#time counters

Hello everyone, you expected @abelzumi​ but it was me, @follower-of-liliana​. Jojo-kes aside, the cruel hands of fate are dragging me closer to the Underworld as my birthday is around the corner. Hopes and fears swirl around me, having me wish there was a way to somehow meddle with time.

And since you’re all too far away to send me sweets and presents, I ask you entertain me by designing a card with suspend or vanishing that has a built-in way to tweak its time counters.

Nihilith and Lavacore Elemental are two good examples of such cards. You might as well omit the rules text for both suspend and vanishing, like in Nihilith, to save up some space. Don’t forget to sprinkle your design with strong flavor and cool interactions!

Runner ups

Before I get to the details, got to say both cards were top tier material, but at the same time they had potential to be a bit better in terms of execution, not power.

@dim3trodon​ Channeler of Faith is a true bomb, and the inherent haste from suspend adds to its strength! The cleric tribal element and the two color suspend cost tie the flavor of the card nicely. I think plain tapping, like in Kumena, and a more neutral sacrifice requirement on the attack trigger would make the card much friendlier to the players.

Montage pt2

@mardu-lesbian - Temporal Patricide

Neat uncommon removal I would love to see in a set with suspend! Pros for having the trigger to lose a counter as optional!

@nine-effing-hells - Decaying Lich

A truly fair card, but you broke the symmetry with the “threes” and that made me watch some oddly satisfying videos to recover :p

@reaperfromtheabyss - Temporal Arbitor

Surely a Johnny design but having a complicated card end with a death trigger is a bit of a downer. That said, I’m happy you too used the counter transfer element like in @morbidlyqueerious submission.

@max burg - Clarity of the Open Vein

A really Flashy go big or go home card. I usually don’t like cards without mana cost but this one is the exception! The autocast condition is really nice and it kinda reminded me of the good old days of the Zendikar vampire tribal.

@kol - Fleeting Power

A really smart design, from the perspective that all suspend cards are bound to be cast, and when Fleeting power is indeed cast, you lose the game. However you broke the “unwritten” rule that suspending cards is sorcery speed. All in all a very interesting design and risky design that scores well in power level and flavor but is lacking a bit on execution.

@shakeszx - Lich’s Keepshake

You guys sure love your liches :p I can see you had a great idea but it needed a bit more work. I mean it’s reasonable to prevent you from losing the game but why not win? Also 2 life buying you another turn in the game is very cheap.

@shootingstarhunter - Delay Reinforcements

Neat Oblivion Ring spinoff, it could be cheaper given it has short lifespan, but that’s just me nitpicking

@top-hat-von-rattle-bones​ - Goblin King’s Army

Solid design and a nice throwback to the suspend X creature cycle of Time Spiral. I kinda wanted it to interact with a legendary goblin or something, just because of the name. I’m a hungry Vorthos after all :p

@tmstage - Nyxmind

As much I would like to give this card points for it’s novelty, its too complicated and too hard to interact and/or play around. I feel it could be two separate cards.

@misterstingyjack - Lost City

The idea behind the design is really nice, there are just so balance and wording issues that drag it down. Most people would agree that it should enter the battlefield tapped, and also that it would look better if you combined the mana ability and counter removal cost.

Montage pt1

@dancepatternalpha - Lingering Famine

Name’s and overall feel is good, but I think the -3/-3 debuff was too harsh and it doesn’t seem to leave many options for the counter tinkering half of the card.

@indecisive-i-think​ - DIO’S World

Using Jojo on card designs is always appreciated. However I got to point a common “mistake” in some designs of this contest. In your attempt to make a unique card, you created a peculiar hybrid whose one half is very simple, in this case a 2WB 5/3 creature, and the other half, a damage preventing enchantment that while pricey, is virtually impossible to interact with.

@fractured-infinity - Greater Necromancy

In the same vein, Greater Necromancy is very intriguing while exiled, and very simple when cast. I do like the tension it would create in attrition decks and long edh games!

@dovin-baan - Vanishing Ink

Your design was among the most “on point” submissions, which is a testament of your skill. Great color selection and interesting abilities under a fitting name. All I got to say is that it just happened to be less flashy.

@snugz - Chronostorm Entity

Speaking of flashy designs, this wild elemental got both mine and @abelzumi“s attention instantaneously, but with a second read one can see it’s too strong in its current form.

@i-am-the-one-who-wololoes - Eternal Life

Love the dark undertone of this baby, and also the use of the ancient frame! However, I think the two triggers could merge so we get a more “universal” card.

@gollumni - Doomsday Clock

Yet another colored artifact, seems like Wotc’s trend is here to stay. Doomsday clock is a neat design, I just think it’s a bit more expensive/ color heavy than it should be.

@aethernalstars - Hot Potato

I vaguely remember another hot potato design from another challenge and if both were made by you you get the potato award! Flavor and interaction are on spot!

@dabudder - Wrath of Anguish

A great and menacing card, but I think it should have the option to be cast traditionally.

Moment of Triumph

Thank you all for participating! You surprised me with your bold and unique designs! I had a hard time picking the winners because despite the fact that some submissions were more refined than others, I appreciated your “outside of the box” thinking!

@partytimesdeluxe‘s Timeline Torcher is a hell of a pushed card (pun intended) that has an intense flavor and plays up to the impulsiveness of red. If this rascal reaches its expiration date, you’ll get to go 6 cards deeper into your library, and should your opponent survives, there’s also the rare yet important possibility of adding more time counters to it!