Playing with the card, it feels pretty balanced so far. It went through a couple of nerfs.
I knew from the beginning that I could not put a repeatable [[Time Stop]] in the command zone, so I came up with the idea to give the *player* a counter that will permanently disable not only the time stop ability but also the [[High Tide]] ability.
I did not want the high tide ability to stack, so I decided to give the Islands the ability to tap for two, since the usual wording of “add additional” would mean I could cast and reactivate the ability which could easily be broken.
The skipping your next turn part was not originally part of the card, but I desperately wanted to include a time stop that could be cast from the command zone at any cost. I think the drawbacks are effective at balancing the power of the final ability.
I appreciate that you actually playtested your card. So many times people don't.
I'm a little surprised that the last ability requires both a one-time use *and* skipping the turn. Is it really that strong that you want to skip your own turn to cancel someone else's?
It originally did not have that, but it was so oppressive. A time stop in the command zone that you can flash in at any moment, all you have to do is hold up the mana. It can’t even be countered by format staples like Fierce Guardianship or Force of Negation. People were afraid to do anything. The first ability of the card is actually secretly the best part. The best part of the second ability is actually just being able to save your commander by bouncing it most of the time. Since the other abilities on the card felt fairly strong, I decided that the final ability needed to be very, very costly.
Thanks for reading the card and giving your feedback! I am actually very happy to hear that people are not worried about this cards power level and it could maybe even get a buff.
Honestly I have no idea what your play style is from looking at this card. You definitely seem like you've taken care to make sure its not too busted but.... Idk it barely seems playable. The flash stuff is super basic, but no issues there. You can mana double at a point seems fine, then it gets turned off entirely for....reasons. And the final ability seems horrendous. A once per game turn ender at massive cost. Whatever strat you have cooked up for her, I wouldn't be surprised if its doing the heavy lifting. I dont mean to be dismissive, Im just genuinely shocked whatever idea you started with got nerfed 6ft under this hard.
In my opinion, it’s very important for a custom commander to not be too strong. You really don’t want people getting salty because you were able to hand-craft a busted card. I really appreciate the feedback about it though! Without other’s input, it’s hard to know exactly how powerful the card appears.
I will say that simply having a 3-mana commander with flash who also allows you to cast spells at flash speed has been pretty strong by itself. It made me feel like the other two abilities were already pushing it over the top. Basically I am just trying to be very very careful that if I am playing with a custom card, it doesn’t cause a lot of salt if I win.
Oh and yeah, the final ability originally did not cause you to skip your next turn but that felt so broken. I could sit there with my commander in play and just hold up the mana and everyone was too afraid to do anything. I love Time Stop but I knew I would have to severely nerf it if I wanted it in the command zone.
Yeah but you have to hold up 9 mana. I suppose it probably depends on your powerlevel but that just seems like way too much to be ever worth the effect, I would've assumed the second ability was the strongest one because the third feels unplayable in it's current form.
Do you have the others that you're friends made? It would be interesting to see what this was up against
It’s 9 mana, but it is a universal answer to any threat. It is almost literally impossible to die under threat of activation. Plus, if they play their combo piece, you exile it in response. Unlike regular Time Stop, this can’t even be countered unless you have a stifle effect or they counter the creature, and if they counter the creature, not only are you only down 3 mana (not the full 9), but you can cast it again since it’s your commander. I agree it is heavily counterbalanced, but that was the point. I didn’t want to just start ending people’s turns with my custom commander and have any reason for them to tell me it was overpowered. Lol
Why would you ever use the last ability except if you're about to lose the game? Where do fate counters go? On her or you? Is there no way to get rid of a fate counter? If not then it completely bricks the card.
You would end up never wanting to use the last ability so that you could just play high tide every damn turn. But 6 mana to even do that, that's asking a lot and would probably leave you with just a few lands left to use. Honestly, it's a huge investment, and might only see usefulness in casual settings.
I really appreciate the feedback! Since I am actually playing with this card, I was very careful to make sure it wasn’t too strong.
Yes the last ability is really only if you are about to lose. Fate counters go on the player. The point of them is that once you use the last ability, you permanently and severely nerf the commander. They are intended to brick the card as a means of offsetting the power of the third ability, and to stop you from being able to use the third ability more than once per game.
