The first way is to go the Licid route. This way makes the mount into an Aura, and attaches it to a creature. The reminder text lets you know to add the mount's power and toughness to the power and toughness of the enchanted creature.
The second way is a bit more iffy. It involves making a new card type - Mount. Instead of putting the reminder text on each card, Mount would have its own rules as a card type.
The rules would be as follows: Mount is a special creature type with associated rules. All creatures with the Mount type have a mount cost. When you pay the mount cost of a Mount, attach it to target creature you control. The creature it's attached to is considered mounted. Add the mount's power and toughness to the power and toughness of the mounted creature. It stops being a creature as long as its attached to another creature. Mount only as a sorcery.
Here's an example with the mount rules.
I feel like the rules are grokkable enough to work, and the card looks a lot more clean. Let me know what you think.
FINAL VERSION
Edit: Taking the comments into account, I believe this is the best form of Mount:
I like the update, but I have a few questions that aren't addressed in the ability, also a suggestion for shortening the text length of the ability.
ReplyDelete1. Does the mount ever revert back to being a creature? Like if the enchanted creature dies. Can I pay a cost to un-mount?
2. While the creature is mounted, can I pay its mount cost and move it to another creature?
3. Should the mount ability be a targeted ability (to the creature it's going to enchant)? What happens if I only control two creatures, activate the mount ability, and in response my opponent kills my other creature? Does the ability still resolve?
Lastly, If you change the mount ability to just turning into an aura, and remove the part about adding power and toughness, it cuts out a lot of text. Then add to the static ability, a power/toughness increase equal to the mount's stats (aka: Mounted creature gets +1/+1 and has first strike.) this will clear up a lot of unneeded text, and some issues with if the mount's stats were modified prior to mounting, also add some design space where you can change the stat bonus.
These are all valid points.
ReplyDelete1. I want mount to feel like equipment in that if the creature holding it dies, it falls off; and in mount's case, reverts to being a creature.
2. Same rules to equipment apply here - you can pay it's mount cost to move it.
3. It should be targeted. If a creature is killed in response to something targeting it, the spell or ability targeting it fizzles. therefore, it reverts to it's normal state of being a creature.
4. I don't want to make it an aura because the mount doesn't need to die when the creature it's attached to does. I do like the idea of adding a stat boost to the abilites. I had an iteration like that, and I'll probably go back to that one. I like that it opens up design space on the ability as well.
Thanks for your input. I will change the posted cards to the new version.
Mount X (CARDNAME becomes an Aura enchantment with enchant creature. Attach it to target creature you control. If the mounted creature would leave the battlefield, CARDNAME becomes a creature instead. Mount only as a sorcery.)
ReplyDeleteI think this handles the exile/bounce effects, as well as makes the creature not die to wraths, but die to akroma's vengeance (I need to double check this though).
For fun, I came up with an alternative form to do mount:
http://s16.postimage.org/otlv94twj/Roan_Filly.jpg