and also set a power and toughness unless the card was a vehicle, but I didn't like it as much. This version was more fitting in giving a better reward to Vehicles, and also more novel. I also settled on letting it enchant normal creatures as well to make it less of a narrow card, partially because I already had cycling on a good few cards that needed it more, but also I just thought it would play well. The ability to turn your normal creatures into artifact creatures isn't nothing in this set though; it's a bump for all your artifacts-matter cards in blue.

Card transcription

Reluctant Racer 1B Creature- Human Survivor Survival - At the beginning of your second main phase, if this creature is tapped, create a tapped 1/1 colorless Toy artifact creature token. 2/2 "We all do what we must to make it to tomorrow"

End transcription

I'm honestly really disappointed that we didn't get a new survival card in the set. With a duskmourn team, having a mechanic from duskmourn worm its way into the set feels flavorful and survival is the obvious choice with its crew/saddle synergy. That basic concept was in the pack from the start, I just needed to figure out what it should do. Since the duskmourn team was in UB and had an artifact theme, it made sense to tie the card into that somehow. But just making it an artifact creature didn't really make sense; there's not a good flavor for an artifact survivor. So I settled on making artifact tokens instead, and Toy or Scarecrow was the most flavorful option. Toy felt better for the 1/1 token I wanted, so I went with that.

Card transcription

Spin Your Wheels 1R Enchantment When this enchantment enters, draw a card. Each card in your hand has cycling 1. (1, Discard that card: Draw a card.) At the beginning of the end step, sacrifice this enchantment.

End transcription

I'm really, really proud of this name. There's the most obvious level, that "spin your wheels" is associated with cars so it's a reasonable name for a card in this set. On top of that, there's the fact that "discard your hand then draw that many cards" effects are called "wheels" in mtg slang, and this card is a play on that. But then finally, this style of gameplay, where you're drawing a bunch of cards and doing a lot of things but not necessarily adding anything to the board, is often called "spinning your wheels" in mtg slang because you're doing a lot but not necessarily going anywhere. It just all game together well. As for the actual card, I think it'd be a hell of a lot of fun to play. It helps you sculpt your hand, but has a very frantic, impulsive feel to it with only being around for a single turn that feels very red. It also plays really really great with the discard payoffs in this set; cycling through several cards while you have Maurading Mako out is gonna feel good. Giving everything cycling 1 is definitely a very powerful effect, but I think the one-turn limit does a lot to keep it in check.

Card transcription

Ranger's Forerunner 2G Creature- Elf Ranger Whenever a creature you control attacks, if you've activated an exhaust ability of that creature, put a +1/+1 counter on it. Exhaust- 3G: Put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. (Activate each exhaust ability only once.) 3/3 "Sometimes all that's holding you back is not knowing it was possible."

End transcription

Exhaust is a cool new tool in the toolbox and I wanted to play around with it. One neat thing is that, since exhaust is already asking you to remember whether you've exhausted it, it's not really asking any more of you to make cards that key off of whether a card's been exhausted. Putting +1/+1 counters on them feels like an appropriate reward, since many exhaust cards are using a +1/+1 counter as a memory tool to help you remember whether you activated the ability. And just like how it's not really asking anything extra of you to check if you've activated an exhaust ability of a creature, you can start putting counters on creatures willy nilly once they're already exhausted since you don't have to worry about memory issues. I also just think that this card in a vacuum plays neat; you have to pay the mana to get the exhaust going, but once you do it continues growing from there.

Commons

Card transcription

Vizier of Bindings 2W Creature- Zombie Cat Cleric Whenever this creature becomes tapped during your turn, you may put a stun counter on it. When you do, tap target artifact or creature an opponent controls and put a stun counter on it. (If a permanent with a stun counter on it would become untapped, remove a stun counter from it instead.) 3/1

End transcription

I wanted to make a fun stun counter card to play around with the tapping shenanigans that happens in the Vehicles and Mounts set, and it came out exactly like I hoped. It can attack, but its low toughness makes that a risky prospect, so you really want to play this with vehicles and mounts. And it's just using stun counters in I think an interesting way, as an optional cost for an effect. I made it amonkhet flavored because it feels so similar to the exert mechanic.