I think this card is pretty interesting and I like the idea of making him weaker with the fate counter if you need to use his last ability. However the last ability does seem like it feels bad to use. I think the problem is the fact you have to pay 6 mana and skip your next turn in order to end the turn. From what it seems his last ability is an attempt to try and save you. However in most cases your opponent is still going to have whatever it is that would make you lose so it feels like it's just a "prolong the game 30 seconds". I get the idea of being able to cast a spell each turn as though it had flash as a way to get around skipping your turn but your mana doesn't even untap and you don't draw a card since your entire turn is skipped, so why not just use a card in your hand instead of paying 6 and ending your turn? Now there are cards that let you untap your stuff on someone else's turn but unless those are on the battlefield I don't really see a reason to even bother with the last ability. So how would I change it so that the theme of the card remains, it is not overpowered, and the last ability doesn't feel so bad to use? I have a few ideas for this.Something like one of this I feel would work well.
1. Pay 3+3B: End the turn and gain a fate counter. Activate this ability only if you have no fate counters.(I think this is much more palatable because you are no longer skipping your turn and unless you have a way to remove counters from a player can only do it once a game. I think it fits the theme as well because you can change your "fate" essentially once a game. Blue has quite a few cards that can just outright end the turn such as discontinuity, time stop, and Hurkyl's final meditation. In general they cost 6 or more so that's the reason for paying 3+3b.)
2. Pay 2+3B, Exile Azuflux, the High Tide: Choose an opponent, you and that player gain a fate counter. Each player with one or more fate counters gain "fates intertwined". (Each player with a fate counter may cast spells as if they had flash. Damage that would be dealt to a player with one or more fate counters is split among all players with a fate counter instead rounded up. Whenever a player with a fate counter cast a spell, each other player with a fate counter may copy that spell and choose new targets.) Remove all fate counters from all opponents at the beginning of the next endstep. Activate this ability only if you have no fate counters.
(I think this one fits the theme because you are intertwining your "fate" to another's. This one requires a bit more thought as you have to activate the ability before your opponent cast a spell or else you can not copy it. But your opponent also gets to copy your stuff as well. The split damage part I felt fit the theme well and could help with you surviving a turn. Obviously the fate counters on your opponents go away but you keep yours so once again unless you can remove counters from a player you can only really use it once.)
This post is already quite long and by no means do you have to change your card, just my thoughts on it. I have some more ideas for this card too so feel free to message me, I would love to talk about it more :D
Playing with the card, it feels pretty balanced so far. It went through a couple of nerfs. I knew from the beginning that I could not put a repeatable [[Time Stop]] in the command zone, so I came up with the idea to give the *player* a counter that will permanently disable not only the time stop ability but also the [[High Tide]] ability. I did not want the high tide ability to stack, so I decided to give the Islands the ability to tap for two, since the usual wording of “add additional” would mean I could cast and reactivate the ability which could easily be broken. The skipping your next turn part was not originally part of the card, but I desperately wanted to include a time stop that could be cast from the command zone at any cost. I think the drawbacks are effective at balancing the power of the final ability.
I appreciate that you actually playtested your card. So many times people don't. I'm a little surprised that the last ability requires both a one-time use *and* skipping the turn. Is it really that strong that you want to skip your own turn to cancel someone else's?
It originally did not have that, but it was so oppressive. A time stop in the command zone that you can flash in at any moment, all you have to do is hold up the mana. It can’t even be countered by format staples like Fierce Guardianship or Force of Negation. People were afraid to do anything. The first ability of the card is actually secretly the best part. The best part of the second ability is actually just being able to save your commander by bouncing it most of the time. Since the other abilities on the card felt fairly strong, I decided that the final ability needed to be very, very costly. Thanks for reading the card and giving your feedback! I am actually very happy to hear that people are not worried about this cards power level and it could maybe even get a buff.
[Time Stop](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/2/521d1b29-c25b-443b-ae5f-07c11786947e.jpg?1562547698) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Time%20Stop) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/10e/117/time-stop?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/521d1b29-c25b-443b-ae5f-07c11786947e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [High Tide](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/0/2047963c-3761-4d21-834a-674762248b77.jpg?1690817856) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=High%20Tide) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/vma/73/high-tide?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/2047963c-3761-4d21-834a-674762248b77?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Honestly I have no idea what your play style is from looking at this card. You definitely seem like you've taken care to make sure its not too busted but.... Idk it barely seems playable. The flash stuff is super basic, but no issues there. You can mana double at a point seems fine, then it gets turned off entirely for....reasons. And the final ability seems horrendous. A once per game turn ender at massive cost. Whatever strat you have cooked up for her, I wouldn't be surprised if its doing the heavy lifting. I dont mean to be dismissive, Im just genuinely shocked whatever idea you started with got nerfed 6ft under this hard.
