Double-Faced Spells: Random MtG Designs

While my Photoshop skills hover between none at all and occasional clone-stamping, I've still decided to attempt sharing some of my Magic: the Gathering, card designs, including some that I submitted back in the "You Make the Card" days (this really needs to come back, for the record).

The format is Card Name//Casting Cost//Type//Text Box//P/T or Loyalty, if applicable.


Vessel of Drought//3//Artifact//Non-colorless mana cannot be used to pay the colorless costs of spells or abilities.


Carragon, the Wandering Sage//XG//Planeswalker-Carragon//~this~ enters the battlefield with X loyalty. -1: Search your library for a land and put it on the battlefield tapped. -3: Search your library for a creature, reveal it, then put it onto the battlefield tapped. -5: Exile the top half of your library rounded up. All permanents exiled this way enter the battlefield tapped.

Feral Devourer//B//Creature-Horror//If ~this~ would be put into your graveyard from anywhere, it enters the battlefield instead.  When ~this~ enters the battlefield, if you did not play it from your hand, you lose the game.//7/7

Double-faced spells are formatted the same, the "night" side of the card follows //////


Fizzle//UU//Instant//When you play ~this~, if it is the first spell you've played this turn, transform it.  Counter target spell.//////
Frazzle//~//Instant//Counter target spell unless it's controller pays 2.

Burn//R//Instant//When you play ~this~, if it is the first spell you've played this turn, transform it.  ~this~ deals 4 damage to target creature or player.//////
Blister//~//Instant//~this~ deals 2 damage to target creature or player.

Banish//BB//Instant//When you play ~this~, if it is the first spell you've played this turn, transform it.  Exile target planeswalker, creature, or land.//////
Bury//~//Instant//Destroy target non-black creature.

Restore//2G//Instant//When you play ~this~, if it is the first spell you've played this turn, transform it. Return target card from your graveyard to your hand. Exile ~this~.//////
Renew//~//Instant//Untap all permanents you control. Exile ~this~.

Pacify//W//Instant//When you play ~this~, if it is the first spell you've played this turn, transform it.  Target creature cannot attack or block. (The creature remains pacified until it leaves the battlefield or the game ends)./////
Pardon//Instant//Untap target attacking creature and remove it from combat.

And some unrealistic designs that seem mildly entertaining.

 Impenetrable Battlements//3WW//Creature-Wall//Defender. 0: ~this~ gets +0/+1 until end of turn. Miracle: WW.//0/4

Fissure Behemoth//4RR//Creature-Beast//Haste. Trample. When ~this~ enters the battlefield, destroy target land. Miracle: RRR//5/1

Slumbering Wurm//5GG//Creature-Wurm//Trample.  3GG: Regenerate ~this~. ~this~ gets +6/+6 until end of turn. Miracle: GGGGG.//8/8

Banworthy Sprite//2U//Creature--Fairie//Flash. Flying. Miracle: U.//3/2

Gravetender Revenant//1BB//Creature--Spirit//Flying. When ~this~ enters the battlefield, if it was played with it's Miracle cost, target player sacrifices a creature and you may return a creature from your graveyard to the battlefield.  Miracle: 4BB.//3/2

Poem of the Day #1: "Cold Eyes"

The "Poem of the Day" is a new feature that will appear, you guessed it, daily.  All are original works and may be accompanied by short essays or random thoughts about either the poem itself or the nature of poetry.  This one isn't, because you get this instead.  Whoohoo.  Aren't you excited?  I know I am.

And the men--

All shrouded grey--

Did through the mist appear.

And though the fog hangs heavy there

Their forms seemed all too clear—

The memory of faces

Shrouded cold

And those grim visaged eyes

Strike terror

In my bones

Their frozen laugh still makes me cry.

Though many years have passed since

Last I saw that host

I shall, I fear, never forget

The time I saw those

Wicked ghosts.

©2003 by Benjamin Snyder

Coming Soon

1)  A real Magic article complete with decklists. Don't get too excited now.

2) "Cabin in the Woods and the Perfection of Meta-Narrative" -- A critical evaluation of what is almost certainly the best movie you'll ever see.

3) 30 Days of Poetry -- A new poem will post every day.  For thirty days.  It made naming the tab a lot easier.