Card transcription

Guidelight Compassbot 3U Artifact Creature- Robot Scout When this creature enters, search your library for a card named Guidelight Compassbot, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle. Cycling 2 (2, Discard this card: Draw a card.) 3/3

End transcription

While the specifics of the card changed- the cmc, the color, the power/toughness, etc- I'd had the idea for a creature that tutors up another version of itself on ETB and has cycling for a while before Aetherdrift even came out. So as soon as I found out cycling was in the set, I put a version of this card in the booster. I just think it's a very fun combination of abilities that makes cycling not just tacked on but integrated into the design. Every time you tutor up a version of the card, you're presented with the cycling choice again.

Card transcription

Ride Again 1B Instant Choose one or both- * Return target creature card from your graveyard to your hand. * Return target Mount or Vehicle card from your graveyard to your hand.

End transcription

This one's pretty simple, a disentomb that plays into the set theme. I originally just had it be "return target creature or vehicle", but I decided it would be cool to allow you to do one of each, so I threw Mount in as an option with vehicle as well. So mounts get the bonus where you can potentially get two back. I intend this card to be endrider flavored, but the art I found looks a bit more duskmourn admittedly.

Card transcription

Goblin Gizmonaut R Creature- Goblin Artificer Start your engines! (If you have no speed, it starts at 1. It increases once on each of your turns when an opponent loses life. Max speed is 4.) Exhaust — 4R: Put a number of +1/+1 counters on this creature equal to your speed. (Activate each exhaust ability only once.)

End transcription

This card uses exhaust in a fun way- it presents you with the option to get counters now, or to wait and get even more counters later. That potential for more makes you really feel the "only once" restriction. And of course, it's a good enabler for the speed mechanic as well. This is the card I'm most torn about rarity wise; while I don't think it's doing anything a common necessarily couldn't, it still has a pretty uncommon feel to it overall.

Card transcription

Accumulated Swarm 2G Sorcery Create a 1/1 green Insect creature token. Put X +1/+1 counters on it, where X is 1 plus the number of cards named Accumulated Swarm in your graveyard. Cycling G (G, Discard this card: Draw a card.)

End transcription

I intend this card as part of a cycle of spells that all have an effect scaling based on the number of them in your graveyard and that have cycling. This cycle, like compassbot, had versions that existed well before Aetherdrift, though the individual card effects got tailored a bit more to the set. I just think the interplay between cycling and wanting these cards in your graveyard uses cycling in a really interesting way. It's costed to be rather weak without any in your graveyard, so that you're more likely to cycle the first one or two.

Card transcription

Cloudspire Elite 2R/W Creature- Human Pilot When this creature enters, choose one— * Create a 1/1 colorless Pilot creature token with “This creature saddles Mounts and crews Vehicles as though its power were 2 greater.” * Create a 3/2 colorless Vehicle artifact token with crew 1. (Tap any number of creatures you control with total power 1 or greater: That Vehicle becomes an artifact creature until end of turn.) 1/2

End transcription

Just in general, I think a lot of sets could benefit from a hybrid cycle at common. It's a useful tool for increasing the as-fan of a given color, and on top of that plays a similar role to the signpost uncommon in telling you what you can expect from that color pair in this set but in a way appropriate for common. Like this one tells you pretty clearly that RW is into vehicles without actually needing to be in a vehicles deck. You could happily play this in just about any red or white deck in the format, though some want this more than others. As for the specific card rather than the cycle, I just think a card that lets you choose between a pilot and a vehicle makes for a great card in a vehicle focused set. It lets you get a Vehicle if you're only drawing your payoffs but not any Vehicles, but if you're drawing too many Vehicles and not enough creatures to crew them, it can give you two. I also think the Vehicle token in the set was underutilized so this is an attempt to rectify that.

Card transcription

All-Terrain Bike 2 Artifact- Vehicle Crew 2 (Tap any number of creatures you control with total power 2 or greater: This Vehicle becomes an artifact creature until end of turn.) Cycling 2 (2, Discard this card: Draw a card.) When you cycle this card, you may search your library for a basic land card. If you do, reveal it, shuffle, and put that card on top. (Do this before you draw.) 3/4

End transcription

I thought a cycler that let you choose between normal cycling and basic land cycling would be interesting, and from there the card kind of built itself. I knew I wanted it to be colorless, and probably a noncreature cause I had a lot of creatures in the set, but despite them being a major theme I didn't have a ton in the way of vehicles, so making it one felt like an obvious choice. Especially since vehicles do well with having cycling, so if you draw a vehicle without a good pilot for it, you can cycle it away.