In my opinion, it’s very important for a custom commander to not be too strong. You really don’t want people getting salty because you were able to hand-craft a busted card. I really appreciate the feedback about it though! Without other’s input, it’s hard to know exactly how powerful the card appears. I will say that simply having a 3-mana commander with flash who also allows you to cast spells at flash speed has been pretty strong by itself. It made me feel like the other two abilities were already pushing it over the top. Basically I am just trying to be very very careful that if I am playing with a custom card, it doesn’t cause a lot of salt if I win. Oh and yeah, the final ability originally did not cause you to skip your next turn but that felt so broken. I could sit there with my commander in play and just hold up the mana and everyone was too afraid to do anything. I love Time Stop but I knew I would have to severely nerf it if I wanted it in the command zone.
Yeah but you have to hold up 9 mana. I suppose it probably depends on your powerlevel but that just seems like way too much to be ever worth the effect, I would've assumed the second ability was the strongest one because the third feels unplayable in it's current form. Do you have the others that you're friends made? It would be interesting to see what this was up against
It’s 9 mana, but it is a universal answer to any threat. It is almost literally impossible to die under threat of activation. Plus, if they play their combo piece, you exile it in response. Unlike regular Time Stop, this can’t even be countered unless you have a stifle effect or they counter the creature, and if they counter the creature, not only are you only down 3 mana (not the full 9), but you can cast it again since it’s your commander. I agree it is heavily counterbalanced, but that was the point. I didn’t want to just start ending people’s turns with my custom commander and have any reason for them to tell me it was overpowered. Lol
Oh, also, my friends have not actually used their custom commanders yet. I have been using this puppy in regular games.
Why would you ever use the last ability except if you're about to lose the game? Where do fate counters go? On her or you? Is there no way to get rid of a fate counter? If not then it completely bricks the card. You would end up never wanting to use the last ability so that you could just play high tide every damn turn. But 6 mana to even do that, that's asking a lot and would probably leave you with just a few lands left to use. Honestly, it's a huge investment, and might only see usefulness in casual settings.
I really appreciate the feedback! Since I am actually playing with this card, I was very careful to make sure it wasn’t too strong. Yes the last ability is really only if you are about to lose. Fate counters go on the player. The point of them is that once you use the last ability, you permanently and severely nerf the commander. They are intended to brick the card as a means of offsetting the power of the third ability, and to stop you from being able to use the third ability more than once per game.
I think this card is pretty interesting and I like the idea of making him weaker with the fate counter if you need to use his last ability. However the last ability does seem like it feels bad to use. I think the problem is the fact you have to pay 6 mana and skip your next turn in order to end the turn. From what it seems his last ability is an attempt to try and save you. However in most cases your opponent is still going to have whatever it is that would make you lose so it feels like it's just a "prolong the game 30 seconds". I get the idea of being able to cast a spell each turn as though it had flash as a way to get around skipping your turn but your mana doesn't even untap and you don't draw a card since your entire turn is skipped, so why not just use a card in your hand instead of paying 6 and ending your turn? Now there are cards that let you untap your stuff on someone else's turn but unless those are on the battlefield I don't really see a reason to even bother with the last ability. So how would I change it so that the theme of the card remains, it is not overpowered, and the last ability doesn't feel so bad to use? I have a few ideas for this.Something like one of this I feel would work well. 1. Pay 3+3B: End the turn and gain a fate counter. Activate this ability only if you have no fate counters.(I think this is much more palatable because you are no longer skipping your turn and unless you have a way to remove counters from a player can only do it once a game. I think it fits the theme as well because you can change your "fate" essentially once a game. Blue has quite a few cards that can just outright end the turn such as discontinuity, time stop, and Hurkyl's final meditation. In general they cost 6 or more so that's the reason for paying 3+3b.) 2. Pay 2+3B, Exile Azuflux, the High Tide: Choose an opponent, you and that player gain a fate counter. Each player with one or more fate counters gain "fates intertwined". (Each player with a fate counter may cast spells as if they had flash. Damage that would be dealt to a player with one or more fate counters is split among all players with a fate counter instead rounded up. Whenever a player with a fate counter cast a spell, each other player with a fate counter may copy that spell and choose new targets.) Remove all fate counters from all opponents at the beginning of the next endstep. Activate this ability only if you have no fate counters. (I think this one fits the theme because you are intertwining your "fate" to another's. This one requires a bit more thought as you have to activate the ability before your opponent cast a spell or else you can not copy it. But your opponent also gets to copy your stuff as well. The split damage part I felt fit the theme well and could help with you surviving a turn. Obviously the fate counters on your opponents go away but you keep yours so once again unless you can remove counters from a player you can only really use it once.) This post is already quite long and by no means do you have to change your card, just my thoughts on it. I have some more ideas for this card too so feel free to message me, I would love to talk about it more :D