[warrenthegamer]

My first MagicCon

Last month I attended my first MagicCon. In fact, it was my first convention of any kind! This post is a photolog chronicling that experience.

MagicCons are held a few times each year, and the location varies. This particular installment was held in Chicago at McCormick Place, an event center which afforded plenty of space for the show floor, play, and panels / shows. You get your steps in!

Tons of space for registered and casual 1-on-1 Magic play, as well as commander play and D&D (both not pictured)

You can grab a sign which announces you're looking for a game! Some signs say "casual" and others "competitive"

Participating in registered events yields you Prize Tix aka Prize Tickets, redeemable for Magic product and gameplay gear. A webpage keeps you apprised of what's sold out vs still available

Along with registered events, people can join On Demand Events. They require use of vouchers which are paid in advance and redeemable as Prize Tix if unused

This is but a fraction of the merch offered at the official convention store. And it was far from the only place to get merch

Examples of vintage boosters. Grab a Legends booster for $630!

Some treasures in one vendor's case

This vendor was even selling franchises!

Cosplay welcome! Saturday even featured a contest!

Statues and photo ops encouraged people to get in the spirit

You can even photo yourself in a magic card!

There were various diversions and amusements themed around recent sets. Here, stock car races in honor of Aetherdrift, which is about an interplanar death race

A course representing one of the three planes spanned by Aetherdrift

There was a scavenger hunt, and this was one of the eight signs to find. The reward? A collectible D&D monster pin. Well made and pretty legit

A huge part of Magic is the art. People were lined up the entire Con to get signatures from beloved artists

Note the Sol Ring, Timetwister, Necropotence, Chaos Orb, Emrakul, City of Brass

Pro Tour player turned Magic Designer Melissa gave me a free Collector Booster just for talking with her and "being a nice person"

A very entertaining Commander game, put on by a troupe called Game Knights Live

Live D&D session featuring the voice actors of Baldur's Gate 3. The hand gesture indicates to the DM that they're communicating telepathically

Mark Rosewater, who is in his 30th year working on Magic gave a talk about the 20 cards (in his view) most impactful on Magic design

Here's the the final list. Many cards were attributable to Mark himself. He invited us to photo it.

Mark Rosewater and me, at his Meet and Greet

To the Prize Wall to redeem my Prize Tix before it's too late!

Here's the back of a ticket, with the terms and link to the catalog

The nice people at the Info Desk gave me two collector boosters simply for trading a pin with them!

I caught the final moments of the Pro Tour Championship! It was happening just outside and being simulcast in this room

That's a wrap!

Until next time!

[inventors-fair]

Photo Finish: Lap 2 Winners

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Our winners this week are @bread-into-toast, @grornt, and @izzet-always-r-versus-u!

@bread-into-toast — Hotwire

I'll be completely candid with you: on first viewing I was genuinely shocked this wasn't already in the set. A lovely Threaten in the spirit of Hijack that trades grabbing any artifact for instantly animating whatever vehicle you pilfer. That's a pretty strong advantage with all the high-octane vehicles running around the format. You steal a Salvation Engine or a Lumbering Worldwagon and you feel like a million bucks. Plus, the unevening of the odds inherent to these kind of effects plays wonderfully for any decks looking to make big swings for big speed. And the cherry on top is the cycling, which fits like a glove for such a specific effect. Bravo!

@grornt — Aspiring Radian

The Speedbrood eventually becoming their own vehicles was a very fun bit of worldbuilding, and as much as it is acknowledged in the set, none of them were quite this direct about it. Plus, even if that wasn't true, I'd always welcome more. Using the vehicle token present in a literal handful of cards is a stroke of genius, I must say. Make me kind of surprised that it was reserved for two mythics, but I suppose there were enough printed vehicles that they didn't really feel the need for tokens. We've seen approximately the same thing before, creatures that get a second life via a token, but being a symmetrical vehicle does a lot to shake up the formula. And honestly, regardless of how charmed I am by it, it's also just a damn solid creature in limited.

@izzet-always-r-versus-u — Aether Drift

Hah! Oh, you kidder, you. I assure you this placement isn't entirely because of the pun, but, er. Broadening the card to all discards rather than just cycling as its contemporaries do is smart. After all, unlike those two, Aetherdrift isn't so much a cycling set as a set that has cycling to enable discard. And to go along with that, retaining the emergency one-time use from Astral Drift is a great move. In general, a lot of knobs have been fined tuned on this one. Besides the ones I've already highlighted, there's the fact that it's now a one or more trigger, with a mana cost, that phases something out rather than blinks it. It's an excellently crafted card with a hilariously crafted name, what's not to like?

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These cards are way out in front, but the runners up are closing the distance! See you in a bit! —@spooky-bard

[inventors-fair]

Hot on Their Heels: Lap 2 Runners Up

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Our runners up this week are @cthulhusaurusrex, @nine-effing-hells, and @xenobladexfan!

@cthulhusaurusrex — Pole Position

Somehow one of two cards named Pole Position submitted this week. Not that I mind, it's a fun term, and it feels very appropriate. This is a wonderful little bundle of effects that really puts the screws on your opponent if you can keep up the momentum. And that instantly makes the name so, so very evocative that I can't help but be enraptured by it. It starts your engines, rewards you with a little extra stopping power for keeping up the pressure, and once you hit your stride and it's done its job, you can cash it in for an extra card so you don't peter out. This really distills the gameplan of speed down to a science, and I think that's pretty cool.

@nine-effing-hells — Mox Fordite

Love me a good reference to fordite, and where better than the vehicle set all about vehicles? For the uninitiated, fordite is a colloquial name for caked-on paint slag from automotive manufacturing plants that's been cut into jewelry. It's pretty stuff, even if it's definitely a bit unusual. And this one is pretty unusual, too. A hard turn limit before a mox can start producing mana is definitely a good balancing factor, although in exchange once it gets there it can always produce mana unlike the more conditional moxen variants. And while an extra mana starting at at minimum turn 4 isn't going to upend the game, in a format with such a ubiquitousness of exhaust effects, every bit of mana counts at all stages. I think the real value here, though, is just the fact that this can start your engines for zero mana. The ability to weave it into any given turn or just windmill slam it turn 0 for a bit of affinity is a great bit of utility.

@xenobladexfan — Well-Oiled Machine

I'm belatedly realizing that I had zero SYE cards in winners and three here. Whoops, I guess this is just Speed Hour, then. Oh well. Still, they're all killer designs, this one included. Strionic Resonator is an old favorite of mine, and this carries on that legacy. There are in fact a lot of triggered abilities running around this set, notably including—as you've helpfully highlighted—speed increasing. Being able to cut entire turn or two off of hitting max speed is a huge deal, although the upfront cost means the most aggressive speed decks probably won't see too big a difference. And while the normal ability can't touch exhaust abilities, the machine's own exhaust has no such restrictions, which is oh so very juicy. This one's a house in and of itself, but the sheer explosivity potential on display here is dizzying, and I'd absolutely love to tool around with this engine.

~

And that's a photo finish! It's not done yet though, as I'll be cruising over to the discord to take commentary requests for the next 12 hours. Drop on by! —@spooky-bard

[inventors-fair]

Lap 2 Entries

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@bergdg — Djeru, Vizier of Remembrance @bread-into-toast — Hotwire @cthulhusaurusrex — Pole Position @curiooftheheart — Loot's Exuberance @deg99 — Spitfire's Aether Suit @grornt — Aspiring Radian @helloijustreadyourpost — Jet-Propelled Jetsam @hypexion — Starchaser Aeronaut @i-am-the-one-who-wololoes — High Speed Tumble @izzet-always-r-versus-u — Aether Drift @lanabutnotdelray — The Broken Bow @misterstingyjack — Speed Boost @nine-effing-hells — Mox Fordite @piccadilly-blue — Qualifying Lap @sparkyyoungupstart — Amphibious Aetherleaper @stareyedesper — Gelatinous Backbone @tanknspank — Pole Position @wildcardgamez — Guidelight Animator @xenobladexfan — Well-Oiled Machine @yd12k — Motorbike, Feeding Free @yourrightfulking — Perilous Pathways

Thank you for all your entries!